Road Bike Giroux

Put on some more kms this evening with Pat & Jason - good to escape on two wheels as always! Around 40kms with a little extra riding around town. Not much of a wind but was with wind the last leg so were able to keep it almost at 40kms/hr for quite a few kms. Bugs are out - not used to getting hit in the face with them - thank goodness for sunglasses! Hope to get out and do a good mtn bike ride this weekend! I should also note that I just crossed the 300km mark on my road bike and the 100km mark with my mtn bike - not bad but I pale in comparison to some of the die hard MIT roadies in the area who are already at 900kms+. That's okay - for newbie I think I'm doing good especially consider that since May 12 I've been a little less free to escape!

Rain Rain Go Away

I really don't know how the west coasters deal with rain for weeks on end - it feels like a solid week of rain here in Manitoba which definitely is not normal and the forecast continues for the next week - rain showers, T-storm, fog, rain, drizzle, etc. The few windows have allowed me to escape on two wheels and admittedly I can still ride mtn bike in the rain but it takes a whole lot more motivation. Rain in Manitoba unfortunately means invasion of our provincial bird the mosquito will be imminent.
I'm hoping for a scorcher next week to burn away any puddles. We were really spoiled last summer as I think we had maybe a week of the pesky suckers...the grass is nice & green though.

Explore: Toogle

Okay if you want to waste about 5 seconds minimum of your time creatively check this site out: Toogle - type your name and see what happens. Actually you can type in almost anything - here are some images created.

"Garth" - my Wayne's World nemesisMy bike: "Giant Anthem"

Bike Eating Tree

Remember where you park your bike! Next time I lean my bike up against a tree - I'm going to remember this picture!
On Vashon Island (near Seattle, Washington), a tree grows carrying a rather unusual passenger - an old bike. Apparently some kid chained a bike to the tree decades ago and never picked it up, leaving the tree no choice but to grow around the bike.

The tree and island gained some level of notoriety when Berkeley Breathed, creator of Bloom County, wrote a children’s book inspired by the bicycle eating tree entitled Red Ranger Came Calling.

Escape: Mtn Bike

For whatever the reason - it has been hard to get away this past week and do any significant riding. In part it has been rainy & cold - but I'm not really that much of a suck. It has taken awhile to get used to the three kid thing - I definitely don't want to just leave Wendy alone and so it's worked out that my escapes have to be somewhat coordinated. I took advantage of one today and put on about 15kms in the Sandilands on a cool ridge (yet to be named) near Suicide Hill. I did some exploring of a newer trail which I really enjoyed. I got back and decided to do a quick 10kms on the road bike - I'm wearing the gear anyways...and the forecast is for rainy cold weather tomorrow. We actually had some sun and it felt like 12-15 degrees out but it has already cooled off. Well - i better check on supper!

Ebb & Flow

I can tell I haven't been out on my bike for awhile as I'm a little edgy. Probably doesn't help that I got about two hours of sleep last night thanks to my Aimee having a fever & becoming somewhat hallucinogenic. She claimed spiders were in her bed and woke us up with a full on blood-curdling scream - poor girl but daddy came to the rescue. Hard to be compassionate though when you are half-asleep but I pulled through. I love my girls & now my son so much! They are the biggest gifts I've ever received and that they are a reflection of my love for my wife and it just makes me marvel.

I love the ocean, the surge of waves, the sound of water crashing and the taste of sea salt on my lips. I even miss the sting of ocean water in the eyes - apparently that is acquired because that is most people's complaint about the sea. But it is the sting that heals cuts, that softens the water & makes it unique from a lake or river. I love the ebb & flow of it all...reminds me of that the circle of life has that same tide. At times all is calm & peaceful, other times we are in the chaos of a storm. It was after the flood that the rainbow came out. - G

I'm listening to some great tunes right now that speak to me on so many levels: right now I'm enjoying a band called Aqualung - album is entitled Memory Man. Coldplay meets Radiohead meets the 70's folk rock. I really like the vocals, lyrics & the great building groove overall that happens throughout the album. Positive but melancholy lyrically, super-reflective and yeah just a mirror of where I am at right now. You are what you eat - right?
Also enjoying a band called Anberlin which reminds me of Jimmy Eat World - heavy, pushing, all out rock with a hint of emo & punk - check out their 2007' release entitled Cities.
Also of interest to me sonically is Blonde Redhead's 23 album - really unique sounding female vox, great vibe, sort of emotive & wandering, reflective & soaring...very enjoyable as background music or to just sit and soak in. Oh and they have a cool website.
Another female fronted band that I like are the Guards of Metropolis - more edgy, European, a bit of a fuzz to their sound but with a full-on bring on the party feel. Album is entitled Alligator and if my memory serves me correctly have a Pixies influence & shares a label with Frank Black & have done some recording with him & Larry Norman.
In the electronic folk scene (sounds like an oxymoron) - I'm still digging LCD Soundsystem - great sit in your chair, get up & move, or iPod @ work tunes.
Alert: I just downloaded Smashing Pumpkins' single Tarantula - not bad reminds me of some older stuff of theirs but still a modern edge to it. I prefer digesting entire albums over a single but it has successfully intrigued me for what will go down 7.7.7.
So there goes my random musings once again - from family to the ocean to music review - ebb & flow. Oh and did I brag to you that I have a son named Zach & he rocks! Actually he sleeps most of the time...but when he's awake he's loving life!

