Bobsleigh

On Saturday and Sunday, the two man bobsleigh events were held. Saturday was the qualifying runs and Sunday was the finals. There are four heats, and the times for each one are added together. Basically whoever has the fastest total time gets the gold medal! I went to the finals on Sunday evening. It was incredible. I had a general admission ticket, which meant I could wander anywhere along the track. The track was 1.4 km long, and it is supposed to be the fastest in the world. There are sixteen turns on the track. The teams start running and pushing their sled. There is no rule on when they have to be in the sled, but they do have to stay with it. It gets going a bit faster than most athletes can run! The Germans set the track record at 153 km/h. You can stand a metre from the track as they go by at that speed, and it is incredible. It is SO fast! I took a couple of videos right next to the track, but they don't really give you an idea of what it is like to be standing there. It was so much fun. There were 23 teams racing in the first heat of the night, which was the third heat for them overall. In the fourth heat, the second of the night, 20 teams raced. The fourth heat was the last. Once that was finished, the times were all added up and the winners were announced. The Germans took both Gold and Silver, while the Russians took Bronze. The best USA team was in 6th place. That night, and the medals ceremony, the German National Anthem was played to honor their Gold Medal. It was so much fun to be there. That was one event I have wanted to go to since I was a kid.

Olympic Update

I thought I should send in a little update on what all is going on here in Canada. The Olympics are in full swing now, and things are, for the most part, going very well. The USA currently leads with 17 medals, much to the disappointment of the Canadians. There is a bit of a friendly rivalry between the two nations.

The events have been interesting. I have not made it to any in person yet, but it is all that is on the TV, so I have seen what has been going on. I will be attending the bobsleigh event on Sunday, which is am looking forward to. That should be fun. This is supposed to be the fastest bobsleigh and luge track in the world. Athletes have hit speeds as high as 175 km/h in practice runs. It is a very fast track.

Yesterday, I think it was yesterday, was the Ladies Downhill Skiing. That was rather intense, if anyone missed it. It was a very fast course, and actually very steep. You really cannot tell how steep it is on the TV. The women who were racing on that course were going as fast as 100 km/h down the hill. Some of the little bumps were enough at that speed for them to get air. There was one last mound at the very end of the course which people got a lot of air on. The trouble with it is that is was right after a turn, so they had to straighten out really quick and then hit the hill. A lot of skiers were not able to do it without crashing, but some did. They were travelling 40 to 60 metres in the air off that mound. There were some injuries, fortunately non serious. It was interesting though, because some of the skiers would have a great run, but that last hill in the course would really throw the run off in the end. You couldn't really tell how well they were doing until they hit the finish line.

In other news, there has been one serious incident with the luge and with pairs figure skating. On the opening day, the team from Georgia (the nation) was practicing, and one of their athletes got going a little too fast, and lost control of his sled. He flew from the track and struck a concrete post at 155 km/h. He died a couple hours later in the hospital in Vancouver. That was rather sad. In the pair figure skating, first of all, there was not a single performance without a fall. All the athletes stumbled or fell at some point. One girl was accidentally kicked in the face by her partner. She received 80 stitches in the right cheek, but was back on the ice later. Those have been the worst injuries of the Olympics so far. Fortunately, most events are going just fine, and there have not been more serious injuries.

Being here is a lot of fun. I am enjoying myself a lot. There is a lot of excitement here, because everyone knows the whole world is looking. It is really quite an experience, and I am glad I am part of this.

Once in a Lifetime

When I was younger, my parents would sometimes take us to do something because it was likele the only time in our lives we would get such an opportunity. Some of these activities involved all of us, while some just involved a few of us. Some of these were elaborate activities, like the time we all vacationed in Newfoundland. Others were much smaller and more simple, like going to the top of the Empire State Building. Even since I have left the nest, so to speak, I have continued to take opportunities, especially when I think it might be the only time I'll ever have such an opportunity. One example was the time I was invited into the Church Administration Building, where President Hinckley worked. Over the years, a surprising number of these once in a life time opportunities have come up more than once. Of course, many have also been just once so far. One event in particular that comes to mind was in late May or June of 1996.

I don't remember the exact date anymore, although I could dig up the photos and find out. My parents got all four of us up much earlier than usual for a school day. I was in third grade, and normally we got up at 6:15am. On this day, we were out of the house before 6:00am. We headed to the south end of town, because the Olympic Torch was going to be passing through town. I didn't know much about the Olympics back then, but everyone seemed to be making a big deal about this torch. As I understood, someone was running with a torch to Altanta, which seemed like a long run from New Hampshire! We got to the south end of town, and there was a huge crowd, and all the streets seemed to be closed. We joined the crowd, and waited a while. As a kid, it seemed like we were standing there for hours, when in reality it was probably less than half an hour. After we stood there for what seemed like forever, some vehicles came into sight. They passed slowly, and behind them was a guy, with a torch, running down the street. He only ran for a little bit, and then got to someone else with a torch. He lit the other torch, and then the next guy ran for a little bit. That guy lit another torch, and then a third person ran a little ways with that. As an eight year old, I thought the excitement was a bit overdone, because they guy only ran a hundred feet or so! I think I was excited because everyone expected it, although I really did not understand what was going on very well. Over the next few weeks in school, we talked a lot about the Olympics, and I began to understand a little bit, although I did not make the connection between the Olympics and running with torches. Whether I understood it at the time or not was not why my parents brought me to see that. They brought me because they knew I would eventually understand it, and it was very likely the only chance I would ever have to see such an event. They were quite justified in thinking that, because it is the only time they have seen it. As I have gotten older, I really never expected to relive that event. Yesterday proved me wrong on that expectation.

