Unclip: come to a soft stop. Don't unclip: bike falls over with you attached.

So I went on a very long bike ride today. It involved me and 68 other people traveling one hundred kilometers throughout Victoria, Sannich, Sydney, Sannichton and Royal Oak. Fantastic day. The weather was beautiful. Stayed around 10 degrees C for the whole ride, a little wind. The people that were riding were so friendly and honestly happy to be out on a ride like this with so many others. There was a great energy with the group.

I fell over!!! Second time riding with clip-in shoes today. We came to a crossing for the highway, I unclipped both feet and then stopped. I then clipped back in and with one powerful thrust with my enormous quads, I shifted all my weight to the right side of the bike and fell right over. Other riders started to help me up and check if I was ok, thankfully I was. Scrapped my leg and elbow. I just kept riding. It needed to happen sometime. Glad it did when others were around.

So while continuing towards Sydney I noticed that my knee started to hurt a little, understandably so since it was bleeding. When we finally stopped I noticed that the blood had hardened do to fast wind passing past me :p And the pain was from the hairs being stuck in the blood and being pulled. Ouch, but stupid. I just put up with it until i got home and I barely can feel it now since washing the crusty, black blood. YES I said BLACK. It had sucked up a ton of air while I was riding and as I look at this blood I just imagine how disgusting my lungs must be from breathing tons of that air in. It was black seriously wtf!

The ride was great all in all. As i said met some nice people. Hoping to do a 200km ride on the 11th, might even do it tandem with a friend. Never rode a tandem before. exciting. But I think maybe him and I should try it out a few times before we do 200km. HAHA, maybe. Don't have photos of the ride yet but I'll post them once I do. Hope all is well with you all. Wishing you the best.

Nicholas

Join me in turning off the lights.

More info?

Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies...WOW!

Cey asked me to post some recipes so that others could enjoy the great creations that I have been able to enjoy munching on these last few days. Here is one of the cookies that I have been making. So yummy, :p, i'm eating too many of them.

Ingredients,

1. 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
2. 1/2 cup White Sugar
3. 1 cup All Purpose Flour
4. 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
5. 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
6. 1/2 tsp Salt
7. 1 cup Oats
8. 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips
9. 1/2 cup Dried Cranberries
10. 1/2 cup butter
11. 1 egg
12. 1 tsp Vanilla
13. 1 tbsp Milk

Directions:

1. Mix most dry ingredients; items 1-6 together and mix by hand to break apart any chunks then add Oats.

2. Melt butter till it is softened. Then Add to dry mixture

3. Mix separately egg, vanilla and milk, once mixed well add.

4. Mix cookie dough until it has a consistent texture then ADD Chocolate and Cranberries. Mix again.

5. Store in Refrigerator for 15 min. Let the mixture harden. Preheat oven to 350F, prepare cookie sheet pans(grease if necessary)

6. Use hands to make half golf ball sized balls and lay them out on the baking pan evenly.

7. Cook for 8-10 min, watch carefully...OR they will BURN!! Muahahaha

Good Eats,

Nicholas

Maybe feelings are the only true explanations...

All I have to say is turn off the lights, close your eyes, and imagine what is love.

Lyrics:

Is it the face of a child
Is it the thrill of danger
Is it the kindness we see in the eyes of a stranger
Is it more than faith
Is it more than hope
Is it waiting for us at the end of our rope

Chorus:
I say, it's love
I say, it's love

Is it the one you call home
Is it the Holy Land
Is it standing right here holding your hand
Is it just like the movies
Is it rice and white lace
Is it the feeling I get when I wake to your face

I say, it's love
I say, it's love

Is it the first summer storm
Is it the colours of fall
Is it having so little
And yet having it all
Is it one in a million
Is it a chance to belong
Is it standing right here singing this song

Repeat Chorus 4x

Is it a veil or a cross
Is it the poet's gift
Is it the face that has launched over thousands of ships

Is it making you laugh
Is it letting you cry
Is it where we believe that we go when we die
Is it how you were made
Is it your mother's ghost

Is it the wish that I'm wishing for you life, for your life, for your life the most

Nicholas

Covered in flour and loving it

No, I have not found some kinky sex group in Victoria, but I'll now keep my eyes open for it. ;) I have started baking a lot these last few days. It has been so much fun and enjoyable. I have reached out to friends around me and asked for recipes and have founds some really great things. So far I have made, Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, along with right at this moment two loafs worth of 100% Organic Whole Wheat Bread dough is rising in my kitchen. I'm going to punch it just before I sleep and then in the morning start baking, should be awesome to have really fresh bread with some veggies, fruit, and eggs in the morning. Yum. I have discovered that I like the taste of precooked dough, cookie of course and even bread. There is something about the soft texture that I like. I think the dough is similar to the centre of the loaf so soft that I can squish it into a ball and eat it. Eating it before cooking just saves that step of cooking it.

Does anyone else do this out there?

If you want some cookies just let me know what type you fancy and i'll try my best getting some to you. :)

Nicholas

Whistler

Heylo, :p

So everyone a couple weeks ago I went up to Whistler to see my brother and his partner in Whistler. It was a great journey and adventure. Went up on a Friday morning. Left my house at 7:20am and arrived in Whistler after bussing, ferry, bussing, sky-train, walking, eating, peeing, bussing, and finally stretching I got to Whistler at 4pm. 8 hrs and 40 mins to go essentially 241 km. In a few months, I will be doing farther distances on my bike in a day. I am so excited to move faster than busses and ferries.

