Whistler Blackcomb - Stream Web Cam

Whistler Blackcomb - Stream Web Cam

The Whistler bike park now has a LIVE video stream, so you can catch the action at the base in real-time.

Moon Light and Chain Links

I experienced something new last night.



Mountain biking at twilight.

We started off at 8pm, at the Sycamore Canyon trail head and headed into Point Mugu State Park. The moon was still quite low, so the shadows were pretty dark. Once in the open though, the moon was bright enough to light up the trails and the surrounding foot-hills.

I joined my friend David, his wife Michelle, Andy, Larry and Phil.

Of course, no ride at night would be complete with out a visit from the good Dr. Murphy and one of his many famous laws. Down the initial descent and onto the flats, Larry had a serious case of chain suck. He chewed up a link (not the sausage kind, much to Andy's disappointment), and was required to perform cycle-surgery in the middle of the bush. Good thing 2 of us brought lights along.

Moments later, we were back on our way. We hit the 5-mile turn around and headed back. A short sweat up the last climb, me desperately trying to hang on to David's rear-wheel (his only comment at the top, "Why are you breathing so hard?"), and by 10:30 I was back in my car, headed back to the "Bright Lights, Big City".

If you've never riden, skied or hike by moon light, I highly reccomend it.

Pick a favorite trail,(lost lake in Whistler comes to mind?), pick a calendar full-moon night, gather a small group of friends and head out. You don't have to go far, since that's not the point. The wilderness does take on a whole different experience at 10pm though.

Big Texas

I recently discovered the re-emergence of Big Sugar frontman Gordy Johnson.

Shady Grady.net

Gordy, the clean-cut, Hugo Boss sponsored guitarist from Alberta and Toronto...



Has changed his name to Grady...



And donned a slightly "Shady" look (hence the name of the band, I guess).

He's living in Austin, where he's teamed up with a British bass-player and Steve Ray Vaughan's former drummer, Chris Layton.

Hope they make it to LA soon...

65K of pain

Besides my need for cold weather, and snow covered peaks, Malibu offers me everything I could ever need.

Sunday made for the PERFECT day to be on 2 wheels, with just my legs to turn them.

I hit 2 grewling mountain passes in the Santa Monica Mountains, just off the coast near Zuma Beach and Point Dume.


(c/o www.pashnit.com)

Latigo Canyon is a windy switch-back that climbs 15 Kms from the ocean, for a total vertical gain of about 2200Ft. I was lucky enough to catch at least one roadie on the way up, plus, the high-light, seeing a gang of 10 Porsches from the Rennlist doing a morning "jog" through the hills. Hearing those flat-sixes echoing against the rocks sure gave me a good boost to kick hard for the final turn to the top.


(c/o maxnine11 on the Pelican Parts and Rennlist Boards)

The above shots were both taken at a place called "The Bleachers", which overlooks Mulholland Highway as it snakes up the hill from the the Rock Shop, a famous Motorcycle hang-out down below.

Next, I road South-East Towards Topanga, and hooked up with Stunt Road, a 5 kilometer climb up to an intersection effectively known as "TOP OF THE WORLD". From there, you can look back into the valley you came from, and down the other side to the Ocean. The cool thing about Stunt, is that someone has made the effort to paint, in white, distance markers as you head for the top. Hitting that final "100m" marker (100 meters to go), while your legs are screaming at you, sure feels good.

I also discovered a great new technique for all you "roadies" out there. When you reach the summit of what ever climb you are on, do yourself a favour: Imagine for a minute you are Lance, Pantani, Merckx or Indurain, lift your hands off the bars, kiss both your index fingures and reach for the sky.



Trust me, you'll feel like a million dollars.

Freeskier Magazine :: Skiing's Independent Voice

Freeskier Magazine :: Skiing's Independent Voice

Well, I may not be a "jibber" per say, but the above website (and magazine it belongs to) does refer to itself as "Freeskier", and THAT is something I definitely AM (a free skier, for those who aren't paying attention).



