Speed Trials

2900 km in two days. That’s what we had to travel to make it to the Bench Minor II tournament that took place in Chicago last weekend.

As soon as Angelo was drafted into this tournament in February, I knew I wanted to go with him. I didn’t care that I was going to be 6 1/2 months pregnant, and that the drive would take over 14 hours each way, I was not going to pass up the opportunity to see Chicago again. Also, I knew it would be one of the last times that I could travel with Angelo to bike polo tournament without a baby in tow, so I sucked it up and drove there like a trooper.

We stayed in the Loop, and the tournament was held within Millenium Park, both bee-you-tee-full locations.

Amazing backdrop…

So, here’s the thing about Chicago – I’m in love with it. I’d been there once before about 10 years ago, and I fell in love with the architecture and the sheer size of the city. I spent most of that trip looking up at the buildings, awed by the skyline.  But with this trip, I also discovered what an amazing vibrant city it is at the ground level. Millenium Park is an incredible Public Space that hosts 65 days of free music a year in an outdoor amphitheater.  It’s also home to fountains, Cloud Gate, and while we were there, there were 4 or 5 festivals going on.

Marlène and Angelo at Cloud Gate

We arrived Friday at around noon, and took our bikes to search for food. Wabash Ave was amazing, with the skytrain overhead, and Michigan Ave was in full rush-hour mode, which made the bike ride all the more interesting (especially with a pregnant belly). It was actually pretty fun riding in a big city like that, and again, the sights were so impressive!

But really, we were there for the polo:

Um, my camera seems to only take photos of Angelo. I swear it’s not intentional…

Angelo’s team did really well, and actually went undefeated until the last game. It was a heartbreaker. Angelo played really well all weekend long, and I think he had an AMAZING time. Also, it’s always SO MUCH FUN seeing all the polo people. They live all over the world, and so whenever you get a whole bunch of them together, it’s ALWAYS a fun time.

So proud of papa!!

I’m not the most social person in the world, and if I’m not careful I’ll tend to stick to the people I already know. So I usually give myself the goal of having a meaningful conversation with just one new person at each tournament. That way, it’s not so overwhelming, but I’m still putting it out there, ya know? The people I met at this tournament were so wicked awesome.

Ange and I didn’t do much partying this weekend (I know, you’re shocked) and spent our evenings either passing out in the hotel room, biking along Lake Michigan, or going for Burritos that were the size of my head.

We left Chicago on Monday morning at around 9am. We didn’t get home till about midnight. It was a long haul, but totally worth it. I love you Chicago, I just wish you weren’t so damn far!

During my first trimester, I was tired ALL THE TIME. I had just about enough energy to get through the workday, and by the time I got home, it’s all I could do to sit on the couch and keep my eyes open to watch TV. I was usually in bed by 8 o’clock, and most days I had to take a noontime nap in the lounge at work.

Now that I’m in the glorious second trimester, I finally feel like my energy level is almost back to normal. So when Angelo complained yesterday that he hadn’t been to the gym in a while, I suggested we both go right then and there. At the gym, I ran for 10 minutes on the treadmill at a speed of 4.7mph, and then did 30 minutes of weights (3 sets each of the following):

Biceps curl – 10lbs
Triceps extension – 5lbs
Deadlifts – 10lbs

Barbell Squat (on the Smith machine) – 10lbs
Side lunge – 10lbs
Inner and Outer thigh machine – 20lbs

I read that pregnant women can continue to lift weights throughout their pregnancy as long as they reduce the amount of weight they lift and can increase the reps if they feel up to it.  I dropped the weights to half of what I could lift pre-pregnancy, and I did 15 reps of each instead of my usual 12.

It was a good workout. I gotta say, I felt pretty badass doing my squats with a nice pregnant belly!!! But the best part for me was running on the treadmill – it didn’t take long for those endorphins to kick in and I just kept thinking to myself “Why did it take so long for me to do this again??” I know people find it weird to equate working out with having fun, but I really was having fun, and I felt great throughout. (I think it helps that I kept the pace extremely manageable. I wasn’t there to push myself too hard too soon, so I was just left with the best feeling of well-being ever!)

For today, I thought I’d do something a little different and took advantage of the weather before it starts to rain.  I decided to go out for a bike ride:

Yes, five months pregnant and I’m on the bike. It was really fun too, though I do have a mental block when it comes to biking pregnant. I think it’s because my handlebars aren’t capped. It’s extremely dangerous because if I fall and the handlebars hit me in the stomach, they can do MUCH more damage if they aren’t plugged up. PSA for the day: EVERYONE SHOULD GO OUT AND PLUG THOSE HANDLEBARS!!!

