30.07.06
Posted in Canada, Sport at 10:47 pm by AB
A few months ago Art told me about a ride he did last year and one that he was hoping to do again. It is called RAMROD (or Ride Around Mount Rainier in One Day). It is in and around the Mount Rainier National Park in Washington USA. Art told me it was an easy 150 with a few climbs. I said I might be interested and he sent me to the website.
Upon arrival at the website i discovered that the easy 150, was miles(!) and that the few easy climbs added up to about 10,000 feet in total. (Course Profile) For some reason i still decided that it seemed like a good idea so we entered.
Mount Rainier is the highest Mountain in the Mainland 48 States standing at an impressive 14,410 feet and is an active Volcano. It basically stands alone all by itself in the middle of nowhere. As we drove south towards Seattle you could see it off in the horizon, Art joked about taking it to school the next day, i was worried that if it looked this big about 110 miles away we were in for a long day.
Thank god we didn’t have to go all the way to the top. The peak elevation of the ride was only 5400 feet. After all this was Ride around Mt Rainier and getting up requires the use of Crampons and Ice Axes.
After taking in the Seattle Mariners Baseball on the Wednesday night, we were all ready for the ride the next day. Well as ready as one can be after about 5 hours sleep. The ride started in a town called Enumclaw and we still had to get there. As the ride was one of those rides where the whole aim is just to get it done within the time limit you were allowed to start between 5am and 7am. Art and I eventually rolled out at 6:40am after piss farting around and ensuring our bodies had the required caffeine for the day’s adventure.
Art prepares for a long day in the saddle.
The riders at the start line.
We were some of the last riders to leave and were on our own for a while. The day started a little overcast as a high fog was clouding the area keeping temps down. After about 30ks we were forced to wait for road works for 10 minutes. In this time quite the group had assembled and after the road cleared it turned into a stage of the tour de france for the next 20ks as a peleton formed and guys tried unsuccessfuly to jump off the front. It eventually fell apart just outside of Eatonville when a flat tyre caused chaos in the pack and Art and I rolled off the front into the first stop of the day.
Ahhh Double Espresso.
From Eatonville is was about 50ks to the next stop. These kilometers were very gradually uphill, so much so that you hardly noticed it. We picked up a few riders along the way who joined in for a while. As i was riding the Quintana Roo Tri Bike i found the others falling in behind me leaving me towing Art and several others along. I could hear Art saying things such as, “that’s why i invited him” and “Faster Micky Rogers, Faster!!”
After stopping for the second food stop outside the National park Entrance at about 100ks the fun began. The first climb was 16 miles from 1900 feet to 5400 feet. A really nice gradual climb through windy forest lined roads. All the way up Art was joking how we were moving up the GC standings now, as our late start meant we began to reel in a lot of riders.
Art Boileau on the Charge
The downhills were just as sweet as the climbs. Long switchback decents on either sides of huge valleys that Glaciers would have carved out many years ago. It was almost Tour de France style with only a small rock wall guarding vehicles and bikes from the valley floor 1000’s of feet below.
The Second climb was shorter and steeper (about 12-13 miles with a similar elevation gain), and this is where i started to feel the pinch. Having to stop about a third of the way up for roadworks killed what little rythmn i had left and i soon found Art attacking me and dropping me on the final climb. This climb was much more exposed and i was being absolutely cooked by the sun. Finally i crested the summit and rolled the 8 miles to the final rest stop for the day at the 200km mark.
At the Summit of the Climb to Paradise with Mt Rainier in the background.
The Final 50ks despite being a net elevation loss were into a brutal headwind. The beautiful scenery from the first 200ks had disappeared and i was pretty close to hitting the wall. Armed with 3 cans of Coke loaded into my bidons we pushed on. Art and I were taking turns of a couple of minutes each and despite riding down hill at about 34kph we were redlining. Finally after about an hour of working our arses off into the headwind, one of us popped.
Art had taken his turn and i was unable to keep on his wheel. Finally when he got about 300m in front of me he pulled off as if to let me have my turn again to realise i was not there. From here we had about 10ks of Aaron complaining about everything and anything; from boring scenery to headwinds, to why I’d never ride this again on a TT bike, to how much my knicks were killing me, to how much my feet hurt and did i mention the headwinds.
Luckily for Art those complaints ended as we reached the final 9 miles to Enumclaw of which 5 were actul downhill without a headwind and 4 miles of flat into town. With about 3 to go we were caught by a train of riders and i said to Art i am not losing this group and i hung on to get towed back into town. Finally we finished after 8 hours 28 minutes of actual riding with equated to an average of about 29.4kph for the 250km.
