2011 Natal Days Festival, Part 2: July 28-Aug 1, 2011

On Monday morning, I arose at 5:30 AM, to get ready to cycle to Dartmouth to compete in my first (running) road race in 3 years. After registering and gingerly warming up my IT Band Syndrome-plagued knee, I took my place with the 1200 other runners to wait for over 1 minute after the gun was fired to reach the starting line for the 6 mile event (10 km).

(And we're off! Well, sort of...)

The Dartmouth Natal Day Road Race is a 105 year-old tradition. Officially it is the third oldest running race in North America. As you can see from the above photo, it gathers quite a crowd, and with beautiful tree-lined streets like this, it's no wonder why.

The race even drew out local fans who pitched in to keep everyone cool on this blistering hot day.

After finishing the road race, and cleaning up, I walked about 20 meters back to the race course which had now been turned into a parade route. Stanley Cup winning hockey player, Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins, was the Honorary Parade Marshal. This position essentially involved nothing more than sitting in a car and waving at fans. However, this couldn't be done efficiently, as dozens of fans kept forcing the parade to stop by running up to try and get Brad's autograph.

Of course, what would a parade be without marching Mounties?

All of my favourite floats were back again, like the Crime Stoppers Jailbirds, the tiny fire engine, and the Shriners with their Paddy Wagon.

There were even some new favourites as well, like these Japanese drummers, or the pirates who shot bubbles from their cannon. To be fair, the pirates aren't really new, since they were at Sullivan's Pond last year for the Mayor's Dartmouth Tea Party, but this is the first time I've seen them in a float.

After the parade - because I obviously hadn't had enough exercise this day - I rode back to the Macdonald Bridge to participate in the 29th annual Bridgewalk. Just like at last year's Bridgewalk, the city shuts down the Macdonald Bridge for the day and pedestrians are encouraged to walk over and back as many times as they'd like. It's the best day of the year, in my opinion.

Additionally, it doesn't hurt that the organizers serve free cake either. If I'm honest, this fact had no small part in my decision to come participate.

If for some crazy reason you don't like cake, you could also look at the classic cars. This '54 Bel-Air was probably my favourite. I had forgotten about the "good ol' days" before computers (and fuel economy and safety and performance...) when a small Ea-pea could fit in the engine bay of an automobile.

Plenty of extra encouragement existed along the roughly mile-long bridge. If the oompa band didn't make you pick up your feet (or stroller wheels), then Mr. MACPASS could definitely brighten your day with his gargantuan smile.

By the time I had crossed over to Halifax and back though, I was truly exhausted and could barely stay awake. I decided to conclude yet another successful EP Natal Days weekend by cycling back over the bridge and back home to fall asleep.

Helltown Helloween Alleycat Race: October 31, 2010

Recently my EP Cruiser was stolen, so I was "forced" to buy two new second hand bicycles. One was a cheaper version of my EP Cruiser that works almost as well but cost less than $100. The other bicycle is a used semi-competition road racer (now known as the EP Racer) that reminded me of a better, faster version of my original blue bicycle that so faithfully carried me around town my first two months (when it wasn't getting a flat tire or breaking down every two days).

Fast forward to some time last week when I noticed an advertisement for an Alleycat race in the window of one of my favourite bicycle shops - Nauss Bicycle Shop - in the North End (regular readers all know how I feel about North End Halifax). Not knowing what an Alleycat race was, I did some research and it appeared to be an informal type of open-road race started by Toronto cycle couriers in the late '80s, which has now spread around the world.

Apparently there are many different kinds of Alleycat races, and this particular race in which I was taking part had a courier theme. All the contestants would be given a list of "pick-up" and "drop-off" locations around HRM. We were free to choose our own path around the city, and could do the pick-ups or drops in any order we wanted. The winner would be the first person to complete all of the drops and then arrive at the finish location - The Old Mill bar in Dartmouth - a roughly 20-25 kilometre journey depending on which order you decided to hit the requisite checkpoints.

The race started in front of the Alexander Keith's Brewery near the Waterfront, Le Mans style, with every racer having to run across a busy street to his/her locked bicycle, unlock said bicycle, and then head off to his/her first destination. The boards in the picture above were quite slippery in the rain though, and more than one racer slipped on his backside.

If you're trying to follow along on Google Maps I suggest not bothering, though the checkpoints were mainly located in North End Halifax, but went as far south-west as Chocolate Lake (near the Northwest Arm), and as far east as Sullivan's Pond, in Dartmouth. Furthermore, if you're trying to imagine what an Alleycat race might look like, check out this video or this one (disclaimer: these videos are from a third-party and the views/riding techniques represented in them are not necessarily the same as those held/practised by EP Dave).

(Sweaty, exhausted, but none-the-less happy racers resting their aching legs at the "finish line.")

I may have finished DFL ("Dead Friggin' Last"), but that's okay because a) I had a blast, b) Alleycats are really all about participation and getting to the final destination to enjoy some food and drinks with your fellow competitors, who are by this point your good friends - you've all battled the four-wheeled murder/heart-disease machines together - and c) there's actually an award for DFL (I won a cow mug).

I can't wait for the next race, and the next chance to get back out on a bicycle and ride fast.

