The 11th Hour at 10 O' clock

Gotcha! The 52nd post that is. For some reason unbeknown to me (or anyone), I set myself little goals that I have to achieve - one of which was to get 52 posts on the blog this year - and this is the 52nd (a good two hours before the year is out - woo hoo, how we party on a New Year's Eve). If it wasn't for my curious obsession with meeting targets, I most certainly wouldn't be writing a blog right now - I would in fact be tucked up in bed, sound asleep, safe in the knowledge that although it's a New Year tomorrow, bugger all will be different and the calendar will also change every day from now until the end of time (so what's all the fuss about?). Brina and I went out for a New Year's Eve meal - yesterday... figuring it is always too busy and overpriced on New Year's Eve (and the days aren't that contrasting).
Today has seen a fun time out in the back country at Healy Creek on the split board with Brad (not on a split board - very wise!).

Here's a shot of Weible ski-ing out as the sun was setting. There was plenty of snow, and the trail back was narrow enough for some sharp turns in the trees (and a few close calls).

Not that I want to subject you to the horror of funny faced, oddly speaking Englishman in the cold, atop a mountain, here're a couple of videos from the top of Healy Pass - It was cloudy as sin and we couldn't see much, so you don't get the sense of the rather majestic mountains around us and you miss out on the notion that we have gained any major height up in the Rockies - and I'm sure it was the cold that made my face contort when I'm talking to look like I was holding in a bad un.

A quick flick back at one of September's posts shows Brina and I hiking up in the larches on Healy Pass (so that gives you and idea of what it's like up here).

After a good day out playing in the snow and a bite to eat and a drink at Brad and Julie's, it is most definitely now time for bed - I must be getting old if I can't even make it to 11pm on a New Year's (but I'll just be up earlier in 2009, to see how much everything has changed - maybe my bike will go even faster then!!!).

Happy New Year to you all,

say hello to midnight for me,

S&S.

Happy Festivus

Merry Christmas all... (a day late admittedly, but Brina and I both forgot yesterday morning that it was Christmas - seeing as though we'd impatiently opened our prezzies at Panorama four days earlier, and waking up in Golden on the 25th just didn't seem to have that 'Santa' factor).

Spending a few days at Panorama was great, and a really beautiful contrast to the summer (although we must both be getting old, as despite the wondrous winter scene of the Purcells and great boarding, we both seemed to have a preference for the summer time and warmth, rather than the brassic minus 20 kind of weather - I couldn't stop prattling on about nostalgic spots of the TransRockies "oh, this happened here", and "ah, that happened there", etc...) - although Brina got into the swing of things too - as the video attests...)

Thrashing around on the split board was good fun (the resort board got benched after a few runs of blunt edges and close to fractured wrists and ring piece). However, in my over exuberance of having a the split board up and running, I thought it would be a great idea to skin up to the top of Panorama the following evening (and by evening, I mean pitch black night time!). For some reason unbeknown to man (or wife), I don't always think things through clearly when I get an excitable idea going on. So, sticking on the skins outside a rowdy bar at the base of the slope at 8pm, I set off upslope. Once into the glades I couldn't see too much (the expected light from the snow wasn't the illuminating force that I had in fact expected - more like a vague glow to remind me that the ground was downwards). A couple of close calls with the night-time groomers (which I chased like a car maker after a handout, as they lit up the slopes like an atomic blast, but couldn't keep pace with for more than a minute), then I was at the summit, rather disorientated as to which runs I skinned up, in the pitch black, head torch at home, and then it dawned on me... "shit!, I have to put the split board together". Having struggled to fit the board together properly in the condo a couple of hours earlier, the feat of constructing it in the blind darkness, in the minus holycrap it's cold temps, wearing very un-nimble duck taped mittens, was certainly a challenge (and only then did I begin to think through the associated pitfalls of skinning up at night-time). Somehow it was all very simple!?! but then the final realization of stupidity hit me - going down hill is way faster than going up - and the ability to see no more than one metre ahead isn't worth much when the board is pointing downhill and you start cruising along - so here's a snippet of perhaps the most pointless video ever... (but you get the picture - or don't)..

An early rise the next morning saw for a repeat of the route so that I could get to the top for sunrise and sneak the first runs down before the lifts opened, and this is half way up showing what I should have seen;

A few days over at Golden to ski Kicking Horse was the next stop on the trip, and it was a rather pleasant surprise to see how good the mts are around Golden - (although it was still bloody freezing).

Brina was all tucked up in her downy for the day...

A nice drive home on silent roads through the mts was had on Christmas morning (stopping at Lake Louise for breakfast - which was set at over $60 in the hotel, so a second cup muffin and coffee was opted for instead!). Just plotting a few more days out for the coming week, and am about to relieve the itch of not having cycled for five days with a good few hours on the windtrainer (hope there's a good movie on tv). Brina is about to go and get involved with the Boxing day riots in the sales at Market Mall (she's brave! but has got the feisty 'I want a bargain' attitude going on, so I pity for any unsuspecting shopper who crosses her path at the sales rack).

Hope you all feasted well on big bird,

May your festivus poles be shiny aluminium,

S&S.

