Another Spin in the Sandilands

Amazing weather & riding conditions - gotta love it! Did the halfway starting point on the Beaver dam/Suicide trail and went in both directions - rode with Paul R. and managed to entertain down one of the steep runs on Suicide Hill - veered off the trail into the bush & took a tumble. 11 or so kms but my odometer wasn't started initially - great ride though!

Fall Riding is Here!

13kms of singletrack sweetness (red trail & beaver dam trail) and a broken seatpost clamp and night-riding = some intense riding! Okay so the broken seatpost clamp made the riding a little challenging as I needed to ride standing up or sitting way down low but the guys will back me up and say I still had an amazing ride. Also had a bit of tumble over an obstacle which resulted in an endo and a cloud of dust lit up by my lights. Gotta love it!

Renovation of our Landscape

We're in the process of making some changes to our property and instead of doing it on our own we've hired a local landscaping company - it's costing us some but it is looking great already. In a sense, my role as a professor is similar to landscaping only my focus is life renovation - I assist students with providing shaped information that helps them better understand their world, themselves, and their role in the world. It is a very rewarding job but tough work - working with people always is challenging. Thankfully, I feel that I'm better equipped at teaching than landscaping - but there is something invigorating about being creative in whatever we do! I've always admired people who work the land and have enjoyed my moments of helping on the farm - although it seems a long time ago already. It's a tradition that goes back to the beginning of time - working the land to produce fruit for the harvest, for survival, for advancement. So here I am in the midst of yet another new college year, renovating the landscape of freshmen - exploring new ways of learning, of growing, of exploring!

Some Helpful Information

Every now and then I come across something that makes me chuckle in a way that only the Far Side can. Which is why I own the entire collection hardbound. However, this is not Far Side but with such wit that I take pleasure in sharing the following and I believe helpful information concerning the preparation of kiwis.

Sunday Football & Cycling

So good to relax on the couch and watch my Packers back in action. Good to get a win out of it too - even if it was a bit of a rough start to the season. Also managed to escape for a nice short but intense road ride for 20kms. I love this time of year with the crisp cool air! Lots of great mountain biking ahead!

Sept Long Weekend Cycling

Life continues on and we decided to take a break from cottaging it and stay home for a change. It's a little chaotic packing for our family it seems - it almost be nice to just have a set of stuff always packed to make traveling anywhere easier. I did manage to escape a bit though - a 40km Giroux loop with road bikes - complete some significant winds that allowed us to hit & maintain 50kms/hour going north and unfortunately has the opposite effect when going south - around 26km/hour. Jason & I enjoyed the ride though! We had some friends over for a bbq on Sunday and it was good just to chill out in the amazing weather.

The aim for certain members of Team Bodydriven was to mtn bike the classic Ingolf route but a 40 percent chance of rain ended up coming true at about 9am - and it poured. The thing about Ingolf is that it is amazing riding when dry, with some super technical stuff - but when wet it is absolutely treacherous - sort of like riding on ice! The rolling granite (complete with obscene sections of boulders or split rocks & little drop-offs (a few big ones too) can get a little slick and if you don't trust the rubber on your wheels it can get a little dicey.

Thankfully we avoided any downpour for most of our ride (about 10 minutes of rain in the epic 2 hours) but we did our share of close-calls and minor wipeouts. No bleeding though. A total of 16kms may not sound like lots but it is all rough riding and my hands are still sore from clenching the handlebars. Tomorrow it's back to college - registering a whack of new & returning students - and I teach my first class on Thursday - communications, Friday - outdoor ed, and next Tuesday - interpersonal processes - wooh!

Calm Before the Storm

The last week of August is approaching and I have to admit being somewhat apprehensive. I'm looking forward to teaching in September but there is a ALOT of prep still be done for this year to run smoothly. I have three syllabi to tweak further and an e-blast to send regarding a youth event, my travel plans semi-confirmed to a conference later in November, my outdoor education out-trips planned out & confirmed, etc. Hopefully will find some shalom in this all, some calm in the chaos.

Pinawa Retreat

I enjoyed a faculty retreat at Pinawa's Wilderness Edge for a couple days this past week and managed to do some escaping on my mountain bike with a good friend from Red Rock days and his son. We managed to squeeze in almost 29kms on some good trails & a long road that led to the old Pinawa town site and dam. Really neat construction & remains at the other end. It was slow going on the way back due to their dog being a little out of shape but we enjoyed some wild plums during our rest stops. Next day our recreation consisted of a float down the Pinawa channel in an inflatable raft and tubes - ended up swimming in a tube for about a good third of the river. I was hoping to try out some rowing with a former student of mine but it unfortunately didn't work out - maybe next time I'm in Pinawa? All in all - a good escape but now I have lots to do before the college year begins. Hopefully - a few more times at Star Lake though before things kick into gear!

Some August Holiday Pics

This month has blown by and is practically over. I thought it was wise to post some pictures before I'm in the midst of teaching this September.

Aimee's third birthday with a cake decorated by yes - candy! Her request!

Aimee opening gifts with her aunt kiki & grandpa observing her enthusiasm. We had both sides of the family over for her party and she is still talking about it.

Zach chillin' on the living room floor..he's growing & talking more and more!

Aims & Chels enjoying some swimming at the pool
My two princesses - love dressing up (& dancing) when ever they can!

Chelsea stepping back in time and posing in front of "The Heartbreaker"


Chelsea loves dressing up with some of the costumes that her Grandma has stored away in their Riverside home.My dad "gobbling" up the oats - both my girls loved their time on the field. The hours are crazy for farmers this time of year but there is something special about working the land. Gotta love the green - it's in my blood apparently - John Deere!

Uncle Blaine, Chelsea & her dad on the combine.

The reason why my allergies are acting up as I load these pics up and why I'm not a farmer!

When the wind is blowing the same direction as the combine driving it turns the sky dark with dust & straw...makes for some neat pictures but I can't imagine being outside the cab.Gotta love the golden color of this oat field in the midst of harvest.