Post Ride Revelations

So apparently people actually read this blog, I am not just been writing to inform my parents. Who knew. I wonder if I can retitle this blog and continue writing...

Anyways, it has been almost 20 days since my last ride day and I have been home in Canada for almost 2 weeks. I have come up with a list of things that riding for 4.5 weeks in Europe have made me realize (in no particular order):

1. Not packing up my worldly possession on to my bike everyone morning and riding for a couple of hours each day gives you so much free time in the day. Now I just have nothing to fill my free time with. 

I feel so fast now riding without any weight.

2.Life is kind of boring when you are not sleeping in a different city/town every night or not even knowing where you will be sleeping.
3. Big groups make everything seem funnier.

4. My Fanta addiction is over, however I did have a craving for it after discussing possible Fanta marketing campaigns.

2 Liters of deliciousness

5. The places I slept in Europe were not much bigger than the area I occupy at home, actually my tent may have been bigger than my bedroom which is currently packed with a lot of junk.
6. Jet lag is horrible. 9 hours time difference and being awake for 30 hours straight of traveling does not bode well for the human body. And apparently when the airline says pick up all your checked baggage and manually transfer it to your next flight that includes you oversized luggae. Whoops. Luckily my bike made it to the right airport the next morning.

Picking up my bike box the day after I landed because I didn't pick it up in New York.

7. All my problems I left behind, just waiting for you to get back. Sad face. Unemployment not so much fun.
8. Not spending 24 hours a day 7 days a week with 16 other people all of a sudden makes you feel lonely.
9. It is hard to find fields of daisy fields to frolick in Cloverdale (all though I have not looked that hard).
10. The ability to eat ice cream multiple times in one day and not see any weight gain does not happen unless you are riding 100 km a day. Metabolism has definitely slowed down.

Delicious

11. I can no longer blame my bad hair on my helmet.

Outside a nunnery with a 9pm curfew.

12. I got progressively better at taking self portraits or at least I now smile in them.

Picture Recap

 Some pictures of the trip not in any particular order.

Pre-Ride Location of Game 7 at a ridiculously early hour in the morning

Hay Bail Break on the Way to Wittenberg

Windmill Scenery in Amsterdam

Somewhere in Amsterdam

Train Ride in Amsterdam (Pre-Ride)

Dutch Clogs

Canoe Ride in Utrecht (paddle is for show, didn't do much paddling)

Snack Break in Goslar, maybe...

Frolicking in Daisy Field

Budapest

Praha, maybe...

Dresden, host city of the world cup, but didn't get a chance to catch any games

On the road, but still time for photos

Astonomical Clock in Prague with strange man posing underneath

Lake break in Tabor before we even started riding for the day

Teepoo, yes not a spelling error, in Cernovice

One of many castles we passed by

Watermelon break

Life is a highway

Play time in Cesky Krumlov

View of Cesky Krumlov

Artsy shot on the way to St. Poelton, Austria

Debating on whether to trade my bike in for an elephant, probably will cost too much to feed it

Coffee and dessert time, don't worry they weren't all mine

Bratislava

Entering Hungry

Chain bridge in Budapest

last day of riding

After a night of being caught in a thunder and lightning storm and staying in a zimmer frei, I started my last day of riding to Budapest, and of course it was raining. Rode for 40 km and stopped for brunch at a hotel restaurant that was serving a buffet. It was closing in 15 minutes so the group of us ravenously ate our first plate and quickly went back for seconds. Coffee, tea, eggs, cheese, deli meat, buns, brownies, and fruit. So delicous! After eating we saw another pod ride by so I sprinted out the door barefoot and chased them down. Turns out they spent the night in a bus stop. Then we waited around for our support driver to drop off another rider.

Once we finally hit the road again it was blue skies, perfect conditions for riding.

Hit budapest in the afternoon, got the address to the accomadation andthwn stopped at the blue tomato for food and a celebratory brewski. The place was recommended by a local who also poiinted us in the right direction of our accom as we were on the wrong streeet.

Budapest, what a beautiful city, byfsr my favorite place on this tour. So glad I have a few extra days here beote flying home.