Five Oh, and Unhappy Endings

Just thought that a brief 'how do' was in order before we cruise off to Panorama and Kicking Horse for the next few days. Work ended today with fireworks and the usual craziness (I was ducking and diving all the way to the carpark, but seem to have escaped unscathed and now I hope the next 2 weeks will get me fully charged to attack the nonsense head-on in 2009). Another thing to get me fully charged was a massage that Brina had booked me in for - I was hoping to get my legs pummelled after a couple of very hard weeks training and meeting up with the Speed Theory team. Having informed the masseuse that my quads, hamstrings and hip flexors needed some good work, she asked do I want a relaxation massage? I repeated my concern about her need to have a go on my legs, she agreed, then proceeded to rub me down with mint oil, avoid my legs and give the whole 'relaxation massage' thingy! Holy Smokes, I was expecting a Happy Ending at one stage, but alas, it was not to be - perhaps the Pink Pussycat Massage Parlour is more my style... I went in with sore legs, and have come out with nothing but a buggered up neck - so much for relaxation and recovery, I can't turn my head more than 15 degrees either way and feel like I've got whiplash from serious overuse of a pneumatic drill.
The weather continues to bomb down on Alberta, the temps haven't been out of the minus 20s during the daytime all week (god only knows how bloody cold the night-time windchill is, and so long as our heating system continues to work, I have absolutely no interest in finding out). It hasn't really stopped snowing either, so Panorama and Kicking Horse seem to be in great condition and all is good for the next few days. We've got four nights in Pano, and two in Golden, so get back after Christmas (so.. Merry Christmas).
We should have a bucket load of piccies to post before the New Year (and I'm gunning for that obsessed 52 posts per year - we're on 50 right now), so we should make it!
Hope Santa brings everything you asked for,
May your relaxations not be a pain in the neck,
S&S.

GO!!!!!!

So it's all go now! Winter's on!! Hurray!!!

But... the only snag with the big dumps we've had this past week, is the accompanying temperature, which has plummeted to proper brass monkey level - ie: you'll really freeze your brass monkies off (monkey for some of us) if you spend more than 0.5 seconds outside dashing to your car (it's a full on expedition for us to go and check the mail at the moment). -it's minus 30 as I write this late Sunday morning.

Winter had been holding back for November, and even allowed me to get one last kick of the mountain bike in K - Country (however, the mountain bike has clearly had enough for this season, as on this final ride it decided to spit its dummy out and give up.....)

Fortunately, the rear mech decided to wrap itself around my cassette whilst breaking the chain at the top of the first greulling climb, so that I could freewheel most of the way back to the parking lot. That'll teach me to be greedy and try to get one last hit of the trails. Since then however, the snow has really flown and so there's nowt by skis and boards to be hitting the trails now! So I'm resigned to the wind trainer and rollers for a good while (but having hooked up with the Speed Theory bike Team, am getting hellish workouts with them on Mondays and Wednesdays - which is awesome! and should have me in good shape for the next race season - when I'll be hitting the asphalt to race as well as the dirt).

This Saturday was going to see a first stint into the backcountry up on the Icefields Parkway - although neither I or Brad fancied running the gauntlet of the natural avalanches which are falling as easy as French speedos on a nudist beach, or the thought of minus 45 degree windchill - as much as I love the boarding, I also value keeping my extremities too!
Even shovelling the driveway created an agonizing surge of the good old screaming barfies;

As usual the photo doesn't quite sell the story as it should, but I wasn't going to hang around getting a good photo of the bloody driveway and the snow - a 2 second dash to the edge of the garage was all I could muster before I began to weep and had to run back inside.

Mrs. W. is nearly set for the holidays - they break up on Wednesday, so she's been getting all the kids into the festive season and when your lesson plan looks like this...

then no wonder Brina's having a good time teaching this year - although I think maybe she had to eat all the gingerbread men in order to grade them!!!

We're off to Panorama next weekend for a few days ski-ing/boarding, and with all this new snow it should be great! I missed posting something last week, but my OCD compels me to meet the 52 posts a year mark, so no doubt I'll have some more inane prattling on posted up here pretty soon - as time is running short for 2008.

Crank up the heat,

S&S.

Harrah for O'Hara

Not enough snow in Cochrane to make it feel like winter, so we went further afield from Alberta's sunny skies to BC (realize now that BC=Bloody Cloudy). Headed up the road to Lake O'Hara and was all very nice!

Getting the first shot of winter fixes me like a triple espresso with a hint of Jim Beam! We're all fired up for the rest of the season now, and were pleased to see the snow falling as we left the Lake O'Hara parking lot (always amazes me how much more snow they get just over the divide than here). Plenty of folk were kicking around Lake Louise as we passed through on the way home, as it's the start of the World Cup DownHill Ski-ing season there this weekend.

I took the video because I knew I would be in the "can't be arsed to write much" mode this evening - and lo and behold I was correct! So, that's that then!

Hoping you're all getting a good shot of something,

S&S.

Spwinter

Well waddya know? more weeks have idled by without me having made much of an impact upon the world in general (although this is very much not the case with the microcosm that is work, but I'm not really meant to discuss such matters, so that's the end of that conversation).
So..
a week or so back we did have a little bit of this...

A pre-going for a coffee on the weekend shovelling of the driveway had made me get rather excited and enthusiastic about snowboards, deep powder and avalanche dodging.
The resident Eskimo of Cochrane got all geared up....

and with the gearing up for a harsh winter, came balmy temperatures, a big melting of the snow, dry trails and a strange sense of "is this summer again?".

Even up on Nihani Ridge last weekend, the dusty trails were making it tempting to get out the mtb instead of the board, and looking west from the ridge, it doesn't really look like winter has even thought about visiting yet....

