Is This A Logo??

Is This A Logo??

Wednesday 24 December 2014

A Cooling Post for a Warm Christmas

So after Blaze commented that my blog was getting cold (yeah it's been a while since I posted I guess), I thought I had better get on this.  There has not been alot going on since race season came to  a close.  However, Fig did manage to have both a birthday and 'his' first child (yes a baby) in the last two weeks...so yes our social medias have been inundated with a plethora of wrinkly, screaming, other-peoples-kid.




I think it's an alien...

Anyways to get Fig back...here are pics of my babies...(and I know he will have to read through cuz he is mentioned later).





OK, maybe not exactly babies...

Here are others of mine...



Some of mine have super powers...



This is my baby brother....does that count??


No?  Well this was someone knocking on my door claiming to be my kid...


Genetic testing got me off the hook though...that and a handful of peanuts (easier than getting Fig out of our house...)

Even NewfieSteve got into the act posting pics of his baby...

Merry Christmas...shitters full!!
Seriously....this is Weaver.

Even CptSydor posted a pic of his new baby...


OK, OK.....enough about babies and such...
Seriously....Congrats to Fig and Helen...and welcome to Ollie!

Anyways...about mountain biking...as far as winter riding conditions go we have had quite the variety...from hero dirt, to 6 inches deep of snow (well OK maybe 4 inches...I'm always exaggerating by a couple of inches), to mud, to mud frozen like pavement (or bumpy as hell from hikers footprints).  Enough opportunity to give all of my bikes a great fall workout!

And I cannot believe the number of fatbikes on the trails now.  They are selling faster than the manufacturers are making them...

Here is BWPaul with his fatbike (actually used to be his...someone bought it...it was the only large one he had left).



DanOfSubstance did manage to plan a very nice cross ride....from my house....hosted by me....with chilli and beer provided...
No NewfieSteve, EnglishJim, or Giant this time...mostly Fig (there it is!!) and his crew from Rock & Road Cylcle Club...






Thank you Lois for the fancy pics!

Anyways as I said...not much going on since race season;  just trying to get in as much riding/training as possible.

For now itis time to start with Christmas/New Years celebrations...


That about sums it up for me.  I will have some work to do post-holidays.

In the meantime I wish all my family, friends, and any other unfortunate souls that manage to stumble across this post a wonderful Christmas, and New Years full of joy, love, beer, rum, hockey, and mountain biking.  Not necessarily in that order...

Until then...
Stay posted!!

Friday 28 November 2014

Winter!!! Already???

So it appears Summer is far gone, Fall is over, and Winter is unwelcomely here....damn.  When I was a kid (100 years ago), I used to love winter.  Now...







If that is too harsh...




So who will be riding through the winter??

EnglishJim curls (cuz he can't skate) through the winter, so we may not see him for a while.  However, I do owe him many thanks...he has done some mechanical magic on my truck to keep it road worthy...he likes to 'tinka' (that's British for 'tinker')....as he calls it.  However, Lois figures that since I have a friend to help work on my truck, she could have a handyman work on the house, so I came home to this one day...


I'm sure I made that bed that morning.  Oh well....he does good work!

CptSydor has dragged me out for some wintery CX rides.




Giant also rides though the winter, I have dragged him out a couple of times.  The BicycleWorks gang all have fatbikes to make winter riding a little easier...




There were a couple of days where the snow got a little deep...




But nothing like Buffalo (just an hours drive from here!) got...




Really if you dress properly, it's all good!!


Don't forget your pets....




This was on our deck this week....


Anyways...back to MTB....

Some of the local trails are close due to bow hunting season....I made the mistake of going to check them out in my buddy's airplane...



Apparently bowhunters do not appreciate noise...

What else have I learned this month??



You think this confused me???  Well I saw this while out on a local ride....



Someone had been drinking....maybe it was me.




Well, I am really getting woefully off track here...

Perhaps I need a coach??

Actually, after my disappointing showing during this last race season, I need to focus and work to improve, not just maintain, over the winter.  There are so many competitors I need to keep up with...the Rock & Road Race team; some of the Lapdogs; JeffS; serious; dskunk; Oggie....and all the others that continuously kicked my arse this year.

Well, it is snowing out....guess it's time to get out for a winter ride!!

Will Fig have his kid before my next post???

Stay posted!!

