Friday, August 31, 2012

Endomondo Running Workout

Endomondo Running Workout: was out running 6.07 km in 35m:11s using Endomondo.

Weather is windy and muggy...on an administrative day for work and needed something to Burn the energy from the active mind.  A run was juuuuust the ticket.  Appears some fitness is surfacing here...I'm going to give kudos to the occasional Yoga session for this running improvement...perhaps it also had something to do with fact that I've been riding with some FAST dudes on the local trails and on the rare visit to Durham.  Nonetheless....refreshed and ready for some research, correspondence and a report writing kinda day ;)  8 more sleeps..then the sound of melting brakepads......BOOYAH!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Farm Group ride by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

Farm Group ride by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

A great paced rip with Rob S, Chris F, Francois B, and Fil as part of a regular wednesday group ride. As usual, Rob linked up the terrain in a unique fashion which always poses a challenge for me to then acknowledge what truly is the PERFECT loop out there...Nothing eventful...some good tempo and most likely last real mt. ride pre-Whizzzzzzlah. Will spin the legs with some easy, and I mean EASY road riding over the next week. Pics will be a followin' from this trip fo shore...there are also some GoPRO's that will have some great coverage of our exploits..CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Friday, August 24, 2012

Ambassador ride with some locals by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

Ambassador ride with some locals by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

Decided to some of the new loop to some members of the trails that haven't had an opp to hook up with a group ride to explore.  Nice way to easily spin the legs after yesterday's BLOOD BATH!!!!!!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Durham a.k.a..hang the Faaaaack ON by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

Durham a.k.a..hang the Faaaaack ON by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

Tired...comments tommorow

Tomorrow is here...got home at 1 in the morning from an absolute hammer fest (stats don't lie with avg HR at 84% for over 2 hrs!!!!!) at Durham forest yesterday with a motley crue consisting of Tommy H, Dave E, Jay to the Izzo, Mark P, and Chris B. I arrived right at the cut off of 6 pm for the gathering...quickly got my sheeeeit together and it was like a shotgun sounded the start....pace was quick from the get go..we lost one guy, Mike P, as the pace was too much. Now...this is when I have to ask myself...do I really enjoy this kind of riding......I do like the fast decents, no question...LOVE 'em...the climbs are nice with just under a kilometer of elevation gained, but the hammer till ya can't hammer anymore??? It must be good for ya, but do have to admit hanging on the wheel of one of these members was probably when I really started to enjoy the ride most.

Whistler countdown begins. Lots of planning is starting to happen now with emails whizzing left right and centre...I on the other hand...am just going to chill and enjoy the family, get some quality bonding time with my sis and nephews...let's get this wknd started!!!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Amuse-Bouche sub hour loop ;) by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

Amuse-Bouche sub hour loop ;) by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

Found a way to link in a quick 1 hr loop (should be sub hour) at the Farm.  Like they say....an hour a day keeps the doctah away :)

Sunday, August 19, 2012

The whole enchilada...almost by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

The whole enchilada...almost by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

9 am group ride with Tommy H, Fil, Chris F and Ambassador Rob S.  We essentially rolled at a great pace throughout.  Fil faded near the end due to a reported case of food poisoning from Friday.  Wife and Kids are back and house is back to it's usual disaster and I'm pretty tired from the morning ride.  Countdown begins to Whistler. T-minus 19 days.. Off for a walkabout around dowtown with the Fam..

Saturday, August 18, 2012

CB EFT with Tommy H, Fil and Shaun..partially by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

CB EFT with Tommy H, Fil and Shaun..partially by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

All the stars aligned and after some frantic text and calls from Fil, Tommy and I rode out to find Shaun and Fil in the trails.  CB is in PRISTINE shape right now..dry dry dry and fast fast fast..We rode every trail that works well together and with some intensity.  I think Tommy appreciated the technical component of this network and look forward to a beauty ride at the farm tomorrow.

Had some shifting issues present themselves during the last 1/4 of ride...10 sec on the stand fine tuned that issue.  Decided to take advantage of the offer to drive a pristine 1979 Porsche 911 SC to Gananoque (the Pop's) to pick up a few tubes as the elusive innertube monster got me again and yet again, I opted for the no tube or pump option..for now on...carry a tube, C02 and pump.  Something strange comes over me everytime I drive this car...It's like constant butterflies in the stomache...Pure Joy, me thinks :)

Have the house to myself for another 3 hours as wife and kids are en route from NB.  Looking forward to getting the little stinks messing up the place again...weird how this is..Think I'll pour a frosty one and continue reading a new book, The Human Zoo...yet another great referral from Mr. Gilic.