So apart from becoming all confused and distraught at the indecisive seasons, the mundanity of suburbia's 9-5 Monday to Friday thing continues to wear us down - but vigorous sessions on the rowers and falling off the rollers keep insanity at bay!!! Mrs. W is ticking off the days until Christmas, and then we're off to Panorama and Kicking Horse for a bit of resort ski-ing (just hope the bloody snow has come back by then, otherwise it'll be tennis and croquet on the green slopes). Brina was all keen to get the Christmas tree up this weekend, but it has officially been banned until Dec 1st - although the sneaky lass put up a load of Christmas decorations in the house when I nipped out for a ride at the weekend - so it reinforces my fear that my say in official bans in this house mean absolutely bugger all - so I've succumb to the early Christmas cheer (if you can't beat 'em, join 'em).

This is the time of year when the week long half term holiday is sorely missed, but we're trying to compensate for that by getting out into the hills every weekend. Looks like we will actually get the XC skis waxed up and running this Saturday out on the divide trail from Lake Louise to Field in BC, so that shoul be good fun!

Hoping that all the good stuff isn't melting away,

Get ready to untangle your baubles,

S&S.

Here we go!!!!!

So the much anticipated snowfall and ski resort openings are now fully underway (well, underway - it's hardly fully underway when only 3 out of 136 runs at Lake Louise are open). We had Tuesday off work (Remembrance Day Holiday), and headed out to Delta Lodge for a wee hike and lunch, to see if winter had touched K Country yet...

And it had - just... . We had planned to have more of a relaxing wander around K Country, the major intention was of the day was based primarily around sitting and drinking coffee, although all didn't go according quite to plan when we (I) thought it would be a good idea to take an infamous 'short cut' through the undergrowth to get back to Delta Lodge. Neglecting to observe the fact that we were on the wrong side of the river (well, just ignoring the fact due to my disdain for hiking back along the route you came), we ended up following deer and Elk through the trees on an extra 2 hour detour (well, we certainly earned ourselves the coffee and cake anyway).

The weekend saw a bit of Saturday sauntering the streets of Banff (the idea to go for a ride in the hills was thwarted by icy winds and flurries - I'm just getting soft in my old age), followed by Brina writing reports for school, and me having to read a shed load of teachers' reports to make sure they've not made any mistakes (Like I know!!!).

Sunday was a delight as we got a good couple of inches (at least) of snow, although it brings back the fun of sweeping down the car and scraping the windshield in order just to go for morning Lattes...

Other than that, work is same, although Brina seems to be enjoying the lovey dovies at Morley which is nice. The rollers have been getting a good spinning, and I have somehow become far too obsessed for an Englishman in the NFL (Throw a bit of razzmatazz, cheerleaders and pyrotechnics into a sport and it beats a dross Premiership game from rainy Hull anyday).

Fingers crossed that we'll be out ski-ing next weekend! We have finally booked our Christmas ski trip (knocked Whistler on the head as we needed a second mortgage to visit for just an afternoon, nearly booked Whitefish, but then plucked a 4 day pass for Panorama and Kicking Horse for a meagre $134 - so that was decision made, Pano and Golden here we come!).

Hopefully your snowfalls are light and fluffy,

Happy scraping,

S&S.

Funny Sky, shingles and where's the snow?

Hi all...When I'm posting the front cover of the local rag, rather than some funky shots from our very own Kodak, you know full well that we've been up to bugger all - again! I had insisted that the rather humorous dickhead learning to ride rollers video was coming up - but even my self depricating sarcasm doesn't go that deep (just have a look on youtube for knobs on rollers and you'll get the picture). However, on that note I have now notched up being able to ride the rollers for an hour without dabbing the wall or friction burning my face along the laminate floor.
As you can see from the front page of the Eagle, we had a really manic Chinook sky the other night - this is what it looked like out front of the house (minus the combine harvester), but things have gone back chilly again, we actually had some snow at last, and the mountains are slowly getting into shape for skis and boards!
The only bugger is that I have to go clambering around on the roof tomorrow to put some shingles back up there which have been whipped off by the aforementioned Chinooks - I suppose we should expect to consistently loose parts of our roof, being the edge of town wind stopper buffer houses for the rest of Cochrane. Bit of a pain that the roofing project is going to cut into my century ride time for the weekend - but a roof that works is most probably more important than a long ride (or so I've been told anyway; personally, I'm not so sure).
The rest of the week has been filled with busy crap and snoozing on the couch (when not skidding off rollers anyway). With the clocks going back last weekend, the evenings are still catching me out as I keep thinking it's about 9.30pm when in fact it's just gone 5pm - evening coffees are a must! The historical Obama trick was all rather exciting - who'd have guessed that those Yanks can make such impressive world changing decisions!?!?!?!
I'm really hoping that I've got something a little more exciting to prattle on about next week ('cos it'll mean I've gotten my arse off the couch and been out and about this weekend).
We're finalizing our next holiday plans (by "we", I mean "Brina") she is way better at doing all the booking and stuff (because she actually does it, rather than just turning up at a place and hoping for the best). We're looking at Whistler for Christmas (with a possible hint of Revelstoke).
May all your clocks go forward not back,
S&S.

Life in the Nuclear Bunker

So that's what two weeks feel like then!!! Where the bloody hell has time gone since the last posting? I only ask becase, absolutely bugger all has happened over the duration of the past fortnight. Well not absoutely nothing, we have sealed some of our windows in the house with what can only be described as extra thick cellophane (plastic wrap stuff) so that we don't get those cold winter drafts coming in (and so that we can survive the nuclear fallout from the next Neuc' sent over from Iran -seriously, the house is vacuum sealed so much that I'm scared I'm going to suffocate in my sleep!).

