La Tour De Spruce

What: A 2 hour guided bike tour through pristine forests, spacious parks, & trails - intermingled with Modern Urban Development in the City of Spruce Grove - lead by Spruce Grove's Mayor Stuart Houston.

Date: Sunday May 25th

Time: Meet at 11:45am - Ride until 2:00pm

Where: Meet at the South end of Superstore Parking Lot - Spruce Grove.
             End at the South end of Tri-Leisure Center Parking Lot - Spruce Grove

What to bring: Yourself, your bike, your family & friends (please remember to bring your safety gear/helmet)

Why:  1. Biking is fun!
           2. Learn about the amazing Spruce Grove Trail System - you really MUST see it!
           3. Support a local Spruce Grovian in her Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer.
           4. Everybody loves popsicles!

Fun extra: We will be met by the NOW! Radio Trucksicle at the end of the ride for popsicles! 

Ride & Update

The ride: Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer

Distance: 220 km over 2 days

Location: Calgary, AB to Okotoks, AB and back again! 

The Goal: $25,000

Raised to date: $1,210

Days left for fundrasing: 93

KM's ridden outside to date:  105 (65.1 miles)

Why I rode last year: Why I Ride Blog Post

Why I ride this year: 

I ride for those who have been touched by cancer. 

For those who survived, for those who did not, for those who are still fighting, 

and for those who love them. 

I ride for me as well. 

I ride to be a part of something bigger than myself. 

I ride to make a difference.

And so, with a beautiful sky overhead, I set out for a ride last evening. As Sadie (my bike) has been in the shop for her annual tune up, I was fortunate to have the use of a friend's bike. Having ridden no other bike for the past year or 5, I was excited to try out a different bike. I'd had Sadie's tires replaced with street slicks last summer and this bike had knobby tires. Would it feel different to ride? I'd also been using clip in pedals for some time now and these were clip less. Would I notice a difference? Was there really a truth to the superiority of clip-ins? Let's find out! I added air to the tires, threw on my sneakers (runners), and headed out.

I'll fondly refer to the borrowed bike as "the Beast". I hopped on and off we went. The first thing I noticed was the seat adjustment quick release lever was sticking out at just the perfect location to whack me in the leg on every revolution. Easy enough to fix: hop off, adjust the seat, adjust the tightness, crank that quick release in tight and off we go again! I often find myself adjusting Sadie's seat during rides so no big deal. Now on to gear shifts...  The Beast has handlebar gear shifts that twist forward and back. Sadie has gear shifts that consist of 2 switches on each handlebar, one for up and one for down. A quick press of the switch and her gears change. I've never used a twist shift and wondered if there was some trick to it, other than simply twisting forward or back. I felt like I was throttling a motorcycle (couldn't resist throwing in a couple of VROOOM VROOOOM's while shifting). I'm still not sure I had it right and every "click" of the shifter had me wondering if I was breaking something. More practice needed!

Hmmmm, where to ride? Not knowing the bike well, I chose to stick around the neighborhood. I started slow, out to the trail and up Century, heading towards Ghiry's favorite wiggly trail. Somethign wasn't right. The bike felt like it was riding over a series of ruts (speed bumps!), bump, bump, bump. Hmmmm, odd, maybe the sidewalk is much rougher than I thought and the knobby tires brings it out. I decided to forgo the sidewalk for the back ally roads for a flatter ride. Bump, bump, bump, it continued. Now I'm off and checking out the bike. Are the wheels tight? Is the brake catching on one of the tires? What on earth? I found that both the front and back tires on The Beast are "flat", not in pressure but in shape. Oddest thing I've ever seen. They are on the rim, they are inflated, and they are flat! I decided to cut short the ride and headed home after only 4km and a bruised bum. Okay, I might be exaggerating the bruised bum. :D

As soon as I walked in the door, Ghiry was waiting to tell me that a walk is better than a ride any day - mainly because he can go too - and that we should go. I neglected to start the tracking app for him but we did a 1.5 hour loop along the Spruce Grove trails that wind through the forest and down to Grove Drive. An hour and a half well spent and one tuckered pup later, we were home for the evening.

NOTE: Sadie is now back and ready to ride. Stay tuned and in the meantime, donate to keep me on track with my fundraising efforts!

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!

Session 3 - Week 1

Just wrapped up recovery week on Sunday and am now back at training. This session (at The Boxing Club) will run just over 7 weeks. I'll be continuing TRX Suspension Training, adding 2 weight training days, and continuing to bike, bike, and bike in preparation for the August 10th & 11th Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer.

Week 1 is now complete and it looked like this!

Sunday July 7th -The final day of recovery week. Much lounging around the house and watching of movies occurred (aka: slug mode).

