Rain, Biology and Biking

I've been sort of bad at this blogging thing lately and have decided it's time make another effort at it..

 I've been back in Squamish for just over two months now, attending classes in my second year at Quest University. The classes are set up in three and a half week 'blocks', and I am currently immersed in molecular biology. I haven't taken any bio since grade 10 and I had forgot how interesting it could be. Even though the block program can be intense at times and goes by fast, it lets you concentrate on that one subject with no other classes to distract you. 

I'm currently working on a movie for class on Genetically Modified Crops. Hopefully it will turn out as I have no experience with movie making technology.. It is crazy to consider that this technology was only recently developed in the 80's and the first products started being distributed in the mid- 1990s, yet we already use it globally. I guess the same could be said for the internet.. It is crazy how fast technology can spread these days. 

This class has been quite the eye opener in some ways. I've learned that antibiotics might not be effective in as little as ten years time. When we take antibiotics, there are always some bacteria that survive because they are immune in some way. These immune bacteria then multiply and infect people, creating 'Superbugs' that are not treatable with antibiotics. It is scary to think that in the future we could die of simple bacterial infections that would not be considered life threatening these days. There is one alternative treatment to antibiotics being researched and developed called phage therapy. It basically consists of using bacteriophages (type of virus) to kill the bacteria. Hopefully they are able to develop and learn more about this technology before antibiotics are useless. Anyways, that's my lesson of the day for you!

The rainy season has now hit the west coast in full swing and is making training a little more difficult. I think training in the rain can really help build mental toughness. It definitely takes some extra effort to get outside on a rainy day. I'm still trying to perfect the art of dressing to not finish a ride soaking wet/freezing. Have not quite accomplished that yet, apparently fenders and rubber gloves are a good start! Having considered this, it is still lucky that cyclists are still able to ride outside at this time of year when other places in Canada are already getting snow! And the rain does really make you appreciate those rare sunny days even more.

I've found mountain biking is pretty fun (as long as you are  prepared to get muddy!). I got out riding with some friends yesterday and it was fun riding through the slick trails with streams of water running down them. We left pretty late in the day though, which left us riding down the last section of the trail a little blindly.

The snow line seems to be creeping down the mountains every day now. Hopefully Callaghan Valley will have enough snow for skiing soon. I'm helping to organize the Quest Cross Country ski club this year and we are hoping to organize a few trips before Christmas holidays. 

I'll try to get some more frequent posts up from now on..

Leah