Shalom

Do you ever just marvel at how wonderful your life really is? How perfect things really are? We don't take enough time to reflect on what we have to celebrate do we? Part of the problem is that our lives move way too fast. The classic 'too much to do in too little time' mantra that our planet revolves on. Gravity - it seems we've forgotten your pull and flown off to this place called busyness or successfulness or simply stuck in a daze of numbness.

Imagine what it would be like to slow down and to actually stop to contemplate it all? For most of us that is a scary proposition. What might we discover? It means we actually would spend the time to look into the mirror of our souls - what image would reflect back? Sure we glance to see if our hair is in place and that our buttons are done up properly but rarely do we examine our hearts or our lives for truth, purpose, or meaning. Unfortunately, we often only realize what really is important when we experience some sort of tragedy or loss.

Thankfully, I'm experiencing the opposite. New life, new adventure and new possibilities. There is nothing quite like the smell of such things - intoxicating, invigorating, it is all indescribable really. This musing in many ways is a futile attempt.

Music has always connected with me on a spiritual level. It seems most of my conversations with God are woven in some sort of a soundtrack. The 80's proclaimed "the futures so bright I gotta wear shades!" The 90's woke up with grunge-full remorse yelling "the world is a vampire - sent to drain" and wallowing in the reality of "despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage." Now here we are in the 00's confused and not sure what lyric to sing? We seem stuck in the 60's, 70's, 80's & 90's all at once - schizophrenically in sync with this place called vertigo - "it's everything I wish I didn't know!"

But right here, right now, in this place that I am - all is right, all is as it should be, all is what I dreamt of and much, much more. It is a delight to be surprised by a reality that oddly doesn't seem quite real. A "through-the-looking-glass and down-the-rabbit-hole" kind of twilight zone. When a kiss is more than a kiss, an embrace warmer than it should be, when eyes explode with lights & colour, when the pulse quickens into drums more passionate than war, when lungs experience pure oxygen after a rush up from a deep dive near the ocean's bottom, when you run out of words to describe whatever it was you were hoping for...

Imagine such a Shalom!

Typical May Long

We are celebrating Zach's one week birthday and enjoying getting to know him He apparently is big into sleeping these days and likes to eat all evening. So we aren't so sure about his schedule but the guy is growing and is already back over his birth weight, has learned how to smile, doesn't mind just chillin' in his diaper, and we just absolutely love him. The girls are out partying for the long weekend at Star Lake with the grandparents while we are just relaxing back home. The typical rainy & cold weather of a Manitoba May Long is definitely here...almost feels like I should be trudging the 60km rugged Mantario Trail in some misty coolness like I've done so many times. But the sun did come out for a bit this afternoon and the temps are hopefully going to warm up.

Road Warrior

Well, I finally had enough nerve to join the MIT'ers for a great but freezing cold ride to Richer & back. 67kms in just over 2 1/2 hours riding time - with a nice breakfast in between. 30km winds out of the north slowed us down on the way out but helped us on the way back (took an hour on the way back). Zach is one week old today and the girls are enjoying their own escape to Star Lake with their grandparents. It is only six degrees right now and I think we started out with 4 degrees. So-called high is calling for 14 degrees - big change from 30 degrees yesterday. Well, I need to take a shower and spend time with Wendy & little Z!

Sneak Cycle

I snuck out for a short 23km spin on the bike this lovely Mother's Day. Baby Z was sleeping with his mother and so I had my opportunity to get the body back into motion. It was a quick & fast ride with an ave. speed of 30kms. So needless to say I didn't get that longer ride in yesterday with the arrival of my son Zach. Alls good and we're enjoying a lazy afternoon at home (other than my little sneak-out).

Happy Mother's Day & Further Details on Birth

Here's a shot of the family - Chelsea, Mom, Aimee, Zachary & Dad. Happy Mother's Day!

