Summer Kickoff Trifecta
It's the beginning of the new year and that means one thing to me. It's time for the Summer Kickoff Trifecta, a trio of events throughout the Spring that culminate with the start of Summer-like outdoor activities like mountain biking, hiking, canoeing, etc.
This three day expo held in a giant hanger near the airport is a great way to kindle the summer activity excitement. While the exhibitors year to year are much the same I find it's a great opportunity to catch up with people whom I haven't spoken with for a while. I love the opportunity to pick up race schedules from all the race promoters, watch the in-pool kayak demonstrations, gawk at the promotional videos for far-off adventure travel and chat with the fellow that runs a hang/paragliding school. Maybe this year I'll try paragliding.
The annual Spring bike show returns to the CNE but this time it will be housed in a new building - The Better Living Centre. The bike show is always a great place to catch up with local and regional cycling enthusiasts, ogle the latest in bike porn and even leave with brand new steed if you happen to be in the market for one. Most of the vendors allow you to take their bikes for a short test ride in the indoor test area.
By far the best way to get stoked for the Summer (actually all year) is to attend all three days of the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour when it hits the Bloor Cinema at the end of March. Here's this year's trailer/teaser.
A New Carrot is Bjorn
On March 22 Kate gave birth to Bjorn Thomas Eidsvik. I'm going
to check with Bruce about cross posting some of the images here.
Everyone is doing very well and Bruce seems to have some idea that
Bjorn will be competing in the 2034 Winter Olympics. If little
Bjorn is even slightly like his parents I'd say that is a very
likely prospect :)
Lakai Fully Flared Intro
It's just an intro to a skateboard video but wow! It's
beautiful and a great choice of accompanying musical score.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soWwa_Xwy7U&rel=1]
I would love to see a similar treatment for a climbing or
mountain biking video :)
The Bruce Trail
So I've been hiking sections of the Bruce Trail for the past few years in an
ongoing goal to complete the 800+ km Canadian Wonder. One of these
days I'll tally up my distance. Right now I'd estimate it at
somewhere between 30 and 40%. Still a long way to go.
My sister must have recognized my love of this incredible
natural wonder and was inspired to paint this image for me for as a
Christmas present. I knew the moment I unwrapped it what it was.
The subtle white blaze was the giveaway.
Thanks Tam, it's an awesome picture.
How (not?) To Build A Beer Blind
Ok, Andrew thinks its going to be a deer blind. But since I'm a
vegetarian I'll just think of it as a place to hang out and have a
beer during a midnight hike from the cottage.
Just prior to Christmas at my sister's I spent a few days at
Andrew's cottage along with another friend Oliver. Our "work
project" this time was to build a beer blind near the South end of
the property.
Andrew had already scoped out a suitable trio of trees in a
long forgotten clearing. In addition he had also flagged a new and
meandering trail from the back pond to the clearing. All that
remained was to build the ladder and the platform.
Earlier in the morning Andrew had trimmed two poles and he and
Oliver had nailed split cedar rungs to them. I showed up just in
time to help them attach the base of the platform and lean the
structure against the North side of a tree. The picture to the
right shows Oliver attaching a support about a third of the way up
the ladder.
It looked as if we were close to finished.
Until an assessment of the stability of the tree/ladder
combination was tested and left us all
wondering who would be the poor victim to venture up it first.
So, with a lot of grunting, swearing and cursing we managed to
move the entire, almost 20 foot ladder, 90 degrees into a more
stable position.
On the left we see Andrew using his chainsaw to trim off the
brace that Oliver had added earlier so that the ladder could be
secured to a second tree for more support.
More support being relative to the previous attempt. The wind
suddenly blew a slight breeze of about 10kmh and the resulting
bending and shifting had us instantly discussing the third and
hopefully final option.
By the time we were done we had removed the platform, shifted
the ladder 90 degrees, then another 90 degrees but finally had it
secured. It seemed like an awful lot of work to go to just to make
a Beer Blind! Let's just hope nobody falls off. With a close to
20 foot drop it would be a long hobble back to the cottage with a
broken leg.
Raid The North Extreme 2007 on the Telly!!!
Geoff just posted an update on RtNX '07 broadcast date.
Raid the North Extreme is coming to your television - on Network
Prime Time!
Global TV has confirmed a broadcast time: Saturday, Jan 12 at 9:00
pm for the one-hour High Definition feature show on RTNX Prince
Rupert & Haida Gwaii 2007.
After it airs on Global, it will appear on menTV, the Extreme
Channel, PBS in the US, Helly TV online, and will be available on
DVD and iTunes.
Racers and other AR enthusiasts are encouraged to plan viewing
parties in communities across the country. Packages are available
from FAR including 'how to' notes and prizing for the party - just
email us. If you're having a party, post it on the Facebook
page!
For those of you that aren't on Facebook try http://www.raidthenorth.com
or send an email to info@raidthenorth.com.
Toronto International Bicycle Show (Fall Blowout)
Yes folks, its that time of year again. The annual Fall Blowout
is almost upon us. And with dough in my pocket and an itch for a
new road bike I should be lined up outside at 10:00am with the rest
of the herd.
I would be interested in meeting for breakfast before hand if
anyone else is planning on going?
The details:
Toronto
International Bicycle Show
Direct Energy Centre (CNE)
East Annex, Hall F, Door 33
Exhibition Place Toronto, Ontario
Saturday, October 13, 2007 10 am - 5pm
wtf is buggy rollin?
Buggy Rollin is a new
activity that involves gravity and rollerblades... attached to
points all over your body! Seriously! This clip shows a guy
hurtling down a winding road in the Swiss Alps. Check out the last
couple of minutes as he demonstrates rolling under an amoured
personnel carrier. Let's hope suicide bombers aren't as insane as
this guy :| [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obvDwkfZdXA]
And here is the same guy going up against a motorbike on some
strange Japanese game show.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3WqjH9_Ezs]
When bike helmets are way too geeky...
Brent introduced me to Make magazine a couple of years ago and
the daily posts have lots of creative and inspiring ideas. When I
cam across the headline
LED Bike helmet I was quite excited. Suffice to say, the
first image scared the crap out of me :) It's a bit like Dork
meets Tron (which in itself might be considered a tad dorky by
some).
MAKE: Blog: LED Bike helmet
Proposing Another Traditional Annual Carrot Ride
This morning I had a great ride in the Don trails. That in
itself is not completely unusual, unless you take into account
today was the annual Becel Ride for Heart. But wait, the Ride for
Heart runs along the Don Valley Parkway. Why would that make a
trail ride so great? Well, the Becel Ride for Heart involves
shutting down the Don Valley Parkway to regular vehicular traffic.
When you remove thousands of cars from a narrow strip of tarmac you
also remove an incredible amount of white noise.
What made today's ride so great was an entirely different
noise. The noise that is omnipresent in any forest. The noise
that comes from birds, squirrels, wind, trees and leaves. The
natural noise of the Don Valley green belt that is usually
overwhelmed by the sound of gasoline engines and rubber tires.
It is very rare that we get to experience this amazing sound.
Only on those few days each year that the DVP is closed to cars.
Most of those days revolve around construction and are thus
inconsistent each summer. However, one we can count on (hopefully
for the foreseeable future) is the Becel Ride for Heart.
I propose that we make the Becel Ride for Heart Sunday a second
Screaming Carrot traditional ride date along with the existing
NP2A.
Oh, if you need any further encouragement consider this. I
passed three other cyclists so the trails were devoid of their
normal congestion. I saw a groundhog sleeping on the rail line as
I crossed to the flats. And finally, I saw a deer feeding in the
bush just south of Don Mills!