Rolf Devinci

Today was my return to playing nets at Sunday ballhockey for the first time since my bike crash on the Thanksgiving weekend. I have played out for a couple games and all felt good so today was the test to see how the knee felt playing goal, specifically the demands of post to post mobility. Still sore to the touch the knee worked fine, albeit in a losing effort. I lost the coin toss and didn't get the first draft today so the opposing goalie ended up with the first, third and fifth picks.Since we were missing a couple skilled players today he definitely ended up with the stronger team. Luck in the draft also meant he had an extra spare which played a role later on in the day when fatigue became a factor. I was rusty! Not seeing the ball well and turning it over behind my own net in an attempt to clear the play. My game quickly because nothing more than making myself as big a target as possible in an attempt to stop the ball. . Despite the speed, s...

Guess the title says it all. Having narrowly avoided get struck down by a car last month described here.... http://rolfdevinci.blogspot.com/2011/08/caress-of-steel-precautionary-tale.html ....I was not so lucky this time. On the Fall Thanksgiving weekend Saturday I opted to ride the usual BPCC club ride. Leaving Bedford via Rocky lake road we cycle the Windsor Junction road then climb the hill on Fall River road to Fall River. After the groups all reassemble some opt to cycle out to Laurie Park while others may head back to the shop via the Waverley and Rocky lake roads. Since I have not been cycling much of late other than bike commuting to work I opted to join the second group departing the shop. In fact I hesitated in my decision and had to chase back to the group from the start after getting caught at some red lights in Bedford. Eventually I joined both PD and JM who had dropped back after the two groups had merged. BPCC has a club ride policy that groups shoul...

 I was involved in a car bicycle accident this past Saturday and suspect I initially impacted the pavement with my forehead.Not a good idea to lead with one's head but it happened so fast that it was unavoidable.  Bike helmets work. Plain and simple they work to prevent more SERIOUS injuries from occuring. I walked away apparently unconcussed from the accident thanks to a Bell Sweep helmet. I recall hitting the ground on my forehead just past the hairline then shoulder rolling towards the curbside. The force of the impact was enough to cause a large contusion on my forehead.The second picture is today as the swelling has gone down but is beginning to bruise. Having checked the helmet yesterday to see how it faired in the crash I was surprised to see that it appears to have remained intact. Further investigations revealed how the foam shell worked as it was designed by absorbing the blunt impact forces. I painted the cracks for better visual...

Today was the start of the 2011-2012 Sunday Ball Hockey season and my return to a winter of goaltending. I was looking forward to the start of hockey and actually got an early primer on Thursday night. Scheduled to play out I got the "call" late that day to play nets as the regular goalie was unable to make it. I have made a change this season by picking up a newer pair of goalie pads over the winter. The Itechs are much lighter than my old leather Browns with a smaller side profile but much improved protection and strapping, including a thigh pad. I also picked up a goalie specific jersey which is way more comfortable with far less restriction and binding of my regular style jerseys. In hinesite it was good to play goal on Thursday. It gave me an opportunity to test the new pads and make adjustments accordingly before todays match. I needed to punch some new holes in the straps to snug up the pads to my comfort which made a world of difference this afternoon. Other th...