Happy New Year!!!!!

As 2013 draws to a close, I am looking back and reflecting on all that was good in the past 365 days. 

It is difficult to put into words all of the good that I have experienced. I'm going to try though so bear with me. 

I've settled into life in Canada - I have fantastic neighbors who snow blow my walkways when we get dumped on or who run out to the store for me when I have the plague. They let Ghiry out on short notice when I get held up at work. They cook me treats and invite me over.  They loan me their lawn mowers, garden tools, and any other odds and ends that I find myself without. 

I've settled into a new job - I work for a terrific company, with great people. I have a boss who tries to send me home when I have the plague or on the day before the holiday. My favorite words are "get out of here" on a Friday afternoon. He gives me hockey tickets when he can't go. My love of the Oilers is growing (unless the Bruins are in town). He fixes my lawn mower, adds air to my tires, and taught me to solder. He made me feel welcome and at home in my new home, far far away from everything I knew. 

In my life, my customers are like family. I left many very good friends behind when I started this new adventure and I've been lucky to gain many new ones. They are patient when I don't have the part or answer right away. They appreciate the effort that goes into support even when I get to work inside and they are stuck outside in -40 weather (I do feel bad when I have to ask you to take a photo or go outside to do some troubleshooting). They laugh with me when I get the plague and a herd of tiny frogs takes up residence in my throat (you know who you are). They dream up exotic pranks that still make me laugh. They teach me how to pronounce weirdly spelled towns and the desserts that are named after them. 

I've met so many great people who I am happy to call my friends. They go to the gym with me. They give me a ride when my truck is broken. They invite me to their homes and include me in their families. They hike with me. They bike with me. They email me long, wonderful emails of their adventures. They go on adventures with me. They dog sit for me and take such amazing care of Ghiry that he gets fat while I am away. They encourage me in new adventures. They miss me when I get the plague and am stuck at home for a week. 

I have many friends and family back in the states who have supported me on this grand adventure. They stay in touch through email, phone, text, and social media. They check in if I go missing for too long. They listen when I am blue (usually due to the plague). They laugh with me and cry with me. They send me little presents or go shopping for me when I "can't find it here". They donate to sponsor me in the ride of insanity (Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer) when I decide that I want to do a 200km 2-day bike ride. They always say "You CAN do it!".

I started a journey in 2013 to find myself and while I haven't discovered all there is to know about me, I am well on my way only because of everyone who has helped me along the way. I have long believed that who we are is made up of all of the little bits that we get from the people who have been a part of our lives combined with the loss of all of the little bits that those people take from us. We may gain an appreciation for nature from one person while we give up our fear of trying new things - thanks to another person. In 2013 I gained confidence, relocated my sense of adventure, dusted off my love of the outdoors, gave up the remnants of my disdane for solo adventures, said goodbye to the belief that I could fix a toxic friendship, and reached for the stars. I may not have caught any stars yet but the trip has been a wonderful one. 

Heading into 2014, there will be no regrets. I may fall down and need a hand getting up again but I would rather suffer the pain of having tried and stumbled than the pain of never having tried. 

Here's to a year full of adventures!!!!!

<3 I love you. <3

2014 - Resolution #4

Hike.

In 2014 I am going to hike more. I realized, as I was driving to Canmore, just how in awe

I am of the mountains and how much I love to hike them. I mean LOVE to hike. I used to hike quite a bit in my 20's and am ashamed to say that I got away from it. Time to head back to them there hills. After all, I do live only 3 hours, or so, from some of the most beautiful mountains I've ever seen and it would be a pity to let them just sit there and go to waste!!!

Now if only I can avoid those bears...

2014 - Resolution #3

Nutrition.

I learned a lot about nutrition and myself in 2013 but I've also let non-nutritious foods creep back into my life. So January 1, 2014 is a good day to wipe out the empty foods again. Processed foods, sugars, wheat... time to say goodbye. I've also gotten away from planning and preparing my meals which leads to more "meals on the go" and the likelihood of picking up quick, empty foods.

Stay tuned for more healthy, tasty recipes in 2014.

2014 - Resolution #2

Blog every day.

There are several reasons to blog every day;

1. I enjoy it.
2. You enjoy it - you know who you are, Gayle, Phil, & JR.
3. It helps me to focus on my training, nutrition, etc. for THE RIDE.

