Easter Weekend

I've been missing the blog lately.  I have no shortage of things to write about - only a shortage of time at the computer.  But it's for very good reason....  and I'll tell you all about it...

Disclaimer:  This post may end up being pretty lengthy - but I have loaded it with photos to keep you interested.  (Do you guys like the photos? I need visuals or I get bored....)  Also, the layout is optimized for my blogpage - it may look really bad in your reader or in the feedburner feed.  

My bike-centric training continues...  It isn't to the exclusion of everything else but it is where most of my training hours are going at the moment.  Here are some pictures from a few recent rides:

(CLICK to enlarge any pictures!)

RIDE #1

Batchelor Bay - I stopped in to see how the bay looks in April.  It looked very calm, perfect for swimming.  Maybe a little chilly though (or a lot).  We usually start up our Open Water Season in May (which is very cold, so bright yellow dish gloves are recommended).

This is the swim route....  The second 'buoy' is a small island or rock which is easier to see in the map below.  The route has everything - a nice, mellow warm up in protected waters (1st third), a challenging, often wavy and current-y middle (2nd third), and a long, progressively easier home stretch.  Add in eagles, seals and a few friends and it is about the best way to enjoy the outdoors.  See you in May!  (I'm serious.  Let me know if you want to come - all (most) abilities welcome.)

Plan view of the swim.  Batchelor Bay is close to Whytecliff Park in West Vancouver.  The ride was great - about 65km - I cut it a bit short to assist a stranded cyclist near my house.  Lent him a tube, changed it for him, used one of my co2 cartridges and then found out the damn thing had a hole in it.  By then I was committed to the project of helping this guy so I went to get my car and drove him home.

RIDE #2

This ride was not as much of a workout but was pretty much a blast from start to finish.  Mattias shook off some early season rust and Aia was a trooper on the 'trail-along' as we circumnavigated Stanley Park (10km).  My rental bike's rear tire flatted with about 3km to go - I rode it out which provided a better workout than I had planned.

RIDE #3

All told this ride was about 2 hours in length, but it included a photo stop and had a pretty good degree of difficulty.  It included 3 good climbs - the most notable being the climb up to SFU (Simon Fraser University) and the final climb back to Lynn Valley.  

I am working hard to tune in my climbing as it has always been difficult to drag my 185lbs up a mountain.

OK, so those are some rides from Easter weekend....  I also made my return to Masters yesterday (Monday).  I could definitely feel the lay-off but didn't suffer too badly.  Misha took it easy on us with a workout made up of mostly shorter, speed sets.

The weekend was also full of lots of great family time - egg decorating and a fantastic Easter Brunch:

The kids dressed up for Easter Brunch.  Daddy hiding his belly full of bacon post-brunch.

I know carpentry isn't a normal topic for this blog but I did build an enormous (and quite minimally stylish) baby gate this weekend.  It is a veritable Berlin Wall (though that one fell and I don't expect mine to...) - I am quite proud of it.

Hope you had a great Easter....  I never got around to the real reason I have been busy lately.  I'll leave that as a cliffhanger for an upcoming post.  

Thanks for reading!

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