Damn You Portugal! Damn You!

Well the election turned out rather interesting. The result - a Liberal Minority - virtually assures us that little to nothing will get done in Parliament until next election. The Liberals and the NDP are just 1 seat shy of making a majority together. I must say, that at the least, makes me happy. The thought of The Liberals and the NDP as bedfellows, with the NDP holding the balance, makes me absolutely cringe.

Instead, in order to get anything through, at least 3 groups will have to agree. How likely is that? Not very. Especially on contentious legislation. The parties are talking about cooperation now, but how long will that last? It won't be long before the inherent divisions between the party lines show up. When that happens, expect the Parliamentary process to grind to a complete halt.

Can we expect a vote of no confidence, and an ensuing election in the coming months? It would seem like an incredible waste of resources - but I suppose anything is possible.

In work-related news, I'm getting moved to afternoons next week. This is annoying, it's like a rotating shift, just without the actual foreknowledge. Also, as a result of the shift change and my scheduled July 7th departure for Winnipeg, I'll only get in 2 days of work next week instead of the 3 I would've gotten had I been on nights. I'm more irritated about the lost day than anything else - I need that money!

I also worked out my time off with Randy; I'm off from the 7th up until the 19th. So that's a full 12 days I can spend in Winnipeg with everyone. So woowoo to that!

Worked my first midnight shift last night, it actually wasn't bad. I'm working with a fellow named Shawn. Lucky for me, he's a good guy, and fun to work with. I forsee a productive working future.

Anyhow, I'm tired, and it's time to eat so I'm off again. Apologies for the short posts lately.

The Czech's stunned the Danes with a solid 3-0 victory, in spite of having barely more than 30% of the possession. The Greeks will be facing a huge task when they face the Czech Republic next week.

For a little entertainment, check out: Butt-Plugs!!!

Woooooo! Van der Sar Saves!! Robben Scores! Holland Wins!

Damn, the game was pretty tight and not terribly interesting for the bulk, but it got really interesting at the end! I'm just glad I didn't have to face shootout heartbreak for the 2nd time in a row. Way To Go Boys! Portugal Next!

Well, it's the weekend, but I'll be working tomorrow at 7am anyhow. That's ok, I don't mind a little OT pay. I remember back in the day, when I used to work 16-24hrs of OT on the weekends just to get a decent paycheque. Yeah, those were special times.

On another note: Props to my good buddy Colin on his new job. Best of luck over there!

In the vein of well-wishing, I'd like to wish Van Nistlerooy, Edgar Davids, Seedorf, Van der Mitre, Cocu, Robbin, Kluivert (even though he's warming the bench with all of his awesome talent) and the rest of the Dutch soccer team all the well-wishes in the world for their game tomorrow against Sweden! Can't wait! Go Holland!!!!!

And then there was pain...

Hot on the heels of being told that I'm getting moved from days to night shift next week (11pm - 7am goddamn that sucks), I rushed home to view the soccer game between England and Portugal. When I arrived the English were defending a 1-0 lead courtesy of an absolutely brilliant goal by Owen.

The Portugeese were able to tie it up as the end neared, and then avoided elimination when an English goal was called back due to interference. Deadlocked at 1, the two teams began their two 15 minute overtime periods under the Silver Goal rule.

Early in the 2nd 15, Portugal scored the go-ahead goal, and the Portugese fans began to celebrate their imminent victory. But it was not to be, as a down but certainly not out English side showed a lot of heart in coming back with a goal to tie the game back up.

The game went into shootouts, and the teams were still tied after the first 5 shots were taken: 4-4. The fates were smiling upon Portugal though, and Ricardo was able to steal the spotlight in a game filled with highlight reel moments. The Portugal goaltender played the unique role of not only saving the shot that gave his team the chance to win - but scoring the goal that won as well. Certainly not a feat a lot of goaltenders can lay claim to!

In the end, I give due congratulations to Portugal, they played well (damnit). I also applaud England for playing some great soccer through the tournament (The England/Croatia match was one of the best of the tourney), and for making a good showing of themselves - even without tournament scoring leader Wayne Rooney they nearly pulled it through. Fine job boys, only 2 years until Germany :D.

I suppose the only good thing about the result is that I don't have to worry about the possibility of facing a split allegiance match between Holland and England in the semi-finals. Holland plays Sweden on Saturday (GO HOLLAND!!!), with the winner of that moving on to play Portugal. I think Holland vs Portugal would be a truly wonderful match - Especially if the Dutch were to come out on top and head to the Finals against the Czech Republic.

I say the Czech Republic because it would be just that kind of poetic ending, with the growing rivalry between the two teams and the quality of the last match - a final would be absolutely glorious. (In the case that England had made it to the finals I would have wished for a England/France final to make it perfect.)

