Working out in Absentia

Week 34: October 20-27

Run: 0 km
Bike: 0 km
Swim: 1500 m

For the second time in a month, I caught a flight out of Winter and headed down South to much milder weather of British Columbia. This time my trip was work related - which didn't stop me from visiting with friends and abandoning all semblance of a work-out plan. There were two things that I realized when in Vancouver this month: working out and working holiday do not mix; and Vancouver has become a refuge of lost/misplaced friends.

Despite my best efforts and greatest intentions, I seem incapable of sustaining any kind of work-out plan while on work trips. Every time I go to Vancouver, the number of excuses for not working out seems to grow. This year alone, 3 Whitehorse friends abandoned the Yukon for the great lower Mainland dream. That combined with my glorious SFU friends and recently transposed Edmonton friends and I need a blackberry to plan out a social schedule for the week.

This trip I managed a few new Vancouver highlights:

1. Wine/Cheese Bar

I actually managed to hit two wine/cheese places in Vancouver this time. The first, called Salt, is located in the aptly named Blood Alley. Walking to this restaurant down Water Street brought up some fond memories of University and the beginnings of my love affair with Anthony. In fact, Salt was located only a few blocks from the seedy hotel room that Anthony occupied (and I never saw due to the no Visitors rule) during our last year of University. It was surprising Gastown's transformation from seedy to chic; and walking to an expensive eatery via an alley way spotted with junkies shooting heroin was a bit odd. The juxtaposition of Vancouver's rich and poor has always been shocking, but this was the first time I wondered if the new condos and restaurants were actually using the poverty and drug addiction as part of their 'decor'. That being said, strictly tastebuds speaking, Salt was delicious, but not recommended for the very hungry. The menu is strictly meat, cheese and wine; and the staff are happy to pair it up in some delicious combinations. I enjoyed the wine and cheese so much that I spent Saturday night at Soma, which I find equally delicious, although slightly less exciting in its surroundings.

2. Shopping

Despite spending almost 4 years living in the lower Mainland, I never realized where all the great shopping was until I came back to Vancouver as a tourist. This is probably because for the entire time I lived in Vancouver, I had no money to shop and used the local Value Village as the source of all goods. Now, I wander up and down Main Street and West 4th to find all sorts of fabulous goodies. The best store I've seen yet is the Regional Assembly of Text, a little shop that sells stationary, card and an assortment of printed materials. As a focused shopper, I honed in on all things bicycle and came out of the shop with a button, stationary, shirt and lovely pair of bicycle briefs.

3. Bike Shops

The great thing about Vancouver is the multitude of bike shops that line every street. I've often extolled the virtues of the bike paths of Vancouver, but equally impressive are the shops. The biking population of Vancouver is able to support fixie shops, triathlon shops, cruiser shops, bmx shops and everything in between. This can be challenging for me, as I often return to Whitehorse with a bunch of accessories I don't actually need. Occasionally, I make it back to the Yukon with something that is a necessity. This time I found a special lighting system that will we revealed when Snowbitch the Pugsley when she makes her debut.

Sierra posted this on Nov 09, 2008 from the gym | | permanent link