Racing Overload!

Jamie's bar-cam with his boy Connor. Rare footage of me actually passing someone on a MTB!

I love the bike - end of story. While cyclocross has become my passion, I just love all types of riding. But it's racing that's the real spice that makes the whole love affair sizzle, and over the past weeks I dove back in hard-core into every type of bike racing around.
First up last Thursday was the Larkinville crit series in downtown Buffalo, probably my first criterium since 2001 Nationals! Next up was my return to road racing at the KW Classic in Kitchener Sunday, my first Ontario race since the KW in 2009. All fun and games until I dropped my chain at the base of the big hill about the same time that the torrential rain started!
Then this past Tuesday, did probably my hardest club race that I can remember. Flat course but we were just killing it all day (OK part of it was my fault for hammering and attacking). So hard that I woke up sore everywhere like I was a rugby tackle dummy. That was all just a prelude for my 3rd comeback of the week - this time mountain bike racing and the local Laura Secord series put on by Liberty! Bicycles. Awesome AWESOME fun all around!

Dr. Freeze and the Freezies!

"Freezies" work for Freezies, apparently...Jacob works on the shoot's storyboard...

A video of what happens inside the lab of a mad scientist!

Last fall we shot an episode of "Science Scoops" for Virtual Researchers on Call, a group producing news and videos for grade school kids about the fun and importance of science. Debbie had the great idea of "if it's meant for grade schoolers, then why not have the boys interview you?" Here's the result that went live on YouTube today!

Josh Tiessen - Shipwrecked Treasure

Saturday June 1, Zachary and I went to Stoney Creek for the Stoney Creek Artists Stroll event and also the Battle of Stoney Creek (200th anniversary) re-enactment. For the artist stroll, we went to visit Josh Tiessen at his studio. What a terrific artist and great young man - all of 17 and already making a great career for himself as a painter. He was also homeschooled and really appreciated the chance to have the ability to focus on his passion and talent for art - and what talent it is.
His paintings are really something, and he's had a piece exhibited at the National Art Gallery in Ottawa along with being mentored by renowned artist Robert Bateman. I bought a giclee print of his "Shipwrecked Treasure" for Debbie and I to celebrate our upcoming anniversary and to reflect our Nova Scotian heritage. Here's Zach with Josh and the original.

The Mint

Now the mint in Ottawa is only used used for collectors coins, and investment coins, but it used to make all of the coins that we used. Now all of the regular coins are made at the mint in Winnipeg. We went to the Mint while we were in Ottawa, and we learned the worth of gold and silver. Silver is worth $23.27 CDN per ounce, and gold is worth $1433.40 CDN per ounce. We took a tour, so we got to see the whole process of making coins. At the mint we bought a Silver coin of an Arctic Fox (we each got one). They we 20 for 20, so they cost $20 and are worth $20.

The mint also makes some of the medals we use in Canada. They made all the medals for the Vancouver Olympics (which you can see on the left), one thing that makes them interesting besides their strange shape, is that they all came with a scarf, The scarf had a picture of an Orca (Olympics) or a Raven (Parolympics) on it. If you put all the medals together, you can make the picture on the scarf with them. So all the athletes that won a medal at the Vancouver Winter games can find their part of the medal on the scarf they got with it.

These are 2 pictures of the front gate at the Mint, with the mint logo.

Me and Jacob lifting a real GOLD bar!!!

Food in Ottawa

When we were in Ottawa, we decided to go to zak's for dinner on our first night.

Me and Scott decided to split the Zac Attack Special (shown above) with a side of poutine.

And of course here is me trying to fit the burger in my mouth.

On the last day we decided to get Beaver tails before we left, and here is Jacob with his.

Jacob got half Nutella and half butter maple.

Here I am with mine!

Mine was half Scor and half oreo.