Prague

In Prague today for another day off. The city is so beautiful. Last night we had no set accomadation so when we arrived into town the first thing we did was set off to find a place to sleep for the night. We ended up finding a nunnery. There were some very strict rules to follow but there was a bathroom, a kitchen and a roof over our heads so we couldnt really complain. We needed to all be inside by 9 pm which was kind of sad since we all wanted to go out and explore the night life of prague. the other thing was that we had to be super quiet and had to be out by 8am. Oh well an early start to the day means more time to explore the city and so far I am liking what I am seeing.

I love how all these towns are so old and the buildings are so beautiful with so much history. i alwazs forget how young canada is relative to europe.

this trip has made me realize how addicted to coffee i really am. its a sad but true fact. Well actully caffiene and sugar. I have consumed so much coffee, baked goods and Fanta.

when leaving germany and entering the czech republic we did it along a bike path, but once we got onto the roads you could really notice the difference. Thhere are less bike paths, or they are poorly marked. The roads are in poorer conditions. The people seem shyer possibly less friendlier and less people speak English which makes asking for directions when i get lost a lot harder.

The weather has finally heated up. It feels like its in the 30s but I actually have no idea how hot it is. All i can say is that when i am just standing in the sun, i am sweating and sweating profusely. we have followed the Elbe river the last couple of days and there have been many times where i feel like pulling over and jumping in the river to cool off. the only thing holding me back other than the fact that i am a poor swimmer is that the water looks disgustingly dirty.

Dresden

Had the day off today in Dresden, Germany. We stayed in an elementary school last night and had to be out of the gym at 7 am. We had a little meet and greet with one the classes at 7:30am. They were learning English and knew a few words but conversation was very sparse. One of the students could speak English so he was able to translate a short presentation about Canada and what we are doing with this bike ride. It was pretty cool to interact with kids who didnt understand a lot of what we were saying. It was mutually beneficial because they got to practice there English and we learned a little German.

So there has been quite a bit of structure to our ride days, yet there have also been a ton of random happenings as well. Yesterday morning I went on a trampoline before hitting the road. I have run through a field of daisies. I have consumed a fair amount of donars and Fantas, mmm delicous. I have run into a few bike issues but so far nothing that has prevented me from riding. I have been through torrential down pours (thought I left the rainy weather in Vancouver, i guess it followed me) and 30 degreee weather as well.

The last couple rides were 100 km days. Really give you a chance to find out how mentally tough you are. Other riders help with the song rides, singing songs, boga (bike yoga), stopping for picture oppurtunities and ridiculous amounts of laughter to the  point where I have to stop riding at times or I might fall off my bike.

All the hosts we have had along the way have been amazing and I cant thank them enough for putting up with 17 riders for the night. this trip would not be possible without them.

I had my first bike crash on the way to Wittenburg. Don't worry I am okay, just a few scrapes. it didnt happen while riding on the shoulder of  a road or highway which i have found to be scarier than a bike path. But along one of the bike paths while traveling downhill there was an upcoming corner, the rider in front of me made it through no problem and at that point I was already hitting the breaks but once I saw her go through I let go of the brakes. Bad choice. Just as I hit the corner I saw the mud. Too late to do anything but prepare to eat some pavement. Some how I got unclipped and I flew to the left and my bike went to the right. I basically belly flopped, ripped a nice hole in my ride jersey and cut open my hand but that was the only damage to me. My bike did take some damage. The rear brake level took the worst of it, actually it was the only thing damaged. A plastic bit broke off so it is a little wobbly but the brake still works fine. I have fastened a splint using my helmet cam foam and some electrical tape. looks odd but its doing the job.

Yikes, that is a very sporadic blog, but thats the way my mind is working right now. its hard to remember everything and find a place with internet to blog.

Signing out from Germany,

Nicole

Holland in Review

My first taste of Europe was in holland and I am not sure if any other European country can to that. The first two nights with the groupbwere spent camping, doing orientation and getting to meet all the other riders whom I'll be spending the next 4.5 weeks with. I have to admit I love all of them and we are only a couple days into the ride. 15 canadians and 2 americans. We are such a diverse group of people so bit only will I learn a tom from travelling but also from within this group.

The first day of riding was only 45 km but a majority of it was into a very strong headwind. We left around 11 in the morning and arrived in utrect at around 3 pm. Our accomadation for that night was in a ladies home that I contacted through couch surfing. She lived right in re downtown area along a canal. She prepared dinner for us with the help of a few or her friends, one of whom was a chef. 95% of the food was attained by dumpster diving whichbis why she was able to cook us such a large dinner. There was nothing wrong with the food but stores waste so much becuase the package is dirty or dented or other various reasons. Long story short dinner was delicoius as was brekkie. After dinner we wereanle to use wifi, I went canoeing on then canal, and then we had wine along the canal by a camp fire. The perfect night.

