Filed under: Ajijic, Fitness, General Update, Greg Collett, Hiking, Motorcycle in Mexico, Travel Storys
Wow – it’s been a whole month since I’ve updated this blog. I haven’t gone anywhere near that long in the last 5 years without updating. I’m working on a book so, I guess that takes away my need to type!
This year feels so different from last year. I guess that when we got here we were feeling so excited to be heading out on this huge adventure and we’d landed in a ‘far and distant land’. The language was different, the sky’s were blue, the temperature was perfect. It felt like everyone we met was doing almost the same sort of adventurous thing. Now, the freshness and excitement is gone. The weather is still great and the sky’s are still blue. The vegetation on the mountains changes all the time, but, we walk the same old roads, (there are only a few) we’re looking at the same old things. The fun of going to the store and trying to figure out what these different food are has switched slowly to “I’d give my right arm to spend 30 minutes in a Loblaws!” I went out to buy a couple of clear 60 watt light bulbs the other day. I found them in the second store, but, they were behind the counter so the girl had to get them for me. It took forever for this idiot to stop removing every 60 watt frosted bulb from the shelf and grab a clear one from the bunch that were 12 inches away. Yup – the fun factor is starting to wear thin.
Last year on the ranch, we almost never saw anyone around except for at happy hour. This year, half the folks are different and it’s impossible to lay outside in the sun during the day without someone coming over to talk. I need that shirt back that Steve had embroidered for me one year that read “I don’t play well with others”. Lynne keeps yelling at me to be nicer to people.
I wonder if I’m too young to be in this sort of semi retirement place. I was pretty lucky back home to get into this athletic thing. Almost everyone was younger than I. Many were 10 – 15 years younger and everybody was out training like maniacs with amazing goals ahead. I was pretty lucky to hang with that gang. Here now, it seems like most folks are 5 – 20 years older than us, and much more sedentary than I want to be. I feel a bit like I’m fighting a clock here. It’s almost time to get out of Dodge! We’re leaving in the middle of April. I wouldn’t be surprised if we came back here one day again, but I think we both have a lot of exploring and adventuring to do for the next while.
Lynne and I are planning to walk the Camino de Santiago, a 800k hike through the Pyrenees mountains in Spain this fall. I’m not sure how much hiking we’ll be doing on a daily basis back in Newmarket so, we’ve started walking daily here. We started last month and walked our way up to 70+K per week already. We’re planning on mixing things up a bit in that we’re going to do our Malecone 8k walks a couple of mornings a week, we’ll hike the mountains a couple of mornings and do a 15 – 20+k walk with weight in our knapsacks on the Sundays. It feels good to have an athletic goal ahead of me again. It’s not as intense (there’s an understatement) as Ironman training, but, it’s OK. I’ve ‘been there and done that’ – got the shirts the medals and the tat – now I’m old. you know those really old 70+ year old guys you see at marathons and triathlons? Yea – that’s not me! 
The book is coming along OK. I gave 45 pages or so to Lynne last night to read. Apparently I should have paid much more attention to my grade 6 grammar teacher! I was really hoping she would be so excited about it but, who am I kidding. I’m not a writer and not a big reader. If I can pump this out as best I can and then Lynne and I edit it, I think it will be pretty good. hopefully, we don’t kill each other while we edit together!
I made contact with Jeff, one of Lynnes cousins who is a very successful speaker in the US who has agreed to take me on and tutor me in how to market this book and get my butt out on the speaking circuit. I think that will be a blast. God knows I love talking to groups and there’s nothing more exhilarating than the curtain going up! I’m going to have to work hard at not dropping the “F” word all the time though!
There is a couple coming tomorrow to buy the last 2 puppies. I wonder if “Puppy” is the right word anymore. They are 6 months old now and, I weighted one this morning at 41 pounds. It’s OK, I didn’t hurt my back! We’re lucky that we’ve found good homes for all of them and, the two females left on the ranch are both fixed. I hate seeing them go, but feel good that they are safe and going to be well looked after. I have an incline that raising dogs would be a cool thing to do if I settle down back in Ontario one day.
