Cycling Safety for All!

Ok. I know. The title of this post implies a very boring post - it may be to some, but I need to raise some awareness about cycling on the road for both cyclists and drivers!

As a cyclist myself, one of my biggest pet peeves is seeing fellow cyclists breaking rules, making stupid decisions, and taking unnecessary risks on the road. For example, yesterday, I was in a left turn lane where a cyclist who was on the right of the lane, slowly drifted into the middle of the lane in front of me with no hand signals, then decided to turn left to follow the pedestrian crosswalk and onto the sidewalk. As he was very slowly riding in front of me, I gave him a little honk to signal that I was going to pass him on the right and that he was in the wrong place. As I turned left, and then stopped in yet another left turn lane, he yelled at me from the sidewalk, proceeded to swear at me and pointed to his nether region and said "suck this". I was appalled at such a rude gesture and proceeded to yell across the road that as a cyclist myself, I couldn't stand watching him ride in such a risky manner and risk killing himself. He continued to swear at me, I continued to tell him that he made the rest of us cyclists look bad and that if he kept riding that way, he will put himself in harms way. He probably didn't understand that I was a cyclist and thought I was just like every other driver who hates dealing with cyclists on the road. OH, and he wasn't wearing a helmet.

This I'm sure will be the first of a few rants this summer about cyclists riding with complete abandon for their own safety and oblivion to the traffic (street and sidewalk!) around them. So today, this is what I am going to ask of my fellow cyclists:

1. If you ride on the road, you are a vehicle. You MUST signal (remember those from your learner's handbook?) your turns and lane changes left or right at the very least. You're also supposed to signal when you're slowing down... but that's pretty unlikely.
2. If you choose to cross the road at a pedestrian crossing, (i.e. between the two white lines at a controlled intersection or a cross walk) please dismount and walk your bike across. Otherwise, you look like a vehicle who will go when the intersection is clear. Do not expect drivers to give you the right of way if you stay mounted on your bike at a pedestrian crossing. This also is courteous to pedestrians using the crossing.
3. If you are riding in a lane, whether it goes straight or turns, please stay to the right of the lane. Blocking traffic only irritates drivers more and makes them more aggressive.
4. Please use the bike routes! There's little that irks me more than a cyclist putting themselves in danger on a main road like Hastings St (from Burnaby to Downtown), when there are designated bike routes on quieter streets just two blocks away running parallel to the main road!
5. Wear a helmet. Please. 

And to my fellow drivers, it's summer time and please be patient with cyclists. Not only that, with the number of bike events increasing across the country, road cycling is becoming very popular (especially with the success of Ryder Hesjedal). Yes, I know some of them are idiots weaving in and out of traffic, hopping up onto then off sidewalks, and riding in the middle of your lane. However, there is no need for you to get aggressive and tailgate a cyclist, or see how close you can get to them as you pass them. Most importantly, if you park on the street, please please please shoulder check and make sure there are no oncoming cyclists (or cars) before you open your car door!

I would love if cyclists, once in awhile, remind themselves what it is like to be behind the wheel of car and in a rush as so many people are. I know they're supposed to share the road with us, but sometimes, it's just not worth it to fight with the powerful machines on the road.

And drivers of motor vehicles, I CHALLENGE you to get on a bike and ride on the road (of course, following the rules) at least one day this summer. If you've never done it, try exploring your neighbourhood to start. Then, try out some of the bike lanes in your area. Then, try riding from one municipality to another. See the road from our point of view and understand what it takes to make the roads safer for everyone involved. Not only that, you'll discover some amazing things you've never noticed in your city!

Looking for more? Check out http://www.bikesense.bc.ca/manual.htm. 

Chapter Closed

As I write this en-route to Toronto, leaving debrief and Ottawa behind, I'm in an especially reflective mood. I'm sad that this experience as a Capacity Support Officer is over. I am excited for what is to come and to see where my Capacity Support Program Team 3 colleagues will go. The group we were a year ago and the group that got together this weekend was completely different. We all learned that we are extremely capable in taking on anything that was thrown at us and making opportunities out of everything. We have all grown so much. So proud of everyone involved and so happy to have had all of you influence the change in me this past year.

