Archive for the 'Life' Category

Less than a week

Published on August 27, 2010 in Biking and Life. 0 Comments

Wow!!

Time flies when you’re having fun…

I can’t believe that it is now less than one week before I leave Ottawa. I really do remember my first day here; Vicki picked me up at the airport, I saw my wicked Scott Addict R3 in the garage, went to the NRC crit, picked up Marc, and settled into my new room. I remember the first week I had here; training, meeting so many new people, seeing all kinds of new stuff, it was great!

I really am going to miss all the great people that I’ve met, even the people that I’ve only seen a handful of times. I’m going to miss all the Scott Boys and all the support that is there. Thanks Vince for everything. I’m going to miss riding with The Cyclery team to the NRC crits, talking to everyone there. I’m certainly going to miss Marc and Vicki, who have opened up their home to me and have helped me grow so much as a person and as a cyclist. And of course I’m going to miss all those little things that I don’t realize I will right now. I might even miss Murphy…

I have learned a lot in these last 4 months. I always knew it, but now I know it; if you really want to a bike racer and really learn how to race your bike, you have to get out of the small pond and push your limits! I have had great mentors while I’ve been here, especially Marc, who has made me think and question and wonder and has just pushed me to be better! Thanks!

All that being said, I am really looking forward to the next phase; to living with Adam, to racing cyclocross in New England, to racing with the best in Canada, and to racing in the heartland of the veldijden!!! Who knows what adventures I will have, what I will learn, and where I will end up, but I know it’s going to be great!!!

Of course, none of this would be possible without any of my amazing sponsors: My mom and dad, Vince at The Cyclery, Scott bikes, Rudy Project, and the S.Club supporters. And to all my cyclocross sponsors: Cycle-Smart, Van Dessel, Challenge, and Easton. I can’t wait to ride everything!!!

::SAdamson

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S.Club News

Published on August 22, 2010 in Biking and Life. 0 Comments

I just finished the latest newsletter for the S.Club. Take a look at it here.

If you want to support the S.Club and help me live my dreams and reach my goals, you can donate here. Every little bit counts!

::SAdamson

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Ottawa Adventures

Published on August 19, 2010 in Biking and Life. 1 Comment

I realized this summer that I was going to need a new passport, so I got the form, filled it out, printed it off, and headed downtown to the passport office. Now it’s a pretty simple trip, just walking to Fallowfield Station, getting on the 95 and getting off on Bank St. The only hitch was that I needed to get my passport photos done along the way. I was a little concerned, but I guess there are lots of places that do passport photos right by the passport office… somebody is a thinker…

I go up to the desk and she flips through my passport, “this is damaged.” I told her I washed it and it had worked before, so I figured it was still all good… but, “you’ll need to fill out a new form and get a whole new passport.” Lovely.

I had to get my parents to mail me my birth certificate, so I waited for that and when it came late on Monday, I was out the door on Tuesday to catch the 95 again. At least this I knew exactly where I was going and didn’t have to make a pit-stop for my photos. But when I got to the counter this time, he said I needed to fill out a damaged passport form. Thanks for telling me that the last time!

But I did have a really nice agent who told me where I needed to go to get this new form signed and he processed my application and told me just to drop off the form later. So, one thing done.

Things always seem farther away when you don’t actually know where you’re going. I managed to find my way to the address he directed me, and realized I made my way to city hall. Well, that’s kind of cool. But it cost $37 to get this guy to sign this piece of paper… oh boy!

I then dropped off the form and got back on the 95 and headed home… yes, adventures in Ottawa…

But let’s get to what you really want to know… “Why do you need a new passport, Shaun?”

This is why!

Yup, I’m going to Belgium for real! And I am also very, very poor now! Livin’ the dream!!!

::SAdamson

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Back… home?

Published on July 9, 2010 in Biking and Life. 0 Comments

I’ve had a few days to get settled back into my routine in Ottawa. I had a few days completely off the bike and am getting back into the second half of the road season and thinking about cyclocross. I’m getting excited!

I’m back at The Cyclery, helping out wherever I can. But with the current torrential downpour, I am not looking forward to riding my bike in to work… hmm…

In other news, there is a profile of me over at Ottawa Bikes. Thanks Jay!

::SAdamson

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Home Sweet Home

Published on July 1, 2010 in Biking and Life. 0 Comments

It was great to be home for a little while and get to see lots of people and spend some time with my parents. It was also just great to have the National Championships in Edmonton!

The first thing I did when I walked in the door was have a nice big glass of Edmonton water… oh how I missed you…

I quickly settled back into my routine, like I had hardly left at all. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or bad thing…

I caught up with a lot of people, but I also didn’t quite have enough time to do quite everything that I wanted to do. I also managed to go to United Cycle 5 times during my stay and found myself at Transcend Coffee 5 times as well…

For some reason it was harder to leave this time. Maybe because it was just a visit, maybe because I reacquainted myself with things I didn’t realize I had been missing, but it was just harder to leave…

Now I find myself back doing what I do. Racing my bike. Thanks to Dave and NEBC for taking me in again. Fitchburg-Longsjo looks to be a good race again this year, with a new dynamic as the TT moves from the first stage to the third. It will just open it up a lot more.