As i said to Art, “I am glad i did it, next year you can find some other poor bastard to keep you company.”
Well i got it done, would i go it again?? Not on a TT bike!!! But prior to the final 50ks the riding was awesome and totally worth it. I can now say my longest day on a bike is 250ks and i’ll never wear the knicks i wore for more than 100ks. That was there limit!! And it was good to do some riding in a awesome part of America. Well at least that’s what Art tells me, i think he is biased as he has spent all of his life in the North West Pacific.
Thanks Art… You Bastard…
FYI. Art has suckered me into another Event in a few weeks… The Hood to Coast Relay! Damn you Boileau.
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29.07.06
Posted in Canada at 11:03 am by AB
They say Hockey is to Canada as Baseball is to America. Lately we have been to a few baseball games, from the lowest of the low to the Major League.
The structure of Baseball in North America starts with the Major’s then flows down through AAA, AA and finally A.
Vancouver is home to a Minor League ‘A’ level team. The Lowest of the Low. Tickets can be bought at Safeway for $6. It’s not a bad way to spend an evening or afternoon with a few beers. The small crowds allow your jibes at the visiting players to be heard. The Beer sellers come to you and its somewhat relaxing. Recently we took Dwayne and Xavier along.
Dwayne and Xavier enjoy a Vancouver Canadians Game.
Nat Bailey Staduim Vancouver
Evidence of the big crowds at the games.
Art and I went down to Washington State to do a bike ride (see next posting). While we were down that way we took advantage of the situation to get to a Seattle Mariners vs Toronto Blue Jays Game. A lot of Canadians from British Columbia were down there to see the Blue Jays as they are Canada’s only team in the Major’s. Art and I were supporting the Mariners though. As the team closest to Vancouver they became my ‘ home team’.
Safeco Field. A little different to Nat Bailey.
Art takes in the action.
AB and Art at Safeco Field.
For the record the Mariners beat the Jays 7-4.
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20.07.06
Posted in Canada at 4:44 pm by AB
Last night was the Tour de Gastown, through the cobblestoned roads just of the edge of the city. Gastown is sandwiched right next to Bumville, BC so make sure you don’t wander one street to far. Last night was the 60k mens crit race, past winners include Lance Armstrong back in 1991. The 2006 event was won by an Australian riding for the American Navigators team. Our good mate Scott Malone was racing. Unfortunately, Scott was taken off the course before the end getting lapped. However, the three breakaway riders lapped the whole field!!!(1.2k lap) so he shouldn’t feel to bad.
The field charges up Water Street
Art and Panda cheer on Scott
Scott working hard on the back
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18.07.06
Posted in Canada at 11:27 pm by AB
So a while ago my brother Dwayne said he was thinking of coming out to Canada to visit, he threw some dates at me and i worked out that they coincided with the 2006 edition of the Calgary Stampede. I had been told by a few people that a trip to Calgary during Stampede is not to be missed. So when Dwayne said he and Xavier were coming i booked accommodations at the Calgary Backpacker Hostel and the early plans were laid.
I mentioned it at work back in February and Adam (hereafter known as Panda) said he was keen so i changed the booking to 4, and the posse was formed. In the mean time Laura, who used to work at the shop had returned to Calgary and was putting in the research. Laura’s place was taken at the store by Kerry, who spends the winter in Calgary at University and is a big “country” girl despite growing up in Vancouver. So she was armed with all the necessary knowledge on the town and was getting increasingly jealous as we drew closer to departure date. Kerry did however, put that jealousy behind her and make us a Double-CD compilation of Country Music for the trip. Panda and I made sure that got played a lot… “so hold my beer, while i kiss your girlfriend…”
The Calgary Stampede is a combination agricultural show like you see in Australia, and part all things Cowboy and Western. It is home to one of the world’s largest and richest Rodeos, a daily 9 race card of Chuckwagon races and concerts of Country and also more mainstream bands too. Basically a 9 day party in the city of Calgary.
With the Hire Car picked up we were ready to leave at 6 am monday morning for the 12 hour drive to Calgary. Dwayne and Xavier had been to a concert on the Sunday night and were a little shabby on the Monday as we picked them up.
At Kamloops Dwayne and Xavier were introduced to Tim Horton’s. Timmy’s was then to become the default stop on the Highway. The standard order was the Toasted BLT sandwich. Dwayne argued that the Lettuce and Tomato meant he was eating healthy. A definite a step up from McDonalds.
