"I Did It!"

I couldn't find a quilting bee that was in my age group so instead I settled for the Hamilton Road2Hope marathon on November 4th.  I have 8 weeks to get ready which should give me enough time to ramp up, and then back down.  Right now my intent is just to go and run it with fun being the primary motivator.....and yes of course, my mental and physical health as well.

You may also choose to visit "Encore" to see what else I am up to  :)

Love
Peter

"Sign Me Up"

For something!  Triathlon, marathon, bike race, quilting bee....anything!

Yes, I need to tend to my addiction pretty soon.  Sometimes it frightens me a little.  I can feel my body slowly but steadily starting to slow down.  Do you think it means that I will have to continue this stuff for as long as I live?  Despite my severely reduced activity level my appetite seems to be as hearty as ever, and now after a gradual 4 week taper in preparation for the race, and the subsequent 2 weeks of doing almost nothing, I am starting to gain weight!!

Whoa!  This is not what I expected.  It probably has something to do with age.  I know I am genetically inclined to be heavy but somehow I thought that with my new diet awareness I could get away with just a 'normal' amount of exercise.   Now I'm not so sure.  I still like to eat!

So what to do?  I find that the only way to keep my exercise levels up to my appetite levels is to be training for something.  That however makes me a feel a little bit like I am a prisoner to my own addictions.

Then again it just occurs to me that I could train for something without it being an all consuming thing like Ironman.  Even if I signed up for a marathon it would not have to be with the intention of lowering the world record.  When I frame it in that perspective it seems a little easier to swallow.  I really only feel imprisoned by my training when it is driven by a time goal, rather than just completion.

So there ya go.  I just talked myself into permission to go do something.  I'll let you know what I choose.

On another note I want to keep this blog going but I could use some help.  If you are interested in posting a guest blog let me know at pwrooyakkers@gmail.com.  I will try the volunteer approach first!!  Only if necessary I will hand out assignments!!

And as a special treat since I don't normally do this anymore, I choose to dedicate today's post to a very special guy.  I happen to know that he reads this thing at least occasionally, so this one's for you Bill.  Love you brother!

(ride 37 kms)

"Great effort is required to arrest decay and restore vigor. One must exercise proper deliberation, plan carefully before making a move, and be alert in guarding against relapse following a renaissance."---Horace

Love

Peter

"Look Ma!"

NO WIRES!!

But why so many pictures you may ask?  Well it's just because I gain so much satisfaction out of an accomplishment like this.  It really turns my crank!

Another little joy I got along the way was figuring out the heat shrink problem.  My wife has a very powerful hair dryer that will give you a serious burn if you're not careful.  However the problem with trying to use something like that is that the output is not focused enough.  All you end up doing is heating up the whole bike.  I taped a small funnel over the business end....and voila....hotter than hell and easy to point!! It worked like a charm.

And speaking of turning my crank I came across this picture when I was posting my others.

This is on our way back from Penticton.  She really is only 6 years younger than me believe it or not!!

On a totally different note I had the opportunity to participate in a Catholic Funeral Mass today.  The whole affair reminded me of all that is beautiful, and all that is absurd about the religion of my youth.  Just to prove how mature I am I will give you two examples of the beauty.  The hymns, and the part where you offer each other a sign of peace.  I get to kiss my wife in church.  And as further proof of my fairness I give you only one moronic thing.  The part where the priest encourages you to "buy" a mass for the dearly departed so as to help him get to heaven!!  As if Doug, a shining example of all that is good about humanity, didn't arrive there the minute he departed this world!!

There are some days when I think I'm going to die from an overdose of satisfaction."---Salvador Dali

We are built to conquer environment, solve problems, achieve goals, and we find no real satisfaction or happiness in life without obstacles to conquer and goals to achieve."---Maxwell Maltz

Love
Peter

"Patience"

It is probably one of my greatest weaknesses.  Time after time during my life I have screwed things up by trying to go too fast.

