Simon says

Blogging, cycling and pretty much everything else has taken a back seat since we got the keys to the house last Friday. It's been mammoth and we haven't even moved in yet. Shiny yellow paint and those green carpets are taking a fair bit of shifting. Spot the sisters: Help has been abundant - Sabatino even managed to roll his roller in between vacations: And Chris and Dan could hardly look more like they were enjoying themselves: When hope is waning, here's a glimpse of joys to come. Hiding under that green carpet is the foundation for a bright sunny house full of light and some endangered forest spread out over the floor. So with spring definitely in the air and no end in sight with the paint brush a little inspiration as the weekend approaches:

I have finally managed to post the video of our new home. We get the keys Friday 20th, have a week to deal with peeling paint and green carpets and then plan to move in the following Friday. Video tour 10m 42s long.

Today's ride was meant to be an easier ride than yesterday's slightly hilly 90.5 km - or at least that's what I told Chris. Heading out with a map and apparently little idea of scale we ended up doing over 91 km although it was very flat if a bit windy. Beautiful route though in large parts especially the road bordering the national defence land and on up 6th line. Back at uni tomorrow so an enforced break from 7 peaks training. Thank you early March spring for three wonderful days of unbroken sunshine and the chance to explore the local road riding. p.s. avoid the old coach road/old carp road! Looks nice and winding but is painfully gravel... National defence/Carp loop Find more Bike Rides in West Ottawa, Ontario

Passport safely at home I ventured across the river into Quebec. 90km later I crossed back into Ontario. In between, rolling hills, ski slopes, the Gatineau Riviera (a very quiet road that runs along the river just south of Wakefield down to Chelsea) and 4 hours of unbroken sunshine. Cycle computer has got lost in the melee of packing but heart rate monitor came with me today: 3hrs 52mins; av. HR 136; 2500 calories (take with a pinch of salt!). A stunning ride, shame about the bumpy roads. I stayed on my bike until I was about 5 km from home when my good fortune weaving between pot holes and SUVs ran out with a full end-over-end somersault that landed me hip first into a cold, oily, puddle in the middle of the road. Months of freeze thaw not withstanding the roads are in shocking, and often quite dangerous, condition. Plan for today? Head out onto the roads of course! Wakefield loop Find more Bike Rides in Ottawa - Wakefield, Quebec

Today I looked at our new house for the last time before we take ownership, shot a video of the house for 'the folks back home', shopped for paint and cycled 62km on the roads south of Ottawa. Video to follow once I get it shrunk - I got a bit carried away and now it's too big for the blogosphere. View Larger Map

Gym bike (ahhh!) 90 mins, med-high intensity. Half an episode of Seinfeld, one episode of Friends, tidbits of hockey chat and a dose of CNN. Forecast for tomorrow: high +3C, sunshine, road bike.

Day 1 of writing on a blog. Notice that I have avoided saying 'blogger' or 'blogging' - I'm not ready for any of that. It is highly likely that I will be the only one to ever read my entries so first and foremost it needs to entertain ME! Or more accurately fulfill its role as my surrogate memory. Needless to say, I am most likely to write on quiet days when nothing is really happening. So a quick precis: Me now: student of Teaching at the State University of New York and simultaneously, by virtue of online black magic, Development Management at the Open University in Milton Keynes, England. Why black magic? Because once again I have succumbed to that curious ability that the internet has of allowing easy access to difficult things. Marathons, triathlons, masters degrees are all a mouse click away... and then comes the hard work. Speaking of which, my current past-time when I am not commuting between Potsdam, NY and Ottawa, ON is training for an 800 mile bike ride....