Wednesday, October 29, 2003

Reports from the Wedding, etc.
The trip back home was interesting. The week started off quite innocently but ended with a bang. I left Calgary on Friday night and ended up in Saskatoon around 11:30. Tara was home and let me in, however Grant was out partying and didn't get home until 2:30. He had to work in the morning so he went to bed. I didn't hear him get up, however I left before Tara got up. I tried to exchange my rental at Avis at the S'toon Airport but it was too much of a hassle so I continued my trek east. Next stop, Kamsack.
I got to Mark and Tracy's mid-afternoon. Tracy and I sat in the living room and talked all afternoon. Mark got home from class in S'toon around 5:30. We began cooking a meal. They made a great BBQ with spiced chicken and pork, etc. We ended up the evening in their kickass hottub.
In the morning I got up had coffee with them and their neighbor. I got the bike together and rode from Kamsack to the Manitoba border and back (approx 65km). Once I got back and cleaned up I headed to Childs Lake. Mom/Dad had called in the morning and asked that I meet them at Britton's cabin for a fish fry. Got there around 8pm. Followed each other back to Grandview around 10pm.
The next few days are a blur. Monday night I went over to Lance and Buffy's. The Wilson's had a b-day party for the October Pulock's in the loft on the farm on Tuesday(?). I ran to town from the farm that afternoon and met up with Tannis and boys in the minivan and Dave and Ryan in the car on their way out to Wilson's - they both invited me. Run was approx 9 miles - 15km. Visited with Grandma for a few minutes before mom showed up and brought me home.
The next day I went to Dauphin. I had dinner plans at Liwiski's so showed up early to do some banking (Owen & Chloe's present), tried on my tux, and put the bike together again, this time riding from the north Park border road to the north shore of Clear Lake and back, approx. 100km.
Had a great visit with Dave, Nic, Andrew and Mark and their boarder, Marie-Eve from QC. Lots of laughs, etc.
I also worked out with the weights in the barn on Monday and Thursday. There was enough isolation that I wore my M.Stevens unitard on Monday and the grey M.Steven tights and UnderArmour shirt on Thursday. Marvelous.
By Thursday all of the relatives were showing up. This was also the morning Keith Dalgleish got into his anhydrous accident out in the field. Everything got really busy after this. Thursday night after getting home from wherever, Clinton, Kent, and Shalon showed up with the deep fryer for chicken wings on Friday. They sat in the shed with Dad and I until 2:30. After that Dad and I got into a deep drunken conversation about homosexuality and gay marriage that lasted until 5:30. I was angry about it initially, but now I see that both him and mom are making an effort to understand what's going on. Considering where they live, this may be all I can hope for. I was still very hurt by Dad's comments that he hated Joe for who he was (I still don't know whether they like him as a person or not), and the fact that he flat-out refused to come to my wedding someday if I ever decided to have one. Maybe in time this attitude will change as well.
The rehearsal was on Friday. The rehearsal party went back to the barn loft on the farm afterwards. Most people left in a reasonable time, but the hardcore people stayed up and got drunker until Eddie Wilson rolled into the yard with his truck and fifth wheel. Crap, I can't even remember who was all there - there was Lance, Owen, Cam, and who else????
Anyways, Saturday was the big day. The wedding went without a hitch; everything was perfect except for a bit of rain when we left the church, however everyone maintained their cool and Chloe looked like a princess, so that was all that mattered.
The wedding party were a bunch of boozepigs. Between the 12 of us and a few extra glasses of wine & champagne to the parents and Owen and Chloe, we managed to finish off 35 bottles of alcohol in the four hours between the ceremony and cocktails at the hall.
Michelle Wilson was my 'buddy' for the day. She was in the bathroom when the bridal party made their way into the hall. I had to wait for her and we walked in late, by ourselves. How embarrassing (funny)!
The dance flew by. I was feeling quite ill on Sunday because of the three-day boozefest beforehand, so in a way I was glad the week ended with a long drive to Saskatoon with Grant in tow. Very glad to be getting home, however sad now that holidays are over for 2003.
What else has been happening since then? I'm still trying to get back into full fall training mode - it's been a challenge....The weekend after the wedding was the Banff Ekiden Race. We had a lot of fun there and then spent some time at the Sulphur Mountain Hot Springs.
Last weekend was the "Midsummer Night's Dream" ballet at the Jubilee which may have been one of my favorites because of the humour in it and the flow of the storyline. Right after that we got home and got ready to go to Doug's Hallowe'en party. Fuck, it was a C-train ride to the end of the south line and still a $15 cab ride after that! Ridiculous. I can't really see going to another party down there again in the near future especially when we get there so late, all the food's eaten and most of the party's already left.
The "Ralph Klein Sux" curling team also had their debut on Saturday. We unfortunately lost 9-4.
This weekend coming up is Hallowe'en on Friday, and the Synergy Hootenany on Saturday. It's going to be a nightmare! I'm wearing a devil costume again on Friday with the red skinsuit, Joe is going as Dracula. Should be fun. I'm really looking forward to Saturday though. I've invited a shitload of people again, however it's hard to say who'll show up considering there are still a lot of Hallowe'en parties going on that night. The weather has also turned for the worse. We got 10cm of snow last night and the original weather forecast claimed a low of -24^C on Sat. night, although that's now been downplayed to a balmy -10 in comparison.
I'll update with the critique of the parties later.

