Bar-B-Q!!

So, if you haven't noticed we sure like barbeque at BlueCircle!! I mean, it is somewhat obvious just by the fact that we produced and distributed 10,000 folded and laminated 2017 Ride Guide maps which feature 20 amazing BBQ joints in and around Alberta!!!

Master Chef, Gerry Baert, and yours truly, as Sous Chef

Those annual maps and their different themes are part of a passion that many of us here have for motorcycles, giving riders some suggestions on where to go to get some great food or see some interesting and beautiful sights.

But, the barbecue I am talking about here is a little bit different, since we'll be the hosts and plan on cooking up our specialty BCI burger to help raise some funds for charity, since another one of BlueCircle's passions is philanthropy.

Many know that BlueCircle is involved with the community in a big way, even though we're really a relatively small brokerage compared to many in the insurance business. Our president, Gerry Baert, is also the president of the Insurance Brokers Association Of Alberta, a volunteer position that is really another full time job on top of his full time job at the helm of BlueCircle.

Gerry also gave the nod to a sponsorship aimed to help support one our Olympic athletes, Tristan Walker, a young fellow who is working extremely hard to train and compete in Luge, gearing up for the Winter Olympics in 2018.

In the motorcycle world, BlueCircle is also a platinum sponsor of The Calgary Motorcycle Ride For Dad which we've proudly supported for10 years. The approx. $1 million raised from this initiative goes toward research into prostate cancer at the The Prostate Cancer Centre in Calgary, as well as their awareness campaign which includes a mobile PSA blood testing clinic fondly referred to as The Man-Van.

Gerry and BlueCircle also sponsor a variety of other rides and motorcycle events around the province, including the CJAY Kids Foundation Motorcycle Rally 2017 (and 2016), One Broken Biker, Two Wheel Sunday, plus a bit of help for things like International Female Ride Day, hosted by our great friends at Ride Stop n Go.

'Nuff said about all of those other great causes, since the focus of this fundraiser is The Ronald McDonald House Charity, with homes in Northern, Central and Southern Alberta being the recipients of monies raised. 

Our BBQ on Thursday August 31st was jokingly referred to as "The End Of Summer Bummer BBQ" but we're not kidding about our intentions, charging $10.oo for one of our totally loaded mushroom, bacon and fried onion burgers with special BBQ sauce, plus a beverage.

 As is the BlueCircle way, 100% of the proceeds go to the RMHC. And, to 'sweeten the pot", literally and figuratively, our fantastic Manager Of First Impressions/Receptionist, Sherri, whipped up a batch or 10 of her famous cookies, both ginger, and chocolate chip/oatmeal, so best save room for those tasty treats.

The Man-Van will be here to give free PSA tests, along with members of the Prostate Cancer Centre, Motorcycle Ride For Dad, Ronald McDonald House, and our Olympian, Tristan Walker. We've invited all the neighbours and have had a great response, so evidently we're not the only ones sad to see Summer end or help out a good cause!

Winter Is Coming!!!

Winter is coming! Though it sounds like the recurring line in "Game Of Thrones", what I'm talking about is our looming season of snow and ice and how it relates to the young men pictured below, specifically the fine young athlete on the top of this two man team atop their luge.

photo credit CBC

Tristan Walker is a Canadian Olympic athlete who has the strength and skill, not to mention nerve, to blast down an icy tube on nothing more than a tiny sled, reaching speed of 120 kmph+, all in an effort to reach the bottom of the track in the fastest time possible.

Of course, fitness and training are the key to success and the challenges of being a full time athlete, with the ability to focus totally on your regime, can be daunting.

Consider these facts about luge before reading any further...

• track length between 1.0 to 1.5 km, depending on track
• number of turns between 10 -15, depending on track
• average speed of 130 kmph 
• record speed of 154 kmph ( Whistler 2010)
• approx 4.5 - 5.0 g force on the athlete's body in a turn
• approx .576 second separating Gold medal winner from Silver at 2014 Olympics

Considering successes are decided by fractions of a second, there's a fair bit of finesse involved in luge. Knowing the curves, corners and straightaways of the track of each individual venue on the World Cup circuit, plus those of each Olympic host, and setting yourself up to get in and out of those features without losing precious momentum accounts for the shaving of hundredths of seconds, and a possible trip to the podium.

