Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Home for the Holidays
I've made the drive north to Owen Sound for the holidays. On the way here I passed by a hitchiker on Highway 6 and I nearly stopped to pick him up. He looked so cold, and based on the red splotches on his face, he looked like he'd been waiting for while. As I drove past I slowed and contemplated the situation. Looks "normal" enough. Doesn't look *too* scary... But the "sane" portion of my conscience convinced me to drive on past. After considering the idea some more, I eventually pulled into a laneway and turned around. I had it all planned out - the questions I would ask, which friend I would call to let know what I was doing - but as I drove past I was disappointed to watch a pick-up truck pull over and the hitchiker run and jump in.
Side-note: It's amazing what living in NZ will do to you!...
Anywho... since arriving home, I have been involved in mom and dad's latest excitement: buying a new car. Yes, that's right. Mom and dad are finally replacing their mini-van. And bonus... they are upgrading! They are finally saying goodbye to Ford and saying hello to Toyota - a RAV4! Not only are they breaking away from their commitment to crappy North American cars (I have WAY too many memories of being stranded on the side of the road in each one of the Ford vehicles we owned during my childhood), but they are also trying out a brand new car for the very first time. Well, not fully brand new (it was a demo model with 6000km on it) but certainly close enough! For all that I am against buying brand new, I think that there is a time and a place for it, and I think mom and dad have definitely earned this one. I went with mom today when she took the certified cheque to seal the deal, but I'm gonna have to wait for the test-drive since the car was being loaded onto a truck and sent to Toronto to have heated seats installed.
Also in the news (literally) - dad! Dad made page 6 of the Owen Sound Sun Times last week in a feature story on the solar panels that their church, St. Andrew's Presbyterian, had installed. Pretty cool!
I've made the drive north to Owen Sound for the holidays. On the way here I passed by a hitchiker on Highway 6 and I nearly stopped to pick him up. He looked so cold, and based on the red splotches on his face, he looked like he'd been waiting for while. As I drove past I slowed and contemplated the situation. Looks "normal" enough. Doesn't look *too* scary... But the "sane" portion of my conscience convinced me to drive on past. After considering the idea some more, I eventually pulled into a laneway and turned around. I had it all planned out - the questions I would ask, which friend I would call to let know what I was doing - but as I drove past I was disappointed to watch a pick-up truck pull over and the hitchiker run and jump in.
Side-note: It's amazing what living in NZ will do to you!...
Anywho... since arriving home, I have been involved in mom and dad's latest excitement: buying a new car. Yes, that's right. Mom and dad are finally replacing their mini-van. And bonus... they are upgrading! They are finally saying goodbye to Ford and saying hello to Toyota - a RAV4! Not only are they breaking away from their commitment to crappy North American cars (I have WAY too many memories of being stranded on the side of the road in each one of the Ford vehicles we owned during my childhood), but they are also trying out a brand new car for the very first time. Well, not fully brand new (it was a demo model with 6000km on it) but certainly close enough! For all that I am against buying brand new, I think that there is a time and a place for it, and I think mom and dad have definitely earned this one. I went with mom today when she took the certified cheque to seal the deal, but I'm gonna have to wait for the test-drive since the car was being loaded onto a truck and sent to Toronto to have heated seats installed.
Also in the news (literally) - dad! Dad made page 6 of the Owen Sound Sun Times last week in a feature story on the solar panels that their church, St. Andrew's Presbyterian, had installed. Pretty cool!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Training for the Coast to Coast Indoors
Yesterday my friend Jack did one of the craziest combined training/fundraising events that I have ever heard of! I can't remember if I blogged about this one yet, but Jack has qualified to compete at the world multisport championships next year which happens to be the famous Speight's Cost to Coast race in NZ that I almost helped with last year.
For those that don't know anything about this race, here is a wee summary:
The Speight's Coast to Coast traverses the South Island of New Zealand from Kumara Beach on the Tasman Sea to Sumner Beach on the Pacific Ocean. Over either two days (individuals or two person teams) or the one-day event (individuals only), competitors cycle 140 kms (three stages of 55km, 15 km and 70 km), run 36 km (including a 33 km mountain stage that crosses the Southern Alps) and kayak 67kms of the grade two Waimakariri River through the Grand Canyon of New Zealand, the Waimakariri Gorge.
Top competitors take ten and three quarter hours to cover the 243kms while the slowest time every recorded was twenty-four and a half hours.
The average age in the event is 36 years and the oldest ever was 75 while the youngest 15. The minimum age to enter is 18 and there is no upper age limit. The school teams section has a minimum age of 16.
The event is divided into three races - the One-Day or Longest Day event is for individuals only while the Two-Day event is for individuals and two person teams. In the Teams section the runner and the kayaker both do cycling stages. The only requirements for the race are that you meet the minimum age and provide a grade two kayaking certificate if you're an individual or a team kayaker. Oh yes, you should also be fit!
