Bonus Update From MSA...

I've had time relaxing in my camper tonight so I've put this 2 segment video together... I suspect the weather today will be a factor for the racing all weekend as the water will continue to flow down from the mountain. And I know the sound of the weed whackers will be replaced by blaring music soon :)

So this will be my last blog update for a few days :)

It's Nice To Be Back

Back at Mont Sainte Anne, back to shooting another big event, back to camping. And back on the road after Monday's misstep.

Back to camping in a parking lot too! I had arranged camping in advance with the media relations person and she made sure things were taken care of. Unfortunately the camping area hadn't been officially opened yet so the instructions weren't relayed. I was first directed into the team area, which I was ok with even though it meant being in the middle of everything. That didn't last long, I was directed to where the camping would be once it was set up. I moved myself over to the far edge where there was a little shade and grass.

My first attempt at setting up.

Looking down from the course

As for the belt that broke on Monday, it's doing fine and I finally found a place to get a replacement. So I ordered two which I just picked up this morning. They are now packed away in my parts bag. When I got back from this drive, I moved myself a little further from the hydro lines and course. But only a little.

Quantity 2

All set up, no driving before Monday

This will likely be my last blog entry until the racing is done but I'll be publishing photos of the event to PedalMag.com so look there for updates over the weekend. Here's a new section of the course, one of several that make this a very demanding course despite being only 4 KM long.

What A Difference A Day Makes

I went to bed last night a little more relaxed than I had been earlier in the evening. Might have been the company; sitting around a kitchen table with Greg and Frank shooting the breeze was fun. Then again it might have been the tasty beer along with some 12 year old Aberfeldy scotch.

The stars were out in a nice clear sky when I headed to the camper for the night. And the sun was shining brightly to wake me up. Rita and Frank were up already and we all sat around the same table having coffee, raisin bread and other treats to start the day. A BIG thanks to Rita for the hospitality (and the hug she sent me off with!).

After Greg got on the road to start his day, Frank and I got down to the business of getting the new belt on. The middle pulley is a really odd set-up because neither of the parts it connects to can be moved in order to adjust the tension. So VW uses a split pulley with 3 shims that widen the gap for a new belt or make it narrow for one that's stretched. It's awkward to put it all back together. Then again it was tough to get it all apart... there's no way I could have done it at the side of the 401 in the rain yesterday so it confirmed getting a tow to Frank's was the right thing to do.

An hour later we were all done including fiddling with the house battery to see why it's not charging properly. Then on the road for me!

My first stop was at a Napa auto parts store to see if I could find a replacement spare belt. No such luck, they didn't have anything even close in stock. I know there's a VW shop in Beaupré which is where I'm headed tomorrow so I'll drop in there to see if they have or can get me one.

The day was delightfully uneventful. Lots of sunshine and pretty sights (the south shore drive has a mix of mountains, lakes and the St. Lawrence). Frank told me about a new toll highway Autoroute 30) that skirts Montreal completely, what a difference that made!

So here I am, camped in the middle of a bunch of huge RVs but with a lovely little spot above some rapids on a river. I expect the sound of that will lull me to sleep later. And then it's off to MSA tomorrow... on schedule despite the detour.

My spot in the Etchemin campground, solar panel in action

A view of the river that's through the trees

Meanwhile, in more important news...
Catharine Pendrel won the Commonwealth Games women's MTB race and Emily Batty finished 2nd. I look forward to seeing them in action this weekend at Mont Sainte Anne!

This is a photo Cycling Canada published to FaceBook.

Photo Credit: Cycling Canada

Off To A Rough Start

I'm headed to a couple of races I really enjoy, I've covered these since before having my Westy and the photos I have include the first World Cup victory by Geoff Kabush when he crossed the line in a very muddy race at Bromont.
That race is no more (which is a shame, it's a great venue) but Mont Sainte Anne is about to have their 24th and Windham is back this year after failing to be able to pull it all together for 2013. Like Windham I was also a no-show in 2013 as my injury kept me from going.