::SAdamson

ps. Happy Canada Day!!

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Work

Published on June 20, 2010 in Biking and Life. 0 Comments

Yup. Can you believe it?!?

Big thanks to Vince at The Cyclery for helping me out. Or needing my help… one of the two anyway. Not only has he been a very supportive team owner, but he also now has 3 Scott Boys working for him!

I’ll preface by saying that I am not complaining, but I definitely forgot what it is like to stand up all day long! Especially 2 days in a row!! But it is good. The staff is good. The customers are good. The work is good. Stop by and check it out.

In other news… I was looking at pictures from last weekend’s Chrono Gatineau ITT and I was looking at people’s head positions (aka. mine relative to everyone else’s).

While sitting in the living room with Marc and Vicki the other day, I just came out and said, “Man, my head is huge!” Vicki laughed and said, “Are you still looking at pictures of yourself?!?” But, of course! It got me thinking… although this is no time to be making drastic changes (ie. less than a week before nationals!).

And after Thursday’s ITT, and comparing times and power outputs, Paul figures that the wheels and helmet, minus the skinsuit, only saves about 20″, maybe 30″… But, if you think about it, that’s a lot of time over only 20′, think about 40-50′ race. That’s a minute’s savings!

Preston St. Today!

::SAdamson

ps. I’ll be home in less than 48 hours now!

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Who are you?

Published on June 6, 2010 in Life and Thoughts. 1 Comment

Well… What do you do? Where are you going?

Sure… Where do you see yourself in 5 years? What are you doing there? Who are you with?

These can certainly be big questions! But I think at some point they need to be considered; if not answered, even inconclusively.

There are many motivations driving the answers behind these questions. What do I want to do? What makes me happy? What do my parents want me to do? What will make me the most money? Bring me the most fame?

What does God want me to do?

From the Art of Manliness‘ post pondering What is a Vocation?

“The deepest vocational question is not “What ought I to do with my life?” It is the more elemental and demanding ‘Who am I? What is my nature?’” -Parker J. Palmer

The etymology of vocation versus career is most revealing. The word vocation comes from the Latin word “vocare” or “to call.” It denotes a voice summoning a person to a unique purpose. The word career derives from the Latin word for cart and the Middle French word for race track. It denotes quickly moving in a circle, never going anywhere.

Man was made to embrace his unique destiny, not soldier on as a hamster in a wheel.

As I ponder this myself, I think about what I feel like I am good at, what I enjoy, how I can serve, how I can bring joy to others.

I know that

  • I love cooking and want to be able to invite others into my home to enjoy meals.
  • I would like to have a wife and kids.
  • I would like to find joy and contentment in the small things and show others how to do the same.
  • I would like to help others who find themselves in difficult situations.
  • I would like to give everyone the opportunities and the means to follow their dreams and passions. For this one I look to my parents, without whom I wouldn’t have half the experiences I have had, nor would I be where I am today doing what I’m doing, doing what I love.
  • I want to teach or show others how to be.

This post hasn’t gone at all in the direction that I had originally planned… I was going to pose the question, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” And then try to answer it myself. But maybe I have no idea how to answer it or what my answer would be…

Maybe in 5 years I want to be doing all the things in my list…

I certainly don’t know where I will be. I don’t know who I will be there with. I don’t know what exactly I will be doing. But I know that I want to be doing those things. Of course, that’s all assuming that those are also things that God wants me to be doing… Boy, I sure hope so…

Ask yourself… where do you see yourself in 5 years?

::SAdamson

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Whaaa!!!

Published on June 4, 2010 in Biking and Life. 1 Comment

Well, no turning back now!

I booked my flight home for nationals, then on to Boston for Fitchburg-Longsjo! I got the offer to ride with NEBC again this year, so I’m pretty excited! This bike racing thing is pretty awesome!!!

With all these expenses, the job hunt was on. I went out for my ride today with a few copies of my resume. I decided (or my parents decided) that it was time for me to get a job.

I think a few places were actually hiring… but the number of places that don’t take resumes and have everything online is amazing.

I think I owe a big shout-out to Mr. Nic Hamilton for a big win in Stage 2 of the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic yesterday! Nice work!

::SAdamson

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Warm days

Published on May 27, 2010 in Biking and Life. 0 Comments

Or…

HOLY CRAP IT’S HOT!!

Yesterday I went through 6 bottles in 3 hours… the SRM read a whopping 43… I was HOT!!!

I also don’t think I’ve been this tanned before… at least not in May!

Things have been pretty good here. Marc, Vicki, and I enjoyed a relaxing Victoria Day. We went for a nice easy spin and hit one of new favourite spots, the Richmond Bakery!

Richmond Bakery

Vicki

Marc

Me

::SAdamson

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Who are you?

Published on May 15, 2010 in Biking, Life and Thoughts. 0 Comments

Where do you come from?

Sometimes I wonder where you, my readers, come from. Luckily, I can check on my stats and find out the different ways that you come to my site and where you went from my site.

I got an interesting group of hits from the Edmonton Journal and wondered why.

So I checked it out…

Who knows, but the article is interesting and there is a link to my blog at the bottom, among other cycling Edmontonian’s blogs.

Thanks for checking me out… Enjoy!

::SAdamson

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