In closing, I'd like everyone (Even you Jon :P) to join me in a sad wave to the good English players. It was a good effort.

People, by nature, say dumb things. I'm aware of this, my readers are aware of this. We're all even susceptible to this. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes it makes you angry. But every once in awhile you hear something that leaves you simply speechless. There may be so many reponses, but the sheer idiocy of what has just been heard renders an individuals power of articulation useless.

Yesterday was one of those days.

It was lunch time at work, and I was in the process of liberally applying additional supplements to my hot dog at the vendor nearby. Then, this woman from another company walks up and orders her dog. She complains about the weather. Yeah, the weather sucks today. We all agree. Then she offers her explanation as to why the weather is bad.

"It's because of those bombs in Iraq." She says, matter-of-factly.

"What?" replies the vendor, "You mean we're being punished?"

"No!" She says, "It's those bombs in Iraq! They screw up the weather systems. All the birds are migrating different now. That's why the weather sucks."

Of Course! How could I have been so obtuse? It's obvious, in fact. Bombs are changing the weather. Sounds like a proper assertion to me. In fact, why don't we write out a formula for it, and create some sort of axiom describing the unavoidable impact upon the world climate system as a result of bombs in Iraq.

Well, what do we know? We know that all of the atmospheric nuclear testing done in the world from 1945 to 1976 created a grand total of 10 tonnes of plutonium pollution. Surely, atomic testing over a 31-year span has created more pollution than the non-atomic bombs used in Iraq in 1 year. For comparisons sake, what about Mt. Pinatubo, the volcano that let loose 26 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide into the planets atmosphere, singlehandedly dropping temperatures around the world by .5 degrees, thus dwarfing in one shot all of the efforts of mankind.

But that doesn't work in favour of the Bombs in Iraq theory. Damn. So how do we possibly support this theory? We don't actually. Instead, I'll just point out that A: That particular individual is likely brainwashed by liberal media. And B: That individual is most definitely an idiot.

Why don't we discern a real scapegoat. Or should I say scapecow. Did anyone here know that methane (primary greenhouse affectant) accounts for 15% of the total human-related pollution in the world? And that livestock belching makes up 20% of that total? That's 3% of all the 'human' pollution in the world - from our cows. (Livestock falls under human pollution because we eat them, and because it helps add big methane numbers to the environmentalist rants about pollution) Now, if you ask me, that's a lot more worrying than the effects of a couple little bombs in Iraq. In fact, I'd like to beseech everyone to join me in countering this massive problem.

Break out the cutlery ladies and gentlemen. Who wants some steak?

Netherlands Wins!! 3-0!! Onto the Quarter-Finals baby!! Great Job!! Van the Man comes up big again! Woo!

England vs Portugal tomorrow - should be an incredible game!!

GO LIONS!

Well, who would have thought? I'm back full time at Plasti-Fab once again. I don't mind, in fact I'm pleased about it. I've been working in the office for the last little while helping out with things, just on a casual basis. But orders in the plant have been backing up, and they've been needing extra hands. Hey, I've got 6 years of experience. In spite of the potential union conflicts with hiring the son of the Sales Manager, Randy the Plant Manager decided to get me in there. With some pressure from the friends I've made in the office. I have to say, it was pretty fun doing the math test while Jamie read off the answers for me - doing her best to help me get that position.

It's really good, actually. I mean, I know that when I left Plasti-Fab in Winnipeg I had a distinct impression that I wouldn't be working as a foam cutter again, but things don't always work out the way you might think. Why should I be excited to go back to work as a basic labourer, when I have a University Degree and at least a moderate dose of intelligence? The same answer as always: money. Or I should say, the money is good. I sure as shit wouldn't go back there for the rate I was getting paid back in Winnipeg. Importantly as well, the benefits are equally good.

So let me lay out my new plan for the year. Work at Plasti-Fab, even though by working in the plant I'll have to put up with union bastages. So I do that, and buy the one single thing I've been wanting for quite awhile now: A new computer. No problem, aside from the computer my only other expenses are rent, insurance, and my gym membership.

Now for the important part; Benefits kick in after 80 days. Then, I'll be able to do something, finally, that I've been meaning to do for the last 5 years. Get that bloody operation! It's abusing the system, I know, but to be honest I just don't care; I've put in more than enough time for this company I reckon. So, get that operation, see what kind of benefits I get during recovery, then when the benefits run out and I still can't work (Recovery is 6 months), I'll be forced to quit. My plan is to have a goodly amount of cash saved up at that point.

Just in case they happen to be reading this, I'd like to inform David and Sandy that they shouldn't worry. I still have every intention of helping out with building Amy's house out in Campbell River (If my help is wanted, that is). I'll schedule the operation for afterwards ;).

Sounds like a good plan to everyone? Sounds like a good plan to me.

