Current Stories Sat, 3 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-8LSVM7RunningDieter D Stalderhttp://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-8LSVM7http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-8LSVM7 Perfect weather, water was comfortable, almost didn't need the wetsuit. Start time for the Guelph Lake 2 race was 9am.
This is my 7th Triathlon here at the Guelph Lake and I'm still loving it.
Finished with 2:26:18, nothing spectacular, but I had a good time as always. My goal for this year is 1000 miles running and I'm very well on target. I didn't run much on our trip out west, so I didn't spend much time on the bike either. I had an excellent race in June and that's good enough for me. Looking forward to next year, it will be a good year again.]]>Sat, 3 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/CommentsRSS?Open&id=851A410E4D63FDB98525790E00818B09http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/PostComment?RunAgent&id=851A410E4D63FDB98525790E00818B09http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-8LRSSKRunningDieter D Stalderhttp://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-8LRSSKhttp://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-8LRSSK5Peaks race started at 1860 meters above sea level. To get there, we took the gondola up to Whistler Mountain, then the Peak to Peak gondola to Blackcomb. Getting to the start line was already an experience, very picturesque.
We started at 11am in waves of about 20 runners. The trail was single track most of the time. Two steep climbs up some hills with no name, at least I don't remember. I had enough to do with my running and the elevation, we were well above 2000 meters.
The picture above is close to the finish line. The last 400 meters was down a gravel service road.
The race was an experience and I'm happy I participated and finished. My time was 2:10 and the distance about 10km. I don't know how much climbing we did, but if the breathtaking view on top is an indication, it was a lot.]]>Sat, 20 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0400http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/CommentsRSS?Open&id=3025B3062029AF5F8525790D00744581http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/PostComment?RunAgent&id=3025B3062029AF5F8525790D00744581http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-8LRSRNRunningDieter D Stalderhttp://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-8LRSRNhttp://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-8LRSRN10 more training days until the 5Peaks race in Whistler. It looks as if Whistler Mountain outside Jasper is not climbed very often. I'm number 771 that did the hike and took the gondola down.
The hiking trail starts about 1km before the gondola parking, just by the Hostel. The hiking trail is 6.8 km with just over 1km elevation to the top. The Jasper Tramway shows these numbers: The Lower Station is at 1304 metres (4279 ft) above sea level and the Upper Station is at 2277 metres (7472 ft)]]>Wed, 10 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0400http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/CommentsRSS?Open&id=ED3E2ABB7938F8618525790D007422C6http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/PostComment?RunAgent&id=ED3E2ABB7938F8618525790D007422C6http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-8KH3BERunningDieter D Stalderhttp://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-8KH3BEhttp://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-8KH3BERoyal Tyrrell Museum and the Dinosaur Provincial Park.

The first day we walked the trails at the Dinosaur Provincial Park and booked a guided tour for Sunday.
]]>Sat, 6 Aug 2011 21:06:09 -0400http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/CommentsRSS?Open&id=7A4CF79D95BBD605852578E500060E91http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/PostComment?RunAgent&id=7A4CF79D95BBD605852578E500060E91http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-8HYKBTRunningDieter D Stalderhttp://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-8HYKBThttp://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-8HYKBTGuelph Lake Triathlon. I accumulated plenty of running practice with about 900 kilometers up to now. I only put in two biking practices, but I didn't think that this will be an issue.

Weather was great and as always, I enjoyed the random chats with the participants, volunteers and exhibitors. My time was 1:41:40, a new personal best time. In the overall ranking, that is place 499 out of 607 participants. When I'm looking at my splits, I spend way too much time in the transition, 6 minutes to change. I have to find a better system to get the wetsuit off and socks on my wet feet. The swim, bike and run times are ok. I may be able to improve the biking with some training, I did a 27km/h average. I'll leave this for next year. My 2011 goal is already set and I'm right on target - 1000 miles in one year. But more about this later.]]>Sun, 19 Jun 2011 10:46:05 -0400http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/CommentsRSS?Open&id=47C3B744BE6AC965852578B400513A66http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/PostComment?RunAgent&id=47C3B744BE6AC965852578B400513A66http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-8GVLESRunningDieter D Stalderhttp://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-8GVLEShttp://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-8GVLESMississauga Marathon like every year before. Finally managed to get a sub two hour time again. I finished with 1:59:18

Thanks to the 2:00 Pace Bunny, I could finish somewhat relaxed. Knowing I'll make it in the 2 hour limit. And now the cross training starts again, the triathlon is coming up soon.]]>Sun, 15 May 2011 11:41:59 -0400http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/CommentsRSS?Open&id=035EEA41F8281E778525789100565014http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/PostComment?RunAgent&id=035EEA41F8281E778525789100565014http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-892RYFRunningDieter D Stalderhttp://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-892RYFhttp://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-892RYFGuelph Lake Triathlon as usual, 20 minutes before race start a swim in the lake to cool-down. This time, it was a warm up, the water was so much warmer then the air. More and higher waves then usual, but still within the comfort level.

