July 2010
4 posts
From the ashes
42.14.23.37 is today’s magic number. No it’s not my measurements nor is it my IQ [unless those dots were commas ;) ]. Its the number of days, hours, minutes and seconds until we leave Vancouver BC heading eastward.
I am so ready right now to head out. All of the hours in the saddle are paying dividends and I feel like I could tow a truck, well at least be able to sit on the front and...
Stretch it out
Back in June while riding the Tour de Grand I started experiencing problems with cramps in my Gluts. Bad enough that I had to abandon the ride half way through, which was too bad as it was a great ride.
Since then I have been suffering with a tight right hamstring and dull pain around my right sit bone area. Sitting in a saddle for 5+hrs a ride certainly hasn’t helped, however, training...
Support
Over the past few months I’ve written about things like how my training is going, how I’m doing on fund raising, why I’m riding across Canada, crashing, etc. What I haven’t done a good job of is telling you about one of the most important things [besides helping the kids] regarding how this is all possible, my support system.
When I decided I wanted to ride in the Sears...
Time off
Ever now and then you hear your body speaking back to you “take the day off, heck take a few days off”.
Listening to this is a good thing, just don’t talk back to yourself or you might start scaring people [more than you already do] ;)
This past week was a recovery week for me from my Hairshirt event so I took it somewhat easier and cut the volume of workouts down to 3. Sadly...
June 2010
3 posts
That'll put hair on your chest
My day started with my inside voice calling out to me “Paul it’s time to wake up”…”Paul it’s time to wake up”…..”PAUL YOU ARE LATE!!!”. I nearly leaped from the bed! It’s nearly 5am… ahhhhhh.
Ever had one of those wake ups where it’s you waking yourself up because you need to be somewhere important and you have...
Is that something burning?
Sniff Sniff. Is that burnt toast I smell???
Ahh that sweet smell of my legs burning, like 2 rather large slabs of bacon cooked to perfection.
I say that in complete jest of course though my legs do feel like [short] 50lb sacks of [bruised] cured meat right now.
Last week was week 2 of my current 3 week training cycle, which included 4 back-to-back training days. Besides the masocistic...
May 2010
4 posts
It's not all fun and games, or maybe it is
First off to my loyal readers [cause theirs tons of you ;)] I must apologize for the infrequent blog postings as of late. I’ll do my best to keep on top of things going forward
Training has been going fairly well though I’ve fallen short of my planned distances over the past two weeks. Nothing I have to panic about as the mileage I am putting in has been good mileage and still meets...
Lazy day(s)
This weekend was to mark me breaking 3000km of training so far, though mother nature had her own ideas for Saturday; rain, snow and zero km of training. It did however make for a great day to catchup on some overdue house chores and bike maintenance.
I can actually find my tools now and see my workbench downstairs! And to boot I was able to find my chain tool and spare bottom bracket, saving me a...
April 2010
2 posts
California Dreams
I’m taking this week as a recovery week; the fact of the matter is I really had no option given I am traveling on business in Corona California. So the training this week amounted to a few short 60-70km rides earlier in the week before I headed to SOCAL and since then a workout in the hotels gym; a 15km ride, 10min stair climb and a 1 mile run. That and the 5-6km walk I had today.
...
4 tags
Ride like a Belgian
Sore ribs or not I made sure that nothing was going to keep me off my bike this weekend. I’m feeling like a kid in a candy store, 4 days off in a row, beautiful warm weather and plans to do some mileage.
Balancing regular life and preparing for this event is certainly a challenge. It helps when you have a saint for a wife who understands the need for me to train; and I do my best to make...
March 2010
4 posts
On the mend
Well you can’t keep a British Bulldog down for long. We’re too ornery, that and as stubborn as they come.
After my crash on Saturday I ended up taking Sunday off to recuperate. Well I’ll be honest I was strong armed by Lori to stay off the bike.
With this warm weather spell coming in I decided to head out for a short ride yesterday. Both to test my ribs and to get some saddle...
Newton's laws of motion
Heart still pumping hard to crest the hill, skidding tires, flinching as the air escapes your lungs. As eclectic as they are this collection of things fall into an up front and very personal [my] example of Newton’s laws of motion.
You know Newton was a fairly bright guy, hey he was British after all.
His first law was about inertia, nicely put “An object that is in motion will not...
And the winner is?
The bike raffle winner is: Ticket number 00295, sold to Pierre Gelineau. Congratulations Pierre, you are now the owner of a beautiful Octto carbon road bike! We will be contacting you to arrange pick-up, etc.
2 tags
February 2010
8 posts
Caffeine and the adrenaline monster
So after I posted last nights blog entry I was inspired to do a bit of research of my own on this caffeine and adrenaline thing. Mostly because my inner addict wanted to disprove it as it needed a fix desperately. But alas it backfired on me; another serious blow for my mental state of mind.
In looking through different articles I read about the conditions that can occur when using this miracle...
