Favourite Toque

I love my official TrainingCoop / Purotone toque almost as much as I love my candy cane donut. Strict eating begins Dec 1 so I must enjoy in moderation now.

Stretching Videos

Over the weekend I put together 3 post workout stretching videos that I'll begin to use with some of my fitness classes later today after I lead folks thru general strength and conditioning workouts.  In case they're of interest to anyone else I figured I'd post them here.  Please note that they are not by any means all encompassing stretching routines - they're designed to hit most of the main muscle groups in the 8 minutes or so we have at the end of a workout to get at least some stretching in.  In the near future I may put together an 'extra' video or two that goes through some additional muscle groups.

The other reason for posting here though is to point out what a good job the new GoPro Hero2 camera does of filming from inside looking out.  We did flood the room with additional lighting that's just outside the camera view, but regardless it's always very hard to get decent lighting from a relatively dark, indoor place when you have natural light behind the subject.  The first Hero camera didn't do a great job of this, but the Hero2, when in the correct mode, does a much better job.

I would be remiss if I didn't thank Deanna for her obvious help with the videos.  She has a grace about her performing these stretches that I simply don't possess.

Below are two more:

Just a cool, artsy pic for a Monday morning

Great pic, forwarded from the brother-in-law this morning.  It's a screen capture, so don't try to click on the forward arrow to bring you to "2 of 13" 'cause it won't work :)

Fastest

The hotly anticipated "Fastest", featuring the other kind of bikes I love, is finally available to order!  BTW, they don't have to pedal these things but my guess is that if I tried to decelerate from 320km/h to 100km/h in 2 seconds so I could take a tight corner at highway speeds hanging off the side of my seat (and then keep doing that for 45 minutes straight) I'd discover that some amount of strength and cardio would be a good thing.

Best 'walk' ever

This starts out slow but trust me, it's worth the wait... (PS this is actually posted by Deanna but I don't know how to use this crazy Mac yet.)

Mukluk vs. Pugsley video

I'm goofing around with the stock video editing software that came with our new iMac. This is the result. If it looks similar to the template Brian used for the A Rocha video, well, it is.

Cigarettes may be useful for long distance runners...

Deanna forwarded me a great article, here.  For all of us who try to keep up with the latest journals, no matter the vocation, it's a good read.

Totally lost

I am totally lost right now. Seriously. Warm and lots of energy left so I'm okay but who the heck knows where this is. Just saw a plane so heading to where it came from.

Clean Rubber

There's something very satisfying about a clean tire after the snow melts off of it. The mess on the kitchen floor isn't as satisfying though.

TrainingCoop Mini

How did Morgan get his hands on a TrainingCoop Mini Cooper?

Good Fatbike Ride Reward

Christmas came early

Well my head's spinning a bit right now as I try to learn all there is to learn (or more accurately a fraction of what there is to learn) about my new toys.  By some act of divine conspiracy (more on that further down) I finally decide to take the plunge yesterday and get a new computer.  What I've been using has served us well for a long, long time but it just doesn't have the computing power to do things I want it to do anymore.  When we bought it we were still heavily invested in the PC format, partially as a hang over from my 'business' days, but since then I've found myself doing more graphic design (I use the term very loosely), website stuff, and video editing. The web stuff and video editing I do partially as a part of my self-employment, so the purchase of a new machine was a bit easier to rationalize, though it was time regardless.

So, in light of the shift in function that I require we've made the plunge and gone iMac.  I probably spent 5 minutes this morning trying to figure out how to open two web browser windows at once, and about as long learning how to copy and paste some text from one spot to another.  Yikes.  Those, and many more issues aside I think this is going to be a good change.  I'm really looking forward (sort of) to learning how to edit videos with a much more powerful processor than what I've been using now, though I also have to familiarize myself with brand new software using a brand new and very foreign (to me) operating system.  Here goes!  It helps a little that in recent years our household has acquired a Touch, an iPad, and an iPhone.  Oh, and I suppose Apple TV too.  Now all of that and our computer should interface fairly seamlessly.  I hate to admit it but I guess we've joined the Apple cult.  Sorry HP and Blackberry - we had some really good times.

Oh yeah, the divine conspiracy explanation: In the midst of my computer shopping morning yesterday my new GoPro arrived!  Well the story is a bit longer than that, but the result is that I'm now in possession of a camera that can shoot in 1080p 170 degree 60fps HD, and I have a computer that can properly edit the footage!  This is going to be fun :)

Stationary Pugsley

I'm doing a stationary bike workout (and some strength stuff) with a client today and just realized that my Pugsley has machined sidewall rims and I happen to have a rim drive trainer. Hmmm.