The next daybwe rode 55km to Waginegen. Here we stayed in a student housing compound.

Holland thus far

Met the team. Love the team. There are 17 of us in total, 15 canadians and 2 Americans. Everyone isbfrom different areas so of is cool to learn about every person and where they are from. I have learned so much in the last couple of days from other riders and people we randomly meet.

In holland, the rules of the road are slightly different that in Canada. Right of way first goes to bicycles then pedestrians and finally cars. In Vancouver, pedestrians definitely have the right of way. I love riding around holland on my bike is way faster than walking and sometimes faster than a car. I was only almost hit by a scooter twice which are also allowed in bike lanes. Every street has a bike lane and some are bikes only. Love it.

Favorite food so far: chocolate covered waffles. So delicous, they have huge sugar crystals inside of them.

First day of riding today. It was only suppose to be a 40 km ride but it turned out to be closer to 60 km. And we rode the majority of it into a head wind.

Sorry about the little detail but I'm off the a bonfire along the canal.

Good night from Utrecht, Holland.

The joys of time

Tuesday morning i was up at 8:00 am and flew out of Seattle at 1:40 pm. Napped on the plane fo maybe 90 minutes and landed in Amsterdam at 8:30 am local time or just after midnight in Vancouver. Once I got to my hotel I napped for 2 hours and then I was off to find a place to watch the hockey game at 2am. Returned to the hotel at 5:30 am and went straight to bed. I was suppose to get up at 7:30 am to go into town but I couldn't get out of my bed. I gotnleft begin and went back to sleep. I woke up at 5:00 pm, went for a 90 minute bike ride, picked up dimmer returned to the hotel. It's not almost 11 pm so hopefully if I got bed soon I can get my sleep cycle back on track.

We are planning on seeing some tourist attractions tomorrow. I did get my first taste of Amsterdam last night/rrally early this morning. The architecture, the canals and the people are so amazing. There is a bicycle parking Lot just outside the central sstation that is three stories high. The buildigs are so old and slanted. The canals are everywhere.

I saw my first Dutch windmill and tomorow I plan on finding the flower market.

I wanted to attach some pictures but no can do as I am writng this on my
iPod which explains the poor spelling. Hopefully everything still makes sense.

Good night from holland,

Nicole

Travel day setbacks

Flight was scheduled for 1:40 pm out of Seattle so my parents and I drve down Monday afternoon and stayed the night to avoid an early rushed Tuesday morning. We arrived at the airport in plenty of time and having checked in online I lined up to check my bag straight away. When I got to the counter I put my bike box on the scale and it weighed in at a whopping 74 lbs which is apparently 4 lbs over the limit and the lady said "we can't put that on the plane". Um what? The whole purpose of this trip is to ride my bike. So I had to openly bf and remove some weight so it would only weigh 70. In the end it weighed 68.9 lbs. Phew.

Next I had to drop it off at oversized baggage. There the officer looked at the strapping which I had just undone by hand to take out some weight said "you can't have these straps". Yikes, day is not starting out so well. I stayed to watch him unstrap my box and take everything to swab it and check for radiation. He finally finished and then started putting the straps back on. All good.

Next I had to clear security and obviously this is where I said goodbye to my parents. I had to admit there were some tears, I've never been away frommy parents for this long and across the world on a different continent.

Advice from my dad "don't do anything stupid". Thanks dad! Love you guys!

Everything else went smoothly, got on the plane and arrived in amsterd no problem. Picked upmy bike and then headed outside to find the shuttle to my hotel. Of course it was late so I had a minor panic attack but then it showed up and I was all good. Then I pushed my cart towards the shuttle and the driver was like I can't take that box, and I was like what? And in my head. Was thinking you are a freaking shuttle bs what do you mean you can't fit my bike on the bus. I must admit the compartments underneath the bus were quite small but he didn't even offer to try. I had to convince him it would fit. The first compartment did not but the second one fit no problem. He said I was the exception and if he had more passengers with baggage he would not have been able to take me. Bullshit. I'm a hotel guest and have just as much of a right t ride that shuttle withy extremely large box as any other smuck. I didn't want toake a big scene and I got on the shuttle and kept mouth shut.

