Hello Everyone,                                                                                                     

Joe has done such a good job blogging for everyone over the past year that I thought I would get in on the fun.  I know I haven't been around Harbourside a lot over the past year, and perhaps haven't even met some of the readers of our Blog site.  In case you didn't know, I am now heading up our 2nd location at the North Shore Winter Club.  We are located at 1325 East Keith Rd in North Van (near Park & Tilford). Things are going great and we are really enjoying the work, although I do greatly miss everyone at Harbourside (Bodwell too??? - maybe not).

I decided to start writing a Blog because the next big trip for Level 10 Fitness involves me going to Australia with the Canadian National Snowboard Federation.  I know what you are thinking... Snowboarding in Australia??? But apparently there will be snow on the mountains and the training is second to none at that time of the year (remember that Australia is almost the polar opposite of us in terms of Winter and Summer Seasons). Look for my Blogs from Down Under - I will be away from July 26th through August 16th.  And please feel free to check in on my family while I am away as the kids will surely be driving Julie crazy by the end of 3 weeks.

NOW...  THE EPIC RIDE TO CONQUER CANCER!!!

A few months ago a few of the members at the NSWC approached me about supporting them in the effort to participate in the RIDE TO CONQUER CANCER (www.conquercancer.ca).  I agreed to meet with them to lend my support and I went into the meeting expecting to offer to pay for their Jerseys or provide them with some free training leading up to the ride.  After exchanging a few pleasantries, the first question they asked me was "So, what kind of bike do you have?"  Well naturally I was somewhat dumbfounded and asked "what do I need a bike for?"  I am sure you can see where this is going...

Apparently my agreeing to meet with them gave them license to sign me up to ride in the event and partake in the fundraising.  Thanks to the generous support of my friends, family and clientele I was able to raise the support needed to ride in the event, and our team (Myself, Neil Stevenson-Moore, Norm Taylor & Andrew Kemper) was able to raise a grand total of $20,827!!!  Overall the Ride had 1701 riders (including Level 10 Clients Jennifer Delaney and Sean Wessenberg) and raised 6.9 million dollars for Cancer Research.

I have to be honest and admit that I went into the Weekend feeling like "OK, this is a good cause and I guess I will do it".  But this ended up being one of the most amazing experiences of my life.  From misting up during the amazing opening ceremonies, to feeling exhilarated as I flew down the coast on my bike on day one (71 km/hr max speed), to nearly all out of tears listening to a father who had lost his child to cancer (as well as every time I try to re-tell the story), to the amazing reception we got from people (not only at the finish line but all along the route) this weekend was something special and I felt the need to share it with everyone.

Each member of our team has already registered for next year's ride, and I have recruited at least a handful more.  We are planning to put in a Level 10 team and if you are interested in participating in any way (rider, crew, donations), please feel free to contact me (nate@level10fitness.ca).  I know it is a long ways off, but believe me, every little bit of training helps.  We are also planning to start a Level 10 Bike Club out of our NSWC location.  Look for more news about that in future editions of the Level 10 Newsletter.

Thank you to all those who donated to our team and allowed us to participate in this life-changing event.  It is your generosity that will hopefully lead to breakthroughs in Cancer research.  Click HERE to visit my Ride Page.

Thanks for your time and I look forward to seeing you all soon.

NATE

Look for my Blogs from Down Under coming in Late July / Early August.  I'm sure they will be a little more dynamic.  Life with the Snowboarders is always interesting...