I’m waiting to hear back from John with the HSBC series about some available dates for me to do some race announcing again this summer. I’m excited about that. That job is a hoot. I want to do a fair bit of riding this summer as well. Hopefully the announcing gigs will leave me with time to get out to the Rockies at some point and time. I haven’t seen my daughter Christine in way too long now. I want to get to Calgary ASAP after we get back. I’ll probably do an Ottawa run first to see Michelle and Gavin first though. I’ll feel safer getting a few miles on that bike within driving distance to home again. It’ll be great to ride a bike that doesn’t just get me there, but gets me back too! That little Vento bike I had here was great for a one way trip! It’s gone now. I sold it for what I bought it for. I’m out the cost of the repairs but, all in all, I had a ton of fun and a number of great adventures on it. I’ve got the x-rays to prove it too!
We have company coming for a few days in mid February, someone coming for the month or March and friends coming for a week and a bit in April. Hopefully, we’re still friends with the month-long visitor at the end of the visit. If nothing else, that should add a new and exciting dimension to the month and, to the 18 month Mexican adventure that we’ll be finishing!
It’s 1:00 pm here. I’ve got one afternoon left to play with the pups! Good luck with that cold and snow back home gang. Congratulations on completing 50 marathons by 50 Zora. A great goal, and a great accomplishment! I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone back in Lake Placid this summer. If you’re going to be there, don’t mit the tag team effort of Bernie and I ripping rubber off of every passer by at the end of the swim!
Filed under: Ajijic, General Update, Greg Collett, Hiking, Motorcycle in Mexico, Pets, Travel Storys
Wow – 14 days since the last update and 14 more sleeps until I head back to the “Old Country” for a 5 week visit.
I haven’t been writing for a while because, there isn’t a lot going on that’s new and different.
The weekend before last I decided to go for another ride out to Sayula and then Colima. Sayula is the town where all the knife makers are. I’m looking for a particular knife but, they didn’t have any, again! I’d taken the back road part way and loved it. Riding a bike down here is wonderful. The drivers are all crazy here. I have no idea what’s about to pop up in front of me in town, any town, but the highways are great. They go for miles and miles. I love riding in the sunshine sightseeing. Colima is the town beside the closest active volcano to where I live here. It’s about 200k from our casa, and about 100k from Sayula. It’s along that same great highway, but that second leg of the trip takes me through more mountains and then some bridges that span drops of several hundred feet. It’s beautiful. I couldn’t see the top of the volcano because of the clouds but it was still a great ride . . . . out!
No - I don't ride without a helmet and stuff!
This bike is only a 250 cc thing that shakes like crazy at its high-speed. It only manages 90 – 100 kph which, back home would be OK, but drivers here on the highway move between 125 – 140 – 160 kph. It’s a bit unnerving when a tandem tractor-trailer passes at those speeds. It would be nice to have a bike with enough power to get away from those guys and, not shake like the worlds biggest vibrator! I have to stop and stretch a bit every 100k or so. I got to my last stop on the way back. My GPS showed that I had 99.7k to go to get back to my house. I finished the last bit of water and the last cereal bar that I had with me. Walked a bit at the side of the road to get the kinks out and got back on the bike for the last leg of the trip. Turn the key . . . . nothing! No cranking of the engine, not lights, no horn, nada! It was as if someone had taken the battery out of the bike or had cut the wire of something. It was 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon. Most of the folks I knew were out-of-town this weekend. I wasn’t even sure if the cell phone I had would work where I was. There’s a really long complicated story to go with how I got back home, but, it’s enough to say that 5.5 hours later, the bike and I in the back of a pickup got home again! A reliable bike would be nice too!
A local guy here got it going after a few days and the boys back at the shop that I use got it humming again. It’s running like a charm right now. I think I’ll forego any long trips for a while!
Heading out at the end of the day!
The pups are about 9 weeks old now. The owner sent his boyfriend over the other day to take one of the pups for himself. I was pretty pissed that the owner never said anything to me. No Thanks or, hey, I’m giving one of the pups to my friend. The friend, who spoke zero English just came, picked them all up one at a time and took the biggest one. I gave the owner a bit of a hard time about it later but he’s one of those typical polished useless pieces of shit who say the right thing, but there’s nothing behind it. You know the type. the “My dad is a very successful self-made man and I’m the playboy son, pretending to be important the actually just pissing away dads money waiting for him to die so he can sell out and go back and hang out in Paris. Dick!! Luckily for me, he doesn’t come around to the ranch much, and almost not at all during snow bird season.
Heading Home!
