Torch in Port Moody

Andrea aka 2010vanfan

106 days, 45,000 kilometres, 12,000 torchbearers, 100+ support vehicles! Man, wasn’t that a fun time? Serge and I got to see literally all of Canada, and every moment, no matter how difficult, will be a lasting memory.

In the past three days, I got to meet some Vancouver bloggers and show them what the energy on the torch relay is like. Yesterday, I brought Andrea and Kemp on a ride along from Port Moody to Port Coquitlam. The energy was amazing, and I hope they both enjoyed themselves.

I arrived in Port Moody to pick them up at 7 a.m., when it was still dark out and the Olympic fans were packed shoulder-to-shoulder along the street. The police had blocked off all the roads around the area, and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to find where Kemp and Andrea were in the crowd. I saw them jumping and waving on the side of the road and they hopped in the Silverado. It was an adventure, but pretty soon we were right in the thick of the torch relay behind a hybrid 2010 GMC Yukon.

Kemp Edmonds

The streets got so narrow and the sidewalks so jammed with people that it felt like you could just roll down the window and high-five everyone cheering you on – I think Andrea did a couple of times! The moment was very emotional! I just let the moment speak for itself. The cheers of the crowd were deafening! No story of mine could compare to the experience!

Out of all the towns and cities in Canada, the Lower Mainland region had the most people come out to watch the relay. Being from Ontario, it was really nice to see everyone in B.C. get so excited for the arrival of the Olympics. I know they have been planning it for years.

I am heading home today, but will be watching the Olympic events at home with my wife. It won’t be hard to get excited cheering on Team Canada because I know I had a great team on the relay and at GM who helped make the relay leading up to the Games possible.

You can read Andrea’s great post about our adventures and the excitement of the packed streets. Also be sure to keep an eye on Kemp’s blog for anything that comes up!

I want to thank my team and everyone who helped made it possible to keep the torch on track. I also want to thank you, my readers. It has been a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I will remember forever.

Art

Art with @raincoaster & @johnchow

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to have two prominent Vancouver bloggers in the Silverado for a ride on the torch relay: Lorraine (Raincoaster) and John Chow. My colleague Michael filming from the back seat, and we all had a great time!

The torch made its way through Deep Cove in North Vancouver. At first, the crowd was a little thin. We wondered where all the people were. We realized they had all gathered in the town village where there must have been at least five thousand people. They were cheering, screaming and waving flags. The video below will help give you a sense of what is was like:

As you can imagine, the best routes on the relay are ones with schools. Every student in Deep Cove got to play hooky to watch the torch come through town. They were lined up in a row, creating a never-ending cheering section:

For Lorraine’s take on our adventures yesterday, you can read her post about how seeing the thousands of cheering faces brought out the positive side of the Olympics for her. John Chow also has a blog post with lots of excellent video.

Art

This morning, I had the chance to take two bloggers out to the Torch Relay, Rebecca, (Miss 604) and John Biehler. Big thanks to my colleague Michael who was in the back seat filming video and taking twitpics for me while I drove.

The excitement was overwhelming! I know both John and Rebecca were touched when we hit the first group of screaming kids. The crowd looked to us with such anticipation and excitement as the torch arrived. People of all ages were waving flags and cheering us on. It was infectious; we couldn’t help waving back and shouting “Go Canada Go!” out the window.

We came across some high school boys who painted “Canada” on their chests. Walking around shirtless in 0 degree Celsius weather is not my idea of a good time, but one thing is for sure, we never saw this in -40 degree Manitoba:

Although my black Silverado is more low-key than the fancy, colourful sponsor vehicles at the head of the relay convoy, every time we waved or honked the crowd erupted in cheers:

This clip gives you a sense of the frantic energy just before the torch arrives:

Rebecca put together this video clip of all the pictures, and it does a great job at capturing the excitement of the relay. I know she had a great time because the torch was in her old neighborhood, and I dropped her off outside her mom’s house.

John was busy snapping pictures and filming video the whole time – he had to swap out the memory card on his camera halfway through he took so many! He has a great Youtube video of all the video footage edited together:

Both Rebecca and John saw people in the crowd they recognized, and I know from experience it’s a great feeling when the Torch is touring your home city. You can read Rebecca’s blog post here and John’s post here.