Monday July 8th - First day of weight training with the lovely Miss Ashley "Crunchy Frogs". I hour of hardcore weights - quads, hammies, abs (yeah, I asked for it so she gave it to me), more quads, and some arms. Spent an hour or more vacuuming the shop at work this day too - you might think that vacuuming isn't much of a workout. I'm here to tell you that it is! Ever seen "the shop"? It's a BIG shop.

Tuesday July 9th - Mowed the lawn and did some gardening.

Wednesday July 10th - Take 2 on weight training. 1 hour of the baby muscles - all of those little bitty muscles that you don't usually realize exist until you make them work. Yeah, those. :D Arms, hip flexors, calves, shins, triceps, biceps and whatever else I am forgetting due to muscle tiredness. Also spent an hour mowing the lawn and my neighbor's lawn (he loans me the lawn mower, the least I could do is mow his lawn).

Thursday July 11th - TRX with Heather (Miss Sheila is away for the month learning to instruct YOGA) - Compound exercise night - 1 hour of Squat/Rows, I/Y flies, Chest Press/Tricep Curls, Single Leg Lunges, Sun Salutation Lunges, Drop Burpies, Suspended Planks, Hamstring Curls, and so much  more. Ouch, Ow, Owie! Headed home for some light gardening as I welcomed 6 eggplant plants and 2 new perennials to my garden patch.

Friday July 12th - Rest and Relaxation

Saturday July 13th - Biking, what else!

Regrouping

Here are the stats as of June 25, 2013:

NOTE: the ride has been rescheduled from June 22/23 to August 10/11 due to flooding in Calgary and the surrounding towns. 

Date of Ride: August 10th & 11th, 2013

Distance: 200 KM (125 Miles)

Location: Calgary, Alberta to Okotokes, Alberta - AND BACK!

Donation Link: http://www.conquercancer.ca/goto/nhkayakgirl

Fundraising required to ride: $2,500.00

Money raised to date: $3,345.00

Personal fundraising goal: $5,000.00

Donations needed to reach personal goal: $1,655.00

Days left for fundraising: 46

Dollar amount needed per day to make Personal Goal:  $35.98

Dollars that I have personally donated towards my goal: $120.00

Dollars that I have personally spent on training, nutrition, & equipment to date: $2,000.00+
 

The Challenge to you: Become one of my sponsors by donating towards my goal.

I never expected to be blogging about ride updates, fundraising, and training on this date. The plan was to ride on June 22/23 and then post some wonderful photos of the ride and tell you all about the experience before getting on with some new adventures in my life. Mother Nature had other plans...

So here I site with 6 1/2 weeks of training ahead of me.  It is interesting, psychologically. I was ready for the ride. I was 1/2 and hour from being fully packed for the ride. I was 1 day from boarding the bus to Calgary from Edmonton. I think I'm still a little befuddled.

I took a break from training this weekend (well, if you count an intense weight training session and 5 hours of heavy duty yard work a break...) and went out and had some fun. I visited a street market. I went to an art gallery with a friend. I spent a day at a Scottish Festival with my camera. Oh, men in kilts! :) And now I must psych myself back up for training. I'm not finding it the easiest thing to do. I'm in the last week of a 12 week fitness class session and this is where you are usually so ready for a recovery week. Back to the drawing board to plan out the next 7 weeks.

Stay tuned for what comes next...

The Ride Update

Here are the stats as of June 5, 2013:

Date of Ride: June 22nd & 23rd, 2013

Distance: 200 KM (125 Miles)

Location: Calgary, Alberta to Okotokes, Alberta - AND BACK!

Donation Link: http://www.conquercancer.ca/goto/nhkayakgirl

Fundraising required to ride: $2,500.00

Money raised to date: $3,195.00

Personal fundraising goal: $5,000.00

Donations needed to reach personal goal: $1,805.00

Days left for fundraising: 17

Dollar amount needed per day to make Personal Goal:  $106.18

Dollars that I have personally donated towards my goal: $120.00

Dollars that I have personally spent on training, nutrition, & equipment to date: $2,000.00+

The Challenge to you: Become one of my sponsors by donating towards my goal.

 

If you have already donated, THANK YOU! What else can you do to help? Please consider sharing my quest with a friend and asking them to donate. Copy and paste this link on your facebook page or email it to your friends. http://gurlandbike.blogspot.com  

 

Every little bit helps and it goes towards a great cause. Funds raised in The Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer will support breakthrough research, exemplary teaching, and compassionate care at the Alberta Cancer Foundation, a leader in cancer research and treatment.