Is not a Maxwell House morning
You’ve all seen those commercials with Maxwell House coffee.. “the best part of waking up is Maxwell House…bla bla bla”. The commercial has some guy or gal smelling their coffee as they have their morning carafe to jump start their day, and body. The look on their face is absolute elation.
Now think of the complete opposite, some guy (or gal) getting up, wiping the sleep...
Hmmm the smell of Ben-Gay.
You can tell the die hard cyclist at a glance. They are the ones who limp into work on Monday mornings, sporting a “tan” created by a combination of wind burn, and cold and are wearing a grin from ear to ear. Their legs stiff from self-abuse on the bike all in the name of fitness.
Ah the smell of Ben Gay in the morning!
That is a good description of what I’m going to look [and...
Whoa say what
Tomorrow promises to be one wing ding of a day. Dave Swindells and I have a joint Inside Ride in Georgetown and it looks like there were be 77 teams. Yah thats a “7” followed by another “7”. If I use my toes I just might be able to count that high ;)
Christ the King you are going to rock!
Now I have to finish packing my stuff for tomorrow and then off to bed! Need my...
L.S.D. - The good stuff
To someone who has been riding a while this acronym should be familiar and none of it is illegal. Self punishing yes, but nothing that will land you in jail or on the most wanted list.
Long Steady Distance (L.S.D.) riding, not Long Slow Distance, is a core component of endurance cycling. Long steady state rides allow you to teach yourself many things from; understanding your current abilities to...
What is a bicycle?
What is a bicycle?
On the surface this is a very simple question with a very simple answer. It’s a self propelled machine. And if you were to say that you would be 100% correct, but to me you would be so far from the mark.
To me a bicycle is so much more.
It’s a means of getting around town on a clear sunny day.
It’s an excuse to get out of house cleaning chores.
It’s...
3 tags
Doh, oh Mongo
It seems my luck with mechanical things like trainers is starting to come into question lately. Yes my nickname is Mongo [insert: cause I’m big and dumb] but I certainly don’t think I’m some sort of superstar who generates a k’billion watts; I do though seem to have a knack for busting trainers.
I started off this season with an older magnetic trainer [a.k.a. the beast]...
Christ the King: Inside Ride Assembly
Today Dave Swindells and I joined the students at Christ the King (CtK) school in Georgetown for their Inside Ride Assembly.
CtK will be holding their Inside Ride on February 18th and my spider sense tells me they are going to blow the roof off the school [easy CSIS it’s a figure of speech].
Lauren Donnelly, a CtK graduate and childhood cancer survivor spoke at the assemblies (4 of them 1...
January 2010
12 posts
Trans Warp Drive
Ever have one of those days where you are so wired; bouncing around like a 5 year old on christmas morning wired; mind running at trans-warp speed wired. Today that is me. I’d include a picture to better illustrate this but sadly I could not find something that the censor overlords would not delete.Ya you figured me out, I’m very graphically oriented - but that does not make me a bad...
What to eat on a long distance ride!
I have to admit that I have written and re-written this blog post 3 times so far. I think this iteration captures my state of mind and general thoughts without diverging too much.
As some may have read in my previous blogs I’m planning on doing a few ultra rides this year as part of my SNKCR training. Like they say go big or go home - or is it go home you big #$*%^?
Anyway I’ve...
2 tags
A day of recovery ... maybe
What a day I had yesterday. I’ll start by telling you how it finished, with me out in the pouring rain up to my neck in water! Well I’m obviously still alive as I’m writing this … so read on.
With planning to ride across the country and the training and preparation that goes into it there are to say the least some sacrifices. And not just your own. Having a spouse and 2...
2 tags
Random Thoughts and Misfires
As the adage goes, all work and no play makes Paully a dull boy. Not to mention the fact that after a while all this technical cycling stuff does get kind of boring.
So today, I’m going to to what I do well and just ramble, though a certain someone who shall remain nameless [4 letter name here] says I “allegedly” ramble incoherently.
So for today’s rambling I’ll...
6 tags
Bike raffle to help kids with cancer
Want to help kids with cancer? Need [or want] and new carbon road bike? Know someone who does, well let them know about us.
We are raffling off a brand new $5000 Octto carbon road bike.To top it off, you get a top of the line bike fitting done by the pro’s at La Bicicletta!
100% of the funds raised go to help kids with cancer via the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride and Tour For Kids...
Tests, tests, tests. What is this school?
Always seems in life that there is one test or another. Well seems I’ve picked an event where I can’t get out of them and there is no value in cheating. Shucks where is the fun in that - seriously I don’t cheat I just “borrow” the ideas ;)
Well anyway I finally got a chance to get my Lactate Threshold (LT) test done. I’ve been putting coach Orrie off since mid...
January 17th
My training for this week concluded with todays ride. I’m currently on a 3 week training cycle where my workouts progressively increase in intensity and/or duration and then I get a light week for recovery.