I am so looking forward to getting back together with Lynne again. We talk almost every day. Being alone for the first week or two was great, but then, I started to really miss her. I’m flying up to Toronto on November the 2nd. We’ll head to NYC for the weekend and then back to Newmarket on the Monday. (NYC? I want my shirt at least!) Michelle and Gavin are meeting us there so, we should have a fun weekend bee-bopping around New York.
It will be nice to see the gang(s) back home and hang out for a bit. Lynne and I are going to drive back down here for the winter. We’re planning on leaving on about Dec 10th. Hopefully, the snow wont be flying before that. I expect we’ll do this trip in just a few days. I know people who have done it in 4 days. I think we’ll take 5 or 6.
Winter here and then drive back in the spring, probably in April or May. After that, who knows. I really don’t want to join back into city life, but I don’t want to spend endless periods of time without Lynne either. The time I’ve spent alone here has been nice in lots of ways, including letting me figure out a bit more of who and what I am and want. Part of what I discovered is that, a large part of what I am is ‘half of Lynne and Greg’!
There’s lots of time to think about next summer. I’m not going to worry about it much now. I do plan to do some looking at larger used bikes for sale while I am home next month. I’m sure the fall is the least expensive time to buy. The Honda ST 1100 is looking pretty good to me at the moment!
Honda ST 1100
Filed under: Ajijic, Day Trips, General Update, Greg Collett, Motorcycle in Mexico, Travel Storys
I don’t have a lot to write about this week. The Rainy Season appears to be over. My ankle seems to be healed up pretty well. I haven’t tried running yet, but that ne a bit more from laziness than anything else. I’ve been out on the bike a bunch, about 2100 kilometers so far. Out to Sayula and a few trips to the south side of the lake and even one around it. (250k).
The only funny story I have been from the bike ride yesterday around the lake. First the clutch cable broke when I was half way to Jocotepec and the bike shop. I thought I was supposed to be able to just kick it up a notch and expect the bike to jump, but I couldn’t make that happen. 30 minutes to go 10k, with all my safety stuff on! They replaced the cable at the shop in about 15 minutes, for 40 pesos, about $3.50 in our world!
Half way around the lake something stung the side of my neck. I don’t know what it was but, I was doing about 90 kph and after it stung my neck if flew down the back of my shirt and started stinging my back! I pulled over to the side of the road, rather quickly, and tore off my helmet, jacket and t-shirt and tried to scratch the bit spot and swat at the rest of my back with my t-shirt. I never did find the bug. 24 hours later i still have welts on my back. I’m just really glad it hadn’t flown up my pants!
The following is the story a friend forwarded to me about Hell. I LOVE it!
HELL EXPLAINED
The following is an actual question given on a University of Arizona> chemistry mid term, and an actual answer turned in by a student.
The answer by one student was so ‘profound’ that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well :
Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?
Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle’s Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.
One student, however, wrote the following:
First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving, which is unlikely.. I think that we
can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let’s look at the different religions that exist in the world today.
Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can
project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase xponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because
Boyle’s Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.
This gives two possibilities:
1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.
2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.
So which is it?
If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, ‘It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you,’ and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number
two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore,
extinct….. ….leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting ‘Oh my God.’
THIS STUDENT RECEIVED AN A+.
Filed under: Ajijic, Fitness, General Update, Greg Collett, Motorcycle in Mexico
The last year (2009) that I was training for Ironman in Lake Placid I kept saying that. “When I cross the line, THAT’S IT!, I’m done. When the race is over, I’m tossing those running shoes as far as I can, buying a motorcycle and hitting the highway.” I managed to do some of that. We’d sold the house, traveled for 5 weeks across Canada and the US into Mexico, found an AMAZING place to live and, I even managed to buy a bike. Not the “Honda-Pott0mus” that I thought I’d get, but a smaller 250 cc used bike that I could learn to ride on. A not-so-quick-trip to Toronto included a “Learn to Ride” course at Humber Collage and my M2 license.
The part that I didn’t stick to was the “This is it. No more running” thing. I’d put my name into the lottery for the New York Marathon for 3 years in a row. I wasn’t picked each of those years but, the rule is that if you try 3 years in a row and don’t get in, you’re automatically accepted for the 4th year. This was my 4th year. I got my notice, sent in some money and, I’m in!
I’ve not run a marathon outside of an Ironman race. I thought that running a marathon, particularly in New York City, would be a really cool way to end this “Hey I’m an athlete” chapter of my life. I’d had a GREAT time with the gang that I’d swam, bike and ran with. Usually I was playing catchup to everyone, but, that was fine. They were a very accepting, helpful encouraging team of folks. It was an amazing different experience from what I had remembered as a kid!