 

Now, the training update: I've started week 9 in my second 12 week fitness training program at The Boxing Club of Spruce Grove. This training consists of 3 hours a week of intense core, leg, & butt work through both TRX Suspension Training and Butt & Gutt class.  I love it and plan on continuing with this program even after the ride. On top of this I typically ride 5-10 hours each weekend to log 75-150 km (45-90 miles). While I won't log as many miles per week after the ride, I will enjoy a 1-2 hour ride several days per week. I've also included some hiking in my training program as it is always fun to mix it up a bit and I'm planning on doing a lot more after I wrap up the ride. Can't wait to hit the BIG "hills". ;)

The bike update: I'm riding my 1992 Specialized Cross Roads in this event. Look for me on the red bike with gold trim. You'll be able to pick me out from the crowd as I've got straight handlebars like a mountain bike and flashy new street racing tires with blue stripes on each side. Oh, they stand out! First ride on the new tires takes place this week. Speaking of new... I'm biting the bullet and going with clip in pedals and shoes. I'M TERRIFIED! I've ridden bikes since I was a kid and I have always opted not to use the pedal baskets or shoe clips because I am not known for my grace and balance. I just KNOW that I will be the one that falls over on her bike.. Uh, huh! That will be me, tangled up in the bike, shoes still clipped in, and going nowhere fast. :)

Something fun! Record and send me a video! I'll get to see it after I finish my ride. Click here for instructions. You don't have to donate to make and upload a video and I'll love every single one of them! :) Just keep it to 10-15 seconds and the whackier, the better! :D

The Massive Hill of Death

O M G! I can hardly believe that I am alive to tell the tale of The Massive Hill of Death... Thankfully for you, I am! :D

It all started on a cool (think 40 degree F) morning, at 6am when my alarm so rudely awakened me from a fairly pleasant slumber. Oddly enough I was dreaming about hiking only to be awoken to go biking. 2 eggs later and I hit to road to meet up with The Bulls-eye Bikes Club for 7am. There were 6 of us to start with though we would gain 1 and lose 2 later on in the ride.

Being completely unaware of what was lurking down the road, I saddled up and headed out with the group. As it was a bit chilly, I kept my fleece on over my bike top though I opted to leave the long pants in The Dingo for safe keeping. We rode North out of town, heading over the interstate (Is it called an interstate in Canada or is it just a highway? Route 16 anyway). Hanging a left, we pedaled West past quiet farms and newly tilled fields, the sun beaming down and the wind quiet, for now. Coming to the end of the range road, we connected up with RT 779 West of Spruce Grove and again turned North.

Now the fun begins! RT 779 (and most of the Northbound routes out of Spruce Grove & Stony Plain) heads up into the Glory Hills. Remember those wonderful hikes I wrote about at Chickakoo Lake? Well, 779 is the road I take to get to those hills. I took one look at the road ahead (refer back to last weeks post with the pic of where I had been) and said to our daring leader, Herb, "We're headed to the top of that thing, aren't we?". Herb confirmed my suspicions. We were, indeed to ride to the top of the world on RT 779. Now, remember that I am riding with a group of seasoned cyclists, all with lovely road bikes and plenty of racing experience under their belts. Even though this was a "long, slow" Sunday ride, the pace so far was faster than I'd been riding on my own.

And so up the hill I went... One slow peddle stroke at a time. At one point, it began to feel like the hill that would never end and by the time I made it to the top of the world on 779, I was dripping sweat and ready to lose the fleece. About this time I realized that I hadn't really been drinking much for water (also known as the nutrient sludge - due to the addition of several supplements/powders to give me energy and keep me hydrated). I started down the other side of the hill only to meet up with the other riders headed back in my direction. You see, the rules of the ride are that we re-group at every major intersection/turn of the ride. The faster riders often double back and then ride the section a second time while waiting for the slower riders (in this case me). We took a right and headed East towards what I can only guess is the Northern end of Calahoo out of Spruce Grove through I am not sure.

Now, by this time the ride had become quite fun as the Eastern headed road was a slow gradual downhill. Ah! This is what I had done all of that work for! Taking another right, we headed South back towards Spruce Grove. Here we picked up Nadine and continued down, down, down, the hills. Hill after glorious hill! All heading DOWN... Joyous day! :D We regrouped and bid Cory farewell as Herb made the announcement that we were to complete our ride by heading back around the same loop we had just ridden, only in reverse... SAY WHAT????

Now bear in mind that I was not tired (a little muscle fatigue but nothing horrible) and it was still pretty early in the morning (8:45ish) and we'd only completed 20 miles (35 km) and my goal was to get close to 45 miles for the day. I firmly told myself that I could do this and turned my bike Northward again. Little did I know that I was to meet my arch nemesis - THE MASSIVE HILL OF DEATH! I had thought that the hill on RT 779 was big, long, never-ending. Boy was I wrong. Compared to the behemoth that was facing me, 779 was an anthill!