5 minutes before race start, a delay was announced. Another 10 minutes later, the swim was cancelled. The rescue boats were not able to hold the positions due to the high winds. So the swim was replaced with a 3km run. Eventually the race started. The 3km run was OK and the drizzle only started when I got on the bike. Compared to last year, the 30km took me over 11 minutes longer. The final 7km run went OK, ignoring the wet running shoes, pants and shirt. I finished the race in 2:26:52.

Trisport posted this on their home page
"Congratulations to all our athletes who survived the worst race conditions we have seen in over 20 years of our triathlon history! "
I'm not surprised, it was ... 'challenging'.]]>Sun, 5 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0400http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/CommentsRSS?Open&id=952011C5C80DDB728525779600709821http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/PostComment?RunAgent&id=952011C5C80DDB728525779600709821http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-88SV9UGPSDieter D Stalderhttp://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-88SV9Uhttp://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-88SV9U
Just back from Algonquin Provincial Park with lots of new memories. As in previous years, we arrived with our tent and canoe. Needless to say, we had a good time on the lakes and the trails.
But this is not the reason for this post here, it's the lack of any GPS coordinates in our Garmin nüvi when it comes to the Algonquin Provincial Park. So we started to set some favourites and saved them here. We were too busy with canoeing and enjoying the beauty of the park to create a complete list of all the camp sites and trails, maybe next time. The most important points are here and they will bring you to the park. They include both Highway 60 Corridor gates and the Sand Lake Gate for the Barron Canyon.
Click below for the Garmin Waypoints and a list of the coordinates. Enjoy your stay in the park.

Updated May 2011: We updated the file with the waypoints to include all the trails and other points of interest. Instructions and details can be found at stdi.com/Algonquin]]>Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/CommentsRSS?Open&id=1374CD8CD1AD86BE8525778E00800329http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/PostComment?RunAgent&id=1374CD8CD1AD86BE8525778E00800329http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-88DNZGGo GreenDieter D Stalderhttp://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-88DNZGhttp://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-88DNZGIt's now over two years since I planted the trees and most of them survived. Some are in excellent shape, others are still struggling.
One thing always amazes me, some weed grows so fast in a single year, well past my height of over 6 feet. No wonder my young trees are having problems. The weeds and grasses take away the sun light and the water, making it very difficult to grow. ]]>Sun, 1 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/CommentsRSS?Open&id=55A5537713DCE982852577810062A752http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/PostComment?RunAgent&id=55A5537713DCE982852577810062A752http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-87KNBQEnvironmentDieter D Stalderhttp://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-87KNBQhttp://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/d6plinks/DDSR-87KNBQSo I go to my Bell Store and check what upgrade options I have. They tell me that I'm entitled to a credit towards a new phone on the 21st, that's today. After checking out the models at the Blackberry website, my mind was set for the Blackberry Tour. The reason is that this phone is unlocked and uses a Sim card where I can plug in my Swisscom Sim card when in Switzerland, same as the Blackberry World Edition. After some discussions with the Bell representative at the Winstongate Bell World store, I got the Blackberry Bold 9700. Even so this phone is locked now, I can actually get it unlocked by Bell so it will work with the Swisscom Sim as well. When they added up the charges for the new Blackberry, the representative incorrectly quoted me $149 verbally for the upgrade - it was only $99.
The decision to buy the Bold instead of the Tour was the result of a longer discussion. The representative was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. I must say, the best service I received for a long time. Actually, the Bell World store at Winstongate always served us very well.
But wait there is more. Phone is working, time to reconfigure and move all the stuff and my ring tone settings to the new phone. First thing I do is add the device to the Blackberry Server, then I send the Enterprise Activation Password from the server. On the Blackberry Bold, I enable Enterprise Activation and it starts almost immediately to synchronize. A few minutes later, I have all my email, appointments, addresses, memos and browser bookmarks on my new device. The ring tones are also changed to my previous choice. It took me about 2 minutes work to get the stuff from the old Blackberry to the new - now that was unexpected. I still spent 10 minutes (or more) to play with the new features such as the camera. Google Maps is already loaded and Facebook is next on the list. I think I leave this for tomorrow.]]>Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:19:32 -0400http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/CommentsRSS?Open&id=C070EBEBA2E435B385257767005F72C1http://www.stdi.com/stdi/ddbd.nsf/PostComment?RunAgent&id=C070EBEBA2E435B385257767005F72C1