Bone conduction (or Open-Ear) headphones transmit sound by inducing jawbone vibrations, freeing your ears to hear outside sounds. This makes them ideal for women runners who, unfortunately, need to be more aware of threats when running alone. My wife has enjoyed a pair of Shokz for years, but I was intrigued when I heard of a waterproof version.
From the Shokz website: Transducers send vibrations through the cheekbones and deliver sound directly to the inner ear, bypassing the eardrum.
Overall First Impressions/Controls
I’m not an audiophile, but I had trouble believing that this technology could produce the same quality of sound as regular earphones. My favourite songs sounded the same.
The only controls are two volume buttons on the right side, and a “multi-function” on the left. The multi-function has to be pressed a combination of times to advance or go back a track, held down to enter pairing mode, etc. The volume buttons are used to power the device on/off in addition to obviously controlling the volume.
Normally I prefer to have more dedicated controls rather than memorizing combinations to accomplish basic tasks, but I can see how not having to fumble around searching for the right button when the headset is being worn is actually more practical and user-friendly.
Bike Test
My first test of the OpenSwim Pro was on a bike ride. Normally, headphones would be a big no-no on the bike, but the open ear should mean that a rider can maintain situational awareness. On this ride, the way out was mostly downhills and steep ones at that, so I didn’t listen to music at all, because I wanted my full attention on handling my bike through the turns and such. I had planned to listen to music to motivate me up the steep climbs home. Unfortunately, I remembered to turn on the music a little late, but for the last stretch, I did notice that I could hear a car come up behind me as I rode.
Run Test
I brought the headphones with me on a run around the track at the town stadium. I had the music playing while I used the bathroom before my run – what was interesting is when I used the hand dryer, I couldn’t hear the music anymore. So loud sound coming in your ears will override the music coming in through your jawbone vibrations.
During the run, I was able to have conversation with my wife when I passed her on the track without turning down (or off) the music.
Swim Test
So the headphones are waterproof, but that doesn’t mean they can connect to Bluetooth while in the water – this is made clear by the manufacturer. So for swimming, you use them as an MP3 player; remember those? You have to load MP3 or other audio files from a computer over the USB cable to the memory of the OpenSwim Pro. MP3s are getting a little hard to come by, but I still had some songs loaded on my phone (in unprotected m4a format from iTunes) that I loaded onto my computer and then back to the headphones.
The headphones convert from Bluetooth to MP3 mode by pressing the 2 volume keys simultaneously. On my first swim, I absolutely loved hearing music and the laps seemed to tick by with less boredom and tedium. The headphones hug my head and can almost be forgotten, which is a far cry from the “listening to music while swimming” I had over 10 years ago.
Other Applications
I’ve used these headphones a bit in the office as a way to listen to music or be on a call while having a better awareness in my surroundings; e.g. a co-worker wants my attention. The microphone seems to work well for calls, though I prefer noise-cancelling headphones for longer sitting periods of meetings or deep work.
Conclusion
So far, the Shokz OpenSwim Pro is one of the best electronics purchases a multi-sport athlete could buy.
Whenever I’m in a new place, I try to discover what kinds of recreational opportunities are around. Back in September, I was in the parking lot of Shark Boy’s gymnastics club, when I noticed terrain of a unique nature. It was a BMX park, with bumps and curved embankments forming a course that is completed in a single lap, although it twists and folds back upon itself rather than just being a circle.
My birthday happened to fall on a Sunday, so the Lightning Kid and I decided to give it a go, while Shark Boy was at his gymnastics training. For the footage, we’ll have to consult the Lightning Kid YouTube Channel:
I was on my hardtail mountain bike, which is not quite ideal for jumps and such on this track, or maybe that’s my lack of confidence talking. We did go back once, and I wore clip-in shoes rather than the trail runners you see me in during the video. We also got a chance to witness a race to end the season and see how it’s really done, with a mechanical gate to keep the starting line honest, found at a top of a ramp by the start of the course. A rep from the Abbotsford BMX club told us they would transition to indoors, and how welcoming they were to beginners.
