the Rideau Lakes Tour - a synopsis

This past weekend was the 3rd time I have ridden the Rideau Lakes Tour, the Century version (100 km each way, Perth to Kingston and back). Saturday was a great ride - sunny, bright, hot, but bearable hot if you kept hydrated and moving. We did good time, average 25 km/h and had fun. That evening, we enjoyed a few beers in the cool cafeteria, and then went to shower/bath and cool off before supper. Interestingly enough, the dorm Scott and I were in didn't have any water!! I was on the 4th floor and found all the taps and toilets void of water. So I tried the 3rd floor and managed to have a bit of a 'shower' using the few droplets that I managed to squeeze from the bathtub tap!! Definitely not a satisfying experience! Especially when you are salt-encrusted and dirty!

We wound up going to "Chez Piggie" for supper, one of Kingston's best restaurants. It was fantastic! A couple of excellent bottles of wine (including the traditional Amarone), steak, asparagus appetizers, port and caramel-chocolate-nut tart for dessert, excellent company and conversation - what more could you ask for?! It was great. I definitely recommend Chez Piggie to anyone who goes to Kingston looking for good food. Bit pricey, but worth it.

That night was horrendous. I think I managed 15-30 min of sleep throughout the entire evening. For one, it was really hot and humid in my dorm room. Secondly, my shoulders were sunburned and ached when I rolled over (compounding with my rotator cuff issue in my left shoulder from CSW). What a brutal evening. I felt like shit in the morning. So did Bob, Glenn and Doug. Bob decided not to return with us, and Glenn almost didn't ride as well. Me? Well, I wasn't a happy camper, but started off okay and then got progressively less comfortable on the way. Along with certainly not having enough km's under my belt this year (400 km when I started the Tour, no where near enough), I forgot to lube my shorts and nether regions. About 20 km towards Perth, I started to feel the beginnings of a saddle sore. It got worse and worse, as did my mental state, and by 10 km outside of Westport, that was it. I knew I couldn't go on, physically or mentally. My ass was killing me - I couldn't sit down, couldn't pedal, so was reduced to holding my weight up with my hands on my profile bar pads. Brutal!!! I was miserable by Westport, but resigned and ok with the decision to stop there and sag-wagon home. I told Scott and he didn't pressure me to continue, which I was very appreciative of. I managed to catch the sag-wagon back to Perth, dragged my sorry ass back to my car and drove home to pick up the dog.

Ah well, not my best showing cycling, but that's life. Some days are better than others and you live with your defeat. I'm trying to keep the word "failure" out of my head and vocabulary, but it's hard. Trying to put it behind me. Now, I can concentrate on Muay Thai training. Yeah!! I started Beth's strict 2000 calorie diet first thing Monday morning, and am now working on a strict training plan as well. 5-10 km runs every 2nd day. Today, I ran 5 km and did extra work along the way by keeping my arms raised in a MT position. Talk about hard work!! My arms were aching by the time I got home. but I need to improve my shoulder and bicep muscles, endurance-wise, for the ring so I can keep my hands up.

Stuck in meetings tomorrow, which should be oh so much fun (insert sarcastic look here). I don't know what it is lately, I'm just uninspired and bored. Lots to do, but no urge to do it. I'm also needing alot of sleep so have been getting into work late, then attempting to do work in the evening.

I have managed to get ahold of the owner of the http://www.sak-yant.com/ website and have organized to see his Ajarn, sak master, while I'm in Bangkok, to get a sak yant. On top of it, he is going to buy me a new needle, so no fear of Hep or AIDS or any other nasty disease. I know it's going to be a great experience, I can't wait.

Here's a general map of where I'm headed - SouthEast Asia!! Flying into Bangkok.

Here's a more detailed map of where I"m headed. I plan to spend a few days in Bangkok, seeing the sites, visiting various Wats, and getting a sak yant tattoo. Then, I'm going to fly to Phuket and will be training at Sinbi Muay Thai Gym for 5 weeks. Yeah!!! From there, I fly back to Bangkok and plan to take a bus to the Thai-Khmer border at Poipet. Here, I can take a taxi to Siam Reap and spend time around Angkor Wat. I have to be in Phnom Penh by Feb 26th. I'll travel there by boat down Tonle Sap Lake. Then we will be building houses in a small village near Phnom Penh for the Tabitha Foundation for 3-4 days.