After a very low lake level at freeze up it’s surprising how high it is on the May long weekend. Not as high as 2014, but getting there.
Floating at the end of rampGetting close to the topSwim platform well underNormally dry under kayak rackWater line in the water
The current level of Lake of the Woods is 323.66 m (1061.9 ft), over 95th percentile level for this time of year. The average lake level rose by 26 cm (10 in) over past week. The lake is above the top of the Legislated Operating Range, 323.47 m (1061.25 ft). The International Lake of the Woods Control Board has been activated and will work with the Canadian Lake of the Woods Control Board to approve any actions taken with respect to Lake of the Woods. The dams in Kenora remain fully opened with no changes scheduled.
We’re out at the cottage on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the May long weekend. One of the perks of being retired.
May long weekend is the traditional weekend for opening up the cottage, turning on the water and getting everything operational for the 2022 season. May it be long, sunny, warm/hot, with lots of family and friends.
A foggy start to the day
In over 40 years of opening up this cottage it’s always interesting to experience. It can go totally smooth to a total disaster. Well, maybe not disaster but some openings are a little more challenging than others. This year things are going quite smoothly.
Pretty much the number one concern is the water system. For many years this involved putting the intake line back in the lake and priming the pump. A few year back this started to be a real problem. Several attempts were made at fixing the pump, replacing the pump, coaxing the pump, praying over the pump. Finally we switched to a submersible pump. Best decision ever. You turn it on and it pumps, no priming required and it stays in the lake all year round so no pulling it out in the fall and putting it back in the spring.
Over the years cottage water systems evolve. A leak here, a burst pipe there, additions and adjustments everywhere. To solve many of the issues with water freezing in the lines over the winter numerous pipe disconnect points evolved which meant disconnecting and re-connecting every year.
A couple of years back I made a fairly serious upgrade to the plumbing to facilitate an easier shutdown and startup. Pex pipe to the rescue. In conjunction with ball valve drains all the disconnect points were installed. 1/4 turn and it’s opened or closed. All the under cottage water lines were upgraded to pex and all outside taps were changed to 1/4 turn ball valves that don’t leak the way taps with washers eventually do.
All in all with the upgraded plumbing and the submersible pump starting the water system is much faster and easier. However, not totally bullet proof! Somehow last year some dirt got on the pressure switch contacts causing the pump to not run. And not immediately but the next day after it seemed to have started up just fine.
This years “mystery” was the hot water tank. After it was full of water I turned on the power at the breaker. Normally, 20 minutes later you have screaming hot water. This year, ice cold. Lake water temperature is currently 5°C. Not the best temperature for a shower. So I reset the breaker and thankfully we have hot water. This could be an early sign of the breaker getting worn out as we turn it off when we’re not here. So, 40 years of spring/summer/fall weekends with it getting flicked off and on may be wearing it out.
This morning (Thursday) I tackle a few more “opening” chores.
Move all the chairs and outside stuff out of the shop
Reconnect the washing machine (separate post on that)
Fire up the septic system by installing the air pump and connecting a few hoses etc. (uneventful, which is great as this is the Number 2 ? concern at the lake)
Cut up a downed tree blocking the path to the dock.
Unload the chairs and loungers from the dock storage shed
Notice that the sail boat ramp is “gone” due to the high water. I’ll look around the bay for it this after noon.
Ok, that’s enough, time for a coffee break, perhaps some lunch and then heading out on the Oarboard to look around for that missing boat ramp.
Listened to a great meditation podcast this morning where they mentioned the five solas, latin for “alone”, which I was unfamiliar with. The five solas are:
As I posted a week ago I set a goal earlier in the year. And, in spite of Domino’s pizza and a couple of glasses of wine last night, the goal was achieved this morning at 198.4. I know nobody but me cares about this but goal achieved. Feels good.
Now the new goal is to hold between 195 and 200 and make this my new normal.
Back in February 2022 I embarked on a weight loss program. I’m sure that this is something that many of us have done from time to time but this is the first time I’ve been serious (sort of) about Dorning some weight.
Back in April 2021 I dipped below 200 lbs and I wasn’t even trying. II’d say it was my medical situation that did it all by itself with no conscious help from me. I remember feeling good about that weight and how I looked etc. It’s the weight I was when I graduated high school and hadn’t seen since that time. So that was the goal, get back to 200.
For me the weight loss was primarily about helping my performance on the bike. Less weight to ride around with makes you faster as you increase your fitness levels. Less weight to pedal up those hills at the lake. All that plus I’ll look a bit better in the bathing suit this summer. ?
So here is the plan. Eat and drink less, exercise more. Pretty simple eh? Eating less was aided by a daily reminder I put on my phone.