I'll take the safety glasses, the steeltoes, the tape measure, the hot wires, the wire burn, the packing and wrapping and all the shit. I'll take it all, with the eye on the prize. Remember, we don't live to work; we work to live. Let the games begin.

WooHoo! That was one hell of an entertaining game! 6 Goals, lots of chances, big stops, and my team (England) came out on top to qualify for the Quarter-Finals with a 4-2 victory over Croatia. I was a little ambivalent at the start of the game, with memories of Englands sloppy performance against the Swiss. Croatia didn't help things by scoring only 5 minutes into the game. England played well though, good passing and a strong attack helped to banish fears that the game would be anything like the previous matches (Yes I'm aware the last game was a 3-0 victory - but they just played sloppy, and that's what I'm referring to). Proving me right, Scholes tied it up, and then Rooney gave England the lead as the half was ending. The second half saw more of the same, with Rooney netting a tournament high 4th goal to put his side up by 2. There was a period of slight uncertainty though, as Croatia pushed hard and was able to put a ball in the top corner to bring their team within 1. But it was not to be, as Lampard put the final nail in the Croat coffin with a fine move and an even finer finish to put the ending out of question. (In other news, France beat Switzerland 3-1. No one ever doubted that would happen though, so there's really not much to say on it other than the Swiss put up a decent fight.)

Congrats to the boys from England for a match well played. Tougher challenges lie in wait though: They'll face the hosts Portugal in the first Quarter-Final match. That game will undoubtedly prove to be by far the biggest challenge the English have faced since the World Cup. I'm confident that the boys will play a strong game, but I'm also confident that Portugal will play just as strong. It's pretty tough to predict the outcome of this one, with both teams at the top of their games it could really swing both ways. But hey, we know the future holds some great soccer, and Cheers to that!

Still depressed about the match result, I set out to find something entertainingly mind numbing to pass the time. What I found was This little gem of a game. I've only played 3 times so far (Best score is just over 85000), but I thought I'd inform everyone of it's fun nature and wonderfully catchy music. Enjoy.

I just finished watching the Netherlands vs Czech Republic game, and I'm a bit depressed, and more than a bit pissed off.

The Dutch really did play a great game, other than the slow start in the second half that ended up costing them the lead. The first half was wonderful to watch, countless chances for both sides, with the majority in favour of the boys in orange - including 2 posts and an amazing gave-saving save by Cech. Truly, it looked like a different team than the sporadic side that faced Germany a few days ago.

Then, around the 75th minute or so, with the game tied at 2 and me on the edge of my seat, the spanish ref made a decision that I can only assume was derived from some sort of absurd insanity. Heitinga was hit with his second yellow card of the game for a foul that wasn't really a foul. Even in real time it looked weak at best, in slow motion though it could be seen that Nedved obviously dove to draw a penalty. I could do little more than sit and scream at the television as Heitinga was sent off. I had already been a little incensed at the reffing as a result of an earlier no-call when Van Nistelrooy was literally grabbed and thrown down in the box while kicking vainly at the ball.

Thirteen minutes later, with Holland still pressing to try and win the all-important game, the Czechs managed to net their 3rd straight. The conclusion was reached, and after an incredible match, Dutch supporters were left to hang their heads and wonder what could have been.

It's looking really tight now for who's going to take the second spot in the aptly titled Group of Death. If Holland can beat Latvia on Wednesday, and the Czech Republic either tie or beat Germany, then Holland goes through. That was the good news of the day, Latvia holding Germany to a 0-0 draw.

I still have faith that this can happen. The Czechs are undeniably good, and chances are they can walk away from their German encounter with at least one point. As for the Netherlands, well they've always been a team that plays best when their backs are up against the wall. A case in point is the qualifying, when after losing a brutal game to Scotland 1-0, they came back to demolish the Scots 6-0 in the second leg. I think that with the talent and outright offensive power the Dutch can field (compiled by a healthy dose of desperation), Latvia will be extremely hard pressed to keep them off the board, let alone manage a tie or a win.

Back to Group A tomorrow though, and a extremely interesting match between Portugal and Spain. Go Spain!

I'm trying valiantly to keep out of 'the know' in reference to today's soccer games until TSN's late airing tonight. You see, I have satellite, but I don't have a subscription to FoxSportsWorld, so I didn't get to see the live presentation today. TSN Has been fairly on the ball with the games, but I guess Fox just beat 'em to the punch for a couple occasions. It kinda sucks, but that doesn't change my having to wait until 9 to see the Netherlands vs Czech Republic match. I already found out that Germany and Latvia tied at 0 when I opened my browser and saw the result plastered on the home page, oops. I guess I'll have to stay away from the home page for the rest of the day in an attempt to save myself from hearing the other result.