Unfortunately, it took us a while to get back to them, and by the time we did, the Lightning Kid had lost all the confidence and ended up walking his bike around the ‘half-track’ which is the latter segment of the indoor course with smaller bumps. Shark Boy tried the whole racecourse but found his mountain bike wasn’t well suited to the racing gate, as he couldn’t sit in the seat and stay balanced while waiting for the gate to drop. He got to try a loaner BMX bike, but he hated how low the seat was – BMX riders typically stand on the pedals for the entire ride, and absorb the bumps by bending their knees and elbows. Shark Boy seemed to be doing well adapting to the bike and a new style of riding, but apparently he hated every second of it. I thought that would be the end of our foray into this sport, but apparently, the Lightning Kid was adamant about coming back.
On your first visit, you can get a 1 day BMX membership for liability reasons, but subsequent visits mean an annual membership. I have to admit I didn’t want to spring for one just to watch him walk his bike, but thanks to some great coaching by the staff at Abbotsford BMX, he got to ride the half-track the very next visit! Looks like I’ll be investing in the official protective gear (gloves, helmet with face covering, etc) for him, but I’m not sure if it’s something I will take up myself.
I think I’ve hit the big times. This weekend (according to my training plan) called for 2 hours of running, 1 of swimming on Saturday as well as a 5 hour ride on Sunday. I woke up at 5:00 AM on Saturday with running gear laid out in advance in the basement. I even remembered hydration for myself.
Ready to roll… before sunrise.
My weather app said the sun wouldn’t rise until 6:30, so I had over an hour to make up my own course that would keep me under street lights. I went towards my office and ran through the industrial areas there. Seeing a truck yard at sunrise isn’t really my cup of tea, but if you want to fit your run in and be available for your family, you have to make some sacrifices. I had a few peaks at a map and I felt 99% sure I could connect back to the Etobicoke Creek Trail once the sun was up. The problem was I would be running beside the airport runways. I got to a point of no return on one of the airport service roads where there were signs saying that you couldn’t go any further… then I saw two cyclists go exactly where I wanted to run. I followed. It was nerve-racking, as I knew there were plenty of police cars patrolling the area; I’d been seeing them all morning. As I envisioned explaining myself to a police officer, my confidence in knowing my local geography dropped from 99 to somewhere in the 80s… Suddenly I recognized a familiar rolling in the landscape and some of the runway lights, and hopped onto the trail for the run home. I thought I’d be over 19 km and find myself trying to go around the block to get 20, but I only clocked 19 once I was already near home.
On my calves, I was wearing lavender calf sleeves by Legend Compression (Disclaimer: I was given a pair of Legend Compression calf sleeves for review purposes, all opinions are my own). I wear compression sleeves while running (and sometimes cycling) mostly to combat Achilles tendinitis and any other calf tightness/injury. What I noticed about the Legend compression sleeves it that the fabric felt very natural and breathable on my skin, like regular socks, and quite unlike most compression wear I’ve tried. That morning was quite cold and though I don’t regret wearing shorts and short sleeves, having a little extra insulation for my lower legs was nice. I could still feel some twinging in the lowest parts of my calf (which don’t get covered by sleeves – which I prefer to socks for the sake of wearing them in a triathlon where my feet get wet from swimming), but I think I weathered my 19 km run better for having worn them.
I was a lucky man that morning, as the kids had slept in, and I found them and my wife cuddled up together. I snuck in a few cuddles of my own and made pancakes (with extra protein from both Manitoba Harvest and Everlast Nutrition). We had a busy afternoon planned, and to make sure it happened, my wife ran errands while I took the kids to L.A. Fitness. The Lightning Kid has been to their Kids Klub daycare a few times, but it was Shark Boy’s first time; I tried to couch it as less than a play centre, but more than a daycare (which he kind of equates with ‘school’), while I quickly got 1150 m (a.k.a 1.15 km) of swimming in to round out the day’s mileage at 20 km.
I got your Fitspo right here..
That busy afternoon, I mentioned? Two birthday parties. The first was a classmate of Shark Boy’s and they went to Air Riderz trampoline park, which also had some climbing features (complete with safety harnesses and helmets). I took the Lightning Kid down the road to a favourite play centre called ‘Balls of Fun‘ where we goofed off and recreated a scene from the old 90s video game Street Fighter II: the Hadouken ‘Fireball’ technique (minus actual fireball).
I collected them from those two venues and shuttled them to another birthday party, with a Frozen (Lighting Kid favourite) theme and bouncy castle. I don’t need to tell you how well they slept that night. As for myself, I had some nerves before the longest bike ride of my life. I had signed up for the Burlington Mountain Equipment Co-opCentury Ride; 100 km in Niagara Escarpment country. I had put out my gear the night before, and I woke up before everyone else. I dressed in my new gear from RODS Racing. If you don’t know, RODS (Racing for Orphans with Down Syndrome) helps get children with Down syndrome who are currently being housed in orphanages around the world into the loving arms of families who would like to adopt them; the families are ready, the kids are great, all it takes is cash to get around the bureaucracy and logistics. If you would like to help, my donation page is here.