It's also that Happy Halloween time again (and I still don't get it but..), so Brina has gone all cosmic fairy like, in preparation for entertaining the kindergarten kidlings tomorrow! Apparently Halloween is way bigger than Christmas up on the reserve so it's a big deal to all! Brina tried to play it cool with her colleagues when they were asking her what she was dressing up as tomorrow; "oh I don't know" she lied, "I'll just have a rummage around tonight and see what I can throw together". The fibbing little blighter, she went out two weeks ago to buy her wings and has been harping on about her "costume" ever since! It all seems such good fun, but I just can't buy into it. Even at our school it's pretty intense with the need to dress up, the staff are all turning up as Zombies (all staff minus the lanky Brit that is, who will turn up as usual as a lanky unextraordinary Brit). I upset a few folks when it was asked by all staff in a meeting that the High School students should dress up the day before Halloween because they're all out of school at a career fair on Halloween day and will therefore miss the "fun". Rarely do I make rapid decisions in meetings but this request was immediately greeted by comments from me such as; "No Chance", "Ridiculous", "Obsurd", "Over the Top", "Suck it Up", and "Have I made myself clear that I can't abide all this dressing up and people enjoying themselves, so it aint gonna happen" - and it isn't!

Baring the oxygen deprived house (which is clearly taking its toll on the wife's dress sense) there aint much else going on. Been out on the bike a bit (but the nights close in with the clocks going back this weekend), had a few nights out running (but it's not biking and therefore I shall say no more), but I have procured a set of rollers for the bike. Those of you who know not what they are then you will be updated perhaps in the next post. Those of you in the "roller" know, then perhaps in the next post you will see a clip of me skidding across the basement floor on my face, under my bike, having spilled of the horrific machine! Seriously, they're the most terrifying things to put your bike on - I'm scared!

May you all keep well ventilated windows,

Trick or Treat,

S&S.

A Room WIth A View (and the return of Kodak)

Having located the camera I am happy to put more pictures and less prose in this post...

So as you can see, our view from the bedroom window in the Banff Springs wasn't all that bad!!!! I had to make sure that I got the edge of the window frame in the photograph because otherwise the scene just looked like a bloody postcard and really didn't look like a genuine view from a hotel bedroom window.

We were right up on the very rooftop floor, and I managed to capture Brina waking up as I had an early morning stroll.... (I'd like to say she was cheerfully waving, but in fact she's banging her fist shouting "where the bloody hell is that damn coffee you were meant to be bringing up to me?"). Needless to say, we had a delightfully relaxing Thanksgiving weekend at the Banff Springs - it was rather unique and surprisingly pleasurable to soak up Banff as a bona fide tourist; not wanting to race up to the summit of every mountain or go and disappear into the back country for hours on end. Having had a few somewhat hectic weeks, just kicking back, enjoying the town, scenery, hotel and coffee was just the ticket, with a couple of stints in the pool (well I can't sit completely still) and hot tub evenings, this touristy thing is all that it's cracked up to be!

As for the previous week's excursion up Cory Pass....

We shot up the steep side of the loop from Banff,and then skidded down into the screes of Gargoyle Valley...

And I'm no expert, but I'm guessing these endless freaky rock formations are something to do with the monicker "Gargoyle Valley".
The impressive Mount Louis towers over the far end of the valley (as usual, photographs without any scale in them don't really do justice to the scene - but it was a pretty big chunk of rock!).
border=0>And it was back into Banff in time for tea. Through the yellowing trees... In the past 2 weeks most of the yellows have now ended as the trees have decidedly had enough of the fall and are sleeping for winter - also the snow is building up (slowly but surely) on the higher trails (yippee!), although with it is coming the biting cold (not so yippee).
Anyhow, that's enough of that for now. I hope all is well in all your worlds...
That's as succinct as I get,
S&S.

Where's the Kodak?

Hi All....
as the title of the post suggests, I am photographically vacant due to the misplacing of our camera! We had headed up to Cory Pass last weekend and enjoyed one of the last summer ish days in the Rockies this year. I'm sure the photos wouldn't have been that orignial though, just scroll down through the endless posts where I harp on about Brina and I going out for a hike and look for the ubiquitous shot of me and the misses stood atop some very nice viewpoint - and you'll get the picture of what Cory Pass was like! It was rather impressive though as we desecended down the other side of the Pass into Gargoyle Valley, which, as the name suggests, had many spectacularly gruesome rock fomations, all sat around the rather impressive chunk of rock that is Mount Louis. Maybe if I find my camera within the next hour or so then I'll put some imagery up here!
We're heading off to the Banff Springs today for two nights of 'get away from it' relaxation. We had giddy notions of doing a couple of epic hikes in the mountains, but I've come to the conclusion that that's the kind of thing we do most weekends, so why not just stop, hang out and relax in Banff - so that's the plan - a whole lot of nothing but enjoying the luxuries of the long ThanksGiving weekend! (Saying that I'll be taking the running gear and hiking stuff for when I realize at 3pm today that I can't sit still very well - I'm a little worried about not taking the bike(s), but Brina has convinced me that they'll be o.k. left alone in the garage for a couple of days (I'm not so sure).
Although I'm excited about the relaxing part of the weekend, I actually have so much work to do that it isn't funny (and this week has been pretty much like that - hence the lack of blogging in the week) - it's actually 6.30am on Saturday now as I got up early to get some work out of the way - but as ever procrastinated enough to find something else to do (this) before actually committing to get my real work out!
Brina is thoroughly enjoying teaching the little kidlings out on the reservation, I'm sure you can all imagine her lovey dovey side caring for the lil' 'uns, getting cuddles from the class and being the teacher that's almost like a "fun mum' for them.
As sad is it may seem, we've missed the fact that there's a general election going on in Canada (not that I'm allowed to vote anyway, although Brina was keen not to vote for Celine Dion (in fact the Liberal Guy is Stephan Dion, but what's in a name anyway!)). We have noticed that there's some kind of election going on south of the border and the entertainment value them there Yanks put out with their "how to pick a President" game is well worth the air time on t.v. It's like a fully fledged comedy soap opera with the occassional terrifying twist - and just compelling viewing (obviously I can't vote there either, but it's way more fun to follow, and will probably have more direct consequences on the future than if Celine becomes the Prime Minister here or not).
Anyhow, I'm off to get that not so early morning anymore work done before we go away, although I may just procrastinate a bit more and try and find the camera first.
I'm hoping that there'll be photos next time,
Happy ThanksGiving,
S&S.

