the weekend outside of sports.

Olympic Spirit Bus

http://thestar.blogs.com/olympics/


Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.

Right to Play TV

Ladies and gentlemen, Adam Kreek.

http://righttoplaytv.com/video/watch/2p1azvnPdUwC4B7hX8Xl4S

I know I'm not supposed to publish the entire article but this is really nice. Well done Vancouver/BC/CANADA!

Leaving behind a thank-you note

Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor

After tonight's broadcast and after looting our hotel mini-bars, we're going to try to brave the blizzard and fly east to home and hearth, and to do laundry well into next week.  Before we leave this thoroughly polite country, the polite thing to do is leave behind a thank-you note.

Thank you, Canada:

For being such good hosts.

For your unfailing courtesy.

For your (mostly) beautiful weather.

For scheduling no more than 60 percent of your float plane departures at the exact moment when I was trying to say something on television.

For not seeming to mind the occasional (or constant) good-natured mimicry of your accents.

For your unique TV commercials -- for companies like Tim Hortons -- which made us laugh and cry.

For securing this massive event without choking security, and without publicly displaying a single automatic weapon.

For having the best garment design and logo-wear of the games -- you've made wearing your name a cool thing to do.

For the sportsmanship we saw most of your athletes display.

For not honking your horns. I didn't hear one car horn in 15 days -- which also means none of my fellow New Yorkers rented cars while visiting.

For making us aware of how many of you have been watching NBC all these years.

For having the good taste to have an anchorman named Brian Williams on your CTV network, who turns out to be such a nice guy.

For the body scans at the airport which make pat-downs and cavity searches unnecessary.

For designing those really cool LED Olympic rings in the harbor, which turned to gold when your athletes won one.

For always saying nice things about the United States...when you know we're listening.

For sharing Joannie Rochette with us.

For reminding some of us we used to be a more civil society.
Mostly, for welcoming the world with such ease and making lasting friends with all of us.

                      

Go CANADA!!!!

Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.

this nation is watching the hockey.

great pictures of one of my favorite athletes/friends on the ITU circuit.

Daniel Unger

http://www.slowtwitch.com/photos/Detailed/103.html

www.rememberstevelarsen.com

FROM www.slowtwitch.com Steve Larsen - fund raiser for family . . .

www.rememberstevelarsen.com

Some great donations of gear by pother pros and even a few of Steve's race items . . .

Good dude, good cause.

Below is a list of all the other items donated and being auctioned off. The items can be found by searching

Ebay for the words: steve larsen.

http://desc.shop.ebay.com/...trksid=p3286.c0.m282


The auctions are starting at 1pm Pacific time Tuesday.

Craig Alexander Autographed Jersey
Chrissie Wellington Autographed Jersey and Hat
Cervelo Women’s Test Team Autographed Jersey
Fi’zi:k Arione CX saddle Autographed by Chrissie Wellington
K-Swiss Jersey Autographed by Belinda Granger
Tour of California Yellow Jersey Autographed by Levi Leipheimer
Specialized Jersey Autographed by Conrad Stoltz
2XU Women’s Tri Singlet/Shorts
2XU Men’s Tri Singlet/Shorts
2XU Men’s MicroClimate Jacket
Rudy Project Ekynox sunglasses including case signed by Andy Potts
Smith Optics Factor Max sunglasses
Oakley Racing Jackets sunglasses
Timex Ironman iControl for iPod
Aqua Sphere Kayenne goggle Autographed by Terenzo Bozzone
Newton Neutral Race Shoes
Tour de Life book signed by Saul Raisin
Zoot Race Running Shoes
Zoot Visors and Hats Autographed by Luke Bell
Louis Garneau Helmet and Gatorade Bottle Autographed by Chris Legh
Steve Larsen’s Mongoose Mountain Bike

hey eh.

can we please just ignore them.

some brit doesnt think our games stack up. ok, I don't like the food there (look hungry planet), I'm sure they will survive my critque.

"London 2012 can't be worse then the Vancouver Games this winter" ok. you feeling more secure now?

Rick Reilly's column was actually funny. Now I'm sure if Patrick Lane, Margret Attwood or Lorna Crozier (that really isn't a fair comparison is it...) if they didn't have much better things to do then write throw away "I'm so clever" giggle pieces for ES - we have-malboro-and-jack-daniels-ads-in-our-sports-magazine PN magazine I'm sure they might just have some U.S.A. U.S.A. material to work with. Lets not throw stones from glass houses, unless of course you're stuck in a glass house, then it's ok to throw stones....

