Splattered Pain

Shane after a day of riding in Whistler

What makes a person combine some metal, some rubber, and some plastic bits together into a machine? What makes people take that machine and hurtle themselves off/down a mountain? What makes this so much fun?

I am not sure but there is something about mountain biking that I will always love. Even when the sport is cruel to me.

You see, I am more than a little bummed right now. This past weekend some guys and I had planned a trip to Whistler. The trip started great, but ended up going downhill really quickly (sorry about the pun). We left on time Friday, and got to the Nanaimo ferry on time. We drove to Whistler and got there at a reasonable hour. After checking inwe watched a couple bike vids, then crashed for the night. So far so good right?

The next morning it all seemed to come apart. First Sean couldn’t find the phone number for his buddy that we were supposed to meet up with. Rain splattered the mountain on and off the whole day. We then hit the lifts a little later than planned. Then Sean had a bad mechanical with a mangled hub. The rest of us, being the bike geeks that we are, did a couple runs while he got things straightened out.

Some pics here (mostly non riding).

Then the crap started for me.

First I had a flat while riding on Schleyer. Fun trail, but I didn’t even know I had a flat until I started to ride away after a small break. Later that same run, I landed a small 1 foot pullup, it felt like my back exploded as soon as I touched down. The pain quicky subsided, but after that any time I leaned over I was in pain. Not good!

I stopped and stretched for a while, and it seemed to loosen up. After a while we finished the run, and by that point I began to feel alright. I decided to do an easy run to see how I felt. As soon as I got off the lift I knew something bad was happening. I couldn’t lean over at all, and that made riding extremely difficult. I ended up coasting down the easiest trail when I should have taken the gondola down. Damn. My day was done. Actually my weekend was done. I wasn’t in serious pain, but I was feeling enough discomfort that I couldn’t ride, and that bummed me out. I headed back to the condo to get cleaned up. I only got 3 or 4 runs in. 🙁

The guys kept riding until the lifts closed then after they got cleaned up we headed out to get some grub. The old spaghetti factory had a 30-45 minutes wait so that was out. We ended up at the Longhorn where I quite enjoyed my chicken burger.

The next day we headed down to West Van so the guys could ride Cypress while I didn’t. Along the way we came upon a long line of stand still traffic. Turned out that the Alice Lake Triathlon was happening that morning, and the ride route crossed the highway.

After meeting up with Craig I headed to HorseShoe bay and got some lunch, some coffee, and soem gasoline. After that was all done I picked up the guys, and headed to the 3 pm ferry.

My weekend really was kind of crappy, but the rest of the guys had fun. What can I say. I wished I could have ridden more. I did go to Physio on Monday too. The prognosis for my back is good. The doc seems to think that I misaligned a joint in my middle back. He did some adjustments, did some elctrotherapy stuff, and gave me some stretches and exercises to do at home. My back is feeling better now, but it is still a little tight at times.

To see the pics I did take, click here.

To top this incredibly sucky ordeal off I woke up Tuesday with a cold and have missed a couple days of work this week. Somebody put me out of my misery!

Crashing Subject

building

Photography is much like a wave crashing on a rock. You choose the subject …

building

then aim for the subject …

building

and when you are all ready to take the shot …

alt text (description)

the subject strikes back! I was attempting to shoot a flying seagull. As I was panning, I felt something hit my hand. I didn’t take the shot, and when I looked, I had seagull poop on my hand, and splatter on my hoody.

Photography is dangerous!

Rain Fenders

rain on a leaf

I woke up early this morning because I was planning on riding to work so I could get in early. Instead of being greeted with sunshine, I lay in bed listening to the rain.

Something about rain in the summer is very refreshing and invigorating. I love the smell after a short shower. The damp earth, and the raindrops on the flowers have an intoxicating effect. The warm weather can make one feel slow and subdued, but a quick summer shower undoes all that. Even the sidewalks look nicer when wet during the summer.