#RedAndBlackAttack
I drove to Burlington’s Hidden Valley Park to find things in full swing; although I was there before 8:30, which I considered early for the 9:00 start, I had just enough time to switch shoes and put the bike together, pick up my numbered bib and take a bathroom break before they wanted us to start lining up on the road to head out; this was around 8:45.
I asked someone in the crowd what their estimate of the number of participants was, and they figured 250. I couldn’t help but notice that I was the only one with a triathlon bike there; I did see one girl with aero-bars on a road bike (much how I used to ride), but I still felt like a freak among what seemed to be a hard-core cycling crowd. The large numbers did make it seem like it would be safer out on any heavily driven roads. The marshals emphasized this was a ride, not a race, and the roads were open to all traffic, so safety first!
The ride started uphill, of course. For the first 5 km or so, I was happy to take an easy meandering pace, but soon it felt too slow. I needed to pace myself to last for 100 km – I knew this, but if the pace felt unnatural, and maintaining it was going to mean taking longer to finish than I was ready to spend on this event, that meant I would have to pass. This is where I seem to have a bit of a disconnect with pure cyclists. They like to ride at least 2 abreast and occupy the whole lane. This is considered the safest practice, I know, because it forces cars to acknowledge that the bicycle is entitled to the entire lane under the highway traffic act. When cars pass, they go around the group in a separate lane. As a triathlete, though, I have an aversion to crossing the centre line, even when there is not oncoming traffic, just because the rules so strictly prohibit it – it can mean disqualification. Plus, it seems dangerous. So I found myself sometimes waiting for opportunities to pass; I don’t think “on your left” is as much of a thing in straight-up cycling.
After some climbing to get over the Niagara Escarpment, there was plenty of flat land to really see what kind of speed you could build up to on flat land. It was a beautiful day, with perfect weather. The first rest stop came at 23 km, and they had bananas, Clif Bars, Pro Bar Base protein bars and Nuun hydration tablets. No porta-potties though; that might have been a little prohibitive for such a small support crew to transport, but I could have used one. From that point, the century (100 km) and 50 k routes split up. That was also the point where I separated from the crowd. Sometimes I rode behind a pair of riders or so, but for the bulk of the ride I was on my own. The course maps they had provided us had a list of ‘cues’ on the back that told you when your next turn would come in terms of total mileage. That came in handy for reassurance, but for the most part I could see the little white arrows painted on the road because they came as such logical junctures. The route was so rural and abandoned that I often forgot that cars could come by. At the second rest stop (48 km) my drink mix (Everlast FUEL with BCAAs and electrolytes, use the code IRONROGUE for a discount), was getting weak from being diluted with the water I had added, so I popped in a NUUN tablets. I have many blogger friends who rave about NUUN, and now I get it. It gave me some nice pep for the remainder of my ride. I didn’t see any of the Pro Bar Cookie Dough flavour that I had promised myself at the second rest stop, and the third rest stop (same location as the first) had run out by the time I got there.
The ride went through so many small villages that I can’t remember the names of them all, but one location I did recognize was African Lion Safari. One of the riders jokingly suggested a detour through there; “What could possibly go wrong?” I asked. Overall on the ride, I had my chain pop off way too much. Other riders suggested replacing the chain, but the bike is still too new. I think the front derailleur needs an adjustment – this is something I have to take up with my bike shop, as it costs me way too much time, and trying to put the chain back on while balancing the bike at the side of the road seems to get a lot harder as my legs get tired. The last 25 km were a bit of a struggle. I can remember thinking at 82 km “I don’t want to do this anymore.” It wasn’t so much that I wanted to quit, but the aero position was hurting my neck and shoulders quite a bit, and to not ride in aero was making the ride slower and ultimately take longer. Still that part of the ride was a net downhill, and all familiar from the ride out, so the kilometres clicked by fairly quickly.
