I've been a bum

Quite the bum. You could also say lazy, a slacker, indifferent, passive, apethetic...you get the idea. Since sometime in, oh I don't know.... November(???), I've seriously neglected my ABC's: activity, blogging and cycling. In that time frame, being active has been a handful of hikes, snowshoe outings, skates on the canal and an afternoon of snowboarding. Blogging has been hoping that people continue to enjoy my Merry Christmas greeting until March, and cycling has been....pretty non-existent. I HAVE been commuting to work all winter, and have only missed three days due to snow, but I usually don't count commuting as any kind of training.

 One of the few hikes I got out on this winter, with a little extra resistance training!

Well, it dawned on me last week that I probably have the current fitness level of a couch potato. So I rode the trainer for the FIRST time this winter just 10 days ago, and got out for road rides the past two weekends. Oh, and I went to watch the roller races 2 weekends ago, but that only involved drinking beer. Which also leads to the other subject of my blog...beer. Trust me, drinking beer has NOT been neglected this winter. Come to think of it, I may have been drinking just a little TOO much beer...all the more reason to get my ass in gear. I know I'm in for a real wake up call come spring, but that's OK. I feel like my priorities have shifted a bit, and that means getting odd jobs and small renos done around the house. Of course, these small jobs end up turning into big projects and involve multiple trips to Home Depot, but I'm learning crap like how to replace plumbing pipes and "handy man" stuff like that.

 Thankfully, I haven't turned into this...yet.

 I'm actually more like this dude these days, right down to the brown overalls and the massive guns.

Hopefully I can show a bit more discipline over the next few weeks and keep up the likes of these roller riding pros come the spring.

Merry Christmas

A little holiday cheer with my most favourite Christmas song of all time. Enjoy.

Paved Bike Mag

I like magazines. I don't read books that often...actually very rarely, but magazines...there's something about the glossy, colourful pages and bright pictures that manages to hold my short attention span "just" long enough. So in a (not so) recent magazine purchasing binge, I discovered a new bike magazine.

Paved bike mag, which states on the cover "A brand new skinny tire magazine from the editors of Bike."  As you can guess, the focus is entirely on road biking.

Flipping through the mag, there are lots of pics, some quite amazing pictures, actually. The kind that you look at and appreciate in an arty kind of way, but also make you wanna run out the door and head out for a ride. (Then you realize you're biking through the flat farms around Ottawa instead of the Italian Dolomites).

Col du Glandon, France

After a long ride...

Italian Dolomites.

As well as having lots of pretty pictures to look at, there are also some good articles. For the most part, they are well written and captivating enough to keep me engaged until the end of the article. Topics covered include the Italian Dolomites, The Tour of Flanders, doping (enough already!!) and interviews with Steve Hed and Chris Carmichael among others. There are reviews of some sweet commuter bikes, but the P&A (parts and accessories) reviews were a little lacking, and that's usually my favourite section of any bike magazine...the eye candy that I want to spend my hard earned cash on.

Young Belgian entrepreneurs...that ain't no lemonade that they're selling.

Overall, I'd say that it was a good magazine, with decent mix of incredible pics and interesting articles. On a sidenote, I've never flipped through Rouleur or Embrocation magazines, but I imagine that Paved is going for a similar feel. Issue #2 should be out soon, and I'm curious to see what it has in store.

Another new magazine that I've yet to come across at my local magazine stands (which actually only consists of Chapter's and a tiny magazine shop next to my work) is Peloton magazine. Not much to say here, other than I hope that the magazine is better than their website, which is absolutely horrible...everything is very small, hard to navigate through and feels like it was thrown together with no real thought ...like a lot of Ottawa bike lanes.

I'll have more magazine reviews in the future...I'm currently making my way through Wend (more of a travel magazine) and Mountain Flyer, a mountain bike mag from the western U.S. of A.

'Tis the season

Wow! It's been 2 weeks since I last showed my face here. This is a brief post, just urging you to head to the LCBO and check the selection of seasonal beers and gift packs. The following is a sampling of some beers that I picked up, but haven't tried yet, so get out there and give them a go for yourself.