And now I sit here inky hotel waiting to meet up with Katie, Julie and Gabe and think back on all the advice I have been given:
Don't do anything stupid
Don't die
Have fun
Take lots of pictures
Go to all the places they tell you not to
Don't forget me
Buy me something nice(I guess that's more a request than advice)
Stick to the buddy system.

Thanks everyone for the advice, good or bad.

Signing out from Amsterdam for the first time,

Nicole

Bike Box Packing

 Let's just say good thing I started a day early. Originally I thought it would only take my about half an hour to pack up my bike to take on the plane. Definitely not the case. The first hour was spent taking my bike apart and deciding which bike box I was going to use. I came to the conclusion that the two boxes I had were not going to work. Off to the bike store I went to get another box. I got a third box, this one packed slightly different and would require me to take of the rear wheel but makes it easier to fill the box with the rest of my gear. Another hour past with me trying to figure how to arrange the frame and the wheels in the box. At this point I was getting very sleepy so I put packing on hold and had a solid 90 minute nap, ate some food and then got back at.

Now, I had everything arranged the way I wanted but I still needed to make the box wider so I used one of the other boxes to cut strips out and increase the width of my current box by about 2 inches. Then I started zap straping everything  and filling the spaces with all my gear that I don't want/need for the plane ride. Everything was wrapped in foam or bubble wrap. Oh bubble wrap so entertaining.

Everything I wanted to be in the box fit and I had to double check that all the pieces I took off my bike ended up in that box so when I get to Amsterdam I will be able to fully assemble my bike (no idea how long that will take me, but should be a very entertaining process).  From start to finish, only took me 7 hours, no big deal.

 Next I put the lid back on the box, covered it in fragile stickers, added my name, address and phone number, and Dad strapped it shut.

That was all done last night. When I got up this morning, I was informed by my Mom that I was going to have to open the box and remove the derailleur. I actually didn't take to long to open the box, remove the one screw that attached the derailleur and then seal the box again. Whew. Of course my dad supervised and helped throughout the entire process. I am just hoping that it makes it to Amsterdam safely and I will be able to put it back together on my own.

My First Tire Change

Rating: 6 out of 10

With the supervision of my dad, I attempted to change my tire this evening, as I was too exhausted to actually ride but I felt my bike was in dire need of attention. Today, was my first attempt after watching Rob from Caps South Shore do it. I was able to get it off no problem, the putting it back on was the more difficult part.

My dad was on hand to make sure I didn't screw anything up and to make sure I did everything in the right order. The hardest part was the last couple of steps which were making sure the beading was even (the tire was centered all the way around the rim) and to fully inflate the tire. My little hand pump is going to force me to build up my guns to get enough pressure into my tires. Hopefully, I won't be fixing a flat too often on the road because 90% of the time it takes me to do so well be spent pumping up my tires.

I didn't time myself but I feel it took me way longer than it should have. Oh well, it was just my first attempt, things will only get easier.

Minor Details

So much can be accomplished if you just put your mind to it. This past weekend a lot of biking and bike maintenance ideas were going through my mind, and to no surprise my mind wanders and then starts thinking about what I still need to buy to pack and then I start thinking about how awesome my pictures are going to be and how I'll be carrying 20Gb of memory space and then in one of the many bike stores I was in this weekend, a helmet cam caught my attention. Yowza those things are expensive. I've already spend way more money on this trip than I originally planned on, but oh well, it's kind of a once in a lifetime trip, so I have been able to justify every cent I have spent so far. Anyways back to this helmet cam, it is not nearly as fancy nor does it look as good as ones you can buy in the but I believe it will serve it purpose and it cost me next to nothing. Simple yet effective. I should probably have taken off the sticker that is still on my camera but oh well. 

So for the next 21 days, I will spend my free time training and tying up all the lose ends. I still need to lock down to more nights of accomadations, one in the Netherlands and one in Germany. I need to buy rain gear and I need to phone my airline to see if there is a cheaper way to ship my bike to Europe. Just a few minor details to take care of. As I get closer to departure the excitement raises and the nervousness is pushed aside.