Since it is a very expensive race for him to take on, Jack has decided to do a little fundraising to off-set some of the costs. I'm not sure who came up with this brilliant idea, but the outcome was a full-day training event at the Owen Sound Heritage Place mall. That's right - Jack took on the "Longest Day" challenge all with the aid of indoor training equipment - treadmill, spin bike, and ergometer (indoor rowing machine).
3 km run
55 km cycle
33 km run
15 km cycle
67 km rowing (kayaking in New Zealand)
70 km cycle
===========
243 kilometres / 150 miles.
That’s about the distance from Owen Sound to St. Catherine’s!
After one very long day indeed, he managed to complete it all in just over 9 hours (just in time for the mall to close down on a Saturday evening). I honestly don't know how he did it. From my limited experience doing some of my half-marathon training runs indoors on a treadmill (a horribly daunting experience), I can only imagine how mentally painful it must have been to do. However, according to the following collection of videos, it appears that he managed to maintain good spirits throughout.
Way to go Jack! Congrats on finishing! I think that was probably some great preparation for you. Although I'm certain you will find the hills a bit steeper, the waves a bit wilder, and the scenery a tad bit more "scenic", I think you now have a better idea of what's in store. I look forward to hearing about how it all goes on race day in February!
Yesterday my friend Jack did one of the craziest combined training/fundraising events that I have ever heard of! I can't remember if I blogged about this one yet, but Jack has qualified to compete at the world multisport championships next year which happens to be the famous Speight's Cost to Coast race in NZ that I almost helped with last year.
For those that don't know anything about this race, here is a wee summary:
The Speight's Coast to Coast traverses the South Island of New Zealand from Kumara Beach on the Tasman Sea to Sumner Beach on the Pacific Ocean. Over either two days (individuals or two person teams) or the one-day event (individuals only), competitors cycle 140 kms (three stages of 55km, 15 km and 70 km), run 36 km (including a 33 km mountain stage that crosses the Southern Alps) and kayak 67kms of the grade two Waimakariri River through the Grand Canyon of New Zealand, the Waimakariri Gorge.
Top competitors take ten and three quarter hours to cover the 243kms while the slowest time every recorded was twenty-four and a half hours.
The average age in the event is 36 years and the oldest ever was 75 while the youngest 15. The minimum age to enter is 18 and there is no upper age limit. The school teams section has a minimum age of 16.
The event is divided into three races - the One-Day or Longest Day event is for individuals only while the Two-Day event is for individuals and two person teams. In the Teams section the runner and the kayaker both do cycling stages. The only requirements for the race are that you meet the minimum age and provide a grade two kayaking certificate if you're an individual or a team kayaker. Oh yes, you should also be fit!
Since it is a very expensive race for him to take on, Jack has decided to do a little fundraising to off-set some of the costs. I'm not sure who came up with this brilliant idea, but the outcome was a full-day training event at the Owen Sound Heritage Place mall. That's right - Jack took on the "Longest Day" challenge all with the aid of indoor training equipment - treadmill, spin bike, and ergometer (indoor rowing machine).
3 km run
55 km cycle
33 km run
15 km cycle
67 km rowing (kayaking in New Zealand)
70 km cycle
===========
243 kilometres / 150 miles.
That’s about the distance from Owen Sound to St. Catherine’s!
After one very long day indeed, he managed to complete it all in just over 9 hours (just in time for the mall to close down on a Saturday evening). I honestly don't know how he did it. From my limited experience doing some of my half-marathon training runs indoors on a treadmill (a horribly daunting experience), I can only imagine how mentally painful it must have been to do. However, according to the following collection of videos, it appears that he managed to maintain good spirits throughout.
Way to go Jack! Congrats on finishing! I think that was probably some great preparation for you. Although I'm certain you will find the hills a bit steeper, the waves a bit wilder, and the scenery a tad bit more "scenic", I think you now have a better idea of what's in store. I look forward to hearing about how it all goes on race day in February!
Tobogganing
Over the past week we've had several more snowfalls and there have been some bus and school cancellations in some of the surrounding areas (Owen Sound had two "snow days" in a row on Thursday and Friday). It is definitely snowy here and I have a good feeling that it's gonna be a white Christmas this year unless the freezing rain we are scheduled to get today really comes hard and melts away all that we've got.
Yesterday I took full advantage of the white stuff and went toboganning down at McLellan Park (an old dump) which has a pretty massive hill that is commonly referred to as "Mount Trashmore". What a great afternoon - first time out in close to two years. Great fun indeed! Although I typically use my "flying saucer" style toboggan, I tried out an inflatable innertube for the very first time and it was well worth it! Thanks for the great suggestion, Mike! I think I may have been converted. To describe the experience would be to compare it to riding in a sporty convertible with cushiony shocks and smooth performance tires (minus the seatbelt of course!).