Friday, October 03, 2003

Reports from the trip East:
We had a great time. Definitely wound up being the party vacation - next week will hopefully be the relaxing one! I'm heading to S'toon tonight and Kamsack tomorrow before rolling into GV on Sunday. I have to plan a two-day excursion to Dauphin. I'm hoping either to bike there and back with an overnight stay or do a day trip out and back to Wasagaming from Dauphin (the highway is better through the Park). Have to pick up the rental car at Avis after work today and FLY! I'm also missing Shawn and Jeanette's Jack and Jill party on Saturday night....another missed social engagement...
Saturday night, Sept. 20th. Met up with Greg and Marion at Spulombo's in Kensington for dinner. Had a great visit there and during intermission at the Ballet. They even gave us a ride home! 'The Four Seasons' started slow but became more and more active to the end. Ended up with a standing ovation - the first I've seen at the Jubilee. How could you not give Rex Harrington a standing ovation anyways - he's SO sexy! 'The Firebird' was what I would call a 'mega production'. The costumes were so flourishy and huge - colors flying everywhere. It was a great show, if only for the settings and costumes. No, the ballet itself was really good too, if not a bit complicated when there are 30 dancers on the stage at one time. We made it home, changed quickly and headed to Sean and Nancy's for the birthday party. Most people left as soon as we got there, around 11:30. The rest stayed until Nancy kicked us out around 1:30. Doug stayed the night at the apartment.
Flew into Toronto on Sept 21. Rented a car at Pearson and went to Bob's place. We got ready, stopped for dinner and drinks at a few places on College (Diplomatico and ???) and went to Lotus for the new 'Boys Life' night. very cool bar - crowd wasn't very big or beautiful. Apparently the crowd was MUCH improved on the 28th, according to Bob.
It rained all day Monday. Bob, Juan, Joe and I went for brunch at a greasy spoon in CabbageTown. Joe and I drove around town, just doing some sightseeing through the windows. We stopped at a comic book store, etc. among other places. Checked out the renovations at 5ive - Bob's brother is co-owner. I ran from Bob's place to the Lakeshore in the evening. Still raining - ripped up my nipples through the wet shirt. Next time I wore the UnderArmour lycra shirt underneath - much better *mental reminder*.
Monday night we hung around Bob's place with beer and Absolutely Fabulous.
Tuesday Bob, Joe and myself headed to Niagara Falls. Had a great day walking around. Bob and I went on the Maid of the Mist. Then we hopped in the car and did the Wine Country tour. Finally stopped at one Joe wanted to check out around 5:07 (Stoney Creek) and they were already closed, so we hurried back to Cave Springs winery and did some taste testing - bought a bottle of Ice Wine for ourselves, and a bottle of Late Harvest Riesling for both Sean and Nancy and Bob.
Got back to Toronto - went to a Lebanese diner on Bloor for dinner with Bob and Juan. Headed down to the Village. Met Natasha at Zelda's and went to club (name?) across the street for the remainder of the evening.
Left TO around 11am on Wed morning heading to Quebec City. Got caught in rush hour on the #40 in Montreal. Lost a few minutes there but we had to stop for gas anyways. Rolled into QC around 7pm. Got a room at the Best Western and spent the evening in the room - ordered in, sex in the whirlpool tub all night....definitely needed some downtime. We talked to Jerome tonight and he informed me the gay QC clubs were all centralized on St-Jean. Not too far away, and we did see where they were in the morning, however we were exhausted.
In the morning I got up for a run. Ran up to the Old City and worked my way down to the riverbank. Had to run the stairs back up at the west end of the Plains of Abraham - that put any stairs in Calgary to shame! Did a walk/run around the old city before returning to the hotel to get Joe up and check out. We walked around the Old City for a few hours before it started to rain again. Left QC around 2:30 pm. Rolled into Montreal around 6-6:30. Went up to the top of Mount Royal for a few minutes, then met up with Jerome at his place around 7pm. We sat around for a few beers and Joe and I headed to the Village around 10pm. Ended up at Parking in the later hours. We sat at Le Stud for a few hours as well watching the strippers. Beautiful Mathieu from 'So Gay TV' was there with a bunch of his beautiful friends - didn't see the boyfriend around anywhere though. The crowd at Parking was eclectic. Very weird mix - lots of women as well.
Friday we went shopping on Ste-Catherine - hit Simon's - bought new jeans, pants, lycra shirt. New shoes at Stoneridge. Joe bought a new clothes at Simon's and Mexx. Headed to the Village. Tried a new rubber suit at Northbound Leather. It fit perfectly, but was $500. For that amount I'm going to special order what I want! I've decided the next big purchase is another bondage balloon or vacuum bed anyways. If I'm going to spend that amount of money, I want my rubber to be encasing! Joe was pretty pissed at me over this, since it took nearly and hour to don and doff the suit. It was worth it though!
Friday night Jerome, Joe and I met up with Karen Connolly, her friend from Calgary Camille, Jorge and Miguel at Laika. We had a lot of fun there before heading back downtown to Unity II for some dancing. It wasn't very busy on the main floor but the room upstairs was PACKED. We basically shut the place down.
Saturday Jerome, Joe and I walked down St-Denis to the Village. Joe stopped at Woodstock to get gifts for Amber and Allison. Stopped at Cafe Europeen for food - checked out some more men's clothing stores. Didn't buy anything though.
Saturday night we headed back down to the Village. Sky sucked, BackTraxx blew, so we ended up at Parking again - not too bad, a little older shirtless crowd. The most gay crowd we'd seen all week.
Went to the Pines for the third brunch there since we'd been in Mtl on Sunday morning. Got the 'Merman' painting wrapped up and paid for and said goodbye to Jerome around 2pm. Headed into Toronto and got to Natasha, Erin, and Laura's around 7pm. The entire household was sick with the cold, so we hung out with them for the evening and smoked some of the ganja we picked up in Montreal.
Monday Joe and I went shopping again. Paid our parking tickets, bought some underwear at the Bay, checked out stores on Yonge, Queen (including Mallabar for costumes/dance clothes - there's NOTHING there anymore!), and Church. Bought some shoes at the Aldo Factory outlet, gifts for Sean and Nancy at Urban Outfitters, toured around Eaton Center.
Met up with Bob and Juan, went to Le Petit Liban on Church for Joe's b-day dinner. Great meal, they even presented Joe's baklava with a sparkler for his b-day. Took Joe home. Bob, Juan and I smoked the last joint and went to Woody's.
Got up in the morning, said our goodbyes to the girls, promising them a night out in Calgary when they come out for Christmas. The checkin at the airport went very smoothly. I slept the entire flight home. Spent the rest of Tuesday unpacking and checking email.
Things with Joe went okay. He's a horrible passenger and navigator on long trips, so I've discovered. We got really bitchy at each other once in awhile, usually when hungover and/or tired. Definitely a better experience than the last few months have been.
We've decided to renew our apartment lease for another year so I guess things are staying the way they are for the time being.

Tuesday, September 16, 2003

Another Tuesday afternoon - it's been snowing all day. I love Calgary. I'm debating whether to go home and be a sloth or go to the gym right after work. I'll probably go home and then head to the gym. I'm really wanting to take some days off of training, but I'm sure there will be more than a few days of sloth next week.
We're supposed to be running from Tim and Doug's place tomorrow night. I still plan on running with Matt and Chris at lunch.
I've made plans for Joe and I to go out for dinner with Greg and Marion Tompkins before the ballet on Saturday. I'm so looking forward to it! And then a full-blown party afterwards! Not sure how we're getting to the airport on Sunday yet. Ryan came over for a few beers and hoots last night. Had some good conversation, but we were all obviously too tired to make anything exciting out of it. He's heading back to Grandview for a week - lord knows why. Just kidding. He said he'd love to go elsewhere, but without any cash GV is the only place to go. Poor guy.
The weekend of racing went great. No flats like last weekend at the CCC triathlon. I pulled off a 36:54 at the CCC 10K on Saturday morning, good enough for 9th place overall. We did excellent again this year, pulling off a sixth place in the Orange division with a cumulative time of 4:33:51. That gives us three points to the overall. Our ranking isn't quite as high this year which says something of the quality (or stacking?) of the field out there this year, but our cumulative time is almost six minutes faster than last year, which speaks volumes of the quality of runners that happen to work for the Railway.
For comparision, last year we did a 4:39:25, less than nine minutes off of Fluor's combined winning time of 4:30:34. This year the winning time was an amazing 4:04:19 by Imperial Oil. A few ringers on that team? I suspect so. At least we beat my personal nemesis at Calgary Health Region which makes my day! ;-) Encana, Petro-Can, Shell and Imperial continue to elude us in this event...until next year, of course!
I made it to the velodrome in enough time to race in the 30Lap points race. I managed a second with 18 points. I pulled away from the pack with about 10 laps to go and kept 200m ahead for two wins on the last two sprints. We had good burgers, then I had to head to work. Tested from 4:30-8:30, headed home and got the bike ready for the race on Sunday morning.
Joe and Allison burst into the apt around 5am. They kept me up - I lost it on Joe in the morning when I got up to leave. I apologized when I got home but I am still pretty pissed. He doesn't give a shit about anything I do. The same thing happened Sunday night. They got all pissed up and Allison slept on the couch. I had to tiptoe around in the morning - fortunately I didn't have any food so I got ready upstairs and left.
Anyways, back to Sunday. Here are some of the results for the Hill Climb. If I had raced Master A again, I would've ended up with a bronze, but I end up with a sixth place finish in Cat 4. At least it's worth some points. I was happy with my time anyways. BK had a great time, but of course he didn't race all day Saturday - he's a better climber than me at any rate.
Cat 4 1. Frank Woolstencroft (Revoluzione) 14.31 2. Brian Kullman (Terrascape) 14.33 3. Lonn Bate (Terrascape) 14.35 4. Robert Fougere (Ind) 15.03 5. Kyle Marcotte (Revoluzione) 15.05 6. Reid Dalgleish (Synergy) 15.18 7. Steve German (Revoluzione) 15.48 8. Dan Bradley (ERTC) 16.56 9. Graeme Thomson (bicisport) 17.05 10. Jason Frank (CABC/Projekt 1) 17.05
WHAT A GREAT SEASON! Four medals, a Cat 3 upgrade, a Cat A upgrade on the Track, money, leading ARC for points (doesn't mean much, but still cool), and lots of great memories and friendships. I can't wait until the Synergy Hootenany on Nov. 1 (hosted by yours truly), and the CBTL AGM in November sometime.
I'm feeling better about Joe. Now that he's feeling better I don't feel so inclined to beat him until he gets up and does something. But my god, is he ever unmotivated to do anything. The last thing I'm going to do is support him, well, until the law makes me, anyways. BTW, the Saturday night dinner with Greg and Marion is also our third anniversary. Interesting....hardly feels like three years, but then it hardly feels like a relationship anymore.

