Falcon Lake, Manitoba
My rockin’ kid brother John Paul Peters just completed his first 24-hour mountain bike race this last weekend. Not only did he survive, he even managed a 2nd place in the open solo category. Here’s how JP describes the experience on his blog, 29erlove.blogspot.com
“Well, it was great to race, and it was almost as good to finally be done. Each hole punched in the license plate represent a 7-km lap completed. Not an overly fast pace, the course was quite technical in places and fairly rooty and wet in the woods. Dallas told me early on that there would be sections of the trail that, after encountering over and over again, I would absolutely despise. He was right. There was that little mud hole just after the first climb. Had a way of draining my speed EVERY single time as I eventually gave up looking for that perfect line. There was that squishy swamp where I got stung in the butt cheek at least twice by wasps (pain then, Itch now). And there was that technical rocky section about half way through where several sharp rocks tried their hardest to puncture my sidewalls (luckily they were thwarted).
This was my first experience with a 24-hour race and in many ways it lived up to my expectations. There would be periods of intense desire to quit riding. There would be butt pains, hand pains, leg pains, gut pains, and all sorts of pain I’d probably never experienced. I did learn that I can stay on a bike longer than I thought I could. I learned that cantaloupe is the greatest thing in the world after 12 hours of racing. I learned that a little mud added repeatedly over the course of a number of hours has the ability to stop things from working. I learned that having someone to cheer you up and encourage you means that much more so many hours into the race. Vanessa is awesome. Thanks to everyone who was such a great cheering section for the racers (fgbc crew at the top of the list!) Renee T. even took a slow lap with me to help keep me human. Thanks dude!
Things that did not live up to my expectations: my butt is not sore from riding 23 hours—it is only sore from wasp stings.
I had no idea I could last as long as I did. I’m looking forward to getting feeling back into my left hand and being able to bend over to tie my shoes.
Great times… some random photos here…
24 Hours of Falcon Ridge official site here ”
Congratulations, little bro!
Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba
I have to say—it’s a lot of fun having a partner as creative as my darlin’ Evelin (Richter). A side benefit of our relationship is my being able to assist in the ceramics studio (with the chance to hone tactile and haptic sensibilities) as her latest iterations come to life. I’ll post more of her most recent figurative work (and maybe even some of my own) as it reaches fruition over the next months. In the meantime, have a look at what she’s up to here.
Image: On The Surface, All Seemed Normal Figurative slab-built stoneware sculpture, finished with low-fire glazes and iron oxide stain (augmented with cold-finishes); sterling silver bridle and a formed copper bit; 420mm x 210mm x 340mm tall.
.
My dear Dad was a churchman, and somewhat of a crusader as well—no doubt a little like Thomas Fuller. (The brackets in the above quote are mine).
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Congratulations to my darlin’ Evelin re: the acceptance of her ceramic sculptural piece, entitled (no fixed address), into the Manitoba Crafts Council 2010 Juried Exhibition: Home. Not only that, her work was also chosen to grace the invitation (image above). For anyone interested, the dates and times of the touring exhibition (it would be great to see you at the openings) are as follows:
St. Norbert, 3-22 June 2010
St. Norbert Arts Centre
100 Ruinesdumonastere, St. Norbert, MB
Gallery Hours: 11am-7pm | Wed.-Sun.
Opening reception 3 June, 7pm
Wasagaming, 16 July-11 August 2010
110 Wasagaming Drive, Wasagaming, MB
Gallery Hours: 11am-6pm | Daily
Opening reception 16 July, 7pm
Brandon, 9-30 September 2010
Glen P. Sutherland Gallery of Art
2021 Victoria Avenue (between 20th-21st) Brandon, MB
Gallery Hours: 2-6pm | Wed.-Sat. / 2-8pm Thurs.
Opening reception 9 September, 7pm
Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba
Hey, little buddy… it was hard to let you go today—but we’re relieved to know you’re breathing easier somewhere off in those (mythical?) happy hunting grounds. Just in case you’ve somehow got cyberspace access up there, following are a few nice words about you (somewhat maudlin, yes, but also cathartic for those you’ve left behind).
You and your non-identical sextuplet siblings were seemingly abandoned mere days after being born six years ago (in that neglected shack in the woods that will some day be turned back into a summer-kitchen behind Jen and Derek’s place on Hwy. #9). Cute as you were, it was inevitable that you’d be adopted right off the hop (together with your photo-grey brother Franklin) and you spent the next few years in the care of Nicki, Jay, and wee Jayden (who had named you after an animated toy train)… before ending up back here in Winnipeg Beach at Ev’s place. In the ensuing years you were literally the life of the party, offering us times of great hilarity (at your antics and odd quirks), lots of quiet companionship (we’ll miss your impressive purring), as well as more than your share of dramatic moments (remember the time you got the full facial blast from that nasty skunk in the culvert—and then you turned pink and black for a few weeks after we had washed you down with tomato juice to neutralize the skunk smell)?
We’ve made you a nice wooden box (from those boards we salvaged from the beach last month after the ice break-up) and we’ll be burying you this evening beside that bent little spruce tree where the deer sleep in the wild asparagus field back at Jen and Derek’s place… about a hundred meters from where you were born. Ev’s going to plant a clump of those daisies you always liked to hide in to mark the spot.
Don’t let this go to your head, Thomas… but you truly were the coolest of cats!
Winnipeg, Canada
Dad—you were born on this day in 1920 into the tough conditions of the Russian Civil War,—then happily escaped that conflicted land with your nuclear family to the new frontier of Western Canada a few years later. As I understand it, you’ve been smiling pretty much ever since… at least that’s the most pervasive and enduring trait that comes to my mind and memory (photos don’t lie either :-) I remember a line from a magazine article (back about 40 years ago) that described you as “the genial jut-jawed John Jacob Peters”—still as apt and appropriate a descriptor as anyone could possibly pen, methinks.
Thanks for the faith and positive energy you’ve imbued in my brothers and me (along with the thousands of others whom you have given the better part of your life to)… may the next ten years be your best yet—and may your smile continue to warm the hearts and souls of everyone you meet!
I love you Dad. Happy, happy birthday…
(Thanks to brother Jim for the image scans, from last summer’s momentous family get-together in Pinawa.)
Steinbach, Manitoba
Best wishes for the next 60, Jim!
Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba
I’ve been helping my girlfriend Evelin Richter assemble and photograph some of her ceramic sculptures recently. She’s just entered a piece entitled (no fixed address) into the “Home”-themed Manitoba Crafts Council 2010 Annual Juried Exhibition. A slab-built stoneware sculpture with iron oxide stain, low-fire glazes, and assemblage elements (brass ring, antique key, jewelry-box base), the piece measures 280mm x 220mm x 380mm.
Ev’s comment: “It’s thought to be a great honour to receive the “key to the city”… the very streets of which so many call “home” today—(no fixed address) speaks to this irony.”
You can see more of Ev’s work and activities here.
Holzen-Kandern, Germany
It’s OK, bro… getting older is the most natural thing in the world. Best birthday wishes, Phil! May your coming year be filled with fine days, good health, and great happiness…
