So Many Christians, So Few Lions by Jack Nichols
According to the pundits, Bush was elected when Christians’ anxieties about “moral values” (spearheaded by their frenzied focus on the perils of same-sex marriage) sent believers scurrying to the polls. It seems well worth remembering, therefore, that insightful lions have treated ordinary Christians as an annoyance ever since those sunlit days at the coliseum in ancient Rome.
On the very day that Bush proclaimed his win, a Jesus preacher at the Taipei zoo descended into the lions’ cage in a failed effort to explain holy Christian theories to the great beasts. But lions in 2004 A.D., he quickly discovered, still prefer healthy skepticism to blind belief. They accommodated this missionary only after he seemed to offer himself as a tasty bite. It soon became apparent to him that the lions were adamant infidels who didn’t want to be “saved.”
I don’t want to be “saved” either. Henceforth, like the lions, I’ll simply roar without mercy into the faces of those who insist that a “wretch like me” must either pledge allegiance to The Christian Agenda or be burned forever in their loving god’s lake of fire.
The Judaic-Christian-Islamic tradition is odious because it supports one of the greatest of cultural dangers: restrictive sex-roles that can eventually spell planetary death, especially if such macho poseurs as Dubya are leading the charge.
When the hunting and gathering age came to an end and rich agricultural lands needed a tribe’s protection, the male warrior role was born. Fighters were sorely needed. Jews, Christians and Muslims, therefore, supported this warrior role from the earliest times and in spite of occasional phony nods to a need for peace, still do. Men, they allow, are wholly admirable as warriors, but become worthy of the death penalty should they dare to make love.
Wherever the religionists’ dogmas have enjoyed ascendancy, both women and gay men have ranked low on cultural totem poles. For Christian soldiers to march onward, these dogmas assume, male warriors must not, under any circumstances, be tempted to adopt what are believed to be “feminine” values.
Young male warriors are taught to fear such “inferior” values, and this fear has long been instilled by a schoolyard epithet considered worse than any other: sissy. To be a sissy is to be somehow feminine. To make love to a member of one’s own sex is treason. It is to forget that men must make war, not love.
It is high time, therefore, to reverse this Jewish-Christian-Muslim travesty by resurrecting the great “battle cry” of the 1960s counterculture: “Make Love, Not War.”
Bushie Christians flocking to the polls were fueled by their deepest fear: namely that the fellow citizens they’d labeled sissies might, in fact, gain equality, thereby eliminating the most frightening insult in their sick psychological arsenal: sissy. The threat of being called a “sissy” has far greater power to maintain a sick status quo than does the threat of hellfire.
What the religious fanatics fail to realize is that a society fueled by “feminine” values (which are, in fact, simply human values) would be far more loving, peaceful and satisfying than anything that the Christians’ traditional macho-mania can offer. If a male child is taught to put up his dukes in his high chair, to eschew showing his feelings and is assured he is dominant, on top, in control and competitive, he is a threat to others.
So-called feminine values are more truly spiritual and life-affirming. They include empathy, nurturance, receptivity (as in being a good listener) and the like. No wonder
St. Paul demanded that women remain silent in the churches. Men only would be allowed to do the talking, elevating their active-only stance, one that does untold damage not only to women but unwittingly to themselves.
Dr. George Weinberg (the heterosexually-inclined psychologist who coined the term “homophobia”) examined antipathy to “female” receptivity or passivity in his classic work “Society and the Healthy Homosexual”:
“Most men who loathe homosexuals have a deathly fear of abandonment in the direction of passivity. The surrender of control signifies to them a loss of masculinity, and their demand for control produces narrowness. To condemn passivity is like condemning your eyeballs. We need passivity to see, to discover, to learn.”
In other words, passivity provides humanity with a great strength, not weakness. But St. Paul and his Christian cohorts place the warrior male in charge of everything, devaluing the contributions of half of the world’s population.
The world-damaging Christian dogma that does more harm than any other, however, is called Original Sin. This dogma teaches that all people are born in sin and remain utterly depraved, having inherited the gross wickedness of Adam and Eve, their mythical parents. Humanity, it teaches, deserves to be eternally tortured by a god who will relent only if individuals accept the “sacrifice” of his son, a sacrifice-doctrine that had its tribal origins in bloody animal sacrifices, slitting the throats of pet goats and the like, to appease him.
Gay men and lesbians, who until the 1970s were told by mental health “experts” that they too were diseased and depraved, can discern the deleterious effect on each individual’s self-esteem that this disingenuous dogma of Original Sin has on those who believe it.
In October, 1963, in a letter to the Executive Board of the Mattachine Society of Washington, I appealed to the Board to ignite a revolution against the psychiatric establishment’s benighted diagnosis of homosexuality. Strangely, this letter, as the historian John d’Emilio notes in “Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities”, marked the first time that a movement activist had called for such an uprising.
The need for a similar response to the benighted Christian dogma of Original Sin, is clear for many of the same good reasons - especially so as to increase each person’s sense of self-esteem. This evil dogma, supporting the theory of humanity’s inherent Adamic depravity and must be quashed and utterly defeated. Perhaps there is no issue more pressing in what some are now calling the Culture Wars.
Friday, November 12, 2004
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Here is the letter that I wrote to mom and dad re: Grandma's obit. I haven't sent it yet...not sure if I will.
Dad and Mom,
Before I begin, I want to make two points. Please don’t take this note personally. It is not meant to be a direct observation of you two, but a general sense of the thoughts of the extended family and the community of Grandview in general, sort of written how I would have it unfold in my mind. And, keep in mind that there are bits of sarcasm spread around too. (What? Reid being sarcastic?)
I want to make it obvious that I completely understand the implications of the following observations – I have tried to look at everything from multiple perspectives, so there is no need to defend a position using them. I know defence is the first reaction most people would take to the following pages I am about to write:
That the traditional definition of ‘marriage’ and ‘intimate relationships’ is something our family holds dear and is a construct that many members of our family would consider unchangeable or unalterable.
That apparently some/many members of our family are uncomfortable with the implications my life and relationships have on their sense of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, even though they won’t indicate it in face-to-face conversation.
That most people in our family do not, nor will ever, consider my relationships to be in the same standing or on equal footing as those of my heterosexual cousins, even if the legal system considers them so.
That the family is undergoing grieving and some people may currently not be thinking in a sensitive, impartial way.
Okay, so here goes. Simply, I have been very upset at how I interpret everyone’s reaction to my relationship with Joe. I have this feeling that everyone has been paying me huge lip service over the past four years, but deep down are very resentful or very ashamed of what I am, yet don’t have the guts to say how they truly feel. I assume most don’t really know what to make of it, so they would rather toe the common Grandview line, breezing over an issue they find difficult or challenging (ignorance is bliss, after all) rather than face it, get educated on the facts of it, deal with it, and move on.
No matter how much members of this family wish that things weren’t what they are, the truth is, I love Joe Gallant very much, and we love each other enough that we may even decide to get married one day. End of story. If you don’t like it, tough shit.
Believe it or not, a gay relationship is not the fire and brimstone end of the world as all of the right-wing religious neo-conservatives would have you believe. In fact, some of these relationships are a lot less dysfunctional than some of the ones you would consider ‘normal’, despite all the external pressures gay people have on them to ‘conform to the norm’.
This has sort of been building, but I had been feeling like it had reached a new low point since the weekend at home for Grandma’s funeral. It wasn’t anything tangible, it was lots of little cues in situations that made me feel very inferior or angry. One such situation was down in Grandma’s basement when Grant would get grilled ecstatically by several people on how long him and Tara have been going out, when they’re planning on getting married, and how fantastic it is that they’ve been together for TWO WHOLE YEARS! You know, post-funeral family get-togethers tend to dwell on the living or potentially living to lighten the mood. I don’t mean to pick on Grant – he’s the only one in the family who is in a similar situation as me (unmarried, yet in a long-term relationship)…
I had told Mom (and a few other family members) the fact that Joe and I celebrated our fourth year together on September 20. Grandma’s death and funeral aside, I do understand that there were other more significant things going on in the family at the time, such as Scott and Jen’s expecting, Owen and Chloe’s first wedding anniversary, Dave Pulock’s 40th birthday.
However, was there any acknowledgement of this milestone from anyone at all? No way. It’s just too vile and shameful and society-destroying a concept to even consider that anyone would want things that way, let alone let someone know that they even thought about it in an even remotely affirmative light, or even celebrate it, heaven forbid.
After all, gay relationships are fake, and therefore really easy, right – despite the fact they are completely unnatural and immoral notwithstanding. There’s nothing hard about being an uncommitted, irresponsible, immoral sinner and living with another guy – it would be just like having a satanic roommate, right?
Well, I hate to disappoint you, but a gay relationship is just as much work as a straight relationship. There are emotional, financial, scheduling, security, communication – and yes, even child raising issues for some -- issues that have to be dealt with all the time. The fact that it’s a guy and a girl, two guys or two girls doesn’t make these conversations and compromises any different or easier for anyone. In fact, I would say they are harder to maintain for gay couples because there are the additional pressures of an generally intolerant ‘democratic’ society continually telling you how disgusting and immoral and unbalanced and misguided you are, that you and/or you and your partner are not worthy of equal benefits or respect or privileges because of who you are and your unnatural couplings, even though no one has a problem taking the same amount of tax money or disposable income from gay people as everyone else – things that may possibly have some effects on a person’s psyche and well-being. So, please don’t think things are easy.
I always thought our family valued truth, equality and honesty, but I guess I was wrong, or partly wrong. This all came to a head when I read Grandma’s obituary. There it was in printed words. A large part of who I am was completely and utterly snubbed, omitted, ignored.
First of all, I understood that Joe wouldn’t be included in the listing in the obituary. I know how Grandview works. There’s nothing worse than damaging the family reputation, having all those people talking about you behind your back because you’re the family with the gay son, upsetting the sensibilities of a bunch of people with narrowly defined concepts of right and wrong, black and white (because, obviously there’s no grey area in any matter) that they’ve learned in the church or some similarly misguided channel. Even if Joe had been put in the obit as Leslie Gallant (his legal name - which could’ve kept everyone guessing for awhile I suppose…), there were four things that really stood out for me at this point.
Whoever wrote the obit consciously made a decision to include EVERY family member except Joe and alter the historical truth. I can tolerate that a majority of the family wouldn’t want his name included. I was mostly upset because there was NO consultation on this at all – no one had the gonads to call me and tell me this was going down. I had to read about it for the first time in my Grandma’s obituary!
It really brought home the understanding for me of how my family is receiving this reality. There appears to be a lot of posing and lip service to sweep this issue as far underneath the collective rug as possible. I get the feeling that my lifestyle and life are just a shameful embarrassing black mark on the family’s name and reputation.
Would Grandma have been okay with the truth? Maybe, maybe not. But I believe, understanding how Grandma felt very strongly about equality and diplomacy within her family, that she would rather prefer the truth – an accurate account of reality – in her final life summary. She wouldn’t like to see some skewed, edited version of ‘reality’ in order to avoid rocking the boat and upsetting the tender sensibilities of some old farm wives that have never left the community and seen how any other parts of the world work. But then again, I could be wrong. It’s lucky that my sensibilities and feelings don’t really matter that much so these things can be done. But then, it’s no big deal to offend the fag, is it?
If someone is going to start defending this position with some religious anecdotes, I’d urge them to stop right there. Despite the fact we are thankfully a secular family and no one in the family should be making ANY religious references at all, the fact that Grant’s girlfriend Tara got full inclusion in the obit blows this theory out of the water. If Joe and I are living in sin, technically, so are they, but Grant’s relationship is real and mine’s fake, right? What a bunch of hypocrisy.
So, there it is. You may be thinking that I’m being overly sensitive about this issue, and maybe I am, but I think this situation is an indication of feelings that are a lot more latent, potent, and potentially dangerous under the surface. I don’t really know what to make of things anymore. I decided a long time ago to refuse to continue living with guilt-ridden responsibility to Grandview anymore and live my own life, no matter how deeply my roots are entrenched there. Is it possible that some people in the family are not taking steps to acceptance of my gayness, and may even be regressing? Obviously. What I do know for sure is that a lot of people have been lying to my face or pretending that things are okay when they’re not. For this reason, I don’t know if I can feel comfortable in Grandview anymore, let alone feel that safe.
Until I see some proof that things are becoming more inviting for me in Grandview, I think I will avoid the situation entirely. I feel terrible about this, but how am I supposed to react? How would you react?
The fact that I could legally marry Joe in Manitoba today if I wanted to now seems so ironic. What if we were married? Would Joe’s name still be conveniently erased from the family record? Most likely. Maybe now you can get a glimpse of how I’m feeling. I just hope that if and when the day comes that I do get married the family isn’t expecting any wedding invitations -- because they won’t be getting any.
By the way, if Grandma Ostrowski ever asks me again why I’m not shacked up and married, I’m going to give her a damn wedding date she can dwell on….
Mom and Dad, I fully understand that who I am has been a very hard thing for you guys to grasp, understand and adjust to, and I am so proud of you for how far you’ve come along the road to acceptance (or at least tolerance). Again, please don’t take this note personally, it’s not meant to be that way. I’m trying to point out (again) the unhealthy subculture of repression that allows a bunch of dissimilar people to live together in a ‘remote outpost’ like Grandview without killing each other (face it, Grandview is very remote in the grand scheme of things). I suspect it has always been this way in Grandview, and always will be. It is the only way the social fabric in such a community could remain intact without unravelling. It is also the reason why some want to escape far, far away, never to return. It is also the reason why some others spend a large chunk of their young lives trying to figure out fundamental truths about themselves once they are matured enough to understand the dynamics of their environment better and realize that they can’t keep running away from and being scared of the truth forever despite whatever responsibility they feel they have to people and places in their lives.
I do understand how Grandview works, which makes this situation even harder for you, and I apologize in a way for having this all result from Grandma’s obituary of all things, but I really want to you get a sense of how I see things. The fact that Joe and I are a complete non-issue to the family and that no one talks about it EVER are things that I can grudgingly accept – I mean, they were all scenarios that I had conjured up again and again before I even told you guys I was gay. Admittedly, the fact I live far away and only deal with the family intermittently helps the situation on both sides on many levels. However, like I have told you before – the one and only reason I came out of the closet to my family was because going forward I still wanted to be part of the family, I wanted to be able to be comfortable bring my life partner / spouse / boyfriend / whatever home and feel like I could be honest and open when talking about my life. Well, I guess that can be written up as being one of the biggest blunders of my life. In pure Grandview style, things are much better left unsaid, or ignored, or assumed – as long as they appear proper on the surface. The real world can be very ugly and the truth can sometimes be what you don’t want to hear, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. In order to move on in life and adapt to our now quickly changing world with as little baggage as possible, you need to deal with an issue at hand reasonably, logically, and properly, not ignore it or brush it aside, before you can move on to the next issue.
Living in a large community where there are people from all walks of life in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colours may be why I have the perspective on things that I do. You are continually challenged to reassess your belief system and your understanding of how things work or are. I understand fully that people in Grandview don’t need to deal with their inner insecurities about people who don’t look the same or act the same or think the same as they do because it is a situation they don’t have to be in very often.
Maybe at some point in the past I felt that I could be a beacon of enlightenment for some people in Grandview by living openly and unashamedly gay (how generous of me!), a great example for people to look to. However, things haven’t gone that way, and frankly, I’m tired of making the effort. Despite the strength I have tried to muster thinking I could eventually break down some barriers, I can’t really justify doing it anymore. It hurts me to think that I have felt such strong attachment to Grandview for so long, and now I don’t really care anymore. With Grandma’s death, I now have even less reason to come to Grandview. I don’t like to think of it in this way, but I do.
On a more personal level, I think about how much this hurts Joe too – he’s been dealing with this crap in his life for a lot longer than I have been dealing with it, and despite how much of a tough outer shell he’s built around himself and how much more his family was accepting of him than mine is of me, I know it still bothers him. I would question the sincerity of my partner’s family too after this snub. Why do you think he doesn’t want to do anything with my family? It isn’t hard to connect the dots.
Anyways, it comes down to this. Right now, I feel that I’m about to deal with my hang-ups about my family and hometown the same way I did with my homosexuality in my twenties – by running away. Back then, it was easy – guzzle down a few too many bottles of beer and then you have an excuse for everything. This time, it may be not so easy. Joe and my discussions about moving to Vancouver are becoming more and more frequent. At least in Vancouver, we’d be living in a destination spot and if anyone wants to see us, it’s the logical end to a trip, and it’s good that way. But I don’t think I can justify coming back to Grandview anytime soon, even with you guys there. The only thing that may keep me here is my closeness to Owen and Chloe and the potential of becoming an uncle someday.
I will never forget what mom said the day I came out to you guys on the couch in our crappy apartment in north Calgary:
“We hope it never happens that things come to the point where you never want to come home again”.
Well, sorry mom, but it has come to this point. I’m emotionally drained, upset, and particularly disappointed with my family and my hometown. I feel I’ve been disrespected and blown off. Despite my enduring love for my entire family (yes, even Uncle Dewar), I don’t really feel I have anything I want to contribute anymore. Please understand me when I say that I will never stop loving or staying in touch with you, mom and dad, but it won’t be happening in Grandview anytime soon.
I’m sorry.
Love always, Reid
Dad and Mom,
Before I begin, I want to make two points. Please don’t take this note personally. It is not meant to be a direct observation of you two, but a general sense of the thoughts of the extended family and the community of Grandview in general, sort of written how I would have it unfold in my mind. And, keep in mind that there are bits of sarcasm spread around too. (What? Reid being sarcastic?)
I want to make it obvious that I completely understand the implications of the following observations – I have tried to look at everything from multiple perspectives, so there is no need to defend a position using them. I know defence is the first reaction most people would take to the following pages I am about to write:
That the traditional definition of ‘marriage’ and ‘intimate relationships’ is something our family holds dear and is a construct that many members of our family would consider unchangeable or unalterable.
That apparently some/many members of our family are uncomfortable with the implications my life and relationships have on their sense of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, even though they won’t indicate it in face-to-face conversation.
That most people in our family do not, nor will ever, consider my relationships to be in the same standing or on equal footing as those of my heterosexual cousins, even if the legal system considers them so.
That the family is undergoing grieving and some people may currently not be thinking in a sensitive, impartial way.
Okay, so here goes. Simply, I have been very upset at how I interpret everyone’s reaction to my relationship with Joe. I have this feeling that everyone has been paying me huge lip service over the past four years, but deep down are very resentful or very ashamed of what I am, yet don’t have the guts to say how they truly feel. I assume most don’t really know what to make of it, so they would rather toe the common Grandview line, breezing over an issue they find difficult or challenging (ignorance is bliss, after all) rather than face it, get educated on the facts of it, deal with it, and move on.
No matter how much members of this family wish that things weren’t what they are, the truth is, I love Joe Gallant very much, and we love each other enough that we may even decide to get married one day. End of story. If you don’t like it, tough shit.
Believe it or not, a gay relationship is not the fire and brimstone end of the world as all of the right-wing religious neo-conservatives would have you believe. In fact, some of these relationships are a lot less dysfunctional than some of the ones you would consider ‘normal’, despite all the external pressures gay people have on them to ‘conform to the norm’.
This has sort of been building, but I had been feeling like it had reached a new low point since the weekend at home for Grandma’s funeral. It wasn’t anything tangible, it was lots of little cues in situations that made me feel very inferior or angry. One such situation was down in Grandma’s basement when Grant would get grilled ecstatically by several people on how long him and Tara have been going out, when they’re planning on getting married, and how fantastic it is that they’ve been together for TWO WHOLE YEARS! You know, post-funeral family get-togethers tend to dwell on the living or potentially living to lighten the mood. I don’t mean to pick on Grant – he’s the only one in the family who is in a similar situation as me (unmarried, yet in a long-term relationship)…
I had told Mom (and a few other family members) the fact that Joe and I celebrated our fourth year together on September 20. Grandma’s death and funeral aside, I do understand that there were other more significant things going on in the family at the time, such as Scott and Jen’s expecting, Owen and Chloe’s first wedding anniversary, Dave Pulock’s 40th birthday.
However, was there any acknowledgement of this milestone from anyone at all? No way. It’s just too vile and shameful and society-destroying a concept to even consider that anyone would want things that way, let alone let someone know that they even thought about it in an even remotely affirmative light, or even celebrate it, heaven forbid.
After all, gay relationships are fake, and therefore really easy, right – despite the fact they are completely unnatural and immoral notwithstanding. There’s nothing hard about being an uncommitted, irresponsible, immoral sinner and living with another guy – it would be just like having a satanic roommate, right?
Well, I hate to disappoint you, but a gay relationship is just as much work as a straight relationship. There are emotional, financial, scheduling, security, communication – and yes, even child raising issues for some -- issues that have to be dealt with all the time. The fact that it’s a guy and a girl, two guys or two girls doesn’t make these conversations and compromises any different or easier for anyone. In fact, I would say they are harder to maintain for gay couples because there are the additional pressures of an generally intolerant ‘democratic’ society continually telling you how disgusting and immoral and unbalanced and misguided you are, that you and/or you and your partner are not worthy of equal benefits or respect or privileges because of who you are and your unnatural couplings, even though no one has a problem taking the same amount of tax money or disposable income from gay people as everyone else – things that may possibly have some effects on a person’s psyche and well-being. So, please don’t think things are easy.
