Tour de France 2008

This year I’m not blogging the stages of the Tour de France. I’m still watching, a little, every night. It started July 5th and continues til the 27th. At the moment there is four seconds’ difference separating the top three riders. But between work and exercise I don’t have the time to watch all of every stage. As usual, I’d like to record every stage in the hope of watching them later, perhaps even during the winter while pedaling on an indoor bike. But we’re only using one tape: if I don’t watch it in the evening, it’s wiped out in the morning. It’s too bad, but that’s the way it goes. I have to admit that I might never watch it, so why clutter up my life with the possibility?

Wetsuits

I want a new, larger wetsuit as I am 20 pounds over the stated size range of the one I have. It’s a nice suit, a Nineteen made by Enduro Sports in Toronto. But it was the largest they had… It takes about 15 minutes to put it on and it’s tight, tight, tight and drags everywhere.

Yesterday we went to D’Ornella’s on Lawrence Avenue and looked at their wetsuits. But their XL offered only 5 pounds more in its range. So I think we’ll be ordering one of the DeSoto Sports two-piece T1 suits online.

wetsuit from DeSoto

Welland Triathlon

Apparently Welland had a triathlon and a duathlon while I wasn’t looking.

After taking a break in 2006 after 21 years, the Welland Triathlon returned in 2007 with a New Venue, New Race Courses and a Time-Trial Start format. Just 1.5km south of the former race site, the new race site offers more space, more parking and the post-race food & awards inside the cool confines of the Welland Arena!! The swim course will again be a rectangular-shaped in the calm waters of the Welland Recreational Waterway. The bike course is Flat, Flat, Flat and travels south along the canal before heading southwest towards the Town of Wainfleet. The run course travels along the fitness paths along the canal. The Time Trial Start will return for 2008 as will the finish at centre ice in the Welland Arena!!

Open water swim, July 18

It was another day of heat & smog alerts. We wanted to get to swimming early so we packed up from our respective workplaces at 17:30 and were on the road to the beach shortly after that. The water was warmer than ever (75 F.). Maybe next week some of the others will shuck their wetsuits. There were long, low rollers coming in, which made swimming more interesting.

I warmed up in advance of the lesson by swimming out around of our temporary buoys and back. We practised swimming into the waves and back. More swimmers arrived The second time, I went almost as far as the other swimmers. Then we swam down the beach to another spot where we could practice triathlon starts. Last week we practised water starts, from treading water; this time we practised running starts from the beach with shallow-water swimming; and “dolphin-diving” in slightly less shallow water.

I got into the water about 18:15 and swam until 19:00. I don’t know how far I swam; I just enjoyed the water and took it easy. I’m getting more confident and more consistent, which is good. Here’s everybody except for Mirtha and forLaura, who is taking the picture: Arthur, Coach Kelvin, Lynda, Richard, me, Lisa.

See Kelvin’s swim diary.
And now I need to get to sleep. You wouldn’t think that we need haircuts? But we’re getting up early to get our hair cut nice and short for swimming.

Nissan Ten-miler

Results, comments, pictures: Nissan ten-mile road race.

Pride Day(s) in Toronto

Yesterday was the culmination of Gay Pride Week and Pride Weekend in Toronto. They culminate in the “dyke parade” on Saturday and the Gay Pride parade on Sunday. Part of Church Street is closed for a street fair and there’s a Pride & Remembrance run. Some of our friends are among the elite, sponsored runners who take part.

And the Canadian Armed Forces came to the Gay Pride parade in Toronto last Sunday. I think you spell that R-E-C-R-U-I-T-M-E-N-T.

First open-water swim

I took my new wetsuit to Musselman’s Lake for a lesson in open-water swimming with Coach Kelvin (right). We covered how to put it on, how buoyant we are in wetsuits, and how to let in a little water so it won’t drag so much. Then I swam a little and get accustomed to the pull and drag of neoprene. It was… interesting. I tended to get seasick when not swimming because, I guess, I was bobbing around without any feedback from the water. I also tended to veer off course—a lot. I don’t think it’s exactly because I’m more buoyant; I think it’s because I can’t feel the water directly. So I’m not evening out my strokes or something.

On the first leg of our swim, I felt that I wasn’t getting anywhere, that a current was carrying me back almost as fast as I swam. That feeling was less when I swam across the lake instead of along the shore: I was able to just swim along without worrying too much about progress. I stopped often and changed strokes; but I was able to swim and breathe and eventually to get to the far shore. I began to see fish near the farther shore. I think they were pumpkin-seed sunfish, an introduced species.

After a rest, we reversed our course and returned to the beach, then back along the shore to our starting point. Later, I found out that it seemed to take so long because it’s farther than I thought it was: about 300 yards from the start to the beach and perhaps 400 yards across our end of the lake (which is really a large pond).

There’s already noticeable seaweed groves in the shallow water and it wasn’t really cold enough to need a wetsuit. it will be choked with weed and warm as tea as the summer goes on.

Workout: approximately 1400 yards, all strokes.

The larger body of water is Musselman’s Lake. The road at the top is Aurora Side Road; and Ninth Line curves around the east end of the lake, which is where we started our swim. The light-coloured patch where Ninth Line meets the north side of the lake is the beach.

