In the drivers seat

A few weeks ago, we received a kind fan email from Kelly asking us how we were chosen for this great opportunity. Serge and I have been with General Motors for years, and the company thought we had the mettle to deal with the trials and tribulations of 106 days on the road across Canada in the middle of winter. Of course, we said yes!

Kelly also mentioned she was planning a road trip of her own. Great idea!

Before we headed out on the road, Serge and I were lucky enough to visit each region the Torch would visit to plan our trip strategically – something most people can’t do when they’re planning a road trip. To help you out, we’ve put together our top five tips for preparing a summer road trip in 2010:

1. Pack jumper cables, road flairs, a car jack and spare tire – This is obvious! You wouldn’t believe how many times tools like this have gotten us out of tight situations.
2. Find dealerships using Google Maps – If you need a new car part, your car’s dealership will most-likely have it or be able to order it for you.
3. Have a GPS unit on board – Turn-by-turn GPS navigation is essential for unfamiliar territory. We’re fortunate because all GM vehicles come with the OnStar option.
4. Carry an empty jerry can – As we’ve seen from our time on a Torch Relay, vehicles can run out of gas unexpectedly, and having an empty canister at the ready will make your trek to the gas station much easier.
5. Load up on music – Plug in the iPod or burn a mix CD of music everyone on board will like. If you have a newer model GM vehicle with XM Radio, you’ll never be without your favourite tunes.

Bonus tip!

6. Consider a smart-phone dash mount and Bluetooth speaker – If you get a call while driving, make sure you have your smart phone mounted on the dash, so you can see incoming calls and quickly activate your hands-free speaker. Remember, almost every province has pass a law against talking on your phone without a hands-free device.

On the Torch Relay, Serge and I are taking note of towns and cities we’d like to visit again when we’re not working – and when it’s a little warmer! A road trip is a great way to see a lot of new places in one fell swoop. You can always choose your favourite places go back to for a more leisurely visit.

Do you have any other ideas? Leave your suggestions in the comments!

Art

Better late than never! Here are a couple of great pics of the General Motors torchbearers who proudly carried the Flame in Oshawa last month.

Art

Look out for moose - and wolves!

We’ve hit a paradigm shift on the Torch Relay. Bidding adieu to the urban sprawl and relatively mild temperatures, we’ve been greeted by what most people think is the essence of Canada. No, not Tim Hortons and hockey – cold and wildlife!

Driving from Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay, it was a balmy minus 22 degrees Celsius. Normally it’s minus 47 °C.

Yesterday, I had to change a tire in that frigid weather, so needless to say, I patched it up as quickly as possible. Although I was freezing, thoughts of the Torch being lit in 38 days in Vancouver (and heading back home to my wife) got me through it.

Sled dogs, not wolves in New Liskard, ON

The cold is no match for the Torch Relay, which has been perfected to a science. The torchbearers braving these extremely chilly temperatures are dropped off at their starting point by a shuttle bus and are immediately greeted by the approaching runner. They do their thing – usually a high-five or a hug – and the previous torchbearer gets straight onto the toasty warm bus. The process continues for the length of the run each day. The system is in place so that a torchbearer doesn’t spend any more than six minutes outside – lucky guys and gals!

We’ve seen moose galore lately – they’re giant animals, and we’ve got to be careful. They say if you hit a moose and you’re uninjured, you’re lucky!

The great goose in Wawa, ON

Another animal I’ve only caught glimpses of are wolves. I’ve tried to take a Twitpic of them, but they disappear before I can even reach for my BlackBerry.

We’re pulling into Winnipeg tonight, and Art is coming out tomorrow to take over for two weeks while I thaw out. I’ll be thinking of him while I’ve got my feet up next to the fireplace.

While you’re waiting for Art, check out Christina’s two excellent blog posts from her ride-along on December 27 in London. She did a great job as my sidekick and paints a beautiful picture of what a morning is like on the road: Part 1, Part 2

Serge

Caption: Flickr photo by Justin Timperio

Now imagine you’re a Torch Bearer. You see the Flame jogging towards you. You grip the Torch – you won’t let go, because you’ve prepared – and the second that aura of gas ignites, there’s nothing but silence. The other Torch bearer smiles, and you find your self smiling, too and slapping hands or hugging or bumping bellies before you take off on your 300-metre jog as the only person in the world in possession of the Olympic Flame.

There is nothing left but for you to take in that moment. The roar of the crowd fills your ears and the convoy slides forward, smoothly following your every step.