I always thought our family valued truth, equality and honesty, but I guess I was wrong, or partly wrong. This all came to a head when I read Grandma’s obituary. There it was in printed words. A large part of who I am was completely and utterly snubbed, omitted, ignored.
First of all, I understood that Joe wouldn’t be included in the listing in the obituary. I know how Grandview works. There’s nothing worse than damaging the family reputation, having all those people talking about you behind your back because you’re the family with the gay son, upsetting the sensibilities of a bunch of people with narrowly defined concepts of right and wrong, black and white (because, obviously there’s no grey area in any matter) that they’ve learned in the church or some similarly misguided channel. Even if Joe had been put in the obit as Leslie Gallant (his legal name - which could’ve kept everyone guessing for awhile I suppose…), there were four things that really stood out for me at this point.
Whoever wrote the obit consciously made a decision to include EVERY family member except Joe and alter the historical truth. I can tolerate that a majority of the family wouldn’t want his name included. I was mostly upset because there was NO consultation on this at all – no one had the gonads to call me and tell me this was going down. I had to read about it for the first time in my Grandma’s obituary!
It really brought home the understanding for me of how my family is receiving this reality. There appears to be a lot of posing and lip service to sweep this issue as far underneath the collective rug as possible. I get the feeling that my lifestyle and life are just a shameful embarrassing black mark on the family’s name and reputation.
Would Grandma have been okay with the truth? Maybe, maybe not. But I believe, understanding how Grandma felt very strongly about equality and diplomacy within her family, that she would rather prefer the truth – an accurate account of reality – in her final life summary. She wouldn’t like to see some skewed, edited version of ‘reality’ in order to avoid rocking the boat and upsetting the tender sensibilities of some old farm wives that have never left the community and seen how any other parts of the world work. But then again, I could be wrong. It’s lucky that my sensibilities and feelings don’t really matter that much so these things can be done. But then, it’s no big deal to offend the fag, is it?
If someone is going to start defending this position with some religious anecdotes, I’d urge them to stop right there. Despite the fact we are thankfully a secular family and no one in the family should be making ANY religious references at all, the fact that Grant’s girlfriend Tara got full inclusion in the obit blows this theory out of the water. If Joe and I are living in sin, technically, so are they, but Grant’s relationship is real and mine’s fake, right? What a bunch of hypocrisy.
So, there it is. You may be thinking that I’m being overly sensitive about this issue, and maybe I am, but I think this situation is an indication of feelings that are a lot more latent, potent, and potentially dangerous under the surface. I don’t really know what to make of things anymore. I decided a long time ago to refuse to continue living with guilt-ridden responsibility to Grandview anymore and live my own life, no matter how deeply my roots are entrenched there. Is it possible that some people in the family are not taking steps to acceptance of my gayness, and may even be regressing? Obviously. What I do know for sure is that a lot of people have been lying to my face or pretending that things are okay when they’re not. For this reason, I don’t know if I can feel comfortable in Grandview anymore, let alone feel that safe.
Until I see some proof that things are becoming more inviting for me in Grandview, I think I will avoid the situation entirely. I feel terrible about this, but how am I supposed to react? How would you react?
The fact that I could legally marry Joe in Manitoba today if I wanted to now seems so ironic. What if we were married? Would Joe’s name still be conveniently erased from the family record? Most likely. Maybe now you can get a glimpse of how I’m feeling. I just hope that if and when the day comes that I do get married the family isn’t expecting any wedding invitations -- because they won’t be getting any.
By the way, if Grandma Ostrowski ever asks me again why I’m not shacked up and married, I’m going to give her a damn wedding date she can dwell on….
Mom and Dad, I fully understand that who I am has been a very hard thing for you guys to grasp, understand and adjust to, and I am so proud of you for how far you’ve come along the road to acceptance (or at least tolerance). Again, please don’t take this note personally, it’s not meant to be that way. I’m trying to point out (again) the unhealthy subculture of repression that allows a bunch of dissimilar people to live together in a ‘remote outpost’ like Grandview without killing each other (face it, Grandview is very remote in the grand scheme of things). I suspect it has always been this way in Grandview, and always will be. It is the only way the social fabric in such a community could remain intact without unravelling. It is also the reason why some want to escape far, far away, never to return. It is also the reason why some others spend a large chunk of their young lives trying to figure out fundamental truths about themselves once they are matured enough to understand the dynamics of their environment better and realize that they can’t keep running away from and being scared of the truth forever despite whatever responsibility they feel they have to people and places in their lives.
I do understand how Grandview works, which makes this situation even harder for you, and I apologize in a way for having this all result from Grandma’s obituary of all things, but I really want to you get a sense of how I see things. The fact that Joe and I are a complete non-issue to the family and that no one talks about it EVER are things that I can grudgingly accept – I mean, they were all scenarios that I had conjured up again and again before I even told you guys I was gay. Admittedly, the fact I live far away and only deal with the family intermittently helps the situation on both sides on many levels. However, like I have told you before – the one and only reason I came out of the closet to my family was because going forward I still wanted to be part of the family, I wanted to be able to be comfortable bring my life partner / spouse / boyfriend / whatever home and feel like I could be honest and open when talking about my life. Well, I guess that can be written up as being one of the biggest blunders of my life. In pure Grandview style, things are much better left unsaid, or ignored, or assumed – as long as they appear proper on the surface. The real world can be very ugly and the truth can sometimes be what you don’t want to hear, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. In order to move on in life and adapt to our now quickly changing world with as little baggage as possible, you need to deal with an issue at hand reasonably, logically, and properly, not ignore it or brush it aside, before you can move on to the next issue.
Living in a large community where there are people from all walks of life in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colours may be why I have the perspective on things that I do. You are continually challenged to reassess your belief system and your understanding of how things work or are. I understand fully that people in Grandview don’t need to deal with their inner insecurities about people who don’t look the same or act the same or think the same as they do because it is a situation they don’t have to be in very often.
Maybe at some point in the past I felt that I could be a beacon of enlightenment for some people in Grandview by living openly and unashamedly gay (how generous of me!), a great example for people to look to. However, things haven’t gone that way, and frankly, I’m tired of making the effort. Despite the strength I have tried to muster thinking I could eventually break down some barriers, I can’t really justify doing it anymore. It hurts me to think that I have felt such strong attachment to Grandview for so long, and now I don’t really care anymore. With Grandma’s death, I now have even less reason to come to Grandview. I don’t like to think of it in this way, but I do.
On a more personal level, I think about how much this hurts Joe too – he’s been dealing with this crap in his life for a lot longer than I have been dealing with it, and despite how much of a tough outer shell he’s built around himself and how much more his family was accepting of him than mine is of me, I know it still bothers him. I would question the sincerity of my partner’s family too after this snub. Why do you think he doesn’t want to do anything with my family? It isn’t hard to connect the dots.
Anyways, it comes down to this. Right now, I feel that I’m about to deal with my hang-ups about my family and hometown the same way I did with my homosexuality in my twenties – by running away. Back then, it was easy – guzzle down a few too many bottles of beer and then you have an excuse for everything. This time, it may be not so easy. Joe and my discussions about moving to Vancouver are becoming more and more frequent. At least in Vancouver, we’d be living in a destination spot and if anyone wants to see us, it’s the logical end to a trip, and it’s good that way. But I don’t think I can justify coming back to Grandview anytime soon, even with you guys there. The only thing that may keep me here is my closeness to Owen and Chloe and the potential of becoming an uncle someday.
I will never forget what mom said the day I came out to you guys on the couch in our crappy apartment in north Calgary:
“We hope it never happens that things come to the point where you never want to come home again”.
Well, sorry mom, but it has come to this point. I’m emotionally drained, upset, and particularly disappointed with my family and my hometown. I feel I’ve been disrespected and blown off. Despite my enduring love for my entire family (yes, even Uncle Dewar), I don’t really feel I have anything I want to contribute anymore. Please understand me when I say that I will never stop loving or staying in touch with you, mom and dad, but it won’t be happening in Grandview anytime soon.
I’m sorry.
Love always, Reid
Well, the American elections are over, and I can say I'm more than disappointed. I wonder what's to come over the next half decade? Geez, I hope we revert back to theocracies. That's exactly what we need...
Here's a letter I wrote to Mark Morford, a columnist with The San Francisco Gate. His messages really resonate with me, and he was as passionately anti-Bush as I am.
Hi Mark,
I truly am disappointed with the election results as they become clearer today, and I am truly sympathetic to the American people today. Despite the fact Kerry is no prize, Bush isn't even a booby prize. I have followed the ups and downs of the American election campaign as much as everyone else and have been glued to the media as a result, trying to absorb as much information as possible, all the while trying to process everything as non-partisan and non-judgmentally as possible. Yet, it still really boggles the mind to think that if even a slightly larger percentage of your fellow Americans had done some fact-checking and soul-searching, the results might have come out quite differently. Democracy is so wonderful and horrible at the same time.
As a Canadian, I tried to take American and non-American media reports and stories with a grain of salt. I realize that the Canadian media (more fair and balanced than American media? Hmmm...maybe not. Familiar situation....they're controlled by only two or three media conglomerates as well) may have been reporting things with a 'twinge' of partisanship, but the fact that a resounding majority of international opinion polls stated time and time again that Kerry was desired in the White House did not resonate with the American electorate. Why did the American people not consider the fact that a large majority of the global population overwhelmingly wanted Bush out? The fact that 95% of the world's population were not eligible to vote in this election, yet will still be affected by the outcome of this election is truly unnerving. The average American truly has succumbed to the fear-mongering and compulsive lying of the GOP and Bush Administration. Under the guise of the protective father (Father?), Bush has barely maintained his position, but now has the mandate to continue his steam rolling, neo-Con, Pax Americana agenda for at least the next few years. I fear the damage may be far too extreme by then that it may be too late to stop it.
Maybe it's something else? Maybe the American electorate voted for Bush in spite of global concern. I truly worry that the American consciousness might be more insidious than I had feared - that living in a culture of fear, distrust, aggression, guns, and hostility can really start to be internalized at a fundamental, long-lasting level after awhile. I'm starting to truly believe that a majority of Americans really do unalterably BELIEVE that they are the pinnacle of modern society (very Roman Empire-esque), and that it is the God-given Christian right of America to instill American beliefs, values and culture on the rest of the world at any cost because they are simply the best and only way to achieve world stability and enlightenment, and it is so obviously the right thing to do.
My favorite quote of all time is "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." by George Santayana. It speaks volumes about superpowers, forced occupations, insurgency, bad decisions and bad diplomacy. History repeats itself over and over again because people are too lazy, ignorant, intolerant or scared to learn about issues, facts, and reality beyond their limited perceptions and face anything that challenges them. Case in point, does Bush watch, listen, or read any more media than he did four years ago (which back then was practically nothing - a very disturbing personality trait for a world leader to begin with)? Probably not. I fear that the world is in for some big surprises over the next few years, and not good ones -- but maybe eye-opening ones.
Terrorism is a big deal, but not as big a deal as the governments would have you believe. How many people have been killed by Arab-based terrorism in the past four years (outside of the hot zones, that is)? Under one thousand, maybe? The biggies being Bali and Madrid, and maybe Chechnya. Terrorist cells are not as organized and armed as some people would have you believe, and it is almost ridiculous to think that they might be able to pull off another 9-11 or something as equally large-scale and synchronized without someone noticing something beforehand. What risk do people in Dubuque, Iowa or Montgomery, Alabama really have of being directly attacked by a terrorist organization? Probably even less than we do here in Calgary (we do have a large oil industry here after all - it could be a target someday. That's only before the Water Wars start, of course, which are going to render everything we hold dear today irrelevant). People have their priorities completely messed up. The environment and our unsustainable, damaging, polluting consumerist fever (and unfathomable public and private debt loads and teetering economies as a result) are the two biggest issues threatening the planet today. Everything else means zip if those two get messed up, and they're definitely not as irrefutable and untouchable as everyone naively wants to believe.
Anyways, Mark, thanks for trying to make a difference. I read your columns every week and agree with much of what you say and have really appreciated your passion to inform people of the truth and get them thinking about the things that really matter. It blows my mind that people are so uninformed and still have the ability to make decisions that affect so many other people that do not have a say. I wish you and your country all the best and wish the best of luck to your minorities (visible and invisible), poor, women, and secular citizens, as well as everyone else that isn't Christian, Conservative, rich, white and male. I think we may all be in a shock four years from now when we see how much things have changed in so many ways, and not for the better. Today, I'm relieved that I'm living where I live, and although I may come to visit you guys once in awhile (more so since the loonie is on the up-and-up in light of the American currency weakness...), I don't think I would have the required patience or resolve to live in the United States and endure what is to come. I wish you and yours all the best.
Thanks for reading,Reid
Here's a letter I wrote to Mark Morford, a columnist with The San Francisco Gate. His messages really resonate with me, and he was as passionately anti-Bush as I am.
Hi Mark,
I truly am disappointed with the election results as they become clearer today, and I am truly sympathetic to the American people today. Despite the fact Kerry is no prize, Bush isn't even a booby prize. I have followed the ups and downs of the American election campaign as much as everyone else and have been glued to the media as a result, trying to absorb as much information as possible, all the while trying to process everything as non-partisan and non-judgmentally as possible. Yet, it still really boggles the mind to think that if even a slightly larger percentage of your fellow Americans had done some fact-checking and soul-searching, the results might have come out quite differently. Democracy is so wonderful and horrible at the same time.
As a Canadian, I tried to take American and non-American media reports and stories with a grain of salt. I realize that the Canadian media (more fair and balanced than American media? Hmmm...maybe not. Familiar situation....they're controlled by only two or three media conglomerates as well) may have been reporting things with a 'twinge' of partisanship, but the fact that a resounding majority of international opinion polls stated time and time again that Kerry was desired in the White House did not resonate with the American electorate. Why did the American people not consider the fact that a large majority of the global population overwhelmingly wanted Bush out? The fact that 95% of the world's population were not eligible to vote in this election, yet will still be affected by the outcome of this election is truly unnerving. The average American truly has succumbed to the fear-mongering and compulsive lying of the GOP and Bush Administration. Under the guise of the protective father (Father?), Bush has barely maintained his position, but now has the mandate to continue his steam rolling, neo-Con, Pax Americana agenda for at least the next few years. I fear the damage may be far too extreme by then that it may be too late to stop it.
Maybe it's something else? Maybe the American electorate voted for Bush in spite of global concern. I truly worry that the American consciousness might be more insidious than I had feared - that living in a culture of fear, distrust, aggression, guns, and hostility can really start to be internalized at a fundamental, long-lasting level after awhile. I'm starting to truly believe that a majority of Americans really do unalterably BELIEVE that they are the pinnacle of modern society (very Roman Empire-esque), and that it is the God-given Christian right of America to instill American beliefs, values and culture on the rest of the world at any cost because they are simply the best and only way to achieve world stability and enlightenment, and it is so obviously the right thing to do.
My favorite quote of all time is "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." by George Santayana. It speaks volumes about superpowers, forced occupations, insurgency, bad decisions and bad diplomacy. History repeats itself over and over again because people are too lazy, ignorant, intolerant or scared to learn about issues, facts, and reality beyond their limited perceptions and face anything that challenges them. Case in point, does Bush watch, listen, or read any more media than he did four years ago (which back then was practically nothing - a very disturbing personality trait for a world leader to begin with)? Probably not. I fear that the world is in for some big surprises over the next few years, and not good ones -- but maybe eye-opening ones.
Terrorism is a big deal, but not as big a deal as the governments would have you believe. How many people have been killed by Arab-based terrorism in the past four years (outside of the hot zones, that is)? Under one thousand, maybe? The biggies being Bali and Madrid, and maybe Chechnya. Terrorist cells are not as organized and armed as some people would have you believe, and it is almost ridiculous to think that they might be able to pull off another 9-11 or something as equally large-scale and synchronized without someone noticing something beforehand. What risk do people in Dubuque, Iowa or Montgomery, Alabama really have of being directly attacked by a terrorist organization? Probably even less than we do here in Calgary (we do have a large oil industry here after all - it could be a target someday. That's only before the Water Wars start, of course, which are going to render everything we hold dear today irrelevant). People have their priorities completely messed up. The environment and our unsustainable, damaging, polluting consumerist fever (and unfathomable public and private debt loads and teetering economies as a result) are the two biggest issues threatening the planet today. Everything else means zip if those two get messed up, and they're definitely not as irrefutable and untouchable as everyone naively wants to believe.
Anyways, Mark, thanks for trying to make a difference. I read your columns every week and agree with much of what you say and have really appreciated your passion to inform people of the truth and get them thinking about the things that really matter. It blows my mind that people are so uninformed and still have the ability to make decisions that affect so many other people that do not have a say. I wish you and your country all the best and wish the best of luck to your minorities (visible and invisible), poor, women, and secular citizens, as well as everyone else that isn't Christian, Conservative, rich, white and male. I think we may all be in a shock four years from now when we see how much things have changed in so many ways, and not for the better. Today, I'm relieved that I'm living where I live, and although I may come to visit you guys once in awhile (more so since the loonie is on the up-and-up in light of the American currency weakness...), I don't think I would have the required patience or resolve to live in the United States and endure what is to come. I wish you and yours all the best.
Thanks for reading,Reid
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
I went running with Ross Andersen again today. We've been running pretty consistently on M/W/F, managing to fit in the Douglas Fir trail every Wednesday for the past six weeks. Today was our fastest out-and-back, it felt pretty good. I should be in good shape for Tunnel Mountain this weekend at Ekiden.
I hope things are shaping up for Ekiden. I've sort of gotten tired of managing the changes. I've never seen so much change in the rosters and overnight accommodations. I hope I'm not going to get screwed over. I have a feeling I might...No one's heard from Mike Hickey in a few weeks, so I won't be surprised if I have to run two legs, since it will be too late to drop a team out. It's even better that the other leg is the 12.8 kmer...
Last of the American presidential debates is tonight. I'm tired of looking at those two mugs and keeping a straight face, knowing that 99.8% of what's spewing out of them is out-and-out lies. I worry that Bush is going to get in for another four years (really worry), but then, I'll be surprised if the world makes it another four years in our current sorry state.
I hope things are shaping up for Ekiden. I've sort of gotten tired of managing the changes. I've never seen so much change in the rosters and overnight accommodations. I hope I'm not going to get screwed over. I have a feeling I might...No one's heard from Mike Hickey in a few weeks, so I won't be surprised if I have to run two legs, since it will be too late to drop a team out. It's even better that the other leg is the 12.8 kmer...
Last of the American presidential debates is tonight. I'm tired of looking at those two mugs and keeping a straight face, knowing that 99.8% of what's spewing out of them is out-and-out lies. I worry that Bush is going to get in for another four years (really worry), but then, I'll be surprised if the world makes it another four years in our current sorry state.
The rest of the season's results. I only missed five provincial races this season - all due to the long weekends when I was on holidays far, far away....United Cycle Crit, Tour de Joffre, FVK Summer Classic, Tour de Bowness, and the Masters Road Race in Millarville. I also regret not being able to attend the Road Nationals in Kamloops and the Track Nationals in Victoria this season.
