26.08.05
Posted in Canada, Triathlon at 1:16 pm by AB
Hello from Penticton, British Columbia, home of the Ironman Canada triathlon. It’s a quaint town situated between Lake Okanagan and Lake Skaha, in the Okanagan Valley. It’s a big summer holiday town as lots of Canadians come here and bask in the sunshine. Today (Friday) it is about 30 degrees celcius. Hopefully it’s not quite so warm for the racers on Sunday, but for us spectators 30 would be sweet.
The whole town has started to become busier over the last few days as more and more athletes and there entourage arrive in town. With close to 2000 competitors competiting in the race and each on average probably having 3-4 others in tow it makes for a busy place.
The town is awash with banners and signs welcoming the athletes and trying to cash in on all the visitors. (A photo of one of the better signs is attached below.)
I am here to watch Karl Heiden a fellow Triathlete from Canberra race. I have been staying with Karl and family while in Vancouver. Karl’s brother Derek is also racing. My job for race day is Heiden family official photographer. So hopefully i’ll pull out a few happy snaps. The Canadian Ironman is a one lap of everything course so it makes it hard for spectating. Especially on the bike as they are gone for the full 180kms and thats 5 hours without anyone around. Also the run is 21.1kms out to the turn around and the same back so viewing oppurtunities are limited, which is a shame for spectators but also the athletes as it can get lonely out there, or so i have been told.
Another thing about Ironman is the Expo. For all you bike people out there, Cervello have several of the P3 Carbon’s for test riding. Better get down there soon and have a ride.
I’ll have more from Penticton in the next few days as well as photos later.
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21.08.05
Posted in Canada at 11:44 am by AB
Given i am starting to finally feel close to 100% after what ever it was i came down with less than 48 hours from departure in Australia; and after being a little sedentary over the last 12 days; and getting guilty watching Karl continue to train for the Ironman next Sunday i decided it was time to get out and do something.
I decided to head out for a run. Seperating the UBC Campus from the suburbs is an area called the University Endowment lands or the Pacific Spirit Regional Park. It has over 50 kilometers of trails for walking/running so i am sure that it would take a long time to get bored running around inside it, especially considering that it is a forested 763-hectare park almost twice the size of Stanley Park.
As i saw (but luckilly didn’t discover first hand) some of the trails are real ankle breakers. But thats the nature of trail running. Some of the trails are dual use for walking and Mountain Biking but they are the tamer trails. As i understand all the good mountain biking is on the North Shore - the other side of the Harbour on the Northern side of the CBD.
It was an awesome place to run. There were also plenty of walkers out enjoying an early Sunday morning walk, and a few other runners, but with so many trails you could feel all alone which was sweet. It was good to get out for a run, and one side of the park isn’t that far from my new place so I should be able to hit it up a bit. Don’t want to come back home overweight!
I also feel a lot less sore now from football after getting out for a run.
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20.08.05
Posted in Canada at 1:25 pm by AB
Heading to football included catching the SkyTrain. It’s an elevated rail line that runs east from the CBD into areas of Greater Vancouver, such as Burnaby and Surrey. The interesting thing about the SkyTrain is that it is the World’s longest automated light rapid transit system. I’m sure the key words there are “light rapid and transit”.
Automated?? Yes it drives itself. No driver, no conductor, nobody but passengers. Somebody told me that it’s a bit of a white elephant but it seems alright to me. The lack of ticket barriers at stations, however, opens it up to free travel. Very similar to the trams in Melbourne i guess in the way you can go up and down without actually having a ticket. I don’t know how much they check, but i am not really to keen to find out. And having to connect to a bus means i’d have to end up buying a fare regardless. A few dollars is a lot better than what ever the fine may be.
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Posted in Canada, Sport at 1:19 pm by AB
Thursday I was looking for something to do, so i decided that I would make the hour trek by public transport out to Burnaby to training at the Vancouver Cougars Football Club. For those in Canberra it would be like being in Belconnen and having to travel out to Tuggeranong to Train. But it was really simple to get there.
