It is really annoying to call what you think is a business phone, and the person answers with a simple ‘hello’. Do I have the wrong number? Did I call their personal cell phone?
Category: content
Chilly Descent
Saturday I had a great, but chilly ride. My original plan was to try and get 100km in. The roads were wet so I really felt the need to install a new set of fenders. That ended up taking longer than anticipated, and with Heart home alone and crated, I decided to shorten the ride, but take on more vert. The rough goal was about 3 hours of riding and 1000m of climbing.
Starting off I felt like I had dressed well enough for the 5 degree weather. I warmed up enough to keep going and headed out to Metchosin. Once out there I decided a trip over Bear Mountain was in order. My legs felt great on the climb, but on the descent I got a chill that I was never able to get rid of the rest of the ride.
After Bear Mountain I went out Millstream to Ross Durance, then meandered a bit before heading for home. I was so close to my 1000m goal that I contemplated finding a few more short hills to get the vert, but didn’t knowing that I easily could have.
Successful February training ride I would say.
Fun run today with @therealsox after a long ride yesterday. My legs are feeling nice and toasty tonight.
Fun run today with @therealsox after a long ride yesterday. My legs are feeling nice and toasty tonight.
Customer Service Done Right
Different customer service at a local restaurant named Lure. We stopped last night to have a drink and when Sue lifted her glass off the table, the bottom of the glass fell out and the entire drink poured on the table and onto Sue’s lap. We grabbed the waitress who immediately got some napkins and we mopped up. She apologized and ordered another drink right away.
Within a couple minutes the manager came over and apologized profusely. He asked if we needed her clothes dry cleaned and if we were staying in the hotel. He also asked if we were planning on ordering. We declined the dry cleaning and remarked that we had only stopped in for a drink. Without hesitation he made it right and offered three rounds of drinks as an apology. A very nice gesture indeed.
After our drinks, and as we were packing up he came back, apologized again, hoped we would visit again some time, then wished us good evening.
Here was something that happened somewhat out of their control, and without hesitation or prompting by us, he made it right. I estimate that six drinks would have easily been $50. The garage door company fought me over $5 that they over charged me for.
I just saw some snow flakes falling for the first time this winter! Exciting for us, but I know other parts of the country are sick of snow by now.
This year I’ve joined the @cycleoflifetour and will be riding nearly 200km over 2 days in July to raise funds for hospice care on Vancouver Island. I’ve promised to raise at least $1,000 (which I’ve already passed), but have a personal goal of $3,000. To support my effort click the link in my bio.
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#cycleoflifetour #cycleoflifetour2019
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#cycleoflifetour #cycleoflifetour2019
Simplifying my digital life has meant unfollowing and unsubscribing from many feeds. FOMO is strong with me and it feels odd at first, but I forget about it quite quickly. Later on it feels liberating. I feel lighter.
I took the plunge and changed my micro.blog to be the full feed from my site. This is my attempt at [POSSE](https://indieweb.org/POSSE). I don’t think I’m ready to give up Instagram yet, but Twitter and Facebook I never post to, save for a couple exceptions.
Cycling Review
2018 was a pretty fun year in cycling. I took it easy not having the BCBR as a goal, but still had some training goals. Sue and I did the Chafe 150 Gran Fondo, but I also trained for, and raced in, the Island Cup series of Enduro races.
This post though is about my 2018 cycling year in review.
2016 was a build year for BCBR. At the end of the year I started my long rides, and was doing two spin classes a week. 2017 was a big year for me. Lots of cycling, running, and other forms of training all culminating in BCBR. After that race I took a while off riding.
2018 had me on my road bike quite a bit getting ready for the Gran Fondo. Oddly I was also racing enduro events in amongst my road bike training. I’m not sure if that helped my enduro races or not. I didn’t get many long mountain bike rides in, so I wasn’t as comfortable on my Covert as I would have liked. The fun part about some of those races is that I raced them ‘blind’ either not having any practice on the trails, or never having ridden them at all!
The Gran Fondo itself was an excellent getaway with Sue. We rode together the entire way, though near the end of our 80 mile event my back was starting to act up. I wondered if that was due to me not riding at my natural pace?
In the fall we did the annual guys road trip, and this time we stayed on Vancouver Island riding in Duncan, Cumberland, Parksville, and Nanaimo.
What do I see in store for 2019? Well, I can answer that easily since I am late to the game with this 2018 review. So far Sue and I have signed up for the 5 Boro ride in NYC. I would also like to race the Island Cup enduro series again. The final big ride is the Cycle of Life Tour in July. A 2 day 200km ride to raise money for hospice care on Vancouver Island. That is enough to keep me busy I think