I'd be willing to bet that what took a matter of minutes to descend in my highest gear (and that wasn't fast enough for me) took at least 20 times as long to ascend in my lowest set of gears. This hill was determined to have the best of me. Though I never gave it the satisfaction of making me dismount. My mind was made up. I would ride this thing to the top! I have to say THANK YOU to Herb here. He must have ridden each of the 3 sections of this hill at least 2x as he circled back for me at the top of each crest. It helped not to be left to my own designs on this beast of a hill. And here is where Don left us for the day. The Hill having conquered him quite thoroughly (or he had better things to do), he turned and road down again. 

The rest of the ride is more of a blur... a slow, gradual uphill blur for a good part of it before attaining the peak of RT779's hill where I could cruise (as fast as my short little legs would go) to the bottom and pick up the East heading road back to Spruce Grove where The Dingo was waiting to take me home. We covered nearly 40 miles in 3.5 hours. A pace far quicker than any I've ridden alone. The one misstep that I took was not putting on the long pants after the ride. I hopped in The Dingo and headed home only to have both thighs make a major attempt at cramping on me. Thankfully home is a quick 5 minute (or less) drive and a hot shower and stretch awaited me. And a nap! Yes, I took a nap in the middle of this day and fell asleep straight away!

Now, I have attempted to capture a map for your viewing pleasure. However, I believe that The Massive Hill of Death has such strong powers that it has actually managed to obscure itself from the mapping device. I'm afraid that the road should have hooked back down towards the starting point (on the right hand side of the map), making a box rather that an open sided rectangle... But, such is the strength of The Hill....

Session 2 - Week 7

Week 7 of Session 2 now completed! My schedule was as follows:

Sunday May 19th - If you read last week's post, you know that I rode 45 miles (75 km) on Saturday, May 18th. Today was the first day that I have done back to back long rides. I rode for another 45 miles to bring my 2 day total to 90 miles (150 km). Started off at 7am waiting to meet up with a local bike club. By 7:30 myself and another rider came to the conclusion that there had been a bit of a communications snafu and the ride was not going to happen. So, home I headed to hit the streets myself. By 8am I was peddling off towards Jubilee Park and the Spring Grove neighborhood for a warm up and then hills. Spring Grove is set up so that streets run North/South on a hill so it was good practice for hills. Down the hill, up the hill, repeat. :D And then I was off exploring new areas. Click the link above to read about Sunday's ride. 

Monday May 20th - A day of rest. After my weekend of riding, I was happy to have a Monday holiday. I spent 2 hours digging the weeds out of my "flower garden" and then another hour planting new flowers. By the end of the day, I was pretty tired and still recovering from the weekend of riding.

Tuesday May 21st - TRX Suspension training. This class was a bit different from our normal format in that we were doing counted reps instead of timed sets. A very, very, very hard class. You can read about it here. Legs were the target of the day...

Wednesday May 22nd -An evening of rest! Sore from Tuesday night's class (for the first time in a long time) and happy to relax.

Thursday May 23rd - TRX Suspension training - And more leg work!

Friday May 24th - An evening out with work and early to bed to catch up on some much needed sleep.

Saturday May 25th -NO OPTIONS Butt & Gutt!! Circuit based session with 7 stations, 30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest, nearly every station weighted and no rest for the single leg/side stations. It was brutal! Read about it here.

Tomorrow morning I meet up with Herb of Bulls-Eye Bike Shop to ride from 7am to 12pm. Wish me luck and many miles!

9-T!

While this shot doesn't exactly do the hill justice, you get some idea of the distance and steepness that I had just traveled. If you follow the road all the way back to the upper left of the photo, that is where I had just ridden from. And.... where I had to ride back to. Lucky me! :D Yes, I do mean that itty bitty, tiny crack in what appears to be the treeline... yeah, there.

Today was my second day in a row of riding 45 miles to bring the weekend total to 90 miles (150 km). As you can see from the map below, I took a very different route, north out of Spruce Grove on Century, ending up waaaaaaaaay up at the top of a giant hill. Yes, I rode the entire thing, without stopping AND... I didn't die! :D (happy dance!)

I'm a bit surprised that I am not more tired but it is still early in the day (3:30 MST) and I'm sure by this evening I'll be ready to fall right over. Maybe it was the alternative protein, aka: bugs I swallowed on the ride.. hmmmm.

Today was slightly overcast and I had a nice cool breeze for most of the ride so I didn't add to the sunburn that I managed to get yesterday. :) Oh, and I have a funny white stripe where I wear my ID band on my wrist. And bikers tan, I am developing bikers tan. What is up with that? Geesh!

45

Today was the first day of a 2 day training ride plan. I had planned to be up by 5am, riding from 6-9am, aiming for 30 miles before my 10am Butt & Gutt session. My body had other plans for me. Being a bit tired, I slept until 7 and hit the road at 8am, riding until I met up with the Butt & Gutt class at 10. I logged 20 miles in those 2 hours (Map on the right).

