Sun, Rain, Sleet and Snow

I guess I should have known better - the Winter Olympics are currently underway.

Today I set out for my toughest ride of the week: 2.5 hours that included 3x4km up Mt. Seymour. I have been working up to this distance and have felt pretty pleased with my progress so far. It has definitely helped that the weather in Vancouver has been perfect for the past week and riding outside and not on the trainer has been awesome.

Today when I left the house, it was slightly overcast, 12 degrees Celsius, but looked like it wouldn't rain for a while. I set off on my ride and made my way over to Mt. Seymour to get started. The first hill rep is always the hardest but I was committed to making this workout a great one! By the time I started the second rep, it started spitting. It didn't really bother me as I was quite warm with all my layers on and welcomed it. But, by the time I started the third rep, the rain REALLY started coming down. I was determined to finish what I had started, so I kept at it. 1km, 2km, 3km.... I had almost reached the 4km mark when the SNOW came down - hard!! I didn't want to turn around early (stupid me!) so I kept going until I had reached the 4km mark. When I looked down on my bike computer, the temperature had dropped a whopping 8 degrees and was now only 4 degrees C. Ouch! Needless to say, the ride down the mountain was NOT enjoyable. I went through snow, sleet and pouring raining before I made it to the basw. I was officially FROZEN. I also had a good 20-25min ride home in the pouring rain. I contemplated calling Mark and begging him to pick me up, but I sucked it up and finished the ride.

A hot shower and warm sweats have never felt sooooo good!

We are off to Whistler tomorrow to catch some more Olympic action. We will be at the victory ceremony on Wednesday night and the Nordic Combined on Thursday morning!

Olympic Fun!

Vancouver has fully embraced the Olympics. The city is packed with people decked out in patriotic gear from all over the world.

Initially I wasn't sure how the city would react to the Olympic Games. Vancouver always seems to be a city that enjoys participating in sporting events instead of spectating. However, if Saturday was any indication - Vancouver is ready to welcome the world and embrace anything and everything "Olympics!"

Ramsey, Mark, Nick, Dave, Allison and I with the torch!

On Saturday, we headed downtown with a group of friends to check out all the action. We spent some time walking around the city before settling at LiveCity Vancouver to watch the Canadian Women's Hockey team followed by the Women's Moguls. We waited in line for a good 45min to get into the venue, but it was well worth it. Once inside, Allison and Courtney secured us some awesome front row seats to take in the action. We cheered our hearts out as Canada won its first medal of the Olympics Games! CTV just happened to be set up in front of us, filming the fans as we cheered for our home team. Just as the TV cameras were leaving, they stopped by our table to interview both Nick and I - and we both made it on National Television! Fun.

Yesterday, we cheered from home as Canada won its first Olympic Gold Medal on home soil - EVER! Today we hope to head downtown to check out the Heineken House!!

I have a feeling I won't be doing anything productive for the next two weeks as I take in all the Olympic festivities!

Here are a few pictures from Vancouver:

Being interviewed by CTV!

Dave, Mark, Ramsey and Nick taking up the bobsled!

Being tourists in our own city!

Cheering on the home team!