Packing List

I have been finishing off the shopping for my trip. I have a few small things left to pick up like rain pants, shoe covers, buy some euros, and get a power adapter. I still have a few decisions to make on amount of extra clothing and footwear I want to take/have room for. The amount of cash I want to carry with me. So many minor details that I need to take care of in the next few weeks. June is coming faster and faster.

I have picked up in training and now that I have bought new panniers I will begin to add weight to my training sessions. I also now have a new training buddy which will make my training more enjoyable.

I have picked up a few lonely planet books from the library and will begin reading them over the next couple of days to see what kinds of things I want to see in Amsterdam and Budapest, and also what types of things I should expect to see while Europe.

Last weekend, I was at Metrotown for a the ride-a-thon supporting the Pacific Coast Riders that leave in two weeks on their trip. I rode for maybe two hours on bikes that were too big where I could barely reach the pedal when it was at its lowest point. Highlight of the day was when an older gentlemen was flirting with one of the guy riders...

The Search for Accomadations and the Language Barrier

Today, I started looking for accommodations for the tour. I am responsible for the first few days while were are in the Netherlands and the first day of Germany. The internet of course was my first resource and the contacts of the places the riders stayed at last year. I have sent out some emails and now I have to wait for what hopefully will be a positive response. While on my search of these cities, I have been looking for cool things to see/do in each one. Some have links to things that are not in English. This makes me sad yet happy. Sad that I don't understand a darn thing on the page, but  happy that hopefully I'll pick up some new languages or at least a few words while on this trip.

So if you know any good places 25 riders can stay for free in the Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, or Hungry, let me know. Or if you know of any cool things to do or see also let me know and I'll try and check them out while I am there.

The End of Exams

Finally, I have finished my exams. I am currently moving out of my apartment and moving back to my parents as my lease is up at the end of the month. As of right now I am sleeping on a foam mattress and the tv is sitting on the floor. The only part of my apartment that is still intact is the kitchen. Food is the most important, so my ability to eat has been left alone. Sleeping and entertainment are secondary to eating.

So with the stress of exams and moving out of the way, I can begin to focus on the planning and training for my trip.

And it will start with a big shopping trip to MEC tomorrow. I am hoping to stick to my shopping list but every time I end up there I always spend way more money than I plan.

The ride preparations are about to ramp up mentally and physically.

My First Agent Training Ride

On Sunday I participated in my first agent training ride. We met up at Bikes on the Drive at 1l am. From there wewe crossed the Second Narrows Bridge and headed to Deep Cove. It took us about an hour to get there. That bridge is very scary thing to cross. First the pathway is very narrow and makes you have tunnel vision. Plus it gets really windy on the bridge deck, the cars are really close, and the cars go really fast. The path/sidewalk is really bumpy which did not create the greatest feeling in my shoulder.

The bridge climb really tested my mental strength. I made it over the bridge, but it took a lot of me talking to myself to keep pedaling. Oh, did my legs burn when I reached the apex of the bridge. The rest of the way to Deep Cove was rolling hills but they were manageable.

Once we reached Deep Cove we stopped for a little break. We indulged in some delicious donuts from Honeys and a little "grape juice". I must admit that was the most delicious greasiest donut I have ever had.

After our break we headed back to over the bridge and then went on our separate ways.

Riding in group with a specific destination is way better than riding on my trainer in my apartment. The conversation, the company and scenery were magnificent. This ride had definitely increased my excitement for Europe about a bjillion times. I need to put in more training hours, but my legs were not sore the next day but I did feel extremely tired, like I wanted to lie in bed all day but of course the next day I was up at 5:40 to get to work. And life goes on...

A Day of Firsts

I can finally say I have broken in my bike. I went out for a ride yesterday, the first in a while, and went all the way to science world and back. This is the first ride outside since I cut my hair and since I injured my shoulder a few weeks back, so there were a few things I was not expecting. One of which how cold my head would get under my helmet with less hair and due to the fact that there are large vents in my helmet. Second I was not sure how my shoulder would respond to the continuous pressure of leaning over and holding on to the handle bars, let's just say it wasn't the most pleasant experience. I felt every bump in the road and my shoulder kept saying why in the world would you do this to me, you'll regret this later.