I found running down here in Mexico difficult. Yea, the roads suck. Any short run from the house meant running along the edge of the curb beside the rough cobblestone roads. There was really only one long run route for me. In the beginning it seemed really cool to walk up to the highway that ran through town and head east on the bike path to the next town 7.5k away and back, but that got pretty boring after a while. The real problem for me though was trying to train in total solitude. Most of my training had been alone back home, but i met up with the gang at the pool a couple of times a week and another gang at the club most mornings and another group through races and events. Here, I’d blog what I was doing, but that just isn’t the same and meeting up ‘the gang’ and trading stories. It was interesting to learn what the real ‘mental’ game of training was!
I had kicked around the idea of another couple of races before New York but, I dropped them as time when by. I didn’t like doing that. Quiting isn’t something that sits well with me. I decided when I was in Toronto that I’d start training as soon as I got back to Mexico. I’d have 12 weeks and, that would be enough to get me through. My pal Bryan was helping me with a simple training plan and was going to coach me over those weeks. That was great. Someone to report back to. A buddy to help! Perfect!!
I got back and started in. It was tough to get started again, but, I could feel the change coming on quickly as I started to run just a little further and a little faster. It still sucked, but, 12 weeks isn’t that long! I started counting down the number of runs left before race day! i had a case and a half of Gu here. You can’t buy that down here so, I’d even added how many gels I could take on what runs so that I’d be able to get through the longs runs. For sure, when this race was over, that one would be the last. The fun factor of running here was really low!
The other thing I got when I returned to Mexico (eventually) was my bike. I’d taken it into the shop before I headed north and ask the guy, (through an interpreter) to do whatever he had to do to make the bike like new again. I’d only paid $1000. for this 9-year-old bike. If I had to pay another grand to get it back to tip top shape, I was still ahead of the game. It took the guy a couple of weeks after I got back to get it back to me but, off I went. Around the lake, out to a few towns nearby. I got about 750k on that bike in just a week or 10 days. I was starting to feel comfortable. It doesn’t go fast enough to keep up with traffic on the out-of-town highways. This thing does about 90 – 05 kph but Mexicans drive between 125 – 140 on most highways. It meant that, every truck on the road blasted by! It took a bit to ge used to that.
I was in town here one day a couple fo week ago when I almost missed a turn I wanted. I signaled, slowed down and swept around the almost past corner and . . . . . damn! A “Special Moment”. I was crawling around the corner doing about 150 degree turn and was nervous about hitting the curb. I touched the front brake and . . . . . in a millisecond I was down. You can’t touch a front brake in a turn! I’d learned that at bike school, but, in less than a second it was over. My left ankle was pinned between the bike and the rock on the road. (I’m beginning to really not like cobblestones!) I had to rock the bike a couple of times to get my foot free. I asked a couple fo guys who were passing by to give me a hand to get the bike up and, I hobbled away! Man that ankle hurt, but I was more embarrassed than anything else. I was glad I had made the decision to not ride without all of my protective gear on. Helmet, jacket and boots.
I rode very slowly for the 4 or 5 blocks across the stones again to get home. Back in the house, I took off my boot and the foot started swelling immediately! I did the ice thing and kept it up. I could walk on it, gingerly, but I figured that meant that it wasn’t broken. I generally think we all go running to the doctor at the drop of a hat and, if we use common sense and give things a little time, our body’s heal themselves pretty well.
The next day the foot was huge and had a nice purplish tint to it. The next day, same size, deeper color. The day after that, it felt like it was starting to get just a tiny bit better, and so it went for the next week or so. Eventually, it stopped getting better. At times I could walk with a bit of a limp, at other times I could have used a crutch to help me get around. Two weeks later I decided to go and get x-rays. The doc showed me what I had suspected and that was that I’d cracked the ankle bone at that knuckle on the outside of my foot.
I love the clinic here. I’ve learned I need to be very exact about what I want them to check but, within 20 minutes I’d seen the doctor, told him my story, got 3 x-rays taken and checked, got a brace put on and was out the door for a cost of about $125.
I told him that I had a marathon in New York in 8 weeks. He told me that I don’t! The brace stops the foot from bending sideways and I can take it on and off as needed but, the bone is going to take another 3 – 4 weeks to heal. During that time, I’m supposed to use it as little as possible. I’m finding that my bike boots hold that ankle just as tightly as that brace does so, i can still get out and about. I’ve got ew tires on order for the bike. These are old and hard. New tires, they tell me, should grip a little better!