Tuesday, September 09, 2003

So, here it is Tuesday afternoon. I'm sort of in a blue funk these days - how quickly things change. I think it's a few things - the end of the summer and consequently the end of racing season, the stressful transition from racing season to training season again, deciding what to do for offseason training (and where to find the money for it - see next), a horrific lack of funds in my accounts (all blown away over the summer and it's not like I even went out much or went anywhere to extreme or spent too much money in one place), the broken bits on my bike, the impending huge cash shellout for vacation, Jerome's painting and Owen's wedding, marriage in general, gay marriage in particular, being gay and how it fits into the whole scheme of things - why do so many people hate us? (becoming so visible over the gay marriage thing...), my relationship with my parents, brother, and relatives and my hometown, the need for a home computer I can't afford, my fucking job, the current fucking fucked-up project, missing of training opportunities due to the fucking project, low morale at work in EVERYONE, living in Calgary - this redneck desert town - it's getting bigger everyday, but it's also getting uglier and so are the people, and probably above all right now - my relationship with Joe and my spinelessness to talk to him about how I feel, along with an acute fear of being single and alone again.
I know that the fact I HAVE been with Joe has been pivotal in me achieving my goals and accomplishing what I have the to date, but it is those particular results that are some of the reasons for why our relationship is eroding away. I love stability and comfort, but that's particularly what's wrong - things are so stable they're stagnating and they're so comfortable they're suffocating. In the last few years we have gone on such different paths and his life is turning out so differently than he/we had thought even a year ago. I'd love to wait for him to get his shit figured out but I am at a point now where I don't feel like waiting anymore. We are drifting apart and I don't even think him getting on a path to something will salvage anything. We didn't even really have much in common at the start, but I liked what I heard and saw at the time and the potential that was there excited me. Everything since that point has been a disappointment in effect. Nothing he claimed he used to do and was determined to get back into has materialized, and nothing that he has planned to do or wanted to do since that point has come to pass either. And now, for the past two months he's been lying on the couch moaning about his condition - it's driving me insane! I almost want to get out of the house without him just to escape my home situation for awhile, or kick him in the ass to get him out the door and doing something.
I don't know why he hasn't figured out his life yet. I know it took me awhile too to reflect and ponder, but come on - he has NO IDEA what he wants to do. I don't know why he isn't a motivated individual like he used to be. He doesn't want to talk about anything ever. I don't know much about his past that might reflect on why he does things the way he does today. I wonder sometimes if he feels threatened or inadequate around me because of what I've accomplished in the past two years and demotivation for him is a self-preservation thing - I've never seen him like this before, and I don't like it. I've begun to wonder whether breaking up might be better for both of us.
I'm not sexually attracted to him anymore. He seems to not take any concern for himself (at least at the level I would be accustomed to), and even with my example, he refuses to embrace his health - almost out of spite, it seems.
And then he brings up shit like, "You know, when we're in Ontario, we could get married?", "we're common-law now". Shit. I luckily have my trusty opt-out lines, "Marriage is for suckers and losers - I'm not intending to partake in it ever", but frankly I am freaked out. We hardly ever talk about long-range plans together anymore. Fuck, his ideas keep changing! I remember once upon a time when he was all about the huge house, acreage, and SUV in the front yard, and now he claims he doesn't even like driving and doesn't want a car! I don't know what to think anymore. I think he knows I'm not into it anymore either, but hey I've read people wrong before.
The worst part is that I'm being a big loser and not putting anything out there anymore. Oh yeah, I can tell other people that things aren't going that well between us anymore, but I won't say anything to my partner. I'm a big chickenshit! I HAVE to talk to him soon. I sort of want to do it before the vacation, but why? It's not like we'll be able to separate at all while we're there.
I don't know if it's because it's my first relationship and I've seen what's good and bad and what I like and dislike about this one that has led to some growth on my part, or if we actually have been evolving/devolving at the same time, or if my expectations are unreasonably high, or what, but I'm not feeling very good about things right now. I feel as if I'm really being held back a lot of the time now. I want to do things with my partner but he seems now to not want to do anything, let alone with me.
I don't know why I have this horrendous fear of being single again either. I think it all stems from how depressed and desperate I was when I first came out. I know that things would be extremely different this time around. I'm not a virgin out of the closet anymore, but I still feel I'm naive on many levels, and most of what I've seen of the gay world really doesn't enthrall me much anymore. Most of the single gay people I know are either depressed or frustrated or whatever but I see a lot of the world the same way they do. Everything is all so fake and about appearances, but I guess that's the way of the whole world, not just the gay world although there it does seem to be highly magnified. I'm just glad I have sport. Everyone there is on a mental attitude level a step above the bar/non-active world and I do attribute that directly to physical activity and healthy lifestyle and diet. I also know a lot of good positive people that would help me transition back to the world again.
I don't know what I'm going to do, but I have to do something soon.

