2010 has been one crazy ride!

I haven't written a blog in ages and so much has gone on. I've taken on a new job, had an amazing summer of training on my bike and competing in triathlons, been hiking all around Vancouver and even completed an insane one-day 14 hour total body exhaustion hike! So here we go...

Things in life happen for a reason - I'm a strong believer in that. I called up a friend to meet for coffee, show him my photos from travelling in Asia and the next thing I know, I've been offered an interview with someone in his company for a very coveted job. I went through the ranks of those applying for and got myself a great job, I'm even thinking career! I now work at TD Waterhouse as a Developing Investment Advisor. I say 'Developing" as it's a 3-year program training new hires to become a fully accredited investment advisor. Currently I'm half way through a 90-day training program, after which I begin building my books and acquiring assets to manage. I have always taken a keen interest in business and have loved being the centre of attention in social events so this position forces me to do both - and I will. Having passed my Canadian Securities Course and compliance programs, I am currently enrolled in Hedge Fund Management and BC Life Insurance courses, furthering my knowledge and ability to do the very best for my clients.

Training for triathlons this year has been totally awesome. With a few missed opportunities to compete in a few races, I only manged two all season. I did the North Shore sprint tri, finishing with a respectable time of 1:08 then trained very hard for my race of the season in Penticton, completing it in a personal best time of 2:26 (Olympic distance). What made that race so awesome was the support crew cheering me on. At almost every turn on the run, friends were rooting me on and on the bike course I would pass people I knew wishing them luck and then leave them in my dust!! haha!

The rest of my training this summer has been without a doubt the best times of my life. There were so many people around me to have fun with and so many good vibes always in the air, how could one not love getting on the bike or running in the trails for fun...

So here we go with the creme-de-la-creme of one day events... ok, it's not an ultra marathon or an ironman, but I'm working up to one of those... My buddy Ashley and I decided last year to 'up the ante' on our triple crown challenge to something insane this go around. On August 2nd, we set out at 6am from Park Royal and rode our bikes up Mount Seymour. At the top, we were met by Ashley's girlfriend and another friend to ditch the bikes and change into hiking gear. From there we all hiked to the 3rd peak of Seymour. Making our way back to the bikes, we saddled up and headed out to Cypress. The ride up Cypress Mountain was tough and we both could feel the grind coming before us. To the top we went and again, set out on foot to the peak of Mt. Strachan. A few photos later and a couple of high fives, we needed to high tail it to Grouse before the Grind gates closed at 7:30pm! Arriving by 7pm, we had done it - all we needed to do then was climb up a little trail. Bah... the Grind never felt so long in my life! We all slogged it up there and arrived at the top. We were pooped! All in all an amazing day with some great people. Next year is part 3 - what will be set out to do...?

Now with the summer wrapping up, a new chapter in my life is beginning. On September 1-5, I am once again riding my bike with the Cyclebetes team across BC. I am raising money for the ride and have recieved some great support from family and friends. This year's ride has more meaning that last year as I have been able to see exactly how diabetics live daily rather than just reading about it before last year's ride. They truely are inspirational people and the Cyclebetes group embraces that. We finish the ride in Cadboro Bay on September 5th and have a comunity ride in North Vancouver on September 4th. We're hoping for as many people as possible to come out and join in!

I have learned so much this year about myself, through challenges, emotions, setbacks and accomplishments and want thank those around me who have shared it. As I begin my professional career I will remind myself to take a step back, a moment out of each day, just to have a deep breath and enjoy what's going on! Carpe Diem.

Cyclebetes Fundraiser - ode to Speed Theory!

Last weekend I set things up at Speed Theory (amazing bike shop in Vancouver on 4th ave at Trafalger) and spun on my bike from 10:00am - 5:00pm to raise money for my Cyclebetes adventure this year. The day started off on a great note with my awesome girlfriend bringing two tupperware containers full of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies to entice passer-byes to come on over.

Once set up was done and the doors were open, I was on my bike spinning away at a constant 60 cadence. 60 is a very slow pace however when you're keeping it constant for 7 hours it begins to play games with your body!  One of Speed Theory's Pro Riders, Facundo, spun with me for 4 hours! He did 3 of those at 93-98 rpm, putting me to shame. Nicole also got onto her bike, post 2 hour ride, for one more hour. Rob Herron, aka - The Door Man, bucked up and rode with me for an hour as well. He rode with me 2 weeks ago at Cap Mall and rocked it.

People were really supportive throughout the day - I gotta give MAJOR props to the team at Speed Theory as they donated over $100 right at the start. They collected this money from running some spin classes over the past few weeks, charging $2 per person on a drop in basis. Overall, their contribution helped out big time.

People were dropping huge coin throughout the day. Mostly $10's and $20's and it stayed constant for the whole day bringing my grand total for the day to $365!

Thanks to all those that helped out and supported my ride that day making for a fun and supportive fundraiser.

Cyclebetes Capilano Mall & Speed Theory Fundraisers

To those that followed me last year, and those who are new to the scene this year, Cyclebetes 2010 is up and rolling bigger, stronger and with more people in 2010!

I have planned 2 fundraising bike rides over the next 2 weeks to reach my goal of raising $2500 towards Juvenile Diabetes. So far I've had a positive response on these events but have lacked funds coming in. Here are the details for both bike rides:

Saturday, March 6th - 9:30am - 5:00pm - Capilano Mall
Located in the North East corner of Cap Mall, I will have lots of Cyclebetes signage set up, promotions from local stores and support from family and friends riding along side me all day long. This ride will engage as many of my North Shore friends and raise community awareness for our September 4th community Cyclebetes bike ride!

Saturday, March 13th - 10:00am - 5:00pm - Speed Theory Bike Shop - Vancouver
Speed Theory has jumped on board as a huge supporter of my Cyclebetes ride. On the 13th I will be riding all day long inside their store with support from other avid cyclists. The goal for this ride is to bring in new customers to their shop and show off the great gear and people inside! For the past year, Speed Theory has helped me SO much with all sorts of biking needs so if I can get YOU into their store so they can do the same for you then it's a match well made!

It'd be great to hear back from you if you're able to make it to either ride. You're more than welcome to jump onto a bike and ride with me at either location and I encourrage that you do so.

For more details on the entire Cyclebetes event and to support me in any way, check out:

http://jdrfca.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&eventID=803&participantID=44656 

See you on the bikes!!