Hawaii Pictures

Click to view photo's

The past few months have been super hectic; living in Vancouver and going to school. I had a quick trip to Hawaii in October for the ITU Triathlon World Championships and finally I have had some time to post some of my trip photos other than my race ones. I tried to cram as much sun, surf and racing in as possible during my short four-day stay on Oahu. I look back now and it seems like the trip never even happened. Over a year of intense training got me to the World Championships and I guess it was now or never, this trip was a celebration of my hard work to have consistant goals and behaviour!

Granville Island Public Market

If you are thinking of doing something stupid always read the internet first to see if someone has done it first and what happened! Chemistry 121

While reading a textbook of chemistry, I came upon the statement "nitric acid acts upon copper." I was getting tired of reading such absurd stuff and I determined to see what this meant. Copper was more or less familiar to me, I could easily get my hands on it in the Chem. supply room. I had seen a bottle marked "nitric acid" on a table in the supply room, however I did not know its molarity, but I was getting on and likely to learn. The spirit of adventure was upon me. Having nitric acid and copper, I had only to learn what the words "act upon" meant. Then the statement, "nitric acid acts upon copper," would be something more than mere words.

All was still. In the interest of knowledge, I put one the thin copper disks on the table; opened the bottle marked "nitric acid;" poured some of the liquid on the copper; and prepared to make an observation.

But what was this wonderful thing which I beheld? The copper disks was already changed, and it was no small change either. A greenish-blue liquid foamed and fumed over the copper and over the table. The air in the small room of the performance became dark red. A great coloured cloud arose. This was disagreeable and suffocating - how should I stop this? I tried to get rid of the objectionable mess by picking it up and throwing into a fume hood, which I had meanwhile opened. I learned another fact -nitric acid not only acts upon copper but it acts upon fingers. The pain led to another unpremeditated experiment. I drew my fingers across my lab coat and another fact was discovered. Nitric acid also acts upon cotton. Taking everything into consideration, that was the most impressive experiment, and, relatively, probably the most costly experiment I have ever performed. Plainly the only way to learn about it was to see its results, to experiment.

Saturday is the last day the Bamff Mountain Film Festival is in Vancouver and will be one of the last times to ever be in the Ridge Theater before it is torn down. The Bamff Mountain Film festival has some of the best mountain cinematography anywhere in the world. There are amazing films ranging from mountaineering to ice and rock climbing to wildlife and environmental issues, as well as mountain sports such as skiing, kayaking, snowboarding. Come join Evan and I tomorrow night, you can buy tickets at Mountain Equipment Co-op. Cheers!

Food Ideas

I have a meal rotation of about 7 different dinner meals and I am getting so sick of them! Anyone have any good recipes?

Just went and saw WARREN MILLER'S MOVIE 'Higher Ground' at the Norm Theater. Lots of this movie was filmed on the wild backcountry terrain of British Columbia. The movie has some of the most incredible footage of big mountain skiing I have ever witnessed.

UBC History Lesson

In 1968, UBC's Associate Professor of Zoology, David Suzuki, declared 'What this campus needs is a pub!' He received full support from the AMS Student president, (ex Minister of Forests) David Zirnhelt and between the two of them, the Pit Pub was born....well, sort of. For five years it continued to be operated out of the SUB ballroom on the second floor, much like a beer garden.

In January of 1969, the Ubyssey paper described the Pit as 'a place to relax, eat a sandwich and talk about the revolution...'

In the fall of 1971 the most popular beers were Old Style, Uncle Ben's, Labatt Blue and Heidelberg. There were complaints about the the price of beer being increased from 35 cents to 40 cents and talk of adding a jukebox and a colour TV. Everybody wanted hot food and was hoping the Pit could start to provide burgers and fries.

In January of 1973, the Ubyssey reported on plans for building the new Pit Pub in the SUB basement and by April of that year, construction began, with hopes to be in their new home by September of 1973. Unfortunately, there were delays and the new Pit didn't open officially until November 19, 1973

And this year, the Pit will celebrate its 32nd birthday. ThePit continues to be the #1 bar on campus and continues to feature student friendly pricing. Opens at noon!! tuesdays $2.50 sleaves of beer.
-from AMS-

Business trip to Hawaii

Can you believe the traffic to work today!


Photo radar was out in force on the commute today.

You will not believe what our job assignment was! They made use cycle around a tropical resort. Can you believe it!