Art

Prince Rupert

Leaving Saltery Bay

It’s been a while since my last post, but I have a good excuse – I was on a cruise of sorts for the last few days.

Before I start with that story, I need to back up and say that everyone in Canada should go to Prince Rupert. Hands down, it’s one of the most beautiful places in the country; the mountains are capped with snow and the Skeena River sparkles like diamonds. It makes for a very scenic drive – even if you’re only on your way to repair a generator and save the day like I was earlier this week! Now, on to the ferries…

On Tuesday, the convoy started its 18-hour ferry ride from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy with a four-hour stop in Bella Bella. While some of the relay crew got to find their bunks and settle in, my crew and I had to coordinate the fleet for arrival. We had to make sure that all of the front-line relay vehicles were properly loaded so that the torchbearer could run straight off the boat as soon as the ferry docked.

Eighteen hours is a long time in such close quarters – but we still managed to have a little fun!

Next, the relay headed down the east coast of Vancouver Island from Port Hardy to Port McNeill and then on to Comox where we caught another ferry to take us across the Straight of Georgia to Powell River.

Our nautical journey continued with yet another ferry – this time from Saltery Bay to Earl’s Cove to board the massive Coastal Renaissance in Langdale for a short trip to Horseshoe Bay. For those of you who may not know, the Coastal Renaissance is an Olympic-themed ferry with an impressive action shot of speed skaters wrapping the hull. It’s yet another demonstration of the amazing Olympic spirit you see everywhere in British Columbia!

The Ferry to Port Hardy all loaded up

We travelled like rock stars on the Renaissance, too. One of the benefits of being part of the Torch relay is you can take over the entire boat. We even had a few helicopters circling us like paparazzi!

Earlier this morning, the torch wound its way through rainy Squamish, but by the time it reaches Whistler, the snow should be falling – perfect timing for the relay’s arrival and the huge celebration at Skiers Plaza. Over the next few days, we’ll be passing through Lillooet, Merritt and Abbotsford on our way to Vancouver!

Are you watching the Torch adventure? If not, CTV has a great live webcam of the torch relay on CTV’s website. Keep your eyes peeled for blog updates going into the final week of the relay. The energy is going to be high, and it’s going to be a blast!

Art

From left to right: Charlie Howell, Cory Forrest, Dan Smith, Fred McKay, Naresh Lalman, me, Sheryl Edwards, Arthur Desroches "Jr."

Well, it’s been a good run! Since starting this incredible road trip back in November, I’ve helped move the convoy across Quebec, through the Prairies the beautiful arid Okanagan region. This was an amazing opportunity that I will never forget.

I left the relay last week with mixed emotions. Sure, it was exhausting, but I’ve also made so many good friendships along the way and seen more of our beautiful country than most people probably will ever see. The convoy is in Arts hands with 10 more days left in its journey. I know he’ll do a great job.

I couldn’t have done it without Art. Being able to take a rest every couple of weeks is essential for such a marathon. While he and I didn’t see much of each other, he would always have the convoy in prime shape when it was my turn to take over. It made the whole process very smooth.

I also couldn’t have done any of this without GM’s blessing. They were the ones who hand-picked Art and me to accompany the torch.

Keep watching for Art’s updates – I will be – and have fun cheering on Team Canada when the Games finally get under way!

Serge

A great 360 view wherever you go

I’ll tell you one thing: you can’t go wrong visiting Banff. Wednesday was my fourth time at the National Park in the past two years (I’ve been lucky enough to come here often for work). It was great to take in the cool mountain views after the high energy of Calgary’s Olympic torch celebrations.

Our official day book on the relay

The first time I came to Banff was about 10 years ago, and I remember seeing elk just walking casually down the road. I didn’t see any this time, but I got to see something better – the expressions on the faces of my two guys who had never been out of the Greater Toronto Area. Their jaws dropped as soon as we arrived! I can’t blame them. Even though I’ve been here many times, I’m still awestruck whenever I look at our country’s natural beauty.

After getting settled, I wanted to take some time with just me and my team and head out to the hot springs, because for the next 13 days while we’re in the Rockies the GM dealerships will be a 40 to 60 km detour away, so the work will be tough. As luck would have it, the crew and I got called to repair a vehicle before we could get our swimsuits on, so the hot springs will have to wait. Still, I’m still glad to have been able to visit.

