New trail with tour guide Tommy H ;)

Untitled by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

All day, I was sizing up the weather...kicking myself for NOT bringing rain gear. Waiting for Fil and tom in the pouring rain in parking lot in the comfort of the van. Funny how the mind can play games. Boys arrived and we were definitely not 100% happy with weather....this quickly dissolved as Tommy took us for a beauty tour of the above network of trail which is literally..5 min north of the 401...a regular stop when I have afternoon gigs in the region fo shore. Bike feeling nothing but pure sweetness and legs feeling really strong. Rain rain...go away...chest cold at bay so will do all in power to keep it that way for tomorrow...a day of rest.

Acting as tour guide for neighbour by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

Acting as tour guide for neighbour by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

Recovering from a chest cold and lack of sleep due to congestion blah blah blah for past 4 days...weather was waaaay too good NOT to ride.  A quick BBQ chat with neighbour last night resulted in a commitment to show him the local trails this morning at 11...by 10:15...I couldn't stand it and rang his doorbell to see if he "come out and play".

Nothing like throwing a leg over the bike from garage, less than 5 k to trail, meander throughout some great technical terrain and crack a beer while sitting in some camp chairs on the driveway basking the sun.  Plan...bring the mt. bike with me for work...punch in to Durham forest before the commute back home.  Yes...I consider this a perk of travelling for work ;)

MEH!!!

Sitting here looking outside at what will be a sunny day with current temp of minus 3. Has rained most of the week...translation...trails will be wet. Temps are supposed to creep up to 8 degrees, but with the consistent Kingston winds...will feel colder than this. Day 3 of a borderline chest cold..

I think I may just behave...gym gear has been in the van for three days now...unused....this may just be the best weekend to play "catch up" on all those things that have been left low on priority list and put the wife and kiddies on the uppermost priority...A family hike and visit with the Tysonator is in the cards...

Expect some Garmin data monday..riding Cobourg rain or shine Monday

Refuse to enter 40 into Cardio equipment ;)

Yesterday was my last day where I could legitimately input 39 into the cardio equipment for my age...firstly because my "age adjusted max" is higher than the calculated 40 yr old and secondly.....because I can ;)

Decided as this was going to be my last day as a 30 something....it makes good sense to get a 30 something workout in. Weather still crap, otherwise, this would have resulted in a nice looooong ride so...alternative....gerbil in a cage a.k.a gym. The usual meandering with purpose...30 min here...30 min there on crossramp and treadmill with interval settings. Meander over to freeweights and some bench with dumbells, and focus on shoulder and end with planks.....

I have decided to consider this the season of "shark swimming with fishes" or observe the competition in solo 24 ABOVE 40 this season by doing this in 6-10 group a.k.a FUN vs suffering and perhaps do a Try an O-cup to also feel out the competition. Hmmmmm....now that I'm officially 40...I should have a midlife crisis and look into full carbon rigs that also double as wall art for the next season....yeah...that sounds about right ;)

SNOW.......

Back inside the gym I go, I go.........

Procrastination or just realism that weather is CRAP right now

Just finished a couple cups o joe after watching the Bahrain F1 in it's entirety...really...already a successful day in my opinion in the relaxation dept. Playoff hockey with potentially Pens and Flyers at noon....really can't see myself getting out for a ride as a result. Weather is 4 degrees, windy, and spitting intermittent drops of moisture...so why the uneasiness?

First "race" of the season isn't until June 23 and 24th with Solstice. 6 team members are paid up and committed with 1 more member indicating they will be joining..will hopefully be meeting up with the one and only JC tomorrow to confirm this...then will cap as 7 guys pulling 40 min laps won't leave much night time and laps to play with...it is just for "fun", I keep telling myself anyways ;) Will have to admit that I will be keeping an eye on solo riders in the above 40 category for a return to this event in 2013....hopefully on a new rig...TBD..

SO....typing....watching kiddies chilling to a movie..MAMA MIA with wifey..oldest is going to a friends for p.m.....in negotiations with wife at moment for a ride...whatever...bringing mt.bike with to meet up with some boys in Ganaraska on way back from work in Oshawa tomorrow..great way to break up the return 2 plus hr drive...LET'S GO PENS!!!!

Virgin ride with new Garmin :) by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

Easy Peasy....I'm officially in geeked out love with this device!