Add in the physical requirements of steering a sled with the legs and shoulders and withstanding massive g force while hurtling feet first down the track at high speeds and you will easily see how demanding this sport is and what is required to achieve success.

As for the athlete mentioned, I first met Tristan when he learned of BlueCircle's unique motorcycle insurance coverage and became a client. 

Tristan even joined us on the CJAY 92 Kids Foundation Motorcycle Rally and didn't just ride, he stopped and helped us at the BlueCircle sponsored pit stop by selling 50-50 tickets. Of course, this time and opportunity allowed us to talk about how difficult it is to train for your sport while working a regular job, especially if an athlete wants to be competitive at the Olympic level.

BlueCircle, and our president Gerry Baert, believes in philanthropy and when presented with the idea of helping Tristan achieve his personal goals while representing our country ( Go Canada!!) the match was made and we became part of Tristan's team and he became part of ours!

We hope this has helped lift a bit of weight off Tristan's shoulders, or at least a little stress, as Tristan jokes about his coach actually wanting him to gain a few more kilos to help with some gravity as he slides down that icy track on his luge!!

photo courtesy of Cochrane Times

photo courtesy of Island Sport News

photo courtesy of Team Canada

Eclipse

photo courtesy of BBC

Today is a rare occasion here in North America. A chance to see a solar eclipse, including a total eclipse if one is in the Path Of Totality, the relatively narrow strip of land that runs east to west through the U.S.. Here in Calgary, we're only going to get about 77% coverage of the sun during the eclipse, so still a pretty good view. The next eclipse will occur in 2024, however the viewing area for a total eclipse will be much smaller than now.

As for the Path Of Totality, it sounds like something out of sci-fi movie or perhaps the road to some sort of enlightenment. Maybe the latter, in a different sense of the word! haha. I know some people who took time off work so they could drive down to Portland Oregon to see the total eclipse, since it is located in the P.O.T.. It may very well be a once in a lifetime chance to see the phenomena. See the diagram below to determine your own odds of a future sighting. 

photo courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line

Steady Hand Required

photo courtesy of Hagerty

If you've been reading my blog for awhile you'll have seen several posts done about an insurer we deal with at BlueCircle quite a bit. Hagerty is a specialty insurance company who deals with classic cars, trucks, tractors and other such collector vehicles and is well known for their products. And, it's not just because they actually have excellent coverage and a great vehicle rating tool, but also because they have allowances for actual usage of the vehicle, not just to transport to a show n shine.

I mean, if you've got a beauty old car, like the Camaro pictured above, you'd actually like to drive it around a bit and feel the power under that hood or cruise along in old style comfort.
Like the post I did titled "G.T.O. To Go", which Hagery did in their series on "The Wrenchmen", this post is about a different type of craftsman, "The Pinstriper". I've seen some pinstriping done and always marveled at how easy these artists made the technique look, though certainly that is why they're called craftsmen. To take a paintbrush loaded with paint and run it, free hand, confidently along the body of a custom car or motorcycle worth $50,000 +, one better know what they're going and have a super steady hand, not to mention some steady nerves.

Check out this video Hagerty did on one master, Lyle Fisk, a guy who hung out with the likes of Von Dutch and Big Daddy Roth. Lyle is still much in demand as a pinstriper today, even though he is in his 70"s!

12 Stop Ride for Recovery Motorcycle Road Rally

Only 10 days to go before the "12 Stop Ride for Recovery Motorcycle Road Rally", coming up in a hurry on August 26th. As you will know from my previous post, "Fresh Start", this motorcycle rally is in support of the Fresh Start Recovery Centre is an organization that is "recovering lives by housing, treating and supporting people affected by addictions".

Their thought process is "Every Individual-Recovery For Life" and we are going to help in a couple of ways with that vision. One is to support the rally by helping to spread the word and invite as many riders as we can to attend. And, if you read my other previous posts, like "Did I Say Brand New Indian AND KTM Duke" or "Lotto 649 v.s. Two Wheel Sunday Motorcycle Raffle", you'll know that there is also a raffle going on right now, all proceeds to Fresh Start and the actual draw taking place at the rally.

Of course, you don't need to be there to win but why not join us? And if you don't have a ticket, why not? Only 2500 tickets printed and 3 big prizes, a 2017 Indian Scout, a 2016 KTM Duke, or $1000 worth of leather from Boutique Of Leathers, so really good odds to win one of these beauties.
If you do want a chance to win, e-mail me at paul@gobluecircle.com and I'll set you up for a mere $20.oo per ticket. With those odds, you may even want to buy a whole book of 10, like some folks did already!!