Shel'll be riding the Cycleops while I join her on the Pugs, both pedaling along to my latest workout video. Looking forward to it.

Purolator by Wagon

I looked out the window today to find that the local Purolator guy was delivering parcels thru the neighbourhood by wagon. Awesome.

Dean 'n Kara's Veggie Farm get together

What a nice Nov 12th we had yesterday at Dean and Kara's.  Thanks for the hospitality guys, and if you had anything to do with the weather thanks for that too - can't ask for more this time of year.

Below are a few somewhat random pics taken during our Coop get together...

Honestly, trying to come up with a comment for this one would just ruin it:

GYBOTS Awards Ceremony

Well it's probably overdue but tomorrow we can officially award Brian the prize for winning the GetYourButtOnTheSaddle contest.

Be sure to do your hair and makeup.

Pugsley Fenders

I've never really been one for bike fenders, not so much because I'm anti-fender as I am more generally anti-putting-anything-on-my-bike.  Heck, I like the fact that I can build my new Pugsley up as a single speed, though I don't think I actually will (seems a bit too hardcore for me, or at least my legs).

However, my opinion may have changed slightly when I went out for a ride in the rain/sleet/snow last night and discovered just how much wet stuff a 4.7 inch Big Fat Larry tire kicks up.  Maybe I'd consider fenders.  Ironically though it's pretty darn hard to find ones wide enough to work effectively on the Pugs.

I did find something from a guy in Portland - Woody's Custom Cycling Fenders.  They're gorgeous, yes they're wood, and you can have them made up in virtually any aesthetic style (I'd go for some grey, black, and white strips - the brown wood looks odd on the white Pugsley to me).  They aren't exactly cheap at $215 plus shipping for the set, but it looks like they'd work.  Tom, I know you like your fenders so I'm posting this in part for you.

Moonlander crashes, Pugs to the rescue

Well after the 2nd delay in delivery (the new hopeful ship date is some time in January, which me thinks means spring) I cut lose of the Moonlander and activated the emergency chute: A Pugsley!

It's fairly stock, excepting for an old rapid rise xtr rear d mated with grip shift (great setup btw - gears up and down like a motorcycle throttle) and a big fat Larry up front. I like it!

Brian Wilson Lebowski

As winter, and winter riding, approaches here's a timely homage to who I've come to understand is the patron saint of nordic cross, The Big Lebowski.

Wilson has elevated the level of stardom afforded an MLB relief pitcher to the point where even I know who he is, though I haven't ever really watched a game, in large part because he is either completely committed to his goofy public persona, or that just is his genuine persona.

Either way, pairing some nice argyle socks (with a dash of SF Giants orange) with some hiking shoes, a trucker cap, the impossibly jet black beard, and team issue SF Giants shorts with a Big Lebowski t-shirt is a stroke of fashion genius. He's almost as much the dude as The Dude.

And where the heck is he?...there's not 1 but 2 psychedelically painted vehicles (an old school van and an RV) parked on the residential street behind him. It's a really complete picture.

(Picture lifted from TMZ.com, not that I ever visit the site myself.  Ever.)

Halloween at the Camp Cross Race - HD Videos

It was a real blast being able to take in all of the races at this year's Halloween Cross Race put on by the gang at Red River Racing and their Dark Side partners at the Fort Gary Bike Club.  Making it a multi camera HD video project was a labour of love ... love of cycling and the crazy fun of cyclocross and love of capturing the experience on video!

Here's the results on one main video and four 'shorts' ... enjoy (in HD if you wish)!:

I luv my gym

Most days I take my home studio for granted, but today was one of those days when I just thought man, this is great!

This space was reserved for a Public Apology to Chris Huebner

But then I read his post about the Halloween race. "stupid"? "skinny"? whell! I've got some s - adjectives for him; how about sinister! and sanctimonious! Oh he would probably be all too pleased with those descriptions given his choice of dress on Sunday, not to mention his usual moniker.

I would have thought that letting him take the win over me was enough to calm him down. But no, he resorts to publicly degrading a fellow cyclist on prime time blog space.

All I can say is; this aggression will not stand man.

btw -most fun course ever

and, here it is: sorry for bumping you off the whoop Chris