Other things to note:

1) Scarves aren’t helping me hide the belly anymore
2) I know, I know, my chain is hella droopy
3) I don’t know what I’m going to do when my Camper boots finally die. They are my absolutely favourite!
4) remember when I mentioned that my elbow was causing me problems, and that I’d probably have to go for more physio? Yeah, well, after the gym yesterday and biking on it today, it’s definitely effed up and I best make that appointment to Motion Matters soon…

The weather this past week has been sunny, warm, and daylight is now stretching till well past 7pm. All of that means that the polo court is officially open for the season (a lot of the players spent days chipping the last of the winter’s ice off the court to speed along the thawing process).

I went down to the court at Ev Tremblay park this afternoon with Angelo to watch some of the polo and catch up with lots of people I hadn’t seen all winter.

Photo by John Tanguay

The polo today was really good and fun to watch. I found that the players are relying a lot more on making passes and keeping possession of the ball as they move down the court, rather than just blasting it from the centre line.  There’s also a lot less shoving and elbowing that makes the game really smooth, and more interesting for spectators.

The other thing that I like to see is that there is a LOT more protective gear out on the court nowadays. Helmets, gloves, visors/cages, protective glasses, and shin pads are more and more common, which is great.

Today was also the first day I rode my bike in FOUR months. Ever since I found out I was pregnant, I haven’t been able to get on the bike. I get so nervous thinking about what could go wrong.  So I’ve just stayed off the bike, and I’ve been walking everywhere instead. I gotta say, it felt great being back on the bike, and now that the snow is all but gone, it might be time to start commuting to work by bike again…

Every morning for the past 10 days have started out with me looking out the window, seeing a version of this:

And then having the following conversation:

Me: “Hey Ange… You awake?”

Him: “(grumble grumble from under the covers)… No.”

Me: “Do you want to drive me to work?”

Him: “What happened to your plan to bike to work all winter???”

Me: “I already told you – I’m in a revolt!”

Without analyzing what this says about our relationship, often Angelo would get up and drive me to work. He understood my revolt, I guess. My revolt came from inadequate footwear. The few times I’ve biked to work this month, I have arrived with frozen, soaking wet feet. I hate having cold feet, and I hate starting the day with something I hate.

I knew that I had to get a better setup for biking in the wintertime (remember, my third rule of Being a Bicycle Commuter is to have the right gear!). So on Thursday night, Angelo and I set out to Sail at the Ottawa Train Yards.

My first impression of Sail was that I felt like I was cheating on the MEC. But Sail’s boot selection was great! I narrowed my search to two pairs, which I tried on:

1) Function: The Baffins

2) Fashion: The Sorels

Oh Sorels, why do you have to be SO cute and yet SO uncomfortable? I was struggling between Fashion and Function for a long time, when finally I just put on one of each boot for a final showdown. That’s when I realized there was no contest, function won out big time! I fell in love with the Baffins almost immediately – they are just so comfortable and warm. They have amazing foot support, and the insulation goes all around the inside of the boot, so you don’t get any ground chill coming up from the soles of the boots.  And I figured if a boot is named after the coldest place on Earth, it’ll do for my morning commute to work!

I brought them home and I wore them in the apartment all night, and I even wanted to go to bed in them!

On Friday morning, I looked like this for my commute to work (Notice the most important thing I’m wearing is a smile!)

The breakdown:

Inner layer – wool socks, tights, Lululemon Swiftly Tech long sleeve top, tech sleeveless jersey (over the long sleeve top)
Outer layer – Baffin Boots, MEC wind-resistant technical tights, Down-filled jacket, scarf, wool toque, ski gloves, helmet.
Backpack – contained my work clothes, wallet and other junk, bike lock.

I’m happy to report that my feet were warm and dry when I got to work, and the Baffins were great to bike in. They are a bit big for my pedal cages, but nothing I can’t work around. I love the way they fit, the fact that they’re not too bulky or heavy despite being so baddass, and in the end they don’t look all that obnoxious (just not as cute as the Sorels…)

… Good morning, Lionel!

It’s finally that time of year when I put away my summer bike and start riding my winter bike.

Louis

Before I put Louis away, I gave him a good washing, de-greased his chain, and deflated his tires. He is now up on the wall and tucked away for the winter.  I also cleaned up and put away Angelo’s summer ride (Cassandra), too. I’m a good GF like that!

In return, he patched the tires on my winter bike, and got it road-ready for me before he left for class today:

Lionel

I’ve named this bike Lionel (aka the green machine), and he’s been mine for four years now. He was the first fixed bike I ever owned, and I love him a lot. The Louis sure is a pretty bike, but Lionel has a really special place in my heart. He doesn’t look like much, but he gets me where I want to go.

The weather was absolutely beautiful today (I spent most of the morning with the back door open) so I decided to take Lionel out for a short ride. It felt great being on a bike again, and really lifted my spirits.

I rode through a really nice neighbourhood, and there were lots of people out raking leaves and enjoying the warm fall weather.

Unfortunately, one of my tires had a slow leak, so I had to cut the ride short, and walked my bike home. I tried to bee-line it back to my place, which led me to this cul-de-sac.

It’s a pedestrian overpass that goes over the Queensway! I love exploring new routes and paths!