Virgin ride with new Garmin :) by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

Virgin Garmin ride

First ride with the Garmin and up at 4 am to review the data :)

Was on my way home on Friday from a day that included just shy of 6 hrs drive time required for work, when I get a bbm from a regular riding buddy....it was simple and to the point...."Ride?". It was like he could read my mind as I was going through all of those internal scenarios in my head about whether I should skip out for a quick road or mountain before the wife and kiddies get home. Had narrowed it down to a mountain for a couple of reasons....the may flies are getting thick this time of year and there is no fun in putting the head down and breathing while placing a hand in front of the nose and mouth at times to prevent these little nusances from clogging up nose and turning into a rather unpleasant "snack". Also...didn't have dbl sided tape to attach the cadence sensor on my crank blah blah blah...was going to be easier to click the Garmin 705 onto the mt bike and just soak up the 20 plus degree temp.

Quick confirmation on time and mode led to the usual pre-ride discussions.....This guy is a speedster...Pulmonary edema and rock star lifestyle not withstanding....this guy is still fast..did I mention he is one of the team members for the 24 ;) This is a good thing. I love it when we both agree that, "yeah...this is gonna be a slow one"..for him...due to a late night...and me...want to geek out to Garmin features while riding and ease the new wheelset into it's maiden voyage....started out this way...for about 10 minutes in anyways.

I was anticipating the usual ride of EFT which generally consists of about an hour and change...but an "option was presented". "Hey....how are you for time today" was the question...translation...lets add some extra trail/km to the usual mix and pretty glad that we did, other than the fact I would have benefited from more than 1 water bottle and perhaps a bit more nutrition for the extra 20 k.

A rip'n and a tearin' was performed with a link up of the trail available at Parrot's Bay. A good ride was had...now...how to link up the Garmin data to this....

Stupid Crossramp

Met wife at gym today..I got there a little early and the gym was notably...busy...like too busy to make sense busy. Apparently there is an open house week a.k.a everyone coming out from the woodwork to use the gym. Just punched in to a solid hour on the Crossramp...decent cardio nonetheless...cracking a bud...'cause I can ;)

1 hr 3 min
616 cal 40% fat
max 156 or 83% and avg 130 or 70%
Light - 25 min; Moderate 18 min; Hard 18 min

Will punch in tomorrow morning for weights....hopefully the swarm doesn't do the same...

Ahhh...apparently forgot to submit "publish"...above is MONDAY's workout and the previous entry is actually Tuesday's

PUNCH'd In

A mid day break presented itself as an opp to get a quick workout in. Have to jump on these opportunities when they present themselves...Cardio was disrupted due to duty calling and motivation was quickly sapped resulting in a couple sets of lat pulldowns, bicep curls, some compulsory RC ex's and prone and lateral planks. Rides are looking...challenging to fit in this week with work travel requirements...will have to get a bit more creative here...

I'm done with putting Polar stats down from this point on....will grovel a bit to get my b-day present early....next post most likely will be a ride (fingers crossed) thursday aft (weather permitting) or on Sunday. I think I'll avoid the gym like the plague until the "open house" is over....

Running outta adjectives to describe...

Today's ride....sun shining, feeling of warmth, layers coming off, sweet techy/flowy/featured trail was a blast to rip through with three cool cats who also have "9-5" names: Fil, Tom and Shaun. 1 hour 44 min inclusive of "catch your friggin' breath" breaks of relatively few km but lots o fun! Will try and get some video of this trail to capture some of the beauty. Wifey still won't let me have my Garmin 'till legitimate B-day so......Polar...do your magic:

9:17 am start, 1 hr 44 min total time (ride time prolly like 1:30)
1174 Calories....55% fat
Max 179 or 96% and 143 avg or 76%
HR zones: Light-52 min; Moderate 27 min; Hard 21 min...I kind of like this stat.....will have to check ratio of Hard to light intermittently throughout the season...

So recap...time in gym......GOOOOOOD for platform/power for climbing steep short technical stuff. Cleaning everything in site. Time to travel and check out some other trails. Work week is in a word.....silly...for the next week. No room for exploring. Crack out the road bike..weather dependant. gym twice a week...classes like core etc

Plan....somehow book work session to accomodate group ride in Durham forest on Thursdays at least 1 x mos.

Back to Routine....

YAMAN!!! Finally, waking up and reminding myself that all is good with regular workouts...no more constant stressors going in head re: how....when....before/after am I going to make this happen today...

Indoor workout yesterday morning pre-work incuded the usual cardio and a pretty decent Leg day. Squats rack was free and I jumped all over it to get some quality reps...focus on super slow eccentrics and explosive concentrics with weight that wouldn't really impress an onlooker. Started with a plate aside and really took my time down to 90 degrees and then explode up....would appear odd if someone were watching ;) All this time in the gym IS having an impact on riding so far...should be a good season. After squats...some prone hammy curls to fatigue...should feel this later today and some swiss ball abdominals to finish...In and OUt man...that's how it's done.

