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Reflections After My Brother's Visit
By Susanne Pacher, Thu Dec 8th
From August 27 to September 6 I had four visitors from Europe intown: my brother Ewald, his wife Anneliese and their two friends- my neighbours from my home town in Austria, Luis and Isabella.You may wonder why this is such a big deal that I need to writeabout it. For me this was a huge deal since it was the first time that mybrother came to visit me since I immigrated to Canada in 1986.Because of our 9 year age difference we didn't have a chance tospend that much time together when I was young, and my brotherwasn't big on flying in the first place. But we hatched the ideaof a joint vacation last year, during my first visit back to myhome town in 8 years. So to me this was a very big deal. For our four visitors it wasa pretty big affair as well since they had never travelled toNorth America. After all these 9 days in Toronto were theirfirst exposure to the New World. We managed to cram a lot ofthings into these nine days: a visit to Niagara's Wine Country,a country driving tour of the Kawartha Lakes, various bicycletours of Toronto, checking out Toronto's waterfront, TorontoIsland, the Eastern and Western Beaches, the Humber River,downtown Toronto with the CN Tower and many of Toronto'sneighbourhoods, including Greektown, Chinatown (East and West),Kensington Market, Little India, Rosedale, Forest Hill, BloorWest Village and so many other special spots that Toronto has tooffer.
They enjoyed the Toronto's architectural preservation effortsvisible in the historic Distillery District or the renovated CNroundhouse that now features the Steam Whistle Brewery. Alongthe way they managed to photograph many vintage cars and trucks,even a 1950s style hearse in the town of Bobcaygeon. They alsofell in love with the Kawartha Lake Region, and ideas of comingback to Canada to rent a houseboat and explore the Trent-SevernCanal System started to percolate. Of course our European visitors commented on the differentdimensions of things, such as the size of cars, ofsuper-markets, even of squirrels in the park, everything seemedjust a little larger. Our visitors commented on thesophisticated display rooms and restaurants at Ontario'swineries, the surprisingly excellent quality of the wines(Ontario's wines are not very well known in Europe), as well asthe friendliness of service personnel at the wineries, and invarious other stores and restaurants around town. We even had avariety of friendly interchanges with dog-walkers, people on thestreet and lawn bowlers. Toronto definitely showed its best sideduring these 9 days, and the perfect weather just added to theexperience. Our European visitors are all active people who enjoy exploringand Luis and Isabella in particular are athletes who enjoybiking, hiking, tennis, skiing etc. I took them around onmountain bikes and they loved exploring the
city in this way. Myhusband Nigel, an avid golfer, gave them some golfing lessons atthe driving range, and added some putting lessons on the carpetin our house. We all went on a fun outing to a par-3 golf courseon the outskirts of Toronto. It was their first initiation togolf and they had a ball, and decided to explore this activityfurther once they get back to Europe. With our bicycles we explored the Don River Valley and many ofthe ravines that criss-cross the Toronto landscape and thecomments that came back from my European gang were time and timeagain about how green Toronto is, and how it doesn't feel like alarge urban metropolis, full of concrete and devoid of greenspaces and recreational areas. They talked about the liveabilityof this city, that you don't even need to leave Toronto to enjoythe water and the green spaces, or even off-road mountainbiking. My brother in particular, was amazingly enthusiastic about histime in Toronto. He loved the ethnic neighbourhoods and said hecould spend days just exploring Chinatown. He also mentionedthat he never felt an uncomfortable feeling of racial tension inany of the neighbourhoods, the way he had experienced it in someareas in various European cities. And they all felt safe, eventhough we took the subway and explored some of the less affluentareas of the city. Our four visitors were the most considerate guests you can everimagine. They took over the kitchen, with my brother, aconsummate chef, whipping up gourmet meals every day, usingfresh Ontario ingredients. Since I still had to work ondifferent occasions during their stay, they cleaned the house,watered the flowers, even mowed the lawn. You couldn't imagine abetter group of guests that would be more considerate andhelpful. This 9-day sleepover was one of the most positiveintense experiences I have ever had. Yesterday, I rode down to the Beaches for the first time againsince my four special visitors had left. I cycled around all theplaces that I had taken them, where they had posed for photosand commented on their experiences. And it was amazing how muchI missed them, how empty the house felt without them, how deepan impression these 9 days left. I have already touched base onthe phone with them a couple of times to make sure they arrivedsafely and to tell them how much I missed them. Now I am looking forward to planning another get-together, forsome more joint activities, whether it be in Canada, Austria, orsomewhere in between. About the author:Susanne Pacher is the publisher ofhttp://www.travelandtransitions.com. It deals with travel toforeign countries and is chock full of advice, tips, real lifetravel experiences, interviews with travellers, insights,cross-cultural issues, and many other features. Participate inour travel story contesthttp://www.travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm and win greatprizes, a fabulous cruise to the Amazon. Life is a Journey -Explore New Horizons.
