Thursday, July 30, 2015

Enjoy Life!

 We are definitely making this summer count! We've camped a couple of times - both 5 nights each. We did Syracuse 70.3 in June. We've gotten a lot of swim, ride and run in. We are enjoying life the way we want and that's pretty cool. Up top has nothing to do with summer but Logan's hair reminds me of a 90s techno pop group, maybe Platinum Blonde or Spandau Ballet - pretty awesome.
 
 While we were up north Sara did the Gravenhurst Olympic. Very cool race when you head out on a steamship to the middle of the lake, jump off and basically head straight back towards shore. Also the Bolton boys - Kevin, Dave, Dave, Craig, and Doug - were racing as well. They always bring some laughs! Despite having an inner ear issue, Sara had a pretty good day.

 As the day went on it got more sunny and began heating up. I'm becoming quite the action sports photographer! Here's Sara powering back to transition. She averaged over 31.5k for the 40k - a good ride.
 
 Sara heading out at the first km in the run. From here you pretty much climb to the turn and some good downhills on the return. Sara said she felt good and enjoyed seeing the boys out on the run.
 
 Back at camp it was time to indulge. I like indulging. I managed to get a 80k ride into Algonquin followed by a 21k run the next day over the Muskoka 70.3 course with the TCOB crew.

 Next up was a work trip to Thunder Bay. Thunder Bay is beautiful during the summer. After work I headed to a local lake area that is just over 5km for a loop. I did a couple of loops to combine with my 2km swim at lunch. The rapids above feed into the lake.

 Here's the lake.

 The dam at the end of the lake and the rapids heading toward Lake Superior.


 Whenever I'm in Thunder Bay I always visit the Terry Fox memorial marking the spot where he had to end his Marathon of Hope due to cancer. It's moving. The memorial is well done and the view to Lake Superior is amazing. If you're ever there definitely check it out.

 Hero, Legend, Great Canadian.
 
 
Cheers!

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Love Summer!

 Summer is awesome! I love summer. I've never been a fan of the cold. My body has always responded well to heat. Post Syracuse 70.3 (2 weeks post race to be exact) we headed north to Muskoka for some camping, training and race spectating at Muskoka 70.3.

 The riding into Algonquin Park is spectacular. Some good hills, huge shoulders, and awesome pavement. Once you enter the West Gate each kilometre is marked and you can reload drinks every 10k. The shoulder for the most part allows riders to be two abreast without interfering with traffic. It does get buggy if you stop like I did when I took this pic!

 Home base for the 5 days. We usually stay at Algonquin Trails Resort. It's a quiet, clean camping resort with an indoor pool, wifi and Dwight Beach is only a 2 minute drive away. Logan feels comfortable here and loves to ride his bike around, campfires and swimming - love it!

 On my long run I ran into (not literally) Lionel Sanders, defending champ of Muskoka 70.3. Great guy, chatted with me for about 10 minutes and snapped a pic so I could prove I met him. By the way I'm the one on the right with the one-pack!


 If you're ever in Dwight hit up Moose CafĂ© & Grill for breakfast - awesome. Logan is doing best moose impression - well played young man.

 Next up was cheering on Team TCOB members at the 2015 Muskoka 70.3. This is a legit course with hills constantly coming at you. It was very warm - the athletes dug deep. The pic above shows what it takes to be a good spectator - big umbrella, chairs, refreshments, sunscreen, and iPads. We parked ourselves on Hwy 60 because it was a no-man's land for spectators and we felt the athletes could use a lift on this long stretch.

 Pretty lady on the bike course in the morning!

 Here's a couple of action shots of Lionel Sanders on his way to winning the race. He ended up winning by 14 minutes - a dominating performance.


 Back at home we returned to our gardens in full bloom. The recent heavy rains have been welcome and the plants have responded. Looks beautiful.

 The Backyard Jungle.

 Don't forget the beverage, never forget the beverage! Next stop? Another week in Muskoka - mostly work but more training in store!
 
Cheers!