Well if you’re not a Blackhawks fan that was five minutes you’ll never get back. Yep, I spent my spring watching the Chicago Blackhawks win their first Stanley Cup in 49 years! Still hard to believe and it actually finally hit me after seeing the Cup in person when Captain Jonathan Toews brought it back to his hometown of Winnipeg – but more on that a little later.

I’ve been riding sporadically throughout the spring, never as much as I want to or as much as I should. We endured some record rainfall here this past month and my usual trail was not immune:

As you know I was supposed to compete in a local enduro race – Reach the Beach back on July 4th, it was canceled because of the rainfall and flooded trails. So I’m back in search of another race for this year, maybe a charity ride in the fall  through Riding Mountain.

After some great riding during my week of holidays, I’ve decided to start riding off the beaten path so to speak. I’ll be checking out some new trails around the city and outskirts and will post the new adventures soon! (rode some gnarly single track out in Birds Hill Park that I will post later).

Speaking of holidays, my week off was pretty eventful! Got to see a big fave of mine John Hiatt perform live at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. This is the fourth time I’ve seen him in concert and he was awesome as always. I first saw him in 1999 at the same Folk Festival, but the crowds were much smaller than they are now. I think the festival set another attendance record on opening night with over 10,000 people….correction, a new record with over 9000 hippies and an additional 1000 regular folks. Not sure who keeps breeding all these hippies but they were out in full force this year…

Dread Head

Believe it or not that dread-headed lady was pushing 60-years old! She’s like a real hippie dude…you dig? The dancing dude below was also a highlight. I guess decades of drug abuse take their toll on a person’s rhythm. The mic on my camera doesn’t work so unfortunately there’s no sound – not that it matters – you could play any song in the history of the world and this guy’s dancing wouldn’t match the beat. Far out man…

Aside from the hippies and the constant purple haze, Hiatt was great. We (myself, Leslie, and the Russian) were a mile away from the stage which paid off in the end as we were some of the first in line for autographs! So for the first time I got to meet the man, shake his hand, mumble something incoherent in his general direction, and walk away with a stupid grin on my face. I felt like a little kid again meeting an idol of mine. I literally had no idea what I had said to him until we got halfway home, and I’m still not entirely sure what I mustered. But he did say mine was the first iPod he’s signed – so I may have the only John Hiatt Signature Edition iPod which is pretty groovy. Once we were done getting autos I snapped a shot of the man.

Master of Disaster

and the pod:

A great start to my holiday and it only got better. Headed out to the lake for the week but came back to the Peg after just two days for the Jonathan Toews (pronounced ‘taves’) Stanley Cup Parade. Although I didn’t get to meet Tazer, I did make a sign for him which got me way too much exposure…

I'm really not that chubby in the face, the camera adds 10 pounds of face fat.

Again, I managed to shake an idol’s hand and give the Grail a tap. Not hard to do when you can get this close (and check out that ring on his hand, that’s his Olympic Gold Medal ring, not sure how he’ll wear that and a gaudy Stanley Cup ring at the same time. But I guess that’s the ideal problem to have.

Tazer with the Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy (Playoff MVP)

After that 5 hour parade and celebration, it was time to head back to the lake! Had a great week weather-wise and even managed to get out fishing with my 6th best bud Billy B’Catchin. We caught our limit of legal sized Walleyes…

Livewell full of wallys. Yummy!

And I managed to land a beauty 27-inch 6+ pounder! We were fairly lucky she got into the boat. We had a marker buoy out which naturally the fish got caught on. It was like that scene from Jaws when the Great White pulled the barrels under the water. I’m talkin’ aboot a great walleye chiefy…Actually I think I have the same hat that Quint wore in the movie!

Me and my 6th best bud then got out riding a few times during the week, a couple of the highlights being taking the new bridge to Sturgeon Falls and then taking on the hiking path to Pine Point Rapids…

Billy B'Pedlin on the new bridge.

It was a round trip of 12kms to and from the falls and Billy did pretty good considering he hadn’t ridden a bike in years. It was sweltering and the sandy path added to the workout, but eventually we reached our destination and victory was ours!!

We go through these falls by boat which is already a little nerve wracking, but standing beside them is even more intimidating. You’ll get an idea of how hot it was out when you see the end of this video…

This is the only help you get on the Pine Point trail, you’re on your own the rest of the way.

Here’s a shot of part of the ‘trail’ and this is one of the easier parts. Lots of roots to deal with.

But the scenery is pretty good and once you get to the end you’re treated to more rushing water.

A wind storm ripped through this area two summers ago, it literally flattened all the trees in it’s path. Most have been cleared out to avoid a forest fire hazard which leaves it looking a little bizarre. The walking path used to cut through thick forest.

There are more paths/trails throughout the Whiteshell Provincial Park that I’m hoping to explore as the summer goes on. If they’re worth posting I’ll get them on here.  More to come soon on our ride out at Birds Hill.

http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=534272

Topics will include: Manitoba Marathon, Reach the Beach cancellation, John Hiatt, Jonathan Toes and the Stanley Cup!

To all three of you, check back soon!

Billy Crystal in Running Scared (1986)

The great John Candy in Summer Rental (1985)

Even though he's a Leafs fan, kudos to Mike Myers for this street hockey scene, Officer Koharski and of course Stan Makita's Donuts.

The classic that spawned many "00" Griswold jersies from Christmas Vacation (1989)

Upcoming film "Cheaters" stars Kevin James and Vince Vaughn (big Hawks fan) take in Game 4 of the Western Final. The Blackhawks will play a big role in the movie.

]]> http://portlypedaler.ca/?feed=rss2&p=391 1 http://portlypedaler.ca/?p=384 http://portlypedaler.ca/?p=384#comments Fri, 28 May 2010 20:49:29 +0000 Browny http://portlypedaler.ca/?p=384 Starting tomorrow night my Chicago Blackhawks will be playing a best of 7 series for the hockey’s holy grail – The Stanley Cup! To say that I’m excited is an understatement. To say that I’m nervous is an even bigger understatement. The Hawks haven’t won the Cup since the 1960-61 season which is the longest drought in the NHL by a long shot!

But if you think an outsider fan from Winnipeg is pumped for the final to begin you can only imagine how the city of Chicago must feel! I think you’d only need to drive around Chi-town to pick up the vibes of a city longing for a Stanley Cup parade through downtown:

Brachiosaurus dinosaur sculpture outside The Field Museum in Chicago.

The Chicago Blackhawks jersey on the Museum's Dissemination of Knowledge statue, a nine-foot high figure of a woman reading to a baby, located in the northeast corner of Stanley Field Hall.

A lion sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago sports a Blackhawks helmet in celebration of their appearence in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Even the Michael Jordan statue outside the United Center dons Blackhawks gear, including skate blades.

The weather here has been horrible, highs of +4 and it feels like it’s been raining nonstop for days. Hoping to be back in the saddle of my bike tomorrow.