Donate $10 to see Canadian Athletes Win in Vancouver
Have you ever wondered how Canadian Athletes can afford to be as good as they are? Well, look no further. Canadian Athletes Now Fund is one of those ways.
It’s never been cheaper to invest in a Canadian athlete – to be able to follow them as they fulfill their lifelong dream in Vancouver next month! Right now, for $10, you can help push one of our athletes onto the podium.
At least check them out. They have been a huge support for me over the years. Besides the three times that I have been awarded the fund, they sent us a box of Kushies clothing for Mira when she was born. I know I will apply for the fund again in the future en route to 2012, so let’s all support them now.
Dave
A day at the beach
Our local beach
It goes in the face of the ’starving athlete’ image to disclose that Rachel and I have taken the kids to Oahu – especially to the stranger who was kind enough to offer to build me a bike. But there is logic and savings in taking this trip now.
Rachel somehow managed to ’swap’ our suite this past summer with a family she found on Craig’s List (different Craig). The family is from Oahu and wanted to swap with someone in Victoria. Their kids went to Camp Thunderbird last summer. Great family! They came and had a fun adventure in Victoria.
It took us 5 months, but now we are finally on our half of the swap! We were going to go in November but we didn’t get Bowen’s birth certificate in time, so we couldn’t get his passport either. All that said, we are in Hawai’i now! The last time I was here was 10 years and 1 month ago with Morgan Crooks. We were on our way back from an Olympic test event in Sydney. They ran a mini regatta exactly a year out from the Olympics.
As for this trip, Bowen flew for free (and did a great job on the plane), the accommodation is free and we have a kitchen to prepare all our meals. And besides, this is the vacation to end all vacations – at least for 2 1/2 years. Once I start rowing in March there are no vacations until after London 2012.
Wave jumping in Kailua
We arrived two days ago. The family we swapped with lives in Kailua on the east shore of Oahu. The first thing we did was hit the beach! One of the family’s daughters, 9 year old Nicole, walked down with us as our guide. Mira and I waved jumped until her lips turned blue – Rachel just laughed as we got pummeled by wave after wave. It was so much fun; one of those moments that will live in all our memories. It was so special that Mira and I rolled out of bed yesterday morning and headed straight back to the same beach and Rachel and Mira are there now!
Mira in the control room of the USS Bowfin
Yesterday we also headed to Pearl Harbour – December 7th being the 68th anniversary of the Japanese bombing (1941). Mira and I went aboard the USS (submarine) Bowfin at the memorial site. It was a beautiful monument, but Mira was a bit insecure. We hurried through the inside of the sub and spent lots of time on the deck. Last night I went to the local Blockbuster looking for the Hollywood movie Pearl Harbour. Rachel and I thought we could watch it after the kids were asleep. I should have guessed that there would be some cultural aversion to the Ben Affleck Hollywood love-story version of that fateful day when so many people lost their lives. I thought about the relative proximity of Pearl Harbour to where we are staying – and it would be as if the attack happened in Sydney (BC) if you live in Victoria (BC). Needless to say: they don’t carry the movie – good for them.
We have another 4 days here in paradise.
Dave
Every Little Bit Counts
Biking to Work
Just before Bowen was born I blew a tire on my bike. I made a few efforts to fix it – but couldn’t quite get the job done. Then, after he was born I started rowing once a day with the Canadian team and became even less interested in fixing my bike.
Rowing against the national team, with three hours sleep at night, then heading into an eight hour work day just didn’t pan out. I think I made it two and a half weeks on the water before I had to pack it in. I’ve since borrowed a friend’s erg and have been getting great workouts in each morning.
Now that Bowen is eleven weeks old we have a bit of a routine set in the house, including the daily erg. On Remembrance Day I finally got around to fix my bike, well enough to ride it to work each day. Mind you there are no front brakes, the chain skips and can’t go in the hardest gear and I need a front light! Anyone know where I can get a safer bike for cheap?
Racing Again
I ride with my music on – and I visualize racing again. Sometimes it’s the 2010 Worlds in New Zealand; sometimes it’s the 2012 Olympic Games in London – but I’m always pushing hard, always winning and always happy.
In the few weeks since I’ve added my ride back I’ve seen my splits drop significantly on the erg, I’ve felt more energetic and healthier all around. And if you can believe it, I even feel physically warmer throughout the day. I still struggle to stay awake when I read bedtime stories to Mira though.