- Devon ITT #3
July 24
Devon, AB
Category 1/2
1 Bruce Copeland Juventus 2 2 0:55:10
2 Kevin Rokosh ERTC/redbike 2 ma 0:58:25
3 Gregg Menard Juventus 2 2 0:59:12
4 Ted Dahms Pedalhead Road/Sleeman 2 mb 1:00:20
5 Reid Dalgleish Synergy 2 2 1:01:09
6 David Ariano ERTC/redbike 2 mb 1:02:09
Track Provincials
August 14-15
Calgary, AB
place name club sprint pursuit 500/kilo scratch points t-sprint keirin t-purs total
Open Men
1 Zach Bell Synergy 10 7 10 10 10 2 49
2 Graeme Thomson bicisport 10 1 5 7 3 4 5 3 38
3 Bob Veroba bicisport 7 3 5 7 4 3 29
4 Chris Rubuliak Juventus 2 2 2 5 3 2 3 19
5 Mike Patton Synergy 3 4 7 14
6 Joel Regimbald Synergy 5 2 3 2 12
7 Travis Smith TrackTeam.ca 10 10
8 Tom Amberiadis bicisport 7 2 9
9 Dylan Menard Juventus 1 1 3 1 3 9
10 Peter Toth ERTC/redbike 3 2 3 8
11 Ryan McKenzie DeVinci/Sportrack 5 5
12 Cam McKinnon TrackTeam.ca 3 3
13 Craig Good Synergy 1 2 3
14 cp Walsh Synergy 2 1 3
15 Reid Dalgleish Synergy 1 1 2
16 Sean Huggins-Chan bicisport 1 1
17 Phil Abbott bicisport 1 1
Alberta Provincial Road Race
August 22
Breton/Winfield, Alberta
Open Men/Category 1-2 98 Kilometres
Place Name Club Time
1 Zach Bell Synergy 2h36m09s
2 Ryan McKenzie DeVinci/Sportrack 2h36m11s
3 Jesse James Collins bicisport 2h37m13s
4 Cam MacKinnon TheTrackTeam.ca 2h37m20s
5 Jeff Bolstad TRS Racing st
6 Taylor Little River Valley Cycle st
7 Nick Friesen Bianchi/The Bike Shop st
8 Shawn Goulet Pedalhead Road/Sleeman st
9 Mark MacDonald Sport Chek st
10 Jere Hu ERTC/redbike st
11 Dylan Snowdon Bianchi/The Bike Shop st
12 Philippe Abbott bicisport st
13 Per Strom bicisport st
14 Graham Rudge ERTC/redbike 2h38m18s
15 Tim Ogryzlo Pedalhead Road/Sleeman st
16 Pat Dodge Bianchi/The Bike Shop st
17 Matt Decore Pedalhead Road/Sleeman 2h38m49s
18 Ted Dahms Pedalhead Road/Sleeman 2h38m50s
19 Ted Emes ERTC/redbike st
20 Sean Barr Pedalhead Road/Sleeman 2h39m34s
21 Mark Fewster TRS Racing 2h39m57s
22 Bob Veroba bicisport 2h40m59s
23 Reid Dalgleish Synergy 2h51m12s
24 Graeme Thomson bicisport st
25 David Leahy TRS Racing st
26 Steve German Revoluzione st
27 Rob Simpson Juventus 2h52m52s
28 Kirk Loberg Revoluzione 2h53m25s
29 David Ariano ERTC/redbike 2h58m00s
30 Sean Huggins-Chan bicisport st
31 Harley Desprey Velocity st
dnf Dan Petersen Bow Cycle/CMC
dnf Nick Jendzjowsky Pedalhead Road/Sleeman
dnf Andrew Davidson Bow Cycle/CMC
dnf Kevin Rokosh ERTC/redbike
Alberta ITT Provincials
September 5
Darwell, AB
Cat 2 - 40km
1 Zach Bell Synergy Racing 0:52:45
2 Bruce Copeland Juventus 0:52:48
3 Geoff Johns Team Bianchi 0:56:52
4 Scott Manktelow Rundle Mountain Cycling 0:59:05
5 Reid Dalgleish Synergy Racing 1:01:35
Alberta Hill Climb Championships
September 19
Mt. Norquay/Banff, AB
Open Men
Scott Manktelow (Rundle Mountain CC) 14:01.5
Ryan McKenzie (DeVinci/Sportrack) 14:17.7
Jesse James Collins (bicisport) 14:25.1
Mark Webster (Bianchi/The Bike Shop) 14:27.8
Per Strom (bicisport) 14:34.7
Geoff Johns (Bianchi/The Bike Shop) 14:42.4
Dan Petersen (Bow Cycle/CMC) 14:57.1
Nick Friesen (Bianchi/The Bike Shop) 15:04.0
Byron Davis (Pedalhead) 15:25.3
Reid Dalgleish (Synergy) 15:35.1
Shawn Taylor (Rundle Mountain CC) 15:38.0
So, Grandma’s obit came out in the local paper this week, and once again, my legitimacy as a member of the family has been snubbed because I’m a big ‘mo. Shame shame shame that the big fag deviant has bestowed upon our honorable family name
The entire weekend I was home, Scott and Jen were the center of attention since they are having a baby soon – no issues there, but then Grant was ‘belle of the ball number two’ since he and Tara have been together for two whole whopping years – oooh, there must be wedding bells on the horizon, no doubt! The entire conversations on these topics blew my mind. I let out a big guffaw that Owen picked up on but I decided not to comment on it to him any further. It had only been a few days previous that I informed Mom that Joe and I were celebrating our fourth year anniversary. What do you think the response was from her and the rest of the family? Complete denial. I was pissed off enough, and then the final snub in the obit. Everyone’s significant other is mentioned, even Tara….and Joe was conveniently omitted. Like, adding a single name to the entire list was going to be something anyone would notice. So much for family bonding. They’ve essentially denied the truth about my life because they’re ashamed. I’m REALLY pissed off.
I’ll never forget what my mom said to me the day I came out to them.
“We don’t want it to end up that something happens so that you don’t want to come home anymore.”
Well mother, keep at it - you’re doing an exemplary job of demonstrating tolerance and giving me less and less reason to visit Grandview. My lifestyle and partner are such an abomination to you, well frickin’ get over it. The rest of civilized society is. How do you think it makes be feel to be excluded from things simply because you don’t agree with something I do? You aren’t the only people in this family, you know.
Next time Grandma Ostrowski asks me when I’m getting married, I’ll give her a freaking date. I’m almost ready to do this out of spite….thanks for all your support, family. It’s been a hard enough journey despite you to get to the point where I am, and then to discover that the traits I found so honorable in my family were all just a big fabrication. Nice.
I won’t forget this. Don’t expect any invitations to a wedding anytime soon.
The entire weekend I was home, Scott and Jen were the center of attention since they are having a baby soon – no issues there, but then Grant was ‘belle of the ball number two’ since he and Tara have been together for two whole whopping years – oooh, there must be wedding bells on the horizon, no doubt! The entire conversations on these topics blew my mind. I let out a big guffaw that Owen picked up on but I decided not to comment on it to him any further. It had only been a few days previous that I informed Mom that Joe and I were celebrating our fourth year anniversary. What do you think the response was from her and the rest of the family? Complete denial. I was pissed off enough, and then the final snub in the obit. Everyone’s significant other is mentioned, even Tara….and Joe was conveniently omitted. Like, adding a single name to the entire list was going to be something anyone would notice. So much for family bonding. They’ve essentially denied the truth about my life because they’re ashamed. I’m REALLY pissed off.
I’ll never forget what my mom said to me the day I came out to them.
“We don’t want it to end up that something happens so that you don’t want to come home anymore.”
Well mother, keep at it - you’re doing an exemplary job of demonstrating tolerance and giving me less and less reason to visit Grandview. My lifestyle and partner are such an abomination to you, well frickin’ get over it. The rest of civilized society is. How do you think it makes be feel to be excluded from things simply because you don’t agree with something I do? You aren’t the only people in this family, you know.
Next time Grandma Ostrowski asks me when I’m getting married, I’ll give her a freaking date. I’m almost ready to do this out of spite….thanks for all your support, family. It’s been a hard enough journey despite you to get to the point where I am, and then to discover that the traits I found so honorable in my family were all just a big fabrication. Nice.
I won’t forget this. Don’t expect any invitations to a wedding anytime soon.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
What a great treasure trove of concerts over the Thanksgiving long weekend! Didn't do anything Friday night, but met Joe at Swan's at 6pm on Saturday after he was done work, and then went over to Tim and Doug's and onto the Eagle afterwards. Don't remember much, but went for a ride with Reid, Tim, Catherine, Carson, Ryan Murray on Sunday to Bragg Creek.
Doug and I went to KMFDM at the Warehouse on Sunday night. It was a crazy show, very loud and powerful, people packed in like sardines, the entire front of the bar a huge mosh pit.
Got up yesterday morning and spent the entire afternoon cleaning the apartment until Sean and Nancy, Marnie and Leslie, Jerome, Lisa and Ken showed up before the Sting/Annie Lennox concert. Four hours of entertainment including the opening act!!!
Here is the Mike Bell review of the Sting/Annie Lennox concert last night...
Tue, October 12, 2004
What did you think?
Lennox outshines ex-Police frontman
By MIKE BELL, CALGARY SUN
You could have left the Sting/Annie Lennox concert last night halfway through and still very much have gotten your money's worth. And then some. In fact, based on reviews of the iconic '80s stars' double-bill, many of the sold-out Saddledome crowd may already have planned for their sitters to be home a little early.
Everywhere the pair have played the overwhelming consensus has been that Lennox's opening set has blown her co-headliner clear out of the water. Five minutes in, it wasn't difficult to see or hear why.
The sexy, enigmatic former Eurythmic was more than anyone could have possibly expected. True, throughout her career, she has produced some memorable and entertaining hits and yes, her latest album Bare is a stark, honest and beautiful piece of work. But it was hard to imagine before last night that those qualities would translate live as remarkably as they did.
The singer was everything you want from a superstar -- captivating with her presence, owning the room with her confidence and showing no sign that her star is sagging. And did I mention sexy? Not just in how she looked, which was fit and lean and lithe, but in her attitude, her unquestionable aura of cool. But of course none of that would have made any difference, none of that would have mattered in the least if her voice wasn't as powerful, wasn't as soul-reaching, as it was.
If you didn't have goosebumps on your goosebumps when she sat at a piano and launched into Here Comes The Rain Again -- and if you weren't completely and utterly in love with her during the outrageously-buoyant Walking On Broken Glass -- then you weren't in the building.
And if you were, you were most likely Sting, standing backstage, listening to her perform and to the well-earned ovations and wondering what you could possibly do to top her. The only real complaint anyone could possibly have is that Lennox barely verbally acknowledged we existed -- choosing instead to do that by giving us a set as entertaining as we'll likely see -- and, far more disappointing, that she was only given an hour. But no one is going to be talking about those things.
Everyone is rightfully going to be talking about what she did give us.
She still, in that short span, hit all of the highlights -- No More I Love Yous, Sweet Dreams and, especially, back-to-back rock versions of Missionary Man and I Need A Man. Again, by the time Lennox was done with us, we'd had our show.
Pity poor Sting. For many reasons, but most especially having to follow that.
But speaking as someone who thinks pop stars couldn't get more irrelevant or banal than the former Police frontman, his set actually started off as though he were up to the task -- if not musically, at least in pacing and presentation.
He kicked off with the soft-pumping techno track Send Your Love and wisely followed with two hits from his heyday, Synchronicity II and Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic. While the latter was sorely lacking in passion and intensity, the paying public at least knew the words.
From there, after losing the audience with the lesser-known Dead Man's Rope -- made notable only by the topless figures dancing on the screen behind -- Sting wisely brought back out the evening's true headliner for a duet on We'll Be Together.
HARD ACT TO FOLLOW
To underline the point, until Lennox actually took to the stage, the song was flatlining, and when she left (sexily, I might add) so too did the energy in the room. You could hear the sucking sound as Sting returned to his solo material.
A high-energy show was rendered almost inert -- mainly because there was little or no charisma emanating from the man who rarely moved performing it.
Too often the show relied upon familiarity (see the reaction to an otherwise lifeless and overlong version of Roxanne), his incredibly tight band or the screens behind him (they could have saved thousands of dollars on production by projecting the visuals on Sting's ever-expanding forehead).
Ultimately, the Englishman in Calgary wasn't entirely blown away by the woman he came before.
But neither did he show that he was still as vital or as vibrant an entertainer as she is. And neither did he make me glad I stayed after Annie left the stage.
- - -
Doug and I went to KMFDM at the Warehouse on Sunday night. It was a crazy show, very loud and powerful, people packed in like sardines, the entire front of the bar a huge mosh pit.
Got up yesterday morning and spent the entire afternoon cleaning the apartment until Sean and Nancy, Marnie and Leslie, Jerome, Lisa and Ken showed up before the Sting/Annie Lennox concert. Four hours of entertainment including the opening act!!!
Here is the Mike Bell review of the Sting/Annie Lennox concert last night...
Tue, October 12, 2004
What did you think?
Lennox outshines ex-Police frontman
By MIKE BELL, CALGARY SUN
You could have left the Sting/Annie Lennox concert last night halfway through and still very much have gotten your money's worth. And then some. In fact, based on reviews of the iconic '80s stars' double-bill, many of the sold-out Saddledome crowd may already have planned for their sitters to be home a little early.
Everywhere the pair have played the overwhelming consensus has been that Lennox's opening set has blown her co-headliner clear out of the water. Five minutes in, it wasn't difficult to see or hear why.
The sexy, enigmatic former Eurythmic was more than anyone could have possibly expected. True, throughout her career, she has produced some memorable and entertaining hits and yes, her latest album Bare is a stark, honest and beautiful piece of work. But it was hard to imagine before last night that those qualities would translate live as remarkably as they did.
The singer was everything you want from a superstar -- captivating with her presence, owning the room with her confidence and showing no sign that her star is sagging. And did I mention sexy? Not just in how she looked, which was fit and lean and lithe, but in her attitude, her unquestionable aura of cool. But of course none of that would have made any difference, none of that would have mattered in the least if her voice wasn't as powerful, wasn't as soul-reaching, as it was.
If you didn't have goosebumps on your goosebumps when she sat at a piano and launched into Here Comes The Rain Again -- and if you weren't completely and utterly in love with her during the outrageously-buoyant Walking On Broken Glass -- then you weren't in the building.
And if you were, you were most likely Sting, standing backstage, listening to her perform and to the well-earned ovations and wondering what you could possibly do to top her. The only real complaint anyone could possibly have is that Lennox barely verbally acknowledged we existed -- choosing instead to do that by giving us a set as entertaining as we'll likely see -- and, far more disappointing, that she was only given an hour. But no one is going to be talking about those things.
Everyone is rightfully going to be talking about what she did give us.
She still, in that short span, hit all of the highlights -- No More I Love Yous, Sweet Dreams and, especially, back-to-back rock versions of Missionary Man and I Need A Man. Again, by the time Lennox was done with us, we'd had our show.
Pity poor Sting. For many reasons, but most especially having to follow that.
But speaking as someone who thinks pop stars couldn't get more irrelevant or banal than the former Police frontman, his set actually started off as though he were up to the task -- if not musically, at least in pacing and presentation.
He kicked off with the soft-pumping techno track Send Your Love and wisely followed with two hits from his heyday, Synchronicity II and Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic. While the latter was sorely lacking in passion and intensity, the paying public at least knew the words.
From there, after losing the audience with the lesser-known Dead Man's Rope -- made notable only by the topless figures dancing on the screen behind -- Sting wisely brought back out the evening's true headliner for a duet on We'll Be Together.
HARD ACT TO FOLLOW
To underline the point, until Lennox actually took to the stage, the song was flatlining, and when she left (sexily, I might add) so too did the energy in the room. You could hear the sucking sound as Sting returned to his solo material.
A high-energy show was rendered almost inert -- mainly because there was little or no charisma emanating from the man who rarely moved performing it.
Too often the show relied upon familiarity (see the reaction to an otherwise lifeless and overlong version of Roxanne), his incredibly tight band or the screens behind him (they could have saved thousands of dollars on production by projecting the visuals on Sting's ever-expanding forehead).
Ultimately, the Englishman in Calgary wasn't entirely blown away by the woman he came before.
But neither did he show that he was still as vital or as vibrant an entertainer as she is. And neither did he make me glad I stayed after Annie left the stage.
- - -
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
I just got back from Grandview yesterday with Owen. The funeral was pretty tough, but is was a beautiful farewell to a beautiful woman and I'm glad the entire family got to celebrate her life together.
I'm still exhausted today, however the three hour bike ride this afternoon was fantastic. We're getting a formidable indian summer right now - 24C today.
Auntie Jeanne, Uncle Ken and dad divvied up Grandma's belongings on Sunday, and dad had asked us in the morning whether there was anything in particular we wanted. Since it didn't appear anyone in the family wanted anything big in particular, I came back with Grandma's TV and VCR, entertainment center and the old bedroom suite from the basement. We've set up the bed in the spare room and are using the 2 chest of drawers for our own stuff for the time being. It would be nice to buy new stuff, but add that to the list...
I can't believe how fortunate I am. I never expected to be getting all of this stuff. It's a very nice gesture from everyone. I had a hard time at home on many levels, so this was definitely cool.
Grandma also gave each of the grandkids a $1000 each. I haven't decided what to do with mine yet, but I think it may go towards a trip next year, or buy the aero disc wheel I will need for next year - Zipp or Corima so I can use it both on the road and the track.
Back to work tomorrow...
I'm still exhausted today, however the three hour bike ride this afternoon was fantastic. We're getting a formidable indian summer right now - 24C today.
Auntie Jeanne, Uncle Ken and dad divvied up Grandma's belongings on Sunday, and dad had asked us in the morning whether there was anything in particular we wanted. Since it didn't appear anyone in the family wanted anything big in particular, I came back with Grandma's TV and VCR, entertainment center and the old bedroom suite from the basement. We've set up the bed in the spare room and are using the 2 chest of drawers for our own stuff for the time being. It would be nice to buy new stuff, but add that to the list...
I can't believe how fortunate I am. I never expected to be getting all of this stuff. It's a very nice gesture from everyone. I had a hard time at home on many levels, so this was definitely cool.
Grandma also gave each of the grandkids a $1000 each. I haven't decided what to do with mine yet, but I think it may go towards a trip next year, or buy the aero disc wheel I will need for next year - Zipp or Corima so I can use it both on the road and the track.
Back to work tomorrow...
I wanted to add Grandma's eulogy here that I had the honor of saying at the funeral with Tannis. She wrote it before we got home and I was very satisfied with her work when I finally got home to read it.
A TRIBUTE TO A SPECIAL MOTHER, MOTHER-IN-LAW, GRANDMOTHER, GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, SISTER, AUNT, SISTER-IN-LAW AND FRIEND
As we stand here today, we would like to speak for a few moments about the woman whose life we are honouring and celebrating. We must emphasize the word celebrate, because although we are all grieving and mourning the loss of someone who was so very important to us, we would like to think of this as a very special time in which we share with others our remembrances of Grandma, or Mom, or Ruth. On behalf of her grandchildren, we would like to help everyone else see our Grandma for the vibrant and classy person that she was and in doing so, connect with her one more time.
Grandma was born on November 5, 1915 in the Mountain Gap District in the R.M. of Grandview. She was the third child in a family of six which consisted of two sisters and three brothers. She began her schooling in Mountain Gap, but then moved to McCreary and stayed with her Grandmother Collins to finish Grades 9, 10, and 11. At that point, her formal education was complete, and she moved back to the Grandview area where she earned a living as a domestic for a few years before her marriage.
A favourite outing at the time was the traditional Tamarisk picnic. It was at one of these country picnics that a big, strong, young gentleman named Marshall Dalgleish competed in a sheaf-pitching contest where he became the undisputed champion, and in doing so, captured the heart of one Ruth Fisher. And, I guess, the rest is history. The two were united in marriage on December 8, 1937. Grandma very easily settled into her role as farm wife as she readily pitched in and did her share of the work; she raised chickens, milked cows, planted and cared for a large garden, sewed, knit, mended, cooked up a storm and baked lots of goodies to satisfy Grandpa's sweet tooth.
Grandpa and Grandma became parents in 1941 when their son Ken was born. Three years later their daughter Jeanne arrived and then along came their son Stuart a year and a half after that. Grandma's role as farm wife and household manager had now expanded to include the duties of motherhood. According to her children, she was always the one to smooth things over when tempers flared or when times were tough. And she always did it so sensibly and sensitively, without ever raising her voice.
Of course, our memories of Grandma start in the 1960s and 1970s when we were fortunate enough to be born into the Dalgleish clan. At least, Grandpa always led us to believe that being one of his grandchildren was a stroke of good luck, and to imagine how good looking we wouldn't be if we hadn't been related to him. Grandma's house was always a warm and inviting place where you were fed and watered, questioned about what was going on in your life and made to feel like you were important. We always knew that we were valued, respected, and loved at Grandma's house.
Grandma and Grandpa moved to town in 1977, jsut before their 40th wedding anniversary. It was once she was in town that Grandma was really able to become involved in a number of activities, all of which contributed to keeping her so young. She continued her association with the Dawn of Peace Rebekah Lodge and the GACC Ladies Auxiliary, curled more often, and took up golfing and bowling. One of the highlights of her sporting life was the day she golfed nine holes in the morning, bowled in the afternoon and then curled in the evening. Not too many people can make such a claim, I'm sure. She continued with her knitting and became an avid quilter; each of us was thrilled to receive a pair of mittens, a toque, scarf or sweater, a quilt or one of her afghans. She learned to line dance in her 70s and later taught herself to crochet in her 80s. Grandma loved to read, do her crossword puzzles, go out for coffee with her frends and play a mean game of crib or hand-and-foot canasta. Upon their retirement from the farm, Grandma and Grandpa spent time travelling together, taking tours to the Maritimes, Hawaii, Florida, and California. However, it was still a highlight for them to take a drive out to the farm and visit with Uncle Stuart and Auntie Eunice. Even as young children, we could see that the relationship between Grandma and Grandpa was a special one. They were a very social couple who loved to dance, and we loved to watch them glide around the dance floor at weddings and anniversaries. They enjoyed fifty-five years of marriage together before Grandpa passed away in 1993.
Throughout her life, we knew that the one constant, and the one thing that was of the utmost importance to Grandma was her family. She raised her children to be the best that they could be and was so very proud of all three of them. Later, her eight grandchildren and her seven great-grandchildren were a source of great pride to her. Christmas concerts, music festivals and recitals, volleyball, basketball, hockey and baseball games, graduations, special family occasions - wherever her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were, she did her best to be there too. She was never judgmental, always treating us with respect and interest; her gentle presence was so meaningful to all of us. We loved to tease Grandma, which she either accepted good-naturedly or came right back at you with a witty remark. Often, the teasing had to do with her being left-handed. She was quite proud of a plaque in her living room which read "Everyone is born right-handed; only the gifted overcome it."
