Blue Skies

Minor detail : Blog comments

Due to an increasing amount of spam, I’ve upped the ante on posting comments. Your comment may not appear right away if you have no previously approved comments, as they will then go to a moderation queue for my approval.

Comments : Internet Access and Blog

I should briefly mention that the satellite internet that accompanies us on tour has not been entirely reliable - several nights the system simply refused to work for the communications personnel, and so no internet was to be had. I do hope to continue writing regular updates, but they may not be posted the same day they are written due to the access problems. So, like today, you may get 3-4 rapid fire posts after a few days of inactivity.

On another note, I have been informed that my blog doesn’t work right. See, using a proper web browers like Firefox, there are no issues with displaying the text and pictures. Unfortunately, those who use IE will find themselves having to do some awkward side to side scrolling in order to follow the improperly formatted text. The issue is partially related to posting pictures that are too wide for the column width allocated, but IE doesn’t handle the problem gracefully. I will be considering what should be done to fix the issue, but on your end do be sure to use a proper web browser.

Some website quibbles

I’ve put in some minor changes to the blog, primarily in removing some links from the “Meta” section in the sidebar. These links caused some confusion, and one link (to the blog of the theme designer) led to some inappropriate content, so I’ve had to remove them.

That being said, I hate to not give credit when I use someone else’s work. If you go to http://themes.wordpress.net/?s=john+doe  you’ll be able to see the themes this guy has put together. So there you go, JD - no blog perma-link, but a plug for your themes. Best I can do.

If anything seems out of place on the site, let me know, and I’ll see what I can do about it.

Getting Ready

Now that the implementation of my Internet presence is complete, I figure I’d let you all know what I’m doing right now to get ready.

Last September, I ordered a new bicycle (Trek Pilot 2.1, click here to see it on the maker’s website). Today I got a phone call letting me know that it has finally arrived! I’m pretty excited about this, given that I’ve never had such a nice bike before, and its only a little cheaper than my used Civic cost me. Unfortunately, given the weather outside, it will be some time before I will be able to take it out on the road.

A few weeks ago I also signed up at a gym in Hamilton (Family Fitness, Upper James and Rymal). I’ve been getting about two cardio sessions in a week, and have two days of weights and machines to build muscle in my core, lower, and upper body. I even went to the extreme of getting some sessions with a personal trainer, which has been a huge help in becoming more comfortable with the gym and the machines, motivating me to push myself, and getting an idea of the exercise routine I’ll need to keep up in order to be in optimal shape come June.

Last week I found out that another member of my church, Mark Brouwer (click here to see his Sea to Sea profile), is also coming along on the trip, bringing the number of Zionites to three (Ed Gringhuis is also going), and the number of Sea to Sea cyclists that I personally know up to four.

Once Spring breaks, expect to see me on weekly group rides for several hours each Saturday.

I’ll let you know how my next gym session goes! (My legs still ache a bit from the last one… )

Finally, back to the Internet!

Lets see…

• domain name registered - check
• hosting secured - check
• DNS set up properly - check
• wordpress installed - check

Alright! Looks like we’re good to go.

This website is where I hope to share my encounters as I prepare for, and undertake, an epic journey this summer. Read more about it here.