Funding the future

I posted a photo of me in tie from a week or so ago... that was my first job interview in oh, about, say... 32 years? It's the first job I submitted my resumé to. I did follow that up with submitting my resumé to one more position late last week.

So...
I heard today they want me to come work for them. It looks like I'll be a little busier again. It seems one interview was enough, I suspect I'm selling myself short and they're getting a good deal. Works out ok both ways though, I think.

My start date is March 11, for what begins as a 6 month contract. When I first considered this I had hoped the start of this would have been earlier to not conflict with the summer schedule of bike races, it is what it is. And I was very upfront about my need to take long weekends and some longer trips that would be my personal time. One of the good things about having a calendar that goes out 9 months or so is that it's easy to share and plan around it. I did drop a few of the longer trips including one that would have taken me to Banff and back. Still some great events on my calendar though, no regrets. Well, no big regrets.

While it means I won't spend as much time travelling this year as I had been hoping to it does mean I'll have funds to make some more improvements to my camper. And if this works out I'll have to see about making an arrangement that includes more "away" time for the future. I have a lot of things I want to do...

The past couple of years have been a very reflective space, I like what I've learned about myself and where I fit into the world. Of course I look forward to learning more.

A time and space to THINK and rejuvenate.
Thanks for that Larry (and I like the latest RoadHaus ramblings, take the time to give them a read!)

Say hello to Stumpy

Ever since Andrea and I started mountain biking in places that actually had mountains (like Pisgah or the Kingdom Trails) I've felt like my old Grey Gary (a Gary Fisher HiFi Plus) wasn't the right bike for the big descents and trails. It's been a great bike to me, never let me down including the month it spent in New Zealand. But Grey will be up for sale shortly, I'll be listing it on Kijij or Craigslist and someone else will get to enjoy riding it.

And the only reason I'm parting with Grey is because I have a new bike for 2013. It took me a while to decide on which bike I wanted, there are a lot of great bikes out there from a lot of small and large companies. Key things I wanted were for it to be a full-suspension 29er and that it had to have at least 120mm travel front and back. Those two criteria helped narrow it down. Eventually I picked the FSR Stumpjumper 29 from Specialized. I've never owned a Specialized before, it's not because I haven't liked them though. Their road and mountain bikes are used at  the top levels of the sport and the designs are outstanding.

My Stumpy (I'm sure I'll come up with a better name once I spend some time riding) is an aluminum frame, has the thru-axles that are becoming standard on a lot of mountain bikes, 130mm of travel front and back, a 2x10 drivetrain that has a wider range than my older 3x9 and some great big discs for braking on the descents.  Brand new and shiny, looks great in gloss black and red. See for yourself...

And if you're wondering about the green sign in the background it was a gift from Andrea's dad and step-mother. I am thinking I might turn it into a table for in the camper. it reads "Expert Mountain Bikes Only".

A different look

My "work clothes" have changed quite a bit in the past 2 years (yes, it has been almost that long) so it was a little odd to get back into a previous look yesterday. I did though. Here, you can see for yourself... a shot from earlier this month taken in Louisville KY and another from yesterday.

2013-02-12

2013-02-02 (courtesy Scott Enns)

Paris-Ancaster prep

In addition to the CX Worlds, my Jan/Feb has been filled with thoughts of a Paris-Roubaix tribute race held up here for what will be 20 years this coming April. Paris-Ancaster (known as P2A or P-A) has been the start of the season for a lot of cyclists in southern Ontario for years and the event shows no signs of slowing down.

I did an interview with Tim Farrar (one of the original 3 who made it happen) in late January before heading down to Louisville KY. That skype conversation generated an online version and another print article that will show up in the Toronto International Bike Show guide.

Then I followed that up with an interview and gallery at the launch of the "How To Win Paris-Ancaster" online video series that Jason Zhu pulled together (featuring Zhu, Lori Steuart and Mike Garrigan).

Paris-Ancaster is a great event, it's one I look forward to and dread all at the same time. It's been my first race of the season for years now and because it's so early the conditions are totally unpredictable. It's always epic. I used to love the Squeezer as a season closer, that event was a perfect bookend to P-A taking place in late September and following a similar format. Sadly the Squeezer stopped happening. Happily P-A hasn't!

Paris-Roubaix cobbles

Forest of Arenberg

Our first P-A

So here are some pics and links about what I think of Paris-Ancaster, including the recent coverage I've done.

Our first P-A

And http://pedalmag.com/?p=182373&c

A change of pace

Thanks to a friend I've gotten to know through the cycling community I had the pleasure of covering a Chinese New Years event. I very much enjoyed it!

I was surprised to find that the coverage I need to provide wasn't much different than the cycling races I normally shoot. And the media scrums were just as they are in the cycling world. Loved it. So here are a couple of shots, I'll add links to what gets published elseswhere.

A Canadian CX World Champion

I had the pleasure of interviewing a number of people over the course of the week, this one is my personal favourite. Jim Laird won Canada's only Rainbow Jersey at the CX worlds... in the Masters 60-64 category.

I thought that he's a really nice guy when I met him. But you can decide that for yourself.

Louisville2013: wrapping it up

I'm not quite done sorting photos (about 4500 from today) but I've gotten the elite men and women galleries so I'll take care of the Junior and U23 tomorrow. I'm too tired to be capable of doing a good job, 14 hours today after a string of Masters events has me run down.

Still... here are a couple of photos I didn't use from the galleries I put together today. Hope you like them, stay tuned for more. And yes; the weather played a part in the day again. Not as dramatically as it had the day before, still a factor though. The organizers did a great job keeping the river at bay long enough.

Mike Garrigan

Huge crowds, boisterous fans. And Jonathan Page in the middle of it all

Emily Batty

Sven Nys ahead of Klass Vantornout (and about 10,000 fans)

Every Day Seems to be Adventure Filled Here in Louisville

I'll file a report from today when I have time. Meanwhile...

The organizers and the UCI have taken drastic measure due to impending flood of the venue for CX Worlds. Here's a link to the UCI communique.

Seems the river will rise during the night on Saturday beyond what they feel they can safely hold back despite extensive measures with sandbags and barricades. The major cycling news feeds can give you all the details you need to know but the net is this:

Everything is happening on Saturday. So don't sleep in, the riders will be on the course starting at 8:30 and you'll want to check the coverage changes on the net too.
The schedule:

It also means I get to head back to T.O. on Sunday instead of Monday... that part I'll like. Gonna be a hectic day tomorrow though.