Cold Snap!

The thing about living in Calgary is that you get spoiled with winter weather. The sun shines 95% of the time and we get warm Chinook winds that typically blow away any nasty weather that has plans to stick around.

So when we wake-up to -28 and wind chills in the -40s...we are quick to complain! If we wanted this type of weather we'd move to Winnipeg ; )

It is supposed to warm up by the end of the week - but for the time being, it's limited outdoor activities! I met Katie for lunch today and we ran (yes, actual running took place) down the street from her office to a little Italian Restaurant that is normally jam-packed. Today, not so much. But that will probably do it for being outdoors for either of us the rest of the day!

Stay warm and think of all the great tropical places you'd rather be!

Book Review - Seriously!

You don't typically get book reviews on this blog, but I got this book @ Christmas and finished reading it last week - it was an excellent read and it falls within our blog motto of "Passion, Action and Crashn!" I'd read about it while we were in Tahiti last Fall - Katie remembered it and made sure it was under the tree for me!

Agent Zig Zag (aka Eddie Chapman) was a habitual criminal who became a Double Agent in WWII. The story sheds light on his life progression from a safe cracker with London West End Gangs to his faked acts of sabotage which the German Spy school, ultimately, awarded him the Iron Cross for his dedication.

And for all you romance readers - yes, there is also a love story weaved throughout the book too! Agent Zig Zag managed two fiancees, on opposite sides of the war, each under the protection and financial assistance of their respective governments...ahhh, true love!

You need not be a history buff to enjoy this true life account of this unique insight of British and German Intelligence. Kates is going to read it next, but we can pass it on when she's done!

Let us know if you've read anything blog worthy!

Snowboard Fun!

Calgary is finally getting some snow and it couldn't come at a better time - as we hit the hills at Canada Olympic Park this morning for some more boarding! Katie's lessons have really paid off and I am feeling much more comfortable connecting turns and making my way down the hill.



The hill wasn't too busy first thing in the morning. We had the East Lift pretty much to ourselves -- which helps when having to get off the chair (I'm still learning - so don't get in my way! hee-hee.) No bunny hill today - straight to the fun stuff and besides a whopper of a fall first run, we were wipe out free for most of the day.

It doesn't get much better than hanging out on the hill with the one you love. Hope everyone had as much fun. A big shout out to Angelo (Katie's co-worker and the guy I play softball with) who we met on the hill and showed us his "free-style" moves!

Enjoy the video.

The Student Surpasses the Teacher

OK, so maybe this isn't a picture of Scott snowboarding, but I'm sure I will be taking one just like it before long! I took Scott to Canada Olympic Park last night for a lesson on his new snowboard, and I know this isn't surprising for those of you who know Scott, but let's just say the "lesson" didn't last too long.

After 3 or 4 runs on the bunny slope (which Scott probably didn't need, but I insisted) we headed up to the top of the hill. He was a bit shaky on the first ½, but by the time we got to the second ½ of the hill he was snowboarding like a pro! There was one sketchy moment when he was completing his first backside turn (he picked up quite a bit of speed and there was a snowmaker and fence quite close by), but he pulled it off and regained control without much trouble. After that there was no stopping him.


In all our excitement to get out on the hill we forgot the camera in the truck, but don't worry…we are going back on Saturday and will be sure to take the camera with us

Training Update

We are into the middle of January and thought we'd provide a training update for those following our progress for the BC Bike Race in July. We are into our base phase of training and in the past two months put on more than 600kms on our trainers. The miles now go on faster and faster as we ride 5 days a week developing a couple different areas -- speed, endurance and climbing.

Tonight we focused on climbing as we rode what we call our 'Short Hills' Intervals - 1hr43min. Simulating a short 3 minute climb at approx 80RPM and then resting at 100RPM for 1 minute -- we did 22 of these intervals tonight, plus warm-up and cool down - for a total of 49kms. Fun eh?! The time actually goes by very quickly and we love interval workouts for that exact reason!

Check out our Graphs. As you see we achieve the desired heart rate zones differently -- Katie likes to spin and has a higher cadence.

Scott grunts out a tougher gear and spins more slowly during this type of workout.

Tomorrow night we are hitting the slopes for our first snowboarding of the season. We'll pick up an evening pass @ Canada Olympic Park and shred our way down the hill (OK maybe the bunny hill because Scott is just learning!) Katie got me gear last week (xo), so it will be a blast trying it out - -I'll try and do the sweet gear some justice.

We'll take some photos & post later.

Happy January 10th!?!

We had the best intentions of some fantastic blog updates to start the New Year - but where did the first 10 days go?! Oh ya, that work stuff!! All our "Blog Buddies" have some great updates, so we'll try and do our part too...

Katie has started her new job and is very much enjoying it and all the quirky challenges that come with it ; ) And Scott, well Scott worked 82hrs last week and is on track for much the same this week. So let's just leave it at simply crazy.




(View from our Room @ Emerald Lake Lodge - rough, eh?!)


(They do a very nice job of lighting up the property to enjoy your walk to/from the lodge for dinner...oooh, romantic!)

(Lots! of Snow!!)


We did, however, have an amazing time in Emerald Lake for 3 days over New Year's -- shoeshoe'd around the lake, read by the fire (we are now expert fire starters by the way!) and squeezed some time in for a few trips to the hot tub out in the snow! Plus we did some old school popcorn popping over the open fire - yeah for Jiffy Pop...yum!






As for what's ahead in 2008 - Mostly we are pumped for some amazing biking in 2008! BC Bike Race (June 28-July4) is now 85% sold out - we have to start looking for some sponsorship opportunities (mental note!) We are definately doing the Golden Triangle this year (May Long Weekend) and we are going to try the Highline 100 (August - 100miles from Fernie across the US Border and back in a day) So you can see we have some epic riding adventures that we are planning and training for!


More Garmin Training Updates will be coming soon for those of you that have requested more regular updates (Dennis & Lloyd!)


That's it for now - thanks for taking the time to get up-to-date in our little world.