As I participated in the B&G session, all I could hear in the back of my mind was my mom: "You can't do BOTH bike riding and B&G, Silly Girl. You should just do one or the other." How right she was! B&G consisted of hill running and major leg work today, focusing on the thighs. And my poor thighs were already tired!

However, feeling that I still had something left in me to wrap up the planned 30 total miles for the day, I headed home after B&G for a pit stop, whipped up a smoothie (and downed it), and headed back to the streets (Map on the left). 2 hours, 11 minutes later, I had completed 25 miles and called it a day. And what a beautiful day it was! As tired as I am right now, I enjoyed every last second of sunshine, wind, scenery, exploring new neighborhoods, and kicking my butt! :D

I've planned to meet up with Bulls-eye Bike Club at 7am tomorrow for a 5 hour, many mile ride. See you after!

Session 2 - Week 6

Week 6 of Session 2 now completed! My schedule was as follows:

Sunday May 12th - Rest, sleep, fluids, & good nutrition. Happy Mothers' Day to all the Mothers out there. My son called to wish me a happy day and to plan our visit in July when I head for home. :D

Monday May 13th - A day of rest.

Tuesday May 14th - TRX Suspension training. Plenty of leg work in this session. It has been immensely helpful in getting me ready for the Ride. This evening's class was 40 seconds work with 10 second breaks. Mixing it up and making ourselves WORK! Do a set of tricep presses and then, take a step back and make it harder.

Wednesday May 15th -An evening hike at Chickakoo Lake! 1 hour of hiking the Advanced/Intermediate trails with Miss Ashley "Crunchy Frogs", Ghiry, and Zoie! It was a beautiful evening and the trail was challenging. :D

Thursday May 16th - TRX Suspension training - Tabata style! 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest, 8 sets of each exercise, repeat!

Friday May 17th - An evening off!

Saturday May 18th - A BIG, HUGE, GIGANTIC ride! :D Started the day off at 8am with a 2 hour, 20 mile ride followed by an hour of Butt & Gutt, and topped off with another 2+ hour, 25 mile ride. 45 miles on the day and scheduled to ride again in the AM for my first back to back long ride days.. wish me luck!

Fund Raising Update

As of today, I've raised $2,145.00 of the $2,500 that I need to ride in the Enbridge Ride to Conquor Cancer. I couldn't do this without the help of each and every one of you. This is only $355.00 short of the amount that will allow me to get on my bike and ride on June 22 & 23.

Help me to make it the rest of the way?

Session 2 - Week 4

Week 4 of Session 2 now completed! My schedule was as follows:

Sunday April 28th - First BIG outside ride. The weather was overcast and cool but tolerable with gloves, hat under the helmet and 3 layers - top and bottom. I felt great after finishing 40 miles of street riding. The goal from here is to add time/mileage each Sunday as well as start getting in a couple of Saturday/Sunday ride weekends. Read about the BIG ride here. 

Monday April 29th - A day of rest and a trip to the bike store for some nutritional supplements... only to find that the store was closed. :(

Tuesday April 30th - TRX Suspension training. A Game of Cards! This game included Pushups, Balance Lunges, Suspended Crunches (or sit ups), and Jump Squats along with Burpies and Front Planks. We made it through the deck in no time and started round 2... Triceps and Biceps! 

Wednesday May 1st -An evening off.

Thursday May 2nd - TRX Suspension training - Tabata format - 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest, repeat each exercise for 8 sets - Jump Squats, Push ups (ugh! there they are again! - personal goal right now is to be able to complete 20 REAL pushups - I'm at 10), Alternating Balance Lunges with a hop, Front Planks, Suspended Crunches/Sit Ups, Bicycle Crunches (legs suspended), and I'm certain there were 2 more exercises but my old lady brain can't recall them right now. :D

Friday May 3rd - Spent 2 hours helping to set up the boxing ring for The Boxing Club's 4th annual Al Harris Memorial Fundraiser on Saturday May 4th.

Saturday May 4th - 2 hours of heavy duty spring cleaning before an hour of BUTT & GUTT! This session was a doozy! The format today was Cardio, Abs, Glutes. 30 seconds of cardio followed by 10 seconds rest, 30 seconds of Ab work, 10 seconds rest, wrapped up with 30 seconds of Butt work and repeat. There were approx 8 combo sets each repeated 2 times. Very fast paced and sweat inducing. A kick butt class for sure! 1 more hour of heavy duty spring cleaning (think scrubbing tile floors on your hands and knees) and then off to the 4th Annual Al Harris Memorial Fundraiser. My very first boxing event! Look for a separate post on this event with a video or 2! :) Home again at 11pm.

Time for some fluids, rest, and turkey soup (I've come down with a cold or something) See you all next week!