Liveblogging the Stanley Cup Playoffs: Game 4

This is the Detroit Red Wings vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins, in Pittsburgh. Detroit won the first two games, Pittsburgh the third.

20:15 Eastern Time: a moment of silence for Luc Bourdon, who died in a single-motorcycle accident a few days ago. He had got his learner’s permit six weeks ago and had had the motorcycle for only two days.

Game starts: the first of three 20-minute periods.

• Face-off. I was washing dishes and did not see who got the puck in the first scramble.

• A penalty against Detroit: they will play short-handed for two minutes. Pittsburgh scores on the power-play, ending the penalty. Score 1-0 for Pittsburgh.

• Five minutes. Another power play, this time for the Red Wings. Detroit’s Eric Lindstrom fires in a beautiful long shot and scores at the end of the power play. Score, 1 - 1.

• Eight minutes. The Pittsburgh goal is knocked off its position; play stops. Someone got a stick in the face but the referees didn’t notice.

• Penalty against Detroit for roughing up another player (plus a bit of high-sticking): power play to the Penguins for two minutes or until they score. The Penguins are all around the Red Wing goal. Then the Red Wings shoot the puck to the other end of the arena (clearing it down the ice).
• The puck gets tossed into the crowd, stopping play. Play starts again with a new puck; the Penguins fire on goal but Detroit’s goalie Osborne stops the puck. Red Wings clear it down the ice.

• Eleven minutes: Pittsburgh players are slowing down. Another couple of close shaves. Penalty is over.

• Twelve minutes: Wide-open play courses from end to end of the ice, repeatedly.

At this point I have to go out. Back later with results.

… I got back in time to see the last 50 seconds of the second period. The score is still 1 - 1.

Third period:

• The Wings swarm the Pittsburgh goal, looking energetic and determined.

• Two minutes, 30 seconds: Detroit scores scores a goal on a slow backhand shot. The Wings are even more energetic.

• Pittsburgh goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, gets a penalty for batting the puck out of the playing area after he makes a save. That’s for deliberately delaying the game. The goalie doesn’t go off the ice; someone else serves his penalty. The Wings go on a power play and swarm the Penguin’s goal again.

• 5′ 30″: Puck is shot over the boards again. This time it is deemed an accident.

• Penalty is over. Intense end-to-end play. Detroit’s net is off the posts. One of the Pittsburgh players, Evgeni Malkin, a victim of almost constant interference in this game, was propelled right into the goal.

• The Red Wings are beating the Penguins to the puck. Wide-open, skating game.

• A Red Wing tripped a Pittsburgh player with his stick and got a hooking penalty. It’s a chance for Pittsburgh to score. THEN another Red Wing got an interference penalty. There will be five Penguins on the ice against three Red Wings for almost two minutes.

• A Penguin shot and missed the goal! Henrik Zetterberg kept the Penguins guessing. The puck was cleared down the ice. There’s another face-off in the Wings’ end. The Penguins may have got the puck, but Zetterberg stole it and fired on the Penguins’ goal. Fleury made a save.

• The puck is down at the Red Wings’ end again but the first penalty is over. The second penalty is over. The Penguins couldn’t make a goal.

• Two minutes left to go. Pittsburgh needs to make a goal.
• Last minute. Detroit pulls their goalie to put another active player on the ice. Pittsburgh gets a shot at the empty net and misses! Detroit gets the puck back to the Pittsburgh goal end and hangs on for the win.

The Red Wings now lead the series three games to 1 and are going back to Detroit, where they will be the ones being cheered. Pittsburgh seldom loses a home game, so t his is a tough loss for them.

Now I have to get to bed because there’s the 25-km Ride for Heart bike-a-thon.

Stanley Cup final, Game 2

The Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins played again. The Wings shut out the Penguins for the second time in a row. Much credit goes to the Wings’ goalie. The Penguins are worried.

• First period, Detroit scored at 6:55 into the game and again at 11:18.
• Second period, no score
• Third period, Detroit scored at 11:48.

Pittsburgh got only 19 shots on goal compared to 32 by Detroit.

Below, commenters Stuart MacLean and Don Cherry:

Stanley Cup finals are starting

In a few minutes, the Stanley Cup finals are starting, with the Pittsburgh Penguins against the the Detroit Red Wings at Pittsburgh.

Update , 20:40. Detroit appeared to score, but the goal was invalid because one of the Detroit players interfered with the Pittsburgh goalie’s footwork.

Update 2. Detroit scored a goal.

Update 3. Detroit scored another goal.

Update 4. Pittsburgh is on a power play with 3 minutes left in the game. Detroit scored a short-handed goal!

Score, 3 – 0 for Detroit.

Update 5. One minute left. A Pittsburgh player got a penalty for slashing; he goes into the penalty box for two minutes and Detroit is on a power play with five players to Pittsburgh’s four, for the remainder of the game.

Update 6. Detroit scores on the power play with 12 seconds remaining; that ends the power play but it’s too late for Pittsburgh!

Final score, 4 – 0 for the Red Wings.