Ever so slowly I am learning.  Even today as I work on my bike, I constantly need to admonish myself to do it right, and do it once.  I really am quite capable when I work methodically and don't try to take shortcuts.

I'm not completely happy with my work so far but it is coming together.

I spent several hours today with wire ties and fishing line, just threading the wires through the bars.  Believe me it is very painstaking.  The interior space is already crowded with the brake cables and because the wires are quite fine you can not yank at all.  So far so good.  I still have the aero bar part to do, but that will be easier.  Then, once they are all connected I have to put heat shrink tubing over all the connectors.  That will be another challenge as I don't have just the right heating tool for constricted spaces.  I don't want to burn the wires or the paint.  I still have to think this out.  Maybe Old John has some advice.

I took the day off again today as I have decided to move back into a routine very slowly.  I am feeling quite good and I want to make sure it stays that way.  I'm pretty sure that "patience" is the right attitude.

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience."---Ralph Waldo Emerson

Love
Peter

"Off Season Surgery"

When a major bicycle component manufacturer comes up with any new technology, the bike manufacturers are always scrambling to keep up.  When it is a significant leap like Shimano's electronic  shifting the issue can be doubly problematic as the bike guys are trying hard to adapt their machines for the new technology, while at the same time maintaining the flexibility to accommodate the tried and true older versions.

In the case of my Argon 18 the situation is further complicated by the fact that it is a brand new model, with a very unique handlebar setup.

The net result of all this sophistication?  The wiring on the front end is very complicated and very messy.  When I first received the bike I was totally disappointed by the appearance of the front end, but I have since made significant improvements over the way the bike shop wired it.  I have developed a plan to improve it further by actually modifying the wiring harness and rerouting some of the cables.  I was prepared to do this, but then thought better of doing it just before my race as it had some risk involved.

I'm glad now that I didn't do it as I have since come up with a much better plan yet.

The downside is that it means drilling extra holes and completely rerouting the wires.  It will take me some time yet but I have great confidence that it will look and work great when I'm done.  I decided that I'm not gonna ride again until I have it complete.  I promise that the apparent disaster you see above will be turned into a thing of beauty.  I will of course provide the evidence.

I also spent some time today repairing the wobble in my back wheel and I'm generally satisfied with that.

I had my first post race workout today, and it felt great just to be out there doing something.  I was still a bit tired but I'm glad to say that nothing hurt.

(run 7.3 kms)

"The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do."---B F Skinner

Love

Peter

"It Must Be Sunday!"

I feel like resting.  Colby and I rode to Port Stanley today, and tomorrow I think I'm actually gonna try a little run....after all it is Labour Day.

Besides being Sunday it was also the first day of this world without a very fine man.  Doug Peltier left us yesterday morning, and he will be sadly missed.  Rest well Doug.  You deserve it.

Doug's passing reminds me one more time of the passing of the days.  Live like there's no tomorrow!

"If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot achieve."---Lao Tzu

Love

Peter

"It's In The Genes"

Today my amazing niece Samantha smoked the Try-a Tri course at Guelph Lake in a time of 1:04:36.  I was privileged to be a witness to her first ever triathlon.

Sammie I was so immensely proud of you.  It still brings tears to my eyes several hours later.  Game on girl!!

Old John and Garmpa Brett also completed the longer race but unfortunately I can not give you official times because the listings seem to be incomplete.

Here they are discussing strategy.....in the food tent!!

"Okay Brett.  You distract the volunteer, and I'll grab an extra handful of cookies and drop them in my bag.  I promise to give you your share later."

"Fat chance buddy!  Just cause you're blind, doesn't make me dumb.  The cookies go in my bag!!"

On a personal note I thought I was completely recovered from my race until I tried follwoing these guys around with a camera today.  Maybe I'll just take a few more days off.

...and I don't know what you think of when you read this quote but for me it touched something inside...

"Of what shall a man be proud, if he is not proud of his friends?"---Robert Louis Stevenson

Love
Peter