Vive le Quebec!

Bonjour tout le monde! Comment ca va? I don't know how to put the accents on here in the blog. I'd probably have to change the template to French. I know a lot of you don't speak the language and I don't intend on practicing here, so I'll spare you. I'm in Quebec this week. Arrived yesterday. I have an amazing view of the city from my hotel room window, which I'm looking at as I write this. The fall colours are spectacular - still! There's a little river that I can see with a little bridge. I was kinda wanting to stay home this weekend, what with the good weather (hello - get in as many more km's as I can on the bike before it gets put up on the trainer for a few months), and with so much traveling right now. When you think about it all together it's a bit overwhelming. So I guess I have to remind myself of that old saying that never fails: one day at a time. Mm-hmm. That's right. I'm feeling so much better these days (that fatigue thing is finally sorting out). I went out last night with a group of people and got in late. Forgot to change my ringer from "silence" on my cell phone (aka alarm clock) and it didn't wake me up this morning for the 7 AM symposium... I did however, wake up at 6:06 AM on my own, felt the need to check the time and promptly hopped out of bed. OK - who are you? If you told this to my parents they might faint. This is not normal first-child-of-theirs behaviour. It's great though. Maybe I'm easing into morning person territory. I'd love that. You know why? It would mean I would be spry for early morning bike rides. Yes, it's all about the bike. I think my mind was totally not on packing when I did it Friday... forgot one of my suit jackets for a pair of pants I brought, forgot gym socks, forgot my keyfob. I decided, for the first time, to pack my shoes and some of my food in a separate, small bag and check it as well (I always bring snacks and stuff with me so I don't get tempted by the crap they serve at these things). That way I'd have more room to bring stuff back from the congress, as well as not wind up with a bag that's overweight. Well the small bag didn't show up with me. I saw it go on the plane (a prop) in the 'wa. I think it stayed behind in MTL. It arrived a few hours later, but I almost had to wear my sketchers with my suit to the first night at the exhibit (a small embarrassment). Things that make life un-dull. I wasn't panicked though. I figured I'd get the bag. I actually would have been surprised if I hadn't. Where did I find blind faith in Air Canada?

Beauty - how do you see it?

Hope this actually works. I had to paste code - that's a first for me. Am I turning into a science/techno geek? lol! I LOVE these videos. Believe me, I'm not immune to these pressures myself. Perhaps that's why they resonate so. You can go to the website and spread the word if you feel moved to.

Just Stuff

Well I'm finally starting to recover. I really got hit hard with that virus last week. Still coughing, but from what I've heard that will last a while. My weekend, while very nice, was low-key. Just what the doctor ordered. Trained with Jess yesterday and even though she took it easy on me due to the illness, she still kicked my butt! Man! I'm sore today. And then I did a spin class later in the day. Maybe not the best thing to do, I thought during the class, but I made it. I really prefer training on my own bike though. Those spin bikes are really uncomfortable. Then today I got a lot done! I went for a very short ride. Nice just to get out. It was cooooold though. I was bundled up good! I actually cleaned my office up!!! That's something I've been procrastinating on for a while. I go through this cycle every month or so. My friend, Lisa, teases me about it. I get all stressed out because I've let my office turn into a minefield of papers and files and crap all over the desk and floor. I downgraded my desk last year to prevent it from getting piled up with crap and force myself to be on top of putting papers away in the filing cabinet. No such luck. They just end up on the floor. So, this is what I was thinking - I'm just terrible at cleaning. I mean, when I clean I do a really good job. But I hate it so much that I don't do it often. The two things I always stay on top of are the kitchen and bathroom since, being a Science major and all, I did my fair share of Microbiology labs and know all about wet environments being the worst. So I'm a clean freak about those rooms (other than letting the dishes pile up for a few days first). Otherwise though, I kinda live like the stereotypical single guy. Which I'm not. It's kinda funny, really. Maybe I need to put an ad out... WANTED: cute, tall guy who is insane about cycling and doesn't mind cleaning up after his hopelessly messy gf. Keep me posted if you find one. I'm sure they're hard to come by. Oh, and I've got books to blog about eventually. I know Mir has posted on that blog recently. She's the bookworm in my circle of friends. And before I left for the east coast I downloaded some new music. My current fave is KT Tunstall's new album. I loved Eye to the Telescope, but the I think I love the new one even more! SHE ROCKS! (see below)

KT Sampler

Not from the new album, but worth sharing. Yep, she rocks!

