4 Laps of hell

Well it wasn't really hell.  At least it wasn't raining.
Kieran was off on the GO Train to stay with my sister while I was at Albion camping out this weekend.
Not having gone camping in decades, and on top of that mtb racing for 24hrs, I needed to focus on myself.  But afterwards I thought he would've enjoyed this.  The people, the atmosphere, the buzz.

On top of that,  two of my teammates had 11 year old sons that he could've hung out with.   Time really flew, but I think I would've been  more exhausted trying to manage more than 1 person's stuff and schedule.  Maybe if I'm a little more seasoned and I can handle more.  This is only my 2nd time at this event.  First time camping overnight.

It was going to be a mostly childless weekend.  Thanks to my sister.  She's awesome.  Kieran's lucky she and Uncle Ray loves him so much.  But that can easily be worn away if he is not more respectful.  Tresa got a chance to get a head start on packing for HHI.

This was the 20th Anniversary of the Chico 24HRs of Summer Solstice Race at Albion Hills.
I was so happy I got on a team!  One of my good friends from the DHF Mudders subgroup hooked me up with a team with 5 other riders.  I've done a lap of the race before and it is fun riding.  But the rest of the experience of camping over night, being on a team with a common goal is something I had yet to experience.  Finally got the opportunity.  And this team has been doing it for 14 yrs!  They were considered regulars.  So they get one of the PRIMO sites with water and POWER!  Kick ass way to get introduced to this event.

I was pretty comfortable at my campsite.  The weather was pretty good, not much to complain about.  It did rain at the end.  It rained as I was halfway through my 4th and final lap! There was thunder I was told, but either I chose not to hear or I just didn't hear it.  But overall it was a terrific weekend.

I brought my pasta and perogies, although i finished my food prior to my second lap.
I didn't feel like taking a chance eating burgers during a race but as soon as I'm done my laps I'm heading to the grill to chow down.

My first lap was at 4pm.  I didn't know the exact time of my start but I think it was about 4:12pm.  I was nervous!  Glad I pre-rode it, so I knew what the distance was by my Garmin.  The course says 17km but my computer was clocking 14km.  I don't have a speed cadence sensor on my mtb, which adjusts the distance a bit so it's not relying solely on satellite GPS for distance.  It was helpful because I knew what to expect and that I needed to save fuel in the tank for the last 5km because that was where all the climbing seemed to be stacked!  The Brown Monster was there.  It's actually not bad. Doing it multiple times though.  It starts to hurt riding up this thing.  It's full of rocks so keep to the right other wise your rear wheel slips like plantains frying in oil.

I was passing more people than I was being passed.  I felt really good on the hills and was motoring on the single track.  Maybe not as fast as some of the mtb racers, but I was pushing it.
"On your left" I was using that quite a bit.  Or "Whenever you are good to let me pass" too.  It was great. The other riders were so nice, I'm sure it's because we're all Canadian!

There was a Filipino crew out there, Pinoys and Pinays.  I thought it was just the men, but I noticed the ladies also had the same gear.  If I'd ridden around the campsites more in between, i probably woulda smelled the rice cooker, sausage cooking, maybe some spam and corned beef frying too.  Reminds me of my youth and the days of unlimited animal fat, grease and salt.  The dream of every Filipino is to be one of the best Cardiac Surgeon's .... patient.

I shoulda considered doing that, they would've fed a hungry fellow Filipino.  But my Taglish is pretty bad now.  I only know food and profanity words, but I can fake the accent though!
Probably for the best.  My internals have not had Filipino food in some time and may reject the food. Or worse, it may EJECT the food!  That'd be bad.

I was looking at my garmin screen on the home stretch and when I did the pre-ride I clocked in 64mins.  And my goal was to better that.  At the finish Rob found me in my dazed state and took the baton and headed out.  I ran into Elysse who was waiting in the corral to go and she was so excited and nervous and terrified.  We chatted for a bit before I headed out. I told her it'll be fun, and when the trail forks, the easy way is on the right. (I forgot that 2 rock step downs though are on the right, oops).  And then off to change and prepare for the next lap.