Tuesday, September 02, 2003

Racing season is nearing a close. The last two races couldn't have gone any better - two provincial medals, silver in the TT and bronze in the RR. I'm so happy with my TT time yesterday. I went in hoping to go sub-58 minutes, and I ended up kicking my own ass and going 56:42! Helps to scream at yourself on the last 10km.
Coming up - Calgary Corporate challenge Triathlon, CCC 10KM and Provincial Hill Climb next weekend. Possibility of more medals? Guess we'll have to wait and see!
Went with Tony, Ryan others to Labour Day Classic Game yesterday - very sloppy. I passed out about 9pm last night, Ryan headed home around midnight, I slithered up to bed and slept until this morning.
Jeff and Susan's wedding reception was fun for awhile on Sunday night. Raced back into town from the Provincial TT in Leslieville and got ready after dropping off Brian Kullman. Everyone took off fairly early (11-12pm). I headed back downtown and went over to Tony's place for awhile. We ended up missing the Apollo BBQ on Sunday as well - too much going on, had to triage the events.
Not much else new. Bought some new Castelli gear at United Cycle in Edmonton and Bike Shop in Calgary, 30-50% off. Castelli Metalex shorts (funky silver!) and matching jersey. Managed to buy Castelli sleeveless skinsuit and another pair of Castelli shorts (EXTREMELY cheap) at the Bike Shop. Need to replace old wornout Ride N' Glide stuff. Love all of the items. Metalex shorts are a little tight, skinsuit is excellent. I'll wear it to the CCC Tri.
All dv-8 rubber items are wrecked now. I learned a very expensive lesson there....buy Canadian and make sure it's thicker gauge rubber you're dealing with. I'll have to check out U-bahn in Montreal when there. I'd love to get some more rubber, but it's all so bloody expensive!
Results for August 2003
Darwell ITT Series Race #3 Aug.10/03
Cat 4 - 40KM
1. Gary Brown Rundle MCC 56:392. Jamie Marshall TRS 57:23 3. Ross Andersen Calgary Cycle 57:594. Reid Dalgleish Synergy 58:185. Ted Emes ERTC 58:326. Nick Insole Juventus 58:507. Dennis Bland Crankmasters 59:098. Jason Frank CABC 59:159. Darin Schacker River Valley Cycle 59:1710. Robert Fouger Ind. 59:19
August 17, Mink LakeProvincial Road Race Championships Category 4 / Junior Men - 114 Km
1 Brian Kullman Terrascape 3:00:00 (Gold) 2 Jayson Gillespie ERTC Silver 3 Reid Dalgleish Synergy Racing Bronze 4 Robert Fougere Independent 5 Paul Venturelli Pedalhead 6 Mike Bidniak Juventus Junior Men Gold 7 Shawn Goulet Pedalhead 8 Michael Heintzman Blizzard 9 Myles Marshall Juventus 10 Darin Schacker River Valley Cycle
August 31, Red Deer/LeslievilleProvincial Time Trial Championships
Category 4 - 40km
Master A Men - 40 Kilometres 1 Kevin Rokosh ERTC 0:55:582 Reid Dalgleish Synergy Racing 0:56:423 Gary Brown Rundle Mtn CC 0:56:594 Bob McKerrell CABC/Projekt 1 0:59:085 Robert Beerkens Independent 0:59:146 Robert Gasienca The Bike Shop 1:00:147 Dennis Bland Crankmasters 1:02:268 Darin Schacker RVC 1:02:449 Dave Jaeger CABC/Projekt 1 1:03:3710 Kirk Loberg Revoluzione 1:04:4111 Michael Fix EBTC 1:05:2612 Robert Armstrong Independent 1:12:04

Letter to Dennis Bland:
Hey Dennis,
Thanks for the kind words. I can obviously appreciate your passion for racing. There are very few people out there that can understand the emotions (both high and low) that come with the exertion, commitment and dedication required to get to the level that we are at, not even considering the next level required to race at an elite level. My appreciation is greater for those of us that work a full-time job and train and support our sports on our own time and with our own limited pocketbooks than for those able to train and race as a career.
I think mustering up enough self-discipline to keep up the motivation and drive this season has been my greatest obstacle. I've found it very lonely at times to be doing what we're doing. Not that I'm looking for recognition, but the people in my daily social circles don't understand what we put into a race. It frustrates me sometimes that they can't show an interest in my accomplishments to the extent I think they should. I guess that's why I've found socializing in athletic circles this summer so much more rewarding - at least there everyone understands what you're going through and can appreciate your accomplishments. I remember the book "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner", and the title rings so true.
Luckily I've raced with a fantastic team this year and I've been able to have the team racing experience that I've always dreamed of having. I can safely say this is the most rewarding summer I've EVER had on so many levels. I will definitely race with Synergy again next season. Unfortunately, my main goal of the year still eludes me. I'm sitting in first place in Cat 4 now for Alberta Cup points (71(?)), but I only have 32 upgrade points so I'm not out of Cat 4 yet (you can only get 20 max from TT races), although I suspect some of us that are close will be moved up by the ABA execs before next season. I could've been in Cat 3 quite awhile ago if not for numerous difficulties at the start of the season (crash at Ardrossan, missed turn at Bikes on Broadway, mechanical at Prairie Steamer....), but that's all part of the experience too, isn't it?
One other thing that I've found missing in the bike racing scene is the presence of any 'family'. I'm sure a few of the guys out there are gay, however it's not nearly as 'open' an environment as triathlon. Even out of the gay guys I know, there are none that ride at any high level, even recreationally. I wonder why that is? Loads of hot guys in spandex, why wouldn't you take an interest? Oh well, I guess that's another one of those benefits only guys like you and I can appreciate, right? ;-) Everyone I know in the racing scene seems to have a very liberal attitude at any rate.
You've had a great season as well - it's been great to watch those that have put in the effort over the summer improve and stick out the racing until the end of the season. Kudos to you too!
I'm glad to hear you only had a flu-like bug on the weekend and nothing worse. That must've been pretty stressful and frustrating at the same time.
I'm not planning on racing the Masters RR this weekend - I'm riding the bike leg of the Calgary Corporate Challenge CPR Triathlon team on Sunday. I've been organizing the 10K team for the CCC race on the 13th as well. Hopefully it won't affect the Hill Climb on Sunday the 14th! I start vacation on Sept.21 and I'm basically not back to work until Oct. 14th. Joe and I are heading to Toronto-Montreal-Quebec City for 10 days, and then I'm heading back to Manitoba for a week for my brother's wedding.
What are your plans for the winter? I'm not sure what direction I'm going to head in training-wise. There seem to be far too many options now, but of course that all hinges on how much money one is willing to spend.....
I still plan on spending several days in the gym, plus 2 spin classes a week (until after Xmas anyways). I want to increase my weekly running mileage from 30km now to 45km, but that will sort of hinge on the rest of the schedule. I'm determined to pick something up for cross-training, whether it be getting back in speedskating again with the CSSA, doing some more XC skiing, or even taking some dance lessons. I'm also curling with the Apollo league this winter - I know it's not training, but it is fun!
Anyways, hopefully we'll both get into the Hill Climb. Good luck this weekend if you decide to race. Please keep in touch over the off season and let me know how things are going!
Cheers to a great season in 2004!Regards,Reid
-----Original Message-----From: mtbsuit [mailto:mtb_suit@yahoo.com]Sent: Monday, September 01, 2003 10:37 AMTo: Reid DalgleishSubject: Re: ITT Series

--- mtbsuit <mtb_suit@yahoo.com> wrote:> Hey Reid:> > Congrats on your best 40k time and on your overall> result this weekend! Masters A / Cat 4 seems> especially competitive with all the guys trying to> move up to cat 3 ;-) You should have enough points> to> move up now.> > I'm feeling *much* better today than yesterday> morning. Darn flu-like symptoms. Ironically I felt> much better after the race than before/during the> race. All flushed out.> > You're my inspiration for next year. I haven't> decided if I will do the Masters RR this weekend,> but> I hope to do the hill climb. In addition,> Crankmasters is having a 20 km TT at the end of Sept> on hwy 22X.> > ciao,> > Dennis>

Wednesday, August 06, 2003

Results for July 2003Ride for the Wild Roses 2-up TT July 5th
Category 4
1. Bryan Donnelly Synergy Racing Jon Keech Synergy Racing 48m 45s
2. Edward Emes ERTC Jayson Gillespie ERTC 49m 01s
3. Lev Krivitsky Crankmasters Dennis Bland Crankmasters 49m 16s
4. Jeremy Myers Juventus Dylan Menard Juventus 49m 26s
5. Greg Achtem Bow Cycle/CMC Wayne Giles Bow Cycle/CMC 50m 35s
6. Reid Dalgleish Synergy Racing Chris Hooper Synergy Racing 1h 3m 43s

weather was a lot less than ideal. Chris and I should have won it, but we sorta got lost finding the start line and were penalized 14 minutes off the bat for being late. Not a highlight of the season.