So what did we all accomplish? I will list some of the legacies we have left behind in our host countries:

• Weekly women's fitness classes where they did not exist before
• Recreational basketball leagues across a host country
• New social media strategies to increase engagement with Commonwealth Games Associations and National Olympic Committees
• New national sport events/competitions ranging from triathlons to youth multi-sport games
• Proposals for funding, facilities development, team development, and long-term athlete development
• Educational programs promoting Olympism and Olympic Values, anti-doping, and fair play
• Sport programs
• Games team management processes
• Staff and volunteers trained in games team management software (Zeus)
• Newly developed or strengthened national sport councils and relationships between national sport bodies and CGAs/NOCs

And this is just the start ... 

I think I can safely say that a lot of us "found" parts of us that we didn't know existed. We definitely had our limits pushed and we all made the best of our situations. My biggest take away - learning how to communicate more effectively both with people in my host country and people back home. I've strengthened some important relationships and have become better at making new ones. 

Thank you Commonwealth Games Canada staff and volunteers for the amazing support you have offered to us to help us grow tremendously over the last year. That support also allowed us to achieve outcomes that I think none of us could have expected given the opportunities that we found and also were presented to us. 

Now I look forward to staying connected with this amazing group of change makers and connecting with others as well. Need a job done in community development, volunteer coordination, event planning, program management, fundraising, or strategizing, especially in the sport sector? I for sure will know someone, or a team, who can help you. ;) 

Home.

Today marks a week since I returned back home to Vancouver, and it's been quite a roller coaster ride to say the least! I'm happy to be back, but it hasn't been without it's lows. After a year away, in a culture and environment that is so different from home, I have been experiencing reverse culture shock.

The first day and a half were very odd - a bit of an out of body experience. I felt I had changed so much as a person through all the new experiences in the past year. Yet, when I returned, everything seemed exactly the same. The radio station still played the same songs and commercials. Stores still opened and closed at the same time. The bushes standing by the driveway looked the same. Everything was still going around like clockwork.

I guess the sense of oddity comes from the fact that even though I was gone, life for everyone else continued in what seems like the exact same way I left it a year ago. And once I got over that, a wave of fear washed over me. The excitement of the last year was hard to find in my surrounding environment. Crossing the street was no longer a game of Frogger, but a fairly organized event where drivers, 90% of the time will slow and stop when you set a foot on the road. Stimuli that kept me on my toes and my guard up the last year no longer existed. I feared falling into the routine I had left behind a year ago.

View from Steveston Fisherman's Wharf, Richmond, BC

While I wallowed for a day and a half at home somewhat depressed, I soon had to get out for a meeting with the Commonwealth Games Canada Game of Life Walk/Run - Vancouver committee meeting. The bus/skytrain ride out was less than inspiring - the mountains I looked forward to seeing so much were not calling my name (weird, I know!). Soon, I realized I was SO glad I got out and had that planned before I got home. Once our meeting started and we talked about where the event planning was and what needed to be done, I started to feel like myself again. I also was very glad that after the meeting I met up with some some friends and UBC Japan Association Alumni and enjoyed some very good conversation and a cheerful atmosphere. I started to feel revived again. That leads me to a piece of advice to anyone returning from an extended period of time abroad: Make plans to get out and meet people/friends before you leave to go home!

Sakura/Cherry Blossoms in full bloom beside the Burrard SkyTrain Station, Downtown Vancouver.

This past weekend I spent a lot of time outside getting reacquainted with what I love about this city. On Friday, I went out to Steveston (Richmond, BC) with CC because I had a hankering to see the ocean and have some chips (fries in Canadian speak) on this gorgeous day. We walked around the pier and the docks, looked at much of the fresh and frozen catch on the local fishing boats, had the most delicious fish and chips, and even bought some salmon roe from one of the fishermen, Tony, to make some homemade caviar with! I highly recommend Blue Comet Seafoods on the Steveston Wharf who is also found at the Vancouver Winter Market and will at various Vancouver Farmer's Markets this summer. Tony was a great to talk to and very knowledgeable about his "Ocean Wise" accreditation and sustainable salmon fishing. Following that, on Saturday, we went out to Stanley park to do a walk through of the CGC Game of Life Walk/Run on yet another gorgeous day with Cherry Blossoms (Sakura) in bloom downtown. Had a lovely family dinner once I got home and had the best steak I've had all year courtesy of mom and dad (thanks!). Sunday I got out to Westwood Plateau's Academy golf course for short round of golf with my dad on the third gorgeous day in a row with a clear view of Mt. Baker in the background. It was the first time I felt warm outside and unfortunately, my allergies to spring also attacked me. Sneezes and sniffles galore. Ugh!