Yesterday evening the Olympic Torch reached Whistler, British Columbia. While this is part of the torch relay, it proved to be much more than that day in 1996, when we simply watched the torch go by. Whistler is one of the Olympic towns. When the torch got here yesterday, there was more going on than just having it pass through. All day long, there was live music and entertainment all over town. Some of the performers were local, and some were very well known. Grateful Dead and Justin Timberlake were both here yesterday, and did free concerts in the Village Square. Local choirs and performers were here. There were acrobatic performances, magicians, and comedians. It was all free to the public. At the Skiers Plaza, there was another stage set up, with more similar events. Right around 7:00pm, the torch made its way into Skiers Plaza. Skiers Plaza is where the town meets the mountain. You can ski down the mountain, pop your skis off, and then walk around town. The Olympic Flame was skied down the mountain, and into the plaza. Once in the plaza, it was relayed to the stage, where the Olympic Cauldron was lit. This cauldron will burn continuously until the Closing Ceremonies, in three weeks. There were speeches, and following the Whistler Opening Ceremonies, there was more free entertainment until late in the evening. Dignitaries included the Mayor of Whistler and the Primier of British Columbia. He is equivalent to a governor in the USA. The CEO of the Vancouver Olympic Committee was there, as well as athletes from Russia, the Czech Republic, the USA, Germany, Norway, and of course, Canada. There were probably many others that I did not see. This event generated the biggest crowd Whistler has ever seen. SKiers Plaza was absolutely packed. The excitement level of everyone there was extremely high. This is the first time Whistler has ever had the Olympic Torch, and certainly the Olympics. I understood pretty clearly what was going on this time! That flame came all the way from Olympia, Greece, and has visited every territory and province in Canada on its way here. Next week, that cauldron will be brought to Vancouver, where it will light the Vancouver cauldron at the Opening Ceremonies. That takes place on Friday, the 12th.

During all the festivities, as I mentioned, Whistler Village was quite crowded. Several other torch runners were hanging around town too. I got a picture with one of the runners and the torch. I have no idea who she is, I just asked if I could have a picture, and she was okay with that. She ran the torch earlier in the afternoon, through a place called Bandywine Falls, which is not far from here. I took other pictures of the festivities. It was dark, but some did turn out okay. I will post those eventually, when the internet I have access to is a bit faster. It is very exciting to be right in the middle of the Olympics. I would reccomend to everyone that you take some time off, travel if necessary, and go to the Olympics at least once. It is really neat to be here, in the middle of all the action.

Oh Canada!

I am now in Canada. It has been an interesting trip so far. We all were told to meet in the Lewis Stages office, in Salt Lake City, at 7:00am, on Thursday. I got there about fifteen minutes before that, figuring we would have a short introduction, and then head out. We all met then, but there was paperwork to be done, and things took a while. There were three people assigned to each bus, and we were all given maps. A dozen buses were being driven to Canada. After all the paperwork was done and things were kind of organized, we headed out. By this time, it was almost 10:00am. Rest stops and meal times were all planned out, and we were supposed to stay in order, so no one, ideally, would get left behind and lost. We were to drive to Ellensburg, Washington, on Thursday.

The trip to Ellensburg went fine. It was pretty simple really, get on I-15 North, and go to Ogden. There we would get on I-84 West, and take that to Hermiston, Oregon. There we would get on I-82 West, which would take us to Washington. In Washington, we would drive a few miles on I-90 West just a couple of miles, and then stop for the night. We would all stay in a particular order, and no one would get lost or left behind. Turned out, this was easier said than done. The convoy broke apart after the first rest stop, and everyone was on their own. We all met up again at the designated stops, and then all headed out and got separated again before long. Besides that, the trip was uneventful as far as the Washington state line.

