G is for ...

For some reason when the calendar changes over to August, it feels like the summer went by so fast and it's nearly over.  Especially when they start to play back to school commercials, when the mornings are dark and I see the odd skunk or raccoon making it's way in the pre-dawn, and when the outside temperature starts to feel cooler compared to June & July. 

It's been a while since we have been, but when the CNE is on, that's a signal that the end of summer is here. Which also means K will be heading into 3rd year university. Some of his friends all start heading off to get settled in their off campus housing rentals.  Not sure which is scarier: watching your kid grow up this fast, or eating something called a “Kool-Aid pickle” at the Ex. 

G is for G license.  K passed his road test to get his full G license. Which means he can finally drive himself places.  He was already doing this with his G2, but now he's good to go and no more tests to pay for.  Young Drivers has a G Road test prep course.  They schedule everything, but they mistakenly booked a G2 test instead of a G.  And the MTO would not refund me over the phone, and they would not refund ME in person, it had to be Kieran with my credit card.  It was such a process pain.  

But I get it.  They want to prevent any scammers from executing another gold heist at the airport.   Good luck with that.  Only 1 way to stop that from happening again.  But it's likely impossible as that was an inside job.  And those guys have disappeared.

This just means he'll be asking me to leave the Venza for him, since the other car is a manual transmission. And I will need to remember to check the fuel gauge, in case he brings the car home on fumes. Also, my insurance bill probably just fainted.   

What can you do?  It is what it is.  At least if he gets a job and needs to drive to work, he's all set. We dislike driving, especially in the city.  The traffic jams, and the many aggressive and generally many bad drivers.  This accident involved no other cars and it was in school zone.  I asked around, but no one saw this driver flip the car on its side, they only heard the aftermath.

It's more dangerous to walk and bike around the city cuz some driver could take you out.  Keep your head on a swivel and eyes on alert.  Better yet. Stay inside.  But even bad drivers will ram a car into a brick house.  No place is safe!

G is for Grit. Cycling-wise, I finished the Sir Sam’s Everest challenge. Needed 88 climbs, but went full overachiever mode and hit 91. Why? Honestly… I don’t even know.   I thought this would be a good challenge to focus on.  I had to change the trails I rode at Sir Sam's to focus on repeated climbs.  There are 6 trails that I enjoy riding there.

1. Crash N' Carry
2. Time Warp
3. Rocky Road
4. Python
5. The Ridge
6. Lou's Loop

The Ridge is a challenging technical climbing trail with some long rocky sections that can be tricky to get through without putting your foot down.  My HR ratchets up quickly on this trail.  It's not easy, and I always feel like I will damage my bike on the rocks.  But I've learned to ride it.  I can do it almost every time now.  You need to have your legs feeling fresh.  Any fatigue will get you caught up on the rocks and you'll either need to reset or walk your bike or worse.  Getting through it without putting my foot down or caught up always feels like a win.  Never fails to put a smile on my face when I can ride through it like a skilled rider.  I've ridden it enough to know the lines to ride and it's just a matter of keeping the wheels moving.

The rest are all downhills trails.  Fun, flowy and fast with a bit of air for flair.  I got a new Norco Fluid FS C2 in June of 2024.  I love it.  It's a few lbs heavier than my 2016 Optic C2, but it has bigger knobby tires for grip and longer travel and just feels smooth and buttery on the technical downhills and landing gap jumps.  I was pushing the limits of my older Optic, the newer Fluid has a different personality and is very capable going downhill over gnarly Ontario terrain.

There is no prize for completing this Everest challenge.  I don't even know where I am in the leaderboard standings.  It says they will publish a leaderboard.  I have yet to see one.  So I kept on grinding up the ski hill.  I had never before this year done more than 6 or 7.  Usually I would do my 5 fav trails.  My goal for this challenge was to do at least 10-11 per weekend (Sat & Sun).

Everest rises up to 29,031ft and Sir Sam's is 330ft.  The Sir Sam's Everest requires 88 climbs to the top - hike or ride.  If you hike and happen to do the lookout tower, that adds another 120ft.  I was watching people do repeats on the tower as I rode by at the top, thinking to myself - they have a lot of repeats to do.

• Sat June 20 - 8x (Start)
• Sun June 22 - 3x 
• ----- 11 / 88 | 12.5% ------
• Sat June 28 - 7x
• Sun June 29 - 5x
• ---- 23 / 88 |  26% -----  
• Sat July 5 - 8x
• Sun July 6 -  4x 
• ----- 35 / 88 | 39.7% ----
• Sat Aug 2 - 10x
• Sun Aug 3 - 6x
• ----- 51 / 88 | 56% -----
• Sat Aug 9 - 8x 
• Sun Aug 10  - 4x 
• ----- 63 / 88 | 70% -----
• Fri Aug 15 - 11x 
• Sat Aug 16 - 7x
• ---- 81 / 88 | 92% ----------
• Fri Aug 22 - 7x - 88/88 - Done!
• Sat Aug 23 - 3x  - 91

I figured I could complete it in 8 wks. Which would have taken me to end of summer. By August I was half-way and feeling the drag of the repetitions and wanted to try to get it done sooner.  This year the summer weather seemed to come about a month or 2 later.  Usually it cools a bit in August, but it was a heat wave for much of it.  The weekends I managed 10, 8 & 11 repeats were draining, but I was determined to get this over with sooner rather than later.  ChatGPT helped me with fuelling and water bottle strategies.

Last Friday - I was done with the challenge.  I still don't know where I am on the leaderboard.  Whenever I am there on the weekends riding, I don't see any other crazy nut doing repeats.  But I don't ride there during the week so I don't know.  However, I feel at least now I can enjoy my rides there and do any trail I want and not focus on doing many repeats.  A few times Tresa would call and I had a few more repeats to do and miss meeting up for coffee in town after her dad would do his daily dump and donut run.

G is for Genuine. Then there’s our 23rd wedding anniversary. Twenty-three years! We keep forgetting the actual date, we always have to ask each other is it today or 2 days from now?   There's no secret.  It's honest effort, humour, communication and appreciation.  Without these ... it doesn't matter.  It'll fall apart.   

We watched the movie F1 at the Queensway Cineplex.  Friends had said it was good! It was a great movie to watch on the big screen!  Like Top Gun but for Formula 1.

There's like no one in the theatres.  It's a bit sad.  But maybe it's because it had been out already for a few months.  Maybe the VIP theatre had more people.  We did see a coyote in the parking lot as we were leaving.  It's certainly not buzzing like it was.  Hopefully it comes back.  But going out to the movies is such a great experience, regardless.  I kinda like that it is no packed like sardines.  And no one behind you kicking your chair.

I still remember the Twoonie Tues though.  Nachos.  Popcorn with fake oil butter is still there.  That butter never goes bad.  They still have lots of trailers, and I was done half my popcorn before the movie even started.  Just glad I didn't have to go pee halfway through.

So yeah — August. Family wins, big climbs, fried food, and a reminder that time doesn’t slow down.