A day on the hill...

So, as I mentioned yesterday, mel, tara and nancy came up today to go skiing! Barbie was excited for me to get a chance to meet up with mel, but sad that she wouldn't see me this day.

I did have to work, but convinced cathy (my boss) that I needed the afternoon off. By 1pm I was at the hill and ready to ski!

We started with some simple runs, rodney's ridge is a fav. Of mine. Generally good snow, but steep! Then off to E.R. 7, it stands for eagle ridge... Not emergency room! It took some convincing and encouraging words to get mel to go down the hill, but she did it with style and grace! Then off to kiddies korner. Another fav!

When we reached this hill I discovered that the snow was tracked out really bad, and I got stuck on a ridge. I promptly fell off said ridge (about a 10ft drop) bounced off the snow a few times, rolled and stood back up on my ski's. All this infront of mel and a ski school that followed us in to kiddies korner. I wasn't hurt but my pride took a beating!

A few more runs and a trip through the terrain park finished the day off.

Mel and I had some chances to talk, but not nearly enough, so she'll be back on the weekend to ski and possibly meet Barbie.

A date with barbie

Well, it's past 1:00 am, so I should get to bed, but I thought I should mention my latest date with Barbie.

Barbie is really supportive of my active lifestyle and enjoys watching me play... Whatever I am playing that day. Today was curling. We were in the bronze medal game! And she came to watch! It was a loosing effort! We were down 5-0 after two ends but she still cheered for us... "HARD... HAAARRRD". She'd yell when we needed to sweep in a rock. We started to claw back, but could never regain from the first end.

After the game we went to the elk to celebrate some friends birthday's and then the eddie burger. Good times with good friends. Needless to say. We were out way too late, and now it is time for bed.

Cousin Mel, Tara and Nancy are coming skiing tomorrow, so I need to convince my boss to give me the day off!

A typical Saturday

Yesterday, I woke up, had breakfast, and practiced my crokinole triple bank shot. It wasn't long until people were begging me to go up on the slopes. So I grabbed my skis and poles, and headed out into the great white. I performed my standard 'donut' as I parked my car at the lodge. Then I travelled up the mountain in the gondola. I saw signs that the gondola was about to break, so I opened the safety door and jumped to safety. Just in time. Unfortunately, I had landed in a rocky spot, so my skis are going to need to be waxed again. I was also a little disoriented, so I must have headed out in the wrong direction. I thought it was a little weird for me to be breaking fresh tracks but didn't pay much attention until I heard a roar behind me. The roar was a wall of snow! So I chucked my stuff (to make myself lighter), and as the avalanche caught up to me I began a freestyle swim to keep myself above the snow. I was lucky not to hit anything and to get to the top. There I saw that the avalanche had carried me far into unknown terrain. But, as a good employee of Lake Louise, I knew that snow only falls on the East side of the mountain (the other stuff is manufactured). So all I had to do was get to a side of the mountain that didn't have snow. It was lucky for me that I still had my snowshoes strapped to my back. So off I went. It wasn't long before I heard another roar behind me. I turned around to see that a cute momma bear was following me. So I quickly took off my snowshoes. As the bear charged toward me and then leaped to grab me, I sank into the snow, and the bear went straight over top of me. I knew I didn't have long, so I tunneled through the snow to the other side of the bear (snowshoes are great as shovels!). I popped out of the snow on the other side of the bear and whacked it on the head with my shovel. Of course, this knocked the bear right out, so for emphasis I said, "Bad Kitty," and went on my way. It took me about three hours to find my way back to the other side of the mountain. I was slowed down by a lot of animals running up to me to give me presents of nuts and berries, as thanks for beating up the bear, which was apparently the bully of that side of the mountain. Finally, I made it to the other side of the mountain, only to find that I had made it to my appartment... My car was still at the slopes. Tomorrow I'll have to walk back around to get my car.
But that's just a typical day.

Woh to the Spring Thaw of My Heart - by Michael Geertsema

As the winter turns to spring

I contemplate what the weather will bring

Are these thoughts just spring love

or something given from above

Alas, our time on the slopes was short

Our trips up the mountain will have to abort

Dear lady, my new-found love,

You alight upon my heart just like a dove

I cherish our rides upon the gondola

In joy I cry out as my heart falls-ah!

For you my lady, my new found love

My New "Friend"

Lately I've been hanging out with this new girl I've met. She's pretty cool. Some might call her a ski-bunny. I mean, who else wears a bikini when it's -20 outside? I've been missing my family a lot and she's been filling the void. So we've been playing together. We have great conversations. Sometimes I brush her hair. She has gorgeous hair. I'm thinking of going to Banff and getting her some new clothes. I think her wardrobe could use some more variety.

In this picture we're just hanging out on the slopes.

And here we're just hanging out on the deck.

I'm looking into plane tickets so I can bring her home with me on my next visit!

How my love of bicycles and the open road began

It was the middle of summer, or maybe fall, or maybe just the spring. I'm not sure. But whatever season it was... it was also the time of year when creeks are not at their fullest. You might say that the creeks are half empty. Or, half-full, depending on your perspective.
My cousin Philip was over at our house for a visit. This was when we were still young, and loved to tour around on our BMX bikes.
My bike was a little different than my older brother David's. My bike was blue. With a little bit of white. And Handle-bar brakes.
David's bike was red and white, and had foot-pedal brakes.
For some reason or other, the three of us were outside... Philip, David, and I. We had decided to go for a bike ride down the ol' highway called "2nd line road," in the easterly direction of Kanata.
Philip was given my bike to ride. David used Stevin's, and I took David's bike.
It was a good day to ride. To be sure, this was a frequent route David and I took on our many excursions away from home.
As we travelled we talked about things, that young, 8-12 year old boys talk about. We weaved on and off the road, and paid little attention to the time as we travelled.
There is a creek that bisects 2nd line road. Depending on the season, it is either half-full, or half-empty.
We decided to check it out, because water has a way of drawing children to it. It is somehow mesmerizing to see the water ripple and flow, and sometimes throw things into it.
So it was that, being so engrossed by the water, I decided to get a closer look, and decided to slowly roll my bike off the shoulder of the road and on to the culvert.
This proved to be a mistake. In a temporary lapse of brilliance, I forgot that I no longer had hand brakes.
As I slowly rolled toward the end of the culvert, I suddenly realized that I would not stop, panicked, flailed my arms, let out a sound, and watched my front tire roll off the culvert, tipping me and my bike into a 3 foot fall to the creek below.
Hence, I later decided I would redeem myself by biking across the continent.
The End.