2018 Calgary Ride For Dad = No Fair Weather Riders

It was a grey, cloudy morning and there had been several rain showers to start the day already, but that didn't stop about 190 die hard riders from showing up and supporting this year's Calgary Motorcycle Ride For Dad! 

Indeed, the foul weather does put a bit of a damper on the proceedings, but nothing one can't combat when as well prepared for things as are the RFD crew. Like the old adage "there's no bad weather, just poor gear choices", one can handle whatever Mother Nature throws at you when properly prepared. Sure, it's a bit of a pain to have to stay inside the assembly hall or huddle under the promo tent when making the announcements, just like it is to peel off a bunch of layers when you need to use "the facilities" before hopping on the bike, but you make it work.

Certainly, nothing changes in respect to the camaraderie and fellowship of riding together, and despite the lower than average attendance, the riders still managed to raise over what I initially heard as $56,000 for this worthy charity. 

Of course, it couldn't have been done without all the efforts, and many months of planning, by the hard working team of Executive members of the RFD. Way to go people!! And, with so many volunteers pitching in from title sponsor Telus, the entire poker run went smoothly and everyone enjoyed the day, rain or shine!

Most riders hung out indoors, warming up with coffee and scones from Cobs

Even the speakers had to wear  rain coats 

It was rainy, but that didn't dampen spirits.

JACK FM radio host Ben Jeffery did honours as M.C.

We should have been selling rain gear!!

Co-Chairs Ron Parkinson and Blair Nicholls present a plaque to Telus rep Richard Milton

BlueCircle is proud to be a Platinum sponsor for the 11th year in a row

The first pit stop was in High River

Our poker run pit stop at Motorrad in Turner Valley was a bit wet.

The Motoburrito food truck at Motorrad, Turner valley, has good food and a good sense of humour too!

The sun finally broke out when we hit the final stop at Springbank Event Centre

A smaller crowd than what we wanted but RFD Calgary still raised about $55,000.oo for the cause!!

Repost: "Winter Is Coming"!

Well, actually, the title to this post is somewhat inaccurate, as we just officially rolled into Summer a few days ago. 

But, "Winter Is Coming" could be a figurative way of saying that BlueCircle sponsored Winter Olympian Tristan Walker is coming over to visit us and bring his Silver medal earned this past February in PyeongChang, South Korea.

We're hosting a BBQ and inviting our friends and business neighbours to come by to chow down on a hot dog and beverage, and meet Tristan on Thursday June 28th at noon. In honour of that occasion, have a read of the post I wrote prior to Tristan heading off to proudly represent Canada at the 2018 Olympics.

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

The First 5 Days!

The first five days after the weekend are always the hardest. 

-Henny Youngman

Ran When Parked

Lucid Moto is hosting a cool event at the Bowness Pub next Saturday, all designed to let riders show off their awesome and interesting bikes.

If you have a bike or trike and want to enter, talk to them asap. Otherwise, stop by the event and check out the eclectic  array of rides and share the day with like minded motorcycle enthusiasts.

A Morning With Hagerty

Hagerty is a well know and highly respected insurer of classic cars, so you know it's going to be a great day when they put on one of their seminars!

BlueCircle is a proud representative of Hagerty and I jumped all over the chance to get out to Bragg Creek and meet with Bryce Walsh and the team, to discuss new product offerings and ask questions on what is going on in the fascinating world of car collectors.

 Hagerty didn't just stand there and talk of course. A quick presentation on the products and services they offer, followed by a Q & A, then out to the parking lot of the Bragg Creek Community hall for a visit with a large convoy of classic cars, all clients of Hagerty that offered to show up and show off their beautiful cars.

And bonus!!  We all got to choose a car in which to ride, out to (what used to be before the floods in 2013) Allen Bill Pond. Double bonus!! As we were driving along the back road to Hwy 22X, we had the pleasure of seeing a mother Moose and her twin calves crossing the road. They even stopped on the side of the road for us to snap their photos! triple bonus!! At Allen Bill pond we got to switch vehicles, so my ride out in the Rolls Royce was switched to a ride back in a beautiful white and blue  Buick Invicta!

And lastly, for the quadruple bonus, we had a fantastic lunch courtesy of the ROADtisserie food truck. Delish!

Thanks for an awesome morning Bryce and the Hagerty team.

Yes, real wood in the interior of the Rolls Royce.

Bonus on our ride was to see this mama moose and her two gangly legged calves as they crossed the road

Mama Moose was keeping a close eye on her mooslings

Thank you Bill Rathgeber for taking me for a spin in style!

My ride (more like floating along in a boat) back to Bragg Creek was courtesy of Brent Gordon

Brent owns this beautiful '61 Buick Invicta

Lining up for a delicious lunch

Thank you ROADtisserie for the great food

Lookin' good

I had a '67 Mustang like this, but green, with a white vinyl roof.

Oh yeah...what 50's era classic car isn't complete without fuzzy dice! haha

Classic car guys are smart and bring their own chairs in which to lounge 

When in K-Country, why not go camping in your vintage VW microbus!

Dream Vacation Place 1

As I was sitting at my desk on this dark and dreary day, listening to the rain hit the office window,, my thoughts went to a vacation on some little island somewhere down where it's hot and sunny.  

Then I remembered this link to a cool website called Conde Naste Traveler, which featured this private island retreat that one can rent.

Coral Caye is part of the Coppola Family Hideaways Turtle Inn and can accommodate 12 guests.

I'm in, but will likely need 11 other people to help pay for what can only be a hefty price tag!!

photo courtesy of Coral Caye

Repost: 2017 Calgary Ride For Dad

This is the 11th year that BlueCircle Insurance has been a platinum sponsor of the "Calgary Motorcycle Ride for Dad" and we're looking forward to another great event with this eager and well organized crew on Saturday June 16th. 

Here is a post I did last year, following the ride.

BlueCircle was proud to be a part of the 2017 Calgary Motorcycle Ride For Dad, which by all accounts was a great success. No exact numbers at this time but kudos to the hard working Executive and volunteers who spent many, many hours of their time and a whole lot of energy to put this event together and run so smoothly. 

Here's a sampling of photos of the day and watch for a future post where I share the results of the fundraiser for prostate cancer research through the Prostate Cancer Centre.

BlueCircle gave this small cheque to Co-Chair Ron Parkinson

Lots of volunteers help this great cause

Many riders join the event to honour someone they knew that was affected by prostate cancer

Troy, from Ride Stop n Go, was riding on his new Indian

This ride is a family event

The police were there to help out, with this member riding his dual sport bike

Tina was the VIP guest of BlueCircle

Based on last years' ride, the Ride For Dad donated almost $43000 to prostate cancer research with Dr. Tarek Bismar

More police presence to help escort eh riders on to the highway

Alberta Sheriffs also play an integral role in making this event work

The 2017 Calgary Ride For Dad Executive 

Troy and Paul with some of the 300+ bikes that showed up to ride

Dr. Bismar's family came to support the ride too

We're getting ready to fire up the bikes

Michelle rides ad volunteers on the RFD Executive

The "big cheque" presentation of $10,000 from BlueCircle