I think Triathlon and Umpiring had insulated me from what football clubs were all about. It had been a long time since i was involved in a football club and that was when i was a junior. Pretty much as soon as guys started arriving talk centred around who got the drunkest the previous Saturday night and who had managed to get inside a Canadians pants. Interesting conversation boys!! Very typical of a football club i guess. The stereotype follows all around the world.
That aside it was fun to have a run around with a group of guys and have a kick of the footy. It was a formal structured training, so it wasn’t all standing at two ends and trying to take big pack marks Ashley Sampi style. Also different was the artifical turf field that we were practising on. Basically we were training on a Canadian Football Field (which is longer and wider than an American Football Field), make of artifical turf supported by 3 inches of granulised rubber underneath. It actually felt pretty firm and sure under foot. I thought i’d be able to put down a pretty good bounce out there but resisted the urge to try at the risk of being stereotyped as an umpire. Might save that surprise for when i actually umpire a game.
After training i had a quick beer with some of the guys at the Rugby Club over the road from the fields, where they are currently playing the National Championships, before the Coach gave me a lift back into Town. He attempted to get me to travel to Calgary with them on the Weekend for a game. However, the thought of 12 hours in a bus each way, and the fact i didn’t really have the time at the moment while i am still sorting myself out had me thinking maybe another time. I beleive that they are travelling to the US National Champs in Wisconsin in October so I might think about heading to that and doing some umpiring. Mainly as i heard that they have Coopers beers at the Champs.
It had been a while since i had done so much kicking and football style running, which is very different to umpiring and Triathlon so i was quite sore the next day and even worse today. I felt like i did after i raced the Australian Long Course Champs in Port Macquarie back in February. Maybe even worse!
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18.08.05
Posted in Canada at 12:17 pm by AB
Well the search is over. This morning i was invited into a share house in a really cool part of Vancouver. It’s only one street back from one of the major roads which is lined with shops, bars, cafe’s and everything else. It’s probably only 20 minutes walk to Kitsilano beach too, which is the place to be. Or so i have been told at least. So thats one weight off my mind. I am moving into a house on Sept 1 and will be sharing with three Canadians. Two girls and one guy. I am looking forward to the challenge and the fun. So today i am relaxing and taking it easy. Wooo!
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17.08.05
Posted in Canada at 3:14 pm by AB
Ok ladies and Gentlemen, the first of the photos are now online. Check them out here.
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Posted in Canada at 11:15 am by AB
Something unfamiliar for me is house hunting. It’s just another thing i have to throw myself into full throttle. I have seen a few places already this week since the hunting began in earnest.
So far i have been a little snobbish as to where i want to live, on the advice of my one Vancouver contact. I am also only here for a short time so i don’t really want to live out in the middle of no where. At the end of the day i would like to be where the action is. This morning was a little depressing as no new ads appeared for the areas i am looking.
I have received a call back to the second round of selection at one house. It’s ruthless!! 
Obviously i made the first cut. I am also checking out another place this afternoon.
The battle continues. I am hoping to find a place in the next few days so that I can have that behind me and go up to the ironman in Penticton. If i haven’t found a place i might stay inVancouver till i manage to find a place and forego travelling to Penticton for the Ironman.
Getting around is simple as the buses run everywhere and often. Everything is a typical east/west north/south block set up, so it’s hard to get lost. Every couple of blocks there is a main street so it’s also easy to walk around. I seem to have been doing a lot of that lately too.
Anyway i think i have used my $4.10 worth of internet here this morning. It’s free with purchase. Time to continue the hunt.
AB
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16.08.05
Posted in Canada at 1:14 pm by AB
Well I have arrived. It as been a few days since i have updated, especially with all of the details, so here goes.