Although Grandma's life had its hardships such as losing a son in infancy in 1954 and losing both her husband and grandson Warren in 1993, she was never one to back away from adversity. Through the good times and the bad, she held her head high and was a source of inspiration to us all. We all knew that her door was open and that she would be there for us when we needed her. Grandma was diagnosed with her illness in the late 1990s but who would have ever known? She did not waste time feeling sorry for herself. Instead, she went right on with the business of living. To her, this medical condition was just a minor obstacle that she could easily overcome. She viewed each trip to the hospital as a short stay for the purpose of getting rejuvenated, then she would be able to get right back home and into her regular routine once again.
Throughout so many conversations that we have had with family and friends in the last little while, there has been a recurring theme. How many times have I heard the phrase, "Your Grandma - she is one classy lady." Although it is nice to hear it, nobody needed to tell us. We knew. We were all so very proud of her and loved to brag about her. Not too many people can say that their Grandma is or was a line-dancing, bingo-palying, bowling, curling, and golfing machine! She was an impeccable dresser who carried herself with dignity and grace. This was evident right up until the end. The day she was leaving in the ambulance for Winnipeg, she had not yet put on any makeup or fixed up her hair that day, and was quite dismayed about her appearance, if you can imagine. No one could convince her that it didn't matter. By the time the ambulance was ready though, so was she.
Each one of us has been a part of Grandma's life in some way. And, as a result, each one of us is a little richer for having known her. It is hard to imagine her house without her in it; however, nothing can take away a lifetime of memories. How fortunate we all are to have had Grandma in our lives. She will always be here in our hearts, guiding us with her gentle strength as we make choices and decisions, encouraging us to remember the importance of family ties, inspiring us to live lives that will make a difference. She was, quite simply, one of a kind.
We love you Grandma and we will miss you, but thank you for the memories. May God bless you as we have been blessed.
A TRIBUTE TO A SPECIAL MOTHER, MOTHER-IN-LAW, GRANDMOTHER, GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, SISTER, AUNT, SISTER-IN-LAW AND FRIEND
As we stand here today, we would like to speak for a few moments about the woman whose life we are honouring and celebrating. We must emphasize the word celebrate, because although we are all grieving and mourning the loss of someone who was so very important to us, we would like to think of this as a very special time in which we share with others our remembrances of Grandma, or Mom, or Ruth. On behalf of her grandchildren, we would like to help everyone else see our Grandma for the vibrant and classy person that she was and in doing so, connect with her one more time.
Grandma was born on November 5, 1915 in the Mountain Gap District in the R.M. of Grandview. She was the third child in a family of six which consisted of two sisters and three brothers. She began her schooling in Mountain Gap, but then moved to McCreary and stayed with her Grandmother Collins to finish Grades 9, 10, and 11. At that point, her formal education was complete, and she moved back to the Grandview area where she earned a living as a domestic for a few years before her marriage.
A favourite outing at the time was the traditional Tamarisk picnic. It was at one of these country picnics that a big, strong, young gentleman named Marshall Dalgleish competed in a sheaf-pitching contest where he became the undisputed champion, and in doing so, captured the heart of one Ruth Fisher. And, I guess, the rest is history. The two were united in marriage on December 8, 1937. Grandma very easily settled into her role as farm wife as she readily pitched in and did her share of the work; she raised chickens, milked cows, planted and cared for a large garden, sewed, knit, mended, cooked up a storm and baked lots of goodies to satisfy Grandpa's sweet tooth.
Grandpa and Grandma became parents in 1941 when their son Ken was born. Three years later their daughter Jeanne arrived and then along came their son Stuart a year and a half after that. Grandma's role as farm wife and household manager had now expanded to include the duties of motherhood. According to her children, she was always the one to smooth things over when tempers flared or when times were tough. And she always did it so sensibly and sensitively, without ever raising her voice.
Of course, our memories of Grandma start in the 1960s and 1970s when we were fortunate enough to be born into the Dalgleish clan. At least, Grandpa always led us to believe that being one of his grandchildren was a stroke of good luck, and to imagine how good looking we wouldn't be if we hadn't been related to him. Grandma's house was always a warm and inviting place where you were fed and watered, questioned about what was going on in your life and made to feel like you were important. We always knew that we were valued, respected, and loved at Grandma's house.
Grandma and Grandpa moved to town in 1977, jsut before their 40th wedding anniversary. It was once she was in town that Grandma was really able to become involved in a number of activities, all of which contributed to keeping her so young. She continued her association with the Dawn of Peace Rebekah Lodge and the GACC Ladies Auxiliary, curled more often, and took up golfing and bowling. One of the highlights of her sporting life was the day she golfed nine holes in the morning, bowled in the afternoon and then curled in the evening. Not too many people can make such a claim, I'm sure. She continued with her knitting and became an avid quilter; each of us was thrilled to receive a pair of mittens, a toque, scarf or sweater, a quilt or one of her afghans. She learned to line dance in her 70s and later taught herself to crochet in her 80s. Grandma loved to read, do her crossword puzzles, go out for coffee with her frends and play a mean game of crib or hand-and-foot canasta. Upon their retirement from the farm, Grandma and Grandpa spent time travelling together, taking tours to the Maritimes, Hawaii, Florida, and California. However, it was still a highlight for them to take a drive out to the farm and visit with Uncle Stuart and Auntie Eunice. Even as young children, we could see that the relationship between Grandma and Grandpa was a special one. They were a very social couple who loved to dance, and we loved to watch them glide around the dance floor at weddings and anniversaries. They enjoyed fifty-five years of marriage together before Grandpa passed away in 1993.
Throughout her life, we knew that the one constant, and the one thing that was of the utmost importance to Grandma was her family. She raised her children to be the best that they could be and was so very proud of all three of them. Later, her eight grandchildren and her seven great-grandchildren were a source of great pride to her. Christmas concerts, music festivals and recitals, volleyball, basketball, hockey and baseball games, graduations, special family occasions - wherever her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were, she did her best to be there too. She was never judgmental, always treating us with respect and interest; her gentle presence was so meaningful to all of us. We loved to tease Grandma, which she either accepted good-naturedly or came right back at you with a witty remark. Often, the teasing had to do with her being left-handed. She was quite proud of a plaque in her living room which read "Everyone is born right-handed; only the gifted overcome it."
Although Grandma's life had its hardships such as losing a son in infancy in 1954 and losing both her husband and grandson Warren in 1993, she was never one to back away from adversity. Through the good times and the bad, she held her head high and was a source of inspiration to us all. We all knew that her door was open and that she would be there for us when we needed her. Grandma was diagnosed with her illness in the late 1990s but who would have ever known? She did not waste time feeling sorry for herself. Instead, she went right on with the business of living. To her, this medical condition was just a minor obstacle that she could easily overcome. She viewed each trip to the hospital as a short stay for the purpose of getting rejuvenated, then she would be able to get right back home and into her regular routine once again.
Throughout so many conversations that we have had with family and friends in the last little while, there has been a recurring theme. How many times have I heard the phrase, "Your Grandma - she is one classy lady." Although it is nice to hear it, nobody needed to tell us. We knew. We were all so very proud of her and loved to brag about her. Not too many people can say that their Grandma is or was a line-dancing, bingo-palying, bowling, curling, and golfing machine! She was an impeccable dresser who carried herself with dignity and grace. This was evident right up until the end. The day she was leaving in the ambulance for Winnipeg, she had not yet put on any makeup or fixed up her hair that day, and was quite dismayed about her appearance, if you can imagine. No one could convince her that it didn't matter. By the time the ambulance was ready though, so was she.
Each one of us has been a part of Grandma's life in some way. And, as a result, each one of us is a little richer for having known her. It is hard to imagine her house without her in it; however, nothing can take away a lifetime of memories. How fortunate we all are to have had Grandma in our lives. She will always be here in our hearts, guiding us with her gentle strength as we make choices and decisions, encouraging us to remember the importance of family ties, inspiring us to live lives that will make a difference. She was, quite simply, one of a kind.
We love you Grandma and we will miss you, but thank you for the memories. May God bless you as we have been blessed.
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
I just got word from mom this morning that Grandma passed away. I guess dad and Auntie Jeanne (I assume) were at her bedside. I'm sort of relieved that she's out of her misery now and the family can move on from this holding pattern we were all in while grandma was in the hospital.
I'm really glad Grant, Owen and I were able to see her last week. I didn't think she was deteriorating that quickly that she wouldn't be around this weekend coming up, but that's how quickly things can change. I suspect the funeral will be on Saturday or Sunday, so I've booked another car for Friday the 1st to the 6th. I should be able to get off Friday, Monday and Tuesday from work.
I didn't get to talk to grandma much last week - it was pretty hard to see her in the state she was in. I'm glad that I did get to see her and say my goodbyes. I never got to do that with any of my other grandparents, so it's nice that I had the chance with Grandma D. She was a great woman who led a very dignified life, but had to remain stubborn until the end.
It's going to be weird missing her dynamic at family events. She was a family uniter and it will be interesting to see what happens next.
I'll miss you, Grandma.
I'm really glad Grant, Owen and I were able to see her last week. I didn't think she was deteriorating that quickly that she wouldn't be around this weekend coming up, but that's how quickly things can change. I suspect the funeral will be on Saturday or Sunday, so I've booked another car for Friday the 1st to the 6th. I should be able to get off Friday, Monday and Tuesday from work.
I didn't get to talk to grandma much last week - it was pretty hard to see her in the state she was in. I'm glad that I did get to see her and say my goodbyes. I never got to do that with any of my other grandparents, so it's nice that I had the chance with Grandma D. She was a great woman who led a very dignified life, but had to remain stubborn until the end.
It's going to be weird missing her dynamic at family events. She was a family uniter and it will be interesting to see what happens next.
I'll miss you, Grandma.
Friday, September 10, 2004
I got talking to Grandma last night around dinner time in the hospital. They were just about to transfer her to St. Boniface in Winnipeg, apparently b/c there is a specialist there that might be able to help her. Roxanne answered the phone at the hospital and gave me the low-down on her condition. She has an iron buildup in her body due to her transfusions and weak pulse, apparently causing her fluid buildup and liver problems. I guess this specialist at St. B. can hopefully help her using medications. I hope things work out. She didn't sound very good last night...very weak and defeated. Anyone who's been stuck in the hospital would sound defeated... Nevertheless, I will wait until she returns to GV before heading to see her, maybe. I priced flights to Winnipeg for $290. If she's going to be there for any period of time, maybe I'll fly to the Peg next weekend or something to see her in St. B. I just hope she gets back to GV soon.
Friday, September 03, 2004
Grandma has been in the hospital for about three weeks now. Everyone in the family is pretty concerned. Her heart is pretty week and she's not kicking her intestinal problems. I hope that she gets through this okay. Illness has always come to her infrequently but when it does, it hits her like a ton of bricks. Here is the letter I'm sending to her. It's a big vomit of everything going on in my life, but what else am I supposed to talk about? I love having political discussions with her, but I don't know if that's the thing to write to her about. Anyways, here it is:
Hi Grandma,
I’ve heard you’ve been having a bad go of it lately, so I thought I’d drop you a few lines to let you know that I’m thinking about you. It must be a nightmare to have to stay in the hospital! It’s not much fun. I hope that you’re feeling better these days.
I’m sure you had a good time at Manitou Beach with Uncle Ken and Auntie Lollie. Their place certainly is ideal for relaxing. We haven’t had much in the way of warm weather this summer, but I’m sure it was nice to hang out there for a few weeks anyways.
From what mom has told me, they aren’t really sure what is causing all of your discomfort. We can only hope you get out of the hospital as soon as possible. It would be fantastic to get out in time for Auntie Jeanne’s birthday party this weekend! It sounds like most of the family will be home for it this weekend, so you should have a lot of visiting to do! I only found out about the big party last week – a little too late to make alternate plans. I will have to call Auntie Jeanne on Sunday to wish her a happy birthday.
Instead, I have plans to race in the Alberta Time Trial Provincials in Darwell this weekend. I’m not really expecting a high placing, but I hope to beat my time from last year on the same course. Since I’ve been upgraded to Cat 2, it’s been a big test in humility. Now I’m racing with some of the strongest guys in the province (and the country, for that matter), I don’t really foresee getting a lot of high placings in races anymore. The days of glory are over! Hee Hee. Just knowing the company I’m keeping is supposed to be comfort enough, I guess.
We had our Road Race Provincials two weekends ago in Winfield. It was the most horrific race I’ve been in, weather-wise. It was 7 degrees Celsius with a heavy downpour and strong easterly winds to boot. It was a perfect storm to say the least. I’ve ridden in all of those conditions separately or in combinations of two, but never the three together. Needless to say, the race reconfirmed by beliefs that I’m a fair-weather rider. Maybe age has something to do with that…?
We have one more Provincial race after this weekend - on September 19 - the Hill Climb Championships at Mt. Norquay in Banff. We essentially climb the main road up to the ski hill. It’s about 3km at a very steep grade. It’s infamous for making your head explode on the way up (on top of the fact the climb starts at 4500ft and goes to about 5300ft.- no air to begin with!!!)
That’s finally the end of a very busy season. It’s been a very exciting racing season with great highs and yucky lows, but I managed to make it through relatively intact. I’m still working through insurance and the police to get the case on my bike/car accident closed. I’m very angry with the Calgary Police for their inactivity on my case. What a bunch of lazy oafs! If I had been injured in the accident, things would’ve been wrapped up much more quickly, but since it was only damage to my bike, it doesn’t seem to matter much to them. That sort of makes sense, since it would be left up to the court system or insurance to settle on monetary matters, however, after consulting with lawyers and the police on this and considering who it was that hit me, it’s likely the guy who hit me was unemployed and uninsured, so I was screwed either way. Now apparently he’s moved to Vancouver, and it would be futile for me to sue him, since he doesn’t have any money anyways and no one on the police force seems to be in a big hurry to find his address in Vancouver. Apparently, since he still hasn’t talked to the police in regards to the accident or completed a police statement (which is illegal), they are going to put out a summons on him, which will most likely never be resolved unless he’s ever stopped by traffic cops or something like that. I just can’t believe that there has been NO effort by the police forces at all to get this case finished.
It’s been a long four-month ordeal that I’ve had to be the constant pusher on. I’ve had to constantly urge the police to do anything, even talking directly to staff sergeants and threatening even more action beyond the police. They’ve essentially blamed me for letting the guy leave the scene of the accident without exchanging his insurance and plate information, like while I was lying on the ground I could hold the guy down so he wouldn’t leave before the police arrived. It’s quite sad, really. I’ve been through enough with this already, and now that the guy that hit me has gotten away scot-free and left me to pay all the bills myself, I’m pretty angry at the entire system…even more reason not to like cops.
Work has been extremely busy lately. I was moved to a new team with our department re-organization this spring, from an application development position, where you’re actually building the programs, to a support position, where you are maintaining them (or even administering life support to keep them alive…) and keeping them running for the customers/clients. I’ve found that I’ve been getting handed a lot of very un-related applications to support, so this is leading to another very steep learning curve on a bunch of very unfamiliar technologies. Things sort of get thrown at me rather suddenly without much of a chance to get to familiarize myself thoroughly with what I’m working with, so sometimes I feel like I’m troubleshooting by the seat of my pants. I guess I’ve been doing the right things, since they still keep giving me a paycheck and good performance reviews. It all certainly keeps me on my toes.
It’s hard to believe I’ve been working with the railway for 3 ½ years already. I sometimes feel like a jack of all trades, master of none – apparently this is preferable for a project manager, which I’m sort of thinking is the path I want to pursue down the road. I’m not so sure if I want to deal with the people and political headaches though. I really like leaving work at the office and having my evenings and weekends to myself to do the things I truly enjoy. If I was more passionate about what I was doing I’d probably make more of an effort to immerse myself in it, but that isn’t the case, at least not right now in the position I’m in working at the company I work for at this point in my life. I’m not sure what’s on the horizon for me.
Everything else is going okay. Life here is good, but I’m feeling the winds of change blowing again. There is talk around here about eventually moving to the West Coast, maybe not in the next year, but maybe the next five. I like the idea of living by the ocean. It’s something that’s always been in me to do. Pretty different for a Prairie boy, eh? I’m hesitant in a way. I think I would really miss the sun in the winter, but not freezing (and no more icy roads!) is a pretty nice counterpoint. Who knows? If I had the opportunity to work in another country again, I would probably consider that too. I would like to work in the United States for a while if I had the chance, but only to make a whole bunch of money and bring it back to Canada!
I went up to visit Owen and Chloe last weekend. We had a nice evening on Saturday just sitting around the kitchen table, talking and having a few beers. They have a very nice house and Owen has built a very formidable bar in the rec room. I even got to see the new camper. I think Owen will be seeing quite a bit more of me next summer whenever him and Chloe are up at the lake!
Unfortunately, I never got time to go to Lacombe and see Scott and Jen’s new house. Scott was out of town on the weekend. I’m planning on going back up to Red Deer again sometime in the fall, so I’ll get to check out the new digs then.
I don’t think I’ll be coming to Grandview for Christmas, but that’s not a certainty. I have three days of vacation left. A group of friends are planning on going to Vancouver Island for an extended weekend of scuba diving sometime in November, with some cycling and exploring during the day. I would like to go on the trip, but if things don’t end up working out and I can work out transportation to Grandview before Christmas, I’ll be there!
Next year there are some big plans and things going on, so most of my vacation is already reserved. I’m planning on going out to the East Coast with Joe sometime next summer. Joe is originally from Prince Edward Island, so we’ll be able to borrow his mom’s car and stay at his mom and step-dad’s house in Borden. It’ll make the trip much more affordable and I’ll have an excellent tour guide (as long as things haven’t changed too much – it’s been ten years since Joe’s been there)! I really think it will be a nice trip, but there will be a lot of miles to cover from Moncton to Halifax to Cavendish Beach on PEI. That will definitely be a two-week trip. I would really like to visit Newfoundland, but that will have to happen on another trip someday. There is also talk among the cyclists about another training session week in Arizona again next spring. I had such a great time down there last year, it is something else I would like to consider – so many places, so little time.
The World Masters Games are in Edmonton next summer as well. It’s a huge international competition – something like 20,000 participants, Olympics for old people! Hee Hee. Actually in most sports, Masters is considered anyone over 30. I’m planning on racing in all of the road cycling events which take place on two weekends, and track racing at the Argyll Velodrome in Edmonton which takes place during the week in between. There are quite a few of my cycling buddies that are planning on racing in some of the events as well, so I’ve taken an additional week off of work for that. My training goal over the next year is working to peak in my performance levels for that event next year. Once those games are over, I am already looking to 2006, when two more international events are fortunately taking place in North America. They are being held in Chicago and Montreal with a week in between, so I’m hoping to book three straight weeks for those two events (but I have to factor in some time to celebrate Dad’s 60th birthday that year as well). These events are also expecting to draw between 10-15,000 participants each. Talk about early planning! It may sound a little obsessive to some people, but I’ve found setting long-term goals definitely keeps your eye on the prize. It’s worked quite successfully with my cycling, running and triathlon – I only wish I could figure out how to apply it more to other things in my life.
Hopefully that will all come with time…
I expect by the time you get this letter, you’ll be out of the hospital already, so some of this might be old news already. It’s hard to believe that it’s been so long since I’ve actually sat down and wrote a letter. I realize how out of date the information gets as it did when I used to write letters frequently. You get accustomed to having more and more information around you all the time. Life is quite different these days with instant information at your fingertips or on a screen 24/7 if you want it.
Since you’ve been in my thoughts a lot lately, I just thought I’d send you healing vibes to get you on the road to a speedy recovery and a little (?) update of what’s going on in my life. I hope you’re feeling better soon.
I love you very much Grandma. Take care.
Love alwaysReid
What else is going on? Track provincials were fun, although Dave Corr and I spent most of Sunday in Foothills Hospital with Brian Kullman and Jon Keech who had crashed on the track. They were luckily only really banged up and nothing was broken. Dad and Mom came into Calgary that day from Red Deer, where they had been hanging out with Owen in the hospital while the doctors were trying to figure out what was wrong with him. Imagine their surprise when I asked them to meet me in the hospital in Calgary! They were wonderful - they patiently waited until we got Brian released, and drove Dave and I back down to the velodrome, where we managed to get into the final race of the day with Sean Huggins-Chan, the Olympic Pursuit. We ended up going down to the Barley Mill at Eau Claire for food and drinks and walked around Prince's Island for awhile before they dropped me off and headed back to RD.
The following weekend was the RR Provincials in Winfield. Worst racing weather ever. I felt crappy for the first two-thirds of the race until we turned out of the wind and my feet were able to warm up, however we had already been dropped from the main pack and finished about 15 minutes behind the winner (Zach Bell, no doubt). Graeme Thomson, Steve German, Dave Leahy and myself all crossed the line together as the Cat 3 winners were crossing the line. I was very glad when that day was over.
