Stylin' it up

"What the bloody hell is the big noggin stick man wearing now?" I hear you ask (or cry in mirth). Well, these are the new addition to my training paraphanalia - compression socks - these socks are meant to be worn after riding, but my idea is to wear the knee length socks when racing (I couldn't bring myself to post a piccie of me sporting such legwear whilst in my lycra (NICE!)) - if they don't improve blood flow, reduce lactate and all the other medical symptoms they're meant to improve, they may well just psyche out the opposition and reduce the other riders to fits of giggles, unable to ride on. They get their first race outing in the Expert category of the Canada Cup next Saturday (I may as well go down in flames at the biggest race of the year so far rather than reserve such an experiment for a small, unassuming race). As for the piccie above, I now realise why Ken.P. commented to me a while ago something along the lines of; "who the chuff is that skinny bloke wearing your head?".
All goes summery in Cochrane right now, the thermometer has boiled up into the 30s and the tan lines that my cycling shorts and the above mentioned socks are making just create an even freakier sight than you dare imagine. School has finished, and this is the first time in my life that I haven't had a real summer holiday - I really didn't think this new job through thoroughly enough... I have to be in for at least another couple of weeks (although if the amount of time I needed to spend in school over summer was realted to the lack of knowledge I have for the job, then I wouldn't have a day off until September 2010). Brina's holidays have started and she's doing a couple of days work in the outdoor shop in Cochrane before she heads back to the Soo for a couple of weeks in July. Mum and Ken are heading off to BC for a few days this week (where temps are something like 37 degrees tomorrow!!!). We cruised out to Horse Creek Road last night to watch the beavers (a past time I used to do in Sheffiled on Mappin Street, ah, they were the days), and the little blighters were dashing around building their lodge - whilst we were devoured by zillions of evil moquitoes.
Busy week this week, work, rides, and planning for the race on Saturday.
I hope you all find some amusing, piss taking banter from my fine hosiery,
Sock it to 'em,
S&S.

A not so clean pair of heels

This post's picture should be in some caption competition ("Show us yer arse", "does my bum look big in this?" etc.....), a not so clean pair of heels is about as lame as I could come up with late on a Sunday evening before I crawl into bed. I thought it'd be better to keep my ugly mug off all blog pictures after the chinny chin chin shot of freakyness in last week's post (although I clearly haven't thought this through as there is little better about a picture of a dirty, lycra clad ass than a picture of my face (all comments at the bottom of this post will be gleefully cherished - and no doubt delted immediately). So, as with most recent posts, the bike is the central theme (shock horror!). We headed out to the ABA cup race in Bragg Creek (Sulphur Springs - Suffer Springs), a really good course, three quarters of the lap was hard climbing, then the last quarter, a warp factor ten decent back to the start finish area. Two laps of that (and no big crashes - a first for the race season this year), and I sailed home in first place! Woo Hoo! (Portland Ken's blog gave me a bit of grief for harping on about racing but continually neglecting to mention the results - so there you have it!).
I'd ridden around the course with Mr. Wieble yesterday just to get a reminder of how steep some of the bloody climbs were, and Brad and Julie turned up to view the race too with Lucy (the greyhound, not the sister in law!). Mum and Brina were in fine vocals too as I lapped around (they'd set up camp on the home straight and were just missing the cowbells!). Then we razzed off to the airport to pick up Ken (2 hours late - oops!!!!!).
So things looked alright today with an eye on the TransRockies (although the Pro Elite rider who finished 13th in the TR was tanking it around the course like some EPO fuelled, blood transfusion Astana rider!).
School is out for the kids now, one week left for staff and then the administrators (that be me) stay in for god knows how long to set things up for next year (I'm still hoping to have worked out what my job entails by the time September rolls around).
I've got a feeling that I've missed all the important or humorous news out of this post but my brain is shutting down now, so the mattress is calling and by the time of the next post I'll have remembered what I intended to write here!
Camelbacks rule!!!
S&S.