I think I'm still feeling a little Windham effect as I make my way east on this trip though... for the first time in years I've had to pull off to the side of the road with a problem. I generally try to make sure things are all sorted out in advance... preventative maintenance. This one caught me by surprise. Fortunately I recognized the symptoms and shut off the engine as quickly as I could and got off the major highway safely (at least as safe as the gravel shoulder is).

Of course it was raining. I moved all the gear off the rear engine compartment and got my rain gear on (I'm headed for some bike races that tend to be either dry and dusty or wet and messy so I came prepared). When I looked in on the engine compartment I saw a missing belt (from the drive shaft to the water pump). There were some signs that coolant had escaped but not too badly. The supply reservoir was full (it shouldn't be) but other than the missing belt it looked ok. Just not a nice place to try to learn a new technique... the pully for that belt is a rather unique (and possibly archaic?) design.

Seeing where I was, I opted to go to a mechanic I know and trust. And one I call a friend too. We'll sort it out in the morning and I expect to be back on the road close to my planned schedule. I have a spare belt to replace the one that broke, it's just a matter of getting it back in place and then making sure the cooling system is working as it should.

Thank you CAA!

An evening of unplanned driveway camping

The Canadian National MTB Championship Course

I went up to Hardwood Hills to shoot this about a week ago, it's finally online at PedalMag.com so I'm adding a direct link to it here as well.

I also spent some time with race organizer Glenn Meeuwisse talking about the changes and the thinking behind them.

Air Time

I think everyone who knows me is very aware of which side of a camera I prefer to be on... every now and then something comes along that gets me on the other side of my spot. Outside of my comfort zone too, usually.

Today was one of those days. I was asked earlier in the week to do a short segment on CTV's Canada AM show about bikes and bike technology. I said I was good with that and so it all got set up for this morning (Friday). They had a nice selection of bikes but not enough time to do any one of them justice. Still... it's a major media outlet and they wanted to talk bikes! I'd say that's a good day.

You can judge for yourself since they made it available on their website. And for the record, two comments:
1. These 5 bikes weren't my picks. They're good bikes though and I wouldn't knock any of them!
2. The comment about going to a local bike shop didn't make it into the live discussion but it's important. Not only will it be a "shop local" economic advantage, the relationship you build up with your LBS is invaluable. Do it!
And I guess there's a 3rd: I give BionX full marks for an awesome product, I am also fully aware of the conflict eBikes introduce... so I made a point of not talking about that aspect. Don't think for a second I'm unaware of it though! They have a place, how they fit in properly and comfortably hasn't been sorted out yet though.

So here's their link...
http://canadaam.ctvnews.ca/5-of-the-best-bikes-1.1909230

And a frame I grabbed from the wrap-up...

Here are the bikes, without any people obstructing the view. The link above has links for the specs on most of them.

#MariposaLive

Well... recorded live action :)

I spent a little time today putting together a few videos from the weekend. I'm not done going through all of the footage yet but I've run out of time for the moment so I'll published what I have gotten to so far.

The one I personally like is the time-lapse I did with the GoPro on top of or inside the front window of my camper... I think the end result works out very well for an experiment. Have a look and let me know what you think.

I also put up a couple of videos from the Elephant Revival performance. I really love the sound of Bonnie Paine's voice. And her saw blade playing... wow!
The audio on these don't do justice to how good they are, think of these as teasers and then go buy their music. I didn't bring my Rode mic so there is a really tinny tone to them from the built-in mic on my Canon 7D. The first video is Remembering A Beginning and the second is Ring Around The Moon.

Mariposa 2014 - Day 3

The weekend has flown by all too quickly! The weather has been awesome all weekend once we got past the cool Thursday afternoon / eve. It looks like it might be turning tonight though and the forecast has the lightning bolt icon attached to it. We have to hit the road before the big finale (Rosanne Cash) as Andrea has to get up early for work tomorrow. So I'm posting my pics from before tonight's main stage has even started. It's been a stellar weekend and the afternoon's concerts and workshops were no exception.

