Training Log Archive: OutdoorsMama

Bike "rogaine"......I did the Homebound church duties by bike this morning....half a dozen parishioners to visit, in any order, in the shortest time possible (I wanted to get back home before the rest of the family devoured the yummy dish I had made for Christmas morning breakfast). It was another mild day, reminding me that I must check the Boxing Day sales for a Gortex bike/run jacket with pit zips.

I met Mrs Santa out for a jog. And saw a cat slide down the roof of a raised ranch that was covered with solar panels.....it landed on its feet on the grass then walked away.

I think I did a fairly graceful exit from the house this afternoon.
After yesterday's strong SW winds, today's more gentle N winds left Lake Erie pretty calm here in Pigeon Bay. I launched from beside the ferry dock and paddled to Kenyon Point steady, took a picture then paddled back steady. Fingerless gloves and Greenland paddle.....sunshine.....just enough wind to make some ripples.....livin' the dream!
I saw one person on their back deck on my way out, then on the way back, 3 rec kayaks and 1 canoe out in the water. 3/4 were wearing life jackets and of those, 2/3 were zipped up. I did not feel overdressed with neoprene + dry wear (and PFD, of course), but hey, I don't want to be a statistic.
Merry Christmas!

C • sweet 5

Strong SW winds that were pretty chilly after blowing across Lake Erie this morning. But the sun was shining and the air temperature was 7-8 C.

Paul and I rode sort of into the wind out to Harrow on the Greenway, then north to the 6th Conc with a bit of help from the wind. For some reason, I had to keep waiting for him at each road crossing (we each have good days and not so good days.....) so we opted to turn around and do battle with the wind back to Harrow (he offered to let me ride to Oldcastle by myself.....I didn't take him up on it this time). Then he was game to ride south to Lake Erie and back home along the lake. It was a good battle up to the top of the ridge on Dunn, on the new paved shoulder. There are reasons why there are so many wind turbines out there. Sub 10 mph is humbling! But the payoff was a nice ride back to Kingsville.

And the coffee with the homemade Baileys in the hot tub was nice too.

I met W4J (and her enthusiastic dog) at the mountain bike trailhead at Highland State Rec Area. Some jogging, some walking, some bushwhacking, and some staring at the maps, trying to figure out what part of the spaghetti-like mountain bike trails we were on.
Another oddly warm day, and the rain held off until the last few minutes we were out there.

Spin class or bike outside?
No contest!
I put on a full array of bike lights and reflective gear and set off into the night. Once I got out of town, it was full speed ahead on the Greenway. And once I got past the McCain sideroad, I turned my headlights off and rode to the Arner and back in the moonlight. Sweet!
Then back into civilization and the full lights came back on. I finished with a trip down to the park to cruise around slowly in the snowless Fantasy of Lights.

Christmas feast ver. 2.0. The couch was looking good, but it was hockey night......

It's a Christmas miracle....we beat the red team!

The refs wore ugly Christmas sweaters and were duly recognized with an impromptu round of sticks banging on the ice .

+1 for the night. So happy that I held Michelle off all night.....she is so fast and has a long reach.

Easy warmup, with a sneak peak of a new trail.

A lovely pole run at Point Pelee. Mostly seasonal footpaths. Saw 2 toms, who were more skittish than usual.
An exciting development at the park: the new bike trail extending from the front gate down to the existing Centennial trail is getting its covering of crushed stone.

A decent cooldown. Stretching afterwards (not logged).

Christmas feast ver. 1.0, so a brisk walk was needed. A windchill of -15C sure felt cold through my jeans. I need to toughen up.....but that is kind of hard when the forecast for next week is at least +10C once or twice.