I’ve been told it’s that moment – the transfer of the Flame – when time stops for those who have experienced it. The silence from the hybrid vehicles is what makes it. Including alternative fuel vehicles, hybrids make up 30 per cent of our fleet, and we’re thrilled that Torch Bearers can feel that moment when the convoy eases to a halt and the electric engines shut off and there is nothing but a void to be filled by the roaring crowd and the energy of the Flame.

Top 10 Torch Relay Memories

With 2009 hours from being behind us, yearly top-10 lists are everywhere – from the best (or worst) fashions to the best cars (my kind of list). Art and I will play along and give you the top – funny and touching – moments of the Torch Relay for us so far:

10. Starting in Victoria, B.C. (Serge) – Nothing beats seeing the flame arrive on Canadian soil after travelling all the way from Greece.
9. Carriers coming into St. John’s, NL (Art) – Art had never seen as many vehicles stacked on one another, and he’s a car guy!
8. The super-fast auto body shop in Tois-Rivieres, QC (Serge) – Check out the before and after pictures, all done in less than 24 hours!
7. Massive tides in the Bay of Fundy (Art)
6. Meeting comedian Ron James on the way to Fredericton (Serge)
5. The guy who wanted to show off his hunting prowess for the entire Relay in Halifax (Art) – He strapped a buck he caught to the back of his ATV on a trailer!
4. Kids on the side of the road (Art and Serge) – Nothing beats it. If you want to see a grown man get teary-eyed, come visit us when the school kids are out and cheering on the Flame.
3. The Forbes Bros story (Art) – This third-generation GM dealer looked after the Torch Relay convoy for the 1988 Olympics, and he’s did it again for 2010.
2. The woman getting the torch bought for her in PEI (Art)
1. Children watching the torch in the atrium of the SickKids Hospital (Art)

We’re pulling into Barrie tonight after a 110 km trip from Owen Sound, and like every community we’re in, each has an incredible story of Olympic proportions. There are so many great ones, but it’s impossible to tell them all here on this small blog, but tonight in Barrie, a man named Bob Middlemiss has one of the best Olympic stories I’ve heard.

Bob is Barrie, Ontario’s honourary community torchbearer – it means he’ll get to light the cauldron at the ceremony tonight. At age 19, Bob was a track star slated to compete in the 1940 Olympic Games in Tokyo, but the onset of the Second World War put an end to that dream, and Bob was sent overseas with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He served our country proudly, receiving the Flying Cross for shooting down five enemy aircrafts. If that’s not enough to show you Bob is a true champion, after being shot down over the Mediterranean, he survived by clinging to a dinghy overnight.

69 years later, and at age 88, Bob is ready for his second chance at an Olympic dream. He will finish the final 300-metre stretch the cauldron on stage in front of Barrie City Hall this evening at 6 p.m., and make no mistake, everyone will be cheering for him.

The Barrie Examiner has an excellent story about Bob. I urge you to give it a read.

Can’t have too much security for the VIF (Very Important Flame)

It’s Serge! Did you miss me? I’m back on the road after a relaxing Christmas. I hope all of you enjoyed your holidays with your families.

I’ve got a ride-along tomorrow with Christina, a blogger and one of the biggest 2010 fans I’ve ever seen. I’m looking forward to showing her behind-the-scenes look at the Torch Relay. It should be a blast!

There’s nothing like getting up close to the Flame while people cheer you on, surrounded by police vehicles. The people Art and I have been on ride-alongs with say it makes you feel like a VIP! That’s my life – a professional VIP (who has to make sure the occasional flat tire or chipped windshield gets replaced – or else!).

The Relay starts in London and the route takes us zig-zagging north east up to Kitchner. We’ll keep heading north to Timmins on New Year’s Day after which we move west, past Thunder Bay and into Manitoba – toward Vancouver!

See you on the relay!

the Relay across Canada

I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has worked so hard over the past few weeks. Those of us from Ontario can drive home to see our families during the holidays – I’ll be celebrating Christmas with my wife and catching up with one of my step-sons – but some of the Relay workers from farther away cities, like Vancouver, will be spending their two-day break at the London Delta hotel, thinking about home.