I’d imagined ending the athletic thing with a run around New York City and running, probably really slowly, but running non-the-less, across the finish line in Central Park. Instead, I’m ending with a bang on a cobblestone street in Ajijic, Mexico.
I’m not sure if this is a good thing that, I don’t have to run anymore, or, a bad thing, because I won’t run New York or, it leads me back to john Lennon’s line. “Life’s what happens when you’re busy making other plans” For now though, this chapter is now closed.
Thanks Tri, Du, Run, Gym gang – what a cool trip! You guys ROCK!!
Filed under: Ajijic, Day Trips, General Update, Greg Collett, Motorcycle in Mexico, Travel Storys
I had decided that I was going to ride back over to Sayula again, but to stay overnight and do a little exploring, as well as pickup something from one of the knife shops. The weather was very overcast when I left a few minutes before 10:00AM, but I went anyway. I’d done the trip last week, but didn’t stop in town.
The lake beds that I drove through last week were half dry again already. It was interesting to be riding along, watching the clouds roll in and then to feel the sudden drop in temperature as the rain was about to start. I was lucky that I seemed to get ahead of it each time that happened!
I packed my iPad into my knapsack along with some walking clothes for when I got here. I didn’t want to be walking around in jeans and boots! I stopped just inside town to check the iPad GPS. I Didn’t know if it would work without being attached to the net. Apparently, it needs to be!
I started to ride off down the main street. I got about 2 blocks in from the highway when the front wheel felt really strange. It was wobbling and felt like it was going to fall off. I wasn’t going fast. I pulled over and got to see my first flat tire. 
Good grief! I just barley know where I am, I have no idea where a bike shop is, and, I don’t speak the language. This was going to be fun. The first guy I talked to spoke enough English to tell me to go back to the highway. I rode really slowly, at about 5 kph. I phoned Lina ( friend and Spanish teacher) thinking that she could translate for me. Her line was busy so, i had to work through the language thing myself. Didn’t want to push the bike, but I was worried about hurting the tire or more so, the wheel. The guy at the gas station told me to take it across the highway, that guy told me to take it a couple of kilometers into town. I was getting worried about damaging the wheel, so I pushed it. I found the place eventually. No one spoke any English, but we got by. 20 minutes and $100. Pesos, (about $9.00 CDN) later, I was on my way again with a new tube installed.
The town is a series of one way streets. I eventually found the hotel that I had reserved the night before. In typical Mexican fashion, there is no sign out front and, it’s about three blocks from where it’s supposed to be.
I found out where the knife stores were and walked the few blocks to check them out. I picked up a cool knife belt and a set of steak knives that I saw a year ago.
The sky’s opened up after I get back to the hotel. We’ll see what tomorrow brings!
Filed under: Ajijic, Day Trips, General Update, Greg Collett, Motorcycle in Mexico, Travel Storys
Thursday was my first real ‘destination’ ride. I’d been out and about exploring the south side of Lake Chapala and a couple of neighbouring towns, but, it was time to head out on a mission!
Sayula Mexico is the home of Rodrigo Ojeda, and Jose Ojeda, among others who, for generations, have hand-made knives of all types. From kitchen knives to pocket knives to sword blades in canes and hidden belt buckle knives and anything else you cold imagine. I’ve always been fascinated with knives. I’m not sure why. Just a ‘guy’ thing I imagine. Anyway. Sayula is only about 100k from here so, I thought it would make for a good bike ride. *Sweet Secrets of Sayula“
I didn’t realize when I went out to see the Volcano a couple of months back, that Sayula was on the way. This was great because, I got to ride on that great highway that cut through a couple of dried lake beds that I driven on before. At the time, I was thinking or riding and imagining what a cool ride this would be.
I took a side trip along the way to the new highway that cuts through the mountain on the north side of Jocotepec. This highway will bypass the town when it’s done, but in the meantime, there’s a pretty nice view of the lake and the town from there.
Looking south-east across the town and Lake Chapala
Looking south across the fields towards Jocotepec with the mountains beyond.
A closer look of the church at the town square.
The highway doesn’t go all the way through yet, so I had to turn back after a few kilometers and drive through the town before heading out on the highway. The road out of Jocotepec, to the north, si also under construction as they widen it a bit. I got caught up in a bit of that construction, but, quickly the highway cut south and through some beautiful; mountain before heading out across what used to be, dried lake beds.