Some side-notes regarding our delivery:

Interestingly, Zach was born "in caul" or in his amniotic sac. When the amniotic sac has not ruptured during labour or pushing, the infant can be born with the membranes intact. This is referred to as "being born in the caul." It was really cool to see as the midwife basically brushed away the caul from Zach's face and the fluid just kind of poured out. He cried out within seconds clearing his lungs and ready to take on the world.

According to healthlink.mcw.edu, Dwight Cruikshank MD, Professor and Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Medical College of Wisconsin states that being born with or in a caul is rare, probably occurring in fewer than 1 in 1000 births, and that he has seen fewer than 10 babies with a caul over the life of his career.

In medieval times the appearance of a caul on a newborn baby was seen as a sign of good luck. It was considered an omen that the child was destined for greatness. Other cultures state that a baby born in caul would never drown at sea, still others see such a baby as a healer. We, of course, are not so supersticious but recognize the uniqueness of the birth and are grateful for how healthy he is. I personally think he could be a wide receiver or maybe a running back.

When it comes down to it - any birth seems a miracle to us and we are thanking God for blessing us with our third child!

Also of interest, Zachary shares a birthday with his uncle Kyle and my aunt Betty Ann. We are hoping to connect with both Grandmas today and some family as well.

Regarding the names we have chosen - we actually had picked out Zachary Shane way back when Chelsea arrived into our family, and of course had it as an option when Aimee entered our world. You will of course notice the similar sounding ending but unique spelling of each - also very intentional.

If you want to find out the meaning behind your name check out this site: http://www.behindthename.com

Zachary is the English variant of the Hebrew name זְכַרְיָה (Zekaryah) which meant "YAHWEH remembers."

Shane is an English variant of John or Iohannes, which was the Latin form of the Greek name Ιωαννης (Ioannes), itself derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן (Yochanan) meaning "YAHWEH is gracious."

We just really liked how the names flowed and the meanings happen to connect as well.

It's a Boy!

LATEST UPDATE: So here's the scoop - baby boy named Zachary Shane - born this morning @ 5:34am - weight 8lbs 15 oz & length 22 inches. Wendy is doing well and we're safe at home as of 10pm. Labour was relatively short (3 hours) but intense - we're hoping for a quicker recovery this time around (posted around midnight).

Dad & Mom with little Zach!

A shot of "Z" with a bit of expression.

A close-up of his long fingernails - classical guitar-worthy perhaps. The hands include my mom's and Wendy's in the upper portion of the pic.

A sepia-toned shot of "Z"

That's right - he's got amazing bone structure for putting on some meaty muscles!

Another dreamier sepia-toned shot of Zack

Sisters Chelsea & Aimee with their little brother!

One proud papa!

Homeboy Z with a cool blue lid!

More Road Kms

Just a sneak of 17kms - just enough to get warmed up on this cool day...hopefully tomorrow I will get longer ride if the baby doesn't arrive in the am.

Road Kms

It has become apparent to me that I may be in shape for mtn biking but road cycling is another story. So I decided to put some kms on my wheels on a very windy Monday. Time unfortunately limited us to just over an hour and a bit but we managed to squeeze in 33kms. The wind helped us on the way back where my ave. speed was about 40kms/h and we did a few sprints as well. I of course couldn't keep the sprint on nearly as long but managed to get a max of 48kms for a short distance. Pat & Paul joined me and the ride was a good one except for some lady who didn't like us on the highway and honked her horn repeatedly. Sometimes its tough to not respond to such idiocy.

Three Escapes This Week!

Apparently, my version of "nesting" means getting the heck out of dodge & getting as much riding in as possible. A great escape today on the black singletrack that winds its way around a clearcut section on rolling hills - no big steeps or climbs today but a good solid, somewhat wet ride of 9kms. The rain didn't stop Paul & I from enjoying the great weather & scenery of the Sandilands.

Suicide Trails

Although the name of the trails might not be that attractive, the riding certainly is. Some of the downhills are a little crazy & some of the steep climbs are torture on the legs & lungs but no one contemplated their existence. Short ride km-wise - 7 klicks but intense. Pat, Jason & yours truly - the original three who helped re-discover these lost trails. The entire Suicide Hill region of the Sandilands is quite a bit more significant with the steepness of the hills and surprisingly developed. Unfortunately, there is a bit more sand on the flat sections - thanks to trail erosion caused by ATVs & dirtbikes and some of the climbs are also rutted out. The singletrack is though in great condition for the most part.

Oh and on the drive back home we saw something like 7 rabbits hopping along the road and at least a dozen deer. Felt like we were some wacky animal safari.