Some people at work take there jobs very seriously, I on the other hand try to enjoy the scenery.



After our 30 second lunch break, our boss made us go for a run. Here are some of my co-workers.


Well the day is almost over for me now, time to call it quits. Another day at the office, just taken care of business!!

Getting down in H-Town, Hawaii Five "O" Style

Athlete Profile
Honolulu Triathlon World Championships (October 9, 2005 )

The 2005 ITU World Triathlon Championship was held in Honolulu, Hawaii on Sunday, October 9th.

The Olympic distance race comprised of a 1.5km swim, 40 km cycle and 10km run. Over 2,000 athletes from 35 countries gathered at Waikiki Beach for one of the largest ever World Championships to be staged since the founding of ITU in 1989.

USA, the host country, has fielded the largest team with over 600 athletes, while Great Britain, Australia, Canada, Brazil and New Zealand have entered a record number of athletes.

The athletes swim heats started in 5 year age group from 20 to 80.

The number of countries taking part is very important as Triathlon positions itself for entry into the Paralympic Games.

Funny things I heard this week in Hawaii:

"I don't do triathlons, I do triathletes"
-anonymous-

"My kind of three way . . . swim, bike, run"
-anonymous-

ITU TRIATHLON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS OCT.9th/2005

Click to view Photo's

Off to conker the World!!
swim, bike, run

Okay, okay… it’s Waikiki Beach! WOW! Look at the sun! The surf! Yeah, yeah, I know. It would be nice to abandon my race aspirations for a day or two and hit the beach for one last chance to get an ‘even’ tan – not one that shows off my most unfashionable bike short tans and tri top lines.

It has come time to go! A year of hard work in the pool, on the bike, and three pair of running shoes has cumulated in to this opportunity to represent Canada at the World Triathlon Championships in Honolulu, Hawaii. In order to ensure I have the best performance possible I have been following a weeklong taper of beer drinking and late nights...Oh, wait that is next weeks recovery plan.

This will prove to be a great experience of my short triathlon career. While some of my team mates are veterans, I will be representing Canada for the first time. This experience will be one I will hold dearly for years to come.

Thank you to everyone who has made this opportunity possible. With out the support of over twenty people I would not be leaving to Hawaii today. People that have helped me adhering to my training, taken me to races, provided financial support, believed in me and were an advocate for my goals. Anyone who has helped me achieve my goals by making my life a little easier are on my Honour Role. You are part of my Dream Team that has helped me achieve a Dream I have been chasing for a decade.
Members of my Dream Team

Looking across the cozy mess of my bachelor suite, I have taken some pictures to better illustrate where I will be living the next 8 months. I had already spent three days unpacking and sorting the many bags of junk I should never have dragged to Vancouver. At some point I would get bored from studying and clean, but right now my alternative is to curl up and let my eyes glaze over the temporarily free cable…too late already cut off.

How to Make the Most of Your University Experience
Steps:
1. Take elective courses that interest you and are outside of your major.

2. Play or watch varsity and intramural sports.

3. Go out to clubs and bars frequented by students.

4. Eat at the campus and town hot spots.

5. Read the books, magazines and papers that students talk about most.

6. Stay up late at night discussing controversial topics with friends.

7. Attend special lectures, panels, speeches, plays and/or concerts.

8. Ride a bike and walk around campus. A lot.

9. Listen, play, sing and/or dance to music often.

10. Study in a foreign country for a quarter or semester.

11. Join a student group that is passionate about something.

12. Protest something at least once.

13. Take wild spring break trips.

14. Go to professors' after-hours sessions to ask questions.


Tips:
Do a lot of everything, so long as it's legal and relatively safe.

GOING TO HAWAII


Here is Charlene Parrott and I after the National Triathlon Championship race giving Team Canada our info to confirm our spot for Hawaii. Sweet ass!! We both made the team and are off to Hawaii to compete against the top athletes in the world at the 2005 ITU Triathlon World Championships.

Sweet ass!! Triathlon Nationals are held in Kelowna August 21st, and I have been selected for Team BC. This has been a long term goal of mine ever since I started competing in triathlons and if has finally come true. This summer so far is rocken'

Reflexion Clinic Triathlon
This morning I got up bright and early to race at UBC in Race #6 of Triathlon Provincial Race Series (Sprint distance) Reflexion Clinic Triathlon. Following a week off of training after recovering from a chest cold and ear infection the race went very smoothly.

