Cycling

Adventurer

Hockey Night in Canada!

Beauséjour, Race Day

We hopped in the rental car and made our way to Beauséjour, Manitoba on March 5th, to see some of the 48th annual Canadian Power Toboggan Championships (CPTC).  The CPTC is held at the race-plex, which is a pretty impressive track that boasts a sizable grandstand with wooden seating, concessions, and beer gardens.  There are two ways to watch the events.  The first is to pay the $15/head fee and park in the parking lot and walk into the arena area to watch from the stands.  The second is to pay  $25 and drive your vehicle right up to the racetrack and watch from your vehicle.  "Power toboggans" came in free.

Admittedly, I am totally clueless when it comes to these machines.  I wonder to myself why they call them power toboggans, and not snowmobiles.  There is no danger of un-intentional sponsoring there, is there?  As there would be if say we called them "skidoos" or something similar.  Why is it not the "Canadian Snow Mobile Championships"?   Leave me a comment if you know why!


There were races of different classes of sled, from vintage modified, to Pro 600, and everything in between.  It was interesting to see how technology has advanced from the 1950's to today's ultra high tech racing sleds.  The lap times were quite different.  As was the noise!  I suggest earplugs, or earmuffs.  Especially for the younger folks in your group.  Some of the high end sleds were quite loud.  Painfully so.


It was funny at first to see the racers lining up at the start line, and start bouncing up and down on their sleds like they were riding a bucking bronco.  Until I figured out what they were doing.  They were digging in the treds on the track to get a better bite and a quicker start off the line!  Duh.  The riders lean over to one side of the sled to keep it from tipping over around the corners.  They hurl around those corners so fast, the g-forces must be huge!  Looks like loads of fun.  Expensive fun.


So here's some of my photos from race day.  Enjoy!

 Dustin Wahl Winner of the Pro 600 Open Final 15 Lap race

Dog Sled Races

We had quite a treat last weekend in Winnipeg.  The annual Festival du Voyageur Sled Dog Classic was in town and held races right on the Red River.  There were quite a few teams participating in the event, from the younger amateurs right up to the 8 dog Pros.  The excitement of the crowds of onlookers was surpassed only by the excitment and noise of the dogs themselves.  It was a great time.  Photographically very challenging.  The cold, the speed, the fans.  But we did get some good shots.  This is the first time I have shot at this event, and you can bet it won't be the last.

Ice Climber

From the archives.

From the archives.

I was going through some of my older photos from 2009. I came across this one which I am particularly proud of. It required a fair amount of technical work. I am hoping to try this again next year, with new ideas, new equipment, and new know-how. Thanks to those who made this shoot possible! Oh, I'm bad... :P

Olympic Torch hits Winnipeg

I went out to watch and shoot the torch as it hit Winnipeg this afternoon. It was perfect conditions for it. Almost made to order weather. Something very satisfying about the large fluffy snow flakes falling almost straight down. What says Winter Olympics more than that?

Photographically it was quite challenging conditions though. First of all was the cold. For those who do not know, battery life quickly drops along with the temperature, and my camera and flash batteries were no different. The torch came along right on time, but in order to find a decent spot to shoot I had to arrive early. I did my best to keep my batteries warm in my pocket until the last minute, which actually worked quite well. Unfortunately my fingers were quite frozen, and I did not have the dexterity to fumble with the small AA batteries that my flash requires. So I did not have a working flash. In hindsight I should have put the whole flash inside my jacket until the last second. Ah well, live and learn.

My next obstacle was the herd of "support" that the runners had with them. So many. Too many photographically. I never got a decent shot of just the runners. Sigh. I'm sure they were there for a good reason, but it sure was frustrating.

I ran along side the runners for a block or two, trying to get better shots, but they were all crowded. As I was running along, I passed by a woman who yelled to me "Take good pictures! That's my daughter!" I don't know which runner she was referring to. I was on a mission, and I didn't stop to chat.

There was quite a few supporters lining the street, only outnumbered by police. They had both the Winnipeg Police Service, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police doing security and traffic control. There was even an aeroplane circling overhead keeping tabs on things.

Anyway, here's some photos.

Thanks for reading!