In the end I decided to drive in with Sue since none of my bikes have fenders. Getting an extra bit of sleep always feels good.

Rathtrevor Sillines

This long weekend was a lot of fun. A large group of our friends went camping to Rathtrevor in Parksville. Most of us arrived Wednesday evening, only to discover that a campfire ban was going into effect at midnight. At least we got one campfire in.

our allowed campfire

On Thursday, the kids played themselves out,

so tired

and adults set up the camp.

setting up the right way

It was also prep time for dinner. What a fine West Coast feast it was!

mmmm, dinner west coast style

When it was bedtime, not everyone wanted to go to sleep.

who is the kid here?

Friday it was off to the beach.

the dogs leading the way

The dogs played while Little E got busy making us some mud pies.

Yoshi and Digger playing

making mud pies

We even found wildlife on the beach!

Rathtrevor wild life

Rathtrevor wild life

Unfotunately there was a wardrobe malfunction at the beach. 🙁

wardrobe malfunction

Back at camp there was some silliness, some snacks for dogs, and some napping.

sillyness

dog snacks

nap time

All too soon the families had to pack up and go home!

paking up the kidlets

It was a very fun weekend, but I didn’t relax as much as I have in past camping trips. Something about helping to tend to 3 dogs, 6 kids, and 9 adults that can be a lot of work. Enjoyable, but not necessarily relaxing. I look forward to doing it all again next year!

Other notes from the weekend:

– we could hear the Parksville fireworks from the campground, but couldn’t see any of them at all. we could also hear the crowd cheer after the finale
– some people drive way too fast in a campground that has lots of children.
– kids “sleeping” in tents still need supervision lest they find the makeup bag
– digger really does live up to his name
– every kid deserves a wagon. I think every single kid we went camping with enjoyed the little red wagon that K brought with her

All the pics I took are here. There are a lot of them too!

Triathlon Laps

Sue during the swim bike transition

Congrats to Ann and Sue! Both of them did the Qualicum Beach Triathlon this past Sunday while I played the support role (a role I think I am pretty good at). Both of them did very well, placing high in their age brackets.

Ann about to start the bike

This tri is one of the more interesting to watch. The pool has lots of glass so you can watch your favorite athlete(s). The ride is multiple laps on a road course, and the run is also a couple laps. This means that with very little walking you can see you athlete(s) multiple times. Very fun.

Sue about to cross the finish

As tiring as it is to compete, spectating is also tiring. Yoshi can attest to that.

a pooped pup

The rest of my pics are here

Low-tech Canadians

voter registration card

Tonight was the big vote. I got out and did my duty shortly after work. Pretty quick and easy, but I kind of laughed over how low-tech the Canadian system is. Well, at least my riding was low tech, I am not sure about all the others. You get a piece of paper. You get a pencil. You put an X beside the name you like. None of those fancy schmancy voting machines, nor punch out ballots. Paper and pencil is perfectly adequate for us Canadians! I still have yet to see who won.

One thing I have learned during this election campain is that I need to learn more about the Canadian political system.

I just realized one very odd thing about my vote though. I walked into the local polling station and presented my voter information card. They directed me to the appropriate table (the number on the back of the card). The ladies at the table marked down my number, then handed me my ballot. I marked the ballot, handed it back, and they tore off a small part of it. At no time did anyone ask for my ID. Very strange. As long as I had the magic card, I was allowed to vote. What if someone had stolen my card from my mailbox? Would they have been able to vote as me?

Shutting Fee

lillies at the crystal garden

Last night the photo club met to go shoot at the Crystal Garden. Unfortunately a couple members went the wrong day, so there was only 3 of us there for the shoot. I had forgotten how interesting that place is. The butterflies were amazing! It is sad to think that this place will be shutting its doors for good some day. If you are in Victoria, and are looking for a place to get some great photo’s, the entrance fee is definitely worth it.

Photos are here.