Mountain Biking Madness

A few weeks ago our son suggested it might be fun to try a mountain bike race. He had grown up watching his dad race in various 8 and 24-hr events. Our son was keen and developed good bike handling skills as a kid, but lost interest as a teenager. When we moved to London, my husband returned to road riding and pretty much stopped racing.

When our son expressed an interest, my husband was excited. He assembled a team and registered Moe's Smoking Tires 2.0 as a 4-person open team (age 120-160) for the Fox Epic 8 Hour Relay at Mansfield. Teammates included my husband (Lee), our son (Paul), our friend (Warren) and his son (Stuart). My husband and son spent the last couple weeks brushing up on their trail riding skills. They were both looking forward to race day.

To shorten our Saturday morning drive, we decided to sleep at our son's place in Guelph Friday night. We were up and on the road before 8 a.m.

Warren and Stuart drove separately from Aurora. Nobody thought to arrange where to meet. As luck would have it, we parked and they pulled in right beside us - an amazing feat in a park full of vehicles, tents and bikes. The team posed for photos before getting ready to ride.

Our son reluctantly put on proper cycling shorts and shoes borrowed from his dad. 

Warren checks Stuart's bike. Stuart and Paul flip a number plate to see who goes first. Stuart won. The riding order - Stuart, Paul, Warren, Lee.

People line up early for the 10 a.m. start - excitement builds.

Stuart waits patiently amidst the starting line crowd. 

I walked the course managing to capture Stuart on the trail.

I also admired the pretty flowers and fiddlehead ferns in the woods.

Our son is thrilled to be riding. He goofs around showing off his muscles before settling down to enjoy the ride.

Warren is rider #3 in rotation. He has a fancy new bike. Stuart wants it.

Lee is rider #4 in rotation.

Lee goofs off for the camera before settling down for some serious riding.

Lee let our son ride his bike for his third and final lap. Paul loved it. Unfortunately, he rode so fast into the "Exit Wound" (steep, twisty downhill at the end) that he caught his front wheel on the first turn and flipped over the handle bars. He got right back up and carried on, but then his back wheel went wide on the next turn pulling him off the trail and down a cliff. He was bruised all over, yet assured me he was fine. I'm so glad I missed seeing his spectacular crashes. 

Stuart also got to ride his Dad's bike as long as he agreed to ride two final laps for the team. Of course he agreed riding a total of five laps. He changed into his bright blue cycling shorts and jersey for the occasion.

We enjoyed catching up with friends we hadn't seen in ages - Ron and Kevin (2-person team).

Dave who toured with us in Cuba 2 years ago.

People we know from London were staying in Cabin #13. I caught up with them later and took their photo. Their team ended up in second place for the 4 Person − Mixed − min. 1 Female − combined age 140 and over category. Way to go "That 70's Team".

Final Results for Moe's Smoking Tires 2.0 (#187): 13 laps in 8:10:06
Stuart - 5 laps (39:30, 34:30, 34:48, 35:32, 39:37 last 2 laps non-stop)
Paul - 3 laps (37:19, 37:44, 36:33 crashed 2x on 3rd lap)
Warren - 2 laps (40:03,43:08 calf cramp/knot on 2nd lap)
Lee - 3 laps (36:53, 36:40, 38:30 shared bike so seat adjustment required in transition)
Placed 14 out of 21 teams in the 4 Person − Open − combined age 120−159 category. 

* * * * *

We had a fabulous day at the Fox Epic 8 Hour Relay at Mansfield. It was an awesome father/son activity. I loved taking photos surrounded by Mountain Biking Madness. 

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The New Place

We helped our son move into a new place in Guelph a couple weeks ago. He is now living in a three bedroom townhouse condo with two friends. I wrote about the move here, but neglected to take many photos.   

My husband and son registered with a friend and his son to ride the Fox Epic 8 Hour Relay at Mansfield on Saturday. Guelph is much closer to Mansfield than London, so we stayed over at the new place Friday night. I took a few photos Saturday morning before heading out. 

Our son is happy with his new blackout grey curtains. They block the light and coordinate nicely with his bed linens - a much better choice than purple and black sheer drapes. 

I like the fun shower curtain his friends bought for their bathroom. 

On the main floor, there is a two-piece bathroom and a coat closet to the left of the stairs. The door to the garage is across from the stairs. The hallway leads into an open concept kitchen/living room/dining room.

With simple furnishings, it seems quite spacious. To the right of those boxes is the door to an unfinished basement with a front-load washer and dryer.

There is a small deck out back which overlooks a children's play park. 

The New Place is really very nice. I am happy to see them comfortably settled for another year in Guelph.

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Moving Day Mayhem

On Saturday we drove to Guelph to help our son move from one house to another. He was moving from a six bedroom house shared with five other students to an almost new three bedroom townhouse he will share with two friends. In almost every way his new place will be better.

We loaded up our Santa Fe with a few essentials from home - new bed linens and pillows, dishes and glasses bought on Kijiji, Costco-size oatmeal (breakfast staple), olive oil and steel-toed shoes (needed for his new job). We also bought a double mattress and box-spring on Kijiji and booked a U-Haul trailer in Guelph so we could pick up the mattress and move the rest of his stuff more efficiently. My husband bought a trailer hitch. We were organized. This was to be an easy move.

