Looking for Xmas Gifts?

I already handed in my Amazon booklist for Christmas but check out ThinkGeek for some pretty unique novelty gifts for those techies in your family! I'm partial to the gadgets section, sort of feels like shopping with "M" from 007 movie fame. Don't we all need a swiss army knife complete with a USB memory card and LED light? My personal favorite is the Swedish Firesteel - a survival tool for starting fires(which I already have from a stocking stuffer present from my Dad a few years ago)! Or how about a glow-in-the-dark flying frizbee disk?

Okay - none of the above are really must have gifts and quite honestly we probably should spend those extra shekels on gifts or food for the less fortunate. In fact, if I wasn't a father of two girls we probably wouldn't be into the gift thing much at all. I sometimes wonder if we are so caught up in consumerism that we really take advantage of the holiday week and just spend time with family!

Update on Giant NRS2 Frame

Yesterday I called Olympia Cycle (my bike dealer up till this point) to see where things were at with my frame. Turns out they never sent away my frame!!! Grrr! So I made my way there today and picked up my frame and took it to another dealer Bikes & Beyond (Henderson) who actually is carrying Giant. I got a phonecall an hour after dropping it off that they were shipping it away with UPS and I should expect a new frame in a week and half. Now why didn't I bring it there in the first place? Well, it has something to do with loyalty to a bike dealership that for the most part has treated me quite well up until this past year. My connection no longer works there and the managing of that particular store seems to have gone downhill. So my loyalty is up for grabs - we'll see if Bikes & Beyond will win! I should note I have purchased a good 6 or so bikes in the last 16 years - all from Olympia!

My first real mtn bike I bought was a 89' KHS Comp (black with purple metallic splashes and yellow lettering) hardtail, Suntour shifting, and no front suspension. I went front suspension with a black Trek 6000 (orange decals) in 1991 or so, complete with the gold Rock Shox Mag 21 (which I later painted black) and custom built wheels.

Next came my dream bike a 1996 Rocky Mountain Thin Air - probably the lightest mountain bike I ever will own - superlight hardtail that I still miss - bright yellow! I should note that was my last bike as a bachelor (about ten years ago - crazy!). I rode it a good three years or so and made the move to full suspension.

Riding my Thin Air - June 1996 - Toniata

I bought a used Trek Y-3 aluminum with a sweet Rock Shox SID 100 in the front from a friend of mine - it actually was a brand new frame due to warranty issue on the previous frame. It also was black but with red trim. Too much bob action for me and man was it heavy. I rode it maybe 2 years or so and decided to go lighter weight but still full suspension. I ended up purchasing my current bike a 2002 Giant NRS2 which I really have enjoyed the last three years.

Probably the most fun I've had on a bike is with my Giant - that is until my frame broke. We'll see what my next bike is - I'll make a judgement call after I get my new frame!

I should also note that during our first year of marriage I gave my wife Wendy my Trek 6000 to ride but I soon bought a navy Trek 930 that I still use today as my commuter bike. She now rides a sweet 03' Trek 6700 (below) with some women specific features that we customized.

Hmm...my post turned from "beef" to "relief" to a historical retrospective "life and times of my mountain bikes!" I guess that's what happens when one is passionate about exploring a sport like mountain biking!

The Joys of Teaching Outdoor Education

I love teaching and I know I can never escape being a teacher - it is a part of who I am. Sharing what I know and what I am learning excites me. Teaching resonates with me most when I can share what I am most passionate about. The past three weeks I had the privilege of bringing 15 students on an educational journey exploring outdoor education. The result was pretty cool and I can't take complete credit but obviously I played a role in the learning process.

My 2005 Outdoor Education Class!

The cool thing about teaching in the outdoors is that "teachable moments" are everywhere. Our classrooms are often so sterile that we lack the inspiration that is reflected in the wilderness so well. Reading my students' journals encourages me to keep doing what I'm doing. I'm not necessarily motivated by praise but when I hear comments like, "you made me think" or "this week was one of my best weeks of my entire life!"