Reconnoiter for the Larches

The idea of a reconnaisance for a good long hike this weekend was more forced than chosen. Opting to get up early on Saturday and head into the mountains (and cloud) we were dead set on having a hike up to Borgeau Lake. But, not wanting to be dictated to by bear in the area signs, we were dictated to by a bear in the area sign that wouldn't necessarily put us off the trail, had it not stated "Aggressive Grizzly Bear Active on this Trail". Alas, we opted to hike up over Healy Pass instead - not too far away, but far enough from aggressive Grizzlies (the cuddly ones who merely want to play are just fine!). Arriving 10 minutes later at the trail head to Healy Pass, Brina decided to announce that she had left her hiking shoes on the step in the garage. So there was the reconnaisance for our hike. Saturday spent driving into the mountains to check that the car park was open and that all bears were passive. The rest of Saturday wasn't put to waste though as we idled around Banff and even managed to get a late evening mtb ride in K Country in.

Sunday was the new Saturday - a bit of deja vous - up early, quick coffee (from the glorious new machine), packed car, checked we had boots, checked we had boots again then off - and much to our joy it was blue sky sunny today, something Brina continually kept making me aware of, trying to make out that she had intentionally left her boots behind the previous day knowing full well of the meterological delights of today.

We were in fact searching for larches at this time of year - a tremendous pine that turns incredible yellow. There's a famous larch hike up to sentinal pass we did a couple of years ago (and which has a blogged posting if I remember correctly), but it is so busy this time of year, we were after a bit of solitude. And solitude we got for the first 2 hours of our hike - not a soul to be seen, which had something to do with the fact that we were bush bashing our way along the wrong side of a creek on what was very clearly not a path for the first hour of the hike!

I did get to find me one of those little yelow larches....

And Brina found a whole valley full....Atop the Pass it seemed appropriate to command a vintage hiking pose....

And Brina wouldn't let me get away without the old chestnut photo at the top of this post.

The summer is making a spirited fightback this September - making for early bunks off work (abusing my position already!) for plenty of evening mtb riding, and this coming week is forecast to be in the 20s during the day so it should be more of the same (and I was hollering about winter 2 weeks ago!!!!).

I trust that you all remember your footwear, wherever you venture,

Enjoying the fall colours,

S&S.

Chasing of the tail

Hi all...
I'll be aiming to maintain an air of professional decorum in this post and refrain from chastising, mocking and ridiculing educational bureaucracy and educational employees with whom I have frequent contact (far too frequent for my liking). I shall comment no more, other than; "there really are some stupid buggers who defy all sense and reason". O.K. that's work done with... now for the other stuff, of which there is scant news.

A couple of evening rides were had last week - and as the shot of the bike shows, the single track is quiet on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night, the sun had been shining all week (balmy 20 degree heat) and with the fall colours are making for rather amazing viewing. I still have to pinch myself that an after work ride can entail dead quiet trails, views of snow capped peaks and endless expanses of mountains turning shades of brilliant yellow and red. I had to stop for a couple of 'awe and wonder' views, trying to remember how far I could see in the Peak District without sight or sound of human touch (now don't get me wrong here, I'm not knocking the Peaks, and never will - I sorely miss the lines of drystone walls and the cozy warmth of magnificent country drinking establishments), but this season here is truly amazing and I just can't get enough of it. The weekend was followed with a ride on Saturday with the Weible on his Cannondale (who is incidentally threatening to move into the world of Cervelo on the road - something Brina needs to hear more of before I put in my proposal for another road machine).

Sunday was the end of the sun, the rains came down and therefore the house chores were caught up with - although we did go for a hike up Jumping Pound Creek with the macabre intentions of sighting the black bear that mauled somebody up there just out of Cochrane the other day. Brina had today off school (Indian day - no Pow Wows to attend though) - so she bravely shifted the new car through Calgary and much to her delight came home in one piece. If only I could say the same of the other car (ie: My Car) - with brake lights sticking on and tyres to replace, I left the garage today a good $600 lighter, and a step further back from my rowing machine (and aforementioned road/cross bike).

We aim to be out and about next weekend - still trying to make good on the trails before the snows hit. We have a couple of nights booked in the Banff Springs in October too, so that's something to look forward to! Got a cheap off season, Alberta residents deal!

There's the hint of having to start my Masters on the near horizon, but I'm fending it off for as long as I can still ride the bike in the evenings and weekends.

I hope your repairs are less expensive than mine,

S&S.