I can’t wait to train full time again.
Dave
1952 Helsinki Olympic Experience
Helsinki 1952 Poster
I’m in Toronto right now. I flew here yesterday for Canadian Olympic Committee Athletes’ Council meetings (renamed today Athletes’ Commission). I’ve gone to www.offsetters.ca and calculated my carbon emissions for the trip (2.8 tonnes CO2); it only cost $70 to offset.
When I landed I hooked up with fellow Canadian Olympic rower Adam Kreek. Suddenly we were heading to the Argonaut Rowing Club’s annual awards banquet as guest speakers. We arrived at the club and immediately meet their eldest active member. At 89, Steve Sandor still rows his single, self-admittedly shorter distances than years past. Mr. Sandor and I spoke at length. As it turns out, Mr. Sandor is a Hungarian Olympic rower from 1952. In the course of our conversation he remembered to me, with great detail, the events that took him and his Hungarian crew mates from 1948 through to the ‘52 Helsinki Olympic Games.
At that time there were two rival rowing clubs in Budapest, one made up of only card-carrying Communists and his, an open mix of Party Members and non-party members alike; each vying to race the eight in Helsinki. Mr. Sandor’s story included stroke by stroke accounts of critical races against the communist club and a challenge race the Olympic year against the Germans. He recited precise measurements of his secret tactic to increase the size of his club’s blade surface area. He still held on to the exact weights of their hull, the brass oarlocks, seats and slides. In part because he so adamantly disagreed with the extra weight the strong ‘communist-designed’ boat carried. He said “We carried two coxswains”.
Rowers at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics
It turns out the Hungarian Communist Party wanted to promote the strength of Party Values and their Communist Brothers at the games in Helsinki. Allegedly, Party Officials made every effort to disadvantage Mr. Sandor’s club in the selection process. Mr. Sandor’s club was faster though, and had been in smaller boats for years. Then, finally in late 1951 and throughout the 1952 season, they had the faster eight too.
As club captain Mr. Sandor requested a meeting with top Party Officials in order to clarify the selection process. Mr. Sandor and his crew were granted an audience, but they were told that only the three card-carrying Party Members were allowed to speak. It became clear to Mr. Sandor that the conversation was not going well and he could only sit quietly for so long. He told me that he stood up and bellowed “COMRADES”, because that was a sign of respect to Party Ideology, and from the far end of the table he continued in a level, calm voice “Will the fastest crew or the Communist crew race for Hungary in Helsinki?” Put that way, the Party Brass was backed into a corner. They agreed to race a best-of-three selection process between the two clubs; the fastest crew would race in Helsinki. A week later Mr. Sandor’s crew won the first two races and was selected to represent Hungary at the 1952 Olympic Games.
Opening of the 1952 Olympic Games
Years later, at a party, after the fall of communism in Hungary, Mr. Sandor saw those same ex-party officials he had stood up to in 1952. With great respect the men retold the story of Mr. Sandor’s passion and bravery for everyone to hear. Now, 57 years later, I’ve been inspired by his story.
[Olympic] Dreams are worth fighting for, worth sticking your neck out for, and can only be realized by unwavering self-belief and commitment. Mr. Sandor embodies inspiring Olympic values. If the young rowers I chatted with last night at the Argonaut Rowing Club learn these values from Mr. Sandor now, they will be formidable at everything they do in life.
Dave
The Beginning of Something
Mira's first erg
Honestly – it was completely unprovoked.
It all started when Bowen was born. You see, I thought I’d train with the national team on Elk Lake in the mornings for their first row. You know, quietly slip out of the house at 7 AM and then be in the office by 9:30 for an efficient, high energy, 7-hour work day. I’d be back home by 5:15 PM for a relaxing night with my family.
Well, it kind of worked – for two weeks. By ‘kind of’ I mean I was just hanging on. I was getting 3 or 4 hours of sleep each night, I was the slowest single on the lake and my high energy days at the office turned out to be more like a 7-hour marathon of trying to stay awake. Oh, and by the time I got home each night I was exhausted and would quickly fall asleep reading to Mira by 8 PM.
My plan has always been to rejoin the national team full time in March of 2010. If I am in shape leading up to March then I figure I have an outside shot at being fast enough to make a world cup boat. But I definitely should be able to be race ready by the time the worlds roll around in November, 2010.
