Rolf Devinci

I headed down to the South Shore to cycle the  Bridgewater Century ride today under blue skies and bright sunshine. With Hurricane Irene blowing up the Eastern seaboard the timing of the ride was perfect....tomorrow looks like wind and rain. Ran into clubmate Scott in the parking lot awaiting our police escort through town. Not quite sure how many riders were out today but it was a good size pack heading through downtown Bridgewater . The police escort delivered us to Hebbville where the ride began in earnest as we proceeded out towards Wileville on the first leg of the 110(ish) km loop. I was unsure what my ride plans were at that point. I was considering attempting to hang with the lead(fast) group for the challenge but also wanted to enjoy the beautiful day, car free roads and scenery at a easier pace. I also had camera in tow and planned to snap some photos of the event as it unfurled from my perspective while on the bike. . I closed the gap to the lead pack ...

 I got side swiped tonight while on my bike by a car turning left in the intersection of Main and Dunbrack. Approaching the traffic lights  I  began to proceed through the green light when a red Mini Cooper accelerated onto my 9 o'clock. Instinctively I stood up and stomped on the pedals and automatically turned the bike left into the lane as the car was turning left from the opposite direction. I recall it like a slow motion macabre dance although in real time it occurred in scant seconds.  The Mini's front quarter panel caressed the rear triangle of my bike and "pushed" me sideways as I tried to avoid getting T-boned. I managed to keep the bike upright while concentrating on getting out of the intersection before becoming someone else's potential road kill.  Might have been a different story had the vehicle not had the low profile grill of the Mini Cooper. I recall seeing my left foot pass by...

 Today I finalized my sprinting regimen by locating a good location that offered a decent surface that was a good compromise between comfort and efficiency. It was also close to home and since it was a junior high school soccer pitch it was well maintained. The bonus was there were two orange cones left at the bleachers so I was able to determine a definite start/end point.   The field was grass but the tendancy hereabouts is to mow the grass more frequently along the soccer sidelines to facilitate chalking the lines. As a result I literally have a "lane" that is short(er) grass and a chalk line to follow.   After some stretching and pre sprint drills I ran several untimed 70 metre warmup sprints. The new track shoes feel much better on the short grass although I didn't notice any difference using the stainless steel spikes. Well until I did my first timed sprint anyway.......shattered my personal best @70 metres with a 10:73 time. Holy track shoes Batman! T...

 I often will forage the markets, kiosks and stores looking for local Primal friendly foods. In the most unlikely of places I discovered a small general/natural food store while cycling home from a club ride. http://www.yellowpages.ca/bus/Nova-Scotia/Halifax/Natures-Cove-General-Store/7652867.html  Happy that they carry the samel local free range eggs I usually buy at the Seaport market I was more excited to discover they sell flats of free range eggs (30) for only $8.00 CDN. Seems the egg buying public prefers large eggs so these medium/small eggs are discounted by the farmer. Who cares if they are smaller? They all cook up the same and free range eggs for less than thirty cents each is awesome. Nature's Cove General store is located on the Bedford Highway and also carries a full range of local free range meats including pork and beef products. With the exception of the bacon the meats are all frozen but the producer - Meadowbrook - has re...

 The track and field spikes arrived in the mail on Thursday and I had an opportunity to give them a whirl. The fit was good, they are still quite light for a mid distance shoe and are definitely a minimalist style of footware.   Back to the softball diamond where I opted to test sprint them on the groomed and soft(er) surface of the infield opposed to the hard packed adjacent trail. From the backstop to the edge of the grass behind second base the distance was about 40 metres. After some stretches and drills I did some warmup sprints.Then came the test. Three sprints in my regular runners and three in the new shoes(without spikes added). I was definitely faster in the track spikes averaging about an eight millisecond improvement over c.40 metres.   Since some softball league players were arriving and probably curious what the heck I was doing I vacated the diamond to the trail and did three 70 metre sprints on the harder surface.Best time was 11:60 but...

Just pre registered for this "Gran Fondo on Nova Scotia's South Shore" so now it is down to a weather watch hoping we get a nice late summer day for the event. This will be my second attendance at the ride having done it last season. It is a nice course, complete with a (hard pack) dirt road section, some quiet rural roads and takes you along the scenic Lahave river with one challenging climb to Mount Pleasant(oh the irony) before returning to Bridgewater. Last year I rode the event at a relaxed pace(I was racing the Provincial time trial championship the following day) and revisited my old stomping grounds; Bridgewater is my home town, Chelsea is my parent's homesteads and, as a youth, I often cycled to Risser's beach along the Lahave river. This year I hope to challenge the pace since there are no committments the next day. With the cancelation of the stage race last weekend my race season is now over as I will no...

 Every now and then I like to experiment with my way of eating by adding or removing specific foods from my diet. Usually they are the "grey area" foods that are considered borderline in the paleo/primal/ancestral nutritional camps. There is no real intent other than to gauge how they affect me and whether I notice any digestive/physiological changes. I adhere to a belief that nutrition really comes down to a personal thing and you need to find out what foods work for you and what foods don't. The easiest way to accomplish that is to abstain for a period of time, record how you feel then reintroduce that food.Often you may be able to determine that you can handle certain foods in limited amounts(your tipping point) or just certain varients of a particular food(ie; fermented). I have noticed about five pounds of weight gained since adding cream back into my diet so removing it should see my weight stabilize back at normal levels(190-192 lbs)...

 If you have been following my blog you know that I have embraced sprinting over distance running as it gives me a time efficient yet challenging workout to supplement my cycling fitness while having less(repetitive) impact upon my body. Been doing some reading about sprint drills and proper technique when I stumbled upon the current schism within the running world; shod versus barefoot. Insert somewhere within that spectrum the latest thing - minimalist shoes that mimic barefoot but offer some protection and coverage. I have been somewhat familiar with the concept of barefoot running due to the fact it has become popular within the paleo/primal/ancestral nutrition camps but being a cyclist I never really paid much attention. That changed somewhat since adopting sprinting as a crosstraining tool. Being a heel striker I found it interesting that the vast majority of runners are as well and the (resulting) debate over whether modern shoes(geared to prevent ...

An actual cycling post? I will admit that my saddle time of late has been scant indeed between the rainy weather and a house painting project. Having once again skipped the usual Saturday club ride to continue painting on my mother's house I was happy to get on the bike today. Jumped in a ride heading to Cow Bay via Dartmouth, Waverley and Bedford. Having arrived at the shop after a 10 km warmup I was keen to log some milage considering a three part stage race is scheduled for next Sunday.  A group of six riders comprised our Sunday morning group and based upon the attendees I expected a brisk pace for the 80 km loop. On a rolling hills course with a few tougher climbs I was curious to see how the legs responded considering my recent lack of training.I had the advantage early since I already had ten kilometres in the legs and was ready to roll and was feeling prime from the outset.  A solid group of veteran riders...

I have recently re-evaluated running and whether the impact on my body is worth the potential cross training benefits.I have issues.I overpronate my left foot with my right foot being neutral. I am a heel striker. I also have some spinal subluxation issues with my back and, more recently,with my neck and shoulder - the unfortunate legacy of a bike crash.  I am not a naturally gifted runner and will admit that I do not enjoy running. It does not compare to the freedom and fun of bicycling but was always a means to a fitness end - I hate to run but love the burn. This past winter I discovered the concept of Tabata sprints while searching for options and began incorporating them into my training. Run distance no longer mattered but rather intensity had become the focus. I switched from a plodding style of running(getting progressively twisted as the distance increased) to sprint...