Canadian Peter Doucet provides a look into the world of speed skating. Online since March 1999, Speed Skate World (used to Peter's Inline Racing Web Page) provides the skating world with results, photos, news, gossip, and just plain fun! Contact Peter Doucet at shaloheat@hotmail.com
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Wednesday, February 28, 2007
The Big Questions, Pictures From Aaron’s Birthday, Wheel Anti-Reversing Technology Video, LT Master World Wrap Up, Events: Road To Hope & ESS
Pictures From Aaron’s Birthday: A few of us went out last after last Monday’s Scooter’s Indoor Speed Practice to celebrate Aaron Arndt’s 27th birthday. Candy Wong posted her pictures.
Aaron Arndt cuts the cake, I'm in the middle, and Mr. Maas looks on
All of us there at the table- posing for the picture
Wheel Anti-Reversing Technology Video: The title takes all the guess work out of what the next video is about: pres play or click here to view.
LT Master World Wrap Up: Looks like Andrew Love posted his final entry from the long track masters world championships that took place in Calgary: Day 4, Masters Worlds. Lots of good skating, award, and party pictures!
Doesn't Andrew Love look so happy? (photo from Andrew Love)
Aaron Arndt & The World Inline Cup: I like Bill Begg’s preview of the World Inline Center Bont Europe team. Aaron Arndt is a member of this team. In the 2007 World Cup Skaters?! thread, Bill Begg writes about Aaron, saying ‘At International level Canada does not have a good standing, Aaron Richard Arnd't from Canada has declared that given the opportunity, he will rectify the situation.
Aaron Arndt skating at the 2006 RSC Canada Day Marathon
As a Junior Aaron has had top 10 World results, finished top 10 in Duluth WIC come back from a bad injury, placed 2nd in the tough 87 miles Athens to Atlanta in 2006, and performed well in Marathon events in the USA.
For Arnd't to continue his association with Bont, in a WIC team, is a dream come true for the Tough Canadian, who has been a Member of the Bont North American team.’.
Old-School Photos: I’m not ultra familiar with the history of roller/ inline skating prior to my arrival in the sport in 1993. I always love hearing about different stories, but I find that pictures really help put some perspective. Below are a few pictures from U.D.C. Chantrea Patinaje Velocidad.
Aaron And Petey: 150km Of Biking In Extreme Cold, Andrew Hegarty: World Report
Aaron And Petey: 150km Of Biking In Extreme Cold: First off, happy birthday Aaron Arndt. Ok- here we go: My goal in the next few paragraphs is to convey my opinion about how brave, athletic, tough, and stupid (in a funny way) Aaron Arndt and Peter Light were this past Saturday. Aaron Arndt came to my house at 8:30am last Saturday morning to drop off his hockey equipment for a roller hockey game. He wanted me to drive his equipment up to Neusteadt (Newstead) which is about 170km’s from my house. Aaron then explained that the reason he wanted me to drive his hockey equipment over to Neusteadt is because Peter Light and him were going to ride their bikes to the rink...
We were standing in my driveway putting the hockey equipment in my trunk and I laughed and told him that there’s no way that him and Petey were going to ride that far in the cold. He agreed. It was cold, minus 15 Celsius at that time of the morning. He left my house, saying ‘See you at roller hockey’ and I said ok.
Before going to Newsteadt for the roller hockey game, I spent the late morning and early afternoon with Mike Murray; he made me suffer by running some stairs in Hamilton- the equivalent of 15 stories that go up the side of a mountain- up and down, up and down...He’s an animal and he got me to my knees virtually crawling up the stairs.
I drove over to Neusteadt- it took me about just under 2 hours to get there. The roller hockey game was supposed to start at 3pm. The plan was that Aaron Arndt and Peter Light were to bike over from Bramtpon to Neusteadt and be there by 3pm so they could play roller hockey. I arrived at the rink at 4pm thanks to Mister Pauley guiding me on the phone through the sinle lane high speed country roads that Aaron Arndt and Peter Light were riding on. When I entered the rink, I scanned over the players’ faces - I could see faces that I recognize including Mister and Jesse Pauley, Dave & Keri Chard, and Kevin Stephenson. But no sign of Aaron or Petey...
