It is still hard for me to believe the terrible news I heard Sunday morning when I heard about Mike Schaus passing away. I wasn't good friends with Mike, but we would say hello and mingle at regattas and parties. Like Gab said, he was a paddling friend that I would have liked to know better. It was easy to see what a great guy he was and how well liked he was by everyone. I always enjoyed seeing him around at regattas with a big smile on his face, which was usually red from the effort he had just put into a race. He was a very talented kayaker with a bright future ahead of him, not just in kayaking but in life. Today is his funeral, it is going on as I write this, and my thoughts go out to everyone there, and everyone who couldn't make it but miss him just the same. I know Mike will not be forgotten, the last few days have shown how many people loved him and who will always have fond memories of him. There should be more memories though, that is what is so sad. Again, my deepest condolences to his family and friends.

Greetings to all!
It's been a great year so far! I had a great 6 weeks at home, where I stepped up my training and continued with my 4 courses at school. It was a great year for skiing and we spent a lot of time up in the Gatineau Park charging it on the trails. As hard as it is to believe, I even survived a trip to the infamous "Fire Tower", fighting off wolves and exhaustion to complete the epic journey. It is commonly known as the second hardest ski in the Park, with the first being skiing up penguin hill. I also got back to business in the weights department, with a lot of endurance weights being added to the program to get us ready for Florida. I also did a little bit of skating on the canal, including a session with the webmaster using speed skate blades that attached to our ski boots, and another time where I had the entire canal to myself, which was really nice. The time flew by and before I knew it I was back in Florida at the Pines, feeling as if I had never left! It's great to see fellow C4Cer Aruss and the everyone else on the team, as well as my family who have also made the trip down. My roomates this year are none other than the three guys that are with me on the homepage. All four C4C members under the same roof! What! It is bound to be a legendary camp. We have already hit the links as a foursome and plan to be out in the C4 in the near future. The vibe of the camp has been great so far, although it is very different without the Budays around. It's been a privelege to have those guys around for my whole paddling career and it's a bit strange not seeing them in the circle before practice. We miss you guys, come visit! Also, unfortunately we are missing Tamas Sr as coach for this Florida camp, as he's taking care of a few health issues at home. We're all thinking about him and wishing him all the best, and look forward to seeing him again soon. Training down here has been great so far, I'm feeling pretty good on the water considering how few kilometers I did in the fall, and we've been doing some good hard runs as well. It's also nice to be back at the Melbourne Athletic Club to pump the weights, thanks Rick for making us feel so welcome once again. All that training has made me incredibly sore, so that even walking up and down the stairs is a challenge. It's time to limp off to bed to try to recover for tomorrow's sessions. That's all for now, thanks for reading and keep your paddle in the water!