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time, in a cold, northern country, there lived a gurl who loved to bike. She would bike early in the morning, in the middle of the day, late into the evening, and even in her dreams at night. The gurl would bike in the cold weather, in the rain, the wind, and the sun. Though her neighbors saw her come and go, flashing by with a smile and a wave on her red and gold bike, they often scratched their heads and wondered... Why? Why does she bike day in and day out, hour after hour?

What they didn't know was the the gurl was training for an epic event that included a mountainous goal (or 2), figuratively and quite literally.

I am that gurl and I'm riding that bike (21 year old red with gold trim Specialized Cross Roads) in the Enbridge Ride to Conquor Cancer on June 22nd & 23rd. This ride is a 2 day, 200 km (125 mile) ride that leaves out of Calgary, Alberta, Canada with an overnight (in a tent camp) at Okotoks, Alberta, and a return to Calgary on the second day. What is the ride for? Glad you asked! To raise funds for Alberta Cancer Research.

Here are the literal mountains - The Canadian Rockies! I'll be riding with these beautiful mountains as the back drop and, while I have yet to drive to Calgary (I hear Road Trip in my near future) and check them out, I get the distinct feeling that there will be some "hills" to ride.

Here are the figurative mountains -
1. Training - I'm training hard for this ride and have been since January. I ride 1-2 days per week on looooooooooooong rides (think 3+ hours - lately 4+) and I participate in high-intensity total body workouts 3 days a week. Strength and cardio are as important as endurance.

2. Fund raising - I am required to raise $2,500 to participate in THE RIDE. This is the mountain that I need help with. I'm 64% of the way there - to being allowed to ride. Won't you help me make my dream come true for a great cause?

Here are the stats as of May 2, 2013:

Date: June 22nd & 23rd, 2013
Distance: 200 KM (125 Miles)
Location: Calgary, Alberta to Okotoks, Alberta & back again

Donation Link: http://www.conquercancer.ca/goto/nhkayakgirl

Fundraising required to ride: $2,500.00
Money raised to date: $1,695.00
Money left to raise to date: $805.00
(Pledged but not donated yet: $100)

Days left for fundraising: 51
Dollar amount needed per day to make Minimum goal:  $15.78

Dollars that I have personally donated towards my goal: $100.00

Dollars that I have personally spent on training, nutrition, and equipment to date: $575.00
Note: this does not count the 24 weeks of fitness training at The Boxing Club that I have been participating in since January).

The Challenge to you: Become one of my sponsors by donating at least $25.00 towards my goal.
The Mountainous Challenge: Match what I have donated.

The Giant 4-OH!

I'll be the first to admit that when I woke up this morning, I wasn't in the mood for a mega ride (well, that isn't exactly true, more like I wasn't in the mood to motivate myself for a mega ride). You know the feeling, we all get it, that it would be so much easier to stay in bed, hang around and watch movies, take a day off, anything but get our butts out of the house and DO something.

But, I'll be the first to let you  know that I AM GLAD I DID IT! I am glad that I made myself eat breakfast, made myself mix up a delicious Camelbak of nutrients (Dripping sarcasm there, folks!), made myself put on 3 layers. Yes, count them, 3 - It's still cold here in Alberta! - Complete with hat under the helmet & gloves for my poor little cold hands... Glad that I kept going. Glad that after 2 hours when I needed a pit stop I was strong enough to make myself go back out for another hour. And then another. Yup, ended up riding for 4.5 hours today - 40 miles - ON THE STREET, against the wind, and uphill both ways! Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration but it was difficult. And when it was all over, I was able to say: I did it! And not only did I do it, but I felt good after I was done and even came to the conclusion that I might even be able to ride 50 Miles, 60 Miles, or even 65 (that is the daily requirement on the Enbridge Ride to Conquor Cancer - 2 days, 125 miles total) and all because I DID IT!

Now my question to you is: Since I did it, won't you get out there and sponsor me so that all of this hard work will not be in vain? Click here and when the new page loads, click the big green button to sponsor my ride. I'm only $925 away from being able to ride June 22nd & 23rd. Every little bit helps and I appreciate every dollar donated.

First Outside Ride

Last night was my first outside ride of the season as part of my training for the Enbridge Ride to Conquor Cancer. 

Date: April 17, 2013
Days until The Ride: 66
Temperature: 41F (5C)
Funds Still Needed to Ride: $1,360 (hint, sponsor me! Click the big green button, you know you wanna!)


I left the house just after 5:30pm to explore the Spruce Grove Heritage Trail. This trail is a wide paved walkway that winds around neighborhoods and through Ghiry's favorite forest in the City of Spruce Grove. As the snow has finally receded from 98% of the trail, it makes a good training ground with it's winding paths and various levels of incline. I should note that I'm using the Nike Running App to track distance and let's just say that because I ride here, there, and wherever the Megrims take me, my route map looks pretty funny! I may have to make it a goal to come up with the weirdest looking maps possible just to amuse myself.

