Flames Game

I can hardly talk today, after cheering on the Flames last night at The Saddledome. My good friend, Tom, graciously invited me to the game and it was pretty electric, to say the least. Home ice for what is just the second playoff game in 6 years, so lots worth celebrating and getting hyped up over. Of course, being up two games to one didn't hurt the buzz either and the Flames earned themselves another win to put a stranglehold on the Canucks. It ain't over 'til it's over but if the Flames keep playing the way they did last night, they could propel themselves into the next series.

Warm up

Getting game faces on during warm up! haha!

We bought 50/50 tix...but didn't win half of the $260,000.00 pot :(

The 'Goal Patrol"

I had a Canucks fan sitting next to me, and we managed to get him using the Flames cowbell

We like this scoreboard a lot

The dying seconds of the game

Blue Circle lit her up in Red and Yellow for the win.

Spring Riding

So, it's warm and sunny outside and I see lots of bikes on the road. I've been out on my own bike several times already this month but I even did a few little rides around the neighbourhood in January, February and March, plus several times this month. There's still a ton of gravel in spots and you always have to expect you might get some snow flurries or rain when you venture afar, especially if you get out near the mountains. And, just like every start to the riding season, there are other factors to consider as you tune yourself up and prepare for the road.
One factor is training. I just read a couple of articles about motorcycle accidents and though I couldn't find any specific stats about Alberta in 2014, it seemed to me there were quite a few last year. However, Ontario just had their highest number of motorcycle fatalities in the past eight years with 32 deaths, with the majority being male victims aged 45 to 74. One of the a theories behind the numbers is that there's a lot of people who get their license at a very young age. When they retire, they can afford to buy themselves a nice brand new motorcycle, but they don’t get the proper training. Couple that with the inordinate amount of time off between riding seasons and improper practice time at the start of each new season and it's not hard to see why we have so many accidents.
OPP Specialized Patrol Coordinator Lise Grenier says all riders, new and experienced, should spend some time on their bike before hitting the road, as do all 165 OPP riders, who take a mandatory one-day refresher training.
Another factor is visibility, or as they said in one study I read...conspicuity. This was a population based case-control study done in New Zealand and involved riders involved in accidents as well as random roadside surveys. In this study, most accidents occurred in urban areas, at lower speeds (50kmph), in daylight ours and in fine weather. Riders wearing high visibility or reflective clothing had a lower accident rate by 37%.  White helmets reduced accidents by 24% compared to black and riding with your headlights on further reduced the risk factor by 27%. The conclusion was that low conspicuity may increase the risk of motorcycle crash related injury. Increasing the use of reflective or fluorescent clothing, white or light coloured helmets, and daytime headlights are simple, cheap interventions that could considerably reduce motorcycle crash related injury and death.
 

 

Please...let's not see any of this out there.

Urban Adventure

I was just reading a cool article by a rider, Sean McDonald, who recently attended an L.A. based urban adventure ride. Actually, the ride was more like a mini-camp for improving riding skills and involved an inside and outside closed course for improving one's abilities on two wheels.
The camp was put on by L.A. based Aether, a company that specializes in premium adventure gear, as well as RawHyde, an off road adventure riding school. They had a fun ride, a technical skills training session, and followed up with an urban obstacle course set up inside a warehouse. This sounds like a blast and makes me think we could do something similar here in Alberta! Who wouldn't like to improve their skills and have a little friendly competition to make it all the more interesting! Maybe a Summer 2015 event, so keep an eye on the blog for any news on how that shapes up.
Here's some of the photos Sean and his buddy, Zach, took during the day.

Inside the warehouse

The teeter-tottere test

Aether not only has cool gear but this awesome  Airstream trailer all decked out.

No big deal if you bang a cardboard box

Plan ahead!

Ride For Dad

The Calgary Motorcycle Ride For Dad has been working non-stop since the end of the 2014 ride, preparing for this year's event. It's a lot of work and these dedicated and diligent volunteers work hard to make sure the ride is a lot of fun and successful for both the riders, as well as the Prostate Cancer Centre as the beneficiary of the fundraiser.

Despite the hours spent getting ready for this year's ride, the team wanted to do something fun and raise a bit more cash for the cause, so they put on a "Games Day" at Schanks South in Calgary and invited guests to come and play. A ticket tot eh event got you some great grub and for a few dollars per game, contestants could try their hand at virtual golf, mini-golf, pool and other pub play. There were some great silent auction items and Ang and Troy, from Ride Stop n Go, organized the crew to sell 50/50 tickets. Two separate draws raised $1000 along, plus proceeds from the games and silent auction items raised another $2500, so all in all it was a great success and a lot of fun.

Way to go volunteers!! 

At Schanks

Quite a few bikes showed up

Signing up for the PSA test

Gotta do the paperwork first!

Better safe than sorry, so get tested



Coming up on June 20th...the Calgary Ride For Dad

Me, with Kelly, Gerry, Kathey, and Troy from Ride Stop n Go.

Oh Canada

Oh, Canada: Contemporary Art from North North America is an art exhibit put together by the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) and is the largest survey of contemporary Canadian art ever produced outside Canada. It is made up of more than 100 pieces of art, features 62 artists and collectives from across the country, and is so large it's actually too big for just one gallery. With that in mind, the exhibition will be presented at Esker Foundation, Nickle Galleries, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, and Glenbow Museum. This unique collaboration will encourage dialogue, debate, and a deeper understanding of local, regional, and national contemporary practice.
The exhibition is in full swing, now until April 26th. I took a few photos to give you a teaser of what to expect.





Made me think "Winter"



Inside "The Cabin", which brought back memories of my own youth



Must be seen and heard, as these unique "windmills" also had an aural element to them






The installation "Tender" isn't part of  "Oh Canada" at The Esker Foundation but is set in their feature room and is still thought provoking

Now you can see why it's called "Tender"!

Handbuilt Motorcycle Show

The Handbuilt Motorcycle Show, in Austin Texas, is all about reviving the culture of physical craftsmanship. They believe that in today’s modern, mass-produced world, few young people are taught how to do physical work or are encouraged to embrace a trade but there remains a universal attraction to the beauty that can only be formed by human hands. The Handbuilt Motorcycle Show is an inspiring showcase of works from builders and craftsmen that combine knowledge, skill, and ingenuity to create one-of-a-kind, truly hand-built machines.
It is their vision that those that visit The Handbuilt Motorcycle Show will be inspired to pick up tools and use their hands to make something of their own. With an extreme effort to be all inclusive, admission to the show is free! Yup...free! What a concept!
Check out some of the photos from last year's show which I took from their website.