I am consistent – Back to 200! Healthy foods in healthy amounts – skip desserts! smaller plate, one plate, no seconds
I’m a firm believer in that it’s all about the calories. Less calories in and the body will burn off the weight. So how did that go? Well… it was a good reminder for sure and some days I stuck with the program and some days I didn’t. I’ve not yet got into the “small plate” habit but I think my portion control is a bit better. Desserts are less frequent and it’s 1-2 cookies not half a bag of Fudgeeos
More exercise = more riding the bike + some weight training. This part is going very well. Almost daily there is 1+hours on the bike either indoors on the trainer doing formal interval training or outside on generally longer rides. On non-riding days there is a 1 hour weight program. Occasionally, both on the same day. ?
I decided to record weight daily and have an official weigh-in day once a week on Tuesday. Why Tuesday? Well, I thought if I messed up the program on the weekend that I might be able to get back on track on Sunday and Monday and make the weekly goal on Tuesday.
And what was the weekly goal? Well somewhere I heard that 1 lb/week was a reasonable rate of loss and 2lbs/week would be fairly aggressive. So, being a bit of a data guy II created a spreadsheet and targeted somewhere between 1-2 lbs/week.
So all of this put together has worked out fairly well overall with one little exception, 200 Tuesday. Here is the data to date.
Blue = 1 lb/week, Green = 2 lbs/week, Red = Me
What the chart doesn’t show is that there have been several days recently where I’ve been under 200, just never (so far) on Tuesday, the “official” weigh-in day. Generally, I manage to self-sabotage myself in the days right before Tuesday with a little to much self congratulation on making the goal. Right now I’m hovering daily between 201-202, agonizingly close, but no prize. May long weekend was the planned date to make the goal which is only 8 days away. The pressure is on!
The counter is ready and the installers are here. Inside of two hours the counter is installed and the new sink is in place.
For me this meant that last night I removed all the now old counter tops for the last time. Disconnected the kitchen sink and the dishwasher and move the stove out of the way.
Everything, everywhereWe’re topless!Behind the stove where no man goesDishwasher removedFirst piece is inThis section is doneHalf the main L section in place
Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of the process they used to join the two pieces right in the middle of the sink. Two suction devices where placed on either side of the sink cutout and a vacuum pump attached. Each suction device had a bar on one side that allowed the installer to attach a nylon web strap with a ratchet device to each suction device. The epoxy joint compound was then mixed and applied, the two sides were pulled together by the ratcheting strap while multiple clams ensured that both the back and front edges of the joint were flush and smooth on top. The joint is almost invisible in the end.
Of course once the counter installers are done, the other trades (me) are on tap to put all the appliances back and reconnect the dishwasher and re-locate the electrical switch for the garburator . The sink connections have to wait 24 hours to allow all the silicone and epoxy to set properly.
The new deeper sink requires a small adjust meant to the drain, which turns out to be a full re-build of the connections from the garbage disposal to the drain line.
Plumber’s delight
Once we’re all reconnected it’s put back all the stuff that lives on the counter and start thinking about the next step which is is to finish repairing the wall behind where the old counter top was and prime it in preparation for backsplash tiling.
So, along with loosing some weight I’ve been focused on another cycling fitness goal, that of improving my Functional Threshold Power or FTP.
Once upon time I hit a record high in my FTP of 311 way back in January 2014 and that was the last time it’s been anywhere near that good.
Over the last 4 1/2 years various health issues have put a dint in my cycling abilities and correspondingly the FTP has been on a bit of a roller coaster. But after some steady workouts over the winter things are once again looking up. Today, I hit 230, the highest it’s been in a while.
I’ve been using the Wahoo X (formerly known as Wahoo Systm before they acquired RGT) for measuring FTP for the last little while and TrainerRoad before that all the way back to March 2012.
Wahoo Systm has two tests that they use to measure FTP the Half Monty and the Full Frontal. My last few testing results are below.
Pretty excited to be back to the cycling fitness level prior to starting on The Journey
Surprised that I’ve not done a post about my F1 addiction.
After watching a lot of Drive to Survive while in Toronto hospital last year I find F1 fascinating. Probably the most interest in any sporting event in my life so far. I’ve never followed a sport his closely before.
For whatever reason I was a big Mercedes/Hamilton fan last year but this year it’s hard to stand by the team when things are going so badly for them. It’s quite a shockingly bad start to the season with no signs of improving so far. But, never count them out, there is a lot of racing left.
This year my interest is even higher as I’ve joined an F1 Fantasy league. I’m currently sitting 10/19 and of course hoping to move up this weekend.
I have to admit that I’ve been banking on Ferrari for the Fantasy league but still hoping Mercedes/Russel can get back in the game and score some big points for my team.
