Thanksgiving Weekend, and More...

Well it's that time of year again. Close down the cottage and plan for a long cold winter. Went up for one last hurrah with the family. Fun times as always. While it was fairly cold up there the weekend kept the rain away from the important fun. We took Saturday as tho we were planning to be up there for a while and neglected all the work, instead taking the kids and heading about 25 mins further into Muskoka for a great hike. Found some fun trails at Torrance Barrens there were a mix of rock and mud-puddles as well as some nice trails resembling great singletrack. The trails would be great on a bike but might be a little short so probably not a great place to plan your next day ride. On foot they were perfect for my family until my wife read that there may be rattlesnakes. Then her and my daughter just wanted to find th quickest route to safety. All in all a great day.


When we got back to the cottage I did a little bit of external cleaning and winterizing before settling down for dinner, some pumpkin beer and a movie with my wife. Sunday was a bit of a rush packing up, and doing the final winterization like emptying the hot-water tank and draining the pipes. From there it was off to Toronto for Thanksgiving dinner.

Holiday Monday we spent taking in fall by going to a Apple Orchard and picking a bag of Jonas Gold goodness. Then it was of to the pumpkin patch to get some more pumpkins for the front porch and some pumpkin pie. Also caught a tractor drawn wagon ride thu the patch with the kiddies.

Last night I took some time and composed a video for my wife as she is hoping to win a contest to spend a weekend being host to her Donnie Wahlberg. Here it is if you want to take a peak. Good luck Krista.



Woke up this morning to a thick frost and bundled up for a cold ride to work. love the feeling of the heat from the push hitting the cold from mother nature. Took it rather easy and enjoyed the day.

Lunch hour was a different story tho as I found myself ready to go for it. A brisk 2 degrees had me dressing for the cold again but with the sun up it was a whole lt warmer than this morning. I rode myself to the brink allowing it to feel as tho I had a big belt around my lungs preventing the intake of any more air. My legs felt weak and my odometer was reading better than ever on this loop. A great 11KM ride was had with the usual mix of Road, Sidewalk, Doubletrack, Singletrack and 5 epic climbs/decents. Not too bad for a lunch ride.. Then back to the office to shower off and get back to work. Oh did I mention it was my personal best on this course...

That's it. I'm out for now...

Latest Find/Project

Well 2 posts in one day, am I overdoing it? Here is my new toy I found at the road in someones trash. I guess they did not see the same greatness in this. Well possibly not greatness but funness no doubt.

From what I can tell it was once a singlespeed touring bike that has been fitted with a 3 speed internal geared hub. I will start by trying to bring back the chrome and release the seized rear brake. Failing that I could remove cable brakes and put a coaster brake on it. Then to decide ether to keep it as a 3 speed or bring it back to its singlespeed roots? I will likely be building it for my wife in the end. If I can talk her into riding it that is.

My garage is becoming an endless pile of project bikes. I think I may be sent out there to live with them if I keep this up.

Again, I'm out.

Foooood and Fun!!

What an amazing day out there today. Ride in to work was brisk. Just love riding on fall mornings. All day at work I was starving for some reason. Ate my lunch then down to the cafe for a tuna wrap with all the fixins, and dill pickles on the side. Then off for a great lunch hour 11K loop including portions of Kitchener's Skills park and some leaf covered rooty singletrack and doubletrack.

Minor mechanical issues plagued my ride as my left cleat ketp coming loose during climbs. Time to tighten up the pedals or replace the cleats. No need to get all pissy and wreck the ride tho enjoyed 3 runs down the 4X and climbed the Freeride course (I'm sure the kids woulda been shaking their heads if they had seen me). Was feeling a little more comfortable on the 4X today and was starting to gap some of the tabletops. On my old Nishiki XC rigid toy. I could use a Nummers for this kind of riding but the climbing might just hurt more. Anyways the ride closed out great with a hammerfest on the way back to work with a nasty headwind.

Then the afternoon was a blur. Still starving I ploughed thru the end of the work day happy to have a 4 day weekend in front of me. Then home to satisfy my hunger. I will give the world a piece of my strangeness in the form of the random items recipe I cooked myself for dinner. Made my little guy chick quasidillia's as per his request. I decided to grab a deep pan and start adding items for myself. Tonight I went with Broccoli, Carrots, half a Vidalia Onion, a Zucchini cut up to emulate fetuchine, Ragu sauce, Chinese hot sauce, Worcester sauce, and Yellow mustard. Bring concoction to boil and then simmer until desired tenderness. All in all it tasted awesome with a nice bite.

More to come in the next couple days. Need to replace Grips, Chain, and Bottom Bracket on the Nishiki before November so will write about that job whenever I stop procrastinating. Soon I will end up out on lunch or my commute with another busted chain if I keep this up.

Til next time. I'm out...