In other news, Paramount Canada's Wonderland opened its new roller coaster this summer, it's lamely named Tomb Raider: The Ride, but damn does it ever look cool.

Does anyone else think the latest Liberal campaign strategy screams desperation? Plying their party platform didn't work for the first stage of the election, as voters turned away in droves to other parties less entangled in scams. So now, instead the Liberal campaign is characterized by attack ads and calls to "Look at Harper! He's BAD!".

In defense of the Liberals, the opposition parties have spent the entire election calling down Martin for the sponsorship scandal and other Liberal mistakes (There's so many to choose from) over the past decade. The only difference is the focus on the real vs the imagined.

To be honest, this election is a pretty standard Canadian election, in terms of strategy. Politicians point fingers, yell at each other, and basically do everything they can to discredit the opposition. Success isn't based on how good you make yourself look, but how bad you make the opponents look.

The CBC likes to talk about the quality of our politicians, referring to fine examples of restraint and intelligent debate found between our would-be leaders. Unlike American politics, where an individual can hardly complete a statement without being cut off by the ones s/he is debating with.

Strange, someone at the CBC is obviously observing a different election than I am.

Just one of many little bays and inlets along the coast. 

Rapallah. 

Looking down on a boat in the strikingly blue water from the roadside. 

A city (I forgot the name) we biked through. 

Italian Riviera... 

Here's James, showing everyone just how pleased we were to finally reach the Mediterranean. 

An example of the little towns we were riding through. 

Beautiful countryside along the valley leading to the sea. 

Along the road to the Riviera... 

Looking down on Varese Liguere from the road as we neared the bottom. 

The view of the other side - this is everything we had yet to cross after reaching the top of the pass. Pretty damn nice. 

Me sitting on the bench at the top of the pass, overlooking the land we've crossed 

From a little higher up... 

View on the morning of the 16th as we climbed toward the pass. 

Here's another update from the trip, I apologize for being so lax with these. It either builds up suspense or it just makes everyone apathetic, hopefully the former instead of the latter :).

Sunday, May 16th

We got up at about 4:30 in the morning, freezing our bloody asses off. We packed our things, and left the apparently unhaunted boat and started up the remainder of the mountain. As we neared the pass the sun peeked over the peaks behind us and I was able to get a number of wonderful pictures that I'll be posting.

We made it up to Passe so di Cento Croci shortly past sunrise, and found a comfy bench sitting on the edge of a cliff looking out over the lands we'd traversed. After a short break, we rode the pass and found ourselves faced with a spectacular view on the other side. Not only was it spectacular because of the mountain view, but because we could discern the route of our road going down, down, and down. In fact, according to our map, our elevation was about to drop over 700m in a span of 12km. I wandered over to a high spot and emptied my bladder as a way of proclaiming "I have defeated you!" to the mountains. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to empty, which in turn left me to conclude: "Well, I guess I can't expect much from the third piss of the morning". I doubt anyone really wanted to know that, but James and I had a good laugh over it.

Helmets strapped on, baggage secure, and away we went. The ride down to Varese Liguere was absolutely amazing. Without a doubt one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. We thundered down the road at speeds near 60km/h, careened through dozens of switchbacks, and didn't stop until we realized that we had almost gone the entire 12km in a span of 15 minutes. I took a quick picture at an overlook of the town, then we completed the journey down.

The town was still closed at that time, so we continued on through it. About an hour and a half later we arrived in Torvo and had a late breakfast. While drinking water outside a shop an old man came and began speaking to us in Italian. We tried to tell him that we didn't understand what he was saying, but he continued on before laughing and walking away. After which he walked over and told an old lady about us, then she proceeded to come to us and chatter on - again with us clueless in our comprehension - until she finished off her conversation with laughter and a wave.

We traversed a 2km tunnel outside of Torvo, and then began a ride that was easily as incredible as the initial ride down from the pass. The best part about it was that it was totally unexpected. There was no expectations really for this particular stage of the journey - the transfer from mid-mountains to Mediterranean coast, but it was absolutely beautiful. The final 25km was a steady decline that made riding an absolute joy. We rode through countless little towns that seemed to be literally hanging off the sides of the mountains, one moment our winding road was between some houses, then we'd have rock on one side and a sheer drop on the other, then do a 140 degree turn and back into houses before exiting again into the open.

After what seemed like only a short while, we realized we were in Sestri Levante, and that we'd reached the coast. Our first stop? The beach, of course. We dragged our bikes onto the sand and fully intended to take them right up to the water before one of the Nazi-like guards (I call them Nazi-like because they actually made a father and son stop playing with a beach ball - on the beach!) made us put the bikes somewhere else. After doing so, we dragged ourselves to the surf, ignoring the strange looks of pretty much everyone, and said Hello! to the Mediterranean( Italian Riviera!!!).