Calgary Stampede Roadeo 10K RR July 6th

FINAL OVERALL Results 10K UPDATED JULY 20, 2003
FINAL Place Place/TOTAL FINAL PACE BIB NAME of PLACE in SEX in DIVISION TIME /MILE NO. COMPETITOR CITY
1 1/722 M 1/49 M1824 30:24 4:54 5782 Samuel Karanja Nairobi,
2 2/722 M 1/84 M2529 30:56 4:59 4335 Jeremy Deere Calgary,AB
3 3/722 M 2/84 M2529 31:13 5:02 4733 Matt Johnston Surrey,BC
4 4/722 M 1/126 M3034 33:53 5:28 5951 Craig Costantino Calgary,AB
5 5/722 M 3/84 M2529 34:05 5:30 5665 Lance White Calgary,AB
6 6/722 M 1/110 M3539 34:10 5:30 5750 Kevin Deforge Calgary,AB
7 7/722 M 4/84 M2529 34:36 5:35 5610 Phil Villeneuve Canmore,AB
8 1/967 F 1/186 F3034 34:41 5:35 5738 Maria Zambrano Calgary,AB
9 8/722 M 2/49 M1824 35:29 5:43 4955 Sean Mangan Cranbrook,BC
10 9/722 M 2/126 M3034 35:46 5:46 4006 Steve Adams Calgary,AB
11 10/722 M 2/110 M3539 35:50 5:46 4089 Adrian Becklumb Calgary,AB
12 11/722 M 5/84 M2529 36:13 5:50 5898 Jeremy Goth Calgary,AB
13 2/967 F 1/92 F1824 36:13 5:50 5746 Emily Kroshos Calgary,AB
14 12/722 M 3/126 M3034 36:24 5:52 4297 Tom Cull Calgary,AB
15 13/722 M 4/126 M3034 36:34 5:53 5381 Matt Seftel Winnipeg,MB
16 14/722 M 1/103 M4044 36:48 5:56 4678 John Hudson Calgary,AB
17 15/722 M 5/126 M3034 37:04 5:58 5894 Phil Ukrainetz Calgary,AB
18 16/722 M 6/126 M3034 37:05 5:59 4310 Reid Dalgleish Calgary,AB
19 17/722 M 3/110 M3539 37:10 5:59 5459 Bert Starke Calgary,AB
20 18/722 M 6/84 M2529 37:16 6:00 5759 Gord MacMillan Calgary,AB

Calgary Stampede RR July 13th
CATEGORY: MASTERS ADISTANCE: 4 laps (109 kms approx)
PLACE NAME # CLUB TIME
1 Rich Wegerhoff 318 Dead Goat 3:23:40
2 Don Robertson 346 Bicycle Café ST
3 Ross Anderson 455 Calgary Cycle ST
4 Gary Wade 786 Fresh Air ST
5 Brian Kullman 641 Terrascape 3:23:58
6 Reid Dalgleish 430 Synergy ST
7 Stephen Couse 807 Spoke Bender ST
8 Phil MacDonald 340 Snakebite 3:24:25
9 Dean Rawson 484 Pedalhead ST
10 Seth Bitting 787 Independent 3:24:43
11 Kirk Schmiedge 393 TRS 3:28:55
12 Matt Di Silvestro788 Independent 3:33:18
13 Brad Wilfley 654 Independent 3:34:35
14 Dennis Bland 422 CrankMasters 3:43:26
15 Darin Schacher 926 River Valley 3:43:44
Rob Brandrick 56 Independent DNF
Spencer Royds 333 Tatonka DNF
Kevin Coghlan 485 Pedalhead DNF
Nick Insole 636 Juventus DNF
Dave Jaeger 638 CABC DNF
Richard Vervoort640 CrankMasters DNF
Chris Check 666 Pedalhead DNF
Andy Achuff 667 Pedalhead DNF
Greg Achtem 678 Bow Cycle DNF
Michael Fix 687 EBTC DNF

National Duathlon Championships July 20th
Men 30-34 Category Results -------------------------------------------------Place Run Numb Name City Run Bike Run ===== ======= ==== ===================== ============ ======= ======= =======
1 2:03:24 132 DALGLEISH Reid Calgary 37:15 1:06:19 19:51
2 2:05:46 127 BOOS Allan Edmonton 37:47 1:07:05 20:55
3 2:05:55 141 GILL Alec Okotoks 38:20 1:07:24 20:12
4 2:08:14 128 HUNTER Darin Calgary 36:59 1:11:00 20:15
5 2:08:38 130 WALKER Blair Ottawa 39:38 1:06:05 22:56
6 2:09:19 139 KELLY Michael St. Albert 38:35 1:07:45 22:59
7 2:09:32 140 RITCHIE James Calgary 40:35 1:04:28 24:30
8 2:09:48 136 MYLET James Oakville 38:29 1:07:21 23:59
9 2:09:59 133 PASCOE Mike Calgary 38:30 1:10:19 21:11
10 2:18:30 137 BRYSHUN Chris Prince Alber 42:19 1:12:36 23:36
11 2:23:42 131 VAIL Greg Bowmanville 44:35 1:14:16 24:53
12 2:24:44 138 DE JAGER Eddie Castor 45:14 1:14:17 25:14
13 2:29:49 143 SPEYER Chris Calgary 43:48 1:17:00 29:02
14 2:43:42 129 DOWLER Mike Edmonton 45:42 1:27:24 30:37
15 135 LEMENS Troy Calgary 43:31 1:01:10
16 142 MORSBY Tony Toronto 50:05

Time was good enough it would've placed me 7th overall in the Elite Division...maybe next year if I can shave some more time off of the run.
Trip to Vancouver in a nutshell (July 31 2003 to August 5 2003) with Joe, Jeff Bryksa. Don Buckley came with us on the Go-Go Cruisey-T on Sunday.

Hey Doug,

Yeah, the fires sure have caused a lot of misery for a lot of people. I wish you had decided to come anyways to try to forget the shitty event but I understand why you went home. I would have been furious, tired and frustrated too. If it makes you feel any better, we ended up taking about 16 hours to get back from Vancouver on Monday. On Monday morning we got out of Vancouver and made good time to Kamloops not suspecting the chaos we were about to witness. Highway 5 north of Kamloops to Jasper was closed, highway 93 between Radium and Castle Junction was closed and travel was not recommended through Crowsnest Pass. Therefore ALL the long weekend traffic going in either direction (esp. eastbound - all Edmonton, Calgary, etc. traffic was on the same road through Rogers Pass and Golden) had to squeeze through Kicking Horse Pass. Needless to say, the traffic snarl that ensued wasn't pretty. Our 11-hour trip ended up being about 16 hours with a burned out clutch to boot. When we got to the start of the lineup, it was at least 15km of solid parking lot (and 2 hours of start and stop) into Golden and then there was still the length of the lineup up to the Pass on the other side of Golden to content with. It was mental. We ended up rolling into Calgary around 3am and I ended up taking Tuesday off of work after all. If we had had more information before leaving Vancouver, I think I would have booked Tuesday off earlier on and simply left on Tuesday morning. We would have missed the traffic and had an extra day on the coast!

Anyways, yeah we had fun but it wasn't the same without you. The Cruisey-T wasn't overly busy but it probably was the highlight of the weekend. The Parade was fantastic too. The Pride Dance on Saturday night was disappointing. The venue wasn't the same - this year it was in a bar in the Plaza of Nations instead of the main pavilion and hardly any people were there. I think it was mostly the boys that had bought weekend passes that were there simply because a ticket to the event was included in their package. It seemed that more people were leaving than going in when we got there after Fireworks. I'm thinking now that the afterhours parties have become the main events, but since the bars were serving until 4am over the weekend, the $60 admission into the afterhours seemed hard to justify.