Sniffle, Cough, Achoo!

I'm sick. While it was fun (and much appreciated) to stay with my friends and their kids, I generally avoid small humans for just this reason. I go in and out of hospitals and doctors' offices every day and rarely do I get sick. Put me in close proximity to people under the age of 10 and WHAM! Becks has a head cold. Bummer. One minor consolation: I don't think my buddies will be riding on Saturday (calling for lots of rain). Maybe I'll be well enough by Sunday, and if the weather forecast is correct, it should be a reasonably good day for cycling.

Last week was a great week of vacation and travel. I closed out with Thanksgiving weekend in NB with a lot of family and new friends celebrating my sister's wedding. She and her now hubby had a blast and so did the rest of us. It was a very informal wedding which made the atmosphere relaxed and fun. The weather couldn't have been better - Friday was so warm I felt too hot in my jeans. We had a 'bon fire' that night (there was a fire ban so the actual fire didn't exist) and while I got to bed at 1 AM, the vast majority of those out that night stayed up til somewhere in the vicinity of 6 AM. We (the bridal party) on the other hand, had lots of important things to do the next morning and 1 AM was plenty late. A 7:30 AM wake-up to head downtown for hair and make-up was a little unsettling, but damn did we look good! ;) The wedding went off without a hitch and again, the majority of the guests stayed up into the wee hours of the morning. I woke up the next day with my illness in full force - I had felt it coming since I had left the Island. And I was supposed to drive only as far as MTL on Sunday to visit with a close friend, but wound up driving straight home that day so I could get to my own bed and some R&R. Funny, the 10.5 hours of driving doesn't seem as long when your head is all a mush with a cold. Monday I stayed in all day, not even getting out of my PJs.

So, here are some select photos of my week... Enjoy!

(if you look closely you'll see that I never did make any effort to get rid of my cycling tan lines)

Feels Like Home

Driving, driving, driving...

It's too bad the east coast is so far away from the 'wa. If it were closer I'd get out here far more often. Particularly to Spud Island - aka home. My visit to the island this week was far too short. I arrived there Monday after two days of driving and a pretty stiff neck. My audio books were great and all the new iTunes helped too. Lots of car singing. ;) I mapped out a few rides before I left to ensure I knew distances before I head out and get myself into a situation where I need to be back in town still and have 50 more km to go. On Tuesday I did the main ride I really wanted to do. Even though my roots are on the east side of the island, I don't think I've been up to the far north east point since my childhood. The goal for the ride was to loop the tip. And I did. 63 km's later, quiet roads, extraordinary weather, courteous drivers who (get this) move out to pass AND wave at you when they do so!!! Mind you, tourist season is almost over - I saw a few, but it's not like in the summer, so roads are much less traveled right now. Nevertheless, the locals are in no big rush, happy to slow down for you, actually care for the safety of others on the road (well, what would I expect from this place that is my heart's home anyway - there is a reason I love it so much). Unbeknownst to me the ride was full of hills. Some small, some slightly steep, some long, some short, but there was not shortage of climbing on Tuesday. It was a phenomenal ride and I was totally blissed out at the end. On Wednesday I rode around the north coast - an area I am very familiar with. The National Park is open now - no fees to enter. And the road was deserted but for a couple of other cyclists, a couple of tourists, and some road workers. Oh - and the fishermen at the wharf at Covehead Harbour. I stopped there and took a whack of photos and fed their dog, a friendly golden retriever who tried to hop into the car of the tourists that came by. Unfortunately today, as it is every time I leave the red rock, I was sad and cranky. I know the island is somewhere I will never live, but I love it so much and I wish I could visit more often. I feel like it is so much of who I am. This time I also did not have much alone time in my place. OK, so I had a couple multi-hour bike rides. I guess I needed a bit more. Just not enough time. My time got split quite a bit, visiting my family and with a university friend, since I was staying with her and her family. I usually stay with my grandmother, but she had a full house with my folks visiting too and even though she probably wanted me to come stay on the couch, I kind of wanted a real bed and some space. Staying with my friend, Dal, was fun too because I got to take her kids out on their bikes and show them how the bike works and stuff. And they thought that was pretty cool. I think Dal and her hubby are afraid of one day having to shell out several grand for a bike if they keep having me come around. ;) One of my goals in life: get all my friends kids into cycling. Mwahahaha (the evil laugh if you didn't know).
More cycling tomorrow and more updates to come if I can find another computer. Luckily my aunt doesn't mind me hogging hers tonight.