Over the past week we've had several more snowfalls and there have been some bus and school cancellations in some of the surrounding areas (Owen Sound had two "snow days" in a row on Thursday and Friday). It is definitely snowy here and I have a good feeling that it's gonna be a white Christmas this year unless the freezing rain we are scheduled to get today really comes hard and melts away all that we've got.
Yesterday I took full advantage of the white stuff and went toboganning down at McLellan Park (an old dump) which has a pretty massive hill that is commonly referred to as "Mount Trashmore". What a great afternoon - first time out in close to two years. Great fun indeed! Although I typically use my "flying saucer" style toboggan, I tried out an inflatable innertube for the very first time and it was well worth it! Thanks for the great suggestion, Mike! I think I may have been converted. To describe the experience would be to compare it to riding in a sporty convertible with cushiony shocks and smooth performance tires (minus the seatbelt of course!).
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Snow Tires On!
I would probably never ever make such a big deal about this event, but in keeping with the tradition of marking the differences between my life last year in NZ and my life this year back in Canada, I thought I'd make a wee posting to commemorate this day.
Today I put my snow tires on. Well... ok... I should clarify: Today, my brother, Rob, put my snow tires on for me. I've been putting this one off for a while since the more you drive on snow tires in warm weather and without snow, the faster the treads wear down, and the sooner you have to pay to replace them ($400+). However, now that we are officially into December and we've had the occasional reminder that snow is soon here to stay, I decided it was time to get the job done.
I like my snow tires for many reasons: they make me feel safe, I can drive MUCH better in the snow with them, and it feels like they are extra insurance in the winter.
The downside: my car now officially looks gangster with the ugly black rims that my snow tires reside on. If I had lots of extra money I'd consider buying some fancier/prettier looking rims, but for now, these will just have to do.
On a different note... today also marks the day that my camera officially bit the biscuit. That's right - RIP to my Canon Powershot S410. I guess the battery is kaput or something. I dunno... it just won't even turn on anymore. I went to take a picture of the snow tire changing process and had to resort to taking a picture on the 2 mega pixel camera on my phone instead (now... if only I could figure out how to get the picture OFF my phone!). Sandra arrived home shortly after the process was complete, so I was able to capture a shot of the finished product on her camera instead.
I wonder how long I can last before I finally cave and get the Shockproof/Waterproof Panasonic Lumix that I've been eyeing up for a while now...
I would probably never ever make such a big deal about this event, but in keeping with the tradition of marking the differences between my life last year in NZ and my life this year back in Canada, I thought I'd make a wee posting to commemorate this day.
Today I put my snow tires on. Well... ok... I should clarify: Today, my brother, Rob, put my snow tires on for me. I've been putting this one off for a while since the more you drive on snow tires in warm weather and without snow, the faster the treads wear down, and the sooner you have to pay to replace them ($400+). However, now that we are officially into December and we've had the occasional reminder that snow is soon here to stay, I decided it was time to get the job done.
I like my snow tires for many reasons: they make me feel safe, I can drive MUCH better in the snow with them, and it feels like they are extra insurance in the winter.
The downside: my car now officially looks gangster with the ugly black rims that my snow tires reside on. If I had lots of extra money I'd consider buying some fancier/prettier looking rims, but for now, these will just have to do.
On a different note... today also marks the day that my camera officially bit the biscuit. That's right - RIP to my Canon Powershot S410. I guess the battery is kaput or something. I dunno... it just won't even turn on anymore. I went to take a picture of the snow tire changing process and had to resort to taking a picture on the 2 mega pixel camera on my phone instead (now... if only I could figure out how to get the picture OFF my phone!). Sandra arrived home shortly after the process was complete, so I was able to capture a shot of the finished product on her camera instead.
I wonder how long I can last before I finally cave and get the Shockproof/Waterproof Panasonic Lumix that I've been eyeing up for a while now...
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Snow!
I awoke this morning to discover that we had a fairly decent snowfall covering the ground. This is the 2nd official snowfall of the season, but the first to have any sort of lasting power. Although it's all gone now as I type this, it did manage to last until 10 or 11 this morning.
Exciting times! In some, weird, way, I'm eagerly awaiting the massive snowfalls that are inevitably ahead of us!
I awoke this morning to discover that we had a fairly decent snowfall covering the ground. This is the 2nd official snowfall of the season, but the first to have any sort of lasting power. Although it's all gone now as I type this, it did manage to last until 10 or 11 this morning.
Exciting times! In some, weird, way, I'm eagerly awaiting the massive snowfalls that are inevitably ahead of us!
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