Last weekend I headed up to Red Deer on Saturday to visit with Owen and Chloe. We had a fun time - very short, but good. I'm planning on heading back up there sometime again in the fall.
Most of the Red Deer crew is heading to Manitoba this weekend for Joey and Michelle's wedding in Russell. As well, Auntie Jeanne's 60th birthday party is this weekend in the Wilson barn. I was sort of surprised that they were having such a big party, and I was disappointed to not find out about it sooner. I got an email from Grant this week asking me if we wanted to drive to Grandview together. Even he is going. I'm probably the only kid in the family that won't be there.
Oh well, TT Provs are this weekend in Darwell. I'm not hoping to win anything, but I am hoping to beat my course time from last year - 58:18.
The weekend after, I'm volunteering at the Calgary Corporate Challenge team triathlon. For some ungodly reason, Peter Finnie figured that we had a hard time putting together a triathlon team, which is completely wrong, so he didn't enter us in the event since the CCC board is sanctioning companies that are no-shows to events now.
The CCC 10K (which I'm organizing AGAIN) is on the 18th, and the Hill Climb Provincials are on the 19th. And then the racing season is over. I'm also organizing the Frontrunners Ekiden teams, which reminds me - I need to register today!
That's about it. Joe's working very hard and working lots. I haven't seen much of him lately, but we're going to catch a movie tonight hopefully and we're planning on spending the night of the 18th in Banff before the HC on Sunday. The hotels are still very pricy, so I'm not sure how that's going to work out. Nick and him are planning on going to Vancouver for their birthdays on the October 16th weekend, while I'm in Banff running the Ekiden.
Hi Grandma,
I’ve heard you’ve been having a bad go of it lately, so I thought I’d drop you a few lines to let you know that I’m thinking about you. It must be a nightmare to have to stay in the hospital! It’s not much fun. I hope that you’re feeling better these days.
I’m sure you had a good time at Manitou Beach with Uncle Ken and Auntie Lollie. Their place certainly is ideal for relaxing. We haven’t had much in the way of warm weather this summer, but I’m sure it was nice to hang out there for a few weeks anyways.
From what mom has told me, they aren’t really sure what is causing all of your discomfort. We can only hope you get out of the hospital as soon as possible. It would be fantastic to get out in time for Auntie Jeanne’s birthday party this weekend! It sounds like most of the family will be home for it this weekend, so you should have a lot of visiting to do! I only found out about the big party last week – a little too late to make alternate plans. I will have to call Auntie Jeanne on Sunday to wish her a happy birthday.
Instead, I have plans to race in the Alberta Time Trial Provincials in Darwell this weekend. I’m not really expecting a high placing, but I hope to beat my time from last year on the same course. Since I’ve been upgraded to Cat 2, it’s been a big test in humility. Now I’m racing with some of the strongest guys in the province (and the country, for that matter), I don’t really foresee getting a lot of high placings in races anymore. The days of glory are over! Hee Hee. Just knowing the company I’m keeping is supposed to be comfort enough, I guess.
We had our Road Race Provincials two weekends ago in Winfield. It was the most horrific race I’ve been in, weather-wise. It was 7 degrees Celsius with a heavy downpour and strong easterly winds to boot. It was a perfect storm to say the least. I’ve ridden in all of those conditions separately or in combinations of two, but never the three together. Needless to say, the race reconfirmed by beliefs that I’m a fair-weather rider. Maybe age has something to do with that…?
We have one more Provincial race after this weekend - on September 19 - the Hill Climb Championships at Mt. Norquay in Banff. We essentially climb the main road up to the ski hill. It’s about 3km at a very steep grade. It’s infamous for making your head explode on the way up (on top of the fact the climb starts at 4500ft and goes to about 5300ft.- no air to begin with!!!)
That’s finally the end of a very busy season. It’s been a very exciting racing season with great highs and yucky lows, but I managed to make it through relatively intact. I’m still working through insurance and the police to get the case on my bike/car accident closed. I’m very angry with the Calgary Police for their inactivity on my case. What a bunch of lazy oafs! If I had been injured in the accident, things would’ve been wrapped up much more quickly, but since it was only damage to my bike, it doesn’t seem to matter much to them. That sort of makes sense, since it would be left up to the court system or insurance to settle on monetary matters, however, after consulting with lawyers and the police on this and considering who it was that hit me, it’s likely the guy who hit me was unemployed and uninsured, so I was screwed either way. Now apparently he’s moved to Vancouver, and it would be futile for me to sue him, since he doesn’t have any money anyways and no one on the police force seems to be in a big hurry to find his address in Vancouver. Apparently, since he still hasn’t talked to the police in regards to the accident or completed a police statement (which is illegal), they are going to put out a summons on him, which will most likely never be resolved unless he’s ever stopped by traffic cops or something like that. I just can’t believe that there has been NO effort by the police forces at all to get this case finished.
It’s been a long four-month ordeal that I’ve had to be the constant pusher on. I’ve had to constantly urge the police to do anything, even talking directly to staff sergeants and threatening even more action beyond the police. They’ve essentially blamed me for letting the guy leave the scene of the accident without exchanging his insurance and plate information, like while I was lying on the ground I could hold the guy down so he wouldn’t leave before the police arrived. It’s quite sad, really. I’ve been through enough with this already, and now that the guy that hit me has gotten away scot-free and left me to pay all the bills myself, I’m pretty angry at the entire system…even more reason not to like cops.
Work has been extremely busy lately. I was moved to a new team with our department re-organization this spring, from an application development position, where you’re actually building the programs, to a support position, where you are maintaining them (or even administering life support to keep them alive…) and keeping them running for the customers/clients. I’ve found that I’ve been getting handed a lot of very un-related applications to support, so this is leading to another very steep learning curve on a bunch of very unfamiliar technologies. Things sort of get thrown at me rather suddenly without much of a chance to get to familiarize myself thoroughly with what I’m working with, so sometimes I feel like I’m troubleshooting by the seat of my pants. I guess I’ve been doing the right things, since they still keep giving me a paycheck and good performance reviews. It all certainly keeps me on my toes.
It’s hard to believe I’ve been working with the railway for 3 ½ years already. I sometimes feel like a jack of all trades, master of none – apparently this is preferable for a project manager, which I’m sort of thinking is the path I want to pursue down the road. I’m not so sure if I want to deal with the people and political headaches though. I really like leaving work at the office and having my evenings and weekends to myself to do the things I truly enjoy. If I was more passionate about what I was doing I’d probably make more of an effort to immerse myself in it, but that isn’t the case, at least not right now in the position I’m in working at the company I work for at this point in my life. I’m not sure what’s on the horizon for me.
Everything else is going okay. Life here is good, but I’m feeling the winds of change blowing again. There is talk around here about eventually moving to the West Coast, maybe not in the next year, but maybe the next five. I like the idea of living by the ocean. It’s something that’s always been in me to do. Pretty different for a Prairie boy, eh? I’m hesitant in a way. I think I would really miss the sun in the winter, but not freezing (and no more icy roads!) is a pretty nice counterpoint. Who knows? If I had the opportunity to work in another country again, I would probably consider that too. I would like to work in the United States for a while if I had the chance, but only to make a whole bunch of money and bring it back to Canada!
I went up to visit Owen and Chloe last weekend. We had a nice evening on Saturday just sitting around the kitchen table, talking and having a few beers. They have a very nice house and Owen has built a very formidable bar in the rec room. I even got to see the new camper. I think Owen will be seeing quite a bit more of me next summer whenever him and Chloe are up at the lake!
Unfortunately, I never got time to go to Lacombe and see Scott and Jen’s new house. Scott was out of town on the weekend. I’m planning on going back up to Red Deer again sometime in the fall, so I’ll get to check out the new digs then.
I don’t think I’ll be coming to Grandview for Christmas, but that’s not a certainty. I have three days of vacation left. A group of friends are planning on going to Vancouver Island for an extended weekend of scuba diving sometime in November, with some cycling and exploring during the day. I would like to go on the trip, but if things don’t end up working out and I can work out transportation to Grandview before Christmas, I’ll be there!
Next year there are some big plans and things going on, so most of my vacation is already reserved. I’m planning on going out to the East Coast with Joe sometime next summer. Joe is originally from Prince Edward Island, so we’ll be able to borrow his mom’s car and stay at his mom and step-dad’s house in Borden. It’ll make the trip much more affordable and I’ll have an excellent tour guide (as long as things haven’t changed too much – it’s been ten years since Joe’s been there)! I really think it will be a nice trip, but there will be a lot of miles to cover from Moncton to Halifax to Cavendish Beach on PEI. That will definitely be a two-week trip. I would really like to visit Newfoundland, but that will have to happen on another trip someday. There is also talk among the cyclists about another training session week in Arizona again next spring. I had such a great time down there last year, it is something else I would like to consider – so many places, so little time.
The World Masters Games are in Edmonton next summer as well. It’s a huge international competition – something like 20,000 participants, Olympics for old people! Hee Hee. Actually in most sports, Masters is considered anyone over 30. I’m planning on racing in all of the road cycling events which take place on two weekends, and track racing at the Argyll Velodrome in Edmonton which takes place during the week in between. There are quite a few of my cycling buddies that are planning on racing in some of the events as well, so I’ve taken an additional week off of work for that. My training goal over the next year is working to peak in my performance levels for that event next year. Once those games are over, I am already looking to 2006, when two more international events are fortunately taking place in North America. They are being held in Chicago and Montreal with a week in between, so I’m hoping to book three straight weeks for those two events (but I have to factor in some time to celebrate Dad’s 60th birthday that year as well). These events are also expecting to draw between 10-15,000 participants each. Talk about early planning! It may sound a little obsessive to some people, but I’ve found setting long-term goals definitely keeps your eye on the prize. It’s worked quite successfully with my cycling, running and triathlon – I only wish I could figure out how to apply it more to other things in my life.
Hopefully that will all come with time…
I expect by the time you get this letter, you’ll be out of the hospital already, so some of this might be old news already. It’s hard to believe that it’s been so long since I’ve actually sat down and wrote a letter. I realize how out of date the information gets as it did when I used to write letters frequently. You get accustomed to having more and more information around you all the time. Life is quite different these days with instant information at your fingertips or on a screen 24/7 if you want it.
Since you’ve been in my thoughts a lot lately, I just thought I’d send you healing vibes to get you on the road to a speedy recovery and a little (?) update of what’s going on in my life. I hope you’re feeling better soon.
I love you very much Grandma. Take care.
Love alwaysReid
What else is going on? Track provincials were fun, although Dave Corr and I spent most of Sunday in Foothills Hospital with Brian Kullman and Jon Keech who had crashed on the track. They were luckily only really banged up and nothing was broken. Dad and Mom came into Calgary that day from Red Deer, where they had been hanging out with Owen in the hospital while the doctors were trying to figure out what was wrong with him. Imagine their surprise when I asked them to meet me in the hospital in Calgary! They were wonderful - they patiently waited until we got Brian released, and drove Dave and I back down to the velodrome, where we managed to get into the final race of the day with Sean Huggins-Chan, the Olympic Pursuit. We ended up going down to the Barley Mill at Eau Claire for food and drinks and walked around Prince's Island for awhile before they dropped me off and headed back to RD.
The following weekend was the RR Provincials in Winfield. Worst racing weather ever. I felt crappy for the first two-thirds of the race until we turned out of the wind and my feet were able to warm up, however we had already been dropped from the main pack and finished about 15 minutes behind the winner (Zach Bell, no doubt). Graeme Thomson, Steve German, Dave Leahy and myself all crossed the line together as the Cat 3 winners were crossing the line. I was very glad when that day was over.
Last weekend I headed up to Red Deer on Saturday to visit with Owen and Chloe. We had a fun time - very short, but good. I'm planning on heading back up there sometime again in the fall.
Most of the Red Deer crew is heading to Manitoba this weekend for Joey and Michelle's wedding in Russell. As well, Auntie Jeanne's 60th birthday party is this weekend in the Wilson barn. I was sort of surprised that they were having such a big party, and I was disappointed to not find out about it sooner. I got an email from Grant this week asking me if we wanted to drive to Grandview together. Even he is going. I'm probably the only kid in the family that won't be there.
Oh well, TT Provs are this weekend in Darwell. I'm not hoping to win anything, but I am hoping to beat my course time from last year - 58:18.
The weekend after, I'm volunteering at the Calgary Corporate Challenge team triathlon. For some ungodly reason, Peter Finnie figured that we had a hard time putting together a triathlon team, which is completely wrong, so he didn't enter us in the event since the CCC board is sanctioning companies that are no-shows to events now.
The CCC 10K (which I'm organizing AGAIN) is on the 18th, and the Hill Climb Provincials are on the 19th. And then the racing season is over. I'm also organizing the Frontrunners Ekiden teams, which reminds me - I need to register today!
That's about it. Joe's working very hard and working lots. I haven't seen much of him lately, but we're going to catch a movie tonight hopefully and we're planning on spending the night of the 18th in Banff before the HC on Sunday. The hotels are still very pricy, so I'm not sure how that's going to work out. Nick and him are planning on going to Vancouver for their birthdays on the October 16th weekend, while I'm in Banff running the Ekiden.
Thursday, August 05, 2004
Grandview Trip - July 29 - August 2, 2004
Another whirlwind trip back to GV. I left Calgary on Wednesday night and made it to Saskatoon at midnight. Tara was up but Grant was in bed so we sat up and talked for awhile and then watched a movie (Wet Hot American Summer - very weird)
Never saw Grant in the morning either. Headed out around 9:30 and got to GV around 3pm. Visit with Grandma, Uncle Ken, Auntie Lollie in town until heading to the farm. Had a steak supper, few beers with dad while waiting for mom to get home. Visited and headed over to Lance and Buffy's for the evening.
Friday afternoon headed to Dauphin to pick some things up and visit with Michelle Jubenvill (Wilcox). Had a great visit, finally met Emma. Headed back to GV to get ready for anniversary. Showed up there around 8:30pm. It was visiting overload. Talked to lots of people, even saw Jody Powell and met his wife. Met Mitchell Grasby for the first time. Ended up stopped at Ervin and Maggie Morran's for a drink on the way home.
Saturday early afternoon headed up to Child's Lake. Stayed at mom and dad's lot. Owen and Chloe plus Kiall stayed at Britton's. Went over there for late dinner once fishers returned with their bounty. Spent most of the day hanging out and visiting with people on other lots.
Sunday, went scuba diving with Ron Myers in the morning. Very cool just to get out. Saw many Mariah beds (rooks) that they burrow into the lakebed. Spent the afternoon visiting. Dave and Roxanne and girls came for the afternoon. Also at the lake, Jeff and Denise Safronetz, Jennifer Wilson and boyfriend (Kevin?), Tracy Shields and Shirley Fraser and men plus Euphemia, Clinton and Joanna Myers and boys, Ryan Yarush, Chris and Lindsey Zamonsky, Darcy and Erin Brasch and daughter.
Drove Ryan's jeep home with Takeo in the back while mom drove my car home. Had dinner at Britton's again. Left for Calgary around 9:30 am on Monday.
Another whirlwind trip back to GV. I left Calgary on Wednesday night and made it to Saskatoon at midnight. Tara was up but Grant was in bed so we sat up and talked for awhile and then watched a movie (Wet Hot American Summer - very weird)
Never saw Grant in the morning either. Headed out around 9:30 and got to GV around 3pm. Visit with Grandma, Uncle Ken, Auntie Lollie in town until heading to the farm. Had a steak supper, few beers with dad while waiting for mom to get home. Visited and headed over to Lance and Buffy's for the evening.
Friday afternoon headed to Dauphin to pick some things up and visit with Michelle Jubenvill (Wilcox). Had a great visit, finally met Emma. Headed back to GV to get ready for anniversary. Showed up there around 8:30pm. It was visiting overload. Talked to lots of people, even saw Jody Powell and met his wife. Met Mitchell Grasby for the first time. Ended up stopped at Ervin and Maggie Morran's for a drink on the way home.
Saturday early afternoon headed up to Child's Lake. Stayed at mom and dad's lot. Owen and Chloe plus Kiall stayed at Britton's. Went over there for late dinner once fishers returned with their bounty. Spent most of the day hanging out and visiting with people on other lots.
Sunday, went scuba diving with Ron Myers in the morning. Very cool just to get out. Saw many Mariah beds (rooks) that they burrow into the lakebed. Spent the afternoon visiting. Dave and Roxanne and girls came for the afternoon. Also at the lake, Jeff and Denise Safronetz, Jennifer Wilson and boyfriend (Kevin?), Tracy Shields and Shirley Fraser and men plus Euphemia, Clinton and Joanna Myers and boys, Ryan Yarush, Chris and Lindsey Zamonsky, Darcy and Erin Brasch and daughter.
Drove Ryan's jeep home with Takeo in the back while mom drove my car home. Had dinner at Britton's again. Left for Calgary around 9:30 am on Monday.
