Rolf Devinci

In the glass tonight is a 2006 Trapiche Malbec. One of the well priced selections from this Argentinian estate it..."...exhibits a lively red color and aromas of plum and cherry.....well rounded and supple." Very nice! It`s been a long week so it`s nice to finally reach Friday night. Baked a ham for supper so there is lots of leftovers for the weekend and, eventually, a home made pea soup. Very nice! Other than my son raving at his latest Wii game like it is alive and purposely trying to annoy him and my daughter who is pretending to be Hannah Montana I`m actually chilling out......deciding factor might be the wine.LOL. Heading to the gym in the morning.....gonna do a cardio day. Spin class and a run afterwards. My shoulder is feeling better but I will avoid the weights since I play hockey on Sunday and it will be nice to actually play painfree. Look out Monday though......(sigh). Have a great weekend. Ciao

In my September 08 2007 post I wrote about a friend(S)who crashed during the bike leg of a triathlon yet finished the competition only to find out later in Nova Scotia the extent of the damage. After months of rehab it was determined that surgery was necessary to fix the shoulder(see photo)which requires a bone graph from the hip(see photo). I quote; One week post surgery. Turns out that besides the broken clavicle that needed a plate, I also have a frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis), most likely caused from being immobilized in the sling the first time around. The surgeon manipulated the shoulder while I was under anesthesia to help break up the scar tissue that had formed. Fun, fun, it feels like someone took a baseball bat and hit me about 20 times. Upon looking at the pics I commented that post op must not have been a pleasant experience and S replied(I quote); Not so much, couldn't tolerate any pain meds. because of extreme nausea, just went with regular tylenol once ...

End of another week!Got soaked during the usual Metro Transit commuting routine after work with high winds and pelting rain. Could be worse....usually in January it is driving snow. Had a nice surprise when I got home feeling rather sodden and cranky. Not only did I have a bottle of Masi Modello Delle Venezie in the basement for just a miserable night but I got a letter today in the post. This is not a commonly known fact but many years ago I decided to give back to the global community and sponsor a child through Foster Parents Plan Canada. I tend to keep my charitable works close to my chest but this is kinda neat.I asked for the next child on the list,regardless of gender, religion or nationality and became a foster parent to Djouwera Batchana, a Muslim girl in the West African nation of Togo. In the mail today I got an update letter from Plan Togo, outlining how my sponsorship benefits Djouwera, her family and community. Also included were a couple photos. In the past photos Djo...

Taking some of that updated theory I gleaned from MSN`s Health and Fitness pages to the gym I flipped my usual routine tonight. Usually I start with some stretching, followed by ab/core work and then cardio; either spin class or running followed by some weight training if time permits. Aparently recent studies have shown(in Geo`s layman`s terms)that by starting a workout with some intense cardio that focuses more on effort that time spent spikes the metabolism and causes the body to burn more fat than more of a gradual endurance approach. In terms of my running I usually book the mandatory 20 minutes on the treadmill and log a solid/steady run. Tonight I did the opposite...... after some stretching I did some serious interval training. Running at a pace that was comfortable but hard(near my lactate theshold)I sprinted every 5 minutes in 1-2 minutes increments and then incorporated some active recovery before the next sprint.Wow...... talk about feeling the love. After a moderate powe...

"I`ve got to breathe - I can`t keep going under..." Evanescence About six months ago, disappointed by the cycling season, I decided it was time to re-evaluate my priorities. Simple fact of the matter was I had too many irons in the fire. I was dealing with the demands of my job,demands of my family and unrealistic athletic expectations while trying to squeeze every little minute out of every little day. I reached that point where I knew it was unsustainable so I decided it was time to identify the important things and focus on them. In terms of cycling(racing)I realized it was not possible to train and compete for all events. So I decided to be selective and choose those events that suited my training opportunities and skills.(See Time Trial post) In terms of work I also realized the company will not crumble if I take a day off rather than lose POD days(use them or lose them)because of some over zealous work ethic. Heading into 2008 I will take advantage of those days.......

My main cycling objective for the 2008 season is the individual time trial discipline. With at least two races on the BNS race schedule, a BPCC and Cyclesmith club time trial series, the Investors Group Team triathlon event and a possible duathlon(or more depending upon my run training)I decided in the Fall of 2007 to focus my attention upon some needed equipment. By selling spare equipment and cycling apparel on Ebay I was able to procure the following; Pez bullhorn handlebar,stem and aerobars, Dura Ace 9 speed bar end shifters complete with cables and a set of Cane Creek aerobrakes and cables. The premise being I would add the ITT setup on my road bike when needed. It would be a hassle switching back and forth but is a necessary evil as I cannot justify the cash outlay for a time trial specific bike for such a limited schedule. As it stands now any major purchase would be a drivetrain upgrade to my current road bike and the original Shimano 9 speed Ultegra-105 group. That said it s...

My sister and brother in law (who reside in Brisbane) recently returned from a cruise along the Great Barrier Reef.Awesome underwater shots! Check it out at.... http://www.thedickinsons.blogspot.com/ Geo

Have I lost it? Dazed and confused? Thursday Night wine.......what gives? Chelsea won tickets to the Halifax Mooseheads tomorrow night so in lieu of my usual Friday night wine indulgence I am having a glass of 2005 Valle de Colchagua merlot tonight. Estate bottled by Vina Chilcaya it has...."Cherry and plum flavors supported by a hint of toasty oak and vibrant acidity..." Having picked up the bottle before Christmas just to stock up in case of company and needing a merlot I opted to give it a try. I generally like merlots and this is OK.It has an unique flavor and, perhaps,it is the "toasty oak" alluded to in the promo. Nice deep red color and it does make your cheeks tingle. What a bloody day. I slept in so it was a frantic rush to get to work,forgot about garbage day so that was an additional delay and it was COLD! Hovering around -30 with a NNW windchill. Crikey - I near perished standing at the bus stop. Got to Mumford and watched my connecting bus depart as I w...

Happy New Year. It was a beautiful day hereabouts so I decided to take advantage of the blue, albeit cold,winter skies and take a walkabout. Chelsea opted to join me so we had a pleasant jaunt around the neighborhood ending with coffee and hot chocolate at the local Tim Horton`s. Later in the afternoon I solo`ed a walk around the Whopper Dropper, a local MTB trail network. I had visited Chapter`s after lunch and after fueling myself with a grande coffee from Starbucks I decided it was too nice not to get some more fresh air. My shoulders and neck have been just miserable of late with an aching stiffness so it felt good to just get outside and walk. The Whopper Dropper had some beaten down paths so it was easy to move even though there was a fair amount of snow on the ground. January 1 was a pretty good day - fresh air, quality time with my daughter and lots of java. Nice. Geo