So yesterday after my indoor class I caught myself checking and rechecking the forecast, subconsciously hoping that out of a miracle the temperature would be higher that the last time I...
Hot Hot Hot
I missed my outdoor ride last Sunday due to a sinus problem and the need to take copious amounts of pharmaceuticals, and have been pouting all week like a puppy without his dog bone. I’ve been looking forward to this weekend sooo bad as I need to break free of the gerbil mill at least 1 day a week.
Well I just checked the weather forecast for the weekend and its looking hot! Hot of course...
4 tags
Bye By 'Zaaa
Back in early December I fell ill with a really nasty flu, possibly H1N1, and was bed ridden for a week. Not something I want to repeat anytime soon. Being the manly guy I am I skipped the doctors office visit and just sucked it up. What a dork!
I don’t normally get sick much but this winter I’ve had more than my normal share of illnesses. Given I’m training hard its not the...
2 tags
Prep work
Ok, so far in my blogs I’ve talked about trainng and idle thoughts (or misfires) that bounce around in my noggin.
Well in case you hadn’t yet realized there is a fair amount of non-cycling preparation that is needed. Like what you ask… like getting a physical…. yuk, and preparing your crap (a.ka. gear) for the ride.
I’m not a visit the doctor when you are ill type...
My whole team is coming across country with me!
Just got back from my weekly Wednesday indoor ride. Wednesdays are one of my tough rides as we focus on hill repeats, which targets strength building. Grinding out multiple 8+ minute climbs seated with everything you have in you…. yum. Fortunately Wednesdays rides are not a solo session as that would simply be cruel, you know the kind of cruel that you reserve to inflict on your siblings.
...
5 tags
By the numbers
The midnight hour just rang and we are now in 2010.
This year holds so many numbers that lead up to our big day. The best number of all is the number 251. Thats the number of days until we leave Vancouver BC and start riding across Canada. The best of all, its getting smaller each day.
Each day I come to my blog just to watch the numbers count down.
Just 251 more sleeps.
Happy New Year...
December 2009
11 posts
4 tags
Whimsically me
The weather this afternoon was nice; of course thats comparative to colder places like Huntsville or Pluto for that matter. I was in Huntsville earlier in the week at my Father In-Laws place and it was a crisp -20c. Brrrr. As to Pluto I can’t personally vouch for the temperature but occasionally read [a comic book ;)] with some scientific details that tell of its cold nature. Of course the...
Registered for Paris Ancaster
I figure as this is the year of change and big plans, how better to start off the year by racing in the Paris-Ancaster event http://www.parisancaster.com/ on April 18th.
Its my “C” class event and should give me an outlet for the early season. Its a “C” because I see it as a minor event and not my main goal for the season - that honor is SNKCR and nothing will get in my...
Get'n studded
Dave Swindells and I just finished a great Sunday Road ride. Well kinda of a road/cyclocross ride as we were both on our CX bikes.
Was the maiden voyage for my CX bike and I was running with my studded tires. Boy do they ever grip the road and ice; which is a blessing on the ice but makes you work like a dog the entire time. The road buzz coming off them is kind of melodic after a while. Riding...
Its here
Well my new steed arrived earlier this week and I’ve been able to build it up to working order.Its a team edition of the Kona Jake the Snake cyclocross bike called the “Rad Jake” and is painted in my favourite colours, Red and White. Despite the shipping costs it was a steal of a deal buying it from Bikeman.com in the U.S. (shameless plug for them).
Even my winter studded tires...
Want to win a $5000 carbon road bike + custom...
Want to win a $5000 carbon road bike + custom fitting?
My team (Team Amazing Amelia) is raffling off a brand new Octto carbon road bike. 100% of the funds raised go to help children living with and beyond cancer.
Attached a link to the flyer that has all of the details. Tell them Paul sent you ;)
Ahh humbug
Yah there is bound to be at least one in every group and, well I’mm cool with stepping up to be the anti-snow spokesperson for my little part of Canada. Dear Jack Frost, ah humbug I say.
The last few days I’ve been patiently waiting for my new CycloCross bike to arrive. The plan is that I will ride most of the winter outdoors. So I guess the dilemma I had on what type of tire; studded...
Mission control we have lift off
The folks at Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation have been working hard to get this years technical infrastructure in place for the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride (SNCKR). This is my first official post on my SNCKR blow. I’ll still be doing blogs on the Team Amazing Amelia site but will also be doing ones here that are focused on SNCKR.
Stay tuned.
November 2009
0 posts
Bio
Why am I riding across the country: It’s all about the kids; about leading by example; about doing something meaningful with the time we have here. Where: I’m from Acton, Ontario.
Bio:
Married to Lori for 13 years now; she is the reason I’m able to be all I can be - enough said. I have 2 children Liam who is 10 and Emma who is 8.
Its been a long time since I began cycling,...