A Glance At My Rear-view Mirror

Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

Chinese New Year’s Day came and went not without fanfare. In this part of the world, across the globe from China, we don’t have to look too far to find celebrations. Even our local YMCA hosted an event-packed day to welcome the year of the horse. For me, it never fails to put me into an introspective mood. I get to look back on the year twice; yes, I do that on December 31st and then again on Lunar New Year’s Eve. The advantage or disadvantage of celebrating two New Year’s days, I guess.

So, as I gaze into my rear-view mirror, I see a trail of activities that kept me busy and engaged during my leisure time. Here are three of them at the top of my viewpoint, not necessarily in order of preference: cycling, traveling, and writing.

Cycling The outdoor kind won hands down. Spring brought great hopes for bicycle adventures; we were going to be initiated as cyclists—keep in mind that I've been riding (spinning) indoors for many years. Naively, I thought my mountain bike would do the job. After just one ride, I headed to the shop and bought my first hybrid. Now I was ready; that’s what I thought. Then I signed up for an eighty-kilometre ride. During the practice session, one of the marshals had to push me up a steep hill—ooh, the embarrassment still makes me warm and tingly, and not in a comfortable way. I realized that if I wanted to ride with the big boys and girls, I needed the right equipment. So now a brand new road bike graces my basement waiting for the new riding season.

Traveling Lately we've been doing two distant trips a year with little drive-able ones during the long weekends. This past year, we flew for three of our vacations: one week in Puerto Rico, two weeks on a Baltic cruise, and one week in Arizona. In between, we spent a few days in Mont Tremblant during mid-summer, riding the trails there. Puerto Rico was a nice mid-winter break in the sun. Arizona and the Grand Canyon were memorable, but our Baltic cruise was the granddaddy of all the trips for the year. The highlight was our two-day tour of St. Petersburg in Russia. Who knows when, if ever, we will return to that part of the world again.

Writing This was the year I proudly announced to the world that I’d completed my first novel. The feeling of accomplishment still leaves a warm glow whenever I think about it. Picture Bride is about to debut during this upcoming spring. I believe that I got a boost in my writing when I attended the Writers Digest Conference in NYC back in April 2013. The book took two years to write, and when I met other people on the same path, along with established writers who seemed willing to put out or help out, it gave me a much-needed shot in the arm to sprint to the finish line. I approved my manuscript and book cover just over a week ago, and now I wait. Due process must be observed.

Yes, it was a busy year filled with activities. With February already in progress, I’m predicting a year packed with new undertakings as my book launches and I begin to write another one. My new bike is waiting for its maiden ride; while a cruise and a road trip are already in the cards.

Happy New Year to all.

Giving Thanks

Picture from Office.Microsoft.com

It's Thanksgiving weekend, which means that Winter is just around the corner. But here in south-western Ontario, Mother Nature seems to have forgotten that. While the leaves, bright golden and orange--flaming reminders of Autumn's spectacular changing colours--swirl on the ground, the temperatures stubbornly remain milder than usual.

No, I'm not complaining about the weather. On the contrary, we're making hay while the sun shines. Just when I think our outdoor cycling season is over, another sunny day makes its way. After the PwC Epic Tour on September 8th, where I rode 80 kilometers, I assumed that was my last outing for this year. Yet here we are, planning another bike ride. Thanks, Mother Nature.

Our Thanksgiving turkey has been cooked and consumed. It was fresh from Costco, the place where abundance is second to nothing. The plump bird graced our dinner table in all its fine glory along with its companions, in different shapes and colours. We will be eating all things turkey for a few more days. Thanks, Costco.

My family at the dinner table...my deepest and most heartfelt thanks.

Initiation to Outdoor Cycling

We actually have a picture to commemorate our first outdoor cycling road trip...yeah...it's free advertising for D'Italiano. Okay, not completely free--we got a pulled-pork sandwich each for posing in front of their truck. Geez...what some people do for freebies. :)

But what about the ride itself? It may have been the most humid day we've had up to that point this year. Let's see what else I can think of to make our first ride more adventurous than it really was. It had rained the day before, I think, and there were puddles on the trails. We did 31.5 kilometers with some near wipe-outs to boast of...hmm...I don't think cyclists boast about that. I was on a mountain bike pedaling twice as hard as the hybrid and road bike riders.

The highlight of our trip was the food. The D'Italiano sandwich was unexpected, but was a welcomed treat. It hit the spot at the right time. However, we had our sights set on Sunset Grill, so, great pulled-pork sandwich or not, we trooped inside for our 1 p.m. breakfast--waffles with fresh strawberries and, humid weather notwithstanding, coffee of the hot kind.

The ride back was easier, maybe because I had a full stomach or maybe the single-trip experience I'd gained by then was starting to pay off. I thought I was this hotshot six-year spinning veteran, and would be able to handle outdoor cycling easily. Well, let me tell you that there's a humongous difference between the two. Although I was no worse for our outdoor tryst, other than a few patches of sun-burn, I must point out that cycling outside is no stroll in the park. The outside elements, learning to change gears so no one hears the cranking sound you're not supposed to make, other cyclists--some who are crazy enough to careen into you, a moving bike versus a stationary one...challenges not for the faint of heart.

Really, cycling isn't quite this dramatic...only the rider is.

A Spinning Tale

What happens when you unleash raw energy in a room full of avid cyclists? They reciprocate and give it right back. It’s indoor stationary cycling at its most stimulating. Yup, that’s why I love leading a spinning class, and here are ten more reasons that pull me back over and over again.

1.    No other workout gets my heart pumping faster than when I’m coaxing the participants to go as hard as or harder than me. There’s something about being at the front that makes me push myself to the extreme.

2.    The energy in the room is palpable. You feel it in your blood, in the adrenalin, in every nerve, and in the collective sigh at the end of a song.

3.    What other low impact workout can burn as much calories as spinning—700 to 1,000 calories in an hour—and have a low injury rate?

4.    Stress relief goes hand in hand with the class. It melts away with every drop of sweat.

5.    Gotta love that group cool-down. It’s the “We made it together” feeling. You can’t get that when you go solo on the treadmill or elliptical.

6.    The endorphin kick lasts long after the class is over, maybe burning some more calories…just kidding.

7.    I suspect the participants’ positive feed-backs probably crank up the production of endorphins.

8.    Relax, breathe, tighten up the core muscles, good posture—all the good stuff that you forget to do when you’re working out by yourself…I belt these out loud to the class every time I need to remind myself to focus on my own techniques.

9.    Creating a playlist and choreographing a routine give me almost as much pleasure as when I write. Just as I pick and choose my words, adding and trimming, so I select my songs, listening, cutting and rearranging.

10.    Last and certainly the most fabulous side benefit is the social aspect. New friendships beyond the cycle fit studio, Sunday breakfast after a class—not always the healthy kind…what the heck, we’ve earned it.