It got interesting as someone had to run the shop, so I did the first run, jumped in my truck and drove to the shop so Irah could come up to race. Then we swapped again so I could do the final run. A little slower than my 1:45 last year, I came in at 1:53. Guess I have to practice more this fall and next spring!

Anywho, on to the results!

Men’s Category:

First Place
Tom Anderson
1:41.16

Second Place
Kees Vandervalk Jr
1:41.56
(2009 result : First Place – 1:33)

Third Place
Sasha LeBaron
1:42.18
(2009 result : Second Place – 1:36)

Fourth Place
Irah Vet
1:43.72

Fifth Place
Miles Bagger
1:43.90

Women’s Category

First Place
Carmel Ecker
1:57.03

Second Place
Christine Jensen
2:06.53

Third Place
Amy LeBaron
2:09.66

The complete results are here:
results2010

Honorable Mention goes to Jaden Legante for being the Youngest rider at 6 years old!

Thanks so much to the timing volunteers and all the participants. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Looking forward to next year! Same day, same time, same place. See you there!

Had a lovely evening last Sunday at Rob and Amanda’s to celebrate Rob’s birthday. What fun! Fantastic food, great conversations and a few tasty libations created by DC squared. (That’s Deputy Chief Doug Chinnery). While I brought a simple Ground Venison, Beer Tomato Spaghetti Bolognese; there was a yummy Homemade Caesar Salad, Grilled Steaks and Roast Vegetables, and Grilled Prawns with Spicy Miso Sauce. Mmmmmmmmmm. And Lindy is back! She’s looking good and taking a break before her new job starts now that she’s done school. Way to go!

Speaking of bikes, this Sunday is the 4th Annual No Horses Challenge! Come on up to the top of Strachan Road at noon on Sunday to either race or cheer on the competitors! We’re expecting a few more riders this year and lots more spectators. Lee will be riding his new Banshee Wildcard and is super stoked about it! Even Arly is coming back to improve his time. Thanks to Jody and friends for timing! See you there!

After all the riding, I stopped overnight in Comox to visit Melissa and Andy. Nice folks and very generous with sharing their house. We had a simple dinner and watched some Top Gear. Great stuff! Thanks for the couch and good times.

I had a couple stops in town to activate my iPhone and a brief visit with Savannah at her work, (nice uniform! ) then rolled for the ferry home. All in all a great couple of days. Now it’s time to knuckle down to get the shop ramped up for summer. Ride on!

Kaetlyn has a blog!
The other day I realized the domain kaetlynbew.com was available and decided to set it up. With a couple of hours work, Kaetlyn has a website all her own!

With WordPress as the platform, it’s a straightforward blogging system that she can do anything with. Blog posts, photos, resumés, whatever. So far it’s pretty small, but we’ll see it get more interesting as time goes on…

Check it out.

http://www.kaetlynbew.com/

The lineup was James and Jordan, Dave Bishop, Sasha and Amy, and meselfs. With the kitchen running full tilt, and every spare inch of counter space in use it was rockin!
After the chaos had settled, the food had been et and the drinks had been drunk, we’d finished a 6 course gourmet meal.

Appetizer (James):
Italian Breakfast (Egg Poached in Red Sauce over Herb and Butter Crustini).

Appetizer (Dave):
Tomato Tartar with Crispy Shallots, Parsley Oil, Basil Creme Fraiche, Balsamic Reduction and Toasted Jalapeno Bread Crumbs.

Soup (Jordan):
Peanut Coriander Yam Chipotle Soup dressed with Cilantro and Peanuts, and served with Homemade Baguettes.

Main (Jer):
Venison Masala Curry over Smoked Couscous with Fresh Basil and Endive.

Appetizer (Sasha):
Organic Faloni with Hot Chili Infused Goat Cheese drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar and Rosemary Blossoms.

Dessert (Sasha and Amy):
Chili Infused Goat Cheese Torte on a Jalapeno Crumb Crust drizzled with Peach Puree and Chocolate Liquor Sauce.

