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.