Well that was bracing. Actually, the Ride For Heart went really well this year. Overslept my alarm by half an hour and scrambled to get out the door on time, but beyond that everything went hiccup-free. The weather was more accommodating than last year – warmer, if still overcast most of the morning, and less windy. Every factor I had hoped would make a difference in the ease of the ride this year did so. My bike was lighter and faster, I was in much better shape than last year and I just knew the course this time – I knew where the hills were, where I needed to conserve energy and where I could just boot it. Net result? I breezed through the distance without much difficulty at all. The hills that I expected would kick my ass didn’t. The 50 km (actually 43, apparently, though with the ride down there and back it was more like 60) didn’t seem that long at all. It didn’t even take that long, barely two hours and that includes about 15 minutes spent at a rest stop loading up on water and bananas (potassium is your friend!). Granted, I really needed a shower when all was said and done and my ass hurts, but I’m quite pleased with how the ride went. Thanks again to everyone who sponsored me – apparently $1.5 million was raised for heart and stroke research. Thanks to Gary for snapping the ‘in-action’ photo at the end of the race.

Caught the second installment of Kill Bill yesterday, and was pleased to have been able to wait until it hit the rep theatres to do so. It takes the sting out of having to pay twice to see a single film just a little bit. And it really should have been a single film, if I may harp on a point. While the first one was chock full of action and moved really well for a two-hour flick, I found the second part just dragged. I understand it’s supposed to be the talkier, more exposition-filled of the two, and that’s fine. I just wish they weren’t so obviously trying to fill up time to make it feature-film length – it runs out of gas before the finish line and instead of managing to coast the rest of the way, they have to get out and push. A good thirty to forty minutes could have been excised without compromising the story one bit, in fact it would have helped the pacing a lot. The final act wherein The Bride first meets her daughter is particularly excessive – I think Tarantino overestimates the audience’s patience in indulging his every whim (or at least mine) and I’d recommend in the future he avoid trying to give his films any sort of emotional heart. He’s about empty calorie entertainment and pop culture references – trying to work humanity into the mix is simply not his strength. Anyway, besides the fact that I got hungry halfway through and became more interested in what I was going to have for dinner, Volume 2 was alright if considerably less fun than its predecessor. If one of the dozen or so DVD releases for the film is the original 3-hour, single film edit then I might be interested to see it again. Otherwise I’d probably just get annoyed again.

Boo to Tampa Bay for ruining Calgary’s party. Now they’re going to have to award the Stanley Cup on Monday night in FLORIDA. That just ain’t right.

Now I need a nap.

np – Camera Obscura / Underachievers Please Try Harder

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