As a cyclist when you come up to a pedestrian controlled crossing and you have clip in pedals, you don't normally unclip. Usually you slow down and reach out to this the button and then hold onto the pole until the light changes and then you are on your way again. Well, this process is a little different when your right shoulder hates you at the moment and pain radiates from it whenever an external force is applied to it. So about 30 minutes into my ride I approach the intersection at Boundry on the Frances/Union bike street. I slow down and notice a lot of gravel and the road is kind of uneven. I slow down and then reach out to push the button as more hand comes in contact with the button and then tries to grasp the pole to stabilize myself, the pain again radiates through my shoulder causing  my to lose balance. Of course I am still clipped to my pedals and I am not able to unclip in time so there is nothing I can do but brace myself and wait until I hit the ground. At least it was more embarrassing than painful, as there was another cyclist coming down the hill behind me and I am sure he saw everything. I was up fairly quickly somehow my foot unclipped after I fell, I did a quick check for damage on the bike and then the light turned and then I continued on my way. Wow, even writing about this makes my shoulder ache. Need less to say I started unclipping at every intersection to save my self from more pain and embarrassment.

There was not a lot of damage to report, just a few scratches both on myself and on my bike, thank goodness. But now I can finally stop wondering when the first time will be that 1) I fall while on my bike and 2) when I will not be able to unclip in time and make a fool of myself. Killed two birds with one stone, winning! And my bike doesn't look like I just bought even though I have had it since January.

The second part of firsts is my new hairdo. My roommate can confirm this, that when I got home after and took my helmet off, it looked like I was still wearing it. My hair had taken on the pattern of the vents in my helmet. The picture doesn't do it justice.

Another notable thing from my ride:

It is scary as hell when you are waiting for a light to change so you can go straight. As a cyclist I am on the right side of the lane closest to the curb so I can hit the button. At two separate times, while I was waiting for the light to change, a car would pass me on my left, cut in front of me and make a right turn. both times right before the light was about to change. I must say thank goodness for the motorcycle training engraved in my brain that forces me to shoulder check before I start moving or I may have more than a few scratches to report from this ride. Why are drivers so impatient and feel they can cut cyclists off? I must say that riding a bike on the road is definitely scarier than riding a motorcycle. At least on a motorcycle you can be faster than everything else on the road and you are wearing way more protective gear.

So I am back on track with my training schedule and with school slowing down as I prepare for finals, I don't see why I won't be able to keep pace with my training until I start touring in Europe which I must say is only about 80 days away.

Happy Riding

Recap of Pub Night #2

What a fantastic Friday night, minus the Canucks losing. Thank you to everyone who helped make that night such a success. With the pub ticket and raffle ticket sales as well as little quiz, I was able to raise just under a grand, thats $1000, in just one night. Amazing, and that's thanks to the genorosity of my friends and family, couldnt have done it without you all.

A special thank you to my friend Jenny who helped me organize the games and ensure a smooth flowing evening. I think I still owe you a burger since you didn't get a chance to eat yours.

For now, this caps of my fundraising, until after finals, I need to focus on my classes and get through these last couple of weeks and prepare for final exams. And hopefully ramp up my training as the days left before I leave get less and less.

100 DAYS

There are now 100 days left before I begin the most amazing journey of life. There are still so many things left to do and I am not at all prepared to leave my friends, family, and my country to ride my bicycle for 4.5 weeks in a foreign country on an entirely different continent. 

There is still so much fundraising to do with my pub night coming up, I still have some shirts left, and I have to plan future fundraisers.

I have not yet acquired all my gear for the trip or figured out what I am taking with me or how much I will be able to carry on my bike.

I am more than a month into my training but feel like I have made little or no progress. I am hoping the weather gets a little nicer, so I can actually hit the road instead of riding in my apartment. Being inside is just not the same. 

With the ride itself, there is still a lot of planning to do. Organizing accomadations, planning routes, and even meeting some of the other riders, which I have yet to do. 

And there is always the other factors of school, work, and soccer. Work has been good, it gives me a short break from worrying about school and the ride. School on the other hand has added a whole lot of unwanted stress. I have finished the first round of midterms rather successfully, but now comes presentations, papers, the second round of midterms, and then shortly after final exams. Soccer has always been a good outlet for me to get away from reality and just enjoy a few hours doing something I love and forgetting about everything else.

I am very thankful for all the support I have received from friends and family over the last few months. This all would not be possible without them.

