bike ski bike ski bike

Tired/Happy

It's official - I finally got a college degree! Even though I finished my class a month ago, I was hesitant to celebrate too early. I didn't exactly finish strong and I also didn't want to get my hopes up in order to avoid any future disappointment - something I do too often. I was having a hard time with the idea that I was actually finished, and at times I thought for sure that I wouldn't get my degree for some reason.

As for the fatigue... well, yesterday I thought it would be a good idea to go skiing twice, as I feel I am a bit behind on my skiing fitness. Luckily I went out with a friend the second time (well both kinda) to keep myself motivated (otherwise I would have skiied less or not at all). He later admitted he was skiing kind of fast, but I still had to work at full effort just to stay close behind. My first outting yesterday was pretty much an all out intense effort as well - I definitely didn't leave my house last night, and I probably won't be moving much today either - unless I summon the courage for more skiing.

I don't feel like writing anymore, but yesterday there was a bike swap in town. I spent the time walking around in a daze, spending money I shouldn't have, but at least I got some sweet deals! Hopefully I'll be able to sell some stuff and recuperate a bit. If only I had more money, I could have made a job of flipping stuff on the 'bay/craigslist.

Later...

Saturday

As I mentioned yesterday, today I had planned on doing a long, long ride. We ended up only riding for three hours, and maybe only going 30 to 40 miles. I have no idea how far it was and I'm too lazy to map it nor do I have a computer on my crosscheck, but it was quite a workout considering all of the layers I had on, and all of the ice/snow. Not to mention all the goofing off and trying to ride through deep snow that we did.

The main reason I wanted to post today is because I possibly made the most delicious food that I have ever created after I got home from the ride. And it wasn't just b/c I was so hungry that it tasted amazing (another reason for ending the ride). First in the pan was some olive oil, sea salt, and crushed red pepper. Then there was the red onion and green pepper, later followed by some artichoke hearts. Last was the garlic, tomato, and homemade pesto my old roommate left behind. This was poured over some penne pasta and topped with fresh shaved parmesan cheese (props to BelGioioso). So amazing!

Later

Finally back on a bike

Today was the first day back on a bike for almost two weeks. I just got back from quite a few days spent up north split between my father's and mother's places. At least I've been keeping in shape with a lot of xc skiing. It is great cross training and will hopefully raise my VO max - at least that is my goal.

I spent 25 minutes on the rollers this morning and worked up quite a sweat doing intervals at cadences of 120+. My rollers make a lot of noise and my roommate had wanted to watch a movie in the living room (he went to his room instead), so I didn't want to monopolize the living room for any longer.

Tomorrow two crazy guys and myself are planning on doing a metric century around town - after checking to see if the singletrack is rideable. We will probably be doing a couple loops of the Capital City bike loop. I'll be taking the crosscheck, which currently has a 28c slick rear and a 35c studded front. It will probably be staying that way, but the front fender is messed up so I'll probably take it off as a precaution of any mishaps (re: fender hitting front tire, tire immediately stopping, me flying forward). Hopefully it isn't too wet...

A photo:

A link:
http://digitool.library.mcgill.ca:8881/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=24064&local_base=GEN01-MCG02