I rolled into Hidden Valley Park after nearly 4 hours of time in the saddle (I paused Garmin tracking during the rest stops) with a big smile of accomplishment on my face. While I was tired, I think my legs would still have responded to the command to run, if I had to, so things are looking up for Barrelman. The local Rotary club was grilling burgers for free and a bike shop had put up a beer tent with a local brew; sadly they only took cash so I have a future date with Cause and Effect by Nickelbrook Brewery.
Century Ride Finisher (minus beer) selfie
I drove home and tried to clean myself up – I had chain grease everywhere: my hands, my face, my legs, the insides of my arms. Then I took the boys to the splash pad; they rode their bikes, showing me maybe someday they’ll be up for long rides too. Trips to the splash pad, long bike rides, birthday parties, swimming, running… I wish the summer didn’t have to end.
What’s the longest bike ride you’ve ever done? How are you consoling yourself over the end of summer?
I’ve been wanting to write up about my experience getting an aero-fit at BikeZone Mississauga with Coach (Kris) Kurzawinski for some time now. When I finally had some blog post writing time available, it was shortly before the Bracebridge Olympic Tri weekend, and I wanted to get my announcement about RODS Racing out there first. The next thing I’m going to spend time on writing will be my Bracebridge Race Recap, but fear not! As usual, I have a cunning plan to provide you with the relevant info, without spending time churning out text and photos. I’ve been playing around with Periscope, and though I’ve made some fairly bad (e.g. a live broadcast of a bike ride where you couldn’t hear a word I was saying thanks to wind and vibration), I think this one turned out OK. I think only a few people saw it live, but I figured out how to edit the video so everything is right side up, and put it on YouTube (My Channel – Please Subscribe!). Here it is.
You might say I crossed an item off my bucket list this weekend – the odd part is that I forgot that it was on my bucket list (insofar as I have one). You see, when I was little, my father and a friend rode their bicycles around Lake of Bays over the course of a day. He’d repeated the feat with my mother a few years later, though I had forgotten that little factoid. At any rate, he told me that it was a challenge worth taking on, and I always thought I would do it one day “when I was grown up”.
I was trying to come up with a good long, training ride to do at the cottage when I remembered all this, so it fell to me and Sable to get the job done. I called it “Tour De Lake of Bays” #TourDeLakeOfBays.
The first 24-25 km of the route were very familiar to me, as I had rode them last week. It was a lot hotter and sunnier this time, though. There is bridge construction in Dorset, which made for a good time to text a status update and take a CLIF Shot (chocolate flavour) gel.
After Dorset came the Highway 117 leg, which probably caused me more suffering than any other part. It was very long and unfamiliar, and though I hoped that it would be flatter thanks to how it hewed close to the lakeshore, I was confronted with the same kind of hills I’d been climbing the whole time in my own backyard parts of Muskoka. It must have gotten monotonous and seemed worse than it was, because the Garmin analysis shows I kept up a speed average of over 25 km/h for over an hour.
When I rolled into Baysville, I was seeing familiar sites. I’ve heard stories of people on long bike rides stopping for Starbucks, or Tim Horton’s or whatnot, but stopping at a brewery would take the cake. I didn’t though, since I knew I wasn’t going to be keeping to my projected 3 hour schedule, and I didn’t want to shirk child-minding duties entirely. I doubt the alcohol would have done much for my safety or performance, but it would have tasted SOOOO good.
While being familar ground, the final stretch of Brunel Road followed by South Portage were the toughest. For starters, there was construction on Brunel Road for the first 3-4 km. I had been forewarned about it, but I figured it would be a closed lane or some narrowing; the road was as good as gone!
I didn’t like taking my brand new bike over that gravelly road, but I didn’t have much choice, and taking it easy for safety was a good excuse to take it easy, and give my legs a rest. When I reached the end of the construction zone, I saw a sign that put me a little on the defensive…
The last part of the ride along Brunel takes you by some very pretty lakes; there’s Shewfelt – which is nearly a pond, and Axel Lake (!) which isn’t too visible from the road. I stopped to take a pic of North Tooke Lake (I think) and it’s one of the nicer landscape pictures I’ve ever taken (at least with the help of an Instagram filter).
I finished the ride back at my starting point with a time of 3:17 and texted for a pick-up. I was pretty spent, and even laid down in the dirt for a bit. Being attacked by bugs made me realize that at least I’m in good enough shape to recovery quickly from when I think I’m all tapped out.
Disclaimer: I am an Everlast Nutrition Ambassador and earn commission on sales made with my discount code.