View of the North Shore and Lions Gate Bridge from the Stanley Park Seawall.

So 7 days after getting back, I'm starting to feel "normal" again. I'm enjoying driving (also very weird), and grocery shopping! I also recognize that we live in such a consumerist culture here and it is VERY hard not to fall back into that habit. It helps that I'm broke and without a job so I can't buy anything!

Totem Poles, Stanley Park, Vancouver. 

So even though my adventure abroad is over, for now, I will continue to blog. I really enjoy reflecting on my thoughts and sharing many of the wondrous tidbits of information I come across in sport, recreation, life, travelling, and eating. To all the new friends I have made in the last year, I will no doubt be using this blog to try and entice you to come visit.

Ciao, for now.

April 29th - Support Sport-based Social Development Programming!

Since 1993, Commonwealth Games Canada (CGC) has reached more than 1.9 million children in Africa and the Caribbean while training more than 8600 youth leaders to conduct sport-based social development programming. This year, on April 29th, 2012 in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Halifax, you can help Sport for More, a grassroots sport program that includes HIV/AIDS education, stay‐in‐school initiatives and life skills building activities, reach even farther.

This is the first of two running events this year with causes that are close to my heart (the other being the Scotiabank Charity Challenge where I will be supporting the Canadian Liver Foundation). For more information and how to register, go to:  http://www.commonwealthgames.ca/ids/get-involved/game-of-life/index.html
(Team discounts available when groups of 10 or more people register using promo code: GCG12GOL)


For this event I won't be running, but instead will be coordinating the ceremonies. I do encourage you to get out and run/walk, but there are other ways to support the Game of Life and get involved:

1) Volunteer your time @ the race (contact me)

2) Promote the event - Pass along information about the Game of Life to your friends and family and encourage them to get involved by coming out in support of the race if they live in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, or Halifax. This could be as easy as a link on your Facebook wall, an email to your networks, twitter or other ways.  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Game-of-Life-Vancouver/311484282233385

3) Donate - Any contribution big or small is always a great help and is yet another way to get involved and support the cause. (you can do so online or ask me for a pledge form)

Click on the article below to get an idea on the impact Sport for More makes!

3 weeks

With roughly three weeks to go, I wonder where my last 10.5 months have gone. It's been, what I feel like the fastest year ever for me ... not just time wise, but for personal growth and professional development as well. I'm a bit anxious about leaving ... not having a job to go back to at this point, leaving some amazing people I have met, and reconnecting with "real life" back home. I'm sure I will have more to say about this once it happens!

So to help me grasp all the thoughts I have running through my head, I decided to make a list of things I will miss and will not miss ... and the things I'm looking forward to back home.

Things I will miss:

• My fantastic SL friends who are some of the most welcoming and loving people I have ever met and have taught me to be more open to love and being loved 
• Quiz nights
• Seeing the direct impact I have with work and the relationships within work. 
• The drive from youth to learn - they take nothing for granted
• Weekend beach getaways, sunshine, and sunsets
• The beautiful scenery of this country 
• The generosity and hospitality of most Sri Lankans
• Daily Skype chats with Seylankanda :) 
• The compactness/density of the city. Just about everything is within walking distance. 

Things I will not miss:

• The madness of Colombo
• Garbage burning 
• The constant assault on my senses from honking, smells, and vehicles whizzing by
• Playing real life "Frogger" when crossing the street 
• The smell of body odor (not on me) 
• Sweating 24/7
• Stray dogs
• Significant gender inequality

Things I'm looking forward to back home: 

• Moving forward in my career 
• Fresh air 
• Cleanliness
• Pedestrian right of way 
• Snow
• Mountains
• Reconnecting with friends and making new connections 
• Decluttering my life 
• The concept of personal space

I'll be spending the next few weeks finding "closure" on this experience and concentrating on opening new doors and keeping doors open in front of me. It's been a struggle to find a job back home and I hope that once I am home it will be a bit easier!