One thing I had never done before but use to always joke about was puking at the end of a race. Lauralee a co-worker from Surrey and I adopted a slogan "Win or puke" two years ago at race, after seeing a finisher puke up their breakfast from exertion right after finishing the race. We used this puking scale as a test of how hard you were willing to push your body. There is also an other expression we used however it is only reserved for the crazy Ironman competitors who can finish in sub 9 hours get the title of recognition..."Win or Poop." It is nuts the limits people are willing to push their bodies in sport, I sure as hell not going to push myself to the point I loose all control of all my bodily function.

Despite puking at the end of the race, which instantly cured my cramp that plagued me my entire run, I won. Finally my thousands...yes thousands of hours of train have amounted to something. Not a personal best time but a podium finish. I do not race entirely to win however it is a bonus when it happens. I race for the intrinsic rewards of the sport, I love what I am doing.

Canada Day Challenge
This morning was the most fun I have ever had celebrating Canada's birthday! Sure it required exercise and it was early, however it was tons of fun swimming 2kms around Sasamat Lake, in Port Moody, doing the Canada Day Challenge. The race was intended to be 2kms however I still have not mastered the ability to swim straight in a lake. I might have swam an extra two or three hundred metres however my skills are coming together. This might not be your idea of fun however it wasn't mine either until last fall when I started swimming a few times per week. It doesn't matter how fast you go, just have a good time...and finish. Sure some twelve year old girl might practically drown you as she powers past you in a Speedo Fastskin kick your butt, but who cares? So if you are interested in doing the Canada Day Challenge next year here is how you should train for the race. HARD, and with a buddy.

Inspirational Quote of the Week
"We all have the potential to participate in any sport we choose, as long as we have the desire and develop the appropriate skills. Size or body type does not have to be a determining factor. While the average basketball player is not so average in height, we occasionally see outstanding players who are quite regular in size. Just as the typical long-distance runner is very slight, there have been quite successful runners who don’t fit this prototype.

It’s all about spirit and desire. It’s about the power of the underdog. When we set our hearts and minds on something, chances are our bodies will cooperate. We are truly our own best motivators."

Kara Leverte Farley and Sheila M. Curry, authors of Get Motivated!

Click for pictures

I was up in Oliver last weekend for TriBC Provincial Championships and Race #5 in the TriBC Race Series.

Here is a break down of the race
Swim - 750 metres - along the shore of Tucelnuit Lake
Bike - 20 kilometres - challenging out and back course
through the city of Oliver and beyond
Run - 5 kilometres - flat 2.5k out and back loop.

"For me, the hardest part about racing is how it extends to my a social life. I'm friends with a lot of my competitors, in fatherly way. It gets pretty awkward when their wives and girlfriends are always flirting with me."
-Skeletor-

Sasamat Lake Swim 6:30AM
First of all, being able to see is no guarantee you'll stay on course...I learned this early this morning when I zigzagged back and forth probably an extra 200m trying to swim to my target. I met the "women in robes," Traci and Char at the floating bridge, a 200 metre floating walkway with 2 swimming and fishing decks. The initial plunge was a little chilly however as water slowly seeped into my wetsuit I warmed up. We swam from the South end of the lake to White Pine Beach and back. Being early June, the water was already pretty warm, I can imagine how nice it would be in July and August.

The Best Garage Sale Find Ever!

"In the world of garage sales, one person's trash is often another person's treasure."

I found this funky 8'4" retro surfboard off of Dunbar Street in Vancouver, in a pretty up scale neighbourhood for only 20 bucks! Only one place I need to do some fibreglass patching and it is ready to hit the surf. It is in awesome shape. I image it has been sitting in some guy’s basement for the past decade. All I need now are some waves now! Guess it will sit in my basement now until I have some time to head to Vancouver Island.

Triathlon Team X Killer Kelowna Training Camp

In the midst of a flurry of luggage, bikes and backpacks, the main group of Victoria's triathlon Team X left Kelowna, British Columbia on Saturday after wrapping up a 5 day training camp. While some of the athletes returned home and others remained in Kelowna to finish out the week of training, most of the athletes are now are focusing on Race #4 in Triathlon Provincial Race Series, Panorama Classic Triathlon on June 5th in Victoria.