We spent Thursday night at Grant and Alana's and ordered in food and beer. Friday morning Alana drove Jeff and I around shopping and brunching before Joe got up. Friday afternoon we all did the walk route around Burrard/Davie/Denman/Robson back to the hotel. We went to the Odyssey on Friday night. Joe's back was hurting so he left early, but Jeff and I closed down the bar. Saturday afternoon I ran the Seawall before everyone woke up and we all did the Harbourwalk from Stanley Park to Canada Place. We went out with Grant and Alana for dinner at Delilah's Saturday night before the fireworks in English Bay and the Pride Dance - the food was fantastic.

That's the weekend in a nutshell. Jeff bought some clothes and a pair each of glasses and sunglasses. Miraculously, Joe and I didn't spend anything shopping! I'm saving it up for Toronto and Montreal in September.....

Anyways, I guess you're right. It was meant to be. We were saying on the weekend how bad luck happens in threes. Jeanette backing out was number one, your mishap was number two, and we thought we were getting off scot-free on the third one until the last 'quarter' of our drive back home.

I hope VIA clears things up with you. I'm sure they will, but you may have to wait awhile for a response until the whole forest fire/redirecting/cancelling trains mess is over with.

No need to be sorry. I felt really bad for you and your wrecked weekend. Oh well, what's done is done. We can only hope the next one goes better. There's no way anyone could have predicted that the worst forest fires in 50 years would so conveniently flare up over one of the busiest long weekends of the year.

Anyways, we'll talk later. Maybe I'll show up to Friday baseball for something to do and we can visit then.

Later!
Reid

-----Original Message-----
From: Douglas Boulton [mailto:dmboulton33@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2003 12:42 PM
To: Reid Dalgleish
Cc: Jeff.Bryksa@nbpcd.com
Subject: Van


Hey Reid/Jeff, Hope all is well. I'm sure you guys had lots of fun in
Vancouver, boy do I regret taking the train. Sorry I didn't make it. After
16 hours of sitting at Barriere watching peoples houses burn down and then
being told it would be another 3-4 hours before Via could arrange buses for
240 people from Kamloops I said #$@#$@#% it and caught the bus home. I was
in such a foul mood you have no idea. I've asked Via to pay for the bus home
and to reiburese my preference points. Haven't heard from them yet. Give me
a call and tell me all about it. I really wanted to go on the Cruisy T,(Ps
Jeff I will pay you for that next time I see you) Anyway Sorry again, but it
just wasn't meant to be. Talk to you guys later.......Doug

Thursday, July 03, 2003

June 8 Pigeon Lake RR Mulhurst, AB
Category 4 Results

Place Name Club Time
1 Graham Rudge ERTC 2h39m13s
2 David Damery Blizzard st
3 Michael Heintzman Blizzard st
4 Curtis Roper Velocity st
5 Brad Wilfley Independent st
6 Andy Achuff Pedalhead st
7 Dave Kennedy Bow Cycle/CMC st
8 Reid Dalgleish Synergy st
9 Mike Sarnecki United Cycle st
10 Paul Venturelli Pedalhead st

June 14 ITT Series #1 Canmore, AB
Category 4 - 40 km
1 Reid Dalgleish Synergy Master A Men 1:01:48
2 Robert Beerkens Independent Master B Men 1:02:04
3 Graham Rudge ERTC 4 1:02:11
4 Gary Brown Rundle Mtn CC Master A Men 1:02:13
5 Abe House Synergy Master A Men 1:02:28

June 15 Canmore 6-Up Team Time Trial Canmore, AB
Category - Open Women

1 Team Bianchi/The Bike Shop 1h02m15s
Jessica DeMars, Samantha Nicholson, Nola Zwarich
Meghan Blades, Petrina Tulissi, Christine Ezinga

Category - Open Men

1 Team Bianchi/The Bike Shop 53m12s
Dylan Snowdon, Geoff Johns, Paul Kelly
Robert Gasienca, Dwayne Ellis, Pat Dodge

2 TRS Racing 53m44s
Gary Alexander, Dave Leahy, Jeff Bolstad
Wade Wallace, Mark Fewster, Jere Hu

3 Synergy Racing - "Orange" 54m49s
cp Walsh, Zach Bell, Craig Good
Chris Hooper, John Bence, Reid Dalgleish

4 Juventus 2 54m57s
Chris Rubuliak, Bob Burden, Bruce Copeland
Gregg Menard, Rob Simpson, Paul MacDonald

5 Team Alberta Juniors 57m41s
Philippe Abbott, Jeff Sparling, Stephen Ferris
Brian Bain, Spencer Atkinson, Mark MacDonald

6 ERTC 58m00s
Cam McKnight, Jayson Gillespie, Graham Rudge
Chris Harrison, Kevin Rokosh, David Ariano

7 CABC/Projekt 1 58m34s
Bob McKerrell, Shane Carritt, Derek Mitchell
Jason Frank, Michael Johns, Michael Meeres

8 Synergy Racing "Green" 59m24s
Bryan Donnelly, Abe House, J.P. Roy
Brian Kullman, John Rillett, Jon Keech

9 Juventus 1 1h02m24s
Dylan Menard, Susan Copeland, Ryan Lakhram
Nick Insole, Mike Bidniak, Myles Marshall

10 Bicisport 1h06m29s
James Sparling, Anthony Stadnyk, Julia Skleryk
Dan Bradley, Jesse Collins, Adam Snow

June 29 Arbour Lake Triathlon/Provincial Duathlon Championships Calgary,AB
Overall results

Category

----------RUN---------- ---------BIKE---------- ---------RUN----------
Pos Time Name City Plc/Total Category # Cat Ovr Time /km

Cat Ovr Time Km/Hr Cat Ovr Time /km
-------- ------- --------------------- --------------- --------------------- ----

----------------------- ----------------------- ----------------------

1 1:59:12 KOZAK Chad Edmonton 1/5 Men 25-29 38 29 3 31:59

3:20 9 2 1:10:35 37.4 2 2 16:38 3:26
2 2:01:54 MARCOTTE Kyle Calgary 2/5 Men 25-29 23 28 1 31:50

3:19 11 3 1:13:29 35.9 1 1 16:36 3:26
3 2:02:23 FEWSTER Mark Calgary 3/5 Men 25-29 39 30 5 36:17

3:47 8 1 1:07:50 38.9 3 5 18:17 3:47
4 2:07:27 PURCELL Dave Calgary 1/4 Men 45-49 24 19 4 34:33

3:36 4 5 1:14:53 35.3 1 4 18:02 3:44
5 2:08:47 COLBURN Dennis Edmonton 1/6 Men 35-39 35 23 2 31:51

3:19 18 13 1:19:38 33.2 1 3 17:19 3:35
6 2:13:42 DALGLEISH Reid Calgary 1/3 Men 30-34 16 34 6 37:15

3:53 17 8 1:16:59 34.3 1 6 19:29 4:01
7 2:15:42 RITCHIE James Calgary 2/3 Men 30-34 25 37 11 39:27

4:07 15 6 1:15:05 35.2 4 10 21:10 4:22
8 2:16:30 MEINIG Michael Kimberley 2/6 Men 35-39 33 31 9 38:30

4:01 15 10 1:17:49 33.9 4 8 20:13 4:10
9 2:18:00 BAILE Allan Lacombe 1/3 Men 40-44 29 31 7 38:13

3:59 16 14 1:19:55 33.0 1 7 19:52 4:06
10 2:18:03 TROFIMUK Mike Calgary 3/6 Men 35-39 40 33 13 39:53