We gloried in our accomplishment for a few minutes, picked up a couple postcards, then continued with the journey.

The mountains didn't want to let us go though, and for the rest of the day we were going up and down, up and down...it was very tiring, but even more rewarding. All of the towns along the Riviera are worth a hundred pictures (Though I only have a couple - sorry). The trees are thick and green, the terra cotta roofed houses are spread all over the mountains, giving it a true Euro feel, and the sea sat wide and blue to the side. It made us completely forget everything difficult we'd gone through to get to that point.

It really was brilliant, every stop along the way up until Ventimilia (oddly this one town was the only place that was smoggy and dirty out of everywhere we went, like a self-contained piece of industrial crap in the middle of the most beautiful area, how strange, and passingly annoying). Ventimilia, it happens, is where we 'rested' for the night, in a train station actually, since its open all night and its free to just hang out at.

So, we had Gelati in Rappalah, biked through Genoa the European City of Culture for 2004 (The train station had automatic guns on the sides and AA large turrets on the roof, as well as dozens of police vehicles and over a hundred officers in full riot gear running around). We biked in the middle of the road with biker-dudes while passing hundreds of cars that were backed up by traffic, and were probably really annoyed to see us passing them in the middle of the road. Overall, it was a pretty damned incredible day.

Monday, May 17th: Coming Soon!

Wow, suspense really seems to follow that French side around. I just finished watching an incredibly entertaining 2-2 draw between the defending Euro champions and a very determined Croatian side. I really didn't expect anything other than a handy French victory from the start, and events didn't appear to be heading towards a disproval of my expectations by halftime. But what a difference 4 minutes makes, because suddenly Croatia was up 2-1! France netted an equalizer not much later, but the game still swayed back and forth right up until the end when Croatia came within a foot of scoring an incredible upset victory in extra time. That particular shot missed though, and the final result was a draw. Congrats to Croatia for their strong effort.

England walked away from their match against the Swiss with a convincing 3-0 victory. I hate to say it, but the score is more impressive than the play was. The English side I've been cheering so fervently for needs to clean up their play in a couple of areas. In particular the defense looked a little bit shaky and indecisive at times - I'd go so far as to say the defense was more convincing against France in spite of the loss as opposed to a clean sheet. The true difference in this game was Englands ability to finish around the net. Switzerland created chances, but just couldn't finish the plays. All in all, I'm happy with the result and am looking forward to Mondays England - Croatia encounter. It's a big game, with the winner claiming the 2nd slot to advance onto the next stage of competition.

Tomorrow's games are Denmark vs Bulgaria (I predict a handy victory for the Danes) and Sweden vs Italy (Tough to predict, I'll say Sweden because it'd be cool to see both Scandinavian teams advance).

Back on the home front, I have a bit of news about Canadian soccer and about Toronto.

I'll lay out the soccer first. The U-19 Women defeated the U.S. 2-1 on June 6th to take first place in the CONCACAF Championships. As a result, the ladies have been seeded in Group A for the U-19 World Championship to be held in Thailand this coming November. Best of luck to the girls!!

The men have been faring well! Canada's men's squad played a tune-up match about a week ago against Frank Yallops former MLS club the San Jose Earthquakes and walked away with a convincing 3-1 victory. Then yesterday the men played Belize in the first of the 2-leg World Cup qualifying series. The gents managed to pull out an impressive 4-0 victory while dominating the shots 20-4. This is especially good news for Canada's men's squad, which has in the past suffered from a distinct lack of goal-scoring. Lets hope the newfound offense continues to flourish! Game 2 is on the 16th.

In local news, it turns out Trump is coming to Toronto. Unveiled at the start of June was plans for the $500-million Trump International Tower and Hotel, a magnificent 68-storey project slated for downtown Toronto. From what I read, it'll be pretty damn impressive. According to Trump it will be "so magnificent, that it will become a tourist attraction". Sounds good to me, I just wish I had 1.5million for a suite. I wonder how much a meal at the super posh restaurant led by the as of yet unnamed international award winning chef will be. In fact, I wonder how much a meal will be at the cheaper more accessible eatery.

Whatever the case may be in reference to prices, I'm really looking forward to seeing production start on this project.

Lastly, just a reminder to everyone, Netherlands is playing Germany tomorrow, so make damn sure you glue your asses to a seat in front of the TV, and tune into TSN at 2:30EST. You can all bet I'll be wearing my bright orange KNVB jersey.

Peace!

More Euro 2004

I didn't post yesterday because, frankly, I was still too stunned. The France - England game was a heartbreaker indeed, but in terms of 'Classic' value, it definitely earned it's place in the annals of comeback history. The boys in white had scored a header late in the first half off a wonderful delivery from Beckham, and the mark looked to stand up as the English side clamped down and stood tall against the repeated efforts of the high-powered French offense.

