SPEED DEMON

MOSPORT

Darin's birthday was on July 27th, and unlike his birthdays in the past, this one didn't suck! I got him an afternoon of track driving in an F2000 car. He was quickly moved in to the fast group, a smile spread the full width of his face, and adrenaline pumping through his veins. Today his back has a big lump on it and his butt bones are bruised from the unpadded seats and rough suspension, but I think he had an amazing experience and will be back to do it again.

GUILD

I have such a great job doing promotions for the Waterfront Trail, a signed 900km route from Niagara to Quebec. There are several beautiful sections along the way, and although I haven't ridden all of it yet, I do plan on covering every section before the snow falls. There is currently a gap in Scarborough, a section in Toronto, that we are working on having signed by September. We will be riding this section as part of our conference in September and I rode it a few weeks ago and the Guildwood Inn and park lie along this section. It is such a neat park, with remnants of old buildings that have been torn down, beautiful gardens, and it is extremely peaceful. Definitely recommend a visit.

POT O GOLD!

We've had a water ban on the last few weeks, but finally got some rain. We had a torrential downpour for about 30 min when I was in Niagara and when I came home it passed over our house, and Darin, who was out on a ride, got hit with the wind, rain, and hail. At the end of it, we were rewarded, not only with a drink for our lawn, but with this beautiful rainbow. The plus side is that our house is at the end of the rainbow - jackpot!

NIAGARA

What a great week! I may have a ton of work to do, and may be working on Sunday, but spent last Thursday in Niagara. Justin has initiated the Bike Train which will be having its inaugural run on the week-end of July 21. Basically, it will be a Via train that runs between Toronto and Niagara and has a luggage car with bike racks, so you can travel to and from Niagara by bike. Since I work for the Waterfront Trail, a signed route from Niagara to Quebec, I am hoping that most people take the train one way and ride the other, and it sounds like that is what many are doing.

In any case, Justin wanted to ride some of the suggested bike routes in Niagara and I tagged along for the opportunity to ride in the area and explore more of the Waterfront Trail since it starts in Niagara-on-the-Lake. We had a beautiful day and what a great place to ride, I definitely recommend the trip to everyone, no matter how often you ride a bike. Niagara-on-the-Lake is such a charming town, I just love it, and it has lots of wineries within riding distance; but we didn't have the chance to stop in for tastings. The picture is of Justin riding the Waterfront Trail near Butler's Barracks, about 2km from the official start of the trail. Check out www.waterfrontrail.org and www.biketrain.ca.

READY, SET...

We went back to Killbear Provincial Park after Canada Day, and this time Zach came with us - had to have someone to axe the watermelon! I stayed for one night while the boys stayed for two, and it's amazing how relaxing it is to be in the middle of nowhere with no cell phones, computers, televisions, or anything to remind you of the city and work. Darin and I have both been busy with work, so it was great to get out and take a break. It is so beautiful out there. I'll be posting the rest of our pictures on www.myworldmypics.com, so stay posted.

FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF LIGHT!

Darin and I have had the pleasure of having our friend Zach stay with us as he passes through our neck of the woods for some bike races. We went down to watch the Rochester Twilight Crit which was a pretty exciting race. People were going around collecting money for a crowd prime and managed to accumulate $1300, so when the bell rang with 7 laps to go the next person across the line was going to win the pot, and what an exciting sprint it was! Zach came second, narrowly missing the prize. We asked for a refund for the $20 we had put in the hat, but he made us dinner instead.

The following race was the Chin Picnic Crit in Toronto, 35 laps with points every 5 laps, and this time Zach didn't disappoint, he won every sprint that he contested and came first overall. Zach is on the right hand side of the picture winning a sprint.

BUCKING BRONCO

I spent a very quick week-end in Calgary to return my Mom's dog. It was raining when I landed, rained that night, then rained, rained, rained, and I thought I was never going to see the mountains, but the day I was leaving they miraculously appeared. I was really only in the city for a few days, but did meet up with some family and a few friends, but forgot to take a picture until I was in the airport leaving - hence the Stampede scene on the window, with the city skyline and mountains behind it ... don't think I'll win any awards for this one. Happy Stampeding everyone!

KILLBEAR

Darin and I ventured out to Killbear for our first week-end of camping this season the week-end after the May two-four week-end (eastern talk for May long week-end). Though the water may not have been warm enough to swim in yet the sun was out and we had a great time. Since we were looking after my Mom's normally pampered dog, he came with us on his first camping trip where he got dirty, cold, and proved that he apparently lacked raccoon radar. The little, or make that rather large bugger, came right up onto our picnic table, about 3 feet from us, and stole our bag of marshmallows. Darin chased the 'Coon, but the awkward, slow moving beast out ran my ManDarin - good thing he's fast on the bike! The raccoons had gotten into our food stuff earlier in the day when we had left the sealed tupperware container out, and they came back after we went to bed in search of a party, but this time, after rummaging through our stove, our wood, and site, they found nothing - this time fooled!

BACON

Nikki didn't have it too bad while camping, though I'm sure he would have liked the temperature to be a bit warmer, and the smoke from the campfire to stay out of his face, he did get to play lots of ball - and the bacon that was left on the plate in the picture, well, it didn't go to the raccoons.

LYNSKEY

Darin and I ventured down to Scottsdale at Easter to get in some good rides. Darin and my Dad had ordered new Lynskey bikes and we had the perfect weather to break them in. Although I helped my Dad pick the parts for his bike and stay in his budget, he kept eyeing up and drooling over Darin's Fulcrum Racing Zero wheels - they are Ferrari red after all. It was impressive how much faster both guys were on their new toys. We rode with two of Dad's riding buddies on a long ride to Bartlett Lake one day and was impressed at how fast these guys are - though I suppose they are only in their 60s. Scottsdale is growing on me, must be the fact that is is almost always sunny and warm, unlike Toronto in the winter and spring.