As you can see, I got in 12.44 miles (20 KM) last night. Overall it was terrific to be outside but I continue to struggle with the nutritional aspect of endurance training. I added some extra carbs in the form of Spelt Pasta to my mid-day meal and brought along electrolytes in my water but by mile 12, I was spent. Perhaps more pasta is in order...

Stay tuned for the next ride, most likely on Saturday before and after the regularly scheduled Butt & Gutt class! See you there!

Base Gear

I love my base gear! But I get ahead of the story...

Sunday is a hardcore riding day. The only day that I have off from work and workouts to concentrate 100% on riding. And today was a big one. The longest ride I'd completed before this morning was 2 hours. That was last Sunday with 1 hour of Open Spin & 1 hour of instructor led Spin Class. I'd decided to add a half hour to my ride each Sunday until I hit 6 hours. I figure that I'm going to need approximately 6 hours to get from point A to point B each day during the Enbridge Ride to Conquor Cancer. The distance is 100 KM (65 Miles) per day. Gosh I hope 6 hours does it! I'll let you know if it doesn't!

The alarm went off at 5am this morning and oddly enough, I was awake before it did. It still took me a good 20 minutes to be out of bed and downstairs in the kitchen fixing breakfast. I'm still learning about sports nutrition (endurance sports nutrition specifically) but figured I couldn't go wrong with a scrambled egg cooked up with onion, mushrooms, purple barley, and cheddar cheese. I'm working to incorporate more whole grains into my diet (non-wheat whole grains). Currently Quinoa (white and red) and Purple Barley are favorites. My Camelbak holds 3 Liters (Litres) of water and today I figured it was a good day to test out the new nutritional supplement that I plan on using in June: Hammer Perpetuem. The label on the bag says Orange-Vanilla flavor, I say BLECH! It has a nasty flavor. Must remember to mix in some Orange flavored electrolytes in the future! Duly armed with this nasty concoction, 1.5 Litres of plain water, a change of clothes, and my best attitude, off I went to The Boxing Club - arriving at 6:30am.

I hit the bike at 6:40 after a quick stretch and began my first hour of pedaling for the day. Let's just concede the point that riding inside, in a building, staring at a mirror, is boring. That being said, Rod was there riding too so there was someone to chat with. Rod rides 10 minutes seated, 10 minutes standing (those are some looooong hills!). I'm not quite that talented yet so I chose a format of 10-15 minutes sitting, 2-5 minutes standing. The first hour went by fairly quickly and we were joined by 2 more cyclers (don't know their names yet though one was wearing a Boston Bruins t-shirt!!!!).

At the 1 hour mark I had hit 24.5 KM pedaled and it was time for a quick break. There are rumored to be pit-stops every 20 KM during the ride in June and I sure hope that's true. Back on the bike to start hour 2, my bum was feeling a bit numb so I switched up my circuits to 10 minutes sitting, 5 minutes standing. You pedal at a harder gear standing and so go a shorter distance than you do just sitting. The time flew by fairly quickly and before I knew it, it was going on 8:20 and I'd completed 2 hours of biking this morning. As I was THIS CLOSE to another 25 KM completed, I stuck around on the bike another 7.5 minutes to get to 25.6 KM for a total of 50 KM (31 miles) before calling it a day on the Free Spin.

But wait! There's more! Don't forget that I have a 10-11am instructor led Spin Class at The Boxing Club.... yeah, I wasn't done yet. :) As it was only 8:45, I quickly changed into dry clothes and headed the 1 mile home for some real food to supplement the ICK I'd been drinking for the past 2 hours. I quickly blended up a Lime, Banana, Pineapple smoothie with an additional ingredient this morning: Hemp Seed Hearts (I suggest you check them out). I figured my best plan would be to head back to the gym where I was less likely to sit and veg for a half hour and more likely to stretch and stay warm before the next hour long session. Once on the bike again (here's where 'base gear" comes in), we were instructed to pick a gear that is comfortable to ride at, where we could maintain at for 30 minutes at a time. I picked "10". From here on out, we would increase and return to base gear in 1 minute intervals, stepping up the gear by 2-5 gears depending on the exercise. Each time we came back down to base gear, I loved that gear more and more! It was a super ride with 5 other terrific gals and I look forward to doing it again next weekend. Thank you Ashley & Bobbi for co-leading this spin class today. It was a load of fun! 16 more KM added to wrap up the day at 66 KM (40.9 Miles) worth of spinning. PHEW! Now on to cooking dinner for the week but that's another post for another time...

Thanks for tuning in!

Journeys

This week marks my 23rd week of nutritional changes, 14th week of fitness training, and 6th week of bike specific training.