In spite of their efforts though, it was not to be. Mere minutes after Barthez stoned his former teammate Becks from the penalty slot, Zidane delivered on a free kick in true world class fashion in the 91st minute, to tie the game. Then, 2 minutes later, just before extra time came to a close, Gerrard - usually a solid midfielder for England, made the terrible mistake of dumping the ball back to the goalkeeper without looking. Instead he set Pires loose in the box, leaving James no choice but to commit a foul. With Zidane lining up his shot, the outlook was dim for those English fans still holding to the chance James could create a miracle like Barthez had only minutes previous, but it was all dashed as Zidane blasted the ball into the corner. Game over, hearts broken.

I was wallowing in that disappointment for a little while, but I managed to catch the final minutes of the Switzerland - Croatia match that ended in a draw. Neither team looked especially impressive and I have faith that France and England will be the ones advancing out of Group B. I admit though, that at least part of that assessment is derived from the fact that I'm cheering for England here and desperately hope they win their next two games.

The game between Denmark and Italy today was a good one as well, even though it ended in a draw. I have a lot of respect for the Danes, I was able to see them play Scotland about a month ago and they dominated the pitch and really impressed with their excellent ball control and solid passing. Today was no different, with the Danes getting the better chances of the game, making Italy look a lot less like the Group C favorites.

Sweden blasted out of the gate today, notching an impressive 5-0 win over a overmatched Bulgarian side. I'm actually about to go down and watch a bit of the replay for that game, just to see Glasgow Celtic alumni Henrik Larsson's two goals. No doubt, the Friday game between Sweden and Italy is going to be a good match.

Fireworks and Soccer

I just finished watching a pretty damn decent fireworks display right outside my front door. At first I thought the neighbours had a couple and were having a little fun, but after 20 minutes I decided that must not be the case. It lasted about 45 minutes in total, and hundreds of fireworks went off, there was cheering and applauding on the street parallel to my own (primarily children), so I gather there was something or other was going on for the kids. Either way, we planted ourselves on the front steps for the duration and enjoyed the show.

Speaking of entertainment, did anyone catch the first two games of the 2004 European Championship? The first game was a stunner, with the underdog Greece pulling out a 2-1 victory over the host. It wasn't a terribly great game to watch, the Greek style of play makes me think of the Minnesota Wild. That is to say, they play tight tight defense, and they are very chippy in the way they do it.

I've been happy lately as I take in matches, noticing how different players behave now as opposed to '94. Back then drawing fouls was the order of the day, and there was no end to the bad acting. These days it's a lot more rare to see that type of bad sportsmanship, but the Greek side displayed it in spades. It was annoying watching their players go down screaming for every little tap, and then seeing them push, elbow, kick and otherwise rough up any Portugal attacker to got within 40 yards of the goal.

That's not to say they don't deserve kudos for their win, on the contrary I applaud their solid defense and opportunistic offense. There's no doubt that the home side didn't show up until the final minutes, and in the end, that's what made all the difference.

In the other match, Spain defeated Russia in a more or less one-sided match. The first half seemed pretty even, with both sides getting some great chances on goal although neither found the back of the net. The second half though was all Spain. In the end their domination paid off and the Spanish walked away with a well-deserved 1 to nil victory.

I hope everyone will be plastered to their televisions tomorrow afternoon (2:30EST) for the France vs England matchup. It'll be a helluva game, and I'm really looking forward to it, and you can bet I'll have my England jersey on with a beer in hand.

Took this before setting up camp, I'm posting it because James keeps saying it's one of his fav pics. 

The abandoned house/boat on the top of a mountain, and we camped beside it. 

View from the road - we thought (hoped) we were halfway up, but in fact we had a long, long way to go yet... 

Borgo Val Di Taro 

Sunrise outside of Sermide 

Well it doesn't seem too much like FLR is interested in rehiring me at the moment. Randy promised a call back if they needed anyone. No call, hence no need. It kinda sucks because I have to find a way to pay off my debt, but looking at the bright side at least I'm not working in that craphole again (so far). Plasti-Fab has once again come to my rescue, with a couple days of work available making catalogues and helping move everything around the office so that new carpet can be put in. It won't be enough hours to pay off everything, but at least it'll be a big help.

Anyhow, time to recount a few more days!!

Friday, May 14th

We were woken in the middle of the night by a car that stopped at the cemetery and decided to shine it's lights at our tent for a 10 second duration. James was really worried it was a groundskeeper and we were about to get in trouble, but the car left and there wasn't an incident for the remainder of the night.

We were up at 5:30am, packed and back on the road by 6am. We pushed hard today in hopes of getting to a campsite that the map showed as being just a little ways into the mountains southwest of Parma. We made pretty decent time, and took a break just outside of Parma in the town square of some small place, as we were eating our daily ration two older Italian men started talking to us. The conversation was interesting, with them unable to understand us completely, and us doing no better. James, to his credit, can usually do a pretty decent job of miming and interpreting the mimes of other people, thus did we manage through Italy.