Plan..workout with Jac tomorrow a.m before kids swimming and then road ride Sunday, most likely...So ready for warm winds that I will even embrace warm rains...Opening cottage next weekend...that's right...pretty soon, entries will include some great pics/vids of a full 180 on the wakeboard..this is the summer goal :) Still thinking about practicing on the trampoline for this one...Off to Whitby for work and a visit with my little nephew, soon to be nephews x 3!!!!!!!!!!!! Starting to sink in!!! Wow!

May need to exceed daily caffeine quota..

Hoping this early a.m entry gets my ass to the gym.....It is going to happen....looking favourable...gym bag packed with shaving kit...GREEN LIGHT GO!!

Made it and OH SO HAPPY that I flicked the switches. A decent workout consisting of the regular 30 min intervals on the cross ramp 10/4 and 10/12 (makes sense to all those cross ramp junkies...keeping an rpm of 130-145) and then some more jog/run intervals on the treadmill between 0 and 3 degree incline and 5.6 and 7 mph speed.

Tunes were pumpin in my ears and decided to move on over to the free weights for some standing shoulder press, bicep curls, tricep skull crushers and some rc cuff stuff. So goood. Weather looking like shit so some more indoor time bound to happen Thursday and Saturday. OUtdoor ride, perhaps a good ole road ride Sunday.

Saw some pretty sweet rolling ashphalt on drive out to Westlake for work today....may have to do some exlporing...btw...garmin eta tomorrow or next day...Yipeeeeee

Head in check.....CHECK!!!

Almost a year ago I ended up losing the battle with a mound of dirt that was positioned right after a down tree on a steep down. Right AC joint decided to fail to stay attached and I had to walk my bike out of the trails to meet up with my prospective riding companions for the day...Shaun and Tom. Immediate rehab begun day after at Kingston Athletic Therapy and the obsession to get back into full action had begun. Unfortunately....the mind, and to a certain extent the body, never did get back to proper reboot. Sketchy sections along ridgelines, greater than 3 foot drops, and any kind of log that had chainring catching potential on a downhill were usually met with some apprehension and then a quick release of a pedal....frustrating battles in the head for the remainder of the year. Recap and turn to positivity was the 3rd place result in the Hot August Night 24 hr event....confirmed there was some endurance in that shoulder. Season ended and was unsure about future of riding with the same intensity in years past.

A rather lengthy intro there.....but for a reason.....today marked the 3rd proper mountain bike session of the season. I'm droppin' like it's hot, chuckling at rim hungry cracks on steep ridgelines and cleaning anything remotely technical......Head......CHECK! Back in action. Body checked a tree while pinning it on the exit of trails while chasing Tom on the exit of CB network...confirmed that all is gooooood.

I think I got everything outta my system today and will now enjoy some lengthy road rides and some more exploring of trails around Ganaraska and Durham once I get my Garmin to help me out with the wayfinding. Kids getting restless...better bring them to the park:

2 hour 1 min
1234 Cal 35% fat
Max 178 or 95%
avg 143 or 76%
Moderate 20 min; Hard 48 min; Light 37 min

Plan....good ole fashioned workout at the gym tomorrow

22 k o FUN!

Met up with Fil, Shaun and some new cats at the local CB place o happiness! Always amazed at how Mr. Weima can party till 5 am and then show up and rip my legs off on one of these rides...imagine if he was properly recovered and lived the life of a monk vs a rock star....scary man...

Lots of stop and go but who cares. What generally is an hour loop translated into almost 3.5 including the ride out and back. Lots of banter and recovery inbetween sprints. A good change of pace....literally. Watch with "data" still on the bike...

3 hr 23 min
1839 cal 45% fat
Max 184 or 98% and avg 71% or 133 bpm

1 hr 9 min Light; 39 min Moderate; 57 min HARD BABY!

Plan...put another coat of paint on my youngest's walls and workout in a.m. with wifey. Road ride tentative with one of the "Quick Release" members for sunday..weather is in a word..BEAUTY!

If I were a muppet....I think I'd be ANIMAL!!!

I recall the most recent "family movie" that the wife, kids and I had last sunday in the basement. The movie was the muppets....man I used to LOVE that show as a youngstah!! Reason for this intro is to reflect on the character, Animal....so....he was in this anger management class before the muppets came to visit him to get the whole crew together for one last show to raise money to get the old studio back (hahahahahah...love it). Jack Black was his..."handler" or suppport guy and told the muppets he wasn't allowed to drum as this was his "trigger"....well...yesterday...I found my "trigger"...it was riding a blend of fast, technical, and flowy DRY mountain bike trails. Just as animal found his happiness at the end of the muppets banging the shit out of his drums....I found happiness ricchocheting of rocks and rim eating cracks with Shaun and Fil!!