2004 Season Results so far:
Grand Prix Bici # 1
Saturday, April 18, 2004
Calgary, Alberta
Category 3
Joel Regimbald ( Synergy ) 55m27s
Graeme Thomson ( bicisport ) st
Robert Martens ( Blizzard ) st
Mark MacDonald ( Sport Chek ) st
Ted Emes ( ERTC / redbike ) st
Phil Rayner ( Headwinds ) st
Nick Lynem ( Ridley's ) st
Sean Carter ( Snakebite ) st
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy ) st
Harley Desprey ( Velocity ) st
Stephen German ( Revoluzione ) st
Spencer Royds ( Independent ) st
Jeff Klassen ( CABC / Projekt 1 ) st
Graham Rudge ( ERTC / redbike ) st
Ross Andersen ( Synergy ) st
Gord Kennedy ( Bow Cycle ) st
Chris Harrison ( ERTC / redbike ) st
Andrew Gage ( Eurotech ) st
David Kennedy ( Bow Cycle / CMC ) st
Jason Shenkariuk ( Snakebite ) st
Don Halliday ( Bow Cycle / CMC ) st
Per Strom ( bicisport ) 58m40s
Jonathan Nutbrown ( Bow Cycle / CMC ) dnf
Brian Bain ( Bow Cycle / CMC ) dnf
Glenn Murphy ( Velocity ) dnf
Dan Bierd ( bicisport ) dnf
Grand Prix Bici # 2
Saturday, April 24, 2004
Calgary, Alberta
Jason Shenkariuk ( Pedalhead ) 55m33s
Joel Regimbald ( Synergy ) st
Per Strom ( bicisport ) st
Harley Desprey ( Velocity ) st
Robert Martens ( Blizzard ) st
Kevin Masters ( Pedalhead Road / Sleemans ) st
Sean Carter ( Snakebite ) st
Graeme Thomson ( bicisport ) st
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy ) st
Stephen German ( Revoluzione ) st
Mark MacDonald ( Sportchek ) st
Brian Bain ( Bow Cycle / CMC ) st
Ted Emes ( ERTC / redbike ) st
Spencer Royds ( Snakebite ) st
Phil Rayner ( Headwinds ) st
David Shylko ( Pedalhead Road / Sleeman ) st
Dave Kennedy ( Bow Cycle / CMC ) st
Jonathan Nutbrown ( Bow Cycle / CMC ) st
Graham Rudge ( ERTC / redbike ) st
Dan Bierd ( bicisport ) st
Jack VanDyk ( Terrascape ) st
Nick Lynem ( Ridley's ) st
Gordon Kennedy ( Bow Cycle / CMC ) st
Dave Crewe ( GS Campione ) st
David Watson ( Velocity ) st
Andrew Gage ( Eurotech ) st
Jeff Klassen ( CABC / Projekt 1 ) 55m55s
Michael Johns ( CABC / Projekt 1 ) 56m10s
Brian Kullman ( Synergy ) 57m05s
Don Halliday ( Bow Cycle / CMC ) st
Ardrossan Stage Race
May 8 & 9, 2004
Ardrossan, Alberta
Category 3
Troy Misseghers ( Mountain Bike City ) TT 0:07:24 ( 5 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 7 ) RR 2:13:59 ( 1 ) GC 3:06:50 ( 1 )
Kevin Masters ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman ) TT 0:07:25 ( 6 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 15 ) RR 2:14:01 ( 2 ) GC 3:06:53 ( 2 )
Jason Shenkariuk ( Pedalhead ) TT 0:07:48 ( 20 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 11 ) RR 2:14:27 ( 3 ) GC 3:07:42 ( 3 )
Kevin McFadzen ( Schwalbe Cycling ) TT 0:07:13 ( 1 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 10 ) RR 2:17:07 ( 4 ) GC 3:09:47 ( 4 )
Mark MacDonald* ( Sport Chek ) TT 0:07:17 ( 2 ) CR 0:45:23 ( 3 ) RR 2:17:17 ( 6 ) GC 3:09:57 ( 5 )
Evan Sherman ( United Cycle ) TT 0:07:50 ( 22 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 4 ) RR 2:17:17 ( 5 ) GC 3:10:34 ( 6 )
Ted Emes ( ERTC/redbike ) TT 0:07:37 ( 11 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 9 ) RR 2:18:03 ( 10 ) GC 3:11:07 ( 7 )
Sean Carter ( Snakebite Society ) TT 0:08:06 ( 30 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 5 ) RR 2:18:00 ( 9 ) GC 3:11:33 ( 8 )
Brian Bain* ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) TT 0:08:18 ( 36 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 8 ) RR 2:18:46 ( 12 ) GC 3:12:31 ( 9 )
David Shylko ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman ) TT 0:08:29 ( 39 ) CR 0:47:46 ( 31 ) RR 2:17:26 ( 8 ) GC 3:13:41 ( 10 )
Nick Lynem ( Ridley's ) TT 0:07:45 ( 16 ) CR 0:48:46 ( 33 ) RR 2:17:17 ( 7 ) GC 3:13:48 ( 11 )
Chris Harrison ( ERTC/redbike ) TT 0:07:45 ( 17 ) CR 0:47:46 ( 29 ) RR 2:19:53 ( 13 ) GC 3:15:24 ( 12 )
Shaun Adamson* ( United Cycle ) TT 0:07:34 ( 9 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 12 ) RR 2:25:35 ( 14 ) GC 3:18:36 ( 13 )
Graham Rudge ( ERTC/redbike ) TT 0:07:54 ( 26 ) CR 0:45:37 ( 21 ) RR 2:26:12 ( 15 ) GC 3:19:43 ( 14 )
Jeff Sparling* ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) TT 0:07:22 ( 3 ) CR 0:45:18 ( 1 ) RR 2:27:26 ( 16 ) GC 3:20:06 ( 15 )
Paul Paetsch ( ERTC/redbike ) TT 0:08:17 ( 34 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 17 ) RR 2:27:30 ( 17 ) GC 3:21:14 ( 16 )
Harley Desprey ( Velocity ) TT 0:07:47 ( 19 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 6 ) RR 2:28:07 ( 20 ) GC 3:21:21 ( 17 )
Sean Walsh* ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) TT 0:07:48 ( 21 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 14 ) RR 2:28:07 ( 21 ) GC 3:21:22 ( 18 )
Tim Deschenes ( Velocity ) TT 0:08:03 ( 29 ) CR 0:45:48 ( 24 ) RR 2:27:40 ( 19 ) GC 3:21:31 ( 19 )
Peter Toth ( ERTC/redbike ) TT 0:07:54 ( 25 ) CR 0:55:16 ( 40 ) RR 2:18:36 ( 11 ) GC 3:21:46 ( 20 )
Rene Regimbald* ( Synergy ) TT 0:07:46 ( 18 ) CR 0:45:23 ( 2 ) RR 2:29:45 ( 22 ) GC 3:22:54 ( 21 )
Marty Machacek ( G.S. Campione ) TT 0:07:28 ( 7 ) CR 0:48:46 ( 34 ) RR 2:27:35 ( 18 ) GC 3:23:49 ( 22 )
Ross Andersen ( Synergy ) TT 0:07:35 ( 10 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 16 ) RR 2:34:50 ( 24 ) GC 3:27:52 ( 23 )
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy ) TT 0:07:29 ( 8 ) CR 0:45:26 ( 13 ) RR 2:35:30 ( 25 ) GC 3:28:25 ( 24 )
Michael Vukadinovic ( Skookum Cycle ) TT 0:08:18 ( 37 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 19 ) RR 2:34:50 ( 18 ) GC 3:28:35 ( 25 )
Graeme Thomson ( bicisport ) TT 0:07:23 ( 4 ) CR 0:47:16 ( 27 ) RR 2:34:50 ( 23 ) GC 3:29:29 ( 26 )
David Watson ( Velocity ) TT 0:07:58 ( 27 ) CR 0:45:37 ( 20 ) RR 2:43:36 ( 27 ) GC 3:37:11 ( 27 )
Jeff Klassen ( CABC/Projekt 1 ) TT 0:07:42 ( 14 ) CR 0:47:04 ( 26 ) RR 2:43:12 ( 26 ) GC 3:37:58 ( 28 )
Kyle Halstead ( Cycledelia ) TT 0:08:35 ( 40 ) CR 0:50:46 ( 36 ) RR 2:46:04 ( 29 ) GC 3:45:25 ( 29 )
Brian Kullman ( Synergy ) TT 0:08:16 ( 33 ) CR 0:54:16 ( 39 ) RR 2:43:53 ( 28 ) GC 3:46:25 ( 30 )
John Twells ( Pedalhead ) TT 0:07:51 ( 23 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 18 ) RR ( dnf ) GC ( dnf )
Jack VanDyk ( Terrascape ) TT 0:07:43 ( 15 ) CR 0:45:41 ( 22 ) RR ( dnf ) GC ( dnf )
Phil Rayner ( Headwinds ) TT 0:08:13 ( 31 ) CR 0:47:16 ( 28 ) RR ( dnf ) GC ( dnf )
Jason Kincaid ( United Cycle ) TT 0:07:53 ( 24 ) CR 0:47:46 ( 30 ) RR ( dnf ) GC ( dnf )
Craig Horon ( Velocity ) TT 0:08:18 ( 35 ) CR 0:48:16 ( 32 ) RR ( dnf ) GC ( dnf )
Ryan Anderson* ( Juventus ) TT 0:07:59 ( 28 ) CR 0:49:46 ( 35 ) RR ( dnf ) GC ( dnf )
Kevin Bowser* ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) TT 0:08:13 ( 32 ) CR 0:52:46 ( 37 ) RR ( dns ) GC ( dnf )
Wayne Giles* ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) TT 0:07:38 ( 12 ) CR 0:53:46 ( 38 ) RR ( dnf ) GC ( dnf )
Rob MacCollum ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman ) TT 0:08:38 ( 41 ) CR 0:55:16 ( 41 ) RR ( dnf ) GC ( dnf )
Andy Achuff ( Pedalhead ) TT 0:07:39 ( 13 ) CR 0:46:10 ( 25 ) RR ( dns ) GC ( dnf )
Andre Sutton ( Hardcore ) TT 0:08:20 ( 38 ) CR 0:45:44 ( 23 ) RR ( dnf ) GC ( dnf )
Alberta time trial series # 1
Saturday, May 15, 2004
Canmore, Alberta
Category 3
Kevin Masters ( Pedalhead Roadworks ) 0:57:00.0
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy Racing ) 0:58:08.0
John Impey ( Bow Cycle ) 0:58:11.0
Graham Rudge ( ERTC/Redbike ) 0:58:37.0
Phil Rayner ( Headwinds CC ) 0:59:00.0
Jack VanDyk ( Terrascape Racing ) 0:59:47.0
Edward Emes ( ERTC/Redbike ) 1:00:01.0
Frank Kovacs ( Snakebite Society ) 1:00:08.0
David C Watson ( Velocity ) 1:00:15.0
Jeff Klassen ( ERTC/Redbike ) 1:01:41.0
Steve Elm ( Bow Cycle ) 1:01:45.0
Bob McKerrell ( CABC / Projekt One ) 1:02:06.0
Joel Regimbald ( Synergy Racing ) 1:02:55.0
Craig Horon ( Velocity ) 1:03:05.0
Harley Desprey ( Velocity ) 1:05:08.0
Mike Patton ( Synergy Racing ) 1:05:33.0
Christopher Harrison ( ERTC/Redbike ) 1:07:53.0
Alberta team time trial series # 1
Sunday, May 16, 2004
Canmore, Alberta
Men
Bob Veroba ( Bicisport ) DNF Per Strom ( Bicisport ) 0:51:32.0 Ryan McKenzie ( Devinci/Sportrack ) 0:51:32.0 Taylor Little ( River Valley Cycle ) 0:51:32.0 James Sparling ( Bow Cycle ) 0:51:32.0 Jesse James Collins ( Bicisport ) 0:51:33.0
Gregg Menard ( Juventus ) 0:52:03.0 Chris Rubuliak ( Juventus ) 0:52:03.0 Christopher Wright ( Juventus ) 0:52:03.0 Bruce Copeland ( Juventus ) 0:52:03.0 Nicholas Jendzjowsky ( Pedalhead Roadworks ) 0:52:03.0 Kevin Masters ( Pedalhead Roadworks ) 0:52:16.0
Geoff Johns ( Bianchi-The Bike Shop ) 0:52:33.0 Dylan Snowdon ( Bianchi-The Bike Shop ) 0:52:33.0 Nicholas Friesen ( Bianchi-The Bike Shop ) 0:52:33.0 Paul Kelly ( Bianchi-The Bike Shop ) 0:52:33.0 Pat Dodge ( Bianchi-The Bike Shop ) 0:52:33.0 Robert Gasienca ( Bianchi-The Bike Shop ) DNF
Edward Emes ( ERTC/Redbike ) 0:53:02.0 Kevin Rokosh ( ERTC/Redbike ) 0:53:02.0 Graham Rudge ( ERTC/Redbike ) 0:53:02.0 Cameron McKnight ( ERTC/Redbike ) 0:53:02.0 Jere Hu ( ERTC/Redbike ) 0:53:10.0 David Ariano ( ERTC/Redbike ) 0:55:44.0
Shawn Taylor ( Rundle Mountain CC ) 0:55:15.0 Scott Manktelow ( Rundle Mountain CC ) 0:55:15.0 Gary Brown ( Rundle Mountain CC ) 0:55:15.0 Andrew Reed ( Rundle Mountain CC ) 0:55:15.0 Brent Bittner ( Rundle Mountain CC ) 0:56:03.0 Patrick Griffith ( Rundle Mountain CC ) 1:03:50.0
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy Racing ) 0:56:15.0 Tyler Boake ( Synergy Racing ) 0:56:15.0 Jayson Gillespie ( Synergy Racing ) 0:56:15.0 Craig Good ( Synergy Racing ) 0:56:15.0 Chris Hooper ( Synergy Racing ) 1:01:20.0 Brian Kullman ( Synergy Racing ) 1:10:28.0
Bob McKerrell ( CABC / Projekt One ) 0:57:52.0 Jason Frank ( CABC / Projekt One ) 0:57:52.0 Michael Fix ( CABC / Projekt One ) 0:57:52.0 Michael Meeres ( CABC / Projekt One ) 0:57:52.0 Ted Dahms ( Pedalhead Roadworks ) 0:57:52.0 Dave Jaeger ( CABC / Projekt One ) 1:02:01.0
Dylan Menard ( Juventus ) 0:58:04.0 David C Watson ( Velocity ) 0:58:04.0 Harley Desprey ( Velocity ) 0:58:04.0 Craig Horon ( Velocity ) 0:58:04.0 Ryan Lakhram ( Juventus ) 1:04:24.0 Brad VanderVeen ( Velocity ) 1:08:25.0
Peter Heppleston ( Edmonton Masters CC ) 1:00:03.0 Ed Heacock ( Edmonton Masters CC ) 1:00:03.0 Karl Schneider ( Edmonton Masters CC ) 1:00:03.0 Shane Frahm ( Edmonton Masters CC ) 1:00:03.0 Gordon Sustrik ( Edmonton Masters CC ) 1:09:26.0 Jim Yeske ( Edmonton Masters CC ) 1:10:05.0
Marie Kaplan ( Edm Masters CC ) 1:08:05.0 Barry Evans ( Edm Masters CC ) 1:08:05.0 Johnathan Billheimer ( Edm Masters CC ) 1:11:03.0 Linda d'Ilio ( Edm Masters CC ) 1:11:16.0 Marcy Dibbs ( Edm Masters CC ) 1:18:43.0 Graem Dibbs ( Edm Masters CC ) 1:18:43.0
Inform Cycle downtown criterium
Sunday, May 16, 2004
Canmore, Alberta
Category 3
Rene Regimbald ( Synergy ) 0:53:26
Robert Martens ( Blizzard ) 0:53:26
Sean Carter ( Snakebite Society ) 0:53:26
Joel Regimbald ( Synergy Racing ) 0:53:26
Steve Elm ( Bow Cycle ) 0:53:26
Brian Kullman ( Synergy Racing ) 0:53:26
Harley Desprey ( Velocity ) 0:53:26
Kevin Masters ( Pedalhead Roadworks ) 0:53:26
Marty Schaffer ( Bicisport ) 0:53:26
David C Watson ( Velocity ) 0:53:26
Christopher Harrison ( ERTC/Redbike ) 0:53:26
Frank Kovacs ( Snakebite Society ) 0:53:26
Craig Horon ( Velocity ) 0:53:26
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy Racing ) 0:53:26
Bikes on Broadway
May 22, 23, 24, 2004
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Category 3
Edward Emes ( ERTC ) TT 0:11:26 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:41:38
Graeme Thomson ( Bicisport ) TT 0:11:38 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:00
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy ) TT 0:11:43 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:05
Graham Rudge ( ERTC ) TT 0:11:44 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:06
Matt Walker ( Cycledelia ) TT 0:12:00 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:07
Curtis Earl ( Cycledelia ) TT 0:11:50 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:12
Greg Fulford ( Cycle-Logic ) TT 0:11:53 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:15
Scott Cranston ( Cycledelia ) TT 0:11:58 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:15
Mark Russell ( Cycledelia ) TT 0:12:08 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:30
David Watson ( Velocity ) TT 0:12:09 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:31
Harley Desprey ( Velocity ) TT 0:12:24 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:46
Jeff Hehn ( Cycledelia ) TT 0:12:26 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:48
Brad Kerr ( RCC ) TT 0:11:47 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:32:54 GC 2:42:54
Steve Martins ( Hardcore ) TT 0:13:01 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:43:23
Jay Hawranik ( VW /Kal Tire ) TT 0:12:07 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:33:12 GC 2:43:42
Kyle Halstead ( Cycledelia ) TT 0:12:48 CR 1:00:18 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:45:05
Tim Woodcock ( Woodcock Cycle ) TT 0:12:27 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:34:42 GC 2:45:27
Craig Horon ( Velocity ) TT 0:12:06 CR 0:59:40 RR 1:34:42 GC 2:46:28
Andrew Nichol ( Team Manitoba ) TT 0:11:48 CR 0:59:40 RR 1:35:18 GC 2:46:46
Paul Kowalzik ( RNR ) TT 0:12:55 CR 1:00:47 RR 1:39:03 GC 2:52:45
Dean Shaw ( Cycledelia ) TT 0:13:08 CR DNS RR DNS GC DNF
Robert Martens ( Blizzard ) TT 0:12:18 CR 0:58:23 RR DNF GC
Bikeshevik Grand Prix
May 29 & 30, 2004
Calgary, Alberta
Master Men
cp Walsh Synergy 41
Reid Dalgleish Synergy 35
Tim Caulfield* Juventus 17
Dave Embury* Juventus 11
David Corr Synergy 10
Norm Kalmanovitch* Bow Cycle/CMC 5
John Plant* Crankmasters 4
Rob Onodera* GS Campione 4
Roger Tetrault* Velocity 2
200m - Master Men
cp Walsh Synergy 12.22s
Tim Caulfield* Juventus 12.25s
Norm Kalmanovitch* Bow Cycle/CMC 13.04s
Reid Dalgleish Synergy 13.55s
Roger Tetrault* Velocity 13.61s
David Corr Synergy 13.76s
John Plant* Crankmasters 13.98s
Dave Embury* Juventus 14.42s
Stuart Harbottle* Bow Cycle/CMC 14.76s
Rob Onodera* GS Campione 16.25s
3000m - Master Men
Reid Dalgleish Synergy 4m03.9s
cp Walsh Synergy 4m09.7s
David Corr Synergy 4m18.5s
Dave Embury Juventus 4m21.5s
John Plant Crankmasters 4m30.2s
Rob Onodera GS Campione 4m32.8s
Stuart Harbottle Bow Cycle/CMC 4m35.3s
Norm Kalmanovitch Bow Cycle/CMC 4m38.9s
Roger Tetrault Velocity 4m41.3s
Master Men - Kilo
Tim Caulfield* Juventus 1m13.08s
cp Walsh Synergy 1m13.99s
Reid Dalgleish Synergy 1m15.56s
Dave Embury* Juventus 1m17.79s
David Corr Synergy 1m18.09s
John Plant* Crankmasters 1m20.63s
Rob Onodera* GS Campione 1m22.89s
Stuart Harbottle* Bow Cycle/CMC 1m24.73s
Roger Tetrault* Velocity 1m24.89s
POINTS RACE - U17 and Master Men
Eric Smith (U17) Bow Cycle/CMC
Reid Dalgleish (Mas) Synergy
Anthony Stadnyk (U17) Bicisport
cp Walsh (Mas) Synergy
Nic Andrichuk (U17) Bow Cycle/CMC
Spencer Smitheman (Mas) Juventus
David Corr (Mas) Synergy
Rob Onodera (Mas) GS Campione
Brian Robinson (U17) Bow Cycle/CMC
John Plant (Mas) Crankmasters
Stuart Harbottle (Mas) Bow Cycle/CMC
Dave Embury (Mas) Juventus
Paul MacDonald (U17) Sport Chek
Kasper Woiceshyn (U17) Bow Cycle/CMC
William Monteath (U17) Juventus
KEIREN - Master Men
cp Walsh Synergy
Reid Dalgleish Synergy
Dave Embury Juventus
Rob Onodera GS Campione
David Corr Synergy
John Plant Crankmasters
Stuart Harbottle Crankmasters
Pigeon lake road race
June 6, 2004
Pigeon Lake, Alberta
Category 3
Ryan Anderson ( Juventus ) 2h58m12s
Shawn Goulet ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman ) st
Mark MacDonald ( Sport Chek ) st
Graham Rudge ( ERTC/redbike ) st
Brian Kullman ( Synergy ) st
Trev Williams ( Revoluzione ) st
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy ) st
John Twells ( Pedalhead ) st
Shaun Adamson ( United Cycle ) st
Brian Bain ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) st
Sean Walsh ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) st
Ross Anderson ( Synergy ) st
Dave Watson ( Velocity ) st
Greg Fulford ( Cycle-Logic ) 2h58m29s
Mike Sarnecki ( United Cycle ) st
Rob MacCollum ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman ) 2h58m54s
Rene Regimbald ( Synergy ) st
Jeff Klassen ( ERTC/redbike ) 3h00m45s
Sean Carter ( Snakebite Society ) st
Paul Paetsch ( ERTC/redbike ) 3h01m47s
Jason Kincaid ( United Cycle ) st
Graeme Thomson ( bicisport ) 3h02m23s
Orest Massitti ( bicisport ) st
Glenn Murphy ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman ) 3h02m36s
Peter Toth ( ERTC/redbike ) 3h03m05s
Ryan Steenbergen ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) 3h04m28s
Steve Martins ( Hardcore ) 3h06m19s
Bob McKerrell ( CABC/Projekt 1 ) 3h12m32s
Dave Shylko ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman ) 3h13m18s
Wayne Giles ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) 3h15m50s
Michael Johns ( CABC/Projekt 1 ) 3h19m33s
Chris Harrison ( ERTC/redbike ) 3h19m40s
Curtis Roper ( Velocity ) dnf
Andy Achuff ( Pedalhead ) dnf
Craig Horon ( Velocity ) dnf
Alberta time trial series # 2
Sunday, June 13, 2004
Lethbridge, Alberta
Category 3
Phil Rayner ( Headwinds ) 1h02m04s
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy ) 1h05m48s
