Hey everyone.

First of all, a huge thanks to everyone that came out to Dartmouth to watch and cheer at the Worlds. The experience of racing in front of that big of a hometown crowd was unreal, and something I'll never forget. I didn't get to visit with people in the crowd really because I had so many races, but knowing you were all there and hearing you cheer meant a lot.
As for my races, I am pretty happy with how they went over all. Of course, coming 4th, 4th, 5th and 6th is a little bit frustrating, as it would have been nice to get up on the podium in front of the Canadian crowd. My C1 1000 was a pretty good race, but I didn't feel quite as sharp through the middle as I could have. It is still the best I've ever done at the World Championships, so I'm proud of that. I wasn't going to come 1st or 2nd, those guys were on top of their games and too fast that day, but I know that with some work I'll be able to compete with them next year. My 500 was pretty good as well. I think a lot of people thought that after my 1000, I would do better in the 500 and thereby get a medal, but I've been concentrating on the 1000 a lot more this year, so I was happy with my 5th place. The 500 is always a very close, tight field of really fast guys, so to be among them is great. Again, the top two guys were the class of the field, but as I said about the 1000, I know that I can compete with them if I make a few changes. Our C4 was a great race, and I'm super happy with how we executed. That was such an exciting race, hearing the crowd while we were on the start line getting us super pumped and ready to go. There was a false start which got us even more psyched up, and when the gun went off we nailed our start and were right in the race with the best in the world. We were just behind the defending World Champs who got the bronze medal, and considering it was our first international race, I think that's pretty good. There were a few things we could have improved on, but that takes race experience to do, so you will definitely see more from us in the future.
It's now time to enjoy the last few weeks of summer, relaxing and getting ready for Nationals. I might go camping or to some cottages, it'll be nice to actually do some regular summer vacation things for once. That's all for now, thanks again to everyone who came to Worlds, keep your paddle in the water.

Thanks to everyone who was cheering today, it was a huge help. I was happy with my races and am really looking forward to tomorrow morning's final. I'll be in lane 9 right beside the crowd so I know it's going to be loud! Our team has qualified 10 out of 15 finals so far, including all 5 canoe events, nice work boys. Gab and Andrew had a great day, showing how tough they are in their 500 semi, and our C4 looks to be getting better and better each race, and will definitely be a threat in the final.
I just watched a beautiful sunset over the Bedford Basin from my hotel room, what a view! Now it's in to bed to rest up for tomorrow. Thanks for reading, and cheering, and remember to keep your paddle in the water!

Day one is done! It was a great for team Canada, and I was really happy with both my races. The morning was beautiful, a slight headwind and a perfect temperature for racing. I was pumped to get out and race, and even though there was no direct advancement to the final in C1, I wanted to get a good race under my belt to start the weekend off strong. I got a bit behind off the start, but stayed relaxed and just tried to feel good, and ended up slowly pulling ahead and winning my heat. Even that early in the morning I could hear the crowd cheering me on which was a great feeling. In the afternoon the crowd got even bigger and louder. In my 500 I took it easy the first 300, and then I heard the crowd start cheer, and it pumped me up so much that I took off the last 200 and won my heat again. It was an amazing feeling to have the crowd behind me, feeding off them and feeling like they cheered even louder the faster I went. If that is what the heats were like, I can't wait for the semis and finals, it's going to be awesome. Thanks to everyone who cheered, it really makes a huge difference, keep up the great work!
The rest of Team Canada had a great day as well. Adam v looked great winning his heats as always, very nice work. A HUGE shout out to the ladies K4 of Genevieve Orton, Emilie Fournel, Kristi Gauthier and Mylanie Barre, who advance directly to the final! Respect. These girls have worked hard a long time and it's great to see them get the results they deserve. Also on the Women's Kayak front, congrats to Victoria Tuttle and Jill D'Alessio who also advanced to the final in the K2 1000, very impressive ladies. I guess that means my dad is doing a pretty good job, so congrats to him as well. One last(but not least) shout out goes to Mark Hoogenraad and Graeme Lind, who have shown up driving the Official C4C Support Vehicle, professionally decaled with a picture of us and everything. It's good to know they'll be in the crowd leading the Canadian fans cheering us on.
That's all for now I guess, big day tomorrow, I'm looking forward to racing in front of this crowd again! Time for dinner, need to refill the tank, thanks for reading and keep your paddle in the water.