Following on the success of the North Shore Triathlon on May 23rd, the camp started with a full training schedule after one days of active recovery. Head coach of Triathlon Team X Steve Chater set up key workouts; that were not only a physical challenge but a nutritional challenge trying to develop different hydration strategies to balance electrolytes in response to the hot training conditions.

Training highlights included a 2 x 140km cycling workouts; Tuesday riding along Westside road to Vernon and then back along the highway to Kelowna and Thursday in a reverse direction paralleling Highway 97A to Vernon and back on Westside road to Okanogan Lake Resort. Recovery runs were met with less eagerness around the resorts golf course and surrounding areas followed long rides. Okanogan Lake Resort was the site of the great swim sessions in the frigid waters of Lake Okanogan. To conclude the excitement the athlete's were treated with an exhilarating glimpse of my legendary butt swimming at their last open water swim session.

The defining workout for myself was Wednesday's 90km+ ride to Crystal Mountain; 30 km west of Kelowna, with a 10km ascend to the base elevation of 1200m (3936ft).

Thursday night concluded with a relaxing BBQ at the resort. The BBQ was a reflection point of the hard but enjoyable week behind us with an excess of 350km already in the saddle the party was cut short by exhaustion and most the athlete's were heading off to bed before 10pm.

After packing up all of their gear from the resort Friday morning and off to settle in at Charlene's parents house on the opposite side of the lake, the mornings workout started with an hour run in Kelowna's City Park broken up with 2 x 10 minute tempo runs. A procession of cars left City Park in a hurry to proceeded to Westbank were we started our short ride to Peachland elementary school for a triathlon show and tell to practice our public relations skills and to promote the sport and bike safety. The athletes rose to the occasion and delivered an excellent presentation for the school. With temperatures in excess of 30 degrees celsius and rapidly rising humidity, the remainder of the afternoon was spent riding back to Westbank, which I did with a flat tire for six kilometres, sitting in a traffic jam for an hour and skipping out on the remainder of the our afternoon's workout to drink some beer.

Throughout the entire camp, the athletes met each new challenge with a healthy mix of cooperation and enthusiasm. Development and age group athletes benefited from the mentorship of senior elite athletes, and the atmosphere of teamwork served to push everyone to new levels during key workouts.

For many of the athletes, the conclusion of the Kelowna training camp marks the beginning of their back-to-back weekend race schedule spanning till the end of August. I would like to thank Charlene and Team X for inviting me on the training camp and congratulate all athletes on their dedication and strong work ethic during the camp, and wish everyone a successful race season.

Tales from the the camp -Day 2-
Former Canadian National Triathlon Team Member, Master Jeti said it best. "When we approach Fintry I'll be putting a very small bowl in my jersey pocket. It's very simple. When my apprentice starts to dish out the pain, you don't want to be taking a big helping"

Tales from the training camp -Day 1-
When Master Jeti bridged up to me in the decisive break and I saw the pain etched onto his face, I felt torn. In one sense, I was proud of his effort and determination, and yet I knew that my awesome power and speed would only hurt him more. This is the paradox of competition and one of the truly sad elements of triathlon racing...sometimes you are going to hurt even those you love.

Triathlon Team X Killer Kelowna Training Camp

You probably know by now I am a triathlete and spend most my free time and energy training. I average about 16-18 hours of training per week, managing to cycle well in excess of 300km per week. If you are anything like me you probably don't know much about triathlons(or at least I didn't before I started competing)...so here are some facts on the multisport.

All next week I will be training in Kelowna and surrounding areas with some Team X athletes from Victoria as we prepare for the National Championships.

Schedule of Events
Monday May 24
8-12pm Race North Shore Triathlon
2 pm Depart Vancouver for Kelowna
7 pm Check into Lake Okanogan Resort
8-9pm Team Meeting Topics covered include:
1. Camp Over-view 2. Nutrition strategies
3. Routes 4. Bike inspection sign up

Tuesday May 25
9-11 am Bike inspection and Maintenance clinic By Trav
11-12 am Ride Prep
12-5pm Long ride (Resort-Vernon-Kelowna-Resort) 140 km easy ride
5-5:30 pm 30 min easy run off the bike
5:30-5:45pm Swim Prep
5:45-6:15pm recovery swim
6:15-6:30pm HOT TUB!!

