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Thank you so much for sending me your notes while I was away. For me it was awesome to have the support from all the way back home. It was a long 5 weeks or however long I was gone for. Perth was cool but the best thing each day was to check emails and keeping up with everyone back home.
Breanne and Kevin did one heck of a great job.
In case anybody was interested in reading a quick article on the closing ceremonies, here’s a link that may interest you.
A quick update on the last couple of days:
We spent the day at the Road race, and yes, we did get a driver for the day. Brayden just did not have it and ended up well back of the winners in 27th place. After the race, Brayden went back to the village and straight to the MacDonalds and then to bed. We visited a great restaurant a couple blocks from the apt, tried a few new dishes, which were great and no surprises in the morning.
Met Brayden in the morning and back out to the race course to watch the Tandem races. Great results, 2 men teams in the top ten and the womens team won a sprint for the bronze medal.
After the races, we had our driver take us down to Wang Fu Jing street, where they have all the exotic food. We had supper at an outdoor cafe, don’t ask me what we ate (because we don’t want to know) .. but it did taste pretty good.
For dessert, Brayden and I tried the Scorpion on a skewer (we sent some pic’s from Breanne’s phone). Basically it tastes like an oily potato chip… not really that bad.
After the “meal”, we headed to the market so Brayden could do some “shopping”. He had a riot, bought a couple of pairs of runners and some sunglasses.
Overall an uneventful but fun couple of days. Tomorrow the Great Wall and we have tickets to the swimming events in the cube.
Well, I’ve received the first batch of photos from China. Just click on each photo to enlarge it.
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Well today was the road race, there were 28 riders, combined CP3, LC3 and LC4s, so the race was exciting. The crowd was packed and people were cheering like crazy. The CP4, LC1 and LC2s went before Brayden. So that was Eric and Marc, Eric is braydens roommate here. Marc didn’t start, we aren’t sure why and Eric was a DNF.
Brayden was behind by the first lap. He rode with Jean, an Argentinian and a Portuguese rider. He finished in the same lap as the leaders without quitting or being disqualified. We were very proud of him for keeping on going on his own. This year has been a big learning experience for Brayden and he’s definitely got some competition. He was the last guy to come into the stadium and was cheered on by thousands of people, he is pumped for next year.
Easily the most frustrating day of our trip. (At least for me).
Today was Time Trial day, a busy one for our team staff because all of our people race, I don’t know how they do it. They deserve medals themselves.
Braydens race was not a good one. In fact he was a DNF. Unfortunately, a couple of small set screws were missed when Brayden’s bike was converted from a track bike to a TT one. The set screws stop his rear wheel from twisting when he puts torque on it. His TT race lasted about 3 pedal strokes, as soon as he left the starting gate and accelerated the wheel torqued and locked up against the frame. Brayden took it well and did not blame anyone, and now, is even hungrier for a good performance in the Road Race.
The RR/TT venue is the same one that was used for the Olympic Triathlon and it is about an hour north of Beijing. We took a cab out there in the morning and planned to take one back after the race .. well, there were no cabs to return on. We found some other Canadian fans that had hired a driver for the day, so Lee and Breanne hitched a ride with them… but there was no room for me. I decided to test the transit system and take a bus. An adventure I won’t forget anytime soon. First of all, they all get on at the back doors, and apparently, all have passes. When you are the only non-local on the bus it is very easy for the driver to spot you and ask for your pass; But not so easy for you to know that is what he is yelling at you for. After much sign language, and more yelling by the driver, a small girl (maybe 3 years old), said in perfect english, “He just wants to know if you can pay.” I told her to tell him I could pay, but how much was it. She said something to him, he threw his hands in the air and went back to driving. I had decided to stay on the bus until it got to Beijing and then get off at whatever stop was closest to the Olympic Green and get a cab from there to the house. What I didn’t think of, or realize, was that this bus was not going to stop until it got to the Beijing bus station, which was deep in the downtown area. Like all bus stations, I would say the area was sketchy at best. There were probably 50 full buses that all arrived at the same time, and those passengers knew where to go to get a cab. By the time I figured it out, no cabs were left. As the crowds dissipated and no more cabs appeared, I realized I was somewhat of a target for the locals to approach and after turning away about 3 of them, I decided I had better start walking away from the station. Using the same logic as Calgary’s bus station, I walked toward the tall buildings as the sun set and it got dark. After walking an hour, having a small heart attack every time something moved in the shadows, and wondering if amputation was the penalty for public urination, I finally made it to a hotel where I got a cab back to our apartment. Total trip took 3 hours and probably cost me a year of my life.
Tomorrow we are hiring a driver.
Keep your fingers crossed for the road race.