We made good time arriving in Guelph ~11 a.m. Our son was ready to go. We packed a few more things in the car and drove to the new place with our first load. We were scheduled to pick up the trailer at noon for six hours. At the house, we made a list of things we needed from the nearby Jysk and Dollarama - dish soap, garbage can, toilet brush, shower curtain and bath mat. With our shopping done, we headed out to get the trailer.

That's when the trouble started. It was a busy student area with lots of students moving. Traffic was slow and the road to U-Haul was closed. We took a detour finally reaching the U-Haul place by 1 p.m., an hour behind schedule. My husband hooked the trailer to our hitch, but couldn't connect the wires to operate the lights. We needed a special adapter. Not a problem, Canadian Tire should carry it.

Canadian Tire did not carry it. Hyundai did not carry it. Houghton trailers did not carry it, but while we were there, Hyundai called and said they might have a solution. They had an adapter another customer had ordered for their 2012 Santa Fe. Unfortunately, our 2010 Santa Fe requires a slightly different adapter. In the end, we had to cancel the trailer rental. My husband thought we might be able to tie the mattress to the roof of our Santa Fe. The mattress we had purchased was in Solstice (student housing) just two miles from our son's new house.

When we arrived, the parking lot at Solstice was crowded with U-Haul trucks, trailers and vans. It was total Moving Day Mayhem for students and parents. We managed to find a parking spot. I stayed with the vehicle while my husband and son went to get the mattress from a second floor unit. I chatted with one of the other parents waiting for his son and friends to bring stuff down to the large truck he had rented. There was only one elevator, so he had been waiting a long time. I asked if he would be willing to deliver our mattress for $20. He agreed, refusing any money. We were grateful for his help.

Once the mattress was delivered, we picked up one more vehicle load, then I stayed at the new house and set up the bedroom while my husband and son made multiple trips back and forth. It took another three hours to move everything.

By then it was 6 p.m. and we were starving. We decided to eat at Fionn MacCool's. It was delicious. After dinner, we shopped for groceries then dropped off our son and headed home to London. Our son's roommate also picked up groceries with his Mom. They should eat well this week.

Our son is happy with his new room. The box spring and mattress look fine on the floor. The grey bed linens tone down the pinkish mauve walls. His desk fits in the corner. He has a big closet and private bathroom with a separate shower and Jacuzzi tub. The shower curtain he chose was cheap yet looks terrific. 

He feels guilty getting the largest room in the house, but it's a nice change from the small room he had last time and a bargain at only $25 more than his friend's pay per month. He's not happy with the purple and black sheer curtains, so I'll pick up neutral curtains from Costco and bring them in two weeks when we visit. 

 

 

Another friend will be moving in this week. Internet is scheduled to be hooked up soon. I think they will enjoy living here. Utilities are extra and it costs a bit more with only three people sharing, but the main issue involves a relative lack of bus service. There is a bus stop out front. Unfortunately nobody thought to check the schedule before committing.

The bus runs during school until 10:30 p.m. In the summer, there is no bus. The next closest bus stop is at the University about 4 km away. At least they have bikes and their jobs are within 5 km. If it's a problem, they can always move again next year. 

In the meantime, we plan to get an adapter for our Santa Fe so we can tow a trailer and minimize Moving Day Mayhem.

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Mister Mouse

I finally finished Mister Mouse today.  I started him months ago before our trip to Cuba, but put him aside to work on two Ripple Blankets. 

Mister Mouse was happy to pose for photos spinning round to show off his front and back. Doesn't he look dapper in his bright blue scarf?

 

After posing, I showed him the fancy faerie door in our basement. Mister Mouse opened the door. He thinks it is perfect for mice too.

To make Mister Mouse, I followed this free pattern by blogger Sharon Ojala at Amigurumi To Go. I have made a few of Sharon's patterns and loved them all. Check out her site. You won't be disappointed if you do.

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Stash-Buster Ripple Baby Blanket

I made another Ripple Blanket. I really liked the Teal Dreams Ripple Blanket finished over a week ago, but I absolutely adore this crazy colourful Stash-Buster Ripple Baby Blanket. 

When it comes to crochet, I love bright bold colours. This blanket is both bright and bold. As an added bonus, it was made using yarn from my stash. It didn't cost anything more than my time. How practical is that?

To make this blanket, I followed free instructions covering Ripple Blanket Know How posted by blogger Lucy at Attic24. Her brilliant colour combinations continue to inspire me.

Technical details for this Stash-Buster Baby Ripple Blanket are listed below for the crocheters out there who might like to make one too. 

Starting Chain - 129 (14x9+3)

Finished Size - 39"x51"

2 rows per stripe 

42 stripes

Time to Complete - Approximately 25 hours (30 mins per stripe + border

Worsted weight 100% acrylic yarn from my stash  

 

I still have a basket full of worsted weight yarn. It's good for making toys.

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