It definitely felt like I put more effort than my 64min pre-ride, I was definitely beat, and should have done better than 64min, and I'm not sure what I was looking at, maybe the time since I turned it on, I'm not really sure but I recall seeing 1hr 08mins, and I was bit disappointed with that, however when I got back to camp and checked it again, my ride time was 57mins.  Woo hoo! sub-hour lap.  I don't care what I post in the following laps now. haha.  I was gonna have a beer!

Every lap afterwards I was going by my watch, I'd check what time my teammate came in so I'd know ballpark how I was doing.   It's too hard to look at the screen when you are on a mtb.  It's not like riding road.  If you look away from the trail, you could be eating that trail. Ha.

There were 5 hrs in between my finish and when I start again.  Seems like a long wait, but you know what, it was my turn sooner than I wanted to go.  As the sun set, the temps dropped too.  The moisture in the air was settling on the ground and worse the tree roots.  It was slick.  I've ridden night laps before in the Don, so riding with lights was no big deal for me.  However handling trails with slippery roots, that's nerve wracking in the day.  In the dark, it's on another level of fear when you don't have the handling experience of riding in damp conditions.

After I completed my 2nd lap (my first night lap) after 11pm, I was feeling a bit hungry.  I had missed the burger run at the Norco tent, and the grill was closed at the chalet, and a but I did bring protein powder with me.  It's not a burger with toppings, but it was protein that my body needed.  And I had my electrolyte drink stuff that I was taking after every lap.  I think it's better than junk.  But sometimes junk just tastes so much better.  My mouth and tongue wasn't satisfied, but I'm sure my body was grateful or at least my gastro-intestinal track was.

I was glad I got a bit of sleep.  Maybe an hour or 2, no more.  I woke to find a couple of raccoons looking for food in our camp site.  Not as big as the Toronto raccoons, but I didn't want to mess with them so I went back to my tent to wait until it was time to head to the start corral.  You can sort of see his shape in the middle of the image looking in the clear garbage bag.

My next lap was looking to be closer to 5am instead of the original schedule of 4am. If our team had stayed on it's lap per hour pace.  But night laps are always slower.  Didn't seem to be that much closer. After my first night lap, I wasn't looking forward to this one.  It was also really chilly, as I could see my breath in my lights.  It was probably around 8degC.  I could see my breath.  Armwarmers, were required. prob jacket too, but I neglected to pack pants and a sweater.  I just didn't think of the night laps when I was packing.  I'm not sure why I didn't prep for that.  I had 2 scheduled.

I headed out at 5:03am.  The sun was coming up.  It was amazing.  Then I got into the single track and it was slick. My rear end was slip sliding every time i stood up to mash.  I needed to stay seated to keep the weight on the rear wheel.  I even dropped my chain.  I was surprised.  Since i had the latest clutch and single ring tech. This isn't supposed to happen.  Never say never, but I guess it does, but rarely.  The first section is fun, when you aren't trying to hammer on a race with traffic and it's not wet and dark.  The middle part is great.  The last part was a mix, seemed to have all the punchy hills and single track, and a bit of mud.  But it's at the finish so it feels a lot better than the first section.

I was climbing the Brown Monster for a 3rd time and thinking, I can't do it a 4th.  My legs were done.  So I headed to the Norco tent to find Raoul and see what he was going to do for breakfast.  He was done too.  Then i went back to my tent to clean up and maybe have a shower and then go grab a bite to eat.  That Chico breakfast sandwich and coffee was so good.  I was clean and felt glad to be done.  But as I was chilling out at camp with a beer, they told me Matt's bike was toast and so that meant I up on deck.  No one wanted to do any more laps than they had to.  Everyone had done 4, except for me, MattV and Rob (who was after me).  Since MattV couldn't go, I had to step up.

My last lap prep included a Chico breakfast sandwich, a coffee, a chocolate bar, strawberries and a craft beer.  My brain thought I was done after my third.  I just didn't think I could do another lap.  The thought of doing the Brown Monster climb for a 4th time was making my quads ache.  So I put it furthest from my mind. Our captain had a mechanical that was unfixable - a bent sprocket on his cassette.  My legs were saying 'no', but my teammates were saying 'Go!'  Actually my brain was also going into post race mode.  Which is why I had the beer at 9am.

Glad I only had the one, cuz I was going to have a second.  But "doing it for the Team!" got me off the fence and I put on my last clean kit and headed to the start for my 4th lap.  No intention of hammering it, because the last two laps were nerve bracingly slippery.