Work More, Buy More

So it would seem that the ever so slightly increased affluence in the Williams household, due to the stepping up the proverbial ladder, is swiftly balanced out by the purchasing of further shiney new equipment - some of which is not so much essential, but more a gregarious indulgence in all things new. If you hadn't been made aware yet, we sucked it up and purchased the new car (above) - like a really new car with only 3km on the clock. Needless to say, this has become "Brina's Car", but I was allowed to drive it today to get us out to a nice hike in K Country!We hiked up to Rawson lake, up off the Upper Kananaskis Lake trail, and Brina just couldn't resist being all artsy fartsy with relections in water etc...

And I got a little carried away with the first snow of the season... although there was hardly enough to fashion a rock hard ice pellet like mini snowball to pelt at the camera woman;

Fortunately, I made up for any Tomfoolery with agreeing to pose for the time honoured lovey dovey pose in front on some pretty scene....

Although, the old 'rest the self timed camera on the rucksack' trick, fell foul as it slipped at the critical shutter moment, and I'm sure you'll agree that in the retaken picture (below) the lake looks much prettier...

So a very nice hike was had early on today. The weather has gone bonkers - it is suggested that temps will be in the 20s all week!!! I just hope that I can avoid another 65 hour working week and get some biking in during the evenings.

The other, aforementioned shiney addition to the home is in fact a rather spiffy espresso machine. Having waited eons for the damn thing to go on sale, we picked up the last one in the store this morning and have been overloading on 'practice lattes' all afternoon. It was with great concern however, that when reading the instructions, I realized that you are not to make a scalding hot espresso over the head of your baby....

We're really fortunate that the manufacurers placed this cautionary illustration in the instruction manual, as I had been considering scouring the local suburban streets for an infant whose head looked appealing enough to slurp a frothy cappucino from.

Other than that, I'm sure you can guess that I'd say work is busy, so I'll refrain from thinking about employment commitments until Monday morning. I'm still longing a bit to be out training for a big race with the big bro, and the bike season officially ended today with the running of the Bow 80 - my legs feel lost and mistreated at the moment as they pedal maybe 3 times a week, but are mostly used to spin my chair around at work - something they'll soon be sick of and will be calling out for the screaming burn of snowboarding quads!!!

We're also booked in to the Banff Springs for Thanksgiving (some kind of Alberta resident's special - lucky I got my resiency card then!!!), and we're slowly planning out our ski resort trips for the winter (for the next 10 months!).

Had a nice ride out on some new single track in Bragg Creek yesterday, Brina's all happy and smiley - not sure if it is due to work being nice or due to the obscene quantity of coffee that has been consumed!

Hope you're all keeping the frugality at bay...

spend, spend, spend, (and enjoy the sun)

S&S.

p.s... and here's another rather soothing reflection; on Brina's request..

Crazy New and Awesome Old

Hi all...so this week has been 'new' to say the least. As much as I've been apprehensively excited about the new job, it sure has been full of surprises and non-stop 'action'. It certainly isn't boring, it certainly consumes every single second of my time, and it certainly is a million miles from teaching Social Studies to Junior High kids! Needless to say it wouldn't be deemed too correct to disclose all of the ins and outs of the working week - but just imagine the most bizarre things that could possibly happen in a school, then multiply that by a crazy factor of 10, and you're close to what I've been dealing with! It hasn't just been a steep learning curve, it has been a vertical take off, blast my ass into orbit style of learning trajectory. So, as I skirt past my working issues, Brina's having as equally an interesting time coping with the Kindergarten kids in Morley - some rather defiant little ankle biters who, having never been exposed to discipline and a school environment, are more than willing to express their disdain towards Brina's meticulous teaching plans - with one kid only being able to say one word "swing", communication is limited, but he knows where to go at playtime - and Brina knows where to find him at the end of recess where she must, by all accounts, manhandle the little bugger back into the classroom as he kicks and screams for his 'swing', clearly confounded by the notion that he is then meant to sit in a chair, grasp a crayon and colour in his name - something which he has yet failed to grasp - although he is apparently becoming very adept at throwing the crayons at the other students (and the teacher, clearly showing his low IQ, as, trust me here, you don't want to throw anything at Brina since she tends to find something much bigger and heavier or sharper to throw back - and I have the scars to verify this). Apart from that, there's just the kid who got lost on the loo for an hour, and all is fun and games in Kindergarten!!!
So... the training has been slow since the TR ended, but a few little rides out have cleansed the soul and made the week more bearable. However, the big dump of snow in the mountains this week caused me to worry that winter was nearly here - and the scraping of ice off the car hasn't been warmly welcomed either. But, as mentioned in previous posts, TR piccies will slowly infiltrate the blog, so here's what home was for a week on the race...

It slept 4 of us really comfortably, and was the ideal spot for an afternoon nap following the long stage days - it looks like I'm also praying - probably muttering something along the lines of "oh Christ just make my legs work and let me just hold on in tomorrow's stage!" (Mark did his afternoon naps kneeling on a straw mat facing Mecca).

Not that I want to subject you to big brother's nipples for a second posting in a row (and the farmer's tan), but this clearly is the way to travel. Here we're cruising down the TransCanada into Canmore at 120kph - it sure beats being crammed into the back of the Ford Focus!

We also needed the obligatory shots of Team Icebreaker racing in; you guessed it; Icebreaker. Not that I'm biased but I just love the gear!
And finally (for today), when two foreigners end up beating some pretty hardcore sponsored North American riders on the first stage (mentioning no names..... Trek and SoBe Cannondale), no matter how knackering it was, or how snowy it may have been at the top of the 2000m climb, you can't help but be a couple of cheery buggers when greeted at the finish line with Protein smoothies and sushi!!!

I hope your weeks have been calm and that you've actually had time to take a breath (I think I stopped breathing on Wednesday - no time for such luxuries).
Bask in the good memories when things go dour,
still planning whatever's next....