The origin of the term ‘Brick’ for a bike-run workout has somewhat disputed origins, but I’ve always believed that it comes from the heavy feeling in your legs after you get off the bike and try to run – the legs feel like they’re made out of brick. You know what’s been giving me the brick feeling in my legs lately?
Waking up in the morning. The last week I’ve woken up with legs that just don’t want to move, and it’s been disconcerting. I’ve known soreness in my time, but this seemed worse. I didn’t panic about it, since my legs seemed to work fine once I got moving, and by the time I was dressed each morning, I felt fine except for a bit of a tired feeling in the legs.
So on Friday, I took a 3-pronged approach to my 1 hour, 15 minute ride (accomplished by tacking on a little extra saddle time before and after a spin class).
I used a foam roller on my glutes, quads, hamstrings and even calves after the ride
I wore 2XU compression sleeves on my calves (I mixed up the calf and hamstring compression sleeves when I packed my gym bag – the latter might have been better).
Even though I got to bed late after a long drive up to the cottage, I felt great the next morning and totally rocked a brick workout on Muskoka’s hills, first thing in the morning! In addition to feeling validated about my recovery strategy, it was my first time taking Sable out on the road.
I rode 30 km with an average speed of 25.9 km/h, which I never thought I’d manage on those Muskoka hills, and I still had enough gas in my tank to run 6 km with a 6:05 min/km pace after that.
Now in addition to being recovered well, I had another weapon. Since I wanted to get a 3 hour ride in on Sunday, I knew I had to start playing around with taking in calories while on the bike. Sable isn’t kitted out with many accessories yet, so I don’t have any bottle cages or fuel boxes (aero or otherwise) attached to it. Instead I wore my hydration pack, and loaded it with Everlast FUEL. I’m a big fan of all-in-one solutions, and though you can take care of hydration, calorie intake and electrolyte balance with combination of drinks and/or gels, this product has BCAAs for the protein to start rebuilding muscle right away as well as vitamins to pre-charge the workout. So if I start sipping it before the ride, or as I’m putting the bike away, I’m doing myself good just as much as when I’m drinking during the workout.
I used the brick to test it out before the long ride. I mixed two packets in about 24 ounces of cold water (measured with the free shaker I got when I ordered two boxes worth of Everlast FUEL). The taste reminded me of a milkshake I had the weekend before from Kawartha Dairy, obviously less creamy and not quite as tasty given that FUEL is not a milkshake made with real ice cream, but reminiscent of a Creamsicle – does anyone else remember those from when you were a kid? Anyway, it was tasty and no problem to digest.
While my long ride (and Half-Iron race) nutrition strategy is a work in progress, I’m planning on drinking FUEL and some water, packing along some gels, and maybe a nutrition bar or two (lead contenders are CLIF and Go Macro).
Getting that 3 hour ride on Sunday proved more challenging. There were threats of thunderstorms that seemed to be zeroing in on the time and place that I was planning to ride. We were going to go visit another cottage on the way home, and I opted to ride ahead on my bike. Altogether it was a good plan that let me get more riding in than one might expect, since with my wife and kids coming along the same route while having left an hour later, I was in perfect position for a rescue when the weather did turn nasty. In fact, I heard the first lightning strike just as the car pulled to a stop in front of me; it was a little shy of 2 hours on the road, and again I averaged close to 25 km/h. My neck was starting to wear down from aero position a little, and I’m looking forward to getting a proper fit in the near future, but again, I felt pretty strong and solid for the duration of the ride. I wish it was longer, but you can’t control the weather.
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In my post announcing my new bike, Sable, I mentioned I had Shimano SPD pedals installed. My rationale was that I wanted to be able to use my existing shoes in a Spin class, as spin bikes tend to have SPD compatible pedals. I had been initially disappointed that I didn’t have such pedals on my original bike as I had been sold a set of Shimano 105 pedals.
The Shimano 105 pedal
The problem was that the bottoms of my shoes had three holes, which would make them compatible with a variety of road cleats, but not the SPDs. There did seem to be some kinds of adapters in existence, but I was never able to find any at local stores (in the very short amount of time I had to drive to stores and shop around).
One option would have been to buy new shoes, but a slightly cheaper one was to re-install the Shimano 105 pedals and buy new 105 cleats to install on my old shoes (the old ones were pretty worn out). I hadn’t had much luck taking my 105 pedals off my old bike with my own tools, so I also purchased a 15 mm pedal wrench; I consider that one of the smarter moves I’ve made when it comes to buying cycling accessories.