I got up there in good spirits. Met with Sarah and walked around the lower village. Headed over to The Westin, my brother is a hotelier, played some Wii in the lobby and laughed at the phallic shaped decorations by the fire place. Soon headed home to Creekside and went shopping at the 'somewhat cheaper grocery store in Whistler.' A DOLLAR A LEMON! regular price, ours were on sale! 3 for a DOLLAR! yay back to normal. The pricing in this store was really weird. Apparently, sometimes a head of lettuces goes on sale and it cost $2 for 2 heads or $2.99 for 1. Price check in aisle three!

The rest of the evening was great, hung out, made beer bread buns that tasted like nothing, We even put 'extra' rosemary in it and it was so bland. I tried my best to like them but it wasn't happening. The cinna-buns on the other hand were not a problem for me. WOW! yummy yummy. Ate those the rest of the weekend. I gained weight while I was in Whistler, 7 pounds. It wasn't the food and I was walking ridiculous amounts. For example, I walked all the way to the top of the bobsled run, which is closed to the public. Got to the top took some photos, was informed that I was not allowed up there. Told the guy that I new that and then walked all the way down. 35 min walk up, 20 min walk down. On the walk down I kept being stopped and told that I was not allowed up this road. I had to remind them that I was walking down, not up. HEHE. But the weight gain just really showed me how much the cycling assists in maintaining my physical health. Would have been so much fun to bike up that hill.

During the weekend that I was up there it was the Para-Cross Country World Cup Finals. That was going on at the Olympic Park, but my visit to the park was thwarted by the shuttle bus drivers. Ended up just walking around, going for yoga class, massages, walking down ski runs because it was faster and safer than the roads.

On the last day I went to the top of whistler with chris, rode the Peak 2 Peak or 52 MIL.

The gondola cost 52 million dollars to build and it is essentially 2 shell buildings, 4 very big towers, and 24 gondola cars. $52 MILLION!!!! Got some nice photos tho. On the last night we all went tubing at the tube park. That was a blast. Never new tubing was so much fun. And btw magic carpets are aw

esome! 9 runs in an hour.

I came back to victoria on Monday, during the night before Vancouver and Victoria got snow 4 inches or so. During the entire weekend Whistler got 3/4 of an inch. Went through crazy vancouver where none of the buses were on time. Reached home, very tired and went to sleep at 5pm.

It was a great trip. Nice to get off the island and see the somewhere which I haven't been for 16 years. Didn't remember any of it then. hehe. This time I will. Huge thank you to both Sarah and Chris, you both were fabulous to spend the weekend with and looking forward to doing more things together in the future.

See you soon.

Nicholas

Photos are available here

This has to stop...sigh. Although I am improving.

I crashed again on my bike today. All is well. So far it has been the least scaring accident. Just a small skin tuff on my leg. Here is the story.

Was riding at Cider Hill Cross and Cider Hill intersection. I was moving quickly in the bike lane approaching the intersection. There was a car moving into the intersection. I came up just behind and beside it and saw that it began to turn right. I was way to close to stop with my bad brakes so I just went loose and hit the car with my body. Man contact to the car was right on the passenger window and my body. The car stopped and I then continued to fall to the ground. I got up right away and the people in the car were really scared that I was hurt. With my experiences so far I knew I was OK. We proceeded to chat on the side of the road. Good spirits were flowing within me. I have built an attitude while riding that place blame is not a successful method of interaction with others.

While I am riding I try to give space between myself and cars around me. That space allows me to react to provide myself time to move to safety. I did not give space today. I didn't see an indication light either. An indication light does not tell the truth all the time. We have all seen a car driving down the road for many blocks with the turn signal on. Instead I keep my eyes staring strongly at the right front tire, they can't turn into me if the wheel is straight, right?

The sharing of responsibility for these accidents is so important. The conversation, not argument, that we had on the side of the road was calm and honest. We shared first names not information. We shared attitudes and beliefs not insults and blame. It doesn't help the situation to blame either side.

I look back onto each accident, that I can remember (hehe), and try to see what I have learned from it. With this accident there were 3 things. 1) I know for myself that I need to be more careful of intersections. Not to be passing cars and give more space for myself. 2) My rear brakes were not in even good condition let alone great and I had meant to change them today. I guess I needed this to happen in order to teach me the importance of having really good brakes at all times. 3) Keep a clear mind. The driver and passenger of the car were so appreciative of my attitude and philosophy of the accident. They expressed how easy it was to talk to me after such an incident and how compared to their past experiences with cyclist this has been such a pleasant experience.

Like a meeting of friends on the side of the road, this incounter had us both leaving with smiles. My bike is hanging in the garage right now. Stripped down so that I can replace the rear brakes and give it a really good overall cleaning.

Wishing you all the best

Nicholas

PS: First accident of being 24 years old. Yay!
PPS: Stop saying ride safe! 'evil eye' to those people who keep saying it to me. It is not helping. :)