S&S.

Tis all a blur

Hi all... thought I'd better post something this week since it has been a while, so here's Friday evenings lot.....

It's almost two weeks since the TransRockies ended and I'm still basking in the adreneline fuelled glow of our race, and having only been on the bike once since the race am itching to get out for a spin sometime this weekend - whilst trying to avoid work and weather issues. It's the last long weekend of the summer and the forecast is for cold weather and pissing down rain! Nice!

No matter how stressful and busy going back to work has been this week, it matters not as I just cast my mind back to this...

That was the start of day 4 (a 109km stage) in Nipika, a remote little cluster of chalets in the midsts of the Rockies - the comedic dog was planted near the startline in a vain attempt to unsaddle the classy Italians who were winning everything.

When I have an early start at work this week, I'm missing the very early TR starts...

And after a hard in front of the computer sat at my desk all day, I simply recall that a hard day to big brother Willy is nothing more than a Tina Turner impression;

Whereas to me, the same hard day on the bike warranted a "what the chuff you lookin' at, do you want some?" crazed yet exhausted kind of stare;

The whole TransRockies experience continues to amaze me the more time I have to digest what we actually did and think of how hard we worked in order to get there - certainly one of those life experiences that'll burn brightly for a long time (well.. certainly until the next time!!!!! although Mrs. and Mrs. Williams will need a bit of convincing). We certainly have a bit of payback time owed to Brina and Lucy, as without thier efforts we'd never have been able to have the race we did.... Lucy was putting brother Willy to use with immediate effect..

We had a great road trip after the race, cruising down into Montana and Idaho, and back up through some amazing places in BC - it was quite refeshing to have a week completely off training and do nothing but wander through quaint mountain towns and stop at as many decent coffee shops as possible for serious caffeine loading each day - was a tough trip!
It was sad to see Mark and Lucy depart on Wednesday, but a great time was had by all. It was fun to have the Kiwis come and see where we worked, as Mark wandered into my 'office' I was struggling writing up timetables - and we noted that at his work some of his struggles revolve around which bikes to order for the shop - Now, they're both jobs we work hard at, but I know which I'd rather being doing (perusing the latest Giant catalogue if you hadn't figured).

We'll have more tales of road trips and TR as the piccies roll in. Other than that, we look like cancelling a camping trip this weekend as the weather is turning crappy - oh and we bought a brand new car - but I'll take a piccie and recant that news next time.

Yes, work is busy. But a final note - or perhaps word of caution... please don't try to pierce your nipple with an XTR breaklever, it just doesn't work and really buggers up the breaklever too!

That's all for now, it's time for a snooze.

Hope you're all planning for the next big adventure (I am)

Keep your nipples safe,

S&S.

p.s: keep your fingers crossed on Tuesday - it's when the kids are back and put my timetabling skills to the test (I've a sneaky feeling the wheels might be about to fall off!).

TransRockies Wow

WOW indeed.... the past week was one of the most phenomenal weeks I've ever experienced - the TransRockies was just simply awesome! Seven days of full on hammering it on incredible trails in the remote areas of the Rockies with big bro is still a bit too much to completely appreciate. We'd be battling it out with some pretty hardcore riders each day, testing our fitness and technical abilities to the max - then roll into the evening's camp where the very hardworking Brina and Lucy would have driven the campervan to and would be ready and waiting with ensures, smoothies, protein bars and a hot meal - which we'd scoff down before servicing the bikes, taking a nap, eating more and then sleeping early ready for the next day! The level of competition at the race this year was intense, with the top 10 teams being made up primarily of professional riders - the winners were wolrd champion riders from Italy, Rocky Mountain bikes had 3 teams of pros (including the winner from the previous 3 years), Scott had a team, as did Trek and SoBe Cannondale had a couple of guys knocking around too. We were well chuffed to beat the Trek and Cannondale boys on a couple of stages and get ahead of them in the overall classification (but they came back strong at the end of the week and usurped us in the standings). Overall, Mark and I finished 12th, which we were just delighted with - all the hard work and tireless preparation for the race really did pay off (it's just a bummer now thinking that it's over, but exciting planning for "what next?").

The course began on a monster 2000m climb straight up Panorama ski hill - which we summited in about 7th place (it pays to be a couple of light weight skinny gits with nothing but legs). We got snowed on on the top and got caught by a couple of guys on the crazy steep rocky single track descent (which went on for hours).

The days were between 85 and 109km long of all out racing, and overall we climbed over 17,500 metres (the body is keen to rest this week). We were in 9th after the first day - and by day 3 we still held that spot! We saw a bear on the trail, had a few tumbles (mainly my crashes - no surprise there then, although I'm still suffering with a bruised hip), a mechanical lost us some time on day 6 when Mark's back break broke near the start of a 102km stage (you kind of need a back break when you're about to crest RaceHorse Pass and rip a 20km 70kph+ over shale and rock) - we fixed it at an aid station with a hammer one of the first aid crew had (nothing like twating the shit out of a shiney new XTR break lever to make you feel good).

We finished in Fernie and felt like we were riding down the Champs Elysees to rapturous applause, t.v. cameras and the entire high street was closed off for us to whizz of Fernie's epic single track right into the limelight of the cheering crowds - we came in 12th on the last day, so the crowds were still enthusiastic (they dwindled a bit by the time the 300th team rolled in 5 hours later).

No doubt I'll prattle on about the race in more detail in future posts, but I just thought I'd give you all a taster for now. Gotta dash as we're off camping....

