time to lay out some new goals

I am not a fan of new year's resolutions, and think them largely a sham designed to make people feel bad as they are encouraged to make promises they know they cannot keep, only to be made to feel a failure when the predictable happens and they fail. The whole concept is kind of like deliberately tripping someone, and then mocking them for a clutz.

So, it is in that frame of mind that I make the following fitness goals, today, on November 28th. There will be no pressure this way.

It is my goal this next calender year to run about 1500 km, and to bicycle about 5000km. This is not as outrageous as it sounds, and should be doable without really exerting myself too terribly much since I like to do those things. Where this will be challenging is that I want to drop back down to between 170-175 pounds (I am six feet tall.) That might be a bit tougher although really, it goes with the territory of the sports I participate in.

I figure I might as well report my progress here.

So, with all that in mind, here is my first mileage report:

Run: 12.02 km @ 10.72kmph taking 1:07:17 hours.
Bike: 0 km

Run km total:  12.02
Bike km total: 0

Cycling won't start again until the salt is off the roads again in the spring.


Cheers.

back out on the mountain bike

Due to my cycling season being all messed up, I did not get to the mountain bike until just the other day. It is good to be back out in the woods again, even though it would appear that the snow will be arriving by next Friday (give or take a day or two, forecasts being what they are in Southern Ontario and all that.)

I arrived at a decision yesterday about 30 seconds before the reason for my decision became apparent. I am going to buy some dedicated aggressive mud tires for the off road machine next year. The bike currently has some Maxxis tires (Larson TT tires - they roll fast, and are great on hard pack, but...) on it which, quite frankly, suck for the clay soil that most of the local trail networks are make of. The top soil in the forest is OK with these tires, but introduce just a hint of moisture, and they pack up, become slicks, and skitter all over the place. Even moist air is enough to make the trails slightly slick and with these tires? It can get a bit sketchy.

two dabs and an idiot

Last night, I got to thinking that since today is my once-every-six-workday-leave-early-day that I would do something different than normal. Usually, what I do is take my cyclocross bike with me to work and link up with my friend and take off for about three or four hours of riding with a nice coffee mid ride. However, due to my friend's work schedule, that cannot happen on Mondays and Wednesdays.

I decided therefore to renew my relationship with the other woman.

I have the best wife ever. She does not mind my constant flirtations with the other woman, although lately I have been neglecting the other and spending my time with the mistress. Ahhh marital bliss!

Another day watching the Roller Girls

Spent another afternoon with the family at the Roller Derby. Shots follow:

The light in the arena was much better than last time we went - it was mid afternoon, and light from outside was streaming in through a few small windows and happened to fall on the track where a lot of my shots took place. Just that little bit of extra light made all the difference.

On a side note, I managed to get in about 67km of riding today with a friend. It was terrific, and may be the last ride that is that good until spring. Winter is going to start any day now - the forecast is for cooler weather next week and some rain. As long as the snow holds off until next Friday when I get my snow tires on the car, I will be happy.

All for now.

fancy struck

There is something deliciously funny about this sign. It is in a local bakery which specializes in gluten free cooking as well as food for vegetarians and vegans.

Based on the sign, I have to assume that at least some of the dishes they prepare contain vegans. This strikes me as a bit harsh. Vegans are not so bad that they have to be eaten, are they?

I will leave you with that bit of strangeness for now.

Cheers and have a good evening :)

How do we get more people to use alternate transport?

I have been thinking about this, and there is no easy answer to that question.

I suspect that it will take a fairly large change in our culture's approach to transport in general to get people out of their cars and using alternate forms of transportation. Really, bikes are just a part of the solution and for many, are impractical during the winter. Winter riding is doable, but is admittedly not for everyone

Currently, in Canada, we have cheap gas. We like to complain about it, but compared to most of the world, we have cheap gas. We also have vast distances to cover for many things - people living in rural communities (and by this I mean really rural - not small towns outside large urban centers) often have to drive vast distances just to get groceries and they have no choice if they are going to live there. One group in our society which is stuck in this regard is our farmers. Our farmers, besides having to often make long runs for basics,  don't have much choice about using petroleum powered machines if they are going to run a viable business and as a group produce enough food to feed our cities. People living in semi-rural areas often have the flexibility to move into more densely populated areas should they have a need to (we did, for instance, when we got sick and tired of feeling married to our cars.) The thing is, cheap gas makes it easy to justify daily grinding back and forth between cities and small towns that are often used primarily as bedroom communities or extended suburbs for large cities by people who do not take the time - or even have the time after their commute - to invest themselves in the local community.