Carter's 5th Birthday Celebration

Well .. it's Birthday month around our household and I apologize but the last post, this post AND the next one will be a combination of Carter and Nathan's Birthdays. To break it down
May 28th - Carter's actual birthday. We did dinner at KFC (his choice) and followed it up with cake outside in the guangchang (square aka play area) in our apartment complex. Photos below
May 31st - Combined party celebrating Carter and Nathan's birthdays. The next post is about this one
June 9th - Nathan's actual birthday. Post to come then.

Without further adieu .. Carter's 5th BDay

Carter selected this cake cause he likes snowmen.


Dinner at KFC. Got to wear his Batman costume cause it's his day.


Getting ready for cake.


The happy fam.

Happy 5th Birthday Carter!!

May 28th

The past 5 years have flown by and I love you more each day. You are a truly special guy and I hope you have the best birthday ever!

Here are a few of the pictures you took with our camera. You're a big boy now.

Carter's Photos

It has been quite difficult to get back in to the blogging mode after being blocked yet again in China. There are (obviously) workarounds but they are a pain in the butt and very few people from here can view them. Anyhow .. today's post

Carter has taken an interest in our camera and taking pictures. He has taken many and here is a small sample.

BLOCKED!!!!

This is flipping ridiculous! This blog (and all blogspot.com blogs) are blocked in China. I moved from blogsome.com because that one was blocked.

I can't win for trying.

Tour De Dandong - The Final Day

Day 3 was the final push from Mu Er Shan to Dandong. By the schedule it was supposed to be another 120 km day but of course nothing in this race went according to schedule.

As mentioned in the previous post the boys and crew were up at the crack of dawn getting bike and body ready for the last day of the Tour. Up until this point it was extremely doubtful that all would make it however after 3 frames breaking and ALL being repaired it seemed like nothing could stop these fearless souls.

Two of the teams (FengHuang and Jin Lu) took the opportunity to stop in LiZiFang village for a quick breakfast of jiaozi (Chinese dumplings) washed down with a beer or two. In China it's never too early to enjoy a beer. Quite a crowd gathered to watch the "big noses" eat (they call us big nose "da bizi" instead of round eye). There was slurping, burping and laughter all around as the locals had something to talk about for the next week.

As mentioned the day was supposed to be 120km of riding but the gods intervened in the form of bridge maintenance and MOST of the riders were forced to detour about 15 or 20 km. Team Phoenix (remember them?) decided to have an extended breakfast at a restaurant near the bridge whereupon they discovered that by talking nicely to the toll and maintenance people they were allowed to sneak their bikes across. They were understandably happy and no doubt thought this would really give them a leg up on the competitors. By taking over an hour to eat breakfast meant that this "shortcut" really just got them back into the swing of things. Most of the teams had been looong gone by the time Phoenix had finished their sweet and sour pork.

The days ride took the crew along the G201 highway through BeijingZi (not the city that hosted the Olympics but a small village with a similar name). The highway then head into DongGan at which point the race course called for the riders to leave the G201 and traverse a country road that parallels the Ya Lu river. At times they were riding alongside a barbed wire fence that separated China from North Korea. When I use the term "stone's throw" from North Korea I really mean it.

We were tailing and filming teams Jin Lu and HongQi as they met up and travelled the last 40 km together. Team YongJiu (including the intrepid race organizer Craig Engleson) was well ahead as they decided to skip lunch and instead attempted to be the first team to roll into Dandong. During the trip from DongGan a black car carrying someone official and military looking stopped Jin Lu and HongQi. He (whose name shall not be spoken) asked to see passports from all the riders and queried them on exactly what the hell they were doing. He got quite a kick out of the story of the race and sent everyone on their merry way. At this point FengHuang and Phoenix were behind and still trying to navigate through DongGan.

A short time later one of the Jin Lu team members ran low on gas so he and a teammate pulled over to fuel up from the gas can they were carrying for just such an emergency. At that point another police/military vehicle pulled up behind them on the road shoulder and monitored the whole proceeding. This vehicle was marked with police insignias and had the red and blues on top. As the riders got back on the road and rejoined their teams the police vehicle trailed closely behind.

Further up the road Mike from Team HongQi who had been so instrumental in helping Billy of FengHuang fix his broken chain and who also towed Adrian (also of HongQi) for 45 km on the previous day experienced a mechanical breakdown. The bolts mounting the engine had worked loose and one had snapped off. As the two teams stopped to assist Mike (10 riders in total) the trailing police vehicle stopped and 3 officers got out. We were only about 100 to 200 meters from North Korean soil and these guys were getting antsy. They told us that a large group of white faces stopped by the side of the road was very dangerous and that our safety was in jeopardy. We initially brushed it off but the looks on their faces made it clear they weren't kidding around. They ordered all of the riders to get moving but unfortunately Mike simply could not comply with that order. They agreed that Mike could try to fix his problem but only Adrian could stay behind to help and the rest had to get going. The problem could not be fixed easily and Adrian got a chance to repay Mike for his previous day's kindness as he towed Mike the final 20 km into Dandong.