Maybe the beer calmed me down.  Who knows, but I felt alright.
I waited calmly at the start, Art saw me before I saw him.  Our giant of a lead off rider MarkE was there to cheer me on.  It was my favourite lap.  It had everything.  The first section was drying out and the roots weren't so slick any more.  I wasn't interested in hammering this lap.  I had lots of time to get in before the 11:59:59 am time to have Rob get out for our team's final lap.  I was letting lots of people pass me, but as I passed the 5km to go sign,  actually right after my friend Neil caught up with me and called my name.  As he was hammering to maintain his team's podium placing, I picked up my pace.  The rain was coming down hard. There was water on the trail puddling, I could feel the grit in my eyes getting under my contacts.  It was giving me incentive to get this lap done.

The Brown Monster was coming and halfway up I got off my bike to push it up to save my legs.  I did a cyclocross hop on to my seat and clipped in and headed for the final single track and head to the finish.  As i was on the down hill switch back that passes the chalet to go out for a bit, I hear my teammate Rob shout my name.

For the first time I notice what he's wearing - a white-ish kit for a rain soaked muddy final lap. Good choice. HA!  Just before the chalet parking lot M-A passed me and I hear "thanks Ray!".  and I tried to hop on his wheel to get the finish.  People were cheering the other rider to push it as I was going to pass him on the climb.  He was gassed.  I had the legs to pass him on the last little uphill filled with slippery roots before the no-passing zone to the finish.

I took out the card and slapped it on the reader for my 4th lap and saw #249 come up on the screen. I was done!  I passed it to Rob. have fun.

It wasn't raining any more, but I headed back to camp to change and begin packing up.  No time to chat, Mother Nature was coming to clean up!  I washed my bike a bit and packed my bags and rode to the car.  I left everything else in the tent.
It was raining hard again. It was a bit of a zoo, but people were nice and organized and I managed to wind my way back to camp with out a mishap.  I backed up the car in the recently vacated site next door and opened the hatch and shoved everything into the boot. I love hatchbacks! It's so convenient. I'll pack the tent up neatly later after I cleaned it and let it dry.  Kudos to Mel for lending me a tent and air mattress. It was awesome!  So comfy.  Glad I brought my air pump.  Happy our site had power.  If I'm on a team with no power next year, I'm pumping up the air mattress beforehand for sure!

This is why I mountain bike.  The people the environment is friendly and amazing.
Not sure about next year, because this felt like a borderline sufferfest.
But it was a terrific experience.  Glad Mother Nature was nice this year.  She didn't make it hell for me.  Phew.

Team #249 - Our 6 person team finished 21st out of 152 teams.
We did 23 laps in 24hrs 38mins 07secs
Against other teams that had as many as 10 people.
We were in the 6-10 person team category.

Photos from the 24Hrs of Summer Solstice Race - 20th Anniversary

Humor-esque like Father's Day Violin Recital

It was Father's Day.  And I did manage to get out for a bit of a ride.  And glad I did get to go, because when we got back, it started to rain.  It was a bit warm, but not too warm.

It was a beautiful day and terrific performances by all of Dorothy's students at the Father's Day. I noticed that all the young kids are now getting bigger and taller and no longer little. This is the first time I used my Hero4 Session to record a recital.  It's kind of nice having a concert played on Father's day.  It's like a treat!

And we're close to Kensington Market and there's also the College St Little Italy street festival.  So afterwards we can wander around and get a bite to eat.  But today I was heading over to visit a cycling buddy in the hospital.  He crashed on the Tue evening criterium race and although he fractured his hip, it was fortunate that it wasn't worse.  It sucks to be out of commission at the beginning of summer, but it's ok, there's always next summer.  Time to heal and recover and hang out with the kids.

I noticed on a recording that I did at the graduation how good the video was.  I just wasn't sure how long the battery would last, but this little unit is impressing me every time I use it for something.  It's not just for action movies or under water, but for anything.

I mounted it on a little tripod and set up the WiFi and connected my iPhone to it so I could stop and start the recordings.  It was nearly perfect, except for this last second request I got and the connection was lost to the Hero4 Session.  I could see the little blue light, so the wifi was still on. I eventually did connect to the Hero4 Session.   And I caught the last bit of a father - daughter duet (piano - violin).  And it was beautiful sounding.