I'll write up more about the weekend now that I'm home. Meanwhile here are a few photos from today...

JoJo Worthington

Ariana Gillis

Birds of Chicago

Aviva

AroarA

Pacific Curls from New Zealand

The Harpoonist

And The Axe Murderer

Mariposa 2014 - Day 2

All I can say is that the second day was even better than the first, which had been amazing.

It started with lots of coffee and socializing. Comparing notes from the day before and talking about what sets, acts and bands we all liked. Then we had a request from the organizers for a #BusesAtMariposa group photo. Look for that under the #MariposaLive hashtag.

And that was followed by a visit from @_SockMonkeyJack (look for him on Twitter). Here's a shot from the video interview while he was perched up on Babe

Sock Monkey Jack

As for the music... delicious! The highlight was definitely having Gordon Lightfoot make a couple of appearances.

Lightfoot

Lightfoot

Lightfoot

Lightfoot

Then there were the scheduled performers. The two I liked best were Ariana (who I've seen a few times) and Elephant Revival (who were new to me and amazing to see on the main stage).

Ariana Gillis

Ariana Gillis

Elephant Revival

Elephant Revival

And then there was the finalé which was Hydra (which includes Feist).

Hydra

Mariposa 2014 - Day 1

This music festival started over 50 years ago and I've never been to it. When it started, people like Gordon Lightfoot and Bob Dylan were just finding their stride. And I'll be the first to admit that I don't know nearly enough about the who's and what's that make up the history of the festival. You can check out the Mariposa Festival archive which has lots of great info though!

I do know it's great that it's back in Orillia which is where it started. And I know I'm thrilled to be here! Finally.

Andrea and I arrived mid-afternoon on Thursday as part of the "Buses @ Mariposa" group. Our friend Doug and his wife Linda had invested some time and energy in spreading the word to get more buses and then working with the organizers to secure a nice spot for us all to camp. It worked big-time! And of course Greg came through with some awesome signs! That's Babe at the far end of the Way (which is very close to the venue entrance).

Westfalia Way got started @ SVFF in 2012

Now that Friday is done most, if not all, of the buses are here so I expect to know tomorrow what the count is. My guess is between 30 & 40.

The day was fun... with the music starting after 5pm we had lots of time to socialize and unwind. And then lots of time listening to great music. I took a few photos and here are few split into two buckets...

Musicians

Fans

Stretching A Little

I've said all along that my focus is cycling, that combining my passions of photography and cycling is central to the thought of what I'm interested in.

Well...
Then writing came along. Still with a cycling focus but a big step out of my comfort zone (Andrea is my comma splice cop! I need one as I abuse that all the time). So I thought perhaps I should see if other photo opportunities exist and decided to follow through on a local thing...

The 2014 FIFA Women's World Championship takes place in and around Toronto this year. I have my AIPS credentials (Sports Media) so maybe I could attend. I asked...

Dear FIFA Media Channel User,
We confirm that you have been given access to the FIFA Media Channel 

Yup the sound of a door opening! It will be interesting to see where this goes, I don't have high expectations but it's a very interesting venue. And no, I don't want to discuss either FIFA or the UCI... governing bodies and athletes as well as the people who love the sport are miles apart in both arenas. Sadly.

Well, that happened and I like that a door opened a little wider. With the Toronto2015 Pan-Am games coming up it feels good to stretch my wings. I expect that photographing different sports is easier than writing about them... we'll see. I do know that having an intimate knowledge of the athletes and participants is crucial to making it work. So we'll see about that.

I also like having the opportunity to capture the upcoming Canadian MTB Championships!

This event was the first one I dared go to last year, the first day out I covered it without even using a neck brace despite it only being a week or so since being free of my halo. I learned my lesson and was more cautious the next day. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can deliver this year now that I'm more active and mobile!

The decisive moment in the 2013 Nat's...

I'll resist using any hashtag for all of this, and simply say:
Exciting!