Not much really - just tiding over

Another week and a bit has passed by without me sitting square eyed in front of the computer -hence the lack of posting since the previous one! The blog is being dominated by bike talk - but seeing as though that's about all I'm doing at present, I aint got much else to say! Although this week has seen a bit of an ease up on the bike front (took a couple of days off, and practised the fine art of sleeping, lots!). Last weekend in Canmore was a fun race in the rain and snow, and being rather knackered after having a few weekends of constant racing and hard training in the week I was not too disappointed to get a 5th place (I say that now, but I was pretty miffed on the day - despite once more having a rather spectacular crash, involving a sumersaulting bike crashing down on top of me and the disc rotor slicing the back of my arm open and burning me at the same time as it was to hot - a nicely seared wound) but at least I'm 1st overall in the Alberta standings (for now). Got another race next weekend in Bragg Creek so hopefully that will help me move up to Expert class - although I should be there already had I been given credit for the win at the first race of the season.
A quiet weekend this one, mother arrives today so we've been frantically dashing around making room for her to stay (we set up a bedroom in the basement but it turned out to be too dungeonesque so we moved the bedroom back upstairs and then had to shift the office around) although I managed to get a good 130km in yesterday in just 4 hours which was good for a steady ride in the hills.
The sun is out at last, and I'm thinking of mowing the lawn (although I relish the angst my long grass provides the fastidious neighbour). We haven't got much else going on right now. Mrs.W is in fine form, scurrying around the house with a can of pledge and a duster panicking about the arrival of her mother in law (I keep getting shouted at for leaving dirty plates and old magazines lying around the place- luckily I wrote that correctly and didn't say old plates and dirty magazines).
Alas, that is all for this meagre post - there should be good banter and piccies a plenty next weekend after the Bragg Creek race - and hopefully none will contain images of my blood.
Hope you've all got a lot more going on right now,
Happy dusting,
S&S.

Giver-8-r

So the title of this post is meant to sound like 'terminator' since that was the name of this confounded eight hour race held at the weekend. 14 laps, 120km (ish) and lots of slick chaffing cream later, and we made it! A 7am mass Le Mans style run 500metres to your bikes start just to really bugger up your legs for the next third of the day, and we were off! Although, having busted my ball (s) - yeah plural! If only! - in the six hour race in BC a few weeks back and died on hour 5, I took the first few hours of this race really easy, and as a result had loads left in the tank at the end (so hopefully I'll be judging it right by August and the TR!)

Mrs. W. was on hand once again as the chief pit crew nutritionist and kept me well supplied with shakes, bananas, gels, cubes, pringles and advil! The latter two parts of this menu (pringles and advil) were top tips given to us at the last race by the winner of a multi day race in BC. The pringles (real athlete's food) keep up the salts to reduce cramps - and worked a treat, and the advil just simply numb the pain (well the chronic back ache I was having, so it's not quite like doping with EPO).

"Show us yer chin, yer big jawed freak!" is what I wanted to shout at the feller above, until I realized who it was. Apparently this is what I look like coming off a fast last lap and sprinting to the line (poor Brina has to wake up to that ugly mug every morning - no wonder she can be cranky early in the day).
And on the note of bears with sore heads, here's Brina's day at work...

A trip to the zoo with the injuns to see the big ol' Grizz behind bars. These suckers are all out and about now, and two people have already been given a damn good mauling.
The summer rain continues to fall in Cochrane - so long as the sun rears up by the time school has finished it will be O.K. Just a couple of weeks until all the little kidlings are on vacation, then staff have to hang around for a week to tidy up their classrooms, plan lessons and generally pretend to be busy when admin are around - and on the note of admin, bugger... that'll be me I suppose, so I'll be in school for a bit longer this summer, learning the ropes and panicking like a man falling overboard wearing very heavy boots.
All things are worrisome back in Blighty with Nana, so hopefully if she's reading this we send her all our love!
And now it's time to retire for the evening,
Chin Up,
S&S.