EDIT 13-03-2012: Have been finding it hard at work ... things that I thought would be easy to finish up have not been as I learn the deeper understanding of what I've been trying to teach and show the staff in the last year is not there. We can tell them what to do and how to do it, but as soon as they are left on their own to develop their own "how to", they're lost. I'm mostly referring to the development of plans. It is more than just a list of goals or tasks and needs to include processes on how to reach those goals or complete those tasks. I'm frustrated. I felt the month prior to this had been fantastic ... from successfully bulk uploading part of the team to the London Olympic eAccreditation system to the workshop on Zeus where Richard was here. It felt like we took some huge strides forward and now we've taken a giant leap backwards. Finding it hard to focus on the successes we have had. Finding it hard to just let it go and trust that they will eventually find their own way or that it's okay if they just don't get that far.

Ironman Sri Lanka

So for those of you who follow my Tweets, you will know that the last month I had been quite tied up with Ironman Sri Lanka. Here is an article that I wrote for the Sunday Times (Education Times) that summarizes my experience:

A week ago today, an amazing event took place in Colombo that changed the face of volunteering and sport in Sri Lanka. The inaugural Ironman Sri Lanka 70.3 and 5150 took place on 19^th February, 2012 with Galle Face Green as the centerpiece of the event. Two triathlon races of different distances took place at the same time with the first swim start at 6:30am. The pier and the path on the seawall of Galle Face Green was packed with local and foreign spectators early on to watch the swim and cheer on local and foreign athletes alike. As the swimmers transitioned to the cycle portion of the race, then from the cycle to the run, spectators dispersed to other areas of the course while others carried on with their day like any other day. However, one thing stayed constant: the volunteers of Ironman Sri Lanka.

Having been a volunteer manager for more than four years and a volunteer for many more, I can say with confidence that the volunteers I worked with during Ironman Sri Lanka were some of the most enthusiastic, dedicated, and hard working I have encountered. The willingness to help anywhere and at anytime was key to the event as our needs changed from one area to another. The generosity and flexibility of the volunteers was unparalleled. With staff from Australia, Malaysia, USA, and Canada running the event – all said they have rarely worked with such easy going volunteers. On top of that, many athletes from the 35 nations that participated echoed the same sentiments.

The success of the event can easily be attributed to the cooperation and teamwork exhibited by the volunteers at this event. Many started off as strangers at the beginning of the day and then ended the day as a single team. From the start where we had lifeguards in the water and volunteers lining the route to the transition to the finish line where volunteers collected all the timing tags and ensured athletes rehydrated, the volunteers communicated where they needed help with each other and with event staff. Many volunteers had the opportunity to learn some new skills and of course, learn more about the sport of triathlon!

Our goal was to make this event a memorable one for the participants. According to all the staff, the volunteers exceeded expectations and extended the memorable experience to everyone – including spectators, supporters, and family members . The generosity and hospitality that Sri Lankans are known for shined bright during this event. All Ironman Sri Lanka volunteers can be proud that they were described as incredible, amazing, friendly, helpful, cheerful, and nice. What a fantastic way to represent your country and be ambassadors for this event.

The Education Times club had a strong presence sending out about 80 volunteers for the event. Additionally, we had strong representation from the Rotoract Club of Colombo Fort, University of Colombo Senior Oarsmen Club, Hearts and Hands of Humanity, and Rainbow Aquatics Club.  Thank you to these organisations for recruiting and bringing your groups out to participate!

A big thank you goes out to all the volunteers for working tirelessly to make this event a success. Also, thank you for all the feedback you have provided to us to help us make next year an even better event. The next Ironman Sri Lanka is set to take place February 2013. Keep checking into www.ironmansrilanka.com for the latest news about the event. We hope to see all of you and more out again next year!  

Some photos can be found here: 

http://www.finisherpix.com/photo-browser.html?&pcevent=0264

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150807839299251.516471.50178609250&type=3

"I feel like I'm in a reality show"

The title of this blog was muttered many a times last weekend. Just wanted to summarize the out of this world and sometimes funny and sometimes shocking moments we had on our trip down to the Carlton Super Sports Festival in Tissamaharama last weekend. Felt like we were on a leg of the Amazing Race. =P

Background: Heading to the triathlon portion of the Carlton Super Sports weekend to promote Ironman Sri Lanka. S and A from HFP Racing who are the foreign organisers of Ironman Sri Lanka are planning to compete in this local triathlon. I, was planning to do results for the triathlon.

