Alberta Update

Hello loyal (and very patient readers), here's my trip report of what's happened thus far, in point form as I'm tired:

• Successfully took my bike apart and got it in the box and, as a bonus, packed everything else and made it to the airport on time
• Took a minor "scenic" side trip from the Calgary airport on my way to Turner Valley
• Had a very fun time with Raye, Andy and Soxy
• Met up with Duane (cousin), Susan (cousin in-law), Brittenay (first cousin once removed), Andrew (fc1r) and Cam (cousin). I haven't seen most of this crew in many years so this was fantastic - the fc1r's are super big and really neat kids!
• Drove around Kanaskis Country. Never knew there were provincial parks for horses (and their owners).
• Almost successfully put my bike together - discovered what happens if you don't tighten the headset and hit a big bump.
• Tightened the headset on my bike.
• Swam in the T.V. outdoor pool - on Monday it was the temperature of soup that needed another minute in the microwave. On Wednesday the pool soup only needed 30 seconds (it was 30 degrees C! In the pool!!)
• Toured Spruce Meadows - very beautiful.
• Got addicted to an evil Starbucks drink (Raye always introduces me to highly addictive junk foods).
• Talked non-stop with Raye - especially the day I had to drink her coffee as well as mine.
• Ate vast amounts of very good food.
• Drank tons of Raye's coffee and evil Starbucks drink.
• Made it into Calgary and to Leah's, despite the complete and utter lack of logic in the road/Trail system here.
• Ran in North Glenmore Park - gorgeous!
• Met Leah's beau, Chris, and his very cool kids - Emma and Joseph.
• Ate a fantastic curry chicken dinner (if I get the recipe it'll go on the food blog).
• Got seriously caffeinated with Leah.
• Picked up my race pack and got a professional to check out my bike.
• Drove to Ghost Lake, with a scenic detour to the North. All I had to do was drive straight yet somehow I took a right turn and went a far bit out of my way. It was pretty though.
• Met up with a club mate and her crew at Ghost Lake and swam with them. The supposedly freezing cold lake was lovely - very cold when you first get in then a perfect swim temp.
• Drove the first half of the bike course - stunning!
• Made it back to Leah's without getting lost - yay! (Maybe the road system here isn't so nuts?)
• Biked along the Elbow River Trail.
• Ate another massive meal.

I will try to do a pre-race post and put down my race plan, hopefully it'll be less cryptic, but tomorrow might be a bit nutty so no promises.

Yay Sasamat!

First open water swim of the year - I lurv swimming in Sasamat. It was almost too bad we had to get out of the lake.

I did the long swim/10km ride workout option but skipped the hard run. Once the folk who were recovering and/or tapering for the half next week were done our one set we took off for a run around the lake while the others set off for another swim/bike/run. This run was fine on my lungs, making me think I'll go for it in Oliver. I'll take it super easy out of T2 and see where I end up.

Saddle Stories

I've finally got back on my bike, I haven't ridden since the Mt. Baker ride in early September. That ride was epic but highlighted some issues I was having with my bike ("highlighted" as in hobbled me).

I avoided riding as I was afraid I'd be hurt again, then I had the vein taken out of my leg (the leg is fine now, btw), and then I got sick, mostly however I was just really lazy and pretty wimpy. As wasn't riding much I decided I'd learn to make some changes to my bike and I slowly acquired the tools to do so:

• Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance - Lennard Zinn
• Chain measuring tool
• Chain break
• New chain (a Wipperman with a quick link, to be precise)
• New bar tape

I took my time acquiring the tools and parts but never seemed to do anything with them until last weekend when I finally took the leap and changed my chain. It wasn't very difficult at all, I took a long time doing it but only because I wanted to be sure I was doing it right. I've since ridden on the trainer and outside for a combined time of 4+ hours and the chain hasn't fallen off and the bike hasn't blown up so I don't think I screwed anything up too badly.

I have a feeling changing my bar tape will be a bit more of a pain in the butt!

Tha big change I've made, however, is that I've changed my saddle. I bought a new seat in the summer as my saddle had a saddle (i.e. - where it's supposed to be flat and horizontal there was a big dip in the middle where it sagged). I never felt 100% comfy on the new saddle but thought I was having trouble breaking it in, I now realize it just never fit. That plus poorly installed (by me) cleats on my new bike shoes definitely didn't help things.

I went to West Point and they properly fit my cleats then Tim and Andrea spet 1.5 hours trying to find me a saddle. After trying pretty much every one in the store I finally decided I like the Trans Am (no, it doesn't have gold detailing a la the 80's sports cars) and have been test riding the saddle for a week. The version I tried is really heavy so I'm ordering in the lighter version, this is helped by the fact that my sponsors, aka Mum & Dad, are helping out with the new saddle. As per usual with my sports purchases, I'm not telling them how much it is, just asking for what they think is a reasonable contribution.

So just in time for the really, really nasty weather I have my bike back. Actually, I didn't mind the weather so much today, it was all the Christmas shoppers who seemed to think that running me over would make it easier to find a parking spot that got to me. When are the holidays over?