I stopped about 1/2 way along one of the two lakes for these next shots. One forward, one back.
Looking ahead to the west.
It’s rainy season down here and, it HAS BEEN RAINING! When I drove through here a few months back, there were huge dust bowls on either side of the highway. The wind was whipping up little dust tornadoes along the way. Now, with all this rain, the beds look like lakes, which they are. I think the lake is 6 inches deep at the deepest part!
Huge, 6" deep lake!
I did find the town and it looked beautiful I took longer than I’d expected getting there so, I rode around for 20 minutes and headed back to Ajijic. I had Spanish lessons with Lina that I wanted to get back to. I’m thinking of heading out over the weekend to visit the knife stores nd check out the town more. I may stay overnight. It would be interesting to see how I could survive in a Spanish-speaking town by myself!
I couldn’t believe how tired I was when I got back here to town though. All that time and distance, (250k) with my butt in the saddle sure takes its toll. A bigger bike with less vibration sure will be nice one day!
It was mid afternoon last Saturday that I arrived back here at our house in Mexico, without Lynne. The next adventure in our lives had begun.
What’s the adventure?
Lynne had bought a house in Newmarket and for the first time in her life will set it all up, decorate it, furnish it and do whatever she wants to it without having to compromise at all. The really important thing for her though is that she’ll be back home with family and friends for 2/3 of the year and will be doing more of a ‘snow bird’ thing here the rest of the time.
For me, it’s spending some solitary time. I felt, for most of my 43 years of my working life that it was important to always be showing the happy, successful face. Nobody wants to do business with anyone who isn’t “on top of the world and on top of their game” . That’s what I believed anyway. Now, I get the chance to be away from everybody and everything and just chillax, dig deep and figure out who I really am and maybe once and for all figure out what I want to do when I grow up! I really hope that when the dust all settle that I don’t find out that \i really nam an asshole!
Lynne and I will get together in New York early in November. I’m going to run my last race, the New York Marathon, on November 7. I’ll go back to our Newmarket house after that and, try my best not to say things like; “Wouldn’t that look better there” and ” Do you mind if I move some of the pictures around?” In return, Lynne will NOT stick a folk in my eye!
I figure I’ll spend a week or so there, then I’d like to fly out to Calgary and see Christine and the kids for a few days and then come back here. Lynne is planning on coming down here right after New Years and stay through the winter.
We’ve had a couple of long distance time sin our working lives before so, this isn’t as odd a thing to us as it seems to be to some of the folks who haven’t known us for years and years.
So, week 1.
I found it REALLY ODD for the first few days not having Lynne here. It wasn’t bad, just, it didn’t quite seem right sometimes. It didn’t help that, for one reason or another, Lynne and I couldn’t talk very much at all. Now that she’s in her / our house, and Steve M (Thanks Steve) hooked up Lynne Internet today, we should be able to talk as often as we want.
Coach Bryan has taken on his first client (athlete?) and is coaching me as I try to get ready for the marathon. This will be my first. Somehow, I think the marathon at the end of the two Ironman races I did don’t really count as marathons. Bryan is giving h=me some tips and advice and a ton of encouragement as well as different ideas for my very loose training plan. He’s checking my stats after each run as well. It’s making a world of difference for me. Thanks Bryan?
I finally got my motorcycle back from the shop.
Manly-man looking isn’t it! It’s really just a 250 cc 2001 bike that I’ve pickup to learn on. I’ve never ridden before, well, that 2 minute ride that ended up with me crashing into a truck, breaking my collar-bone and dislocating my shoulder a few months back doesn’t count!
Nothing seems to ever just go completely right here in Mexico. They get there, but it takes just a bit longer than, well, my patience lasts (unfortunately).
I got the bike back a week later than it was supposed to be ready. I would have thought that 7 weeks would have been enough time to bring it back to new but, apparently now. It takes 8 weeks. When I did go to get it, Bike Dude says “Do I have the key?” Ummmmm – “Yes”. Well after about 20 minutes he was able to find a key got the gas tank open. He put some gas in for me. He found another key that would start the bike (but not open the gas) and he found the key was at the electrical shop i n Guadalajara. He told me to come back today to pick the proper key up. Meanwhile, I had the screwy key that would start the bike anyway.