Look for more blogging from me in 2014. And feel free to leave comments on my posts. What you enjoy, what you don't enjoy, what you want to read more of... I'm flexible as long as I get a healthy dose of adventure in.

2014 - Resolution #1

Ice skating.

I resolve to ice skate more in 2014. Why?, you ask. Ice skating brings back memories. When I was younger, my mom would take my sisters and I ice skating on Sunday afternoons in the winter. We'd go to White's Park in Concord, NH after lunch and skate for hours. I spent hours first learning to skate, then practicing twirls and turns, then learning to skate backwards. My sisters and I would race each other around the pond, giggling when we fell, dusting ourselves off, and taking off again. After several hours, half frozen and with flushed faces, we'd pile in the car to head home for warm baths and hot chocolate (always with marshmallow fluff floating in it).

I brought the skates with me from NH to AB and this year they are going to get some use. Can I still skate? It's been about 10 years since I've been on the ice but it's just like riding a bicycle, right? A quick stop at Canadian Tire for a sharpening and the skates are ready to make the upcoming New Year's trip to Canmore.

Stay tuned...

Clean Slate

As the days of 2013 become fewer, my thoughts float towards 2014 and that age old tradition of resolutions for New Year's Day. I enjoy making resolutions.

I get to start over: wipe the slate clean and reach for new goals. It is important to forgive yourself your backslides of the year gone by. Let yourself learn from your mistakes and move forward with a clear conscience and positive attitude.

Today is December 27th. 5 days until New Year's Day and my clean slate. Onwards and upwards -let the resolution scheming begin!

Lemon Ginger Smoothie

Ingredients

Juice from 1/2 a Lemon
1.5 TSP Fresh Ginger - Grated
1 TBSP Fresh Basil - Chopped
1 Medium - Large Banana
1/3 - 1/2 Cup Crushed Pineapple
1/2 cup Plain Greek Yogurt

Optional:
1 TBSP Flax Meal
1 TBSP Hemp Hearts
1 TBSP Chia Seeds




Instructions:

Squeeze juice from 1/2 Lemon into blender and add Chopped Basil & Grated Ginger - Blend until well mixed and Basil breaks up into bits.

Add the Crushed Pineapple and slice the Banana into the blender - Blend until all ingredients are smooth.

Add Greek Yogurt and Optional ingredients - Blend until smooth and well mixed.

Pour and enjoy!

Candlelight Yin

Yoga. More Yoga. More Candlelight Yoga.

Last night's class was Candlelight Yin. 90 minutes of streeeeeeeeeeeeeeetching, not the muscles but the connective tissues. Interesting.

The room is warm and the lights are very low, dusky. It is a comfortable place to be, laying on the floor, breathing slowly in and out, letting every muscle relax and your body sink into the mat. Each pose is held for 3-10 minutes - an excuse to lay on the floor and do nothing. Yet doing something.

Month of Yoga

You may be asking what Yoga has to do with bike riding. Well, I'm glad you asked (and I'm sure you are too)!

For me, Yoga is a new adventure. Something that I don't know a lot about so I am learning as I go. The way that it is tied into cycling is that it is something different from the regular workouts that I do. Another way to improve my strength & flexibility but also a way to give my body a break from the TRX, cycling, and strength training that I've been participating in for the past 11 months. Wow! Has it been that long?  

Of course, after the Month of Yoga (December), I'll need to figure out where I go from here; How I get back into bike training - What exercise programs are going to work for me. I have a feeling that it will include a mix of everything I have been doing with a sprinkling of Yoga. So far I've really enjoyed the relaxing nature of the candlelight classes and the challenge of Hot Yoga. 

Support me on this journey by donating to The Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer - that is what I am training for after all. 

Global Community

I'm setting a new goal for the 2014 Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer - a Global Goal.

My goal is to raise funds from as many countries as possible this year. Cancer is a global epidemic. Not only do I ride to raise funds for Alberta, Canada but also for the world. How will these funds be used?

Money I raise for the Alberta Cancer Foundation through The Ride will directly support patients and families at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary, the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton and 15 cancer centres throughout Alberta. The Alberta Cancer Foundation provides funding to a team of top doctors and scientists whose search for new discoveries and improved patient outcomes will have a real impact in Alberta, across Canada, and around the world.