Garth & Mandy making use of a teachable moment!

I can't help but grin and thank the Maker. In many ways, teachers are simply conduits for the learning experience to happen. And that's okay because of the change we get to see when the light bulb starts to glow and shine!

Teambuilding using the classic blind maze!

Here are some anonymous quotes from some of my students regarding their time at Red Rock doing outdoor education:

"I learned, I should be more optimistic about myself..."

"I learned so much about myself, about others, about God, about the outdoors!"

"I would do this all over again in a snap!"

"Thanks God for making this an unforgettable experience for us all and for helping us stretch our limits!"

"I learned to respect nature & wildlife, they have a far more important & intricate role than I ever though possible."

"Thanks for the awesome week we had. It has shown me so much about myself and given me a new perspective on myself and my life. I really needed this experience and I will always remember it."

That's just a sampling - now doesn't that make you want to teach! Changed self-perceptions, pushed limits, respect for Creation and the Creator! Pretty cool eh?

Mtn Biking Class At Echo Valley

Spooky Night Ride!

Pat and I hit a new trail last night! It was almost surreal winding down and up a rolling trail in complete darkness. We keep finding new trail but it is somewhat spooky weaving through red pine stands watching the lights of our bikes create weird strobe like shadows. It was also mysteriously quiet last night because of the low cloud cover that was threatening rain or maybe flurries. Every sound seemed muffled and as unnatural as it is to ride at night! Once again we found an end to a trail but discovered a new one shortly thereafter. It has been a couple of amazing months of discovery of kilometers and kilometers of new trail - my guess is that we have found close to 50 kms (if not more) of virgin singletrack thanks to some motorized dirtriders who had the ambition to take their dirtbikes through bush!

I'm still awaiting news on my frame and thankfully my friend has allowed me to keep his bike for another week. I wish I had some pics from last night but the cool weather and threat of rain discouraged me from bringing the IstD along.

Later,

G

Outdoor Education @ Red Rock

We had a simply amazing week at Red Rock Lake for the practical component of the outdoor education course I teach. Together with Red Rock staff and my friend Mandy, we taught canoeing, kayaking, mtn biking, wall climbing, archery, orienteering with compass/GPS, and basic bushcraft skills such as firebuilding. The shot below a picture of RRBC's waterfront and a tent of a few of my students brave enough to endure some below zero night temperatures. It actually was a beautiful week with temps up to 19 degrees Celsius on Thursday but at least 2 evenings resulted in frost on the ground the following morning.

Despite cold water temperatures we decided to go ahead with canoe and kayak instruction. The result was one canoe tipping near the island and two kayaks tipping near the beach. Fortunately, no one got hypothermia as we were near warm showers and a change of clothes. All in all, amazing weather for this time of year.

That's me in the orange Dagger Redline - an older play kayak I donated to RRBC a few years ago.

You got to love teachable moments like the one above. A flat tire on the trail to Echo Valley resulted in a lesson in changing flats! Mandy is standing in the background and was a great help in connecting with the female component of my class.

G

Service With A Smile?

We don't eat out much as a family as it is hard to find the time to actually go to a restaurant and then there is the cost factor. But every now and then we do like to treat ourselves with take-out or delivery. We made the decision to order in Chinese on Friday from a local restaurant. We've never been disappointed before but after the meal arrived 35 minutes I have to admit I was pretty upset.

I maintained my cool when phoning the restaurant and the manager assured me it would arrive shortly. The excuse was that they had forgotten to take down our street address! Hmm...you would think they should call back right? Well...when it came it was a fresh order and arrived hot but they'd forgotten one of the items we ordered. Phonecall #2 to the manager (who as you would expect could not speak English well - so I'm not exactly sure what he actually told me) said something about the veal will come wight aways and the word fwee - which I assume to mean free meal? I have no idea if they tore up my cheque or not but it definitely extended our supper hour!

We decided to head off to Winnipeg for some shopping and to bring my bike frame in for warranty today. We got off to a late start as our girls actually slept in for a change. It turns out we got everything we wanted to get done that morning and decided to treat ourselves to The Olive Garden.