Wednesday May 26
Depart Resort 8 am SHARP!! (To avoid construction delays)
8-12 am Crystal mountain Ride 10 km climb (90km total ride)
12-1:30pm Lunch
2-3 pm Transition Practice
3:15-4pm Long run
4-4:30 Swim (starts, dives, run-outs)
4:30-5pm HOT TUB!

Thursday May 27
8am Long Ride (Reverse of Tuesday's route)
30 Min run off bike
30 min Recovery Swim
Relaxing evening (BBQ at Resort)

Friday May 28
8 am check-out of resort and drive to Kelowna
9-10 am Nationals bike loop
10-11 am 60 min tempo run on Nationals run course
11:30 Depart Kelowna and ride to Peachland
1:30 arrive Peachland , show and tell at Peachland elementary school
2:15 Depart Peachland ride back to Kelowna

Saturday May 29
Pack and Depart Kelowna
Optional Car/Bike leap frog traveling south on HW 97

The International Olympic committee presented a global promotional campaign "Celebrate Humanity" for the 2000,2002 and 2004 Olympic Games.
Here is a sample of the television commercials from the campaign.

Giant
To be a giant
This has forever been our passion
This desire to be a giant
Not to stand on ones shoulders or have one for a friend
Though these may be fortunate things
But to be one
Giants step over barriers that seem never ending
They concur mountains that seem insurmountable
Giants rise above fear
Triumph over pain
Push them selves and inspire others
To be a giant
To do giant things
To take giant steps and move the world forward


Adversary
You are my adversary but not my enemy
For your resistance gives me strength
Your will gives me courage
Your spirit ennobles me
And though I aim to defeat you
Should I succeed
I will no humiliate you
Instead I will honour you
For without you I am a lesser man

Smile
When you smile, I smile that's the deal
I will not walk pass you and not look at you in the eye and not acknowledge you
Instead we will pass each other and say hello
Not with our words because they are no the same
But with our faces
I meet you when I see there is good in your eyes
There is passion in your heart
And there is a friendly hello in your smile
And the first time we can relate and appreciate each other
That is all it takes
That is were it starts
Because I know you will smile
And I will smile
And all the rest is easy

I stumbled upon this poem and I love its message. Strength is a state of mind perhaps more than anything else. You have to believe in yourself and know that you are strong before you actually are.
(The poem is gender bias, therefore if you are female think
The Woman Who Thinks She Can!)

The Man Who Thinks He Can!

If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don't!
If you'd like to win, but think you can't,
It's almost a cinch that you wont.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost
For out in the world we find
Success begins with a fellow's will;
It's all in the state of mind!

If you think you're outclassed, you are;
You've got to think high to rise.
You've got to be sure of yourself
before you can win the prize.

Life's battles don't always go
To the strongest or fastest man;
But sooner or later the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can!

Author ~ Walter D. Wintle

The best news I have received in a long time!Degree/Program: Bachelor of Human Kinetics
Location: UBC Vancouver
Admission Area: Undergraduate Admissions
Specialization #1: Exercise Science Option
Status: Congratulations! You have been admitted to UBC! You were offered admission on May 9, 2005. A letter advising you of this decision has been mailed to you. We wish you the best of luck with your future studies at UBC!

Stress / Time Management

What stresses you?

A perfect meal, a perfect relationship, a perfect swim cap or perfectly shaved legs, successful triathletes take in the lessons of their sport, learn how to streamline their lives and eliminate things that slow them down. Yet I have not made the decision fast enough. I need to get rid of the things in my life that slow me down; this may sound harsh, but if my habits hold me back, I must break them. Elite amateur athletes have had to eliminate most of the unnecessary limiting factors and layers of their lives.

Some of my work and school friends become a negative source of stress because when I hang out with them, I choose to partake in actions, (sedentary lifestyle, drink alcohol, stay up late), which do not lead me to achieve my goals. I end up deviating from my training plans because my actions are inconsistent with my goals. I do not share my goals with my friends from work or school because they do not value the importance of them. I am forced to make a decision about two incompatible opportunities, one will happen if I do nothing, the other will require me to “live a life less ordinary to achieve something extraordinary.”