And Happy Grey Cup Weekend!!!



Wednesday 29 October 2014

A Little Look Back....and a Giant of a Tale

So another racing season is over...which means I have spent the last few weeks being lazy and getting fat.



Yeah just like that.  So time for that to end....and back to training  for next year if I want to compete...perhaps I need a coach.  I was a little disappointed in my performance this year...it was OK but not much better than the year before...and I want to get better...not maintain...perhaps I need a coach...

For example, would have liked to have done better than I did at the Crank The Shield.  Especially considering that the rumour is that this was the last year for the Crank...hopefully it will be back.  It's a great, tough race; an awesome experience; and although not cheap, it is value for the money.

Besides, I want one of these...




Trouble was, this year this guy took all the medals.




Anyways, one thing I did do different this year.  At the urging of Unglued, I solo'd the Fall 8 hour race on a rigid single speed (that I borrowed from misconceptionz).  I have wanted to try single speed anyways so it was a great opportunity.  And although I got my arse handed to me by these guys...


This guy is serious on his bike!!



And this guy (dskunk as he prefers to be called).  I'm not so ashamed he kicked my arse....he kicked arse in the Tour Divide this year...then came back for a little ride like the 8 hour for more podium time...




Anyways I liked the single speed so much I told Lois I should get one.  She said no.
I told her it would make me a better rider.  She said no.
I told her it would help keep the mileage down on the Epic.  She said no.
I told her it would make me almost as sneaky powerful as this little guy...







She said, "Awwwww....but no...."
So I compromised and got this...





Guess I'm not so good at compromise...

Of course I reminded Lois of this time....




We have two cats.  No worries....we are still as happy as all these cuties...












Someone once asked me why I don't post more pics of myself.  If you know me, that is easy...I ain't that picturesque.  Besides...you don't need a ton of pics to be noticeable.  This guy isn't in any pics, but everybody knows who he is!!  

ApexTed



Besides most pics people enjoy of me involve something like this...






Anyways...time to switch gears a bit (notice the single speed reference?).

Recently Giant calls me and says 'Let's go ride'.  I say, OK....but I have this shiny new single speed so let's go ride Christie cuz it is single speed friendly for an inaugural ride.  However, we don't know the Christie trail system that well so we invite NewfieSteve because he has this easy guide...




OK, not really, it's just an old joke I never get tired of using (thank you Benny Hill).  Anyways the three of us went out for a ride (without the guide).

Although the temps are dropping, the fall scenery makes it a great time to ride!!  Giant got this great pic...



And the leaves can make the trails a bit disguised...





And a couple of other large fall animals...







Meanwhile back in Saskatchewan...



Anyways...I'm getting a bit off track...

So we get back from our ride...Giant is putting his bike back on his rack, when he mentions, "I think we have a problem here..."  (Insert his cool Serbian accent here...why cool?  It kind of makes him sound like a hitman from a B action movie...)

So...NewfieSteve and I think he means he broke his bike, or his rack...or something like that.  But no...while putting his bike on the rack he dropped his car key.  Down the storm drain....on the street.

Oh great. We suggest he call Mrs. Giant to bring the spare key.  "We don't have a spare...that was the only key."  (Really??  Who only has one car key??  Giant does...).

So, we reef back the lid on the drain (you know those things weigh like 300lbs!!)...so see a very deep hole...with water and 'sludge' at the bottom...but through the water mixture we could just make the outline of the key.

We tried to fish it out with a large stick...no go.  So I ran to my garage...grabbed my ladder...and Giant pulled off his shoes and socks, rolled up his pant legs, and climbed down to retrieve the key...






While he is down there he says, "Wow...this mud is deep...".

Hmmmm...I reply, "Ummm....yeah...I'm pretty sure that's not mud".

NewfieSteve says, "No shit."



I'm not sure Giant caught the reference (I think he is still working on fully grasping the English language....especially Newfie English).  Anyways, he came out of the hole smiling, with key in hand...and a new cologne...sort of...




In the end???....all was right in the world.

Anyways...this post has gone on long enough...more questions to answer for next post.
What will I do to get in better shape, and/or faster for next year?
Will JeffS and his family leave some medals for the rest of us next year?
Will there be more fall riding?  (of course)
Is Fig still out there somewhere or has impending fatherhood caused him to hermitize?
Will Giant get another car key?

Stay posted!