And, if you want to know why it's important to support this cause, check out this link about Chris, one of the many people who have received some extremely important support from Fresh Start.

A man after my own heart, with his efforts in triathlon/duathlon! Keep up the great work Chris!

Boot Camp = Bacon

Here's a funny photo from one of my older posts in 2013  titled "Pajama Day And Office Breakfast". That's BlueCircle's very own Fred Pletsch doing some push-ups, with bacon as his incentive!! haha! Since I've done quite a few blog posts on fitness, including some on the boot camps we run here at the BlueCircle office and the Sprint Triathlons I've done, the original photo and and accompanying caption seemed appropriate for adding some humour so we don't take ourselves too seriously and have some fun while staying fit.
The caption reads...
"Exercise...eggs-r-size...eggs are sides...for BACON!!! Yeah!"

Dinosaur Downs

Frisco over at Calgary Harley shared this link about some flat track racing that they're sponsoring, coming up next weekend at Dinosaur Downs near Drumheller. Looks like a lot of fun and would make for a great ride, to check out the action, maybe even stay overnight, especially if one plans to stop in at the beer gardens (please don't drink and ride/drive!!)

Wrestling With Your Insurance?

So, what do you think about a gal who works as an insurance agent by day and then spends her evenings and weekends training and performing as a "pro" wrestler in the minor circuit, with ambitions to hit the WWE one day. Meet Hyaneyoung Olvera, better known by her "stage name" Hyan, a young lady who is generally quiet and soft spoken but has learned to unleash some fury in the ring, even though most of it is just a well scripted act. Despite the latter fact, it has it's demands and Hyan is a strong, physically fit woman who can take some punishment, as well as give it out.
As for BlueCircle insurance agents, we're content to wrestle with our insurers to get the best coverage possible for you and keep the physical stuff to our regular noon hour boot camps. :)

King Of Cool

On the set of "The Great Escape"

Not everyone knows about Steve McQueen, a.k.a. the "King Of Cool". You'd have to be my age or older to have seen or remember McQueen in his era as an actor who rose to fame in the 60's and 70's, based on his anti-hero persona. I remember seeing a young fellow with a Steve McQueen image on his t-shirt and when I commented on it the guy admitted he didn't really know anything about McQueen and got the shirt from his dad because he knew he liked motorcycles. haha.
I remember him first from seeing him in the t.v. series "Wanted: Dead or Alive", where he played a bounty hunter who had a sawed off Winchester rifle instead of a Colt 45 in his gun belt. His acting career was going places but McQueen was also an avid motorcyclist and, in fact, prior to his film career he made some decent money racing bikes while picking up those smaller, supporting roles in various films and getting into television. He got his breakout role in "The Magnificent Seven", but by that time had to make the decision to give up the racing and pursue his acting and film career. Reluctantly, though wisely, he decided to follow the path of acting, though he did inevitably manage to use his star power to manipulate the studios to include motorcycles into his roles, a big success in films like "The Great Escape". McQueen went on to star in some fairly impressive films, like "Papillon" and "the Sand Pebbles', the latter for which he received an Oscar nomination.
As for the motorcycles, McQueen always rode, got back into racing and had plenty of bikes as a collection. One of his very rare bikes was purchased by E.J. Cole and eventually was sold at an auction for $800,000 +  ( check out my blog post  "E.J. Cole Collection" ) There were also numerous cars and a few airplanes as well, something well afforded by a solid acting career and likely not possible if he had stuck with racing.

Always a bit of a rebel! haha

Was introduced to desert racing by his buddy and stunt double, Bud Ekins

Nice triumph tee

Lookin' wild and wooly in this photo!

Steve loved to race!

More racing photos.

McQueen had some interesting bikes

Check out the old Indian

Universal Wiring Guide For Motorcycle Build

I was looking back and reminiscing on some of my earliest posts in 2013, and came across a few that I thought were worth a revisit, so here's one re-post with an updated edit. Look for more to come on a regular basis.
As for this one, it was about originally about a "universal wiring diagram for motorcycle builds", designed by someone who signed off on it as "Batman". It's pretty funny when you read some of the descriptions of the "components". How about " 120 Ω, or to taste" and "take off shirt while wiring this part...oooh, I like that"! haha