Friday, August 17, 2012

And I'll Huff and I'll Huff and I'll BLOWWWW yer house down

Woke up to a windy fury and the heavens unleashing some moisture this morning. Scheduled early a.m. run was noted to be *ahem* cancelled due to a partner being a bit of a turkey last night at the pub. Made the right call last night, coming directly home from a 13 hour day and chillin'. So, options quickly led to punching in to gym for a good ole school spin class.

got there 30 min prior to warm-up pre-class. Always feel a little strange in these environments as I am not much of a social animal and always battle with the dissonance of "why am I doing this inside when I have 2 perfectly good and ready bikes to ride outside"...riiiight...rain...and wind..ok..this is a good idea.

Solid session of inhaling and exhaling at various rates. Was nice to feel the quads burn slightly...really looking forward to riding this weekend with Tommy, Fil and Crew as a result ;) The ole Polar came with...let's see if it behaved:

1 hr 21 min
870 cal...i love this stat...40% from fat...like it knows!!?!?!?
Max HR - 176 or 94%
avg HR - 137 or 73%
Zones - light: 39 min; Moderate: 13; Heavy 28 min

So as I sit here about to get prepped for rest of day I have to ask myself...why not 100% max...I know the answer...in order for me to get to this "stat" or level....it is generally followed by a very forceful exhale and an extremely loud YeeeeEEEEEOOOOH!!! This......is probably going to be frowned upon in a spin class, however.....bringing a fellow cycling buddy.....this may happen out of habit :)

So plan...Ride Saturday in Collins Bay...Ride Sunday at the Farm, which reminds me I need to post this ride on FB for the fast crew. Tommy H coming to play and wife and kids coming home...this is going to be a great wknd..

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

6 plus km away from "The perfect loop" by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

6 plus km away from "The perfect loop" by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

Had an idea that this might be a bit of a rippah so attempted to get a quick 45 min nap in before "the event"...juuuuuust as I was drifting off into that peaceful pre-ride restful sleep....Ding Dong...DING DONG....yup, so much for that nap as My pops decided to pop in, cat burglar like, through the back door to drop off an old playpen.  Oh well...laying down for a tour was helpful.

Met up with a fairly large group for the regular wednesday ride.  I was there like 30 min early...as usual...a bit of socializing and we were off.  Pace was super mello for first 10 k...saw Fil's not so courteous passing of riders after about 3 k in....not sure what the night was going to bring and then it happened.  Rob Sangers Pulls in to the ridge loop with some gusto...I did my best to hang but heard Francois Beaupre on my rear so let him take up the chase...resulted in some great tempo slip dip n diving through the woods.

One fairly scary and sketchy moment though...a pretty quick double track downhill with a bit of a kicker of a jump at the bottom resulted in a pretty spectacular over the bars wipe out from a guy called Sheldon.  Rob hammered it first and I was really looking to hold his wheel but this Sheldon guy followed suite in front of me....I did recall him saying something about doing some mt bike racing earlier in ride, so when I saw him look back...I let it fly and considered passsing him...but...being the courteous guy I am...hung on his wheel..He was coming into this kicker at the end really hot so I was going to follow suit and launch it right behind him, but he had second thoughts and locked up the rear, front going sideways and then catapulted about 6 feet in the air over the bars...too soon for me to let off so I land just short enough to hit the binders and unclip off bike as he was getting his bearings on the ground...NOTHING SHORT OF A SPECTACULAR wipeout..luckily just some blood and gore and no broken bones...bars bent.

Followed Rob, Francois and this youngster on a SS on back loop...resulting in a PR for this loop.  Great ride...on a high...picked up some marinated beef kabobs and juuust finishing these up as i type my last couple of words.

Plan...give Tommy a tour of the local trail this wknd...should be killah

Monday, August 13, 2012

Nearing the "perfect loop".. by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

Nearing the "perfect loop".. by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

Conditions were...beckoning...slight irk in flow when informed that Fil had his mt bike in shop and his attempts to rent one for today came to a screeching halt.  Left Shaun and I to rip errrrr up.  LOVE the fact that Kingston now has some full fledged major legitimate trail systems.  Just over 22 k of fairly steady single track.  Glorious conditions and an observation being made....legs do not suffer....think it's time to hammer out some more intervals in this loop...thank-you Strava for making this happen next ride as I am only 1 sec away from an Evan Gunthrie for front loop...consider this beaten next session ;)

recovery with a couple creemore on Shaun's deck and some solitude and proper fueling beginning with leftover lamb and beef kabob leftovers from last night....time for some rabbit food me thinks.  Travel is really...just stilly...over next 4 weeks....night riding is looking more and more like a viable option..good news is we have some bites for companionship on these exploits..yipeeeeeee

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Reflection on 2012

Hmmm strange that I'm choosing to write and not have a ride to work around. Time to take a gut check on why I like to throw a leg over a bike so consistently and feel kinda like a junky when I don't get my "fix". I watched the movie, "Running with Demons"...as I was watching it...I realized...hmmm that's not me....not drinking enough to be a concern...not venturing out into other know territories as well ;) I did have to pause the vid to get a run in juuuuust as mutha nature decided to unleash it's summer rain fury...beaty 6 k run done and continued on to watch the end of this. My consensus of this movie.....too much!

