Man's Best Friend

Normally the dog is said to be man's best friend, I have a different interpretation. The animal I feel closest to has to be the fish, Barracuda to be precise. I got my Barracuda A2Z in Grade 6, purchasing it brand new from 'Ski and Pedal" on 16 Ave on Victoria Day. Money I had saved over several years helped purchase the Tange cromoly character ride. Originally a 21 spd GripShift equipped machine it has seen several evolutionary changes and in the last few years has served me well as a single speed roadster. Normally I use the bike mainly for commuting, but it can also handle training and in the last few weeks periods of cold and snow have forced me to take some drastic measures and outfit the beast of the sea with some Hutchinson Alligator knobbies to tackle the adverse conditions. A couple of weeks back when the weather was particularly challenging I spent 14hrs on it in three days riding on the pathways. This bike does it all and shows no signs of slowing down and for that it earns a special place in the animal kingdom.

Details of the Beast

Culinary Conquest: Real Recovery in a Sandwich

Today was a typical Tuesday. I have 2 hours of class in the morning, then a four hour break and more class in the afternoon. The window of training opportunity between classes is tight. As usual I was tight for time after stepping from the shower with the clock racing towards 14:00. I wanted a well balanced and delicious quick meal so I fired up a couple of peppered easy over eggs, found some back bacon (low fat content, basically ham) and finally a few homemade rolls in the bread basket. Once the bacon was almost ready I knew I could do better than the classic eggs sandwich so I cut a couple of thin slices of my favorite Camembert cheese, tossed it in between the warm eggs and bacon and watched it melt into the most beautiful egg based sandwich I have ever laid eyes on. I knew I had created a masterpiece long before the first bite via the tantalizing aroma wafting to my olfactory sensors. Magnificent. A perfect harmony of protein from three unique sources, low glycemic, high quality carbohydrate and a touch of fat. Recovery shakes!? Treat yourself like a human being.

Norwegian Culinary Delights: Pepperkake Hus

This culinary delight is both extremely rare and incredibly demanding to create, but the results as I am sure you will agree are astonishing. One Christmas tradition in the Strom household is the creation of some sort of gingerbread structure in the final days before Christmas Eve. It started as a simple task, building barns and simple houses as kids. One year my brother created a colossal Norwegian Stav Kirke. It was a project with a foundation of chocolate covered almonds, hundreds of baked walls for the incredibly complex exterior as well as for a fully developed interior. The major innovation that year was the addition of lights inside the architectural marvel.

My sister was here for Christmas this year and we decided to revive this rich tradition and create a relatively simple church to add to the Christmas decor at home. Check out this photo set for a step by step guide on how to build your own Pepperkake Hus and for some detailed photography of this years creation.

How to Build a Pepperkake Hus

Day in the Life

6:30 - Up and about; lightning fast oatmeal, coffee & pack for long day out.
6:55 - ride bicycle to train on icy, wet roads, take train a couple of stops, ride some more icy, wet roads.
7:30 - Dentist appointment, cleaning no biggy
8:30 - Ride the slush bowl derby to the Olympic Oval
9:00 to 10:30 - More riding, weights and core training
11:00 - Canadian Sport History class
12:00 - Human Growth & Development class + lunch
13:15 - Depart for training ride, bikepaths in the wet
14:00 - Pitstop at home to fix loose hub
16:25 - Hit the showers at the Uni, grab some Vietnamese cuisine
17:00 - Supervisor shift begins at the Oval
22:30 - After dealing with a girl busting her tooth out, finding missing padlocks, mopping floors, boosting staff moral, reorganizing the concession fridge, coming up with catch phrases, networking, working and snacking; leave Oval following shift.
22:45 - Arrive at home after managing to stay clean while riding in slush bowl two.
23:30 - Bed
17hrs, another day, another; dollar, bout of scholarly enrichment, athletic development and tick on the calender.

Hummer and Co

Most people know my feelings with regards to the over consuming, monstrous and purely revolting vehicles that are unfortunately all to common in the city I call home. Due to ample energy supply, excessive disposable income and a sense of isolation from global responsibility Albertans have taken to flaunting their supposed masculinity and power in absurd truck like creations such as the famed Hummer H2. Aside from the fact that the Hummer is next to completely useless, unless of course you happen to be a top 40 mass music production product rapper or other individual unsure of your place in society and see it necessary to menace good natured people with your ignorant presence, it is still far too popular.
One television program I have grown fond of is Top Gear. It is an overly dramatic, but very entertaining car show produced by the BBC. Unlike many other such shows they come across as independent of advertising influence in their reviews and therefore come across as quite genuine in their opinions. One clip I particularly liked (until getting to the last couple of minutes) showcases some of the realities of what the individuals who drive these rolling symbols of ignorance actually have to deal with. Prior to viewing this video my view of the H2 was mostly opinion based, but there are obvious technical facts to support the argument that beyond being useless and everything else they are in fact junk. The host doesn't exactly give the final verdict I would have liked to see, but some of his insight is quite valuable. Enjoy

Free Ride

After a couple years of collecting I decided to see what kind of power aeroplan had given me. Multiple trips to Europe and countless in North America yielded points to book myself training camp number two in Victoria for February 17-25 and still leave me enough points for another domestic flight. Unfortunately reading week was all I could squeak out for my escape as some classes have midterms at inopportune times and missing work proves to be too costly.
Camp number three is in the works. I have a couple of options that will both take me to the sunny BC interior, but again the help of some flexible professors is required.
Many people don't like Air Canada all that much, but if you can scam them on the bike box they actually have a great deal to offer. More flights and better sales offers can for the time being sway me their way despite the competition's in flight TV and nifty imaging tactics.

