Tempus Fugit

Latin (tem-pu̇s-ˈfü-git): Time Flies

Posts

  • It isn’t pretty.

    Just reading up about training with a power meter for road cycling and ended up on Joe Friel’s blog where he is discussing the issues and challenges of “old” or “aging” athletes. Here is his take on the things that your aging body can do to you.

    Joe Friel

    For the purpose of this discussion let’s say that one is “old” over age 50. By this age it is usually apparent that an athlete is experiencing several life- and performance-altering physical changes: lower levels of testosterone, lost muscle mass, increased risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis (especially in cyclists and swimmers), an increased tendency for acid-base imbalance further contributing to bone and muscle loss, a greater propensity for weight gain, lost soft tissue elasticity with an increased likelihood of injury, reduced enzyme activity, less tolerance for heat, and more. It isn’t pretty.

    I’m thinking that “old” is way beyond 50 for sure, but some of the changes can be quite challanging to accept or adapt to for sure.

  • Sorry Lady

    Just wanted to say I’m sorry to the lady who yelled at me from her car on Assiniboine Ave this morning after I made a radical lane change in front of her car on the Queen Elizabeth Way bridge.

    I know I surprised you and you didn’t see me coming until the last second. It was all my fault. I made a bad decision. I’m sorry.

    I heard you say “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”, well the answer is “No”. If you had hit me you would have been trying to rear end that car in front of you. I’m sure you weren’t trying to do that either.

    I cycle that route every day so there is a chance we’ll see each other again. I made a mistake. I’m sorry and I hope you’ll forgive me and give me a second chance.

  • Old Guy?

    A few weeks back I’m out riding at the lake and I’m on the Jones Road heading north. I notice another rider up ahead and I start to work on closing the gap. I’m thinking this person must be a fairly good rider as I’m not able to close very fast, if at all! For some of the time we seem to be keeping pace and then some of the time I’m closing up a bit.

    Finally, I’m on their wheel, an she slows down a bit and I go by, we say “hello”.  Then she’s pulling along side and passing. OK, it’s on now! Turns out she’s training for a triathlon and doing some intervals. We ride along for a number of kms and I manage to keep her behind me most of the time, but she’s realy putting the hurt on me.

    We round a corner onto Airport Road and slow the pace a bit and talk. We exchange info on our riding life, she tells me about her triathlon training. I mention how I normally never meet up with anybody on the Kenora rides, and she says she almost always has a riding partner. Then it happens. She says to me, “There’s another old guy who rides out of the Longbow Lake area, do you know him?”. Old Guy! Kids these days, just no respect. And by the way you were drafting me for a good portion of the section.

  • Tires & Mechanicals

    A while back the original tires on my road bike were starting to look a little worn, so I replaced them with a nice looking set of Michelin Pro 3 with a red sidewall that matched the bike paint job nicely. Then I started to notice I was getting more flats, a lot more flats. For a while I chalked it up to just the luck of the ride. Then one ride at the lake I flatted 3 time in under 70km and had to call for a pickup as I’d gone through all my spare tubes! Time to try something different. 

    After some research I settled on trying a Continental 4000S as the new rear tire. Amazingly enough, 6 long rides later, including 4 in the Kenora area where there is lots of sharp granite piece on the road shoulders, not to mention numerous other road debris hazards, and 14km on some serious gravel, all without a single flat!

    So I’m convinced that the Continental is the tire for me an I’ll be ordering another for the front right away.

  • Darn you Strava

    Once upon a time going for a ride was a simple thing, relaxing, no stress. You could ride easy, go hard, or anything in between.

    And then there was Strava.

    Strava has an iPhone app that allows you to track your ride and then upload it to their web site. It also has the concept of “segments” which allows you to compare yourself to anyone who rides the same route as you did. Each segment has a Leaderboard which shows your stats in comparison to other riders who have ridding the same strech of road. You can even get notified when your friends do a ride and when somebody beats your time and steals you KOM (King of the Mountain) status! If you’re at all competitive, like most guys, this is quite annoying, at least it is to me and the first thing that comes to mind is how can I get that 1st place back and beat the other riders time.

    So much for relaxing rides. Now when I ride I’m thinking about “Is this a segment?”, “Who is the leader?”, “How much harder do I need to ride to get a (PR) Personal Record, move up the Leader Board, or reclaim the KOM?”

    On vacation this year I’ve been doing most of my riding in the Kenora area. There is another rider in the area using Strava, and he is killing me! Stole all my KOMs, beats all my times by MINUTES! I find my self trying to close the gap or get some records back, but so far I just can’t do it. I’ve subsequently learned that he is a Cat 3 racer, and of course much younger that me, so I’m trying to console my self with these overriding factors. Even so, I’m still trying to close the gap.

    Yesterday, I intentionally turned of Strava for a good portion of my ride. I actually took the time to look around and enjoy the scenery, which is quite fantastic in the Lake of the Woods area, instead of focusing on the power meter, time, and speed. That part of the ride was much more relaxing and a mix of solid efforts with perhaps somewhat long recovery periods.