So I guess Aaron and Petey didn’t ride their bikes and they didn’t drive over to Neusteadt to play roller-hockey either. If they did bike or drive, they would have already have been there; anyways, who in their right mind would ride in that kind of cold and for that long anyways?
Dave Chard playing hockey
Myself, Jesse Pauley, and Mister Pauley after roller hockey
After the roller hockey was finished and everyone had left, I was on my way home at about 5:30pm when I decided to call Aaron to see if we would meet up before we go to Travis Shaw’s house that evening to play risk. Mrs. Arndt picked up the phone and told me that Aaron called her to tell me to wait for them at the rink in Neusteadt because they were biking and they were going to be late.
‘Oh my god’ I thought, ‘they were supposed to be there at 3pm and it’s now almost 6pm! Are they dead? Are they hugging each other on the side of the road trying to stay warm?’. I got a call on my cell at 6pm and it was Aaron- him and Petey were at a pub/ restaurant by the hockey rink in Neusteadt, waiting for me. I was happy that they were still alive.
The band at the pub
When I entered the pub, I noticed a bunch of snow-mobile drivers having warm food, locals dressed in red and black flannel shirts enjoying beers, and way off by the pool table two silhouettes dressed in cycling clothes huddled over hot chocolate, trying to suck the heat out of the cup, and negotiating with the waitress that they wanted a lot of warm water, and great big steak dinners.
Peter Light shows the icicles that formed on his bike (you can't see them well in the picture)
Aaron Arndt and Peter Light- about to die? Happy to be warm?
You think they look like crap in the pictures? You should have seen them in person! While I was sitting with them, they put their hands under my legs to warm up; they ate other people’s onion rings; Peter Light and Aaron Arndt were two cyclists who were on the brink of hypothermia, delirious, starved, tired, and ecstatic about having food and warmth. I cannot write about the adventure itself. I hope Aaron Arndt writes about it on his website. Otherwise, try to get the story out of them.
Below is a video of Aaron & Petey at the pub, the band at the pub, and then the roller hockey! Press play or click here to view
RSO Indoor Series #3, USA ST Nationals/ World LT Masters Wrap/ World LT Juniors Up, USARS News
RSO Indoor Series #3: The 3rd RSO Indoor Series race took place earlier today at the Scooter’s Roller Palace in Mississauga. You can find all the results here (ZIP file) and my photo album here. Below is a video (click play or click here) and a couple of pictures.
Candy Wong during her 300-meter time trial
Williams Malcolm skating around Alex Maas in their 300-meter time trial
Sarah Hopkins is starting to really get a nice lean in the corners
Aaron Arndt, Jade Pauley, Jesse Pauley, Andrew Hegarty, and Morgan Williams rolling out really fast in the 1000-meter final
USA ST Nationals/ World LT Masters Wrap/ World LT Juniors Up: I am re-linking to these great sources of information and inspiration for excellent coverage of the two competitions mentioned in the title: Ohno Zone and Andrew Love: Day 3, Master Worlds. Speed Skating Canada has a few reports (report 1, report 2) on the World LT juniors; for those of you on the Jordan Belchos watch, he finished 5th in the 5k and placed 4th in the team pursuit.
Belchos At LT Junior Worlds, Opposites- USA ST Nationals & World LT Masters, MISC Inline Stuff, More Events!
Belchos At LT Junior Worlds: Jordan Belchos finshed 39th in the 500-meter race at the long track ice junior world championships which are taking place in Innsbruck, Austria. Oh, he also finished 4th in the 3000-meter race (thanks to Nick Zacchia who found the link for me, we can check out the results). I guess your burning question is what’s the connection between Nick Zacchia, Jordan Belchos, and I? Other than the three of us being awesome, there’s also the fact that all three of us were candidates for ‘Own The Podium’. Nick and I got the boot and they kept Jordan. I think Nick and I did not make the final cut in the program because we would have been too good (EDIT 2007-02-25 at 8:25pm- I really didn't make OTP because I didn't test well in the jump test, my wingate test was average, and I would be too old when the 2010 Olympics come around).