Southern Ontario has been hectic. We diverted the convoy due to disruptions in downtown Toronto, making sure the Sick Kids hospital got some time with the Torch. We’ve also had other difficult situations you may have heard about on the news, but everyone has put in every last ounce of effort to make the Relay run smoothly. In many cases, it means getting to bed after 12 a.m., but if it means giving someone a magic Olympic moment, delays mean nothing. The energy of the Torch Bearers and the cheering crowds make it all worthwhile.

We’re doing some last-minute maintenance on the fleet right now to get it ready for the northern push. So far, we’ve been taking the convoy relatively short distances – only 200 km a day, but in the next three days, the distances are going to increase to 350 to 400 km a day when the Torch heads out to Val-d’Or, Quebec and swoops around to Thunder Bay. And it will get colder – a lot colder.

When the weather is nice, our vehicle prep is a breeze, but sprinkle in a little snow, and we’re replacing six sets of wiper blades a night. We use about six to eight 4 litre jugs of wiper fluid – about 32 litres a day. All those windshields add up.

I’ll be coming back in Winnipeg. Until then, you’re stuck with Serge.

Have a good holiday!

Creative Commons photo by Scolirk

“Tonight,” he said. “My dealership is your dealership.”

He’d been looking forward to our arrival since May when I scouted out his dealership for Relay vehicle maintenance.

I soon understood why Jim was so excited. He showed us photo from the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympic Torch Relay. In the picture, a younger Jim posed with the 1988 Torch while his small daughter stood next to him on the hood of a Relay vehicle. He had opened his doors to the Torch caravan back then, and he was thrilled to do it again – 20 years later.

Jim was ready for another photo this time, too! His daughter was there again, as was her own daughter! We got an excellent picture of the three of them with the vehicles and the Torch. It was truly special.

Forbes Bros is no stranger to handing down family memories. The dealership first opened in 1921 and was operated by Jim’s father before being handed down to Jim.

Going into the holiday season, think about the memories you create for future generations, and what it will mean 20 – or more – years down the road. This story is a fitting tribute to the idea that the Olympic movement builds legacies for generations.

I do a lot of story-telling around here, so I thought I’d let someone else do it for a change. Here’s a guest post from Maureen, who shares her experience from a ride-along with me last Friday:

December 18, 2009

In the past 24 hours I received the greatest of gifts – I got to experience the Olympic Torch Relay as a spectator and ride in one of the vehicles travelling with the Flame!

Living in downtown Toronto, I was lucky enough to see the Olympic Flame pass between two Torch Bearers right outside my building Thursday afternoon. It was an unforgettable moment to see children and adults cheering on the two runners as one completed her leg and the other started – their 300 mere Olympic journey forever etched in their minds.

This morning at 5 a.m., I experienced a completely different perspective on the Torch Relay – one most Canadians could never imagine. The Relay’s behind-the-scenes logistics is a pageant in itself with hundreds of staff and volunteers sharing a common purpose. Their goal is embedding an Olympic moment in the memory of everyone who experiences the Relay, from coast to coast to coast. The excitement on the faces of the Torch Bearers, as they were presented with their Torch and proudly suited up in their official jogging apparel, will forever be engrained in my memory.

Olympic Jogging Apparel

Art Lewis, General Motors, Relay Manager was my host on our journey to Aurora, Ontario. He has to be one of the nicest, warmest, friendliest “can do” members of this extraordinary Torch Relay team. There is nothing Art won’t do for the legion of staff and vehicles, setting out hours before dawn. In Art’s words, “each day is like the day before and the day yet to come – yet each day is like no other.”

Why?

Excited Crowd

I think the community of Aurora is an example of why. Just north of Toronto, this historic town is the symbol of community spirit. Little ones are lined up along the main intersections and narrow streets – some showing gaping holes where teeth once were, as they smile from ear to ear, holding their drawings of the 2010 Vancouver Games logo.

Beside them is a group of screaming, supercharged 10 and 11 year-old boys, who do fist pumps and scream and dance in circles as the Torch Relay passes them.

Not to be out-done are the senior citizens, waving flags beside young mothers, laughing and shouting and giving high fives to Torch Bearers.

It was truly a “Canadian Olympic moment in time,” touching people from every walk of life.

Crowd cheering on the Torch Bearers

Nothing can ever prepare you for the feeling from watching the Olympic Torch. It passes by all too quickly. In that moment – standing together on the roadside – we felt joined with that yet-to-be named athlete who will eventually light the Olympic cauldron in Vancouver and signal to the world the start of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.

In the Car

Thanks Art for an amazing opportunity!

Maureen Shaughnessy Kitts