Easter Weekend: The Training Doesn't Stop

A very welcomed long weekend took us to the Millcroft Inn & Spa for an early celebration of Miriam's birthday. Still can't believe such a nice place is only about 45 minutes away (in good traffic) from the city. The Friday before we left for the spa, we were still doing our exercise routines. Miriam had gone down to the condo gym and I went down to our parking spot for another session on the trainer. As of Thursday morning, I had managed to lose another two pounds (now down to 165 Lbs.) but that loss might have been put in jeopardy, as the spa package included a three-course dinner and breakfast :-) I must say though, the dinner was well worth whatever setback I may have incurred in my weight loss plan. We got back home early Saturday afternoon, so both of us opted for a little more exercise. Miriam hit the gym again and I spent the next two and a half hours on the trainer for a total caloric expenditure of 1,300 calories. That should've helped offset the dinner from the previous night a little :-)

Anyway, for those of you who are into cycling, did you know that you can actually complete a full stage of the Tour de France and the event is put on by the same organizers of the actual Tour? Yes, you actually get to ride on roads lined with spectators and closed to regular traffic. It's as close as it gets to ride in the Tour for wannabes like myself :-) As many as 8,000 people take part every year and you have to be in excellent shape for it, as there are time cutoffs that you have to make in order to finish the stage. The stage last year finished at the mythical Mount Ventoux, where even the pros suffer on race day, so you can imagine what a course like that does to mere mortals. Here's a video of a recon ride done by a guy that actually puts on training camps to get in shape for that ride. The music and the scenery are fit for the epic proportions of the ride.