I perpetuate personal pressure on myself when training with others to always seem stronger, faster and more focussed. I pressure myself to speed up, intensify and shift my behaviour to meet a higher standard of performance even during warm-ups when it is not to my advantage. I cut myself short of breaks during speed swim sets in order to try to keep pace with some of my training partners with years more experience and perfect hydrodynamics. My teammates are sometimes sources of eustress by challenging me to set a new personal best, I feed off of their encouragement when they see me only metres behind them. However, sometimes in order to keep pace I am not allowing my body to recover long enough from anaerobic sets thus creating distress and by the end of the workout my energy levels have dropped and my set times have increased.

The support I receive from my coaches and teammates helps me motivate myself in every aspect of my life even though sometimes I view their support as pressure on myself to speed up. When swimming I need to swim my own race and not be distracted by other faster swimmers and chase; by changing my views of the situation I can short-circuit the stressor. I gain social support from my teammates that I train with and by having a pre-determined commitment to exercise; it helps motivate me to finish my homework or chores, which perpetuates consistent goals and behaviour.

What are your goals?

Striving towards your goals is essential for a healthy life, wheither it is an Olympic goal or a goal of Olympic proportion, everyone’s goals should be the driving forces in their lives. Goals are a source of energy and hope in times of dispair and a reason to celebrate when achieved. The driving force in my life are my goals, I gain strength from them and they are building blocks for every day in my life.


At the finish line UBC Triathlon (Matthew Harriman)/ Duathlon (Charlene Parrott)

When I drink alcohol I feel buzzed and energized.
Is it possible that I could use this energy when I exercise?

Man in Van.

I will tell you right off the bat Man, (hah, Batman!) that you should never drink alcohol before or during (or on that note, even after!) exercise as it leaves your blood and brain cells with extremely lower levels of water. This happens because alcohol is a diuretic and causes the kidneys to take water from your blood and put it with your urine, which would be excreted at some point between the first and tenth time you go to the bathroom every time you consume more than moderate amounts of alcohol. With these low levels of water, an assumption would be that the brain cells, which indirectly activate your muscles during exercise, would not be able to activate them as efficiently, which would lead to decrease performance. One thing for sure is that the decreased blood volume would not allow adequate delivery of essential nutrients and water for energy production within the muscle, or adequate departure of wastes and carbon dioxide that are given off as a result of energy production. Recovery from exercise would be prolonged in two ways. First, the metabolism of amino acids in the liver would be altered, and these are the amino acids which you use to rebuild your muscle after exercise. Secondly, delivery of amino acids would be decreased due to decreased blood-water volume. As for the buzz, I think that this surge of energy you feel when you drink is in part due to the distorted brain perception of your strength as a result of alcohol consumption. This is the same distorted perception that makes you think you actually look cool while you are dancing on the stage at a club. Another part of it is due to the caloric content of alcohol. The following is a breakdown of common alcoholic beverages and their caloric content:

1. Beer (12 oz.) = 150 cal.

2. Light Beer (12 oz.) = 100 cal.

3. Wine (4 oz.) = 100 cal.

4. Spirits (1 oz.) = 80 cal.

The energy you experience is your body absorbing the beverage and digesting its seven calories per gram of alcohol, which is more that your body gets from a gram of carbohydrate or protein(4 cals per gram). The flip-side is that there is no nutritional value in alcohol, and the calories you consume with it could be obtained with a potato, which would have more vitamins and minerals. So, in conclusion, do not drink alcohol for exercise, water is the best medicine, and if any, the most important time to drink alcohol and not water is ARTS COUNTY FAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!

Courtesy of Dr. Scoreboard.

UBC TRIATHLON Personal Best

Place	Div/Tot	Div	Name	Swim	Bike	Run	Time
2	2/9	M2024	Matthew Harriman	29:18	1:05:55	40:53	2:16:23.3

The days are getting longer, temperatures a bit warmer. Not only are those signs that winter is coming to an end, it also serve notice that your first races of the season are just around the corner. UBC Triathlon is Saturday March 12th, the first heat is at 8am. Come kick off the 2005 race season! I will be out in force trying to set a personal best in the University Mens 20-24 catagory, Heat 3b at 8:20am, starting at the UBC Aquatic Centre. Check out the web page for more details: UBC TRIATHLON

The Belgian Eddy Merckx

The sixties. A period of unequalled economic growth, of great innovations, and of great feats. Man landed on the moon in 1969 to realize one of his primordial dreams. Everything seemed possible, achievable at that time. Limits seemed to exist to be smashed and cycling was no exception. The Belgian Eddy Merckx dominated those years with a mastery which fears no rivals even today. Eddy was the best in the northern classics, in the great tours and in the world championships. The young Belgian rewrote the history of cycling with an impressive list of triumphs: 565 victories including 3 world championships, 5 Tours of Italy, 5 Tours of France and 7 grand classics.