So...the answer used to be "are you running TO or are you running AWAY". I think this may have been planted during a reading of Good to Great or some other reading phase I've recently been in. Answer today.....no longer running man, just in the now ;) What I'm doing here is trying to pin down the fact, as to WHY I'm NOT gunning for a race and trying to "train" for each opportunity..I blame that damn change in occupation and the purchase of a KOBO. Not to say I wasn't happy in my previous role with Movewell, this was what I could consider the PERFECT role...It was just best to choose another direction for many reasons. In Reading between the lines....not so frustrated and have gained some interesting perspective on mindfullness and awareness.

So just when I think the competitive desire was done for season..I chose to get together on the local MTB Kingston ride. The zest to compete was resurged when I tried to "hang" with Rob Sangers...man..this guy has an overdrive that essentially made him a blur then absent during the second part of this ride...this has established that yup...looking forward to CRUSHING my last years time at Pauls...I think I was 4 hours and seconds....this being said...if I don't get under 4 hrs...I will sell my mountain bike.

So...plan...bring road bike to cottage with the good Dr F-bomb and hammer out a 100 k on sunday morning...oh yeah..gonna check out Shaun Weima's band, Ianspotting sat night in Smiths falls. Man...I'm feeling like a chick bloggin in a journal in this....oh yeah, I forgot to indicate...alone as wife and kids are en route to NB..this explains it allllllllll ;)

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Sangers Guided tour of new trail at the Farm by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

Sangers Guided tour of new trail at the Farm by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

Kingston can now officially state that they have some trail to be reckoned with.  Punched in tonight with the wednesday group ride in an effort to meet some of the regulars and get a guided tour of the new trail.  All went according to plan.  Love the stuff north of Unity..hoping to make this a regular addition.  Including all trail we are just over 30 k of great flow with some technical sections that will test any rider..I don't care WHO you are ;)

This will now be a regular visit....good evening..sipping a beer and polishing off some pizza

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Endomondo Running Workout

Endomondo Running Workout: was out running 6.25 km in 38m:55s using Endomondo.

Started watching a movie called, "Running with Demons".....not really sure what to think...had to pause it and get a run in so I guess it did provide some kind of motivation.  The thought of an ultra marathon really doesn't grab me by the kahuna's..I don't swim and my running is really limited to 10 k or less soooooo this would be a kind of a big committment to start flipping switches to this kind of thinking.

Decided to forgo tunes for the usual Lemoines point route as the natural sounds of mutha nature were far more entertaining.  Some juicy thick dark clouds brought in the most glorious warm rain.  Haven't really looked at stats but may have to start adding some extra loop to bring this up a few km...

Plan...chill tonight while girls go out to a neighbourhood party...not feeling this kind of socializing tonight..restful sleep and a road ride with where, when, and whom still yet to be determined..

Visit to TI, test ride (not on data) and back by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

Visit to TI, test ride (not on data) and back by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

Met up with Fil to get a little rip in.  Plan was to attack some of the local segments but this plan deviated...not sure when...perhaps it was when we were passed by rather quick kid on a tri-bike who was pre-riding the long course for the wknd Tri.  Now we all know we couldn't let this happen...even if it meant keeping 90 percent plus avg heart rate just to hang on his wheel..at the turnaround..and after staring at the meticulously clean Kestrel bike of his for the 20 plus k that I was drafting..we realized this was the same superstar that we bumped into last year.  He was out on a 160 k, "an easy ride", as he told us...'cause he was racing a criterium race the next day.

Considering we were already in Gananoque at this point..fig'd we should probably visit TI cycle and gaze as some new potential rides for next year...resulted in a test ride of a full Carbon Scott....felt like I was cheating, is the best way to describe the quick 10 k rip.

It was hot hot HOT...pretty much pacelined the entire way back...data doesn't capture it as I forgot to turn OFF the garmin while in shop..thought it did this automatically?!?!?  Weird...also didn't capture my %incline the whole way..hopefully this was just a one shot deal.

Cottage for rest of week....entertaining some good people...feeling the need to sit in front of the TV now, crack a cold one and catch up on some Olympics.  Ride tomorrow...where, when and with whom...yet to be confirmed.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Slippery CB quickie by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

Slippery CB quickie by ripnriding at Garmin Connect - Details

What was that stuff on the trails today...made things slippery?!?!?!?  Weird?  Oh yeah....I remember what that stuff is...RAIN!!!  Trail was super slick where dirt wasn't and rock was....oh well...great way to start the day..none the less...an hour plus of huffing and puffing can't be all bad.