But here's the thing. Who cares if they don't like it. Enjoy the games, watch the clip over and over of Alexandre Bilodeau sliding into the barrier at the end of his incredible run while his legendary coach Dominick Gauthier claps his hands above his head because he executed perfectly everything they trained so hard for.  Or Maelle Rickers 'how to recover from a disaster' Gold Medal performance. Or read up on Brian McKeevers inspiring story. Then watch K.D. Langs performance during the opening ceremonies (or take in a Blue Rodeo/Barenaked ladies free concert) or cruise on down to the O-Zone and catch my absolute favorite Hawksley Workman play.


Ignore the nah sayers from abroad "our games will be better"... that's nice mr. grumpy brit, pat pat and there there enjoy your cricket and please ask that 21 year old to stop kicking my ass. 


As Monty Python said, "Luxury".

Because this is our version of a problem? 

yes the fence around the cauldron looks ridiculous, I half expected a "hard hat area, visitors please check in at site office" sign to be hung from the links (is there one?).

Donald Sutherland shouldn't be marching in the opening ceremonies because there is someone else more "deserving", ok but he does have a really cool voice. 

The weather hasn't been great but unlike the Beijing organizers Vanocs weather machine isn't working very well because... it does not exist.


The politicians have too many tickets. they do?


Luxury. Lifes pretty good. Reminds me of the lady down the street who doesn't want people parking in front our her house so she complains to the city, if this is our version of a problem then lifes pretty good, high five to us. 


I appreciate there are people, in Canada, who have very real problems, I'm not down playing this, in fact I'd prefer we focused on real problems and not who lights the cauldron.


To me, it keeps coming back to the same thing, the games, the Olympic experience, the Olympic spirit (complete with it's many wrinkles and scars) is what ever you make of it. Don't like the games and want to protest. That's absolutely your right, you'd just make a better point if you took that mask* off because on many issues you'd be surprised how many of us agree with some of the points you make.

Lets just enjoy the games, enjoy the goosebumps that you get from that moment the athletes jump for joy as Alex did and the 'I'll just stare at the ground' disbelief when all doesn't go as planned "he was supposed to win" (as Adam says, no one is SUPPOSED to win).


If the brits think it's dreary... then that's just "lovely".

S







* I was going to say "silly" mask and then I remember that I run around in lycra for a living.

a little preview of the GLOBE ROLL bike Adam van Koeverden is cruising around the Vancouver Olympics on.

and I would be too, except I'm in Vic.. a bit of excitement around here as we wait to meet our second child.

But when I do head back to Vancouver I'll use the ROLL to get around (so much easier then driving and a great way to see the city).


Adam and I plan to auction off the bikes along with "anything and everything" we can get our collective sponsors to throw in, with all the proceeds going to charity. details coming.

for now a little sneak peak of the bikes......

beautiful day here in Vic

Adams GLOBE ROLL 2

In action!!
Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.

Now that's how you cruise around vancouver during the olympics!!!

GLOBE ROLL 02

This green beauty got me from the Vancouver Bike Gallery @4433 west 10th ave to the terminal club on Hastings for the YPO event with premier Campbell in about 15mins!

I had to lock up this gem when I went into cafe artigiano just in case....

I'll be auctioning off this bike along with a package of other goodies for charity after the games. Stay tuned. My goal is to get some pretty cool signatures on the top tube. Bid high enough and you can name the signatures you want me to get!

All for Kidsport Victoria. Wouldn't this bike look great at your office or cruising to the shops!!

Thanks to Specialized Canada for donating the bikes so Adam and I can cruise around Vancouver during the games.
Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.

the pencil project #one

GPS, is it around the corner?

Randy Starkman's Olympics Blog (http://thestar.blogs.com/olympics)

 

 

February 24, 2009

New WADA “whereabouts” testing system – WADA joke!

PHOTO COURTESY OF SIMON WHITFIELD

Simon Whitfield walking with his daughter: "Hey, is there someone following us....?"

Canadian triathlon ace Simon Whitfield made a desperate plea on his blog nearly two months ago after trying to fill out the new forms that the World Anti-Doping Agency created for out-of competition testing, also known as the “whereabouts” rule.

“I Simon Whitfield volunteer to pay for and wear a GPS tracking unit so that CCES, WADA and any other acronym totting organization can track me down at any minute of the day and make me pee in a bottle while taking blood from my arm. Seriously I do. I'll start tomorrow if only to not have to fill out this insane form. I have nothing what so ever to hide. You can track my whereabouts via GPS to your hearts content.”

Whitfield wasn’t kidding. In hindsight, he was the canary in the coal mine on this "whereabouts" issue which is causing consternation to athletes around the world, from the likes of tennis stars Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams to ski star Lindsey Vonn and American hurdler Lolo Jones.

 for more;

http://thestar.blogs.com/olympics/2009/02/new-wada-whereabouts-testing-system-wada-joke.html

national team team work.

thanks to my "old"er brother GB for the music recommendation.
MGMT - time to pretend

the mini bamboo forest. Just big enough for Pippa and some small waterfalls.