The Shimano 105 pedals on the left have some little pads that are better for walking on if you dismount your bike on a long ride. At the bottom left you can see my old cleat. The SPD equipment, you can see is much smaller and doesn’t fit the 3 holes you can just make out on the bottom of my shoe.
For removing the SPD pedals and installing the 105s, I followed this video:
Then I used an Allen Key to screw the cleats to the bottom of the shoes; there was still an outline from where the old ones were, so alignment didn’t seem to be an issue.
I’ll keep the SPD accessories and eventually install them on my mountain bike and buy new shoes for them too – apparently SPDs are intended almost solely for mountain biking. So I don’t meet my goal of having one pair of shoes for both road riding (and triathlon races) and spin class, but the good news is that Sable is finally ride-ready.
I celebrated with a 2 hours 15 minute ride on the trainer while I watched the movie Man of Steel – I think the recent trailers for the sequel Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice have gotten into my head. Superman makes for surprisingly good training inspiration, considering he never had to work for his superpowers…
I used to break down these trips into multiple parts, thanks to extensive journals I kept, but I think I’d just prefer to do a single round-up and not just because I didn’t keep a journal this time. I think I’m just going to do a summary by category.
Family Adventures
Climb UP! Climbing Forest.
This was one of the cooler adventures we got up to. For adults, there are various challenges to climb up into the treetops, and of course, some zip lines. We didn’t do the adult challenges in favour of accompanying the kids. They each wore safety harnesses with 2 carabiners that got hooked into safety lines that ran alongside each climbing challenge. The challenges were strung together to form an entire course to traverse. At the end of one challenge, you’d unhook a carabiner from the completed challenge’s safety line and hook it into the new, then you’d repeat for the second carabiner, so that in principle, you were always tethered. The kids never got any higher than around 5 feet off the ground, but I guess it’s the principle that’s important. Shark Boy loved it and managed his own safety harness, and while the Lightning Kid seems to be a born climber, he got a little tired about halfway through the course so I let him bail.
Germendorf Zoo/Theme Park
We’ve visited this place annually for at least 3 years now. When we got in, Shark Boy found a dead snake beneath a statue of an elephant, and by the time we were done, he still considered it a highlight. This year I had us navigate toward the ‘Dinosaur’ section before we got too close to the carnival rides and playgrounds that always seem to high-jack the kids’ interest in the animals there. I think I only saw one dinosaur (statue) but we got to see some animals we haven’t seen in prior visits. For me the highlight was a puma, which is not only one of my favourite animals, but this one actually got up and walked around, which is kind of rare for big cats in captivity (in my experience). He did seem to take an unhealthy interest in Shark Boy; at least, unhealthy for the boy – his ears pricked up, he stared, licked his chops, you name it.
We got to see monkeys playing, meerkats, parrots and even pet and feed a deer.
Then it was time for lunch and rides. We shelled out for them to ride these electrically powered motorcycles (they move fairly slowly), which not only gave us a sweet moment of the two brothers riding together, but we actually got the Lightning Kid to ride his own. He did a great job of steering until he’d get distracted by what his brother was up to, and then he’d crash – which didn’t hurt him but resulted in tears from the sudden shock. There was an indoor play area which used to house a ball pit and a few bouncy castles, but they’ve expanded it into a much more extensive play area with all kinds of climbing structures.
I don’t like to make fun of personal appearances, but I have to tell this story. My wife and I were sitting near the ball pit which was intended (according to the signs) for kids aged 0-5. There were kids much older in there, and they were throwing the balls out of the pit and generally making a nuisance of themselves. The supervisor turned up and told them off – and they got off light, because the supervisor was a witch from a storybook, I kid you not. Hook nose, wild and wiry hair, crazy eyes… all that was missing was a wart. I know we weren’t all created to have movie star good looks, but maybe using a brush once in a while… on the other hand, maybe it helps with her job. My wife and I have read a lot of German children’s literature (as children ourselves, we don’t like it too much for our kids) where there is often some kind of boogeyman who comes and gets you when you don’t follow the rules (see here for an example) – so we couldn’t help but laugh to see one of these scenarios brought to life.
River Cruise
Another annual mandatory outing. We had lovely weather, but this year they stopped making a stop near where we were staying, so we had to make a round trip. The food menu seemed reduced too, but at least it’s getting easier to keep the kids safe while they roam the decks.