Hoping you're all striving for the podium,

S,S,M&L.

Ready to Roll

Hi all... so the much anticipated TransRockies is just a couple of days away, so all of that harping on about the 'Big Race' I've been doing for the past year is upon us - yikes! Much excitment and a hint of sheer terror curses my veins 24/7 at present - just can't wait to get on the start line and pretend I'm as good as the Pro riders (until the gun goes).

Mark and Lucy arrived all on time on Friday - bike bag all present and correct this time around too (thank goodness!), and Brina landed in from the Soo literally 3 minutes after Mark and Lucy touched down from NZ. A couple of days out on the mountain bikes over the weekend got us all psyched up - a few laps of Suffer Springs in Bragg Ck in the sun, followed by an evening ride from Canmore down around Spray Lakes that caught us in a nasty storm where temperatures plummeted to about 3 degrees (not good for lycra clad skinny lads) and brought the onset of hypothermia by the end of the ride (Mark was so glad to have done his heat acclimatization training in front of the fire at home, in preparation for our summer. Sticking your head in the deep freeze for a couple of hours is the best way to get ready for Canadian summers!). Needless to say, the thawing out post ride process of mincing around Canmore in compression socks, blue crocks, down vest and a beanie made for interesting stares from the holiday makers in town.

We've figured that we'll be consuming more food than ever before in this race, so here's a sample of our daily race diet...

I think we have about 100,000 calroies on the table - should keep us up and pedaling for a day or two!!!! (and this is just what we'll be riding with - never mind the cupboard full of pasta and steak etc..).

We headed off to Panorama for the last couple of days - that's the place where the TransRockies begins. We wanted to check out some trails and get a feel for the place (and the place is bloody lovely by the way - a must stop see place on a ski trip for this winter). However, being the TransRockies, nobody knows the route until the day before the race - that is unless you are a jammy little bugger and happen across the man who actually designs and sets the course for the race whilst you're rummaging through his workplace searching for a map of the local. Alas, we managed to glean a good idea of where the first 5 days will be running (not that it's that useful since we couldn't ride it all) but we at least have an idea of where the first stage takes us - and it is quite simply like this "find the biggest, steepest, longest, most painful looking hill climb you can and start up there, after which the desecent will be a blur as your oxygen starved brain will have ceased to function half way up the climb" - a 4000ft climb off the bat - nice!

Mark brought over a shed load of new kit, so here's the new fandangled international R&R race jersey....

And with Mark having got us sorted out as Team Icebreaker NZ, it has meant a great deal of sowing Icebreaker patches onto our many jersey's and paraphanalia such a camel backs etc... I feel like I've been working in a Phillipino sweat shop for the past few days doing so much nimble fingered sowing...
We've loads to organize today, so I should really go and get on with that.... we get the camper tomorrow and head off to the race Saturday - the race begins Sunday and no doubt can be followed on http://www.transrockies.com/ .
Other news that doesn't involve biking doesn't really exist right now (thoughts of work still linger in my mind, but they are seriously burried deep until after the race). Big Red bought himself a new shiney road bike last week - so it's good to see all the Williams' getting out on the velo!
I trust that you are all as prepared as can be,
lets hope the hard work was worth it,
Have a blast!
Team Icebreaker.

Knees, more bears and 24hrs

I had to begin this post with this piccie I stumbled upon from Nic and Browny's last visit. Make of it what you will (or feel free for a caption competition), but I reckon it's pretty apt (and I'm sure that's a coke Browny's holding, not a Bud). Unfortunately, I haven't become a regular at Kensington Road Church there, so perhaps nothing has changed.
Anyhow... after last week's Grizzly bear sighting (over which I have still not calmed down) it seems that I can't get enough of bears when on the road bike. A good 100km wizz out yesterday from Johnston Canyon up to Moraine Lake and Lake Louise and back had me zipping past another Grizzly!!!! I was on the Bow Valley Parkway and lo and behold a little Grizzly cub was rolling around in the buffalo berry bushes by the side of the road - I didn't linger around since there wasn't much between me and bear and I didn't have a clue where the mum was, but a brief glimpse of the exciting wildlife (I don't think the cub even knew I was there as it was so engrossed in wrestling with the buffalo berries).
I'm slowly coming out of my glum mood which stemmed from me thinking that I'd buggered up my knee which was curtailing my training and TR aspirations. After two days off on the weekend (the first weekend since early October that I haven't ridden on either day) and having taking medication and applied ointments, the knee seems to be holding up o.k. - phew.... lets keep our fingers crossed it stays like that until after the TransRockies!
To cheer my somber demeanour over the weekend I headed out to Canmore to watch the 24 hour world solo mountain bike champs (basically very fit guys ride an incredibly technical course for 24 hours non stop, contending with the night, thunderstoms, hail and I imagine arse ache). It was a super atmoshpere, loads of bike maniacs spinning around in awe of the solo competitors (some people get together and do it as a team relay event, but these seem to be more in party mood than anything else).
Mark and Luce arrive on Friday and Brina lands 2minutes after they do (couldn't have planned it any better to avoid lingering around at the airport to pick them all up!). We'll have a couple of good rides at the weekend, then it's serious tapering time before the big race begins next weekend!!!!! (mega excited about the race - although I'm sure this excitement will transform into squeeky bum time come next Friday night).
Not much else going on in my bachelor lifestyle at present (should really be heading into work, but can't get my head around anything but peddaling at the moment).
And just to make sure that my knee was iced properly, I had to ice it with the best organic antioxidant filled blueberries I could find (sod the ice pack)..

Hope all your ailments are soothed,
S.