Parma was a nice enough city, plenty of trees, fountains and the obligatory old fashioned style architecture. From there to the mountains the cars were backed up for miles. Of course! It was Friday, everyone's headed out of the city for the weekend. So we spent the bulk of the evening slowly climbing upwards while passing dozens and dozens of cars. They eventually passed us back, but we didn't mind, because we were finally in the mountains and almost to our goal.

The sun sank lower in the sky, and time was running short. We had reached the general area on the map where the campsite was supposed to be, yet for some reason we found nothing. As the final rays of the sun disappeared beyond the earth's curve we still had yet to find a place to sleep. We stopped at what looked to be a store of some sort, and yet also seemed to be a house. By this point my knee was throbbing painfully, and every pedal rotation sent a jolt through my fragile ligaments. The people living in the house/store informed us that the campsite on our map was closed for the season, and that the only camping open was in Borgo Val Di Taro, about another 90-120 minute bikeride away - in the dark. Catch was that it was 9pm already, and the site closes at 11pm. They called for us though and let the gent running the site know we were on our way.

I was in no mood to continue, being hardly able to walk, but James bribed me with a ice cream treat and once again we were on the road. We pushed toward Borgo, and it wasn't easy. We were getting deeper into the mountains and the road had more and more inclines, as well the night was set upon us and the only visibility was from the passing cars (usually honking at us) and from the lights on James' bike (We'd bought 1 front and 1 rear light). As closing time neared, our worry grew - if this didn't work, then we would have nowhere to stay. Finally, we could see the lights of Borgo ahead just beyond the next large hill. We agreed to separate, and James shot off to the town to make damn sure we had a spot while I continued to plod on at my own pace. I sped up for awhile, to keep the red taillight in sight before I was plunged into absolute darkness on the side of the mountain road. But in the end, it was that final ascent that did me in. Halfway up I finally hopped off my bike and limped the remainder of the way to the top. Once there, I took (what I thought was) a well-deserved secretion break before hopping back on the bike. The way down was nice, and eventually led right into town. Unfortunately, the path through town led right up the side of the mountain once again. Having had enough for the night (We'd been biking for 17hrs) I decided to walk through town. It was rather enjoyable, actually, walking in the peace and quiet of the night. Eventually James discovered me (I'd just missed the turnoff to the campsite) and we set up tent for the night and crashed in the way only a completely exhausted individual can.

James had cramps in the night, he'd pushed himself way too hard at the end and paid dearly for it. Lets just say that his cramps weren't a pleasant experience...for either of us.

Saturday, May 15th

Today we labeled an official Day of Rest. We slept in (relatively speaking - 9am), took our time getting ready, had our first showers in days! It's a shame the shower only lasted 20 seconds! Stupid crappy campsite, 1 euro for a token worth 20 seconds of water. Oh well, it was nice to shower anyway.

We headed down to the supermarket and bought a lot of food. We were both getting really weak from the terribly inadequate food we'd consumed over the past few days. I have a pretty high metabolism as well, and James was demanding I eat more food because he kept saying I looked like crap. I thought my crap look was just because of the grunginess. But we feasted anyhow, and wow was it good. It's not like we ate really wonderful food, it's just that we ate More than usual. In fact, it was almost like a normal meal - except for the whole eating corn out of a can using the lid bit.

So we decided we'd leave the cute big town of Borgo Val Di Taro and get a little bit of distance logged on the road. Yes, it was a day of rest, but we couldn't be lazy and just sit around for the whole day.

It wasn't too far outside the town when we hit the biggest climb yet. The road led up and above us in countless switchbacks towards the top of the mountain. The day being a day of rest, we decided to walk the worst and ride where it wasn't so steep. We were afforded plenty of beautiful panoramas of the surrounding hills and valleys on the way up. Finally, after hours and walking/riding, we neared the town of Tarsogno - not too far from the top of the pass over the mountains. We found an abandoned BOAT to camp by, and waited until night had fully descended to set up our tent.

Yes, that's right, I said a boat. It wasn't a real boat though, rather, a large house in the shape of a large boat. All the windows were smashed out, and it was really rather eerie. I'll post a picture for everyone to peruse later. We put our tent up no more than 30 feet away from this scene-straight-out-of-a-horror-movie, and slept the night away.

Sunday, May 16th

Coming Soon! And WOW What a day it was!!!

Ok Ladies and Gents, the pics are coming next!

James posing as we take a short break on the side of the road. 

Vineyards and Hills in the Italian Countryside 

Bikes set, 80lbs of gear (each) secure, and we're ready to go! 

