Three Speed

Yesterday’s ride was a three part affair. My goal was to ride to the ferry terminal, catch the 11 am ferry, then ride to Ganges on Saltspring Island. Good goal I thought, especially since Saltspring is a little hilly.

The first section was the flat easy ride. Except for one part. I left a little late, and quite quickly realized that it would be tight on making the ferry. Riding on the Lochside Trail I put the hammer down and rode as hard as I could. I kept having to slow down to pass people, but I would quickly get back up to speed. In Sydney I knew that getting on the ferry was going to be tight, so I started doing an almost all out sprint the last couple km’s. I got on the highway and as I climbed the final hill to the toll booths I could see a police officer on the side of the highway. I could see him raising his laser speed detector, yet no cars were passing me. As I passed him he informed me I was doing 25 KM/H up the hill.

At the booth I though I would have enough time to pay and hoof it down to the ferry. As the window opened the agent asked where I was headed and as soon as I said Saltspring, she sadly let me know the ferry had left the dock at 10:55, and the time as 10:56. The ferry was supposed to leave at 11! Just then my phone started ringing and I knew it was Sue. I was so out of breath I could barely talk. Nothing like riding hard for 1.5 hours to do that.

I then figured I would go for a shorter ride, then get on the 1 pm ferry to Saltspring.


View Tour de Victoria, April 3, 2011 Part 1 in a larger map

The stats for the first leg of my ride:
Total Distance: 34.17 km (21.2 mi)
Total Time: 1:17:30
Moving Time: 1:13:43
Average Speed: 26.45 km/h (16.4 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 27.81 km/h (17.3 mi/h)
Max Speed: 43.20 km/h (26.8 mi/h)
Min Elevation: -17 m (-56 ft)
Max Elevation: 76 m (250 ft)
Elevation Gain: 360 m (1181 ft)
Max Grade: 19 %
Min Grade: -25 %

Pretty decent average speed.

The next leg of my ride I had no clue where to go, nor where I would ride. I ended up riding along Land’s End Road until I hit West Saanich Rd. I knew where West Saanich would take me so I went down there. As I got close to the airport I took another left and headed into Sidney to stop for a coffee and a snack. Then it was back out to the terminal.


View Tour de Victoria, April 3, 2011 Part 2 in a larger map

The stats for leg 2 on the day:
Total Distance: 19.85 km (12.3 mi)
Total Time: 1:07:52
Moving Time: 51:15
Average Speed: 17.55 km/h (10.9 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 23.24 km/h (14.4 mi/h)
Max Speed: 44.25 km/h (27.5 mi/h)
Min Elevation: -11 m (-36 ft)
Max Elevation: 41 m (135 ft)
Elevation Gain: 176 m (576 ft)
Max Grade: 7 %
Min Grade: -7 %
Recorded: Sun Apr 03 11:01:23 PDT 2011

At the terminal I grabbed a sandwich, a drink, and a chocolate bar, and tried to stay warm. I was so grateful that the lounge on the ferry was heated.

By the time the ferry docked and I got off, my break time was close to an hour. Right off the bat there is a largeish hill. Uggh. My legs felt a little full of lead. I got warmed up pretty quickly and tried to hammer hard and meet up with my family. Then I met my match. A large hill coming out of Burgoyne Bay. I actually stopped partway up the hill to take a breather.

When I finally started the descent into Ganges I was feeling pretty fried. In Ganges I had something to eat, and caught a ride with Sue back to her Sister’s place where we had a great visit.


View Tour de Victoria, April 3, 2011 Part 3 in a larger map

The stats for leg three of my ride:
Total Distance: 14.59 km (9.1 mi)
Total Time: 41:21
Moving Time: 36:48
Average Speed: 21.16 km/h (13.1 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 23.78 km/h (14.8 mi/h)
Max Speed: 61.20 km/h (38.0 mi/h)
Min Elevation: -53 m (-174 ft)
Max Elevation: 106 m (349 ft)
Elevation Gain: 199 m (652 ft)
Max Grade: 8 %
Min Grade: -8 %
Recorded: Sun Apr 03 13:32:25 PDT 2011

The total mileage on the day was 68.61 (though my bike computer recorded over 71KM). What a day of riding though.

Anniversary Office

Today marks the 1 year anniversary of Yoshi’s death. I still think about him a lot, and I still miss him a lot. He was a great dog, and even though we have Heart now (who is another great dog), the hole he left behind is still there. I find it hard to believe that a year has gone by already. I still distinctly remember his last night with us, and the awful trip to the vet’s office.