The trip back her to the house was fun, and nerve-wracking. The town is 25k away and the highway is the only way to get here. I think the fastest we ever got at bike school was about 30 – 35k. Flying down the highway at 95 kph was a new, really really fun experience. The speed limit along that road is posted as 60, but everyone on the road was still passing me. What can I say. Welcome to Mexico!
I found an excuse to go out again later in the day yesterday. I needed some bug spray for the house. I leave the doors open for the dogs and cats and, the flys like to come in too! I could have walked up to the top of the street but, decided it would be better if I rode to the north end of Chapala and bought it at the big grocery store there. Today I headed back to get the key but, bike dude wasn’t there. I should come back Monday now! Grrrrrr!!!
I came back to town and found an empty parking lot to practice some of the stuff that I learned at school. Biking seems to be a bit like sailing was. Anyone can bike or sail at full speed, but try to do it with no speed and it’s another thing. I practiced some quick stops in the parking lot as well. I guess in time I can go from one bike to another and not have them feel very different, but this bike feels a lot heavier that the ones at school. I guess, now that I’m old, I’m being a bit more careful than I once was! hopefully the bike guy has my key on Monday and, I don’t run out of gas on my way there! I wish |I knew how far an average 250 cc bike goes on a tank of gas. I guess I’ll find out in time!
The other cool news at the ranch is that there were 7 new puppies born on Wednesday. Delilah has had her last litter. We’ll take her to get fixed as soon as she’s done with her pups. We take the pups for their shots at the same time. We’re not having a repeat performance of last year when all but one died of distemper!
Delilah had this litter under the bush right outside of our house.
The Puppies were born under that big tall grass like looking plant at the corner of our house.
The bush is amazing. The grass is really hard and sharp, but there is a cave all the way around the base in the inside. Delilah has an opening that she uses to get in and out.
Delilah Bush Cave Opening
Delilah let me craw in once to have a look. This picture isn’t very clear, but I didn’t want to upset Delilah for very long. I’m sure they will be out soon enough!
There are actually 7 puppies in this picture!
So, that’s about it for the ‘end of week 1′ update. Lynne’s in her house. I’m here with my bike and my pets. Life is unfolding the way it’s supposed to I guess!
I’m off for my first 10k run in months and months tomorrow morning. I’d like to go ride around the lake but, without being able to get into the gas tank yet, that ride will have to wait! Ironman Canada is next weekend. Good luck to all my friends who are heading out there. I’ll be watching all day next Sunday.
Filed under: Ajijic, General Update, Geocache, Greg Collett, Motorcycle in Mexico, Travel Storys
I did my 5k run yesterday. My left heel is killing me. i don’t know what’s going on with it but, I have to run on my toes on that foot. I’m not running today. Hopefully, it’ll be better tomorrow.
I went for a walk in the hills yesterday and decided to try out this Geocaching thing. I input the data for the closest cache to me from http://www.geocaching.com/ and headed out to the mountain.
Lynne and I had looked for this a few months back, but didn’t have any luck. Marg and Neil gave us some tips when we were in Toronto so, off I went with data in my 305 and hints from others who had found it in the past.
Geocaching, for anyone who doesn’t know what it is, is, treasure hunting / hiking for the folks who want to blend technology and nature into one. The treasures can be any container with a lid. Inside is a piece of paper that you can sign and, the treasure. These treasures are things like those fabulous toys we used to get in Cracker Jacks or any kids breakfast cereal!. The web site gives you some hints as well as the latitude and longitude number and, off you go. Personal GPS’s are good to within a few meters. Apparently, the US doesn’t want terrorists to spend $200.00 and be able to pinpoint the chimney on the White House! Tis means that the data you get will send you to within a few meter circle of where this treasure is hidden. This one was in a stone wall near a tree. Here’s a link to the GPS data from my Garin after the trip.
With rainy season here, the gentle forest has turned into a jungle and the dry creek beds are now rivers that turn into gorgeous waterfalls here and there. It’s actually a nice way to spend time in nature, with a mission!
I’m still waiting to get my bike. It seems the guy I took it to needed to take it to another shop in Guadalajara. He was supposed to get it back last week but, as of last night, it still wasn’t back. I’m waiting to hear now what the ETA is. I’m getting frustrated because, the guys in the shop I took it to don’t speak English. i need to count on a friend here to call, but he’s busy with other stuff. Maybe this is God telling me to relax, lay back and read a book!</p>