The couple of days before i had left home i had been pretty crook, my temperature regulation was all out and i was going from freezing cold to burning hot, quite sore all over and very lethargic. I was that unwell i couldn’t even finish the roast lunch Mum had made for the family on the Sunday. In fact I hardly made a dent in it. With everything packed and ready to roll I went to bed and had another crap nights sleep. I woke up on the Monday feeling no better. I knew it was going to be a long trip the way i was feeling, but given that i was feeling pretty bad i was hopeful that i would be able to get a fair degree of sleep on the 14 hour flight to Los Angeles.
Karen, joined Mum, Dad and Danielle at the Canberra Airport to see me off. I said my goodbyes and waved goodbye as i headed down the air bridge. Not sure when exactly I’ll see them again. Hopefully I’ll see Karen in Hawaii just after Christmas for a nice break. The first leg of the trip the 30 minutes to Sydney were uneventful, no real dramas. I thought quickly about doing some shopping at the airport in Sydney but all I really wanted to do was sit down. So after transferring to the international terminal I pretty much headed straight for the Qantas Club. I didn’t even feel like a drink. At least the Qantas Club was quiet and i was able to sit very still and not move to much. I was starting to feel sorry for who ever it was going to be sitting next to me for the 14 hours to LA.
I was one of the last to board the flight to LA (a deliberate move). Just when it was looking like we were about to leave we were delayed for 30 minutes as one of the galleys on the plane wasn’t working. I’m sure First Class wouldn’t have noticed but the rest of us in Economy would have noticed if one of the galleys wasn’t operational. Anyway finally we were on the way. The pilot gave up on the galleys and decided that the flight crew would have to sort it out en-route. As these things go the galley was to end up working fine, despite no one being able to isolate “the fault” on the ground. The movies were slim pickings and I was just waiting for the first meal to be served before I was going to try and take the Night tablets from the Day and night cold and flu set up and attempt to sleep.
However i was to get little sleep on the flight over and the stuff that i did was pretty ordinary. The flight was pretty painful as i was pretty restless. When i finally did get some sleep, i managed about 3 crappy hours and i woke up just over 2 hours out of Los Angeles. So after suffering through the final two hours of that flight i had arrived in Los Angeles.
It’s well know that American Immigration Officials can be ruthless and one missed placed item on your arrival card and you are back to the end of the line. Plus there are all the questions that they ask you. And all i was trying to be doing was catching a connecting flight to Canada. There is no such thing as a transit lounge around here, you physically have to enter America. Karl had also told me that connecting flights in LAX can be a real hassle and he previously he had all sorts of trouble making the connection i was going to be making. He told me that you’d need all 3 hours of the layover. This had me concerned as i had already lost 30 minutes because the galleys in the plane delayed our departure.
Anyway i was off the plane pretty quickly and therefore one of the first in line for immigration. I made it through immigration pretty quickly and painlessly. Then the qantas club membership came in handy as my bags were already waiting for me on the ‘priority’ first/business/club member only carousel. Thought Customs and there was someone waiting to take my bags for the connecting flight. A short walk to Terminal 3 and i was through security and at the next departure gate within 30 minutes. Mush faster then Karl’s predicted 3 hours.
After killing just under two hours by basically watching planes come and go i was on QF3773. A qantas codeshare flight operated by Alaska Airlines. Alaska Airlines made Virgin Blue look like First Class. The decor inside the plane was circa 1950’s, probably even before the 737 was even built. They probably recycled it from a Super Constellation or 707. There was one drink service in the 2 and a half hour flight to Vancouver and no in-flight entertainment. I used the flight to sleep as i was feeling real average and besides sleeping was probably the best form of entertainment on this airline. I don’t know how qantas can bring themselves to let their passengers codeshare with them. Anyway at 3:30pm local time i was awoken by the plan landing in Vancouver.