All the while we chatted up a storm, and sampled some fine Libations; Phillips Chocolate Porter, a fine Argentinian White, Phrog Gin, Red Breast Irish Whiskey and Flora de Cana Rum. What a blast and so many wonderful flavours!

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Imagine, if you will, being able to add the smoky flavour of chipotle peppers to something, without adding the spicy heat. A little touch of this smoked paprika and the flavour comes alive! I’ve tried it on escargo and venison to great success. I’d call it a secret ingredient, except that I’m posting it on the Intertubes. Wait’ll you try it!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/LA-CHINATA-SMOKED-PAPRIKA-POWDER/102032571006

Our Menu:
Appetizer (Jer):
Escargot Sauteed in Smoked Paprika Butter Sauce over Asparagus

First Main (James):
Black Truffle, Ricotta and Egg Yolk Ravioli over sauteed Kale Tops with White Truffle Oil

Second Main (James):
Local Oysters Poached in Red Wine on a Nest of Saffron Spaghettini with Red Wine Reduction, Bacon and Parmesan, Baked

Salad (Jordan):
Avocado and Grapefruit Salad with Ginger and Miso Dressing in a Parmesan Bowl with Spiced Chickpeas and Tahini/Cilantro Puree

Dessert (Travis):
Flaming Baked Alaska with Homemade Lemon Ice Cream and Cointreau

Yummmmmmmm!

Take a look at the photos…

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One of my tasks was to be combined with fun. I had to return the keys to Kyriakos at his store. He owns the Parthenon Mediterranean Grocery on West Broadway. While there I spent a good 45 minutes shopping and exploring all the amazing flavours he has. He tipped me to the best feta cheese I’ve ever tasted (I got a full block of that) and hooked me up with 5 litres of top notch kalamata olives! Among the other treasures I picked up were some great balsamic vinegar, some truffle oil, nice prosciutto, a can of escargot, two kinds of dried chilies, chick peas, cous cous, a huge can of dolmades, nice flatbreads and some amazing sweet roasted paprika!

I’m super excited to use these flavours. As a matter of fact, James and Jordan are coming over tonight and we’re going to cook up some tasty gourmet food. Along with the amazing food, I stopped in Chinatown and got a dozen nice plates to practice plating on. They are all angles and white to really show off the food. Dave Bishop said it well, “Good food is about all the senses, and the first experience the guest has of it is the visual display. It’s worth spending the time to do it right.” I’m so looking forward to practicing and getting better at the plating side of food, as my cooking ability grows at the same time.

In other news, Irah and I are opening the shop three days a week now, and getting really excited about the coming season. With a new kayak trailer built, thanks to Rob, and bikes being built, we’re really ramping it up. Wait till you see the new signage and logos!

After a beer with the next door neighbours, we loaded up the bikes and headed for Vancouver. We had a riding date with Ian Johansen, and dinner plans with Christine. I tell ya, sometimes I don’t feel like riding, and then I get on my bike and all is right with the world. Dinner with Christine, Jeff and Ariel was lovely. We brought a simple salad and they had a tasty salmon. Along with the Cassis wine, it was the perfect wrap up to a good day.

We’re looking at another 3-4 days here, a day of shopping for food, and then we’ll be back on Hornby. Hopefully Monday or there abouts. And we’ll be coming with so much building materials, my studio is that much further ahead. Stoked!

We’ve been productive. Not having internet at the site really helps I think. Progress is definitely being made. We’ve got all the trim out and denailed, the floor is mostly up (not easy cause they glued and nailed it.) And most of the walls drywall is down. Another day for the rest of the drywall, then the framing, cutting the upstairs floor out, disconnecting the excess power lines, and doing a few dump runs. We’ll be here for a bit yet. If you want to stop by, and we’d be stoked for a visit, drop me an email.

The local Library has Wifi so we get our fix twice a day, at lunch and after dinner. Speaking of dinner, Gid came by and helped us out yesterday (Thanks, dude!) and then we went out to Steveston Marina for Greek food. Yum! Almost as yum as the cold beer after a hard days work!

Now for a quick shower and off to make pasta with Kim on her new pasta machine!