I may be fast, but I can't go back in time, and nothing is instantaneous.  Everything needs prep.  So if i'm supposed to record something, I need a minute or 2.

You can see Kieran's feet in the group songs.  And then you see a bit more of him in the Minuet 3 song.

His solo sounded really good! He did make a few mistakes, but so what.  He is really making his violin sing.  Not the cat singing with the raccoons at night over territory kind of singing.  That's my skill with the violin.  He is beginning to be able to make a violin sing the way it was made to sing, and on the cusp of really making it sing with emotion.
However, we do need to get him the next size up though.

I really like the resolution on the GoPro.  It's amazing.  And the ability to apply video enhancements is really neat.  I love this stuff.  I can eat it up!  It's what creative techno junkies like me enjoy.  And when we see what others have done we can appreciate effort that goes into the details.

And I was worried that I'd run out of battery power, but I can shut down the Session from my iPhone and remotely turn it on too, conserving it's power, so it's not always sending the preview.   It's worth the price to get the GoPro.  My chinese one is okay, does the job, but app sucks, has spelling mistakes, and battery life is somewhere between bad and awful.  But it's fine for hacking around.  And if you are cheap.  Well.  That word says it all. Cheap. ha.  But I've also heard and read that the Hero4 battery is terrible too.  But I've read good things about the battery life of the Session.  I'm glad I got it.  Plus it's a small cube.
I was worried about the blinking blue wifi indicator light.  But I don't think anyone really noticed it. Phew.
Nothing worse than a complaining parent.

Last day of HMS

Today was officially his last day as a student for Kieran at Humberside Montessori. He will be forever a Montessori educated student.
And we will be forever Humberside Montessori parents alumni.

We will miss this place. It was more than a building and more than a school, more than a place of learning. It had become a family community and a second home.    A consistent theme in this school is how involved the parents are with the children and with the school.  What differentiates HMS from other schools is how the parents allow the school to do what it does well, which is educate the students (and the parents - they provide many sessions on what it means to be a parent of a Montessori child, and how to do that - if they wish to attend and they should).

And the school protects this philosophy and keeps true to it as best it can.  And this is all because of Felix and Molly.

The lower elementary kids coming up are even more outgoing and engaged and caring and appreciative of their surrounds - and it was the best year end / graduation ceremony to date. It gets better and better every year, this year was an amazing display of musical expression by all the students.

I am glad i was able to get a front row seat. I've never had one before. Thank you Molly for taking care of us for all of these years. We will never forget it.


It's been nearly a decade since he first started here at age 3.  And i can remember those days clearly, because i have that day documented on this blog.  But mostly because we have been going  through the blog to help us answer the 18 chapters of  Kieran's last project assignment - his AUTOBIOGRAPHY, which can be summed up in 1 word - 'procrastination'.  We spent most of Saturday printing out photos of memories and Sunday writing about them.  We got it done by Monday.  It was supposed to be done before his grad trip.

And now I have his last day documented.
This day was both a happy day and a bit of a sad one.
But the choice was Kieran's.  And that's something to celebrate and Montessori trait of the child student wanting to choose and owning it.

No tuxedo this year. Because we couldn't find a suit. But the fedora hat and blazer jacket and bow tie were well received.   Many of the boys were dressed up.  It was really great to see how both boys and girls wanted to look good for this special milestone in their lives.

It was great that Tresa's mom finally was able to come see her grandson in his school environment.  I could feel both her parents pride.
 We also felt their hunger cuz we headed to the Mandarin after the graduation.
I'm glad it wasn't too hot.  The rains came a bit and kept the day cooler. It's usually on the warm side in the school gym.  But it was good today.  No sweaty shirt pits.

This is the GR6 graduating group doing their performance.
All the lower and upper elementary groups were terrific.  It was so much more than just putting on a music show for the parents.  It was a show case of what they have achieved together as individuals and as a group, and how they have grown and matured and what their next steps are.

Upper Elementary D - 3rd Years

Many from this group will be going off to other schools, and I'm excited for them to see what is beyond HMS.  They'll make new friends and begin new beginnings.