4:10 14 7 1:16:45 34.4 5 12 21:25 4:25

Coming up....Ride for the Wild Roses 2-up TT July 5th
Calgary Stampede Roadeo 10K RR July 6th
Calgary Stampede RR July 13th?
National Duathlon Championships July 20th
Provincial Track Championships July 26-27?
ITT Series #3 (Darwell) Aug. 10th
Mink Lake Provincial RR Aug. 17th
ITT Series Final Provincials (Red Deer) Aug. 31st
Master's RR Provincials (Millarville) Sept. 7th
Provincial Hill Climb Championships (Banff) Sept. 14th

Racing results: July 3, 2003

Race results to date for 2003 season:

April 12 - Fish Creek RR #1 Calgary, AB
1 Zach Bell Synergy Synergy 45m01s
2 Jack Van Dyck Terrascape at 46s
3 Chris Harrison ERTC st
4 Curtis Roper Velocity st
5 Ryan Correy Synergy st
6 Spencer Royds Tatonka st
7 Brian Bain Bow Cycle st
8 Jayson Gillespie ERTC st
9 Frank Kovacs Snakebite Society st
10 Ben Adams Synergy st
11 Shane Carritt CABC/Projekt 1 st
12 Chris Hooper Synergy st
13 Joel Regimbald Synergy st
14 Marty Schaeffer Rundle Mountain CC st
15 Ross Anderson Calgary Cycle st
16 John Twells Pedalhead at 51s
17 Lonn Bate Terrascape st
18 Colin Smith Synergy st
19 Kyle Marcotte Revoluzione st
20 Reid Dalgleish Synergy at 57s
21 Harley Desprey Velocity st
23 Dave Kennedy Bow Cycle st
24 Keith Anderson Revoluzione at 1m01s
25 J.P. Roy Synergy st
26 Bryan Donnelly Synergy st

May 10-11 Ardrossan Stage Race Edmonton, AB
Zach Bell Synergy CAN19821114 Race number 405
ITT Place 1
ITT Time 07:14
Criterium Place 1
Criterium Time 0:35:53
Criterium Bonus 0:00:08
GC Time 0:42:59
GC Place 1
Road Race Place 2
Road Race Time 2:11:32
Road Race Bonus 0:00:04
GC time 2:54:27
GC Place 1

Reid Dalgleish Synergy CAN19711231 Race number 430
ITT Place 15
ITT Time 08:10
Criterium Place 7
Criterium Time 0:36:12
Criterium Bonus 0:00:00
GC Time 0:44:22
GC Place 14
Road Race Place 16
Road Race Time 2:20:30
Road Race Bonus 0:00:00
GC time 3:04:52
GC Place 14

May 17-19 Bikes on Broadway SR Saskatoon, SK
Name Stage 1 Time Stage 1 Placing Stage 2 Time Stage 2 Placing Stage 3 Time Bonus Stage 4 Time Stage 4 Prime/Bonus Stage 4 Placing GC Time GC Placing Home Town
Earl, Curtis 2:17:30 1 0:12:10 1 0:43:46 19 3:13:26 1 Saskatoon
Zetterstrom, Cory 2:18:03 3 0:12:42 5 0:43:46 20 3:14:31 2 Saskatoon
Toon, Simon 2:17:55 2 0:13:00 13 0:00:05 0:43:46 21 3:14:36 3 Saskatoon
Hehn, Jeff 2:18:17 7 0:12:40 4 0:43:46 6 3:14:43 4 Saskatoon
Roy, JP 2:18:08 4 0:13:11 17 0:00:15 0:43:46 0:00:05 3 3:14:45 5 Calgary
German, Stephen 2:18:15 6 0:12:57 12 0:43:46 22 3:14:58 6 Calgary
Lakhram, Ryan 2:18:12 5 0:13:32 20 0:43:46 4 3:15:30 7 Edmonton
Kukura, Sean 2:19:02 9 0:13:01 14 0:43:46 23 3:15:49 8 Regina
Wilfey, Brad 2:19:25 10 0:12:52 7 0:43:46 24 3:16:03 9 Cochrane
Horn, Mike 2:19:36 11 0:13:14 18 0:43:46 15 3:16:36 10 Prince Albert
Haid, Lawrence 2:19:44 14 0:13:09 16 0:43:46 5 3:16:39 11 Regina
Quinnett, Marc 2:19:40 13 0:13:45 22 0:43:46 7 3:17:11 12 Regina
McKay, Brett 2:22:40 16 0:12:50 6 0:43:46 0:00:15 1 3:19:01 13 Winnipeg
Correy, Ryan 2:22:22 15 0:12:56 11 0:43:46 9 3:19:04 14 Calgary
Hooper, Chris 2:23:31 18 0:12:23 3 0:43:46 0:00:10 2 3:19:30 15 Calgary
Matus, Frank 2:18:24 8 0:13:52 24 0:47:30 40 3:19:46 16 Martensville
Jardine, Scott 2:23:33 19 0:12:55 9 0:00:10 0:43:46 11 3:20:04 17 Manitoba
Dalgleish, Reid 2:24:15 20 0:12:10 2 0:43:46 13 3:20:11 18 Calgary
Desprey, Harley 2:24:16 21 0:13:02 15 0:43:46 8 3:21:04 19 Edmonton
Brassard, Joey 2:25:14 23 0:12:54 8 0:00:20 0:43:46 16 3:21:34 20 Prince Albert


May 24-25 Bikeshevik Grand Prix, Calgary, AB
Match Sprints
Master Men
1 cp Walsh Synergy Racing 12.43s
2 Norm Kalmanovitch Bow Cycle/CMC 12.97s
3 Reid Dalgleish Synergy Racing 13.47s

Scratch Race Results
Master Men
1 cp Walsh Synergy
2 Sean Huggins-Chan Bicisport
3 Reid Dalgleish Synergy

3000m Pursuits
Master Men
1 cp Walsh Synergy Racing 4m07.12s
2 Reid Dalgleish Synergy Racing 4m08.34s
3 Sean Huggins-Chan Bicisport 4m13.85s
4 Norm Kalmanovitch Crankmasters 4m42.01s

May 31- June 1 Prairie Steamer SR Calgary/Cochrane, AB
Category 4
Name Club race # RR Place RR Time RR Points Track TT Place 500m Time Track Points Hill Climb Place Hill Climb time HC Points Total Omnium Points Omnium Place
Nick Lynem Critical Speed 361 2 2:22:25 32 9 39.43s 15 2 04:05.8 32 79 1
Graeme Thomson Bicisport 850 13 2:23:29 8 1 36.55s 35 4 04:10.6 26 69 2
Harley Desprey Velocity 408 4 2:22:42 26 5 38.92s 23 7 04:17.9 19 68 3
Keith Bayly Deadgoat Racing 612 1 2:22:25 35 12 40.07s 9 6 04:16.3 21 65 4
Jean-Pierre Roy Synergy Racing 417 5 2:22:42 23 4 38.81s 26 14 04:29.8 7 56 5
Kyle Marcotte Revoluzione 450 11 2:22:48 11 15 41.03s 6 1 04:04.8 35 52 6
Stephen German Revoluzione 431 3 2:22:25 29 7 39.32s 19 23 04:38.8 48 7
Daniel Veselic Rundle Mtn CC 897 14 2:24:17 7 2 38.40s 32 13 04:28.1 8 47 8
Chris Hooper Synergy Racing 432 7 2:22:42 19 6 39.06s 21 15 04:30.6 6 46 9
Dave Kennedy Bow Cycle/CMC 421 16 2:29:18 5 11 39.89s 11 3 04:05.9 29 45 10
Ryan Correy Synergy Racing 427 12 2:23:00 9 3 38.77s 29 16 04:33.0 5 43 11
Greg Achtem Bow Cycle/CMC 678 10 2:22:42 13 8 39.42s 17 11 04:23.4 11 41 12
Reid Dalgleish Synergy Racing 430 8 2:22:42 17 20 44.60s 1 5 04:14.0 23 41 13

Thursday, May 22, 2003

May 22nd...went to see Coldplay with Tony last night. Snuck in with employee passes. Cool! The concert was very good. The Music opened for them, sort of interesting, not my type of music, of course. Coldplay were excellent though. Even moved me to go and buy "A Rush of Blood to the Head" this morning.