Thanks for reminding us Todd!

Lance is approximately ¼ of the way there. It's not likely anyone will ever fill Eddy’s shoes!

A travel story from a wondering mind.
Last August, two hundred and two countries came together to celebrate sporting achievement, promoting peace and fair play. Not only was it a celebration of nationalism for all the countries present but a celebration of internationalism. It was the Olympic Games in Athens Greece, where thousands of the best athletes in the world came to play. Like millions of other people, I too watched the world during its greatest achievement of humanity, setting around my television set.

I had a dream to watch the Olympics live from the Olympic Stadium where hundreds of thousands of people would flock to every day to watch athletes in their greatest form compete in front of the world. I had a burning desire to get to Athens someway, some how. Fortunately I was already on the continent so that financially helped. After watching the opening ceremonies live on Germany television I went onto Germanywings.com, Easyjet.com and Ryanair.com searching for a cheap flight. Two train rides later from Wuerzburg to Frankfurt and then onward to Colonge/Bonn Airport in the middle of the night, within twenty-four hours, I was boarding a plan to Athens, Greece. Not to mention 200 Euros charger to my Visa later. This is what I live for, having a gut feeling an going for it. This is the excitement of traveling with no itinerary.

There was one last detail I had not completely overlooked however had so far had no luck with was where to stay? Traveling on a student budget I decided to put a post on Expatriates.com, as follows.

Title: Accommodation needed for Olympics Athens 2004
Category: Housing Wanted - Rooms Wanted
Region: Athens
Description:
I am a male Canadian student staying in Germany for the summer and am
traveling to the Olympics and cannot find accommodation because it is so
expensive. I hope that someone has a spare room or couch in there
home/apartment that they are willing to sublet to me for the few nights that
I am in Athens(Aug 18th-22). I am a responsible and clean 21 year old
and well traveled. Hope someone has a room to offer me. Thank you.
Matthew Harriman

I had an overwhelming number of people inviting me to stay in their home with in hours, some at a more moderate price then others. I decided on staying with a Canadian couple from Greek origin in their home in the heart of Athens city, for a fraction of the cost of staying in a hostel. Only forty euros a night for Olympic standards is an excellent deal. I shared a room with a man from Romania, a lady from the Netherlands and a male flight attendant from the UK.

After telling the flight attendant I was traveling alone he told me a pearl of wisdom that gave him comfort no matter where he was resting his head in the world that night. Remember, whether you are in a foreign country or continent, even if you are twelve time zones away, you are still connected to the entire world because "home is only a flight the length of two movies and a nap away." I guess this rings true if you are already at the airport. After thinking of the world from this prospective, it seemed a little smaller to a lone traveler making their way through the world. After experiencing the spirit of internationalism of the Olympic Games, it made me feel the world was a little more comforting because every country represented at the games shares a common goal of peace.

Solo Backpacking

Just Smile and Nod.
When your journal is full and you’re sick of wearing the same two shirts, you’ll have stories, names, and places to speak of for years to come. The paradox you need to be prepared for is both a feeling of great achievement and loneliness. Read up on reverse culture shock. You’ll discover that no one will really understand just how cool it was, because they can’t. The backpacking experiences are yours alone. It’s only when you return to all things familiar that you’ll notice how much they’ve changed you.

What success is to me
"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

WOOHOO, DISCO IS BACK!!

Click on the picture above to print out your VIP pass for a free drink and no cover!

Okay Everyone, it's time to pull out that stylin' ployester again and strut your stuff Tuesday, February 1, 2005 for Disco Night at the Cellar on Granville, Vancouver!!

Sorry for the short notice, you've got a day and a half to put together a divine costume - so try your best to be dressed up!! (Rent Saturday Night Fever if you need any ideas, then head to Value Village).

Let me know if you're coming and that way we can all take transit together and feel a little less strange in our afros and short shorts!!
Send me an email to confirm or if you have any questions: tri_matthew@yahoo.ca

Lastly, : I hope you can all make it, it's always a great time, and the more the better, so pass this on to anyone I missed! Thanks everyone.

Create your own visited countries map