12pm: Meeting in Colombo with the Tourism Board ... leads to a meeting with the Ministry of Defense at 1pm. After our meeting with the Tourism Board, we roll up to the security outside the Ministry of Defense with 6 people in a 5 pax car. The car is too weighed down to get up on the ramp of the entrance. Security waves us to the alternate entrance. We get in. Cell phones confiscated. Metal detector. Pat down. We're through. Set back our departure time by one hour.

2pm: Meeting done and back at the Taj hotel. Super hungry. Lunch. The guys speed pack.

3pm: We're off for one more pick up.

4pm: Finally on our way through Kotte. Super congested. Reach the Southern Expressway at about 4:30pm.

5:15pm: 2/3 down the way car breaks down. Something smells over heated. We hang out on the side of the highway waving to passersby and have a good chuckle. Pile back into the car - go the rest of the way in 2nd gear and travelling on the shoulder.

5:45pm: Reach the toll booth at the Galle (Pinnaduwa) exit ... the stop causes the car to essentially stop running. The gear box won't catch. We pull over. Call for a tow. B breaks out her hula hoop - we hula a bit, do some kung fu moves, eat some mandarin oranges, ride a local bike and wave to more locals.

6:45pm: Tow from Galle arrives. This little truck is attached to the car with a tether that looks like "a bunch of bedsheets tied together". Away we go on a 5km tow to Galle at about 30km/h.

7:15pm: We reach Galle. Pulling into the repair shop, a scooter fails to see the tether between the car and truck and runs right into it. Thank goodness it was at the wheel and didn't clothesline the rider. Rider is shaken, but okay. They start to look at the car. We look to food. Into a local restaurant we go - two Lion Strong beers make things better for most of us. Awesome fried rice. Yum! Call the triathlon organizers saying I might not make it to Tissa. Summary? I have to make it for the end of the event not because they need my skills, but they need my computer to actually do the results. Contemplate transport and accommodation options.

9:00pm: Van hired to drive us to Tissa.

10:00pm: We depart for Tissa. Call guy we're supposed to borrow bikes from for S & A's participation in the triathlon. No answer.

12:00am: Try calling for bikes again, no answer.

2:30am: Finally arrive at Yala Heights in Tissamaharama. Unload. Sleep.

6:00am: Wake. Breakfast.

7:30am: Call for bikes again - phone is off. Advised to go physically and pick up bikes anyways. Try to relay that to our jeep driver.

8:20am: Arrive at race site. Didn't stop at bike pick up - driver didn't understand us. Lost cause!

8:30am: Scheduled race start. Doesn't happen. More time to find bikes!

9:00am: B secures two bikes from passersby for S & A. One is a rusty single speed purple cruiser. Second is a rusty single speed plain 'ol bike!

9:30am: Tri starts. S & A shockingly are not in the lead out of the water. We later find out many people "walked" the swim. S tries to go on the "regular"bike but has difficulties with the bike seat. Friendly local offers his nice mountain bike for S to race on and off S goes. Amazing. A completes cycle portion on cruiser bike! Could really have used some WD40. S is finished the run course at this point. Goes back out on the run course with A.

11:30am: I'm doing results. Race is over. B gives 1000LKR ($10) to guy we borrowed purple bike from. He beams like there's no tomorrow. Trying to coordinate meeting with CSN, the organisers of the Super Sports weekend, who would eventually become a sponsor of Ironman Sri Lanka. Would have done promotions but left promotion materials back in the car. Find out that person we want to meet with never came down for the event weekend is back in Colombo. Time to arrange transport back to Colombo.

3:00pm: Multiple phone calls later, transport finally arrives arranged through the amazing My Village Guesthouse that Chad and I stayed in back in November. Love these guys. Our other alternative was through a different connection in Galle - 3.5 hours away (yes, they would have come to pick us up all they way from Galle just to drive us back to Colombo. crazy).

10:00pm: Finally back in Colombo.

Not a typical weekend, for sure.