I have 10 weeks remaining to train until the day of the Enbridge Ride to Conquor Cancer - a 200 KM (125 Mile) ride. I can't believe how quickly time has gone and how many changes have happened since November, 2012. Here is a "recap":

23 weeks ago, I embarked on a journey of nutritional changes:

November 4th, 5th & 6th, 2012 - with the help of my mom, sister Cindy, and E, we packed a 17' U-Haul with my pared down belongings & my dog, Ghiry, (sad that it still took a 17' truck) and I departed for Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. You didn't realize I was a Yankee in Alberta did ya? Yuppers, that is me! What was to be a 5 day drive from Lee, NH, USA to my new home turned into 7 with a forced 2 night stay in Weyburn, SK, Canada due to Winter Storm Brutus.

Over the past several years I'd suffered an injury to my lower back and had gotten into some very bad eating habits. I was determined that this new move was going to be the start of a new me as well. I packed only healthy foods for my trip northwest and thus began my nutritional journey. What did I bring? Whole wheat bread, Granny Smith apples, bananas, organic natural (no sugar added) peanut butter, granola bars, and water. I picked up some fresh cheese in Wisconsin (couldn't pass it up!) at the Mousehouse Cheesehaus and enjoyed eggs and fruit for breakfast at the hotels that I stayed in. After 7 days of cleaner eating, it was easier to keep it up after arriving in Canada. The past 23 weeks haven't always been easy and I've had to spend a lot of time learning how to eat healthy, what my body needs, how little is too little, what doesn't work for me, etc. This is an ongoing process. For those interested, I'll include a link in the future to what I do eat in a day, during training and not.
Pictures of the trip from NH to AB

14 weeks ago, I began my journey to re-incorporate fitness into my daily life:

I signed up for classes at a local gym that runs a 12 week schedule. It was just by chance that I found them and that this turned out to be the right fit for me. Over my life I've been everything from a couch potato to a gym rat. I find that the programs that work best for me are group classes with a high-energy instructor and a challenging format. I found this at The Boxing Club in Spruce Grove, AB. My instructors: Sheila, Ashley, & Svetlana are as high-energy as they come with a mix of positive encouragement and constructive correction. The classes are hard work. You will hurt, you will struggle, and it won't get easier. You'll do more reps over time but you will work just as hard week 12 as you did week 1. It has been amazing.

6 Weeks ago, I began my bike journey:

I signed up for the Enbridge Ride to Conquor Cancer and began bike training. This is where the blog started, where the serious biking started, & where the next adventure begins. You can page back through the blog to see what has happened since March 4, 2013, how far I have come & how far I still have to go. Saturday and Sunday are my major riding days. Currently I am up to 2 hours on a weekend day with a plan to push it up 1/2 an hour each weekend. This weekend will be 2.5 hours per session on the bike.

Where will this journey go from here? Stay tuned...

Be Epic!

I have an epic goal:

To raise $5,000 before I ride 200 KM (125 miles) in 2 days as part of the Enbridge Ride to Conquor Cancer - June 22 & 23rd, 2013. 

All proceeds benefit Alberta Cancer Research

Where it all started

Why I am riding

My Training Programs:
TRX
B&G
Spin
Hiking

MY CHALLENGE TO YOU! - Be Epic! I can't do this without you. Will you help me to reach my goal?

Spinning - Day 1

Training re-commences today with an open spin with the Bulls-Eye Bike Shop Club (drop in whenever) and a scheduled spin class with The Boxing Club. The goal is 2 hours of riding (spinning) today. The protein and electrolytes are mixed and ready to go. Stay tuned...

1st hour down - 25 KM completed. Finally met Herb of Bulls-Eye Bike shop and spent an hour on a bike for the first time in a week. My inner thigh muscle on my right leg is a bit tender after yesterday's hike (would help if I had actual hiking boots, not the 20LB Boots of Death that I wear) so I took it fairly easy but managed to kick out 25 KM anyway. Still learning to ride while standing on a stationary bike. Not as easy as you would think. Nice to be dry, warm, and on a flat surface but I really can't wait to start riding outside!

Next up - 1 hour spin class at The Boxing Club - taught by Svetlana. Small class today, myself, Ashley "Crunchy Frogs" Lydia, and Crystal.

Did you know that you can do push-ups on a bike? Neither did I until today. I have never attended an actual Spinning Class before so today was a day of firsts. First time spinning in a class, first time doing push-ups on a bike, first time doing squats on a bike (yes, while riding). Another hour under the belt (along with 30 jumping jacks and 30 actual squats) and I'm looking forward to pushing it up to 2.5 hours total next weekend.

Gear note: I love my Camelbak, I managed to get 2.5 liters (litres) of water/protein/electrolytes down in 2.5 hours. Padded bike pants are a blessing too!

If you've just joined my blog, you may be wondering why I'm doing all of this. You can read about it here.