If you ever get a chance to come out to Banff, do it! I guarantee you’ll find a hotel with a view of the mountains.

Serge

The amphitheatre in Drumheller

Although I only had a short moment at the Torch Relay lunch celebrations in Drumheller, Alberta on Saturday – I had a 275 km drive to Medicine Hat – it felt like I had stepped back in time.

60km from Drumheller

Drumheller looks old because it is – dating back to 70 million years when it was filled with a lush tropical jungle and roaming dinosaurs. No wonder it hosts attractions like the Royal Tyrell Museum of Paleontology and the world’s largest dinosaur (which wore its fancy red Olympic mitts for the occasion).

For the past few days, I had been frontloading all the vehicle work before Serge arrived in Calgary. I topped up all the fluids and completed oil changes on 130 vehicles, so it should be smooth sailing when the convoy makes its way to Banff. With no vehicle lifts in sight while the Torch is in the Rockies, Serge is in for an interesting time!

The inscription at HSIBJ

We were so busy on Sunday night in Lethbridge, someone accidentally locked a pair of keys in a car – it had to happen eventually! I called OnStar and they showed up within four minutes and opened the door for us. How’s that for service?

On Monday, I got the chance to check out another historic site: Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump. The park got its interesting name from an ancient hunting tradition. For almost 6,000 years, the indigenous people would hunt by driving herds of buffalo off the cliffs. In recognition of such cultural importance, the site was given UNESCO World Heritage Centre status in 1981.

The history of Head Smashed Buffalo Jump in and Drumheller are too much for me to wrap my mind around. I can’t think about thousands of millions of years – all I can think of is days – 24 to be exact. That’s how many are left until the Olympics!

This Thursday, Serge and the Torch Relay will hit British Columbia. It will be an exciting time not only for us, but for the world as we watch the Torch visit the communities of B.C. on its way to Vancouver. Stay tuned!

Art

Heading to Torringon, AB

Later this afternoon, I’ll be swapping the truck with Serge before hopping on a plane back home. Before I go, I wanted to share a link to an article in the Calgary Herald about our adventures to date.

The piece is called “Once-in-a-lifetime trip for convoy leaders.” Chuck Chiang, who interviewed us, did a bang-on job showing Calgarians what it’s like for us on the road. He’s right – seeing that cauldron lit in Vancouver on February 12 will be the best feeling in the world.

I hope to have another post for you about my short trip through Drumheller, but until then, check out the Herald article!

Art

photo credit: Mastermaq

We’ve left Edmonton and we’re on our way to Red Deer. One of Alberta’s highlights I’m looking forward to driving through is Drumheller tomorrow and Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump on Monday. I will try to take some pictures…if I have a spare moment!

This morning Mack, a blogger from Edmonton, hopped in the truck with on the first run of the relay. Mack wrote a great blog that you should definitely check out! A fresh perspective on the Torch Relay.

Art

Photo credit: Adammart

I just wanted to pop in for a quick update. I’ve been running around like crazy on the Torch Relay – lots to do as we pass through Central Canada!

We just left Lloydminster this morning. “Which province is Lloydminster in?” you ask? Well, believe it or not, the city is in both Saskatchewan AND Alberta!

Did you know that Lloydminster has the unique distinction of being Canada’s only town divided between two provinces? Thanks to Wikipedia, here are some fun facts about this interesting little town:

photo credit: Adammart

it has a population of 24,028
it was founded as a “British Utopian” settlement in 1903
the colonists assumed that one province would be created around it, little did they know, the federal government had planned two
unlike Texarkana which is actually two twin cities that border Texas and Arkansas in the U.S., Lloydminster has a single municipal government
shops on the Saskatchewan side of the city are exempt from charging provincial sales tax in order to stay competitive with the Alberta side, which doesn’t have a provincial sales tax

The people of Lloydminster were as enthusiastic as everyone who has come out to cheer on the Flame. The evening celebration was picturesque as Olympic fans gathered near Lloydminster’s outdoor ice rink.

We’re in Alberta, on our way to Edmonton, one more province closer to British Columbia and Vancouver!

Art