Jordan Belchos, me, and Nick Zachhia with Martine Charbonneau behind us- don't you wish you were with us? Trust me, it's fun being with us!
Opposites- USA ST Nationals & World LT Masters: Hehe, you like how I put USA/ World, LT/ ST, Nationals/ Masters are opposites? Some might say they’re not opposites, but I just thought it was a catchy title. Anyways, you can dig up all the results you want from the USA short track nationals. Of course, look no further than Ohno Zone for ongoing coverage of the event.
While this is going on, Andrew Love is continuing to share stories, photos, and results from the world masters championships that are going in right now in Calgary. Click on Day 1, Masters Worlds for more.
MPC's Paul DiJulio (left) with a bag full of wheels was all over the place at last year's world championships making sure the athletes had the chance to try, test, and race on the wheels
NCN Racing’s 2007 Calendar is filled with inline skating events with dates including May 13th (Columbia Station) and July 1st (Columbia Station). What worries me is that the July 1st race conflicts with the RSC Canada Day Marathon which will take place in Cambridge, Ontario (you’ll have to wait for details for this one though). Another Canadian race is the Trillium 10k, which is set to take place on May 12th in Mount Forest.
Eric Gee chasing as we arrive in Mount Forest for the 2005 Trillium 10k- he was probably mad at me for some reason
Mister Pauley (right) raises his arm- after the 2005 Trillium 10k- he was probably shouting something like 'The Trillum 10k rocks, and Peter Doucet rocks too!! Let's all give our money to Peter Doucet! Yeahh!'. Jesse Pauley, in front of his dad, look towards the camera.
Finally, check out WAR’s event calendar which has a bunch of stuff you might want to check out.
100th Post, Events- Minto Run For Reach & Mantia At The CITC?, Olivier Jean, World Masters, Legalize My 110, FIRS Seminar
100th Post: This is the 100th update on my site since I’ve switched it over to Blogger. Despite the number of posts, I am still thinking about how I want to deliver the news on this site. In fact, I am still thinking about what kind of news I want to deliver too. For now, I hope you’re enjoying Speed Skate World.
Events- Minto Run For Reach & Mantia At The CITC?: The Minto Run For Reach will have a 21km inline skating race; this is excellent! It is taking place on April 15th in Ottawa. I always love news like this; I heard that the event would no longer have inline skating, and then sazhang, I’m reading that there is in fact a half marathon.
Mantia at the CITC? Could it be possible? According to the latest update on the CITC, there are plans in the works. I really really really hope that this happens. How awesome would that be?! I’ll answer that one for you: Very.
They should have used my picture for this ad
Olivier Jean: It’s cool how I can make one of my friends a topic/ subject on my website. Why’s it cool? Just because I say so. Ha! Well it’s not only that he’s a beast of an inline skater, but he’s also not too shabby on the ice- I don’t know how many medals he has won this year in short track world cup competitions, but it’s enough to make me not feel like going back through the results and counting. Just trust me, he’s got a few golds, probably some silver and bronze medals too. Here are a few pictures of Olivier that were taking by Simon P.- he’s the boyfriend of one of the female skaters who skates out of the national training centre in Montreal.
500-meter short track world cup podium: Francois Louis Tremblay, Olivier Jean, and Tysen Heung (hmm, weren't they all on my 24 hour Montreal relay team? Ohhhh we rocked!)
Olivier Jean leads
Olivier Jean leads
You might have seen the following photo on Ohno Zone. The story behind the picture of Olivier Jean (Canadian) wearing the USA uniform is that Olivier forgot his suit at the hotel in Hungary, so he borrow Travis Jayner’s USA suit. Ahh it’s nice to read (in my case write) about the friendship and camaraderie that sport offers.
Now this is the perfect time to move on to some results from the USA short track nationals: Day 1 on Ohno Zone. Yeah yeah! Note that there is a lot more information that has been added in the comments section.