    All in all I’m hooked on Strava and I’m sure that most rides I’ll use it. It can keep you motivated and turn an average ride into more of a killer workout. Besides, it’s always fun to steak somebody else’s KOM!

  • One thing leads to another

    IMG 0652

    I’ve been geocaching for a few years, but lately it’s taken a bit of a back seat unless I’ve got lots of time, or I’m out at the lake. Since we’re out at the lake on vacation for a couple of weeks, I assembled a bit of a list of geocaches that you need a boat to access. This generally makes for a nice adventure out on the lake.  This cache, Swimming With Karma – Hay Island, is near our cottage and I thought I’d give it a go. It had an extra appeal in that it mentioned The Thor Occurrence, a gold mine, or an “occurrence” of gold on the lake.

    After finding the cache, I headed over to Pipestone Peninsula to visit “Thor”

    Some info on The Thor Occurance

    Location: Pipestone Peninsula, Manross Township: NTS 52E/9SW Lat. 49’37’02” (49.6171 0 ) Long. 94″21’57” (94.3659 0 )

    Access; Mining location S135 is on the southern part of Pipestone Peninsula, 4 km east-southeast of Pipestone Point. It is accessible by boat from Kenora or from Sioux Narrows.

    Geology: The uppermost part of the Bigstone Bay tholeiitic sequence in the vicinity of Witch Bay consists of south-facing basalt interlayered with peridotite and gabbro sills. The periodotite and gabbro are closely related, with the gabbro apparently forming the upper part of a differentiated sill, similar to that described by Davies (1978) at Shoal Lake. Overlying the tholeiitic sequence are calc-alkaline dacitic and rhyolitic volcanics, mainly tuff breccia and lapilli tuff.

    After wandering around the site I came across a trail that was a little over grown but marked with orange tape flags. Curiosity struck and of course I needed to follow the trail to see where it went. After several kilometres, the trail was getting better and better. As I rounded a corner, the trail is now totally clear and it is apparent that somebody has sprayed the trail with defoliant. My conclusion is that there are a few cottages on the island and somebody has created a quad trail that goes al over the island. I had originally thought that the trail would loop back to where I started, but not so. I pop out to the shore line and realize that I’m a long way from my boat and not heading ay closer. Thanks to the GPS I re-work my route a bit and get back to the boat without retracing my 5-6km hike.

    Back at the mine site, I do a little more exploring on discover several excavations and this automotive frame pictured here. It was hard to tell is it was a car or a truck as there was virtually noting left, no motor, no door panels, just the front fenders and the frame.

    On the way back, I stop at a nearby beach to cool off with a swim and then boat back home. All in all a good adventure.

  • The ways of the demon rum

    It starts of innocently enough.

    Demon Rum

    A fruity cocktail on some exotic southern vacation. You can’t even tell what’s in the drink, but it tastes so good, and one leads to another. Most likely it’s made with white rum, and that seems good enough at the time.

    But time passes, and the demon has set it’s hooks. White rum is no longer enough and you start looking for something else. Amber rum is calling, and you respond. Fruity stuff is out and you try a number of concoctions but then you see the light and move on to the real drink, Rum & Coke. Not diet coke, not “the new” coke, not coke zero, but the real thing, full strength original Coca-Cola, and life is good… for a while. 

    And then the demon calls to you again, and you slip over to the dark side, the true rum, dark, deep, and mysteriously delicious. Coke is decreasing and the demon rum is increasing. Soon you’re drinking it “neat” and it’s better that any single malt. But still, Coke is a good companion and the preferred mix for the serious rum drinker.

    Arrrr Matey,  that’s the way of the demon rum

    Demon rum

     

  • It could be one of two things

    It could be one of two things: “

    It might be that your audience isn’t smart enough, caring enough, attentive enough, with-it enough or generous enough to understand and appreciate you.

    Or it might be that you’re not good enough (yet).

    If you’re in the habit of assuming one of these, try out the other one for a while.

    “

    (Via Seth’s Blog.)

  • Spending time with Parker

    IMG_0623 by Big Dadoo
    IMG_0623, a photo by Big Dadoo on Flickr.

    I spend some time talking with Parker over the weekend. I didn’t think I was that boring but he seems to have slept through most of it except for the odd response here and there. Still a good time and I enjoy his company.

  • PJS, Coincidence?

    My Uncle Stan was in town this weekend stopping of on his way to Calgary to visit his family. We got together with him for dinner at Carol’s and of course a major part of the conversation was about the birth of our Grandson Parker Judah Stewart.

    As the evening progressed there was a lull in the conversation and out of the blue Uncle Stan says “Did you realize that Parker has the same initials as your mom?”

    I had not thought of this and it was quite a surprise! What a special connection between Parker and his Great Ama, Phyllis Joyce Stewart.

    She would have been so proud, happy and excited for Des, Eric & Parker. This little connection may not mean much to most, but for me I’ll forever more think of my mom every time I see Parker and know that one day they will meet, and that will be such an exciting time.