Having Heart around does help since she is so similar to Yoshi, but her differences make me think about him. I kind of like that. I never intended to replace him.

Reasons Season

I just finished signing up for summer league ulti. For the first time ever I joined the men’s league and not the co-ed league.

There are a few reasons for this.

  1. Wednesday is the day Sue has the kids all day, so making it even longer by me going to play utli was hard.
  2. I was hoping to step up my game a little and play in a more competitive league
  3. Seriousness. Some of the co-ed teams I was on lacked any drive, or any seriousness. Don’t get me wrong though, I want to play to have fun, but I also want to play with other people there who actually try, and actually want to learn.

This summer should be interesting too. Since I have been training for the Tour de Victoria, I will be way more fit at the beginning of the season than I ever have been before. That can only mean good things for me.

The season starts in May and runs until August. Every other year the season has cost $60. For some reason this year the cost is $100. Quite the jump in price.

Trick Stats

Great ride yesterday. There were a few good hills to test the legs too. We headed out to the Metchosin area through Esquimalt Lagoon. The hill out of the lagoon was the big test for me. I started off too strong on the hill, forgetting how long it was. By the top my heart rate had spiked and my vision was starting to narrow. Yikes. Thankfully I made it to the top.

The only mistake I made on the ride was not starting to eat soon enough. I realized 1:20 into the ride I hadn’t eaten a thing. I choked by a gel to get some quick calories into me, then started in on a Cliff bar. That did the trick and I got myself back on my nutritional track, and didn’t bonk.

I even managed to lead the three of us for a while. That felt good to do my part in the ride. I’m still learning the rules to riding in a group, and now that my fitness is picking up, I can start doing my duty at the front.


View Tour de Victoria, March 26, 2011 in a larger map

Total Distance: 73.69 km (45.8 mi)
Total Time: 3:26:50
Moving Time: 3:06:24
Average Speed: 21.38 km/h (13.3 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 23.72 km/h (14.7 mi/h)
Max Speed: 55.92 km/h (34.7 mi/h)
Min Elevation: -20 m (-66 ft)
Max Elevation: 63 m (208 ft)
Elevation Gain: 673 m (2208 ft)
Max Grade: 14 %
Min Grade: -9 %

So, the stats above don’t lie. 73+ KMs averaging over 23 KM/H. Pretty happy with that.

Earthquake Interesting

In the past few months there have been a couple earthquakes that have made headlines around the world. The first was in Christchurch, New Zealand, the other in Japan.

The Japan quake has hit home for Sue and I. We have an earthquake kit, but neither of us feel like it is enough. We went through it again, updating the kids clothes, and taking stock of what we have. It’s ok, but needs more food and water supplies. I’ve also gotten the kit necessary to secure the hot water tank to the wall, and now that I have the appropriate drill, will get to that this weekend.

Since the Japanese quake, I’ve done more reading than normal on earthquake preparedness. Thankfully Victoria doesn’t have much of a Tsunami threat.

I’ve been on one emergency preparedness seminar already, and learned a lot of interesting things. A few days ago our daycare provider who is also on the Esquimalt town council sent out a powerpoint presentation about the Neighbourhood Emergency Preparedness Program.

It is a series of three courses over 5 sessions. There is a preparedness seminar, a disaster first-aid course, then a light urban search and rescue course. All three courses sound very interesting, and even if it weren’t for the recent quakes, I likely would have wanted to sign up for them.

As if I wasn’t busy enough already. Two young kids, training for the Tour de Victoria, working, looking for a new job, and now disaster training. 🙂 Sometimes it feels good to be busy.

Opted Often

Nice ride tonight. I had originally planned to come home, change quickly, then head out for an hour on the road. When I arrived home there were some complications, and I had forgotten to pick up a couple of the ingredients for dinner.

Instead I opted for a trainer ride after a light dinner. Another good workout. I did a 4 minute warm up, 1 hour ride, then a few minutes of cool down.

While spinning I can zone out pretty nicely and just think about stuff. The downside is that when I am not paying attention, my effort wanes as well, and I find myself not working as hard as I should be. Tonight was no different, but I was trying to be more cognizant of what my body was actually doing.

One of the thoughts I had was that the prep I am doing for the Tour de Victoria ride is having an awesome side-effect. My drive to ride has certainly increased. I find myself thinking about riding more often. I just want to ride again. The last few years have seen my riding diminish a little, but now I want to start riding regularly again. It’s good for me, and when I hit the trails, I can take Heart too.

