Explore Space

Do have an extra $200,000 kicking around? Wanna go to space? Apparently Virgin Galactic Richard Branson's latest endeavour is in the running to start space tourism! How cool is that? Apparently Branson is hoping to get this new industry going by around 2009...you'll get to fly 100kms or more above the earth, witnessing the earth's curvature & experiencing weightlessness. And apparently, the title of astronaut will be given to all who partake...hmmm - I wonder if I could get a loan for that?

Dream Bikes

If I had a million dollars...here's two bikes that would catch my eye - carbon framed beauties! The Anthem Advanced and the Trance Advanced both retail at around $6500 Cdn. In other words - not gonna happen but I would love to take them for a spin wouldn't you?

2007 Anthem Advanced

2007 Trance Advanced

Exciting Family News!

We spent some time with friends at Red Rock taking some family pics while at a retreat there with the college. Always good to connect and pics turned out pretty cool! Oh yeah - by the way we are expecting an addition to our family this next May!!! How's that for exciting news - the Friesen Four will become the Friesen Five!

Fall Riding Continues...

We've really tried to take advantage of the incredible autumn conditions for biking this September and hope to as well for October! I got another couple rides in this week in the Sandilands. The first was early in the week in the afternoon - amazing weather! Jason & I had a nice fast ride - averaging around 15km/hour on the black trail & singletrack around a clearcut section...I think it is about 17kms or so of a loop. Fast & fun!


Autumn's trails are the best! A pic of me navigating my way through...


Here's a shot of Jason from Monday as well...

And then tonight - Pat, Jason & yours truly went for a great night ride. Cooler conditions but we had to peel off layers and the night continued. We did the red pine trail - everything is a bit more technical at night and the result often is some close calls. The lights worked great but I forgot my helmet light and so stuck a headlamp under my helmet which was bright enough but a bit uncomfortable.



Lots of marking ahead of me tonight and so I better get back at it!

Escape

To escape is to seek freedom from capture. What are the things which hold us, which prevent us from being being free? When we seek escape, it seems we are also seeking refuge. So it is not only the "slipping away" that is our concern but our destination. I love playing with words and exploring their meaning in whatever the context. This diversion called a blog, is in someway an escape. A way of allowing my thoughts escape and find refuge in a netherworld of electronic reality.

When I find escape in sport, I seek the freedom of using my body to its potential. Whether it is rhythmic pedal up a steep hill or the screaming descent into an unknown valley - it is freedom I am pursuing. Freedom from worry, from stress, from the doldrums of life. When I kiss the lips of my beloved - I am finding refuge. When I strum my guitar, when I embrace my wife & kids, when I snap a portrait, when I inhale a sunset, when I dive into the ocean, when I find a place of beauty I've never been before, when I zig zag down a powderey slope, when I surf the perfect wave, when I find the perfect melody, when I find paradise...I have escaped and explored play to its fullest.


One of my favorite quotes of Jesus states, "I have come to bring life and to bring it abundantly." Living life to the fullest - that should be what we explore, what we escape to, what we immerse ourselves into! To live without regret...

Pride

A lion's pride is his family - a very different understanding of pride than one normally sees. I came across this article awhile back which shares the story of a pride of lions rescuing a young girl who had been kidnapped by some men. These lions scared off the men, and stayed with the crying girl until police arrived!

When we hear the word pride, we often think of someone self-inflated, someone who boasts or brags, and thinks only of themselves. We all have things that we can be proud of: accomplishments, rewards, degrees, etc. But they all pale in comparison to the pride that a father or mother have of their children.

As a father part of my role is to look after, guide, & teach my children. I often feel quite unworthy and occasionally not very capable. I think most parents feel this way. I make plenty of mistakes, losing my cool in attempting to intervene in a crisis or argument. But I must say the joys for me as a father are always greater than the regrets or struggles.

My pride is my family - which right now are made up of a beautiful wife and two amazing daughters. They are the perfect blend of their parents and I don't feel guilty bragging. My daughters exhibit their own unique personality, energy, strengths, & character. I know I've barely begun the privilege of being their father and I am looking forward to seeing the future accomplishments & challenges that they will face. I realize to that my role as a father is a temporary one, at least within the realm of my home. May God give me the grace to be worthy of the title - Dad!

Night Riders

Okay - if you grew up in the 80s like I did your first thought was David Hasselhof & a black car named K.I.T.T. I'm not referring to that classic show in anyway for this post. We had our first official Night Ride of the fall last night. We got away later than planned and soon had to switch on the lights. The cool thing about night riding is that everything feels faster, the heart beats faster, and quite honestly I think a person gets more of a workout in a shorter amount of time. Add to that the excitement of wiping out on hidden corners or the exhilaration of descents! It was a good ride and perfect weather with the night temps still being in the mid-twenties! We've just had a phenomenal season of riding this year! Oh - and I'm loving my newly-refurbished fork - it is what I always wanted to be - super-responsive!

More Fall Riding

Well - although college officially began this week, I managed to get a couple rides in. One on my newly refurbished mtn bike and the other on Pat's road bike - which I have for the weekend while he enjoys a bike dealer convention in Montreal. It turns out my Rock Shox Recon now has the guts of a Reba - meaning that it is now dual air as opposed to solo. What does that end up doing for my ride - its even cushier and more responsive! Gotta love warranty!

Pat's road bike is a fairly aggresive race machine - I think I still prefer the Norco's geometry that I've borrowed out of his store. It somehow fits me a bit better - but his bike is light! I'm not sure how kms I put on after work today but my guess is about 25 or so. Just a nice light ride to work out the stress. I also had my riding shoe repaired - I wiped out and tore a defect in the shoe a few weeks ago and my foot is still feeling the effects.

My mtn bike ride earlier in the week turned out to be partially in the dark - thanks to us pushing it and cloudy, cool weather.


I'm loving the Suicide trails - big hills, some insane descents (complete with wash-outs & little drops), and tight winding singletrack through trees. It is hard to believe I live in the flatlands of Manitoba when I'm out there - the views are so impressive as we ride along this one ridge. We are probably about 150 feet up from the valley trail that winds below and parallels the singletrack that winds it way through.


I hope to get a ride or two in on the weekend - maybe on Monday afternoon! We'll see - I still have too much prep to do for next week's classes.

A shot of a tire in motion...

Labour Day Weekend

For the past four years - the labour day weekend means that the summer is over and its' back to teaching. I'm in the office for much of August but it generally is pretty relaxed without students or papers to mark or lectures to prep. Tomorrow classes begin - although my first class is slated for Thursday so I get an additional day to tweak what I want to teach. I woke up at 6am today and didn't bother going back to bed, instead driving to work and doing some minor adjustments to my already well-modified syllabi.

This past weekend was somewhat refreshing, I got a little riding in (on my wife's bike) and extended my mtn bike trail that is in development. I did some geo-caching with my Dad & my daughter Chelsea to some abandoned goldmines that my parents discovered awhile back. Picked up a souvenier of some core samples of granite that were used to search for veins of gold I'm assuming. I picked up a rock that appears to have a gold fleck imbedded in it as well.

The weather continued to be amazing as it has all summer...it was blazing hot again today! Hard to believe we are nearing fall but the ferns are already wilting and I've noticed some leaves change as well.

G