 Photo by Colin Gilliam

Pub Night # 2 Mountain Shadow

Details:
Friday, March 18, 2011
6pm - 9pm
Mountain Shadow Pub
7174 Barnet Road, Burnaby
$15 gets your a burger and a beer

Since I had so much success with my first pub night, I thought I would host a second. This time in Burnaby at the bottom of SFU in hopes of getting more students out. This pub is place where students usually frequent on a Tuesday or Wednesday night for cheap beer and 25 cent wings.

On this particular Friday, the Canucks will be playing the Coyotes which helps draw in a crowd. There will also be a live band after the game and with the help of a few friends I will hopefully be organizing a few games/raffles with prizes.

So, March 18, tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door, and you can contact me for tickets.

Hope to see you all there!

Road Blocks and Detours

Last week was "Reading Break", the university equivalent of high school spring break. This is the first year SFU has had such a break. I am still on the fence about how I feel about this entire week off, because let's be honest, how many students actually spend their week catching up on readings and assignments. Plus, it just extends the semester a week longer shortening the break between semesters. So to no surprise I didn't actually get a chance to hit the books until the end of the week. Of course, I had reading and studying to catch up on but the lack of scheduled class gives you a false sense of freedom to do things out of the regular schedule.

For instance, on Monday after I got off work I headed home to get a haircut. Not just a trim, I chopped off enough hair to meet the 12 inch requirement to donate my hair to Angel Hair for Kids so a wig could be made for children who have lost their hair due to medical conditions or treatment.  http://www.acvf.ca/index.php/our-programs/angel-hair-for-kids/ I am now sporting a very chilling, low maintenance buzz cut. Toques have become a very important part of my wardrobe, who knew how much hair insulated you noggin. My friend Caitlin at work is also sporting the buzz cut and she is the reason I got involved with this organization.

On Tuesday I headed up to Whistler Village post 2010 Winter Olympics for the day to take in the sights and do a little shopping.My favorite part of the day by far would have to be the delicious whale tale I consumed. Mmmm deep fried cinnamon sugary goodness with a little bit of lemon.

As you can see the week for me was not designed to get a lot off school work done. Just because class was not in session, did not mean my work schedule changed either. The early mornings to make sure I caught the bus on time continued and were one off my least favorite parts of the week.

With all my adventures of the week and a few sleepless nights, this left little time to get my training in. I made it to soccer practice Wednesday night, but the 4 days I should have spent on the bike got reduced to 2. I made sure when I did get on the bike, the duration of the sessions were long enough to improve my endurance which will be key when I get to Europe and need to travel upwards of 80 km a day. At least now with my new fluid trainer I can put in hours on the bike without even leaving my apartment and it is quiet enough that I can watch TV while riding. Makes the hour ride a little less boring while avoiding the treacherous wintery conditions a top Burnaby Mountain.

I did get the chance to do a little bike maintenance. I cleaned, adjusted and lubed my chain. It now runs smoothly and there is no more clicking noise. 

As always there are little road blocks in detours in life, but it is all about how you adjust and react to them. Sometimes a set schedule (ie training schedule) is more of a guideline that should be followed as closely as possible but there is always room for flexibility.

It's T-Shirt Tiiimmmeeeee!

Some of you may already know that I have spent the last 2 months designing, collecting sponsors, making color decisions and finalizing the design of my T-SHIRTS.

Colin Gilliam, co-founder of Origami Ghost, helped me with the t-shirt design and printing. I started on my own in December with a fairly simple bicycle drawing and a few ideas about design. Then I passed it off to Colin. He digitalized it, added color, and sent me a few variations of design with my ideas incorporated in. Some of the major decisions included what color design, how many colors, what type of ink, what style of shirt, and how many shirts in each size.

Colin was super helpful throughout the entire process, helping with decisions, providing his opinion, adding some pretty cool design ideas, and taking care of the printing. I am very grateful for all his help, the t-shirts would definitely not have turned out so amazing if I did not have is help in this entire process.

On the back side of the shirt there are some company logos that have supported me along my journey:
The Peak Center for Human Performance
The Right Shoe
SportMed
Paris Orthotics
Origami Ghost

And of course Global Agents is also there as they are the reason behind the making of these shirts.

The design on the back is of tire treads with the company logos within.

I am selling the shirts for $15 and all proceeds are going towards reaching my fund raising goal of $2500.

If you would like a shirt, you can reach me at globalagentnicole@gmail.com

Front

Back

Thanks for all your support!!!