But they'll never forget where they came from.
They'll always be Humberside Montessori Students.


Photos: 2017-HMS-Grad-Ceremony-Elementary-Adolescent-Program

 

Crossfit garden

Man I was a bit sore this morning from lifting and straightening out the cement tiles in our garden.  Kieran and I were moving dirt, levelling it out and relaying the tiles and bricks. It felt like I'd done a Crossfit workout this morning.
Crossfit is like olden times work out, lifting barrels of wine, sacks of wheat, and milking goats and cows, slaughtering chickens with your bare hands.  All the stuff that my European better half is genetically built to do. They even have steel toe boot like feet and asbestos hands.  Tereza's mom can pluck loose teeth out of a baby, like she was plucking feathers off of a chicken she just snapped it's neck for dinner.

My asian bod is built for the computer keyboard and telephone support.
Sometimes building a raft or hut, going fishing, all while wearing flip flops to protect our feet from the hot sand.
I'm lucky i have half a butt attached to my chicken legs.

Our garden sorely needed some TLC.  Plus we had all these leftover bricks from our windows and chimney work.  And those bricks have been used to build a 3 little piggies house, and it's kind of in the way.


We know this will get redone in the next few years, when we have some money set aside to do it.  But for now relaying the tiles and incorporating the bricks was good enough.

Those darn rain barrels that the old owner laid into the ground under the tiles for drainage is a bit frustrating to work around, plus I don't have the right materials to lay under the tiles.  We didn't do much, just minor change to make it look better than what it was.


Nothing grows next to the garage.  I think it's because it's shaded.  So we moved the tiles over a bit and laid whatever bricks we had over there.

I'm sure during the winter there's going to be major upheavals, but it's okay.  It didn't cost anything.
Just some sweat from me and my barista helper that started with me, and then left me, and then came back and helped me finish it off.

It doesn't look bad.

30 Years of Montessori

This will be Kieran's last Fun Fair Caravan as a student of HMS.It just happened to be the 30th Anniversary of the school.  We have been really lucky to be part of a school community dedicated to the enriching of the students learning from CASA all the way up to Adolescent.

Felix and Molly have been totally dedicated to the kids, educational development and health and wellbeing.  It's how we all feel a school should environment be. But we all know this is not always the case.

This school is very much a huge part of Molly and Felix's lives (even their kids are involved in running the school trying to improve it year after year), you can see how the kids all know this and reciprocate their love back to Molly and Felix, and they take great pride when the young kids make progress because even going up to their classroom on their own without their parents is a big step for them.

Independence itself may seem trivial to us as adults, but for the youngest students this can be a scary thing.  But when it happens it can be like climbing the highest mountain.

Molly tells us stories of past students all the time.  Like how many schools do you know have this family atmosphere?  If you are part of one, then you are one of the fortunate ones.

This year's Fun Fair was lucky to have picture perfect weather.  Mother Nature must have known it was a special day.

There were live bands playing.  Russel Sprout who always plans and leads the musical entertainment at the school year end / graduation ceremonies was there and the kids were all engaged and part of the celebration, excited to take their turn at the mike.  It was awesome to see and hear.

There were lots of activities, not just the typical bouncy castles and obstacle courses.  It was nice that the 3rd yr Upper Elementary (Gr6) kids were supervising the little ones making sure they were safe.

The entertainment was shared by all the years.  It was great to see the oldest students mixed in with the youngest.   I think the younger ones were excited to be performing and were more animated than the older ones.

They had a ribbon dance around a pole.  Could have been a Euro thing or a Native thing.  Since one of the kids was dressed like a bird.  But hey.  It was good.

Also a bollywood dance thing.


It was really awesome to see them all participating, with lots of eyes watching, soaking it all in and enjoying themselves.
Being a part of the celebration instead of being a wallflower.





Then it was Zumba time.
It's sort of like line dancing but not really and the music is more upbeat and energetic. You will know who does Zumba, because they know the moves. Not like the instructors, but hey don't look totally out of place, like if I did it, you'd know I don't Zumba.

I think this was more for the adults than the kids.
And it was just before the real food came out.  So people can take in 5000 calories after burning 150, maybe 175.  Remember it's all about balance.
The appetizer stuff was great!  Guacamole, veggies, salsa.  Don't forget to add that to the caloric intake too.