Pool Days

Tuesday night is swim night. I at a light dinner and after Amy was in bed headed out for the pool.

The lanes were pretty clear tonight, making a much nicer experience for me. My first leg of swimming I went non-stop for 300m. I took a quick break, then jumped back in for another 300m. I finished off with 200m where I was swimming as hard as I could. I know I could have swam more tonight, but I wanted to end on a high note.

I’m definitely feeling stronger and healthier these days. For the entire ride on the weekend I felt strong and had some gas in the legs. Tonight I could have kept going. I’m really looking forward to the Tour de Victoria.

Plan Drained

Fantastic ride today. Sue and I were able to knock off three birds with two stones today. We had a lot to do, but I figured out a plan to get the all done in the shortest amount of time.

I wanted a long ride, Heart needed a walk badly, and we needed groceries. My plan? Ride my mountain bike to the dump, and Sue will drop the dog off. While Heart and I hit the trails, Sue and the kids go grocery shopping. When they are done, they come pick up Heart, and I ride home. Nice!

The plan actually worked too. I got in my three hour ride, Heart got her walk, and we got the groceries we needed.

My route:

View Tour de Victoria, March 19, 2011 in a larger map

The stats:
Total Distance: 41.22 km (25.6 mi)
Total Time: 3:38:05
Moving Time: 2:51:42
Average Speed: 11.34 km/h (7.0 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 14.41 km/h (9.0 mi/h)
Max Speed: 50.40 km/h (31.3 mi/h)
Min Elevation: -12 m (-40 ft)
Max Elevation: 261 m (855 ft)
Elevation Gain: 479 m (1573 ft)
Max Grade: 10 %
Min Grade: -7 %
Recorded: Sat Mar 19 14:26:00 PDT 2011
Activity type: mountain biking, cycling

So I rode a little over 40 km, and as you can see by the map, my phone lost the GPS signal a few times; perhaps my distance is a little higher. My average speed is pretty low since I took a few breaks while waiting for Sue to drop off Heart, and after we met up again.

I was surpised that it only took me a little over 45 minute to get from my place to the start of the trails at the dump. Heart and I then spent about an hour and 15 minutes on the trails. The ride home took about 54 minutes, but I took a much different route back. For the ride home I pushed hard and kept my bike in the big ring almost the entire way.

By the time I got home I was sweaty, muddy, drained, and very, very happy. I really enjoyed this ride.

Jerky Sleeping

One of my many fond memories of Yoshi are of him sleeping. I loved listening to him sleep at night. His loud, long deep sighs would often bring a smile to my face. His snoring would make me laugh, and his jerky, running movements while asleep would crack me up.

Occasionally he would sleep with his eyes open which was always creeeepy. Specially when his eyeballs would start moving about.

We would often find Yoshi sleeping on his back, legs in the air. At first I thought it was pretty weird, then I came to think of it as quirky. For a while we let him sleep on the futon in the guest room (we had special Yoshi sheets on it). When it was set up as a couch, he would stretch out, then flip his legs up against the back of the futon and go to sleep. He would also sleep on his back on his dog bed. His jowls would lift up and his eyelids would droop.

When he first started doing this he was still intact. That was the only thing about him sleeping that way I didn’t like 🙂

This sleeping pattern was a trait in him that I loved. It’s coming up on a year when Yoshi passed away. I think of him a lot still, but the past couple weeks I have really been thinking about him. I miss him still.

Overhead Wobbly

The training continues. There was a slight change to my schedule this week. I normally swim Tuesday nights, but I was late getting to the pool, and when I arrived there was only one lane open, and that lane was very busy. Instead I swam Wednesday after work.

I got in a quick 600m swim. It was odd swimming that time of day. It was actually darker in the water than when I swim at night. The sun was streaming in the windows and the overhead lights weren’t on. My swim was pretty good, but I was fighting a stitch the entire time. If I had pushed any harder I would have felt pretty bad. Also on one turnaround I messed up on my breathing and ended up swallowing a huge mouthful of water. That didn’t sit well with me and made my tummy upset for quite a while.

Tonight was a ride night for me. As soon as I got home from work I set up the bike on the trainer and had a good, hard spin there. A couple minutes warmup, nearly 50 minute ride, then another couple minutes of cool down. Wobbly legs afterward too.