Bike Ride
We rode our bikes through the local forest into the town of Tegel to find a playground. This day was particularly hot, so the shade provided by the trees was very welcome. Shark Boy had been getting over a flu, and I think we overestimated his recovery, because he simply quit well before we could get home, in spite of covering a much bigger distance last year. Still, taken as a whole, I have to call it a successful outing, and hopefully a precursor to future family bike trips.
Food
There’s a Simpsons episode where Germany is referred to as the land of chocolate, so we had plenty of that. I honestly don’t quite understand how Germans stay thin (my observations of people make me think that they’re thinner on average, though I found this on Wikipedia – Canadian men are 2 kg lighter than Germans [who are 6 kg lighter than Americans] on average). They have some good habits like more walking and biking as transportation, not to mention that the evening meal is generally quite light, with lunch being the big hot meal, but still! The bread is made with white flour, the meat is often red; I have a hard enough time eating fruit at home, but with fresh cold cuts and cheeses bought on a daily basis, they really get pushed to the side.
And then there’s my fetish for ice cream made in the image of pasta… I try to eat Spaghetti Ice Cream as often as I can get my hands on it while I’m in Germany since I can’t get it back home. The ice cream is pushed through a press to make noodles, the tomato sauce is actually strawberry sauce, and the grated cheese is either grated coconut, or grated white chocolate. I didn’t get to try any new places this year, but I got enough samples to keep me happy.
My wife and I had two date nights: once at our favourite little Italian place, where they always treat us like royalty and once at Alten Fritz (which has been open, in some capacity or another, since 1410!). We actually went to this restaurant twice: once with a larger group, and once with just the two of us. The first time I had a Goulash made with Wild Boar, and the second time a platter with 3 kinds of dumpling; it was really an eye-opener to how fine traditional German cuisine can be. There’s outdoor seating and even a little forested area with pond that really adds to the ambience.
Training
Swim
I used our proximity to the Havel River to my full advantage and I’d packed my wetsuit. I got in 3 open water swims, and since I’ve been doing a lot more than usual pool training, the difference that the open water makes was a bit of a surprise to me. I’m not sure of my technique in open water, but I’ve got the rest of the summer to figure it out. I got 3 different swims in, and one was 1800m, close to a half-iron distance swim. I think I’ll be putting together a post about swimming in an unfamiliar river.
Bike
In addition to the family bike ride mentioned above, I got in 3 rides. I knew my cycling training would suffer the most for not having access to a road or tri bike, but two of my rides were with the Lightning Kid, including one that had us out for about 3 hours (2 hours of actual riding) – it was great bonding time for us, and he liked seeing the sights and sounds including visiting a pens where boars and deer are kept. My third ride got cut short by a flat tire.
Run
Running is the easiest form of training to accomplish on vacation. Running with my brother on the day we arrived with jet lag (after an overnight flight) was pretty challenging; I expected to feel tired, but I had this dead feeling in my legs that I wasn’t prepared for. For the first few days in Berlin we had a lot of cold weather and rain so my first solo run was not enjoyable, but I also had nice runs in sunnier weather, alternating between going along the Havel River (and trying, unsuccessfully, to race one of the Steamboat cruises) and through the forest.
Beer
In addition to the usual suspects I also got to try the original Budweiser. This Czech lager is nothing like the American brew and I really enjoyed it. There was also Altenmuenster, which I gave 3.25 stars out of 5 and my wife and I both had a Kronbacher Radler. If you haven’t heard of a Radler (Moosehead is making one, for example), it’s a little like a shandy or other beer based beverage. A mix of sparkling lemonade and beer, the story goes that a bar owner was getting cleaned out of stock by thirsty cyclists stopping in, so he found a way to stretch his inventory while still quenching his customers’ thirst – Radler translates to ‘Cyclist’ as it turns out. So of course we had one while on the family bike ride mentioned above.
A black colour, resembling the fur of some sables.
My new bike is an Argon18 E-80. I’m not an expert on bike technology, but this is a solid bike with a combination carbon/aluminium frame, with an aerodynamic design that has been fully validated in a wind tunnel. One thing I noticed in some research I did, is that for example, the front brakes are behind the fork to benefit from their aerodynamic shape; some bikes put the brakes in front of the fork where they only spoil the effect of the aero fork. And of course, it fit my budget of $2000.00.