Jack VanDyk ( Terrascape ) 1h10m05s
Frank Kovacs ( Snakebite Society ) 1h10m32s
John Impey ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) dnf
Prairie Steamer Stage Race
June 19 & 20, 2004
Calgary/Cochrane, Alberta
Category 3
Ryan Anderson ( Juventus ) RR ( 1 ) 3:45:05 - HC ( 1 ) 0:02:25 - TT ( 4 ) 0:01:19 - GC 3:48:39
Shaun Adamson ( United Cycle ) RR ( 3 ) 3:45:14 - HC ( 3 ) 0:02:33 - TT ( 2 ) 0:01:18 - GC 3:49:01
Shawn Goulet ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman ) RR ( 6 ) 3:45:19 - HC ( 6 ) 0:02:36 - TT ( 5 ) 0:01:19 - GC 3:49:14
Jon Benson ( Manitoba ) RR ( 4 ) 3:45:17 - HC ( 5 ) 0:02:36 - TT ( 10 ) 0:01:23 - GC 3:49:16
Greg Fulford ( 9th Street Cycle-Logic ) RR ( 7 ) 3:45:24 - HC ( 4 ) 0:02:35 - TT ( 6 ) 0:01:20 - GC 3:49:19
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy ) RR ( 10 ) 3:45:35 - HC ( 9 ) 0:02:38 - TT ( 3 ) 0:01:18 - GC 3:49:31
Ross Anderson ( Synergy ) RR ( 9 ) 3:45:27 - HC ( 11 ) 0:02:45 - TT ( 8 ) 0:01:23 - GC 3:49:35
Graeme Thomsom ( bicisport ) RR ( 12 ) 4:02:44 - HC ( 2 ) 0:02:30 - TT ( 1 ) 0:01:15 - GC 4:06:29
Dan Bierd ( bicisport ) RR ( 15 ) 4:02:44 - HC ( 8 ) 0:02:37 - TT ( 7 ) 0:01:20 - GC 4:06:41
Jay Hawranik ( Manitoba ) RR ( 14 ) 4:02:53 - HC ( 7 ) 0:02:37 - TT ( 9 ) 0:01:23 - GC 4:06:53
Orest Massitti ( bicisport ) RR ( 13 ) 4:02:53 - HC ( 10 ) 0:02:44 - TT ( ) dns - GC
Michael Johns ( CABC/Projekt 1 ) RR ( 16 ) 4:04:41 - HC ( 12 ) 0:02:51 - TT ( ) dns - GC
Paul MacDonald ( United Cycle ) RR ( 2 ) 3:45:14 - HC ( dnf ) - TT ( ) - GC
David Watson ( Velocity ) RR ( 5 ) 3:45:18 - HC ( dnf ) - TT ( ) - GC
Jason Lapierre ( Independent ) RR ( 8 ) 3:45:26 - HC ( dnf ) - TT ( ) - GC
Brian Bain ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) RR ( 11 ) 3:49:45 - HC ( dnf ) - TT ( ) - GC
Robert Martens ( Blizzard ) RR ( dnf ) - HC ( dnf ) - TT ( ) - GC
Tim Ogryzlo ( Pedalhead ) RR ( dnf ) - HC ( dnf ) - TT ( ) - GC
Andrew Gage ( Eurotech ) RR ( dnf ) - HC ( dnf ) - TT ( ) - GC
Brian Kullman ( Synergy ) RR ( dnf ) - HC ( dnf ) - TT ( ) - GC
Bob McKerrell ( CABC/Projekt 1 ) RR ( dnf ) - HC ( dnf ) - TT ( ) - GC
ERTC Canada Day Criterium
Thursday July 1, 2004
Edmonton, Alberta
Category 1 & 2 & 3
Zach Bell ( Synergy )
Nick Jendzjowsky ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman )
Sean Barr ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman )
Mike Stickland ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman )
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy )
Jere Hu ( ERTC/redbike )
Sean Walsh ( Team Alberta )
Nick Friesen ( Bianchi/The Bike Shop )
Chris Wright ( Juventus )
Shawn Goulet ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman )
Tim Ogryzlo ( Pedalhead )
Jeff Sparling ( Team Alberta )
Ryan Anderson ( Team Alberta )
Shaun Adamson ( Team Alberta )
Robert Simpson ( Juventus )
Guri Randhawa ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman )
Matt Walker ( Cycledelia )
John Twells ( Pedalhead )
Paul Macdonald ( United Cycle )
Dan Wood ( ERTC/redbike )
Harley Desprey ( Velocity )
Kevin Masters ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman )
Kamren Farr ( ERTC/redbike )
Dan Bradley ( ERTC/redbike )
Mark Fewster ( TRS Racing )
John-Chris Reid ( Oak Bay Cycle )
Dylan Snowdon ( Bianchi/The Bike Shop )
Joel Regimbald ( Synergy )
Felix Haspel ( Synergy )
Robert Martens ( Blizzard )
Chris Harrison ( ERTC/redbike )
Mike Sarnecki ( United Cycle )
Brian Kullman ( Synergy )
Ross Andersen ( Synergy )
Lloyd Kupchanko ( ERTC/redbike )
Craig Horon ( Velocity )
Brian Bain ( Team Alberta )
James Sparling ( Bow Cycle/CMC )
Mark Macdonald ( Sport Chek )
Daniel Skinner ( Oak Bay Cycle )
Graham Rudge ( ERTC/redbike )
Ted Emes ( ERTC/redbike )
Dave Ellis ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman )
Jon Wood ( ERTC/redbike )
Curtis Roper ( Velocity )
Gregg Menard ( Juventus )
Chris Rubuliak ( Juventus )
Peter Toth ( ERTC/redbike )
Alberta team time trial series # 2
Saturday, July 3, 2004 Ride For Wild Roses
Cochrane, Alberta
Category 1&2
1 . Geoff Johns (Bianchi/The Bike Shop) Dylan Snowdon (Bianchi/The Bike Shop) 0:52:50
2 . Jere Hu (ERTC/redbike) Kevin Rokosh (ERTC/redbike) 0:53:58
3 . Reid Dalgleish (Synergy) Craig Good (Synergy) 0:54:57
4 . Edward Emes (ERTC/redbike) Graham Rudge (ERTC/redbike) 0:55:23
5 . Sean Huggins-Chan (bicisport) John Bence (bicisport) 0:58:04
Juventus Track Meet/Master's Provincial Championships
July 10/11, 2004
Edmonton, Alberta
Master's Omnium
Master Men A
200m Sprints Pursuits 500m/1000m Total
242 Craig Good Synergy 10 7 7 5 29 Gold
719 David Corr Synergy 7 10 7 24 Silver
292 Reid Dalgleish Synergy 3 5 10 3 21 Bronze
250 Kevin Rokosh ERTC 3 10 13
209 Sean Huggins-Chan Bicisport 2 5 2 9
331 Sean Carter Snakebite 5 1 2 8
625 Martin Kaefer Juventus 3 1 4
465 Greg Yanicki Bicisport 1 2 1 4
477 Nick Insole Juventus
Grand Prix Bici # 1
Saturday, April 18, 2004
Calgary, Alberta
Category 3
Joel Regimbald ( Synergy ) 55m27s
Graeme Thomson ( bicisport ) st
Robert Martens ( Blizzard ) st
Mark MacDonald ( Sport Chek ) st
Ted Emes ( ERTC / redbike ) st
Phil Rayner ( Headwinds ) st
Nick Lynem ( Ridley's ) st
Sean Carter ( Snakebite ) st
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy ) st
Harley Desprey ( Velocity ) st
Stephen German ( Revoluzione ) st
Spencer Royds ( Independent ) st
Jeff Klassen ( CABC / Projekt 1 ) st
Graham Rudge ( ERTC / redbike ) st
Ross Andersen ( Synergy ) st
Gord Kennedy ( Bow Cycle ) st
Chris Harrison ( ERTC / redbike ) st
Andrew Gage ( Eurotech ) st
David Kennedy ( Bow Cycle / CMC ) st
Jason Shenkariuk ( Snakebite ) st
Don Halliday ( Bow Cycle / CMC ) st
Per Strom ( bicisport ) 58m40s
Jonathan Nutbrown ( Bow Cycle / CMC ) dnf
Brian Bain ( Bow Cycle / CMC ) dnf
Glenn Murphy ( Velocity ) dnf
Dan Bierd ( bicisport ) dnf
Grand Prix Bici # 2
Saturday, April 24, 2004
Calgary, Alberta
Jason Shenkariuk ( Pedalhead ) 55m33s
Joel Regimbald ( Synergy ) st
Per Strom ( bicisport ) st
Harley Desprey ( Velocity ) st
Robert Martens ( Blizzard ) st
Kevin Masters ( Pedalhead Road / Sleemans ) st
Sean Carter ( Snakebite ) st
Graeme Thomson ( bicisport ) st
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy ) st
Stephen German ( Revoluzione ) st
Mark MacDonald ( Sportchek ) st
Brian Bain ( Bow Cycle / CMC ) st
Ted Emes ( ERTC / redbike ) st
Spencer Royds ( Snakebite ) st
Phil Rayner ( Headwinds ) st
David Shylko ( Pedalhead Road / Sleeman ) st
Dave Kennedy ( Bow Cycle / CMC ) st
Jonathan Nutbrown ( Bow Cycle / CMC ) st
Graham Rudge ( ERTC / redbike ) st
Dan Bierd ( bicisport ) st
Jack VanDyk ( Terrascape ) st
Nick Lynem ( Ridley's ) st
Gordon Kennedy ( Bow Cycle / CMC ) st
Dave Crewe ( GS Campione ) st
David Watson ( Velocity ) st
Andrew Gage ( Eurotech ) st
Jeff Klassen ( CABC / Projekt 1 ) 55m55s
Michael Johns ( CABC / Projekt 1 ) 56m10s
Brian Kullman ( Synergy ) 57m05s
Don Halliday ( Bow Cycle / CMC ) st
Ardrossan Stage Race
May 8 & 9, 2004
Ardrossan, Alberta
Category 3
Troy Misseghers ( Mountain Bike City ) TT 0:07:24 ( 5 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 7 ) RR 2:13:59 ( 1 ) GC 3:06:50 ( 1 )
Kevin Masters ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman ) TT 0:07:25 ( 6 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 15 ) RR 2:14:01 ( 2 ) GC 3:06:53 ( 2 )
Jason Shenkariuk ( Pedalhead ) TT 0:07:48 ( 20 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 11 ) RR 2:14:27 ( 3 ) GC 3:07:42 ( 3 )
Kevin McFadzen ( Schwalbe Cycling ) TT 0:07:13 ( 1 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 10 ) RR 2:17:07 ( 4 ) GC 3:09:47 ( 4 )
Mark MacDonald* ( Sport Chek ) TT 0:07:17 ( 2 ) CR 0:45:23 ( 3 ) RR 2:17:17 ( 6 ) GC 3:09:57 ( 5 )
Evan Sherman ( United Cycle ) TT 0:07:50 ( 22 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 4 ) RR 2:17:17 ( 5 ) GC 3:10:34 ( 6 )
Ted Emes ( ERTC/redbike ) TT 0:07:37 ( 11 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 9 ) RR 2:18:03 ( 10 ) GC 3:11:07 ( 7 )
Sean Carter ( Snakebite Society ) TT 0:08:06 ( 30 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 5 ) RR 2:18:00 ( 9 ) GC 3:11:33 ( 8 )
Brian Bain* ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) TT 0:08:18 ( 36 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 8 ) RR 2:18:46 ( 12 ) GC 3:12:31 ( 9 )
David Shylko ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman ) TT 0:08:29 ( 39 ) CR 0:47:46 ( 31 ) RR 2:17:26 ( 8 ) GC 3:13:41 ( 10 )
Nick Lynem ( Ridley's ) TT 0:07:45 ( 16 ) CR 0:48:46 ( 33 ) RR 2:17:17 ( 7 ) GC 3:13:48 ( 11 )
Chris Harrison ( ERTC/redbike ) TT 0:07:45 ( 17 ) CR 0:47:46 ( 29 ) RR 2:19:53 ( 13 ) GC 3:15:24 ( 12 )
Shaun Adamson* ( United Cycle ) TT 0:07:34 ( 9 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 12 ) RR 2:25:35 ( 14 ) GC 3:18:36 ( 13 )
Graham Rudge ( ERTC/redbike ) TT 0:07:54 ( 26 ) CR 0:45:37 ( 21 ) RR 2:26:12 ( 15 ) GC 3:19:43 ( 14 )
Jeff Sparling* ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) TT 0:07:22 ( 3 ) CR 0:45:18 ( 1 ) RR 2:27:26 ( 16 ) GC 3:20:06 ( 15 )
Paul Paetsch ( ERTC/redbike ) TT 0:08:17 ( 34 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 17 ) RR 2:27:30 ( 17 ) GC 3:21:14 ( 16 )
Harley Desprey ( Velocity ) TT 0:07:47 ( 19 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 6 ) RR 2:28:07 ( 20 ) GC 3:21:21 ( 17 )
Sean Walsh* ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) TT 0:07:48 ( 21 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 14 ) RR 2:28:07 ( 21 ) GC 3:21:22 ( 18 )
Tim Deschenes ( Velocity ) TT 0:08:03 ( 29 ) CR 0:45:48 ( 24 ) RR 2:27:40 ( 19 ) GC 3:21:31 ( 19 )
Peter Toth ( ERTC/redbike ) TT 0:07:54 ( 25 ) CR 0:55:16 ( 40 ) RR 2:18:36 ( 11 ) GC 3:21:46 ( 20 )
Rene Regimbald* ( Synergy ) TT 0:07:46 ( 18 ) CR 0:45:23 ( 2 ) RR 2:29:45 ( 22 ) GC 3:22:54 ( 21 )
Marty Machacek ( G.S. Campione ) TT 0:07:28 ( 7 ) CR 0:48:46 ( 34 ) RR 2:27:35 ( 18 ) GC 3:23:49 ( 22 )
Ross Andersen ( Synergy ) TT 0:07:35 ( 10 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 16 ) RR 2:34:50 ( 24 ) GC 3:27:52 ( 23 )
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy ) TT 0:07:29 ( 8 ) CR 0:45:26 ( 13 ) RR 2:35:30 ( 25 ) GC 3:28:25 ( 24 )
Michael Vukadinovic ( Skookum Cycle ) TT 0:08:18 ( 37 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 19 ) RR 2:34:50 ( 18 ) GC 3:28:35 ( 25 )
Graeme Thomson ( bicisport ) TT 0:07:23 ( 4 ) CR 0:47:16 ( 27 ) RR 2:34:50 ( 23 ) GC 3:29:29 ( 26 )
David Watson ( Velocity ) TT 0:07:58 ( 27 ) CR 0:45:37 ( 20 ) RR 2:43:36 ( 27 ) GC 3:37:11 ( 27 )
Jeff Klassen ( CABC/Projekt 1 ) TT 0:07:42 ( 14 ) CR 0:47:04 ( 26 ) RR 2:43:12 ( 26 ) GC 3:37:58 ( 28 )
Kyle Halstead ( Cycledelia ) TT 0:08:35 ( 40 ) CR 0:50:46 ( 36 ) RR 2:46:04 ( 29 ) GC 3:45:25 ( 29 )
Brian Kullman ( Synergy ) TT 0:08:16 ( 33 ) CR 0:54:16 ( 39 ) RR 2:43:53 ( 28 ) GC 3:46:25 ( 30 )
John Twells ( Pedalhead ) TT 0:07:51 ( 23 ) CR 0:45:27 ( 18 ) RR ( dnf ) GC ( dnf )
Jack VanDyk ( Terrascape ) TT 0:07:43 ( 15 ) CR 0:45:41 ( 22 ) RR ( dnf ) GC ( dnf )
Phil Rayner ( Headwinds ) TT 0:08:13 ( 31 ) CR 0:47:16 ( 28 ) RR ( dnf ) GC ( dnf )
Jason Kincaid ( United Cycle ) TT 0:07:53 ( 24 ) CR 0:47:46 ( 30 ) RR ( dnf ) GC ( dnf )
Craig Horon ( Velocity ) TT 0:08:18 ( 35 ) CR 0:48:16 ( 32 ) RR ( dnf ) GC ( dnf )
Ryan Anderson* ( Juventus ) TT 0:07:59 ( 28 ) CR 0:49:46 ( 35 ) RR ( dnf ) GC ( dnf )
Kevin Bowser* ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) TT 0:08:13 ( 32 ) CR 0:52:46 ( 37 ) RR ( dns ) GC ( dnf )
Wayne Giles* ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) TT 0:07:38 ( 12 ) CR 0:53:46 ( 38 ) RR ( dnf ) GC ( dnf )
Rob MacCollum ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman ) TT 0:08:38 ( 41 ) CR 0:55:16 ( 41 ) RR ( dnf ) GC ( dnf )
Andy Achuff ( Pedalhead ) TT 0:07:39 ( 13 ) CR 0:46:10 ( 25 ) RR ( dns ) GC ( dnf )
Andre Sutton ( Hardcore ) TT 0:08:20 ( 38 ) CR 0:45:44 ( 23 ) RR ( dnf ) GC ( dnf )
Alberta time trial series # 1
Saturday, May 15, 2004
Canmore, Alberta
Category 3
Kevin Masters ( Pedalhead Roadworks ) 0:57:00.0
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy Racing ) 0:58:08.0
John Impey ( Bow Cycle ) 0:58:11.0
Graham Rudge ( ERTC/Redbike ) 0:58:37.0
Phil Rayner ( Headwinds CC ) 0:59:00.0
Jack VanDyk ( Terrascape Racing ) 0:59:47.0
Edward Emes ( ERTC/Redbike ) 1:00:01.0
Frank Kovacs ( Snakebite Society ) 1:00:08.0
David C Watson ( Velocity ) 1:00:15.0
Jeff Klassen ( ERTC/Redbike ) 1:01:41.0
Steve Elm ( Bow Cycle ) 1:01:45.0
Bob McKerrell ( CABC / Projekt One ) 1:02:06.0
Joel Regimbald ( Synergy Racing ) 1:02:55.0
Craig Horon ( Velocity ) 1:03:05.0
Harley Desprey ( Velocity ) 1:05:08.0
Mike Patton ( Synergy Racing ) 1:05:33.0
Christopher Harrison ( ERTC/Redbike ) 1:07:53.0
Alberta team time trial series # 1
Sunday, May 16, 2004
Canmore, Alberta
Men
Bob Veroba ( Bicisport ) DNF Per Strom ( Bicisport ) 0:51:32.0 Ryan McKenzie ( Devinci/Sportrack ) 0:51:32.0 Taylor Little ( River Valley Cycle ) 0:51:32.0 James Sparling ( Bow Cycle ) 0:51:32.0 Jesse James Collins ( Bicisport ) 0:51:33.0
Gregg Menard ( Juventus ) 0:52:03.0 Chris Rubuliak ( Juventus ) 0:52:03.0 Christopher Wright ( Juventus ) 0:52:03.0 Bruce Copeland ( Juventus ) 0:52:03.0 Nicholas Jendzjowsky ( Pedalhead Roadworks ) 0:52:03.0 Kevin Masters ( Pedalhead Roadworks ) 0:52:16.0
Geoff Johns ( Bianchi-The Bike Shop ) 0:52:33.0 Dylan Snowdon ( Bianchi-The Bike Shop ) 0:52:33.0 Nicholas Friesen ( Bianchi-The Bike Shop ) 0:52:33.0 Paul Kelly ( Bianchi-The Bike Shop ) 0:52:33.0 Pat Dodge ( Bianchi-The Bike Shop ) 0:52:33.0 Robert Gasienca ( Bianchi-The Bike Shop ) DNF
Edward Emes ( ERTC/Redbike ) 0:53:02.0 Kevin Rokosh ( ERTC/Redbike ) 0:53:02.0 Graham Rudge ( ERTC/Redbike ) 0:53:02.0 Cameron McKnight ( ERTC/Redbike ) 0:53:02.0 Jere Hu ( ERTC/Redbike ) 0:53:10.0 David Ariano ( ERTC/Redbike ) 0:55:44.0
Shawn Taylor ( Rundle Mountain CC ) 0:55:15.0 Scott Manktelow ( Rundle Mountain CC ) 0:55:15.0 Gary Brown ( Rundle Mountain CC ) 0:55:15.0 Andrew Reed ( Rundle Mountain CC ) 0:55:15.0 Brent Bittner ( Rundle Mountain CC ) 0:56:03.0 Patrick Griffith ( Rundle Mountain CC ) 1:03:50.0
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy Racing ) 0:56:15.0 Tyler Boake ( Synergy Racing ) 0:56:15.0 Jayson Gillespie ( Synergy Racing ) 0:56:15.0 Craig Good ( Synergy Racing ) 0:56:15.0 Chris Hooper ( Synergy Racing ) 1:01:20.0 Brian Kullman ( Synergy Racing ) 1:10:28.0
Bob McKerrell ( CABC / Projekt One ) 0:57:52.0 Jason Frank ( CABC / Projekt One ) 0:57:52.0 Michael Fix ( CABC / Projekt One ) 0:57:52.0 Michael Meeres ( CABC / Projekt One ) 0:57:52.0 Ted Dahms ( Pedalhead Roadworks ) 0:57:52.0 Dave Jaeger ( CABC / Projekt One ) 1:02:01.0
Dylan Menard ( Juventus ) 0:58:04.0 David C Watson ( Velocity ) 0:58:04.0 Harley Desprey ( Velocity ) 0:58:04.0 Craig Horon ( Velocity ) 0:58:04.0 Ryan Lakhram ( Juventus ) 1:04:24.0 Brad VanderVeen ( Velocity ) 1:08:25.0
Peter Heppleston ( Edmonton Masters CC ) 1:00:03.0 Ed Heacock ( Edmonton Masters CC ) 1:00:03.0 Karl Schneider ( Edmonton Masters CC ) 1:00:03.0 Shane Frahm ( Edmonton Masters CC ) 1:00:03.0 Gordon Sustrik ( Edmonton Masters CC ) 1:09:26.0 Jim Yeske ( Edmonton Masters CC ) 1:10:05.0
Marie Kaplan ( Edm Masters CC ) 1:08:05.0 Barry Evans ( Edm Masters CC ) 1:08:05.0 Johnathan Billheimer ( Edm Masters CC ) 1:11:03.0 Linda d'Ilio ( Edm Masters CC ) 1:11:16.0 Marcy Dibbs ( Edm Masters CC ) 1:18:43.0 Graem Dibbs ( Edm Masters CC ) 1:18:43.0
Inform Cycle downtown criterium
Sunday, May 16, 2004
Canmore, Alberta
Category 3
Rene Regimbald ( Synergy ) 0:53:26
Robert Martens ( Blizzard ) 0:53:26
Sean Carter ( Snakebite Society ) 0:53:26
Joel Regimbald ( Synergy Racing ) 0:53:26
Steve Elm ( Bow Cycle ) 0:53:26
Brian Kullman ( Synergy Racing ) 0:53:26
Harley Desprey ( Velocity ) 0:53:26
Kevin Masters ( Pedalhead Roadworks ) 0:53:26
Marty Schaffer ( Bicisport ) 0:53:26
David C Watson ( Velocity ) 0:53:26
Christopher Harrison ( ERTC/Redbike ) 0:53:26
Frank Kovacs ( Snakebite Society ) 0:53:26
Craig Horon ( Velocity ) 0:53:26
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy Racing ) 0:53:26
Bikes on Broadway
May 22, 23, 24, 2004
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Category 3
Edward Emes ( ERTC ) TT 0:11:26 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:41:38
Graeme Thomson ( Bicisport ) TT 0:11:38 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:00
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy ) TT 0:11:43 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:05
Graham Rudge ( ERTC ) TT 0:11:44 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:06
Matt Walker ( Cycledelia ) TT 0:12:00 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:07
Curtis Earl ( Cycledelia ) TT 0:11:50 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:12
Greg Fulford ( Cycle-Logic ) TT 0:11:53 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:15
Scott Cranston ( Cycledelia ) TT 0:11:58 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:15
Mark Russell ( Cycledelia ) TT 0:12:08 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:30
David Watson ( Velocity ) TT 0:12:09 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:31
