Grouse Grind

We have been in Vancouver for some time now and as some folks may know, my mum tends to visit Vancouver quite a bit. She has been asking me virtually every day if I have been up Grouse mountain yet. I guess she knew that I would enjoy it. Contrary to popular belief I have been busy at work so hiking up the local mountains, although high on the wish list has to be fitted in on precious time off.

Eventually we decided to go for it. Grouse mountain has two routes up, the cable car and the 'Grouse Grind' As the sign says, it is a climb 933 meters over 2.9 km, so it is quite steep. Nothing very high or very far, just a nice walk up a pretty mountain with a fantastic view! However. For some reason this is no walk. The 'Grouse Grind' is a Challenge! Something that the Sussex men's fitness league (all divisions) would LOVE! There is even a cleaver way to time yourself by obtaining a swipe card you can start your timer at the bottom and by swiping it again at the top, your time will be displayed for all to see in the cafe at the top. Probably on the Internet somewhere there are pie charts and graphs to show you how strong you are compared to others, that you could then gloat at in the pub.

I had heard about it (repeatedly) from my mum but it took me 4 weeks to find time to go and see for myself. I turned up in the car park on Sunday morning with a friend, wearing good walking shoes and with a small back pack containing a rain jacket and a picnic. The car park looked more like it was the start of the local half marathon than the foot of a mountain trail, with people everywhere in shorts and running gear. In my sensible walking attire I stuck out like Mary Poppins would at a Fat Boy Slim concert!

Anyway my first attempt (yes, I will have to go again) took me 59 minutes. Elite runners can do it in 35 mins and the average walk will take about 90 mins. So next weekend we will be up early in the car park in running gear like the rest of Canada and we are going to try and do it as fast as we can!

As this is the new bench mark for determining your position in the Sussex Men's fitness league and I currently have the fastest time up the Grouse Grind, this must put me firmly at the top of division one!? Luckily non of you have any holidays booked in Vancouver this year.

W.O.W

On Thursday Carl and I decided that we would rent some kayaks and go for a paddle at a place that is about a 10 minute drive from where the boat is parked.

I called at lunch time to book two boats and was told to arrive as early as possible as it was going to be very busy that evening. Without asking too many questions Carl and I left work as quickly as we could and by 545 we were picking up our paddles and getting ready to go onto the water. As we were adjusting our gear, one of the young centre employees came over, looked at us confused and said, "You guys are obviously not with W.O.W are you?" We were now as puzzled as he was, so at least we were even.

He continued to explain, that Thursdays is Women on the Water day 'W.O.W' and that there was about 100 ladies due to arrive at any moment for said activities. Carl and I looked at each other, thought how horrible it would be to be in the middle of 100 female, Canadian out door types and continued to prepare for our paddle. We were ready to go but suddenly Carl was having all sorts of trouble with his foot rests and then his seat and had to pop to change his buoyancy aid and then again to use the toilet. Luckily we managed to get away before the tide of girl power arrived. We paddled for 2 hours stopping on a quiet island to enjoy a cold beer that we had brought along. It was a fun evening. Carl wants to go back next Thursday but says that he has a meeting that might delay his departure from work.

British Columbia