So, it's back to normalcy again and the urge to be on the bike every sunny day and.....this long wknd the foreceast is calling for nothing BUT SUN!!!!!!!! Riding today with a rather large group at 10 :)))))) Saturday...family day with hopes of getting to gym with Jac (kids at jump room) and...Sunday will be a road or mountain ride ;)

Just a few more days of these POLAR stats.....Looking forward to Garmin and this Strava app:

1 hr 30 min
1201 cal 30% fat
max 99% or 185....specificity time :)))
avg 83% or 155
Hard 1 hr 3 min; Light 11 min; Moderate 15 min

Stats show a pretty intense session....it was....reason number 1....trying to keep up with Mr. Weima...reason number 2...had Fil with a GOPRO behind me most of the time ;)

Ahhhh Freshly Calibrated

Finally redirected the deviancy of slackness. Luckily kept my gym bag in the van and decided to meet my wife on my way home from work today. Solid hour plus of cardio. All that was needed. First official Mt. bike of the season tomorrow, road ride Friday and Sunda...perhaps a little workout in on Saturday...that was a deep dark place the last two weeks...the slackness seems to be good for the motivation though...felt gooooood today.

1 hr 18 min
766 Cal 54% fat
max 168 or 90% with avg 136 or 73%
26 min in Light; 24 min in Moderate; 21 minute Hard...nice little balance of intervals

Really looking forward to hooking up that Garmin...fingers crossed it gets here before wknd...may not...but that's alright...anticipation is always welcomed!

Week 2 of Fitness reversal

Perhaps it has something to do with 2 kids to get prepped for school daycare in the morning and a wife who hits the snooze button at 5 am EVERY MORNING. This makes an early morning workout....damn near impossible unless I want to have my wife have a nervous breakdown. Perhaps the travel that is required to make appts between Scarborough and Ottawa also result in the ability to get an early morning workout...impossible. So, this leaves the evenings....well...lately, road travel results in my return back to Kingston for 5 or 6 pm...so an evening workout is in the cards but will have to make a commitment that revolves around kids swimming and wife's HR meetings. When did it get so hard to make this happen.....ahhhhh, it just came to me...I had an EXCUSE in the past. The EXCUSE was the necessity to get the hours of time in to prep for 8 and the almighty 24 hour SOLO races. This is the denominator that has resulted in a weak link in the training chain..what to do..planned races this year are group 24 and a couple fun ones with Paul's a given and the Kingston Marathon mt bike race incorporated in here as well. In a word...mello..

Well, I sit here typing this while the kiddies are finishing their meal and is almost 8 pm...behind the 8 ball as they had swimming tonight...so let's take Tuesday's out of the equation. I'm going to plan to meet a local group for wednesday evening night rides at the Farm....this will begin to get some consistency..Will also plan on an early a.m road ride once a week..will have to pick this day of week and make it happen. Can't forget the gym....say goodbye to Saturday workouts with wife as this is Easter wknd coming up and we will be in Belleville..hope to get an afternoon ride in, fingers crossed. Ideally....once a week should be spent in of doors with quality core work. This Sunday is also Easter with the Folks...will plan on riding with Fil this day as well....weather is up in the air lately...we'll see.

All in all....week two of return from Jamaica...discouraged with lack of activity....sipping a G&T doesn't help matters but it is....oh so tasty....it will all right side up itself in a few days. Oh yes, I know what will help and it is coming in the mail shortly....a Garmin 705 with maps, cadence and HR monitor...this should get me geeking with technology and exploring with a new found curiosity with some of the local landscape.

Dodgeball soreness...WTF?!?!?

It was like watching a bunch of senior citizens withdrawing from their pain medication Saturday night and Sunday morning after me and 6 others finished playing in a Dodgeball tourney. 4 x 30 minutes of whipping balls as hard as you could at teams that WERE IN A REGULAR DODGEBALL LEAGUE!!!! We were rogues...misfits but having fun. We were well hydrated via the cooler in between games....did not improve our game. The competition was strangely heated....these guys take this game firmly!?? Came in 7th out of 8 teams...fun times :)

Nothing remotely strenous or forward fitness related resulted this weekend. Should have been a great day to get a ride or early a.m. workout in...didn't happen. Spare time resulted in getting christmas lights off of house, cleaning exterior windows, setting up girls trampoline (looking forward to seeing their excitement tonight), and just punching in for a solid administrative work day. Hopefully a couple motivational switches will get tripped back on....need some warmer weather for this to happen I'm afraid. Will shoot for the gym a couple times this week and perhaps bring a bike with me this wknd for a visit with friends in Belleville. Perhaps a night ride....will wait until I pay my trail dues before venturing out on this membership only set of trails...if only this could happen sooner than the scheduled 12th....