As we were on the road filming and assisting with all of the aforementioned problems we got word that at 2:10 in the afternoon Team YongJiu had arrived in Dandong! All team members had made it to the "Broken Bridge" finishing point and were understandably overjoyed. We stuck with Jin Lu and HongQi as all members of their teams finished about 30 to 45 minutes later. Team FengHuang was plugging along and came in as a group (first time for their ride I think) not long after. As fate would have it Team Phoenix was still a bit behind and experienced a few more mechanical difficulties as well as running low on fuel. With all of their Hobbitlike food breaks along the way they ensured their bodies were fueled but the same due care and attention was not given to their bikes.

Finally at 3:50 PM a beaming Team Phoenix arrived at the finish line to chants they had heard the first night at 11 PM at the ChengZiTan bathhouse "Phoe - Nix! Phoe- Nix! Phoe - Nix!" For their troubles they were each greeted in the same fashion as the other teams - a nice cold YaLu Jiang beer. Bet it was the tastiest one they had ever drank in their lives.

As we stood in the shadow of the Broken Bridge with a beer in our hands, a smile on our faces and warmth in our hearts it was clear to all of us, competitors and crew alike, they we had just been part of something truly amazing. The smiles on the faces said it all. The joy and elation at completing this odyssey which took place in a small corner of Northeastern China cannot be explained and can never be repeated. As a spectator to it all I can only say that it reaffirmed my faith in the human spirit as people from 2 cultures banded together to spin a yarn of togetherness which now forever stretches along the highways and country roads from Dalian to Dandong. It shall never be broken.

Tour De Dandong - Day 2 Part II

On the evening of Day 2, Craig and his Chinese counterpart Leon, organized the most amazing accommodations for the riders and support crew. We stayed in a set of neighbourhood country homes in the small village of Mu Er Shan about 8 km outside of LiZiFang Town. The ride up from LiZiFang to Mu Er Shan was short but kind of frightening for the night riders as it was along an unlit country road and it was a New Moon. Several riders shut off their engines and pedalled because they were simply going too fast to avoid the many fist sized rocks and huge potholes in the road. It would have been a tragedy to ride for so long only to have a mishap at this stage. Fortunately all riders made it in safely.

As mentioned previously about 2/3rds of the riders made it in before dark but the remaining 1/3rd arrived between 9 and 10 PM. When they did arrive the riders and crew were treated to a great feast of dozens of home made Chinese dishes and enough beer to drown a small army. As some of the riders had been on and off the bikes for 10 to 12 hours the festivities were a bit subdued. It was still great though to sit around sharing a few beers and trading war stories of the day. I was envious of the trials and tribulations of the riders and wished I had been part of a team for this amazing adventure.

When we finally did retire for the evening we did so at the gracious hospitality of the homeowners who kindly offered up their sleeping places for us to rest our weary heads. Each small home had basically 2 rooms which comprised a kitchen/eating area and then a sleeping/living room. The beds were built from brick and are called Kangs which are designed to sleep a small family. Underneath the kang is a place to burn wood or other materials in order to keep the bed warm. So essentially you are sleeping on a stove. For our particular venue they were burning corn husks.

I have mentioned that the kangs are designed to sleep a small family but in this instance they were used to sleep 5 guys. Yes all the team members slept on the same bed in an effort to build team unity I guess. Since Team HongQi only had 4 members I was lucky enough to share the bed with their team. 5 guys, 1 bed and a fire burning below (NO! NO! NO! not what you think .. the fire below the kang) meant for some sweaty good times. For whatever reason I have lost the only photos I took of the "men" on the kang and no it wasn't on purpose either. I am hoping that I can get one from someone else because words do not really do this thing justice.

With all the furor now erupting over swine flu I should point out that we slept only a few feet away from pigs and cows but rest assured they were not actually in the house.

In the morning we arose with the sun around 6 AM and the teams went about their business getting themselves and their rides together for the final push to Dandong. The mechanics were up as well going through their usual morning maintenance of tightening bolts, fixing flats etc.

Probably one of the cooler things happened on this morning. If you remember from the night before Trevor had his frame snap in two and it didn't look too good for his tour. We thought that maybe we could give him a lift into town or even all the way back to ZhuangHe (60 km away) in order to find a welder who could fix his bike. The kindly spirits who had presided over the riders in darkness just two nights previous were weaving their magic again however. Just several meters down the road from the places we were staying was a welder with his equipment. He had Trevor's bike up and running in an hour. It was at this point that I knew nothing could stop the teams from reaching their final desination ... Dandong.

Check back again soon for Tour De Dandong - Day 3.

Some shots of the accommodations taken on the morning of Day 3.

Tour De Dandong - Day 2 Part I

Continuing in the exciting adventures of the Tour De Dandong day 2 turned out to be a fairly adventurous day for the riders. I will split this post into 2 parts: 1) Part I the day's ride and Part II the night's accommodation. For now - Part I.