I had to stop after two weeks when I finally got sick. Instead of returning to the lake, I was able to borrow someone’s rowing machine (aka erg), and set it up in my carport. This is where my story really begins…
I set up the erg yesterday. As soon as I set it up Mira wanted a turn. Not to curb her enthusiasm I said okay. She hopped on and had surprisingly natural technique. She drove her little 5 year-old legs, swung her little 5 year-old body and pulled her short little 5 year-old arms in. More amazingly she had the recovery sequence too. Her little arms shot out, she swung her little body over and then she slid up the slide. MY JAW DROPPED.
Setting up Mira's second erg
Not sure what was going on – I had to pry her off the erg to go to family supper at my Grannie’s house. In fact, I had to promise her another turn on the machine later when we got home. Sure enough when we pulled into the carport she remembered and was fired up to get back on the machine. She had a quick turn, but it was past her bedtime, so again, I convinced her to go inside by promising her another turn in the morning.
This morning when 6 AM rolled around I was so excited to get to workout at home. I woke up and jumped out of bed with excitement – laughing, knowing where Mira got her enthusiasm from. I got locked in and pulled a solid 45 minutes at 1:49/1:50 splits listening to Big Wreck.
Giving'er on Mira's second erg
Shortly after my workout Mira woke up. Rubbing her eyes she walked into my bedroom asking her typical “Daddy, will you play with me?”, but then cut herself off and gasped - “Erg? Can I go erg?” I burst out laughing and we went back outside.
We went out and I set her up for a 10 minute workout, the first 5 minutes was all coaching. She loved it and felt great heading back inside. Then when I got home from work tonight she was there, waiting for me again. “Daddy, can I erg now, please?” I couldn’t say no. This time I set her monitor up for 500 metres. A good distance for a 5 year-old and a way for me to teach her about goal setting.
500 M in 4:06.1! We’ll see if she can beat it tomorrow – if she wants to!
Movember Update
Three day's growth.
Against Rachel’s wishes and my better judgement I have decided to grow a moustache for the month of November, er, uh, I mean Movember. I will provide a link here to the crazy fools who started this to raise awareness about prostate cancer – which, by the way, both my paternal and maternal grandfathers have had.
Track my progress on the site. I know one of you (Kelly) wants nightly updates – but let’s preserve my dignity to some degree. No one likes watching paint dry.
Dave
Torch Experience (runner 007)
I thought that I knew what I was in for. I figured it would be impossible to surprise me – surely by now, with 3 Olympics under my belt, I’d experienced it all. Boy, was I wrong. The blue bridge, the Johnson Street Bridge, will forever be a part of my Olympic experience now – unique in every way.
When Rob Reed (runner 006) came up to me, carrying the Olympic flame, I could feel my excitement building. Then the RCMP officer turned my torch on. Propane flowing, Rob passed the flame from his torch to mine. Awkwardly, each carrying a flaming torch, we embraced. Then I turned, and I was on my own. I was holding the flame. For 300 metres I was the chosen ambassador, holding a symbol of hope and inspiration. As I slowly crossed the bridge, waving to friends and strangers alike, the significance of the flame, of the games-to-come was reaffirmed in my head. All the choices I’d made over my life to pursue Olympic excellence amounted to more than just financial debt and an incredibly patient family. In that moment of reverence I saw how my unique role plugs into the bigger picture. What I do and how I act matters, and it makes a difference. Thousands of Olympic athletes, me included, and our stories really do have the potential to inspire and engage an up-and-coming generation; we can help them realize that they can accomplish anything they want.
It all hit me:
The generation my children belong to has a shorter life-expectancy than my own. This is a first – and it’s disturbing. Processed foods, video games and the societal fear of letting children venture outdoors alone have all helped to create a prison for our kids. Promoting a sedentary life, in which the TV babysits and in part educates our children’s choices. How do we break free of this trap? I looked up at that flame – burning bright – and saw a symbol that could ignite the imagination of that generation – a symbol that could get kids off the couch and onto the field of play.
This flame, for the few steps I held, is calling the best athletes from around the globe to British Columbia. Their stories of struggle, dedication and perseverance will be showcased for everyone to see. Their dreams will dangle in the balance, some will be realized, while most will be delayed by 4 years (and in some cases forever).