When we crossed from Oregon to Washington, we had to stop at a weight station. Buses usually have to stop at state lines unless they are carrying passengers. The weight is not the concern, it just allows authorities to conduct a quick safety inspection. It also gives them the option of checking the vehicle and driver paperwork, if they choose. Well, they decided to check our paperwork, and they were picky about it. We all had to park and go into the office to show our log books. They were ruthless. If the lines were not straight enough, they threatened to fine the driver. If the log page was not neat enough, they threatened to fine them again. It was rediculious. For the drivers who had nothing wrong with the log books, they asked to see the vehicle registration. On the registration, which had been copied at the office, the Washington part was partially cut off, and they threatened to pull the buses out of service, and not let us drive any farther. We spent an hour and a half at that weigh station. We later learned that getting into Canada was easier than Washington, and I thought Washington was only a state line. somehow, we all managed to dodge getting a citation, which was nothing short of a miracle.

Once we left the weigh station, we continued on without any problems. There was a little confusion on the location of the hotel, but we found it. We were all put two in a room. It was about 1:45am when we finally arrived there, due to the weigh station delays, the late start, and lengthy meal stops. I think most of us fell asleep pretty quickly that night.

On Friday morning, after a good night sleep, we all got up to hit the road again. One nice thing about being a driver is you are required to have at least eight hours off between shifts, so even though we got in late, we were able to get a good night sleep ebfore we headed out again. We all refueled and hit the road. It took a few hours to get across Washington, and we did not have any more weigh station problems. We got on I-5 North, and headed for the Canadian border. The border was an interesting experience. Since we were not driving private vehicles across, we had to have each bus cleared as a commercial good. They had to be declared in customs, because they are worth more than $800, and tariffs had to be paid according to their estimated value. The value on these is around $350,000. There was a lot of paperwork. It was not difficult, just time consuming. It took just over two hours to get across the border, although it was far less of a hassle than getting into Washington had been! Once across the border, we drove to Vancouver. There we parked the buses and went to a downtown hotel for the night. I stayed at a place called the Shaughnessy.

The next morning, we got up and went back down to the bus yard in Vancouver for some training and orientation. We got our uniforms, which consists of a coat. We also got our olympic accreditation, which proves we belong here. We also got our assignments. I was assigned to a place called Whistler, which is about 120 kilometres north of Vancouver. Next, we drove up there. There was a bit of a mix up, and two people who are not qualified to drive motor coaches in Canada were assigned to take them here. I was asked last minute if I would mind driving. That sounded better than riding to me! I drove. It is a narrow, hilly highway, with a ton of curves. It was rather interesting. The speed limit is 80 km/h for almost the whole way to Whistler, but it is hard to go that fast in a bus, because of the dynamics of the road. It is a fun road to drive though. It is actually surprisingly similar to Alaska here. When we arrived in Whistler, we dropped off the buses, and then went to our accomodations. It is a little temporary camp called CSC Rainbow Village. My accomodations are a building made of shipping containers stacked three high, with windows and doors cut in them. It is finished on the inside, so it does not feel like it is the inside of a container, but it is a rather small room. It is not exactly what I was expecting, but it seems to be working just fine. The container building has everything we really need. The kitchen and dining room is there, and they feed us all our meals. There are several lounges, laundry rooms, washrooms, and an internet cafe there too. Our room even has a balcony! One nice thing to living in a container is that you cannot hear anything that goes on in the room, or container, next to you, because there is a pair of corrigated steel walls between you and the next room! You cannot hear anything from one room to the next! As rediculious as it sounds to live in a shipping container, it really is not such a bad arrangement!

A few people have asked what I am doing up here. Well, I am driving buses for security personnel. Lewis Stages is the company I work for, which is a Salt Lake City based company. They were hired by Edison Transportation, who was hired by Gameday Management. Gameday Management was hired to manage transportation for Contemporary Security Canada. Contemporary Security Canada, or CSC, was contracted by the Vancouver Olympic Committee to manage security at all the venues during the Winter Olympics. The Vancouver Olympic Committee, or Vanoc, was created by the International Olympic Committee. Basically I am a sub-sub-sub-subcontractor! arious other companies have been sub-sub-subcontracted to move spectators, athletes, and other employees. In total, there are about 2,000 buses here for the olympics from all over the USA and Canada. I do not know the exact number of employees here, but it is a lot. Vanoc has 35,000 employees working directly for them. I am not counted in this number. There are 25,000 volunteers, and a roughly estimated total of 75,000 paid employees working for the olympics in some way. As you can imagine, this does wonders for the local economy. It ends up costing the city and British Columbia quite a lot, but it is quite the economic boost.

The olympics are more than just athletic competitions. I am learning this actually. Those are the focus of the event of course, but the olympics also includes concerts every night and arts exhibits. The mission of the olympics is to enrich the lives of those in this area, and the art exhibits and concerts are part of that. The concerts are free, and are usually a well known person or band. They have a different concert every night, both in Vancouver and in Whistler. Displays and art exhibits are set up all over both towns, also available for free to the public. There is actually quite a lot more going on than just the athletic events everyone knows from watching tv.

On a side note, for any of you who have ever seen the movie "Cool Runnings," about the Jamaican bobsleigh team, they will be here this year, and they are racing in Whistler. I am hoping I will get to go to that event.