I think I must have some Italian blood somewhere in me as I love pasta! We ordered our meals, got our appetizer and the normal warm-up foods - salad or soup and breadsticks. Fabulous as always...35 minutes later - still no main course and our waitress has mysteriously disappeared.

Wendy starts lapping the restaurant with Aimee just to keep her entertained while I crayon up a storm with Chelsea. The stomach growls can no longer take it and somehow Wendy flags down someone who alerts the manager of our situation. It turns out there was some computer error and our meals still have not been prepared!!! Hmmm...well the manager does the right thing and offers to give our meals to us for free. By that point we were actually filled up on breadsticks and the like but the pasta we ordered still sounds good! We decided to go the takeout option and headed home....

What bugged me the most was not the computer error but the fact that our waitress didn't think to maybe give us a heads up as to when our meals would actually come! I'm a big proponent of actually tipping waiters when they do a great job but when service sucks - I'm sorry I'm not paying a dime. I also believe that we should treat people as actual human beings and not objects. But I have a huge problem when customers are treated as if they do not exist as well - especially when those customers include children - absolutely unacceptable.

I usually don't post negative stuff or beefs - so I'm hoping this will be the only one this year! Next take-out meal apparently is in our fridge courtesy of the Olive Garden...I can let you know if it is any good reheated!

Wen's Smoked Mozzarella Chicken


G's Stuffed Chicken Marsala

Night Rider

Well it turns out I had an interesting ride in the Sandilands last night. I discovered early on that my frame was cracked! Right above where the top tube meets the seat tube an inch long crack, leaving about 3/4 of an inch at the back of the seat tube that isn't damaged.

I decided to make the choice to keep riding - after all we were decked out in helmet and handlebar lights and it was beautiful evening. Bright red tea leaves were magnified by our lights along the trail and the reindeer moss shone like snow! It is amazing how much faster it feels when you are riding in a tunnel of lights and trees along a singletrack. At one point we all disappeared beneath a fallen over pine tree that we basically had to punch through - looked really cool! Pat met up with a deer at one point - definitely made those hairs on the arms stand up seeing the reflection of eyes looking back at you!

My lovely 2002 Giant NRS2 Modified Bike complete with broken seat-tube!

My frame stood up to the evening ride but it looks like I will have to dismantle the atomic bicycle and send the frame in for warranty. I did some checking and it looks like I may get a new frame from Giant out of it all! I'm leaning towards then selling it and looking at a new bike for 2006. We'll see how it all turns out!

G

The Compass

The compass is a remarkable instrument that has been used as an instrument of navigation since the Chinese invented somewhere around 200 BC. It is incredible to think that we can actually follow with accuracy a needle that points to magnetic north! However, if a person is a few degrees out while traveling by compass you can end up miles away from your intended destination. That is why we require landmarks that we aim for as we travel, maps that help us distinguish landmarks, and finally compass that is true and not interfered by electrical signals.

Such an instrument of navigation makes an excellent metaphor for life. The information we dial into a compass will lead us to where we want to go. Dial in 360 degrees and you will end up travelling North. However if you wanted to go south and dialed in 360 you would end up in the opposite direction you intended. It is important for us to set goals based on accurate information. It is amazing how many times our small mistakes end up being "titantic" when with a little course correction we would avoided sailing into iceberg infested waters.

I'm in the midst of teaching outdoor education, admittedly one of my favorite courses. I am amazed how often skills learned in the outdoors translate to life back indoors - what we sometimes term the "real world." When we seek adventure outside we often end learning up about ourselves don't we? When faced with a challenge or problem to be solved we have to make the right decisions in order to survive in a wilderness situation. It is important that we correct our mistakes early on or else we could end up in some serious troubles.

Well - I'm off mtn biking in the Sandilands once again - riding by lights down some pretty wild trails!

G

Treehouse

A visit home to Riverside for Thanksgiving resulted in an "explore" of a local treehouse! Go to exploreplay for more pics!