Then it all came home – I came to the end of the bridge deck and saw my 5-year-old cheering me on. A wave of emotion hit me like a ton of bricks and I started to tear up. If there is one thing I have taught my daughter through the actions I’ve taken in my life it is not to be afraid to dream a wild and crazy dream, and to pursue that dream to the ends of the earth with an unwavering self belief – even if it takes 22 years. My example has been through sport – but she knows her dream can be anything she wants.
I was disappointed to hear that 10 torch bearers could not run their 300 metres in Victoria on day 1 of the relay; not because I don’t support the right to protest, but because of the lost opportunity for those 10 people to inspire the people in their lives.
The Olympics are coming to BC, like it or not. We all have a choice now. Let’s use the opportunities the games offer to enrich our society and to create lasting legacies for future generations. The Olympics provide a stage in which, creatively and constructively, almost any cause can be furthered. But above all else, let’s reverse the state in which we find our young people.
If you object, please do so respectfully: don’t ruin someone else’s dream.
Dave
Torch Run
Yesterday was the first day of the torch relay, but today was Halloween. I can’t see straight right now. I will write a full account of my experience in the morning. Needless to say, it was a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
Dave
Climate Action? What’s the Rush?
Expanding Lake
(Preamble) Sooner or later I will mainly blog about rowing. It’ll be about how many KM we did, a particularly hard workout, maybe even gripe about a teammate or a coach. All of you out there who are not rowers: cut off the RSS feed before I get to that point. But for now I will blog about what I want to!
(Today’s blog) Today is Blog Action Day on Climate Change. Well, what’s the rush about climate change? Sure the clock is tck-ing, Tcktcktck, I hear it too. But I also hear individual stories of carbon reduction heroics all the time, and have you ever seen any good come from just one person? Isn’t it the big corporate polluters that need to change to really make a difference? Can’t I keep buying my veggies from Mexico and my fruit from California? Hell, ‘we’ even seem to know what our collective carbon upper limit is - 350 parts per million - or else we’ll face certain doom. You know, not getting-a-needle doom either; the type of doom found in the bible or RR Tolkien.
I get the sense that what we’re doing is heading out for a night of drinking with a 24 pack of beer knowing that we’ll die, no questions asked, of blood-alcohol poisoning after only 12. But we drink them all anyway. Only we won’t be able to drive the porcelain bus to recover – unless NASA crashes a few more rockets into the moon and finds serious proof of H2O in a hurry.
Nah. Forget all this talk about climate change. Life is good right now. I can drive to the corner store, to the kid’s school, hell, I can even use the car to rock my newborn to sleep at night. It’ll be his problem to face by the time things really heat up. Besides, I remember when the BC chapter of the Sierra Club came out with its map of my hometown under the influence. They called it “Is Victoria Going Under?“. If I read that map correctly, the melting of the polar caps will actually help my Olympic training. See, right now Elk Lake is too small for all the guys who want to row for Canada. If we melted the caps enough then Elk Lake could actually become partially salt water and it’d be large enough to fit us all. The fued between rowers, power boats and fishermen would finally come to an end. The water ski boats could go use the part of the lake that is currently called the Blenkinsop Valley, while the fishermen could move over to what’s being used by Mattick’s Farm and the golf course (temporarily). You never know, they might even be happier catching fish from the ocean rather than ones that are stocked.
With less than ten minutes to go in Blog Action Day on Climate Change, here is my message to all of us: get off your butt and do something. There’s plenty out there to pick from. Mine’s www.projectbluesky.ca, what’s yours?
Dave
Ryan Leech’s Challenge
Do you may remember when Ryan ‘jumped over’ me on his bike? Correction, jumped over both me and Stephanie Dixon? At once? Well, he just threw out a challenge to me. He thinks that he and his network can collect more carbon reductions on www.projectbluesky.ca than me and mine.
I was worried to start with, and to tell you the truth still am a little. But so far, my group (Blue Sky, Clear Water) on the project site has twice the number of members that Ryan’s group does, and I heard from the project’s webmaster that at the end of business hours on Day 1 of the challenge we were in the lead.
My worry is that he has a huge school age following, and if he can activate those kids I’m in a lot of trouble. Have you seen what he can do on his bike? CRAZY stuff. Check it out on my blog a few months ago.
So, the group is there. If you sign-up on the group be sure to enter your group name at the bottom of the widget under where you enter your email. We have 15 members in the group on Day 1, but I want to see if we can break 100 members in the group by the end of the week. If each of the 100 members logs 10 Kms then we quickly add it up.
So please help me beat Ryan. It’s my ego on the line!
Dave
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