We even had parking lot street art!

That butterfly is ready to take off and make the world a more beautiful place.   At least until the next rain.
Did you know that butterflies don't eat, they drink.  Too bad they don't eat mosquito larvae or black fly larvae.  That's what dragon flies do.

I'm not sure how many cakes they had, but I had my share.  And I didn't do any Zumba.  So i'm way over my caloric limit.  Plus the cash bar was flowing with Mill St Organic beer.

But all was good at the 30th anniversary of Humberside Montessori.  So glad we went this year.
So glad it didn't get rained out.




I'm sure we'll be back for the Fun Fair for as long as the kids want to go.

And once a student of HMS.
You are forever part of the family.
And the door is always open.

My Barista Son

I've been showing Kieran how to use the espresso machine.  It's easy.  Cuz I DO IT!
Now it'll be easy because someone ELSE can DO IT for ME!

I figure if he can get comfortable using our machine at home, he can apply for a job at Starbucks or Second Cup or some non-franchise place.

So I've shown him how to do it in the mornings and how much cream I put in.  Of course when he goes to really learn how coffees are made, it'll be slightly different but at least he has tried and seen that it's not so hard.

Our machine has a built-in grinder which grinds the beans and puts it into the pot. You can adjust the amount, but I've got it set so that it puts just the right amount in and the pressure is consistent.

I've had him do the setup of the pot with the tamper and locking it in place.  It's quite easy.  And not just cuz I DO IT!

I've explained the steaming of the cream.  But today was the first time he's actually done it on his own.  Most mornings when I ask him to turn on the coffee machine he sets everything up for me in my cup with the cream and all i have to do is steam it and push the button for my morning to begin!


But today is a Sat-yay! day.  He made me my cappuccino after soccer practice.

It was so good.
Because I didn't DO IT!

It's always better when someone else does it for me!
Heh.
Keep calm and drink ON!

HMS Ottawa Grad trip - Up Elementary

Humberside Montessori School (HMS) Upper Elementary Grad trip.  This was the last hurrah for Kieran and many of his classmates at HMS.

It almost didn't happen.  There are rumours of why, but in the end the parents and students persuaded the school to make it happen.   And it happened this week.

Felix the principal called our house many months ago.  Because it had been decided that there would be no away grad trip this year.  Last year they went to Quebec City flying out of the Island airport on Porter.  There were some long delays which cut into their grad time, but what can you do.  The kids didn't care, they had fun no matter what.

This year they chartered a bus to Ottawa, for the 150th anniversary of Confederation!
The visited Our House of Commons and even got to watch a session in progress.

Virtual tour of the Parliament of Canada.

The weather wasn't cooperating with the trip, but they had a kick ass bus to take them to the capitol city of Canada.  It was almost a nice as the Casino Rama buses that pick up all the retired asians over in Scarborough.

Regardless of the weather, they will enjoy themselves, because they are away from home and the push pin thumbs of their parents.
Everything is always better when you are away from home.  You can eat crap junk burritos, but because you are away from home it tastes gourmet.  Until the gurgling of your innards begin their toxic gas revolt against your brain and tastes buds.

I saw some online photos of their hotel - Delta Ottawa, and it's pretty nice.  Saltwater pool, 2 queen beds, lots of pillows, comfy floor for a roommate to sleep on.  At least 3 stars for sure.

Kieran told us they were even allowed into rooms at the Parliament building that very few people get to see.  It's one of the side rooms in the House Of Commons.

They did get to see the Prime Minister's office and the Leader of the Official Opposition's office.

They got to do a bus tour of Ottawa, instead of the walking tour. since it was raining.  Bowling in blacklight. A museum visit. They also got to go on a ghost tour their first night, but I forgot to ask about it.

These are some of the best pics I could find out of his set that he took.

But the best ones will always be the memories inside his head.


Next year will begin a new chapter after Humberside Montessori School.  We felt it was important for him to experience one last going away trip with his classmates.  Like Kieran, many are leaving and going off to other schools.  Some of whom he has been with since Casa.  That's 9 years.  Where did the time go?



More importantly.  Where did our money go?
And will it make a difference?

Well this is what he brought us back from Ottawa.
Mine is on the right.
I guess he's trying to tell us something.  :-)