I have mixed emotions about the Bikes on Broadway SR last wknd. Despite the challenges of the weather, the weekend ended up being pretty fun. Ryan Correy and I couldn't shake the trauma of missing the turnaround on the road race course on Saturday. Going from the lead of the lead pack to 19th is hard to take. I guess we could be satisfied with the effort we put in to get ourselves back into the top twenty. Winning the time trial on Sunday morning with a 12:10 time was a pleasant surprise, and I can't say I wasn't relieved to be eliminated out of the first round of hill sprints since the weather was so cold that day. The criterium on Monday morning sort of made up for the entire weekend. Considering JP Roy was still in the top five in the morning led us to develop a bit of strategy to protect him until the end when he could sprint for a placing. The team worked very well together (JP, Ryan, Chris Hooper, and myself - Brian Kullman dropped out early) and we all took turns pulling. I led the lead pack for four laps around the downtown S'toon course and came in third on the second preem - this is where I fell back into the pack again. Chris won three out of four preem races, and JP ended up fourth in the GC. He gave $20 to each of me and Ryan for our efforts - what a totally honorable thing to do! Chris took us all out for McDonald's after the race with the preem money. What a great team!

Earlier on in the wknd, I had said that I wouldn't come back to race BoB again because of the race organizer's disorganization (no official at turnaround, entire race official group picking up and leaving before CP was done racing, no results/TT seeding posted until Sunday morning, the odd organization of the hill sprints, esp. considering how cold it was, Ryan's "DNF" placing after the road race and the Cat 4 commissaire's knowledge of our disaster at the turnaround, and the mistiming of at least two other racers that we knew of), but after the pick-me-up of the crit, I may do it again - DEPENDING ON THE STUPID WEATHER.

This weekend in the Bikeshevik. I am definitely racing Saturday, however Sunday is the Lilac Festival - planning on getting a bunch of people together, plus Natasha is in town and we're all planning on going out on Saturday night...could make Sunday morning a little scary. I need to get some mileage in next week before Prairie Steamer on the May 30-June 1st wknd.

DJ Tiesto plays the Whisky on June 4th, the Pride Parade is on June 8th, dance on June 14th, Joe's grad on June 9th and his mom comes into town on the 7th (in time for the parade - interesting). Pigeon Lake is the same day, so I'll probably be missing the parade and beer gardens. I'll have to make up for it this wknd at the Lilac Festival and the Pride Dance.

Friday, May 16, 2003

Hello...it's May 16th today. I'm anxiously waiting for the end of the work day so I can get out and enjoy the first long weekend of the summer! Well, apparently it's not really supposed to be summer weather, but it's an extra day off from work nevertheless. The FVK-Synergy team is heading to Saskatoon this weekend for the Bikes on Broadway Stage Race. There's seven Synergists going - pretty good cohort considering the distance and the fact there are a lot more things to be doing this weekend other than racing bikes. I've been told it's a really good race weekend, plus I haven't been to Toon Town in a while, so hopefully it shapes up to be a good weekend. I've been battling a cough and been on the verge of a cold this week...I hope I feel well enough this weekend to race.

Last weekend was the Ardrossan Stage Race. Our team did very well with our 13 racers present. I ended up 14th overall in the GC with a time of 3:04:52, which was actually more time than last year, however the conditions were considerably windier this year. Moving from 35th to 14th is a considerable improvement. I was involved in a crash on the Sunday road race. A guy flatted in front of me and lost control. Three of us went down. Luckily it was on the windward side and we were going at a lot slower speed than the side with the wind at our backs, where we may have been going down at 60kph. I ended up with matching bruises on my elbows - not quite sure how I landed, but no worse for wear.

Two weekends ago was the Banff-Calgary Relay Race. We had another CPRIS team in the run. I think we ended up 19th overall this year with an overall time of 11:10:03, which is still pretty good, but not as good as last year (13th - 11:06:12). I ran a 1:28:31 on the 22km Banff-Canmore leg, a fifth place finish, improving my time over last year by 50 seconds (1:29:20), which was good considering the conditions were much worse this year. The weather has certainly been frustrating, considering two races (Fish Creek #2 and the Policeman's Half) and a Thursday night track race series night have already been cancelled due to snow/ice/rain/cold.

Joe and I bought our season tickets for Alberta Ballet's 2003/04 season. Quite a bit more expensive than last year. Joe can no longer be considered a student, and we ended up getting another performance, for a total of six for the season including the Nutcracker. AB is partnering with the National Ballet and the Royal Winnipeg for several performances this year, so we're really looking forward to it. Total on tickets - $514.

Scott and Jen's wedding was fantastic. We had a great time, and everyone was very accepting of Joe (even if it only was lip service for many, they made it look genuine). Lots of pics, lots of partying. Next is Kent and Shalon Myers' wedding in Red Deer in June. I think Ryan Yarush (who just moved to Calgary two weeks ago) and I are going to make the trip up for the wedding and party.

The August long weekend trip to Vancouver with Jeff, Jeanette and Doug is confirmed. We have hotel rooms, campgrounds and Cruisy-T tickets booked; the only thing left is the dance tickets for Saturday night. I'm so looking forward to it! I don't have any other holiday time booked until then, although I really feel I could use a holiday right now.

I got my dv-8.co.uk items in the mail at the beginning of the week. I was disappointed, but it's rubber nonetheless. The bondage balloon that showed up was black instead of transparent rubber, and the hood (large) was too big for a tight, tight fit, however they both do the trick. The bottom of the bondage balloon broke when I was first trying it on, but in a way it works better because now I can put it on in the shower and walk to the bedroom if need be. I can pull the rubber down around the feet and get the same positioning and enclosure that one would get with an unbroken suit, it's just that vacuuming the air out will now be a little more tedious and require a bit of help and the legs aren't quite an enclosed as I would like, however when you're lying down the balloon is completely tight against the body. Very arousing. The vacuum enclosure is something to try with Joe in the near future. He played with me while I was in the balloon on Tuesday night - I'm not sure what he thinks about the whole thing. I was worried that the items weren't showing up from Manchester at all because any emails I sent asking questions were never answered. I was relieved that the package showed up at all. I would like to order again (smaller mask, transparent bondage balloon, but if the wrong order comes again, I'm not sure if I would tolerate the return charges, etc. Owning two suits would still be cheaper than buying a vacuum bed, however there are Canadian manufacturers of those. I haven't found anyone in North America yet that makes great skintight rubber items. A potential is Polymorphe Montreal who sell their items in U-Bahn. Never checked the store out before. I'll have to do it on my next trip East.

Natasha is coming to town next week for her sister's graduation. We're hoping to get everyone together sometime next week.

Joe's convocation is June 9th. His mom gets in on the 6th and is here for a week. Joe's taking the week off. I hope they have a great visit, since Joe hasn't seen her in three or four years.

Gotta go. Work beckons.

I also got my unitard and leotard back from Peter at Textile Outfitters. He did a fantastic job on thonging the leotard. It is a hundred times more comfortable now. The only thing is that his stitching is only double as opposed to industrial triple, and it seems pretty loose (ie, could break easily). I'll have to be careful with it.

Wednesday, April 09, 2003

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