Even more Venice... 

More Venice... 

Well I just finished organizing my photos from the trip into 8 primary folders including 22 subfolders. Hopefully that makes things easier to locate. I currently have no plans though to name each one of the 600+ individual pictures. That's simply far too much work.

So I'll continue with my retelling of our trip, adding in pictures here and there to punctuate different moments.

Tuesday, May 11th

We went back to Venezia to do a little bit of shopping. Then we took a short walk around the city before stopping in a shop to pick up some food. The store was run by a really talkative Italian who spoke fluent English. He told us all about the different types of cheeses and meats he had, as well as commending us on our plans to bike across the country. He talked us into testing a special cheese he had, local, and aged in a barrel of wine for 1 year. It tasted absolutely wonderful! That is potentially the best cheese I've ever had. We left the store with our essential food supplies, and a small indulgent piece of the wine cheese.

From there we took the free shuttle bus to Carrefour where we found everything we needed. Bikes, supplies, more cheap food, all of it. So after planning out what we needed for tomorrow, we took the bus back to Venice, then back to Alba D'Oro for the night. It was at this point that we decided to change our route to go through the Riviera instead of Switzerland. We were a little worried about going through the Alps because all the maps we had pointed out that most mountain passes were closed until either late May or early June, also the nighttime weather in Italy we discovered was bloody cold - up in the mountains, we surmised, would be especially bitter. Also, we thought seeing the Riviera would be a wonderful thing. Thus did our route change.

Wednesday, May 12th

First thing in the morning we headed to Carrefour to buy our bikes. After that, it was just a matter of putting everything together. The holders for the saddlebags didn't fit on the bikes, so James came up with a contraption that hooked them to the frame quite neatly. It took a couple hours for us to get everything set up and ready to go. We were finally off!

No more than half an hour after leaving Carrefour an Italian drove up beside us as we were biking and started shouting "Canada! Very Strong!" while pumping his hand in the air. It turned out to be a common theme through Italy, we were immensely pleased with the amount of support the locals gave us.

Mestre was a pain in the ass to get through, and resulted in the subsequent purchase of a compass (something that helped us out immensely over the coming weeks). We biked through town after town, basically with no more than a fence separating them, while the clouds grew dark around us. Finally, we entered the real Italian countryside. Then it started to lightly rain, so we took a break beneath some trees to see if perhaps it was just a short shower and would break up. Unfortunately, the rain just got harder as the time passed, so we decided to find a camp site. Having nowhere nearby to set up tent, we rode some more. The darkness continued to deepen as we searched fruitlessly for a site.

Finally, with conditions worsening, we stopped at a muddy field and trudged through it to the best spot we could find (Near the town of Spinea), and began setting up. It was far from comfortable, in fact it was downright awful. We were muddy and soaked, the temperature dropped to only a few degrees above zero, and the rain continued all night. It was almost impossible to sleep on the uneven chunks of mud with rivers of water running between them. The tent was waterproof, but that didn't keep the water out. Sleep was hard to come by.

Thursday, May 13th

At 5am, we'd had enough of the tent, and began to pack up (We were also hoping to get out of the field before anyone saw us). The rain didn't finally stop until near noon, it was about this point that our morale at last climbed out of the dumpster.

We spent the day plodding through the Italian countryside, with brief stops for rest. The longest stop of the day was in the late afternoon when we set the tent out for 30 minutes to dry it out while we ate our suppertime ration of 2 pieces of bread and a couple slices of meat. We made it all the way to Sermide, and camped beside a cemetery just outside of town for the night.

This day offered me one of the most vivid memories I have of the entire trip. As we biked towards the town of Canda (We affectionately called it Canada) I saw the greatest old man. James was about 100m ahead of me, and the man was standing in the field beside the road. He had on a wide brimmed straw hat with long white hair flowing out the back, his shoulders were hunched and his face had the wizened quality of someone approaching their first century in age. He was leaning on a hoe stuck in the ground, and was completely motionless. As James rode by, the man made no move whatsoever, leading to my supposition that perhaps it was a scarecrow instead of a human - so motionless he was! But that thought was shattered when I saw him squint at me as I neared; I was wearing my white shirt with the large Canadian flag on the front. As it suddenly seemed to click in his head that 2 Canadians were riding bikes by him, he suddenly burst into motion (and this is a relative term). His neck twisted around sharply to take another look at James, and then he turned back around to look at me in what seemed to be disbelief, or confusion.

It may not sound like anything important or even very interesting, but I don't think I'll ever forget that old man for as long as I live.

Friday, May 14th

Coming Soon!

I'm all typed out for the day, so I'll just post a couple pictures from the ride to Sermide and be off. That's 7 days down, 17 to go! I hope everyone is enjoying the recounting of the ride. Peace.

A Gondola crossing the Grande Canal