September has traditionally been the month in which I get what I like to refer to as, the "powder munchies". In Vancouver, the leaves start to change colo(u)r, rain starts a pourin', and in Whistler, the Roundhouse get's it's first dustings of snow(Yeah!).



This LA thing is getting harder and harder to do.

The Beanery

One of my favorite watering holes in West Hollywood, is the legendary Beanery, near the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and La Cienega.



Barney's is famous for having "bean" (ha, ha) around since the Route 66 days. Back in the 20s, when the beanery was first built, Santa Monica was part of the famous highway that tied the westcoast to the eastcoast.

My favorite feature? Naturally, it would have to be "...200 varieties (domestic, imported, and 50 on tap)..." of beer (according to the website) that can be sampled here; but not in one night of course.

More info can be found at the website.

Das Kind Geht zum deutschen Autofest in Ventura

for english speakers: "The Kid goes to the German Autofest in Ventura"

My second Birthday in America and my second Ventura Autofest, all in one week. This year's celebrations focused on the early 900 series (911s and 912s pre-1973).

.

These cars date-back to a time before pesky "safety standards" and "emmission standards". A simpler time, when carburators, chrome bumperettes and thin 15-inch steering wheels were all the rage.

The R Gruppe was once again in full force, complete with their collection of:

911R tail-lights...



Mini-lites....



Rally Lights...



LE MANS center-fill fuel caps...



and some-what "stripped" interiors.



God love the R Gruppe.

For more shots, check out Pelican Parts, as well as the Early S Discussion Board.

Oh, and don't forget to spend money at Pelican Parts.

For all your restoration needs...

PS - My apologies to those who's photos I've linked to from other websites. If you want them removed, please e-mail me. Until I get my own digital camera, I need to rely on "other sources".

TURKEY TIME, EH!

The official kick-off to the ski-season is fast approaching. Mark your calendars for Saturday October 9th, for the TURKEY SALE in Whistler.



Meet old friends, find a cheap pair of new or slightly-used boards, stock up on thermal underwear and get pumped for 6 months of snowfall.

SPOILER - LADDER 49

THANK YOU - THANK YOU, DISNEY FOR MAKING ANOTHER EMOTIONALLY SHALLOW TEAR-JERKER!!


So…

I had the privilege of seeing LADDER 49 tonight, before everyone else has to loose 12 dollars to do the same.


What did I think?

Well, if you like watching movies in which the entire POINT is to artificially develop emotional involvement with a character through a series of “happy” and “sad” moments, only to then go and KILL that character, in a vain attempt to get an emotional reaction out of the audience, then this movie is for you…

Otherwise, like me, you’ll walk out pissed off, that in a movie full of firefighters, there wasn’t a single scene involving a kitten.



("Wait a minute! Why am I crying!?! I don't really CARE about any of these people?")

Epic Events

The legendary CHEAKAMUS CHALLENGE is back, and celebrating its 20th Anniversary. Over 70 kilometers of dirty, steep, leg-ripping, BC pain.

Here's the website



Last year's event was won by Andreas Hestler and Alison Sydor.


Allison is a former Volvo-Cannondale team member, World Champion and Olympic Silver medalist.



Both now ride for Rocky Mountain, btw.

too tired...

I'm exhausted from the last few days, so I'm keeping this short. In the mean time, here's a recent webcam shot from the Roundhouse, on Whistler mountain, to keep all motivated.





LET IT SNOW!!!!

THE VERY FIRST "BLOG"

What a wimsical invention this "internet" is, with it's electronic mail, web-sites, blogs and other assorted digital communication interfaces.

Not really sure how long I'm going to keep this "blog" thing going, but I thought it might be an interesting way to stay in touch with friends, host the odd image of what I'm doing and seeing and just generally be part of the "scene".

For now, to-da-lo, and enjoy your day. Keep checking in for the latest.

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