Harley Desprey ( Velocity ) TT 0:12:24 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:46
Jeff Hehn ( Cycledelia ) TT 0:12:26 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:42:48
Brad Kerr ( RCC ) TT 0:11:47 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:32:54 GC 2:42:54
Steve Martins ( Hardcore ) TT 0:13:01 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:43:23
Jay Hawranik ( VW /Kal Tire ) TT 0:12:07 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:33:12 GC 2:43:42
Kyle Halstead ( Cycledelia ) TT 0:12:48 CR 1:00:18 RR 1:31:59 GC 2:45:05
Tim Woodcock ( Woodcock Cycle ) TT 0:12:27 CR 0:58:23 RR 1:34:42 GC 2:45:27
Craig Horon ( Velocity ) TT 0:12:06 CR 0:59:40 RR 1:34:42 GC 2:46:28
Andrew Nichol ( Team Manitoba ) TT 0:11:48 CR 0:59:40 RR 1:35:18 GC 2:46:46
Paul Kowalzik ( RNR ) TT 0:12:55 CR 1:00:47 RR 1:39:03 GC 2:52:45
Dean Shaw ( Cycledelia ) TT 0:13:08 CR DNS RR DNS GC DNF
Robert Martens ( Blizzard ) TT 0:12:18 CR 0:58:23 RR DNF GC
Bikeshevik Grand Prix
May 29 & 30, 2004
Calgary, Alberta
Master Men
cp Walsh Synergy 41
Reid Dalgleish Synergy 35
Tim Caulfield* Juventus 17
Dave Embury* Juventus 11
David Corr Synergy 10
Norm Kalmanovitch* Bow Cycle/CMC 5
John Plant* Crankmasters 4
Rob Onodera* GS Campione 4
Roger Tetrault* Velocity 2
200m - Master Men
cp Walsh Synergy 12.22s
Tim Caulfield* Juventus 12.25s
Norm Kalmanovitch* Bow Cycle/CMC 13.04s
Reid Dalgleish Synergy 13.55s
Roger Tetrault* Velocity 13.61s
David Corr Synergy 13.76s
John Plant* Crankmasters 13.98s
Dave Embury* Juventus 14.42s
Stuart Harbottle* Bow Cycle/CMC 14.76s
Rob Onodera* GS Campione 16.25s
3000m - Master Men
Reid Dalgleish Synergy 4m03.9s
cp Walsh Synergy 4m09.7s
David Corr Synergy 4m18.5s
Dave Embury Juventus 4m21.5s
John Plant Crankmasters 4m30.2s
Rob Onodera GS Campione 4m32.8s
Stuart Harbottle Bow Cycle/CMC 4m35.3s
Norm Kalmanovitch Bow Cycle/CMC 4m38.9s
Roger Tetrault Velocity 4m41.3s
Master Men - Kilo
Tim Caulfield* Juventus 1m13.08s
cp Walsh Synergy 1m13.99s
Reid Dalgleish Synergy 1m15.56s
Dave Embury* Juventus 1m17.79s
David Corr Synergy 1m18.09s
John Plant* Crankmasters 1m20.63s
Rob Onodera* GS Campione 1m22.89s
Stuart Harbottle* Bow Cycle/CMC 1m24.73s
Roger Tetrault* Velocity 1m24.89s
POINTS RACE - U17 and Master Men
Eric Smith (U17) Bow Cycle/CMC
Reid Dalgleish (Mas) Synergy
Anthony Stadnyk (U17) Bicisport
cp Walsh (Mas) Synergy
Nic Andrichuk (U17) Bow Cycle/CMC
Spencer Smitheman (Mas) Juventus
David Corr (Mas) Synergy
Rob Onodera (Mas) GS Campione
Brian Robinson (U17) Bow Cycle/CMC
John Plant (Mas) Crankmasters
Stuart Harbottle (Mas) Bow Cycle/CMC
Dave Embury (Mas) Juventus
Paul MacDonald (U17) Sport Chek
Kasper Woiceshyn (U17) Bow Cycle/CMC
William Monteath (U17) Juventus
KEIREN - Master Men
cp Walsh Synergy
Reid Dalgleish Synergy
Dave Embury Juventus
Rob Onodera GS Campione
David Corr Synergy
John Plant Crankmasters
Stuart Harbottle Crankmasters
Pigeon lake road race
June 6, 2004
Pigeon Lake, Alberta
Category 3
Ryan Anderson ( Juventus ) 2h58m12s
Shawn Goulet ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman ) st
Mark MacDonald ( Sport Chek ) st
Graham Rudge ( ERTC/redbike ) st
Brian Kullman ( Synergy ) st
Trev Williams ( Revoluzione ) st
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy ) st
John Twells ( Pedalhead ) st
Shaun Adamson ( United Cycle ) st
Brian Bain ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) st
Sean Walsh ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) st
Ross Anderson ( Synergy ) st
Dave Watson ( Velocity ) st
Greg Fulford ( Cycle-Logic ) 2h58m29s
Mike Sarnecki ( United Cycle ) st
Rob MacCollum ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman ) 2h58m54s
Rene Regimbald ( Synergy ) st
Jeff Klassen ( ERTC/redbike ) 3h00m45s
Sean Carter ( Snakebite Society ) st
Paul Paetsch ( ERTC/redbike ) 3h01m47s
Jason Kincaid ( United Cycle ) st
Graeme Thomson ( bicisport ) 3h02m23s
Orest Massitti ( bicisport ) st
Glenn Murphy ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman ) 3h02m36s
Peter Toth ( ERTC/redbike ) 3h03m05s
Ryan Steenbergen ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) 3h04m28s
Steve Martins ( Hardcore ) 3h06m19s
Bob McKerrell ( CABC/Projekt 1 ) 3h12m32s
Dave Shylko ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman ) 3h13m18s
Wayne Giles ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) 3h15m50s
Michael Johns ( CABC/Projekt 1 ) 3h19m33s
Chris Harrison ( ERTC/redbike ) 3h19m40s
Curtis Roper ( Velocity ) dnf
Andy Achuff ( Pedalhead ) dnf
Craig Horon ( Velocity ) dnf
Alberta time trial series # 2
Sunday, June 13, 2004
Lethbridge, Alberta
Category 3
Phil Rayner ( Headwinds ) 1h02m04s
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy ) 1h05m48s
Jack VanDyk ( Terrascape ) 1h10m05s
Frank Kovacs ( Snakebite Society ) 1h10m32s
John Impey ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) dnf
Prairie Steamer Stage Race
June 19 & 20, 2004
Calgary/Cochrane, Alberta
Category 3
Ryan Anderson ( Juventus ) RR ( 1 ) 3:45:05 - HC ( 1 ) 0:02:25 - TT ( 4 ) 0:01:19 - GC 3:48:39
Shaun Adamson ( United Cycle ) RR ( 3 ) 3:45:14 - HC ( 3 ) 0:02:33 - TT ( 2 ) 0:01:18 - GC 3:49:01
Shawn Goulet ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman ) RR ( 6 ) 3:45:19 - HC ( 6 ) 0:02:36 - TT ( 5 ) 0:01:19 - GC 3:49:14
Jon Benson ( Manitoba ) RR ( 4 ) 3:45:17 - HC ( 5 ) 0:02:36 - TT ( 10 ) 0:01:23 - GC 3:49:16
Greg Fulford ( 9th Street Cycle-Logic ) RR ( 7 ) 3:45:24 - HC ( 4 ) 0:02:35 - TT ( 6 ) 0:01:20 - GC 3:49:19
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy ) RR ( 10 ) 3:45:35 - HC ( 9 ) 0:02:38 - TT ( 3 ) 0:01:18 - GC 3:49:31
Ross Anderson ( Synergy ) RR ( 9 ) 3:45:27 - HC ( 11 ) 0:02:45 - TT ( 8 ) 0:01:23 - GC 3:49:35
Graeme Thomsom ( bicisport ) RR ( 12 ) 4:02:44 - HC ( 2 ) 0:02:30 - TT ( 1 ) 0:01:15 - GC 4:06:29
Dan Bierd ( bicisport ) RR ( 15 ) 4:02:44 - HC ( 8 ) 0:02:37 - TT ( 7 ) 0:01:20 - GC 4:06:41
Jay Hawranik ( Manitoba ) RR ( 14 ) 4:02:53 - HC ( 7 ) 0:02:37 - TT ( 9 ) 0:01:23 - GC 4:06:53
Orest Massitti ( bicisport ) RR ( 13 ) 4:02:53 - HC ( 10 ) 0:02:44 - TT ( ) dns - GC
Michael Johns ( CABC/Projekt 1 ) RR ( 16 ) 4:04:41 - HC ( 12 ) 0:02:51 - TT ( ) dns - GC
Paul MacDonald ( United Cycle ) RR ( 2 ) 3:45:14 - HC ( dnf ) - TT ( ) - GC
David Watson ( Velocity ) RR ( 5 ) 3:45:18 - HC ( dnf ) - TT ( ) - GC
Jason Lapierre ( Independent ) RR ( 8 ) 3:45:26 - HC ( dnf ) - TT ( ) - GC
Brian Bain ( Bow Cycle/CMC ) RR ( 11 ) 3:49:45 - HC ( dnf ) - TT ( ) - GC
Robert Martens ( Blizzard ) RR ( dnf ) - HC ( dnf ) - TT ( ) - GC
Tim Ogryzlo ( Pedalhead ) RR ( dnf ) - HC ( dnf ) - TT ( ) - GC
Andrew Gage ( Eurotech ) RR ( dnf ) - HC ( dnf ) - TT ( ) - GC
Brian Kullman ( Synergy ) RR ( dnf ) - HC ( dnf ) - TT ( ) - GC
Bob McKerrell ( CABC/Projekt 1 ) RR ( dnf ) - HC ( dnf ) - TT ( ) - GC
ERTC Canada Day Criterium
Thursday July 1, 2004
Edmonton, Alberta
Category 1 & 2 & 3
Zach Bell ( Synergy )
Nick Jendzjowsky ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman )
Sean Barr ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman )
Mike Stickland ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman )
Reid Dalgleish ( Synergy )
Jere Hu ( ERTC/redbike )
Sean Walsh ( Team Alberta )
Nick Friesen ( Bianchi/The Bike Shop )
Chris Wright ( Juventus )
Shawn Goulet ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman )
Tim Ogryzlo ( Pedalhead )
Jeff Sparling ( Team Alberta )
Ryan Anderson ( Team Alberta )
Shaun Adamson ( Team Alberta )
Robert Simpson ( Juventus )
Guri Randhawa ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman )
Matt Walker ( Cycledelia )
John Twells ( Pedalhead )
Paul Macdonald ( United Cycle )
Dan Wood ( ERTC/redbike )
Harley Desprey ( Velocity )
Kevin Masters ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman )
Kamren Farr ( ERTC/redbike )
Dan Bradley ( ERTC/redbike )
Mark Fewster ( TRS Racing )
John-Chris Reid ( Oak Bay Cycle )
Dylan Snowdon ( Bianchi/The Bike Shop )
Joel Regimbald ( Synergy )
Felix Haspel ( Synergy )
Robert Martens ( Blizzard )
Chris Harrison ( ERTC/redbike )
Mike Sarnecki ( United Cycle )
Brian Kullman ( Synergy )
Ross Andersen ( Synergy )
Lloyd Kupchanko ( ERTC/redbike )
Craig Horon ( Velocity )
Brian Bain ( Team Alberta )
James Sparling ( Bow Cycle/CMC )
Mark Macdonald ( Sport Chek )
Daniel Skinner ( Oak Bay Cycle )
Graham Rudge ( ERTC/redbike )
Ted Emes ( ERTC/redbike )
Dave Ellis ( Pedalhead Road/Sleeman )
Jon Wood ( ERTC/redbike )
Curtis Roper ( Velocity )
Gregg Menard ( Juventus )
Chris Rubuliak ( Juventus )
Peter Toth ( ERTC/redbike )
Alberta team time trial series # 2
Saturday, July 3, 2004 Ride For Wild Roses
Cochrane, Alberta
Category 1&2
1 . Geoff Johns (Bianchi/The Bike Shop) Dylan Snowdon (Bianchi/The Bike Shop) 0:52:50
2 . Jere Hu (ERTC/redbike) Kevin Rokosh (ERTC/redbike) 0:53:58
3 . Reid Dalgleish (Synergy) Craig Good (Synergy) 0:54:57
4 . Edward Emes (ERTC/redbike) Graham Rudge (ERTC/redbike) 0:55:23
5 . Sean Huggins-Chan (bicisport) John Bence (bicisport) 0:58:04
Juventus Track Meet/Master's Provincial Championships
July 10/11, 2004
Edmonton, Alberta
Master's Omnium
Master Men A
200m Sprints Pursuits 500m/1000m Total
242 Craig Good Synergy 10 7 7 5 29 Gold
719 David Corr Synergy 7 10 7 24 Silver
292 Reid Dalgleish Synergy 3 5 10 3 21 Bronze
250 Kevin Rokosh ERTC 3 10 13
209 Sean Huggins-Chan Bicisport 2 5 2 9
331 Sean Carter Snakebite 5 1 2 8
625 Martin Kaefer Juventus 3 1 4
465 Greg Yanicki Bicisport 1 2 1 4
477 Nick Insole Juventus
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
I will work on updating all of this very soon.. But I wanted to put details about the Madonna/Toronto trip down quickly before I forget what happened. It was the most clear five days of my life, due to all the beer and late nights. But what a blast!
Thursday, July 15th. 2004: Arrived in Toronto at noon, took a $50 cab ride to the Royal York and checked in. Joe and I called people to let them know we'd arrived and had a nap. Went for dinner at Thai Thai on King St. E., and then to Woody's in the gay village to meet up with Bob. Had a few beers there and then went to the Barn/Stables until 3:30am or so.
Friday, July 16th: slept in, worked out in the hotel gym until Joe got up. Went for food, met up with Natasha and went shopping on Queen St., Kensington Market. Natasha went home, we went back to hotel to get ready to go out. Went for food at Zelda's, went to Lub with Erin, Natasha, met up with Jag and partied there until moving to Crews. Girls went home, we dumped Jag off at the Barn before heading back to the hotel.
Saturday, July 17th: slept in. Checked out and went for brunch at Royal York hotel restaurant, which ended up not having breakfast buffet b/c of huge conference. We ordered anyways. Moved our stuff to the girls' place, but had to get keys from Laura who was working at the gym nearby. Cleaned up, (where did we eat?) met up with Jag, Denis, Neal, Bob, Russell at Lub, and then went to Fly for the evening. Crazy time! Stephan Grondin was spinning. Stayed until couldn't keep awake anymore. Headed back to apartment and crashed.
Sunday, July 18th: Everyone slowly got up. We took the girls for brunch at Bumpkin's. Very good. Got some beer and went back to apt after checking out Church St. Street Fair. Not overly exciting. Got ready for the concert and met up with Jag, Neal, Denis at BCE Place Market for food. Headed to Air Canada Centre, bought tour merchandise, settled in. Concert started 45 minutes late, but what a show! Madonna was awesome. Only wish we could've had (or afforded) better seats, but video screens and binoculars did the trick. Two thumbs up. The entire gang headed to 5ive afterwards. We met Bob on the corner of Yonge and St. Joseph. He had managed to get Joe and I on the guest list on Thursday night and tonight he managed to get Jag, Denis and Neal in as well without paying cover. He's awesome. I finally got to meet Bob's brother, who is co-owner of 5ive. The crowd was pretty sparse at the start, but the house was very funky and by the end of the night, the party was in full swing. There were a lot of Madonna concert people there as well, as we could tell since there was a big cheer from the crowd everytime the DJ threw on another Madonna remix. We had a lot of fun, Jag "I'm so glad I'm gay!" Bilkhu found another playdate for the evening and everything was right with the world for a few hours.
Monday, July 19th: I had to get a new bank card in the morning since I lost my last one at Fly on Saturday. Got back to the apt and hung around until Joe was ready. Went to Eggstacy for brunch, went back to apt and chilled. Erin and Natasha gave us a ride to the airport around 8:30, however our 10pm flight was delayed until 11:30 so we had a lot of hanging around to do. Finally got back to Calgary at 1:30 am local time on Tuesday.
Awesome whirlwind $$$ trip!
Thursday, July 15th. 2004: Arrived in Toronto at noon, took a $50 cab ride to the Royal York and checked in. Joe and I called people to let them know we'd arrived and had a nap. Went for dinner at Thai Thai on King St. E., and then to Woody's in the gay village to meet up with Bob. Had a few beers there and then went to the Barn/Stables until 3:30am or so.
Friday, July 16th: slept in, worked out in the hotel gym until Joe got up. Went for food, met up with Natasha and went shopping on Queen St., Kensington Market. Natasha went home, we went back to hotel to get ready to go out. Went for food at Zelda's, went to Lub with Erin, Natasha, met up with Jag and partied there until moving to Crews. Girls went home, we dumped Jag off at the Barn before heading back to the hotel.
Saturday, July 17th: slept in. Checked out and went for brunch at Royal York hotel restaurant, which ended up not having breakfast buffet b/c of huge conference. We ordered anyways. Moved our stuff to the girls' place, but had to get keys from Laura who was working at the gym nearby. Cleaned up, (where did we eat?) met up with Jag, Denis, Neal, Bob, Russell at Lub, and then went to Fly for the evening. Crazy time! Stephan Grondin was spinning. Stayed until couldn't keep awake anymore. Headed back to apartment and crashed.
Sunday, July 18th: Everyone slowly got up. We took the girls for brunch at Bumpkin's. Very good. Got some beer and went back to apt after checking out Church St. Street Fair. Not overly exciting. Got ready for the concert and met up with Jag, Neal, Denis at BCE Place Market for food. Headed to Air Canada Centre, bought tour merchandise, settled in. Concert started 45 minutes late, but what a show! Madonna was awesome. Only wish we could've had (or afforded) better seats, but video screens and binoculars did the trick. Two thumbs up. The entire gang headed to 5ive afterwards. We met Bob on the corner of Yonge and St. Joseph. He had managed to get Joe and I on the guest list on Thursday night and tonight he managed to get Jag, Denis and Neal in as well without paying cover. He's awesome. I finally got to meet Bob's brother, who is co-owner of 5ive. The crowd was pretty sparse at the start, but the house was very funky and by the end of the night, the party was in full swing. There were a lot of Madonna concert people there as well, as we could tell since there was a big cheer from the crowd everytime the DJ threw on another Madonna remix. We had a lot of fun, Jag "I'm so glad I'm gay!" Bilkhu found another playdate for the evening and everything was right with the world for a few hours.
Monday, July 19th: I had to get a new bank card in the morning since I lost my last one at Fly on Saturday. Got back to the apt and hung around until Joe was ready. Went to Eggstacy for brunch, went back to apt and chilled. Erin and Natasha gave us a ride to the airport around 8:30, however our 10pm flight was delayed until 11:30 so we had a lot of hanging around to do. Finally got back to Calgary at 1:30 am local time on Tuesday.
Awesome whirlwind $$$ trip!
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
The order from Hauteng.de arrived today. Three rubber masks and two bondage balloons. I stretched out the transparent balloon in the shower with warm water, lubed up and hopped in. I like these balloons much better than the d-v8 ones, for about a quarter of the price. I ordered the masks in medium and they are still too big. Unfortunately the black balloon burst during the first attempt to enter (just like the first balloon I received) and the transparent one burst on second entry while trying to close up the gap on the neck entry from behind. Recommend having Joe help to get in. May need to devise some vacuumization technique with a smaller hose from a less intense source than the vacuum cleaner - possibly a bike pump? I will order more balloons soon - Hautengs customer service was great, the prices are good and the shipping was very quick. I'm liking the masks, but I may order one or two more in size small for a snug mummified fit when intending to do a two or three hour session in bondage in the fall.
Rubber mummies rule!
Rubber mummies rule!
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