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Forestry Commission Wales brings Coed-y-Brenin cafe under its own management
Forestry Commission Wales is going to provide new and improved facilities at its Coed-y-Brenin visitor centre near Dolgellau after bringing control of the caf?ack under its own management with effect from Monday, 10 November. It will spend five days re-stocking and preparing the caf?or re-opening on Saturday, 15 November. On the odd occasion that we've dropped into the cafe whilst heading to North Wales from ourt base near Abergavenny we've been frequently disappointed with slowness of the service so hopefully this issue will be addressed.
The Brechfa Enduro Returns!
Some of you will remember, and maybe taken part in, the inaugural Brechfa Team Enduro. Well the organisers have recently contacted us and it’s going to happen again in 2009. With a promised of a “bigger and better” course the date to put in your diary is the weekend of 15th/16th August. More details can be found on the Bike Brechfa website.
Matt Page (Voltage) - A Season Review!
It seems like such a long time ago that I was planning my 2008 season and now here I am writing a conclusion to what has been my best year of racing to date. After a brilliant end to 2007, winning Dusk ‘til Dawn I had big goals for the following season of racing with my 2 main goals being to win a 24hr solo race, ideally Mountain Mayhem and to defend my Dusk ‘til Dawn title.At the start of 2008 I was living in Cardiff, working as a cycle courier. What could be better than being paid to ride a bike? I was doing no specific training, just trying to add a few things into my work routine to try and improve a few parts of my riding.
What to take with you when you go mountain biking
We've all seen the pictures in the magazines of riders out in the wilds armed with nothing more than a tiny seatpack. But in reality there's plenty you need to take in order to be self-sufficient so that you can help yourself or others should there be an incident. Andrew Joesph, a qualified mountain bike guide, spills the beans on what you should take with you when you go mountain biking.
Penmachno Trail Closed for Cambrian Rally
The trail will be closed for one day on Saturday the 1st of November due to the Cambrian Rally taking place in the forest above Penmachno. Please observe the closure for your own safety. It will be open again on the Sunday.While I've got your attention, if I could remind everyone that there's an Honesty Box at the trailhead and any contributions are always welcome. We're always struggling to find cash to keep the trail maintained. Many thanks.
Rowan's been busy writing!
Mountain Biking EuropeMountain biking is the fastest growing outdoor sport* in the UK, spanning a wide range of ages and abilities. The number of UK specific spots is growing all the time. In addition, there are numerous UK-based holiday companies offering bespoke mountain biking trips overseas as well as several European ski-resorts re-launching themselves as summer centres for the sport.
Premier Demo Series visits CyB!
On the weekend of the 19th and 20th of July the Premier Demo Series will be rolling into Coed y Brenin for the last stop on its 5 location tour of the country.The Premier Demo Series sees bike brands Kona, Cove Bikes, Litespeed, Merlin, BMC, Intense, Rocky Mountain and Maverick all coming together in 5 locations around the country to wheel out their range of bikes to give you, the rider, the chance to demo some of the finest pieces of metal on some of the finest terrain in the country.
The Return of the Beast
Those of you who’ve been wondering what happened to the Brecon Beast enduro last year, well due to personal circumstances, the organisers were forced to take a year out. The good news is that it’s returning for 2008 and will take place Sunday, 14th September. More details can be found on the Brecon Beast website.
First Minister spotted at Coed-y-Brenin !
Wales' First Minister Rhodri Morgan toured one of north Wales's most popular outdoor recreation centres last Friday when he visited the Forestry Commission Wales complex at Coed-y-Brenin, near Dolgelllau.
Girls Only Mountainbiking Club
There has being a great response to the free, Girls Only mountainbike skills course run by, Forest Freeride on behalf of, Mentro Allan. However it would seem that funding for future courses won't be avaliable, so we've come up with something else.DIRTY GIRLS (This may only be a temporary name for the club, as we'd like its founding members to choose the name).
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