World Masters: Andrew Love keeps feeding us some news and pictures from the upcoming world masters competition in Calgary (see USA Masters)- I hope he keeps this up during the weekend and racing.
Legalize My 110: Who’s in the picture below? And what are they trying to get legalized? It’s not funny grass, no. They are skaters, and they want 110mm wheels to be legalized at worlds. Do they know something I don’t about them though? I haven’t tried the 110’s yet, but I have a feeling that they’ve tried them, that they like them too, and that they feel there's an advantage in using 110mm wheels.
Who are these people? On the ground is Yann Guyader, on top of him is his girlfriend (wearing the pointy boots), and she is shooting Pascal Briand (I hope the picture loads up, otherwise you might have some image in your head of some really distorted sex scene). I especially love the design of the ad, rumours have it that it was made using Paint. Hmm, can you spot a ‘logo’ on this website that was made using paint?
Whatttt? You think I made my logo using paint? Um..cough, no way! I am awesome at graphic design, and my computer is loaded up with all the design programs that I cannot even name...ok ok! Ok here’s the truth, I made it using Paint Shop Pro AND Paint.
FIRS Seminar: You’ll need a bit of time to read through this one- FIRS International Coaches’ Seminar- it’s loaded with lots of information that I won’t dare summarize here. Colopatinador was impressed with how quickly I responded to the thread that he used to announce the article. Hehehe. What can I say? I am fast, you know it!
The caption under this photo reads The Big Bosses (photo SpeedSK8rs.com)
World Masters Are Coming, Pictures, Links- New & France, Bont Board- Le Mans & Shooting Your Foot
World Masters Are Coming: I have a friend/ coach who has been telling me about the world masters championships when we see each other at short track practice. He is now in Calgary and he will be competing this weekend. We’re lucky to have the internet in this day and age because we get a preview of the world masters from the likes of Andrew Love (see Calgary, part I). The world masters are taking place this weekend at the Olympic Oval in Calgary- see the list of registered skaters and read some news here.
Start of a rainy Media Marathon (photo Mundo Patin)
Links- New & France: Have fun exploring these links, most of which have something to do with France: Diabolik (they have sweet looking frames), Mant’roll78, and EO Skates (this one’s in French & English).
Diabolik frames
EO Skates frames
This next link is not new, but it is worth reposting because it’s a great resource of videos from French Inline Cup races: Roller TV; here are a couple of the recent free videos: click here and click here. EDIT: I just watched them in full and they are sweeeeeeeeeet. I am completely pumped up, especially after watching the video where the pack is skating by the lake with the helicopter flying along! These videos are for sure worth the download time END EDIT You’ll have to pay to view the other videos. While I’ve got your attention on the French skating scene, it’s worth noting that the French road championships will take place May 18th to the 20th in Niort.
Bont Board- Le Mans & Shooting Your Foot: Le Mans is a famous 24 hour inline skating relay race that attracts thousands of skaters each year. Bont has a history with the event and Bill Begg is making sure things from the past are forgotten and that rivalries stay alive; in the recent post Le Mans 2007, Begg drops name upon name for what I can only describe as a dream-team to compete in the 2007 Le Mans.
Another post that started up recently (by Bill Begg) is Shoot yourself in the Foot. It’s a good thread mainly because I contributed to it- seriously though- it’s worth your reading time.
Aaron’s Coming Back, Speedwyre and the Sasquatch, Links, Wolverine Marathon, Results, World Inline Cup Teams, New Duluth Division, Running The Sahara
Aaron’s Coming Back: Aaron Arndt was in Florida skating as much as some of us can only wish. As of today, he is back in Brampton, stuck with braving the cold and the snow. Actually, the weather isn’t bad at all today- It’s near zero Celsius; the snow is melting and we’re not freezing to death as we were a few days ago.
Aaron Arndt hard at work sweeping the floor before the Scooter's Indoor Speed Club practice while everyone else is posing for the team picture
Speedwyre and the Sasquatch: I don’t know what to say about Speedwyre and the Sasquatch; it’s just plain theory and plain fun!
