It was an early morning as we arrived with coffees in hand. Started out with a few tables, chairs and tents until the audio techs required help. We were roadies for the rest of the afternoon. Went for a walk along commercial drive, saw some interesting sights and heard the vuvuzellas. Came back to the park and sat down on the grass and enjoyed some comics,music and the funny hosts. Could have fallen asleep on the grass under the sun. Check out the Gallery for more pics.

Hi All

So I have been terrible…  it has been 2 weeks since the race and I am finally going to talk about it.  Not that it went badly..  in fact it went very well.

I thoroughly enjoyed it!   What a lot of fun.  I had hoped to finished the 40 km race between 2 and 2 and a half hours, considering my training was fairly light.   7 weeks earlier when I started training, I did 20 kms in 2 hours 20 minutes.   My unofficial time was 1:57:27,  a full 30 minutes less than I had hoped.
The course was great and the weather perfect. We all got off to a great start with everyone behaving well and no jostling which is always good.  Unfortunately 1 rider just ahead of me at the first gravel turn lost control and fell.  After that though, never saw anything untoward again.

Marcell managed to catch me every now and then, although he missed the first checkpoint due to a wrong turn.  Hence the photos.  His videos are more extensive and will post them as well later, once edited together.  He was complaining though that I am not gesturing or responsive – of course most of the time, any response would probably not be more than heavy breathing.
The hardest part was absolutely the last 15 minutes.  Up David Avenue to the top corner was indeed the hardest part of the entire race, but I did it.  It felt great to finish and afterwards, they had laid out a spread of fresh fruit, yoghurts, drinks, hot dogs, you name it.

A great wrap to finish the race.  Lisa and Alan came to the finish to cheer me on,  and I missed Lisa M who was jogging along the path..  Sorry Lisa…
A huge thank you to all my supporters,  the money you helped raise is going to a great cause here in the Tri-Cities.
Will be doing some more again soon…    Anyone interested in the Mud Run Ride in August?
Later

M

Hi All

With only 2 days left before the 2010 Wheel to Heal, its almost over to get some karma points and sponsor me.

Time is almost up.. and I am so close to my target… And in case you are wondering, yes, I will probably do it again next year, as well as the Ride to Conquer Cancer which is a two day event from Vancouver to Seattle.

Will make sure that Mick takes some photos on Sunday to post them!

Later

M

And the week of the race finally arrives… With 6 days left to the 40 km ride, its all systems go. I successfully completed my three rides of 30+ kms last week, and was planning on taking it easy with short relaxing rides this week. Seems its going to have to be more than just relaxing…

My bike developed an annoying creak, which is most likely caused by a crushed bearing in the handle bar joint. So it is going in for emergency surgery tomorrow afternoon to be collected on Thursday evening. Not a happy day… but at least they assure me it will be well enough to ride on Saturday…

Otherwise I am all ready for the race and really looking forward to it. I really hope that plenty of people turn out on Saturday to support the riders and the event. For those wondering where a great place to catch the action is, the Start/Finish at David and Pinetree, and the intersection of Creek and Victoria, as both locations we pass by twice. Here is a link to the map if you want to pick your own spot.

Remember, you can also go and sponsor me here! Go on, its good for your Karma…

Ok so last week was a bit of a slow week for me.. however I did manage to complete the 40 km route for the Wheel to Heal in just over 2 hours 30 minutes. And by the end, I thought I was never going to get finished. The last 5 kms felt like they were the last 50. So this week I have set a target to complete 4 rides over 30 kms. With good weather from this afternoon till the weekend that should be easy, and then next week to just do some short rides to get saddle time.

I have less than 2 weeks left to prepare, not that I can do much growth in 2 weeks, but at least get the stamina up.

So now we get to the important part… we need riders! So if you are in the Vancouver area and want to do something fun and improve your karma, sign up for the Wheel to Heal. There is a 10 km, 40 km and 80 km – your choice and no judgements on it. Its all for a good cause.. This all benefits the Eagle Ridge hospital which serves the Tri-Cities community.

Oh and for those that are far away, and can’t ride – you can still do some good…. Sponsor me

Later

Ok, so the first week didn’t go as well as I would have hoped.. Only managed 3 days of solid exercise. But was back on the bike again today, and managed to get a full hour on it without dying.

Hopefully in the next day or so, with the sun coming out, I will be able to get on to the road and do a couple more hours. With only 38 days to go, its getting tight.

Thanks to Lisa for donating towards my fund raising effort. It is much appreciated. With so many friends, I should be able to make much more than my target. Yes I am challenging you all!

Click here!

Later

M

Mother nature must be feeling very sad right now since she wont stop crying.

Thankfully she cheered up a bit last saturday for the Kiss concert.

This was at least the 5th time I’ve seen them and it has always been fun.

It is not just a musical experience or as Paul ( the lead singer ) said, not a moment that was going to change the world, but a night off to be entertained, laugh, yell and be a part of a crowd all feeling the same way. The sellout crowd agreed I think.

The seats were okay but most of the close photos were blurry due to the zoom and no tripod. Of course I wasnt there to take pictures, just to Rock N Roll All Nite. There are a few in the photo album section if you want to check them out.

Just a few weeks away now and I get to see Martin ( fingers crossed )  being apart this long really is sad. Looking forward to seeing the latest sea monster that is ‘The Oasis of the Seas’

Cheers, Marcell

msquared at the Canucks Game

Tonight I got to sit rinkside at the Canucks vs Sharks pre-season hockey game. This was my very first live hockey game and it turned out to be a really exciting game.

The first period was completed with a 0-0 score and during the second, the Sharks went on to score 2 goals while the Canucks were still on 0. Most of the time was spent at the Sharks end but not when it counted. Luongo looked miffed to put it mildly.

So the third period was rocking! In the space of three minutes the Canucks scored 3 goals! The energy in the arena was incredible. The Sharks tied the score just before full time and the game went into 5 minutes overtime. Couple of close calls but no goals.
It came down to the shoot out which Canucks one by the skin of Luongo’s pads so to speak.

Needless to say, it was a great game to be at for my first one. Definitely got me hooked.

Have some photos coming soon.

Martin