Let the games begin!

So it's all still bollocks outside - ridiculous amounts of snow, blistering cold, and truly arse running conditions.

This is apparently what the City of Cambridge considers "acceptably plowed" for our street.

Things don't really look like they'll be improving any time soon, so I'll keep plugging away at the training for Around the Bay while keeping every available appendage crossed that I don't hurt myself or freeze to death. Seriously, I do like winter, but this is really starting to impinge on my sunny effin' disposition. I love cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowboarding, tobogganing and even winter camping, but it's tough to motivate yourself to get outside and enjoy nature when it's 800 million degrees below freezing, the wind threatens to rip your skin right off you at the slightest exposure, and you're immobilized under at least 15 metric buttloads of snow.

For the foreseeable future.

Staying the hell inside really has its appeal right now, even if that means grinding away on the trainer. At least some relief has finally hove into view - my very favourite thing to watch while I crank away on the hamster wheel.

I know it's not the traditional logo.
I don't really care. This one rawks.

Despite all the controversy and politicizing, whether Sochi is ready for it or not, IT'S WINTER OLYMPICS TIME! I absolutely adore the winter games, and will definitely be spending every moment I can tuned in to watch the incredible feats of athletes from around the globe.

Seriously, do yourself a favour and find some coverage of a winter sport you know nothing about. While some of the events have immediate mass-market appeal (slopestyle snowboarding anyone?), compelling moments happen in all venues. We're lucky in Canada (I can't speak for other nations) that the media coverage typically includes at least one person with real knowledge of the sport on display - they can provide insights into what you're watching such that even if you've never seen ice & snow before you can appreciate some of the excitement of a luge run or a huge upset on the speed skating track. Some of these events are spectacles that are rarely seen outside of the Olympics, so you may learn about something cool you'd never have encountered otherwise (like the truly badass biathlon, which is cross country skiing with freakin' guns!).

Really though, the biggest thing for me is that it's incredible to watch athletes of any sort at the very peak of their chosen sport, all striving for excellence in an arena that fosters sportsmanship and positive national pride. In a world filled with terrible conflicts, the Olympic spirit burns bright as the torch which bears its name - a beacon of hope for peace and celebration of athletic achievement.

Oh, and funny trousers.