Barnyard Fusion

2007 will see p.productions taken to new heights and to get the fresh season started I am proud to present my first cooking show. J Sparls aka Chef Toasty Toes educates on how to prepare a top notch meal on a budget. Look for some of his trademark crafty cooking techniques and unique tips. Enjoy.

Low Budget

I just returned from a very solid two weeks of training in Victoria and managed the most riding for this time of year in the history of my cycling career as well as the lowest budget trip in recent memory. Despite some challenging weather conditions the first week well over 30 hours was logged and the tone has been set for what should be a very exciting year in 2007.
Total cost of training camp with all applicable taxes, $500. This amount includes return direct airfare on Air Canada Jazz, travel to and from the airport, food, accommodation, 10 coffee stops, a shopping cart "rental", ferry ride to Salt Spring Island and back, and even some parts at MEC. I did have to make some sacrifices to get the trip this cheap including missing a day of school and traveling on Christmas day. My bike box scamming technique was also employed as well as some hiking from an airporter bus drop off spot (thus the rental of the shopping card at $0.25). I must have been a sorry sight wheeling a shopping cart with a bike box in it through the street late on Christmas day. I have to admit I felt a little lonely as I glanced in dining room windows of houses I past with families gathered for festive meals in the soft glow of candle light. You have to do what you have to do I suppose, sometimes you just have to make things happen. Creative menu choices were also employed, but my training or quality of food intake didn't suffer too much because of it. When you can make a well balanced, satisfactory dinner meal for around $3.00 you can afford to splurge occasionally on items such as Fairway Market's famed "honey buns".
At the moment I am trying to fit my class schedule optimally around training. With only two more semesters remaining in my university career this is becoming increasingly difficult as I am finding myself with some lack of class choice due to some final degree requirements.
Look for a product review plus a new video in the near future.

Back on Board

The three days on one day off base training strategy allows for high quality riding, a maintenance of sanity and time every 4th day for a venture back to training in its purest form. Coffee rides. I know I refer to them often, but there is a magic surrounding this routine task that to me is truly indescribably beautiful. Here in Vic the coffee rides consist of an hour long spin to the central java destination along the waterfront through upscale neighbourhoods and oak lined boulevards all while soaking in astounding ocean views. The stop spot of choice lies in Bastion Square with a view of the bay from the patio. So far we have been able to enjoy double espresso in the open air. Clean that bike, put on your Sunday best and do a coffee ride. Recreation at its finest.

Enjoying the company of the J & A show

Costal Culinary Delights: Surfer Balls

The blast out to Jordan River has occurred a couple of times during these past weeks. This ride is popular not only for its breathtaking coastal views and equally breathe robbing aggressive ascents but also for the ultimate destination that awaits at the turnaround point. Jordan River is known as one of the hottest surfing spots on Vancouver Island's south coast. Weathered wave seekers flock to its rocky shores in droves and with the masses comes a hunger, not only for the perfect wave but also for cheap high calorie food stuffs to insulate against the frigid waters. This is where the Surfer Ball has its roots and as it turns out it also provides optimal fuel potential for cyclists in training. The 2.5 hour ride from Victoria is the perfect distance to build ones appetite for this incredibly dense ball of cookie. This culinary spectacle of the south shores is composed of densely packed oats, white flour and chocolate chips. The mystery lies in its shear density, some believe it is thanks to a healthy dose of lard. No matter what this wonderfood actually contains when it is combined with a piping hot coffee it will get you home in no time flat. An important fact is also that the surferball and coffee combo will only set you back $1.25 CAN, Clif what?? I took the journey today with Bobby V, 5.5 hours of wind and rollers on a bottle of go juice, a surfers delight and that always faithful cup of joe. Belge be ready.

Solid Foundation

Happy New Year!
Its been a while since I posted due to limited computer access at my temporary base training position on the west coast. The weather and riding have been great. Bobby V and I have been putting in some huge hours on the rolling roads of southern Vancouver Island. So far we have done most every ride there is to do in these parts. Our adventures have taken us out to the winter surfing paradise of Jordan River for legendary "surfer balls" at the surf shack, up the Mallahat, out the Penninsula and up and over the Highlands multiple times. The last two days have been tough with strong winds and periodic monsoon like rain conditions, but with the proper clothing it has been like riding in the shower all day. Yesterday we witnessed flooding in East Sooke and washed out roads.
New Years Eve was very low key with a 5.5 hour ride to ring out 06 and 5 hours on the doorstep for the first day of 07 we enjoyed a good meal and attempted to view municipal fireworks that indicated a thin city budget or at least a trend toward thoughtful spending of tax dollars.
Today is a rest day with only a couple of hours on the bike and a good long coffee stop. There is a great place downtown on the water with a patio we will likely be hitting up. For the next set of 3 long days the wheels will be turning for two of those days on Salt Spring Island. The Sea Breeze Inn beacons with cheap beds and unlimited scenic, traffic free riding amongst the island's rainforest like vegetation, countless hippies and fresh egg stands.
The computer access seems to be better at the house now so I will attempt to post a couple of updates before I return to home base for another semester at the uni.