For those of you that want to watch Brayden race live, he’ll be racing today at 11:30am. Of course you’ll have to watch it on the paralympic tv website. It’s a two hour race, so if you’re at work, you’ll probably want to close the office door.
Well we left at 8 am and drove out to the ming tombs, that’s where the road races are (where the triathlon was for the Olympics). We got here before 9 but didn’t make it to the seating until 930. We had to take a bus from where the cab dropped us off up to the spectator stands. And they are packed. Like insane. We are in the last row and there are enthusiastic Chinese all around us. They must move sporting events here because everythings been packed! Now we are watching the hand cyclists and waiting for Brayden to ride – not until 1120. So we have a while. Today Brayden will do 24 km which is 2 laps. Tomorrows race is 5 laps which is 60 something.
Not sure if you watched but Brayden was a DNF (did not finish). His bike was broken. Were not sure what the problem was but his wheel was moving side to side and he had to stop. He rode around at the end so they mustve fixed it. Hopefully he’ll be able to race tomorrow. The results for today were Ochoa in 1 followed by Kenny in 2 and the Korean in 3 it was close in times between Darren and javier. And then close between the Korean and the other Spanish guy that was 4th. Jean came 5th. That’s all for today. Everyone here is grumpy. 
For those that are wondering … diarrhea, but the meal was great.
Well Weds was the last day of the track races – the girls went to the market (someone in the market actually asked if they were a daughter and her 2 lesbian mothers, I will be getting some mileage out of that one). Brayden did not race but was the alternate for the team sprint so he had to go and prepare to race in case he was needed. He and I decided to meet at the track and go out after the races. Turned out that he had to take his road bike back to the village, so we arranged to get together just outside of the village. When he arrived back at the village, he took his bike off the bus, and went back to get his gym bag .. when he returned .. the bike was gone!! For the next 3 hours, Brayden was in a panic .. I could not help him because I can’t get into the village. Turns out while Brayden was inside getting the bag, the bus driver saw the bike and put it back on the bus .. it showed up at the bus barns and someone from the Canadian contingent, who had heard about the “lost bike”, put 2 and 2 together and returned the bike to Brayden. man was he ever relieved. Nice to have some excitement in your day. Not.
Breanne, myself and the lesbian mothers went to the Hou something or another area, which is Beijings famous “bar/restaurant” area, for supper and drinks. The area probably had 50 different bars, all them along a street that wound around a lake. It was really neat.
I had breakfast with Brayden today, while the girls went out to the great wall. He was calmed down and ready for tomorrows time trial. The team was going out to pre-ride the course.
As I mentioned earlier, the venues have been packed and gettings tickets has been hard work.. We still don’t have tickets for the road events, so I am sitting here waiting for Brayden to come out of the village, as he has been able to scoop up some. Breanne and her lesbian mothers have gone to the exotic food market (scorpions, silk worms etc) .. Probably saved myself another bout tomorrow by not being able to go with them.
Tomorrow is race day, so everyone is heading to bed early. We will update everyone after the race.
Well, I have spent the last 3 days sitting at the Velodrome and watching the races. Brayden has had 2 – 7th place finishes, one of them better than we thought and the other one a little slower than we had hoped for. The racing has been fantastic, lots of World Records have been broken and the fans have been loud and rambuncious. The Laoushan Velodrome holds about 6000 people, and it has been standing room only for all the events. Lots of Brit’s and Aussies, and most days, Cdns, so the banter back and forth has been great. I have been betting beers with them, thank goodness they cost less than a dollar ea, and are only 4.3% alcohol, because I haven’t won that many.
Brayden has become some what of a celebrity here .. with other Canadians in the athlete village, because of his Petro-Canada commercial and at the Velodrome because of a shot of him with Eric V (head coach) during the kilo, both of them have their game face on (those that have watched him race in Calgary know what “face” I am talking about). There is a 30ish story building here, shaped like the flame, with a 60′ TV screen on all sides of it, and they show that shot all the time.
Traffic to and from the Velodrome has not been that bad, but the way the cab drivers drive is very exciting, to say the least .. not as bad as Rome .. but worst than Paris. Although I have discovered that 3 or 4 beer at the track, allow me to relax and not worry too much about the ride. Not sure if that is a good thing or not. It is obvious that the general public has been coached on how to treat us, yesterday, when I was about 4th in line at the taxi stand, a young local couple got in when it was their turn and immediately the Security guard ran over and after much yelling, the couple got out and everyone motioned for me to get in .. I refused, but everyone just stood there and the Security guard glared at me .. I decided that I would have to see this guard every day, so it was best for me to take the cab. Weird eh?
That’s it for now, we are going out for some authentic Beijing food tonight, so I will probably have either a good story or diarrhea, or maybe both, tomorrow.