Eventually we reached the Alberta Border…
The boys got in the way of my photo.
Better!!!
We arrived into Calgary about 7 to be told that 3 of us would be in one dorm room and 1 in another, despite the fact that we booked in February. After being told there was “nothing she could do” some constant harassment came up with a solution of two and two. Eventually it was rectified to all four. 4 of 6 votes!!! We ran that dorm room.
That night we went out for a quiet dinner before a few games of pool and some quality sleep. Dwayne and Xavier made sure they spotted all the “local talent”.
We made sure we all went out and got matching hats for the week. The boys were really excited for the week ahead!!!
After a morning of wandering around the Stampede grounds we decided that Wednesday night would be the night for the Chuckwagon Races, and Friday would be rodeo day. Tonight we would be joining Laura for dinner and drinks. So we decided to get a head start on Laura and hit the Nashville North Beer Tent/Pavillion at the Stampede for a few early ones.
Tuesday night turned into a DIY bar crawl down the famed 17th Avenue, or the Red Mile as it is better known, where all the Calgary Flames fans get drunk in Playoff Times.
The Posse is rounded up, including Ben 5th vote from the Dorm Room. Try arguing with that posse when they wake you up at 3:30am…
Laura joined us on the famed red mile…
Aaron and Xavier mean business…
Dwayne and Xavier wanted to show their Mum’s that they at least knew where to wash clothes, whether they went there or not??
Wednesday after a late start we wandered around the city and checked things out before heading down to the Stampede later in the afternoon for a quick stop at Nashville North…
Followed by an evening at the Chuckwagon races and the Stampede Evening show. The 9 Race Card at the Races was good entertainment. Despite one horse going down in the first race and the tarps being bought out (luckilly the horse was unscathed) the rest of the races were full of excitment.
Next it was time for the Stampede show, this years theme was Canada - Moments in Time. After two minutes Dwayne turned to me and said is this lamer than the Rock Eisteddfod , and Xavier saying it was more boring than church. We sat there quietly for Panda, in a show of respect for his country. That was until 5 minutes later when Panda declared how lame the whole thing was and we quickly headed for the sanctuary of Nashville North and another late night.
Australian’s are everywhere, (well with the exception of that Canuck on the Left)
Panda draws in the girls, Dwayne and Aaron quicky get in on the action
Things get Rowdy…
Dwayne and Xavier throw around the accent…
Aaron makes sure everyone knows where this train stops…
Thursday was a relatively quiet day, we just hung out in town for a while, raced around town to find the Tack Shop (Horsey type shop with saddle, bits, bridles etc) so we could get the leather straps for our new Spurs, got the flat tyre in the car fixed and went out to laura’s for dinner. A quiet day so that we could get ready for the HUGE Friday.
Downtown Cowtown
Relaxing at the Hostel…
Meeting the locals…
Friday arrived all too soon. The plan was to go to the Rodeo at 1:30 then back to the hostel have a few drinks and return to the Stampede about 7:30. Laura and Panda would be taking in the Our Lady Peace concert; while Dwayne Xavier and I would be hitting Nashville North again! After lining up for 2 hours we were only 15 meters from the front of the line when Panda and Laura came looking to see what the line was like. That was the last we saw of them that night. Laura and Panda went downtown; Xavier, Dwayne and I got in to Nashville North about 15 minutes later and partied.
The Boys prepare for battle…
Am i supposed to support the Horse or Rider?
In the line to get into Nashville North…
Xavier tries a new Canadian Drink…
Then convinces this guy he is a professional and autographs his hat…
Meanwhile this girl was on her hen’s night, selling lifesavers swen on to her dress for $1…
The boys from small town Australia (Canberra) Barely anyone knew Canberra so all week we were the brothers from the Country…
And so that basically ended the week in Calgary. The next day we drove the 12 hours back from Calgary to Vancouver, it was a lot harder than the drive to Calgary. What a week. Rodeo’s were watched, chuckwagon races bet on, dances had and we had the occassional drink. Obviously a lot more photos were taken and if you want to see the rest of them make sure you check out the Gallery in the next few days. I’ll be putting a lot more on line in the next day or two.
Hi to everyone we met in Calgary that stumbles across the website. Hope you are well, drop us a line if you feel the need.
Well enough for now…
Cheers All.