Discoveries made in Canada don't stay only in Canada. They are shared with the world. Won't you help me to raise donations from as many countries as possible in 2015?

My fund raising link: http://www.conquercancer.ca/goto/nhkayakgirl2014

After you've made your donation, I am asking you to share out my story with as many people as you can - though email, social media, word of mouth, however you can. Together we can make an epic impact!

<3

Donations have come in from:
United States of America
Netherlands Antilles
Vietnam

Donations have been promised from:
Canada
England
Ireland

Let's grow these lists!

Am I a Pretzel?

Yoga.

Last night's adventure was Hot Yoga. 38C (100F) - No wonder it felt so darn HOT!!!

You may be wondering why there is so much Yoga going on these days. That Yoga Place offers a first-timers special - 30 days for $40, unlimited classes. So... yeah, I've got to try as many as will fit into my schedule in 30 days - within reason of course. :D

The class was listed as Hot Flow for "all levels". I was joined by Lorraine (who has done Yoga before) and it was great to see her last night! I'm beginning to think that I'll need to do some research on Yoga as I don't know/understand some of the "poses" that were done last night. It is a bit difficult when the instructor says "On the next breath, find Baby Cobra or Something-or-other Dog" and you don't know what that is! No, it wasn't Downward Facing Dog - something more like Up Dog (What's up, Dog?).

Hot flow is definitely more work/harder than Candlelight Yoga (which is meant to calm you at the end of the day) and I will be trying it again tomorrow night before deciding how much I like it or not. I mean, anything that uses a pose name like "Warrior" has got to be good, right?

Ah, and did I  mention that I was twisted up like a pretzel in this class? I guess I neglected to include that so here it is: Hot Flow Yoga includes some of the craziest pretzel twists I can imagine. Ready for this? Stand tall with your hands over your head. Lower your arms so that your hands are reaching for the ceiling but your elbows are bent out in front of you. Cross your right elbow under your left elbow and wrap your right arm in and around your left arm. Press both arms up towards the ceiling. Next, shift all of your weight to your right leg/foot, lift your left leg and wrap it over your right leg/knee and now SQUAT as though you are sitting in an invisible chair. Right, it is actually a NON-EXISTENT chair... Got that pose? Good, now hold it here. Don't move, don't fall over, just squat there. Are you doing it? Yeah? I can see you. No, don't laugh, that will make you fall over. Just breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Okay, good, now you can untwist.

I don't know what it is called so for now it is the "Be a Pretzel" pose. I can't do it... Yet.

Tonight's class - Candlelight Yin. More like the Candlelight Yoga class I tried on Monday. Stay tuned!

Candlelit Poses

Yoga.

What is Yoga? I tried Yoga and I'm still not sure what Yoga is. Yoga.

yoga

ˈjəʊgə

noun

noun: yoga

1.

a Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline, a part of which, including breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures, is widely practiced for health and relaxation.

I visited That Yoga Place in Spruce Grove last night for my first ever full Yoga class. I've only had a 15 minute intro to Yoga so this was all new to me. The class I selected was Candlelight Yoga. The room was dimly lit with candles all around. Very relaxing, warm, and pretty. 

There was a lot of Downward Facing Dog. We've all heard of this pose in the movies, haven't we? My focus for the evening was "To learn something new". I did learn that I have very little balance standing on one leg  and the left is worse than the right. Something to work on. 

Picture this: Standing on your right foot, your left leg bent, knee out to the side, your left foot resting on your inner right thigh. Hands on your hips, or in "prayer" in front of you, or above your head. Now hold this position and don't fall over...

Next up, Hot Yoga

Gearing Up

What does it take to prepare for a bike ride?

The Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer is not just ANY bike ride. It is a 2 day, 220 km, fund raising, bike ride. So a bit more goes into it then just riding. Here is what has to happen before August 2014:

Training - LOTS and LOTS of training. Riding a bike for 7+ hours a day, 2 days in a row, is no easy feat. Believe me, you want to spend a LOT of time in the saddle before making this ride. You need to work up stamina, endurance, cardio strength and callouses in all the right places.

To ride a bike 2 days straight you are going to want to consider:

   - Padded bike shorts - Don't even dream of riding without these. Just don't! I need a second pair.

