Recycled Accessories

Spending too much time in spandex and pajamas these last few years I've lost all grips on modern fashion, who am I kidding, I've never had fashion sense anyway but at least now I can look good at the track with my new belt buckle. Yup, that's right. 11 cog speed belt buckle. I asked for a 55 but Flavour Flav already wiped out their entire stock. So if you are in need of some slick extras to top off your 15cm handlebar and matte red fixed gear for those evening cruises on False Creek or mad-dash morning commutes, check out Recycled Accessories and support a local BC business.

FEATURE Friday Night Racing Starts October 18th, 2013

Courtesy of The Province

So Kelyn Akuna up here at the Burnaby Velodrome has been working super hard to continue to build the Pacific Northwest track community by creating four Feature Friday Night races over the course of the winter. Different that regular friday night events, these special nights will include a beer garden, a live web cast, a commentator and a Madison event in the hopes of bringing in riders from the Marymoor, Victoria and just maybe the Alpenrose velodrome communities. We are in particular need of A racers. B and C riders welcome too! Watch CyclinginaToque episode.
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Goals for BIKES 2014

I learned quite a few things over the course of the BIKES 2013 project. For example, don't try to be funny if you're not. Instead I just have to be myself and people laugh, go figure. I definitely need to get all the filming of episodes done before Christmas and finished the Name Tag project before racing season starts...video editing is not part of the training plan. I also need to reformulate the Name Tag project as only 1 class finished the 2013 project but wow were they stoked on their well-deserved stickers. Watch today's video.
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Kristen's Adventure

Kristen

"13,000 ft, gravel climbing, single lane and unknown distance" was the message I received two months ahead of the Rapha Women's Prestige last winter. An old skiing friend was in need of fast legs to keep up with her fellow tarmac crushers as they competed as a team in the 2nd annual event on and around the slopes of San Francisco's Mt. Tam.

Rapha Film: "The bird's still remember what we have forgotten".

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Kinesio Majo w/ demo video

Majorie Lauzon

Well I'm two weeks into the off-season and I'm happy to report that the CT Scan on my scapula came back with good news. The fracture I suffered on  Tour of Alberta's windy Stage 3 to Drummheller did not extend through to the socket of the shoulder, which makes sense because if it did I would have been in a lot more pain than I was already. Fortunately I was able to suffer through the last two days of the tour and finish in downtown Calgary with my teammates. Throughout the week's effort, the team scored two top ten results and spend 2 days in the all-day breakaway so it was a moderate success, one in which to take confidence but also many lessons learned into the off-season. The atmosphere in and around the event was everything I hoped it would be and I hope to get a chance to go back! Click for CyclinginaToque Episodes.

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What is work, what is play?

Arman Assadi: Why I left Google

I am often asked how I pay the bills...surely I must have another job. Like a job that I hate. A job that makes it possible to do the one I love. There must be something "holding you down". Something that makes it all work. So what is it?

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I confess...I'm a coffee-addicted lion

"Whip cream?....do it"

So to kick off the weekend and the official beginning of autumn here in BC, I have a two fun videos for you to enjoy. The first is another stunning musical collection of rhythms from multi-instrumentalist Kishi Bashi. It is 18 minutes so if you are making breakfast, it is a great length to set an awesome atmosphere while you chop, cut and stir.

The second video is a hilarious expose on the apparent founder of the raw vegan diet, David Wolfe. Wow..I loved it! Wait...are we coffee-addicted deer-placenta eating lions after all?


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Witnessing Transformations

A testimonial

I remember the moment well. Sitting across the table, surrounded by old cycling memorabilia and the scent of dates squares and cappuccino, is a driven yet uncertain young man dressed in a tight-fitting neon green superman costume.  No it is not the Green Lantern having a mental breakdown or some kind of prehistoric merman attempting an evolutionary epiphany to the world of "da landlubers", but a new coaching client who I, at the time, had no idea would push me to become the coach I am today.

Seemingly indecisive, his eyes dance between the white espresso cup in his hands and a far off land in his mind. Having surfed his way out of an ocean in indecision and scaled a rocky perch, he now sits on the edge of his chair more in realization as opposed to contemplation.  A vast land of foreboding challenges, adventure and danger lie ahead, the thunderous crash of the waves upon his rocky perch push him to step away from the requiem of his past life, boldly charging into the future. He looks up with a smile, relaxes his shoulders and is ready to go. 

This is his story. Thank you Dan.

Real Music...Wow

Emily Wells.
Multi-Instrumentalist Website

The racing season is over! That means I have time to find and share cool stuff with you all! This absolutely stunning video of musician Emily Wells is right off of Sammy Jay's blog but it is too good to pass up. Her multi-instrumentalist talents are superb and this 2008 performance encompasses everything you can imagine as 'real' music.  If you don't think it is impressive, get better headphones! 

I wish performers like Emily were the super famous ones.

Be real. Be awesome. Enjoy


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The Literature on Creationism, I mean Creativity

"More productive my..."

It seems that each afternoon, when I rummage the courage to boldly venture 'where no one has gone before', the galaxy of social media, it seems like I'm always dodging black holes of disinformation and surfing away from supernovas of 'the next greatest thing'. #cornball fryer.

My recent favourite is the cosmic catastrophe that is the seemingly endless bombardment of interstellar gamma rays from the "being more productive" universe. Really people? We have some pretty amazing tools these days. Perhaps the answer is: in an iconic, monotonous and mechanical police officer tone (not to be misinterpreted as Hal)... "Put down the phone and step away from the caffeine...DAVE". Truth is that everyone knows what works, it just feels so good to pitter the day away...right? I mean honestly, who doesn't love monkeys?


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If you ain't scared...you're not doing it right

Coyle on Fear

It's the big game, the big race. The pressure is on and it seems the whole world is watching your every step, or every misstep that is. Walking up to sign in or warming up on the court, sweaty palms and nervous tummies. Those back-of-the-mind gremlins that you've kept bottled up all season are thumping at the door, waiting for the right high-tension moment.  The coach calls a pre-game rally, spelling out in spitted-English just how critical it is that if "you aren't scared you're going to throw the whole season, then you're not doing it right! And winners do the right things, so get out there and get nervous!".


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