The plan was to set off from the ChengZiTan bathhouse at 9 AM with Team Phoenix getting the lead spot in light of their 11 PM arrival the evening before. Our plans were scrubbed when 3 of the riders awoke in the morning to find that a thief had made off with 2000 rmb (400 Cdn), an Ipod, and a camera. The bathhouse owners were alerted and they promptly brought in the police. This is where things got strange. The police dragged their investigative heels suggesting that we would all have to stay for a full day while the "investigation" took place. We were on a pretty tight schedule so that was out. At that point the hotel owners wanted a meeting with our Chinese racer, Leon. We were instructed to turn off the cameras as Leon told us we were about to engage in some "dirty Chinese business." The owner initially offered 6000 rmb in compensation for making the police go away but as the hours of the morning progressed this quickly got reduced to 2000 rmb and then finally nothing. "Dirty Chinese business" indeed.

As far as the race goes however Team Phoenix eventually left at 10AM and made great time on Day 2 -- mostly. The team of YongJiu and Jin Lu were not far behind as they all made a smooth exit. However for FengHuang things went wrong in the form of Billy's broken chain. What should have been a routine 10 or 15 minute fix turned into a 4 hour delay as the mechanics went AWOL and Billy had to resort to help from Team HongQi in order to get him rolling. Without adequate tools it was quite a patch-up job but eventually he got rolling. In addition Team HongQi also suffered a huge setback when Adrian's motor conked out and he spent time in ChengZiTan trying to get a new one or have the old one repaired.

While this was going on Team Phoenix suffered its first big setback of the day. Fouad and Jack's frames broke in the midafternoon. Not cracked, but broken completely through! On the sloping downtube where the motor mounts is a great deal of the motor's weight coupled with metal fatigue from being bolted on and the vibrations of a 2 stroke engine make for a perfect storm. They spent the better part of 4 hours in the city of ZhuangHe at a welder's shop where he did all of the repair work FOR FREE! You read it right - FREE. Simply amazing.

Meanwhile Adrian got his motor working enough to putter down the road but at a significantly reduced average speed of about 25 km/h (the bikes could do 40+ at full throttle). The luck didn't stick with Adrian however as his motor just deteriorated further and further. Finally a fellow team member, Mike, had to rope-tow him 45 km into the city of ZhuangHe where Marshall (one of the marshalls coincidentally enough) found a replacement motor. The mechanics had assured us that there wouldn't be one to find in ZhuangHe and that they had checked around. Not sure why but they really sh*t the bed on Day 2. They refused to help some people, went AWOL for hours and then made no effort to locate a replacement motor.

Also in terms of support crew we had a cameraman quit and hop a bus in ZhuangHe back to Dalian because he had to work the following day. Before leaving he spent 15 minutes telling one of the driver's friends how to operate the camera and ta-dah we had a new cameraman! It remains to be seen the quality of his work however.

In ZhuangHe the teams of FengHuang, Hong Qi and 2 members of Team Phoenix (Jack and Fouad) waited patiently as the mechanics worked through the necessary repairs. I have neglected to mention that Trevor (of FengHuang) had his gas tank fall off (bolts rattled loose) and break his throttle cable and numerous other things. The mechanics paid dearly for their 3-4 hours of inaction by being put under the gun to get things done quickly as darkness was approaching and the final destination lay another 60 km away.

At around 6 PM 4 members of Team Phoenix, all of YongJiu and all of Jin Lu arrived at our day 2 destination in Mu Er Shan outside of LiZiTang village. At the same time the rest of the riders were just leaving ZhuangHe and had 60 km to cover in rapidly advancing darkness. For accommodations we all stayed in the countryside in people's homes and I will post more on that in Part II of this entry.

Back to the race.

Trevor's troubles were not over. His motor was not working well for quite sometime as he rode from ZhuangHe to Mu Er Shan. As his teammates and Jack and Fouad sped away he was joined by Harry from his team who agreed to ride with him no matter how long it took. After about 20 minutes of barely puttering along his engine suddenly roared to life and he took off like a bat out of hell. In the accompanying film crew car we were quite relieved to be moving a bit quicker as toodling around the countryside in a car doing 25 km/hr quickly loses its charm. Our joy was shortlived as unbelievably Trevor's frame also broke in two. He had another 30 km to go but his ride was done for that night. I honestly thought he would be done for the tour unless we could get him back into ZhuangHe in the morning for more welding. This would have tied up the mechanics resources for a few hours so we weren't sure how the other riders would be with that.

Harry, Trevor and myself (along with the film crew) waited alongside the road in the dark for an hour waiting for Team HongQi and the mechanics truck. When they arrived we loaded Trev's bike onto the truck, he hopped in the film crew's car and Harry rode with HongQi into Mu Er Shan with the mechanics truck using their headlights to light the way. This night riding was much safer than the previous evening as the road had wide shoulders, little traffic and no gusting winds.

As mentioned we stayed in people's homes that night but I think the description of that hospitality really deserves its own separate post so stay tuned for Tour De Dandong Day 2 - Part II.