The weather was cold and windy, but I was at the cottage. My happy spot. Saturday.
With some determination and plain old stubbornness, I forced myself out into the wind and the light rain. Cold or not, wind or rain, I know I will enjoy it.... I just have to get out there. Sure enough that's exactly how it went down; or at least for the first 7.5K.
My left calf had been giving me grief for some time and as the week went on and on, I knew that it was starting to seize up - that, combined with a 0 stretch regimen had most likely put me in a deficit. Regardless of the ache, I know that once I am out there it has a tendency to settle down and do its job with out much complaint. Well, at exactly the 7.67K mark I had that old familiar twinge. I have had it about three other times in my life and all of them have ended badly with me not running for several weeks - 6 being the longest. It feels like someone had snuck up behind me and stabbed me forcefully with a needle. I was not pushing myself to begin with in a pathetic effort to protect it, but, I knew that if I did not stop immediately, I was going to end up in the 6 week category and not the 6 day one.
Thus, without any hint of ceremony, I hit stop in my Garmin and proceeded to walk. It was around this point that I was rounding the back of the 6th hole of the golf course and decided to climb under the fence and walk the course home. Very pretty walk.... just me the deer and the geese... even if it was gusting to 60KMPH.
Here's the waves at the pier.
The bikes look so lonely in a rack that is usually packed all summer.
Up on the Southern ridge of the gravel pit.
With no real course in mind we set out and made out way to Pelican Point as we rounded the point, I felt that something was wrong with the rear cassette of my 25 year old Giant Ascent. Well, wouldn't you know it, the rear cassette was spitting ball bearings and it was all over. I am so proud to say that I wore it out after 25 years.... pretty cool stuff. That said, I managed to get it into semi working condition and limped home to exchange bikes.
From there I took B-doggle's Giant 17 inch - a wee bit small for me, but what the hey, you only live once. Coming down to the beach was an absolute scream. Wind in your face and you had to make a consorted effort to make any head way at all.
A few minuted later after battling out way down 8th we ended up detouring into the Cafe Krauss for an hour of laughs and port.... there was an offer of absinthe, but cooler heads prevailed and we decided to procrastinate until an evening when none of us had to drive.
After prying ourselves off the couch and downing the last bit of port we made our way home via the ski trail behind the gravel pit and winding our way by the curling club and home past the golf course. Nothing too spectacular, but a memorable day, nevertheless.
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