We have finally arrived in beautiful Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The course looks great and the excitement for the World Championships is very high and growing daily. We are set up nicely at the course, with a big tent right on the water. I received a new Vanquish III from Nelo to race in and it looks really sharp and feels great on the water. I've been feeling pretty fast on the water and am excited to start racing. I did a good workout with Mily and Vieve in K2 yesterday and was able to really find a good pace going against their faster boat. I did some sprints beside Gab and Aruss this morning, and felt pretty solid. They were going super fast too and really look like they are putting everything together at the right time, I'm excited to see them race. We got out in C4 last night and if felt really good, just a few pick ups was enough to know that we'll be ready to rock this weekend. Our boats passed through boat control this morning, so they are all ready to race. The rest of the day will be resting and recovering, hopefully some massage and physio and a viewing of the new Entourage. The weather has been foggy and rainy for the most part, although the sun peaked out for a brief visit yesterday for a nice sunset. Some people have been complaining, but personally I love racing in the rain. It's supposed to clear up by the time we start racing, but clear skies often come along with strong winds, so the rainier the better as far as I'm concerned. Below are two pictures from my hotel room window displaying the ever changing NS weather. That's all for now, more to come as we approach race day! Thanks for reading and keep your paddle in the water!

The week in Montreal has flown by and it's hard to believe we'll be leaving for Halifax tomorrow morning. It's really been a great camp this week and I feel like everything is really coming together as planned. The team is rocking it on the water and everyone is starting to look like they are in top racing form. We had a great practice in C4 this morning, and I went out C1 afterward and felt as good or better than I have all year. Off the water Montreal has kept us very entertained. Gab, Morty and I hiked up Mont Royal for a beautiful view of the city as you can see here--->
The other night we had a visit from the legendary Tamas Buday Jr, along with his soon to be lady wife Stephanie Bettez. We had a great time and it was great to see Tommy Boy as always. We are all looking forward to there wedding in September, it's going to be a lot of fun. Last night I went with Gab and Rich to a Steffi Shock concert, at the Francofolies festival. It was awesome! This guy knows how to rock, and even though I didn't really know the songs, it was easy to get into the show. He also had two wicked horn players that threw down some crazy solos.
So that's what we've been up to, and now I'm ready to get to Dartmouth and start the big show. It's time for a good night sleep and then packing up and heading for the airport tomorrow morning. Thanks for reading and keep your paddle in the water.

Greetings from beautiful Montreal!

We arrived Sunday night and have been having a great time all week training at the Basin and living it up in the big city. Our whole canoe team (minus one AKJ) is staying at the McGill residence, occupying 4 rooms next to each other and eating some great meals in their surprisingly high quality Cafeteria. It's been great staying with the team and doing everything together, and we've been bonding very nicely. My room came with an unidentified strange smell attached to it, with windows that don't open, but we've been airing it out and febrezing it to freshen it up.
So Morty decided he needed to lose his locks for racing, so I decided I would go along as well, for moral support, and to get my own racing cut. I hate getting my haircut, so it took us a while to finally choose a barber and work up the courage to go in, but once we did, we had a great time. The barber was a great guy who put us totally at ease and really knew what he was doing. I may even consider coming back to Montreal for my next trim, which may sound ridiculous, but as I only cut my hair a couple of times a year, it's not that out of the question.
I'm not sure if the hair cut made me faster, but it is more comfortable when I'm paddling, and I am feeling pretty fast on the water. I've been making sure to take enough rest, and keeping my workouts pretty short. There has still been some intensity, trying to find the pace I'll be racing at. I'm really looking forward to start racing, as I think our whole team is. You can feel the excitement growing and see it on people's faces. Everyone on the team looks to be in good form and I'm hoping for some good things to happen next week in Dartmouth. I've attached some video of some C1 training, as well a C4 start where we got a little excited, and then a C4 pickup we did this morning. Also check out or resistor training posted on the homepage! Alright, that's all I have for now, thanks for reading and keep your paddle in the