 Winter ales. Typically darker, stronger and a touch sweeter than conventional ales. I tried the St. Peter's winter ale last year, and found it went really well with, believe it or not, shortbread. The Great Lakes Brewery winter ale features hints of cinnamon, honey, ginger and orange peel, while the Samuel Smith winter welcome ale remains rather mysterious, as there isn't a lot of info on the web about it other than reviews on beer advocate.

 Innis and Gunn....'Nuff said. But in case you're wondering, there's a gift pack featuring the regular brew, plus a bottle of rum cask, winter ale and an Innis & Gunn glass. In the green box is the Highland Cask, aged in casks used for a 21 year old single malt scotch.

Southern Tier Imperial Choklat Stout; this heavy weight comes in with 9.5% alc.....proceed with caution! Harviestoun Ola Dubh special 12 reserve; similar to Innis & Gunn, it's matured in single malt scotch casks. There's also a special reserve 16 and a special reserve 30, which costs close to $20 for a 330ml bottle! Cannery Brewing Blackberry Porter (self-explanatory), coming out of Pentiction, BC.

Retired

I remember the first cross race I ever did...I think it was in 2000 or '01. It was at Britannia park,  I rode my mountain bike (a hardtail Devinci), and it was damn hot out for the end of September. I didn't fare very well, but what I remember the most was leading up to the race, asking my buddy Al (MacEachen) if he wanted to join me, and he said, I kid you not, "I'd rather get kicked in the nuts with a pair of frozen mukluks!" I find that cross creates pain in just about the whole body EXCEPT for the nuts (unless you mess up a remount), and I don't think getting kicked in the nuts would actually be more tolerable, but a funny story nonetheless. I just wanted to share that anecdote...it doesn't have much to do with the post or provide a segueway into anything, but it's funny as hell.

As the title of this post would imply, no more cross for me this year. I kind of already knew last week that I was done for the year. I skipped out this weekend because I need to study...I have a practical exam coming up in a week for the Canadian Pedorthic Association (to get my certification as a pedorthist), so that takes priority over getting muddy on my bike. Next week is out due to a family commitment, so there ya go, no more cross...and to be honest, I'm quite happy with that. I've had a bit of a love-hate relationship with cross this year. The courses are fun, technical and demanding, and it's a hell of a workout. However, because it is a race, a bit of my competitive nature comes out, and then I get frustrated with myself in terms of results. There is a long list of reasons why I haven't met my expectations this cross season (which I won't bore you with), but this was really my first "cross season". Before this year, I had done a total of 6 cross races (including that one from almost a decade ago). I did just as many this year alone, so I have learnt quite a bit and know what I need to do to ride better next year. The only goal that I have set for myself for next year, with regards to any biking, is to "do better at cross races". I haven't decided yet what that involves, exactly, but I have a lot of time to think about it. For now, other thoughts of what I want to accomplish next year are on hold while I practice doing plaster casts of Sonia's feet.

Time to pack these up.

 

Of course, between studying, I have time for "breaks", which means more beer reviews. First up is a seasonal offering from Mill Street, Schleimhammer Roggenbier (don't EVEN ask what that means). A bit of mystery shrouds this beer, as it's not featured on their website. After a bit of research, I found out that it's brewed in the style of a traditional German rye beer, using a mix of rye, wheat and barley malt. The aroma of this beer is really nice...a sweet rye smell combined with toasted malts and a hint of fruitiness. The complex aroma leads you to believe that this will be a full flavoured beer, and unfortunately, it disappoints. The flavour and the finish are faint, and left me wanting more. Probably wouldn't buy this one again.

 

Another seasonal Ontario offering is the Smoked Oatmeal Stout from Trafalgar Ales and Meads. This beer has all the hallmarks of a stout; hints of caramel, toffee, chocolate, and coffee in the aroma. The initial flavour when it hits the tongue is quite nice, but is quickly taken over by a bitter aftertaste. This beer also has a very light body...almost watery; very uncharacteristic for a stout. Unfortunately, another disappointing beer. This one makes this post 0 for 2, and only 1 for 3 with respect to Trafalgar brewing.

RE-TAR-DED!!

Hammer and Anvil Day 2 in Pictures

Some random pics from the Ride with Rendall cross race on Sunday. If you're on facebook, I've got a bunch of pics up there. Caption free 'cause I'm feeling lazy. Enjoy!