   - Clip in bike shoes - I was frightened of these at first but they are WAY easier on the knees and very helpful. I haven't even fallen over once due to using them. If I can do it, so can you! Mine have fairly low mileage on them so they'll do for 2014 too.

   - Bike Sleeves - these are under armor type material to slip over your arms in the cold morning hours. Pretty neat invention if you ask me. I bought a pair for last year's ride and was greatly saddened that I never needed to wear them. Sometimes I wear them around the house just for fun...

   - Padded socks - I learned this the hard way. My "bike" socks were not padded enough to stop my toes from hurting like mad! Second day I wore my "hiking" socks which are padded in the heels and toes and I didn't even feel my poor sore toes. Note: due to first day of NOT wearing padded socks, I lost a couple of toe nails. :( Yes, they grew back but it wasn't very comfortable until they did. So padded socks it is! I need at least 1 more pair of padded socks so I can wear fresh socks on day 2.

   - Bike - Tune ups - One at the beginning of the season when I start riding outdoors again and most likely one right before the big ride. Tune ups can include new tires, new chain, new spokes, new cables, etc. depending on how the bike is holding up. My bike is a 22 year old Specialized Crossroads which is a Hybrid bike. This past summer it got new super skinny street tires in preparation for The Ride 2013. I expect those tires will need replacing before the 2014 ride as they have no tread whatsoever (built that way). And fortunately during the ride there is a bike tune-up tent at each rest stop, just in case. I've thought about buying a new(er), more street ready bike but hey, this one took me all the way in 2013 so why not 2014?

   - Butt Balm - Don't laugh (okay, laugh a little), this stuff is real and a REAL help. Chaffing can be a real problem on a looooong ride. Let's just leave it at: I was happy to have some handy.

   - Camping Gear - What I learned in 2013 is that August can be FREEZING cold at night. We camped out in tents and I was dressed in my PJ's, Long Sweatpants, Sweatshirt, and Socks and was still cold in my sleeping bag. This year I'm acquiring a sleeping mat and bringing a fleece blanket! My camp towel worked great, the tent makes a super drying station for damp items as long as you bring them in at night before the dew settles on everything, and I wasn't over packed so it only took about 5 minutes to stuff everything back in the gear bag. Pack light!!!

   - Nutritional Adjustments - This has been hit or miss for me and I'll need to do a bit more research and trial/error to get it right. During training rides (riding 4+ hours 2x a week) it can be hard to eat the right combo of protein, carbs, etc. I found that after some rides I was okay and after others, I was starving and just couldn't eat enough. Hope to find a better balance this time around as the "just can't eat enough" feeling isn't a good one when you are trying to sleep. Stay tuned for light bulb like discoveries!

   - Training Schedule -  I will admit it was a bit difficult not to be able to ride outside until May. This winter I hope to find some great spinning bikes that are available for hours on end INSIDE like the class the Boxing Club offered last year. Early morning spin from 7am - 11am was super for working out the long rides before the snow cleared. Besides that, I'll need to continue to work on my strength and cardio training in general. Workout schedule to follow after I try a few new things. Yoga anyone?

Last but not least (in fact, very very IMPORTANT) - Fundraising! - That's right. This ride requires that I raise funds in order to ride. My personal goal for 2014 is $10,000. This is where YOU come in. I currently have 250 days left to fundraise (or they won't let me ride!!!) which  means that I need to have a donation of $40 per day, every day between now and then. Will you be my $40 (or more) today?

My Bike Made Me Do It

I was minding my own business when, out of nowhere, my bike jumped me and pinned me down.

I admit that I haven't ridden since that day in September when Gwen and I took a 2.5 hour ride on a beautiful sunny day but I had no idea that my bike has been scheming ever since. Apparently she's been thinking about the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer since we had finished the ride in August and was eager to sign up again. And so, she committed an act of bike mutiny; Jumping me when I wasn't looking, pinning me down, and giving me a very stern talk on the merits of riding again in 2014.

While she didn't go as far as poking me with her spokes or lashing me with her chain (thank goodness because man, is it greasy!) I guess I can say she was persuasive as here I am - signed up again.

And so that leads to you. Before my mutinous bike can make the rounds of last year's donors, won't you head her off and make your donation today? The goal this year is $10,000.

See you on the ROAD!