Argon18 is a Canadian company, which doesn’t hurt, and I’ve been playing around with red and black as an aesthetic; these things shouldn’t matter, but I can’t help myself.
So, back to the introduction, the bike is not only black, but named after a swift predator that relies on guile and skill more than raw power. That’s why I picked the name.
Sadly, as of this writing, I won’t have ridden her yet. I put on new SPD pedals, and when I wanted to switch my shoes to the correct adapters (I had bought both the pedals and the adapters over a year ago from a different store), it appears there were parts missing, so it couldn’t be done on the spot, and they didn’t have any more in stock. There are some other complicating factors which I can’t go into right here, right now, but I do like the store where I bought the bike, Bike Zone Mississauga.
Between getting a proper fit, and accessories (like water bottles), I’m sure I’ll be spending more money…
Have you named your bike? What’s the silliest bike name you’ve heard?
Disclosure: The links in this post are referral and/or affiliate links. I get a credit/commission for items purchased through them.
1.) For the office drone who needs to get more active and/or stronger on the bike: In a triathlon, you’re likely to spend more time on the bike than swimming or running, yet it seems to be the hardest to get out and do; the extra equipment and getting to a safe route can be time consuming. Enter the Stamina 15-0120 InStride Cycle XL. This thing sits under a desk and lets you quietly pedal during your workday.
2.) For a guy who, kind of, sort of, cares how he dresses. Frank And Oak make some of the clothes I most like to wear (except my flannel sweatpants and old hooded sweatshirts though they do make hoodies too). A Frank and Oak shirt is my go-to when I have an important meeting or it’s date night. I’ve also got khakis, slacks, jeans, shoes and blazers from them. All their stuff is affordable, and special mention goes to the shirts which are tailored well to an athletic physique; the more generic shirt you get from department stores tend to billow out if you’re slimmer than a husky man. The styles lean toward hipster, which helps this 40-something feel younger, but not to the point of embarassment.
3.) For the dad who likes turning play time with the kids (or any other semi-reasonable time) into a workout. Gripsling is an innovative, tough training device that basically can give you a handle on anything you can loop it around for lifting, or pulling yourself up. Their base model has a loop on one end and you grip the other end of the strap, but I like their next model up which has loops on both ends. If you don’t need the second loop, you don’t have to use it, but I always prefer have-it-but-don’t-need-it to need-it-but-don’t-have-it. They’re light and portable so it would be easy to take them along on a run to make a burbathlon more interesting. I can’t wait to integrate them into trips to the playgrounds and parks with the kids or even impromptu backyard workouts.
A photo posted by GripSling Raw Training Straps (@gripsling) on
Save 20% on your order when you use the discount code “IronRogue” at checkout. 4.) For the multisport smart phone addict: I had a waterproof dustproof camera that I used for taking pics at races for the blog and for when the family was out and about the way we often are, but the quality was never very good, and in the meantime, my phone’s camera has eclipsed it in megapixels and capabilities. While the Samsung Galaxy S5 has some baseline waterproof capabilities, I needed to not only feel safer in the water, but account for my own clumsiness which was going to result in a dropped phone (it’s happened in the past). Enter Lifeproof. I use the FRE case on my S5, and it’s saved it from multiple drops, and if you’ve ever seen one of my swim videos on Instagram, that’s how I capture them. Customer service is very good too, as they replaced the first one I got after a scratch showed up, and they did it quickly and efficiently. Galaxy S5 Case – frē$79.99
Once you have the case like I do though, the bulkiness of it can make it less convenient to have around at any given time, so I’m thinking about adding the quick mount accessories like this bike mount, Bike + Bar Mount with QuickMount$39.99
5.) For the father who’s not getting any younger… I only know two things about aging skin… a) sun makes it worse and b) you should moisturize. I’ve gotten a lot of skin care products as birthday, Christmas and Father’s Day gifts over the years and some are expensive, but I’m simply not fussed enough to go about multiple steps in any kind of regimen, at least not on a regular basis. Most days, I’ve been using the Every Man Jack Daily Protection after my shave; my skin gets moisturized against the irritation, and I get SPF 15 protection for the walk to and from my car and dropping the kids off (I use a higher SPF product if I’m training outside). You can get Every Man Jack products, and other grooming items (as well as socks, underwear and neat things like deodorant wipes for when you can’t shower) at ManPacks.com. Linking up with Friday Five from You Signed Up For WHAT? and Fit and Fashionable Friday from Fitful Focus