Aaron (and Dwayne, Xavier and Panda)
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16.07.06
Posted in Canada at 9:09 am by AB
Well we are back in Vancouver after our week at the Calgary Stampede. Fun was had, beers were consumed and not to much damage was done. A full write up and photos will go online soon. Back to work again… 
Dwayne demonstrating one way to get girls to dance with you…
Cheers
Aaron
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07.07.06
Posted in Canada at 7:54 pm by AB
My Brother Dwayne and friend Xavier Stakelum arrived today into Vancouver. Monday we head to Calgary for the Calgary Stampede. Stay tuned for photos and the full story. I have my boots and hat ready to go. In the mean time you can see photos from the boys first night in Vancouver here….
The Gallery
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05.07.06
Posted in Canada at 12:48 pm by AB
I’m sitting here between shifts in the laundry listening to live commentary of the Lleyton Hewitt quarter semi final from Wimbledon and thought while i was being Australian, i’d better update everyone as to what i am doing.
So here we are in July! At the end of the month it will be exactly 12 months since i finished up at Treasury, and early August will signify 12 months since i arrived here in Canada. It seems like only yesterday that i got in. It is even more noticeable when i have customers talking about there final few weeks leading into Ironman Canada and this time last year it was Karl getting ready to race Ironman Canada. However i am not getting as excited by the Ironman Canada as i will not be going up to watch it this August.
So what has been news since i wrote at the beginning of June? Well June is the month of my birthday so to celebrate that we had a dinner at Todd’s. A quiet affair for just some select invitees. Nothing to big considering that we had the big party at the end of May. Everyone was forced to bring something to the dinner so there was plenty of food to go around. It wasn’t meant to be a big night as the following week I was off to Vancouver Island for the Victoria Half Ironman Triathlon.
The big event i had been training for was the Victoria Half Ironman Triathlon. I headed over to the island on the Friday Afternoon with Kristi, who runs in the store’s clinic. This gave me a chance to kick back and relax in the passenger seat and enjoy the ferry ride over to Vancouver Island. Arriving late afternoon on the Friday gave me the chance to look around downtown Victoria, which is the capital of BC, before catching up with Kelsey who was over on the island with her sister Rebecca and friend Lorraine. Victoria was nice. Very pretty down by the inner harbour/downtown area. It has a Colonial English feel to it. I took the chance to look through the Parliament Buildings and look around downtown, but the problem was being there to race means you don’t have the chance to spend all day sightseeing.
Of course the Saturday, after having breakfast with the girls downtown was more about race prep and resting up. Sunday was race day. The day i had been semi-training for. I had an awesome day out and did a new half ironman PB of 4:52:29. I won’t go into the details of the race, but if you do want to read about it you can at http://broughton.id.au/2006/06/19/2006-victoria-half-iron-triathlon/
Back on the Mainland the following weekend i ran another Half Marathon here in Vancouver. A really stupid idea considering that i had run one the weekend before as part of the half ironman. Obviously my body had not recovered and I limped home. I was close to stopping as the race passed only 10 blocks from my house, a simple 5 minute walk home, but i pushed on. Not something I’ll do again.
I have also recently taken to the ice and been playing hockey each Sunday night. I have managed to get 3 games in so far. I would have had a few more but didn’t play the week before and of the half ironman. It’s a lot of fun to play, although i have been saying that i act as more of a decoy than a player, as i skate around in circles. I haven’t managed to put the puck in the back of the net as yet but i have had a few chances, but have not been able to get enough on the puck. The highlight of my career so far is stealing the puck from Todd which resulted in a goal for our team. The only bad thing is they rent the ice from 10:45 till midnight on Sunday nights.
So what is coming up??
Friday my brother Dwayne and Xavier Stakelum arrive for a month or so in Canada. Monday we are loading up the car with Panda, Dwayne, Xavier and driving for Calgary and the legendary Calgary Stampede. It’s a festival of all things Cowboy and Country. It’s meant to be a huge party, and all the locals say it’s awesome. So we are pumped for that.
Late July Art and I are off to Washington State to do RAMROD. Then August 6th will be my last shift at the store. Then August, September and October will be spent traveling, First Seattle, BC and Oregon, then the Eastern Seaboard, then BC again in early October before Heading to Hawaii for the Hawaiian Ironman in Kona and a few night in Waikiki before heading home.
Hope everyone is well. It’s hard to believe that its almost been 12 months.
It’s my parent’s birthday this month, so make sure if you see them you wish them a happy birthday for the 29th July.
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