Onward

I'm not much of a runner - at least not long-distance. My claim to fame in junior high was sprinting - especially the 200M and I did okay in the 100m. I witnessed the incredible 200m sprint record broken by the Jamaican "Insane" Bolt just this afternoon - 19:19 - WOW. My sprinting & running now is more about keeping up with my kids on the playground or at the park. But I still love pushing it on my mountain or road bike - there is nothing quite like sprinting up a hill or coasting down into a valley - the rush, the speed, the endorphins and torrent of blood flowing through your veins giving you a buzz. I like the mental aspect of adventure sports as well - it's almost like a moving chess board at times - and sometimes you take a calculated risk and hope it works out.

I came across this Nike-sponsored video on you-tube and I love the push of the song - Onward! Onward & upward I run. This semester is almost upon me and I'm ready to put my feet into the blocks and sprint those 12 or so weeks away but I want to enjoy the race - not just the finish. In fact, I want to see beyond the blur - I want to see detail, I want to see the beauty of it all! Enjoy! Live life to the fullest!

Month of Adventure

Check out this site from the UK which has determined May to be the month of adventure for their particular county with all sorts of adventure sport festivals & races. How cool would it be if your community decided to do a month of adventure? I can imagine Body Driven Sports sponsoring all sorts of events - eh Pat?

Bocce on the Labour Day Weekend

Who would have thought I would enjoy such a simple game as bocce. You don't know what bocce is? Check out this link - bocce rules. We made our annual escape to the cottage on a very fine weekend - complete with 30 Degree C. weather on Sunday, some canoeing, gaming, reading, relaxing, playing with our kids, and of course eating! I have to say though I really enjoyed our Friesen bocce tournament - no we aren't italian although my love of their food would perhaps say different! Maybe it was the terrain in which we played the game or perhaps the fact that my team (consisting of me and my brother Blaine versus Dad and my brother Kyle) won 2 of the 3 matches. Hmmm - we'll see how I'll explore play at work this week. That's right college is back in action and I have a lovely week of orienting students in registering their courses for the year tomorrow!

Over and out...

pond hockey

There is no sport close to the freedom of pond hockey. There is nothing like gliding on ice and firing off a puck into the top corner of a net. Granted, I do understand the popularity of soccer where the only equipment necessary are a couple of shin pads and cleats. Soccer (or football as the rest of the world calls it) is a beautiful game! I also love NFL football simply for the complexity and passion of the game (even the CFL occasionally has moments of glory). But I come from Canada - the land of ice & snow and so hockey is a part of my heritage, my blood.

I have not played organized hockey since my school days but I still love to put on a pair of skates, grab a stick and shoot the puck around with friends and family. I played some good pond hockey with some relatives over Christmas in North Dakota - a good ol' Yankee versus Canadian cousins' & uncles' game! We had to clear ice without a zamboni!

Hockey in my humble opinion is best played on natural ice on a river or a pond and not in the high tech NHL venues of the 90's and now the new millenium. Hockey as a national sport finally died in the mid-nineties when the Winnipeg Jets were sold and the league continued its southerly expansion to such exotic locales as Arizona & Florida. Hockey was already dying shortly after the Oiler dynasty (we all loved/hated Gretzky didn't we?) in the 80's when the wonderlust of American entrepreneurs (who thought hockey would be the next big thing in the US) took the reins of the sport. Unfortunately for them, the only real fans live in the places where snow and nice naturally occur, where hockey can be played outdoors on a simple pond with some sticks, skates and a puck!

We see glimpses of the game of "Canada-past" when NHL players trade in their disney character uniforms and wear their country's heritage on their jersey during the World Cup or winter Olympics. But if you want to really see and understand hockey, meet me at the Friesen pond on long lane farm! We might lose a puck or two in the snow bank but at least we won't lose the game to some corporate sponsor!

Rant on...

G

Le Tour De France!

Lance Armstrong does it again! With his sixth winning race Lance is the undisputed champion of cycling! Yet another yellow jersey and amazingly one of my favorite female musicians Sheryl Crow is his girlfriend. Admittedly - I am a mtn biker and not a roadie but I was impressed by the sport once again this year.

Road cycling in many ways is more dangerous than the so-called extreme sport mountain biking. The speeds these guys hit is outrageous and the climbs simply insane! Their average climb speed is faster than the average speed of a cross country mtn bike race. The race itself is complex with all sorts of different competitions happening within the actual 3,395km 20 Stage race including king of the mountain and a points winner established by who crosses first over certain checkpoints during a stage. The history of the race is also fascinating!

Here's a quote from Lance - “I believe that the man who works the hardest is the man who deserves to win.” Very true and it is well known that Lance prepares for his races harder than anyone else. I'm hoping to pick up one the biographies on him sometime. Hopefully he inspires Sheryl Crow to keep making amazing cds too!

Well Lance brought some excitement to our house this Sunday, as it will be a while till my Packers take up my Sunday Football afternoons!

G

Moving On Over...

Yep - we're literally less than 10 hours from moving our possessions from 512 McKenzie to 47 Parkview. It has been quite the task getting all our stuff together and boxed. But tomorrow we start our lives aimed at a new part of the city & one very close to work & recreation at the park. Has it been worth it? I'll let you know in a month. Right now - I just want to be there with all our stuff unpacked & relaxing on the couch snoozing or listening to some Diana Krall.

My team is doing well in the Eurocup - Go Netherlands! But I've barely had time to watch the replays of the games. At least we are in the quarter finals after a win over Latvia.

Well, I can see already this post is not going to be a horribly profound one. More of a catch your breath & get ready for some more hard work kind of a post.

Well gotta get back to last minute packing (other wise known as the "stuff-into-boxes-we'll-sort-it-out-later" approach)

Got to love it!