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.

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.

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.

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

The rest of my pics are here

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?

Mmmm, good breakfast this morning.

This morning was a fine ride out at the dump. Shane, Darryll, Mike, myself, and a visiting Stuart all headed out for a spin. It was a little warm, but it was still great to be out there. We took our time heading up, and had lots of fun playing on logs and such.

Our route up was Skull, then Inventive, then up to C-Section. After the Switchbacks, we tracked along Twister, then up to Phase Two, then Dave’s Line. Right at the start of Hot Cherry Stuart had to take off. My back was starting to really bug me so I showed him the way back to the lot.

It was a great ride, and I couldn’t help but notice that I was feeling in pretty good shape. I climbed some hills that a year ago I wouldn’t have been able to climb. Not only that, but my legs weren’t burning. Something I am doing has certainly helped, and I am loving it.

Without further adieu, here are my pics.

Yesterday Sue and I went to some friends’ daughters first birthday party. What fun. Food glore, BEvERages for adults, juices for kids. There was sandiches and veggies. There was cake and ice cream. There was catching up with friends under a perfect blue sky, and there was playing with kids on the grass. Perfect day!

As always I had camera in hand. Pics are here.