Post Holing, Cookies and The Peanut

Lovely, beautiful day here in Ottawa and on the other side of the river.  Was expecting it'd be a bit cooler with firmer conditions despite crazy warm temperatures, rain and wind the past couple of days.  However, even with packed down snowshoe trails, if you veered off course you'd sink to your knee....sometimes your waist. 

Curvy Butt demonstrated some crazy contortionist, Cirque de Soleil moves crossing over a stream to avoid getting wet feet.  We weren't ten minutes into the ride before I had two soakers.  Thank Gwad (and sheep) for merino wool.

Go off course, the slightest-eensiest-teensiest bit, and you were going over the bars or coming to a screaming halt.

She's a dirty girl - the first bit of mud to get on the Mukluk . . . ironic really . . . . Muk (muck).  To avoid a death march of post holing across a farmers field we elected to cut the ride short and take the road back.  The dirt road was soft and mushy but you wouldn't know it as the fat tires floated across with ease.  With the annual pilgrimage to North Carolina about a month away (who's coming?) a gravel road fatbike grinder epic might be in-store. 

Going to have to get the bike cleaned for tomorrow's race.  

You going?  You should.  

Party afterwards.

Nothing like returning home from a ride to find warm oatmeal-walnut-banana-chocolate chip cookies waiting for you.  I have THE best life . . . even if I am a bit portly.

Me and The Peanut dug in.

** SEND ME TO SPACE CAMP!!**

**SOMEONE BUY MY STUFF**

HERE   or   HERE

Pandora's Cookie Box Contest

Over the weekend I fell into a wee bit of a nutritional hole on the side of the 'eating healthy' road. I was craving something sweet to eat Friday night and said so to wifey.
"I can make cookies!?!" was her reply.
Who was I to argue.
Off she went.
What can I say, I have a wife who loves to bake. She has a husband who loves to eat. It's a balanced relationship.

There was a catch . . . the cookies were to be healthy.
Pffffft, whatever.  Less talk and more bake.  

Healthy Cookbook that I received for Christmas. Did you know that Quinoa is a whole grain that has it's own complete protein?!

Healthy recipe.  Cookies came out to be roughly 3/4" thick and 3" wide. (*Note: despite what the recipe says, it did not yield five dozen).

Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology, taken from the myth of Pandora's creation. When Pandora opened the box, the entire contents of the jar were released, but for one – hope. Today, opening Pandora's box means to create evil that cannot be undone.

3 1/4" deep

9 1/4 " wide

7 1/4" wide.

Estimate how many "Healthy Cookies" I ate between Friday 7:30 PM and Saturday 11 AM correctly and I'll give you a prize.  (*Note:  I didn't eat all of them, but they were all gone.)  Become a 'Follower' and I'll give you two prizes!

"That's it?" you exclaim?!?  "Jebus stickers, one XXCMAG.com sticker and some Canadian Tire Money for all my hard work of guess-timating how many cookies a fat fugger ate!"

Having the coolest custom sticker of your most favourite-sub-par-average-middle-of-the-pack-sometimes racing-fat guy doesn't appeal to you, nor a cool sticker from the most awesome mountain bike web magazine out there, and not even enough Canadian Tire money to buy a year supply of duct tape just doesn't turn your crank . . . . how about one of these:

More on how I came across a few of these babies to give away in the next couple of days.

Three Backcountry Research Awesome Straps (which truly are awesome) to be given away to three lucky winners.  I'll even throw in a Jebus sticker and some Canadian Tire Money.   You got one week.

*E-mail address is over there under the 'profile' dealie -------------->

Dracula saved me from riding my bike on the trainer

After yesterday's training ride I was all tuckered out and looking for excuses not to ride. Found a good one - go donate blood. I know that after you give blood they tell you not to do anything strenuous for at least five hours after donating . . . perfect, my arse was still sore anyway.

Actually, I was planning on donating tonight anyway - so happens that it got me out of a workout. Goodie for me!

I've got an ink session with Julie this Saturday which means that I won't be able to donate for six months (them the rules if you get a tattoo), so I wanted to get another donation in before then. Did you know that you can donate every 56 days? You can, and you should.

It's easy for me as the Canadian Blood Services central Ottawa office and clinic is just around the corner in my neighbourhood. I've been donating regularly since I was in university with a few breaks in-between the years when I've gotten tattoo work done.

Takes me less than an hour to go through the whole process - getting signed in, reading through the questions, preparation stuff, donating (which is the quickest part), rest and goodies.

I'm actually using donating as part of my training - that bag of blood must weigh close to a half a pound?! Wicked. How many ways can you drop that much weight in under an hour?!?
However, I probably eat a half pound of goodies afterwards.

Did you know:

• One donation can save three lives.
• That your blood type says a lot about you (got to know your blood type).
• Best question they ask: "Have you handled monkeys or monkey feces in the past ten years?" Oh, the fun you could have answering that one.
  
• The needle doesn't hurt . . . . really, it doesn't.
• Nurses are friendly and funny.
• And the best part . . . you can eat as many cookies, donuts, granola bars, sweets and juice as you like when you're done! Guilt free! Whoot!