Customs and immigration in Canada was a painless affair. I visited the Canada Immigration Centre between the Immigration counter and Customs and had my work permit issued. Karl and Amy were waiting on the other side for me and I was pretty glad to see them even though i probably didn’t look like it. I was glad i didn’t have to try and find my way anywhere else by myself for now. All i wanted to do was sit down and do nothing. I managed to last until about 10pm at which time i had the best nights sleep i had had in days. Tuesday i woke up feeling better but still very not with it. Tuesday and Wednesday i spent pottering around campus just getting a feel for stuff, and tagging along if the Heiden’s went somewhere. By Thursday i ventured into the City. I caught the bus downtown to visit the work program exchange people to help with the processing of my SIN. It’s the equivalent of the Australian tax file number. Anyway they weren’t running an orientation session on the Thursday and told me to come back the next day. this is despite the fact i was told on the phone on Wednesday that i could come in on the Thursday. Anyway i took this opportunity to explore the city and also try to get myself a cell phone. The city is obviously a lot bigger than Canberra, but probably resembles Adelaide rather than Sydney or Melbourne. Well thats my opinion anyway.
I ventured back into the city on Friday and this time managed to get my SIN application done. I didn’t hang around in the city for long as i had seen it the day before. Friday night my one Vancouver contact - Mel- called to see what i was up to on the weekend. So i met up with her on the Saturday, and she took me to Granville Island, which is a craft/food market place. There was lots of good food places there at Granville Island, but by far the most exciting thing for me was the Granville Island Tea Company where i was able to have a Rooibos Tea. Following the excursion around Granville Island we went to kitsilano. Which is a pretty cool neighbourhood just over the bridge from the city. This is the area where Mel lives and where i would like to try to find somewhere to live. It’s like the Bondi or Coogee of Vancouver. The only difference is that no one is in the water, despite the fact it is 30 degrees. However the pool next door couldn’t possibly hold another person. After lunch i sat down there looking through the paper for a place to live. There wasn’t a lot of adverts in the paper, which was disappointing.
That night Mel took me out for a few drinks.
Sunday Mel took me for the walking tour of Vancouver! And when i say walking i mean walking. We walked from Kitsilano to Stanley Park and back through the downtown. Some photos should appear on my gallery website real soon. Sunday night i crashed hard. And thats the end of one week in Vancouver.
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12.08.05
Posted in Canada at 10:16 pm by AB
Hi everyone. I have gone mobile. Getting a phone was not as simple as it seemed. It’s very different here in North America. You pay for “air time” so you pay regardless if you are the caller or the callee. With that in mind i got on a plan that gives me unlimited incoming. That way i can talk for ages when people in Australia call me. Hint Hint! There are also a lot of other added traps and tricks. Makes me even dirtier i wasn’t able to sign up to the 3 mobile company before leaving Canberra with it’s $29 cap plan including $120 worth of calls/sms a month (including international).
It’s just as competitive for providers though with each trying to out do one another. It’s like the early days in Australia too where you have to pay extra if you want caller id and/or voice mail. They are an extra $5 each a month. Needless to say i passed on those options. The girl thought i was crazy as i wouldn’t know people had called. I said they can call me back if i don’t answer. She looked at me wierdly. Maybe people don’t do that up here. Anyway i know who my texts are from.
Thanks to Alice and Karen who have called me already, and Danielle who won the prize for first phone contact with her text messages.
Email me if you want my “cell” phone number.
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Posted in Canada at 10:10 pm by AB
Things change quickly especially when you have to put your tips in a day earlier and you are at a internet cafe at 22:05 on a Friday night watching AFL scoreboards. Yes thats right, I am sitting here watching the scoreboards from the North v St.K amd Melbourne v Geelong games. Hopefully soon I’ll be able to have the internet on where ever it is i am staying and i can listen to the games live. As an added bonus i can subscribe to the AFL Website and watch the games 24 hours after they are played. Another one best left for the furture home. Despite the fact that i am reduced to doing it this way. It’s still a hell of a lot more enjoyable than this afternoon was watching Toronto play Montreal in the Canadian Football Leauge. Yawn… Well it was that or the baseball. Bring on the Hockey!!!
This weekend look out for a big post with my first week in detail. I’ll get to it i promise.
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