HRM Monument #7: Founder's Cairn

Unveiled by the Natal Day (the annual celebration of the birth of Halifax-Dartmouth) Committee on August 6, 1941, this stone monument commemorates the landing of the 353 settlers of the ship "Alderney" to found the town of Dartmouth in 1750. It is located at the top of the hill in Leighton Dillman Park.

HRM Point of Interest #6: Leighton Dillman Park & Scenic Gardens

Named after the long serving, diligent volunteer garden keeper, Leighton Dillman, this park and public garden is the most prominent area in the Dartmouth Common - originally a 300 acre (1.2 square-km) piece of land set aside by the government in the 1700s for the common use of the settlers.

Behind the Scenic Gardens is one of two burial grounds. Normally I dislike walking through cemeteries, but the old Victorian cemeteries in HRM offer amazing photo taking opportunities that simply can't be missed.

HRM Monument #6: Legion War Memorial

Constructed between the years of 1952 and 1959, the Legion War Memorial in Dartmouth pays tribute to those who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars, as well as the Korean and Boer Wars. While I firmly wish for peace, I will never forget the sacrifices of those who came before me and who continue to lay down their lives because the Universal Soldiers, as Buffy St. Marie calls us, allow our politicians to throw their lives away.

HRM Point of Interest #5: Sullivan's Pond

Sullivan's Pond is an artificial lake, and the first body of water in the historic Shubenacadie Canal System that travels from Halifax Harbour, across Nova Scotia, to the Bay of Fundy. After the Shubenacadie Canal System was largely abandoned in the 1860s, Sullivan's Pond fell into disrepair. In the 20th century the City of Dartmouth endeavoured to clean up the various lakes in the Shubenacadie Canal System, in an attempt to live up to its alternate name of "The City of Lakes." Today Sullivan's Pond is part of a park that includes Sullivan's Pond and the nearby Lake Banook.

The most notable feature of Sullivan Pond today is this totem pole on a small island in the centre. The totem pole was a gift from British Columbia to the City of Dartmouth when it hosted the 1969 Canada Summer Games.

Dragon Boat Festival: July 10, 2010

Modern Dragon Boat racing can trace its roots back to events that took place in China more than 2 400 years ago. It is derived from the amalgamation of two festivals: one to appease the "supreme beings" in Chinese culture, the dragons, at the beginning of the rainy season, and the other to honour the famous poet and honest government official Qu Yuan, who drowned himself after being removed from office over the false accusations of his jealous peers whom he frequently condemned for their corrupt ways.

One legend has it that when the local fishermen saw Qu Yuan throw himself into a lake with a heavy stone strapped to his chest, they raced after him in their boats, beating their drums to scare away the fish who may try to eat his body. Today, the dragons on the boats are merely for decoration, and the drums are beat to "scare" the paddlers into action, but the earnestness with which the racers attempt to reach their goal has remained unchanged.

(Jinyu Sheng, President of the Chinese Society of Nova Scotia, performs the ceremonial dotting of the dragon's eyes during the opening ceremonies at the 2010 Manulife Dragon Boat Festival.)

The Dragon Boat Festival at Lake Banook in Dartmouth, is organized by, and acts as a fund raiser for Sport Nova Scotia. This year Manulife Financial resumed its title sponsorship of the event and its volunteers, as part of that company's nation-wide commitment to volunteerism.

(Competitors prepare to enter their boat.)

The weather on this day was rather overcast, with scattered showers throughout the late morning. Ironically, in the thirteen years this Festival, that traditionally marks the beginning of the rainy season, has been run in Dartmouth this is the first time it has actually rained.

(Dragon Boat racers pull hard off the start-line.)

(I misread the schedule and ended up taking a walk around the lake during the Chinese culture, dance, and kung-fu demonstration. When I came back a Korean taekwondo demonstration was being performed for reasons I have yet to ascertain.)

(The exciting finals of the 2010 Manulife Dragon Boat Festival, with the Dragon Beasts Blue team, in lane 3, just edging out the Tanner Family to take the title.)

HRM Point of Interest #3: Lake Banook

In Mi'kmaq, "Banook" means "first in a chain of lakes." The name is fitting since Lake Banook is the start of a large waterway that cuts across the province from Halifax Harbour to the Bay of Fundy. The numerous lakes, interconnected by the Shubenacadie River, made an efficient navigable network that the Mi'kmaq people would have used frequently during their migrations between their interior winter camps and summer settlement at Halifax.

In more recent history, the lake was part of the massive icehouse industry that was a major employer in Dartmouth during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Every winter, just after Christmas, the lake would become a frenzy of activity as 200 men would come together to "harvest" the ice. The work was highly skilled, and highly dangerous. It was not uncommon for a man working one of the 18 hour shifts in the bone-chilling cold to plunge through a section of thin ice into the frigid water below.

Lake Banook has long been an important meeting point for those looking for competition and excitement. Competitions and clubs dedicated to rowing began on this lake in 1826, and have continued to expand ever since. In 1989, Lake Banook was the site of the World Junior Canoe Championships, and in 1997 it played host to the ICF Senior World Canoe Championships. It is also home to the annual Dragon Boat Festival held every July.

(The Banook Canoe Club, one of three paddling clubs and two rowing clubs that use Lake Banook.)

(Children playing on Lion's Beach at Lake Banook.)