Spain 7,

Oct. 20, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

Today was another different day. It was the last day of the triathlon but I decided to do my own thing and go for a bicycle ride down the coast. I set out for Marbella but it was 54k away and I had not a hope in getting there. I also was not sure of the rules for taking a bicycle on a bus for the return ride. I rode about 20 to 25k on the promenade and on small roads. The country side is gorgeous. The coast has been built up all along the way with condos that appear to be good quality and beautiful architecture. The beach was not encroached upon and is usually 100m wide. There is an endless supply of cafes and restaurants to choose from along the way.

I rode for 2.5 hours up and down (up and down a lot) but the bicycle is of good quality, even if the rider is not. Eventually, I stopped for a bottle of water and a cappuccino before turning back. I took a slightly different route and stopped to take many photographs along the way.

I am in the hotel bar right now, sipping a pina colada (like in the song) which, hard to believe, I have never tried before. I am meeting up with some of the Canadian team members for dinner. I came back to see the relay race and cheered for our athletes as they passed by. I have gotten over my results in the race and promised to train harder and do better for the Worlds next year in Australia. Yes, believe it or not, I have qualified for the age group 75-79 team.

I would like, personally, to thank Suzanne for what she did for me today. She is one of the finest examples of kindness, generosity and good sportsmanship that I have ever known. Hopefully, I will one day be able to return the favour to her, her family or to another member of the Canadian team. Thank you and see you in Australia next year!!! Brian

What I like about triathlons is the camaraderie and the ability to make fast friends. Everyone has 1 thing in common, the triathlon. For a short period of time nothing else matters. Will you ever see each other again? Perhaps not, or maybe at the next triathlon in Australia or elsewhere. Tonight I had the pleasure of dining with 2 lovely ladies from the Canadian team who did very well in the race. One of the ladies from Toronto will be travelling on her own for 2 weeks. That is very adventuresome as it is much easier for a man to travel on his own than for a woman. The world has changed but has not changed enough.

2 athletes died and 1 is on life support. This is unacceptable! There were not enough surfboard rescuers and motor boats in the swim part of the race. I don’t believe that they pulled the man out quick enough. 1 man died in the running part of the race. There were not enough para-medics visible to me. It is true that 80% of heart attack victims die at home or on the street because the para-medics can not arrive fast enough. This should not be true at an international athletic event. The question to be asked is were there enough para-medics present and did they have defibrillators at their disposal. Athletes participating in an international event have the right to be protected. You only have 4 minutes to survive from the moment the heart stops or goes into ventricular fibrillation. Nothing more and often less. 4 minutes make all the difference. If mistakes were made, lessons must be learned for the next race and the standard of care must be elevated to the next level.

Tomorrow I will take a short train ride to Malaga and pick up my Triumph motorcycle for the next part of my journey. I will pack lightly as I only have a small carrying case on the bike. My first stop is in Gibraltar to see ‘the rock’.

Love,

Brian

Spain 2,

Oct. 15, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

11 years ago I had 3 heart attacks and a quadruple bypass. I was playing 80 games of hockey a year and thought that I was in great shape. Like a good doctor, I had regular blood tests every 30 years. My BP was 105/55 and my pulse was 52. How could I have cardiovascular disease. I was almost dead wrong. Unknown to me, as I didn’t have a blood test, my cholesterol was sky high. I arrived at the ER at St Mary’s Hospital after my 3rd episode of chest pain and a kidney stone. The chest pain was as described in all the texts, as a crushing pain as if someone was standing on your chest. I had to leave the hockey game, but I was not short of breath and so was not afraid. The kidney stone attack at 2:00 am brought me to the ER. The pain was unbearable. I was soon transferred to the Royal Vic for an angiogram and a bypass.

The surgeon, Dr Cecere came into the room and introduced himself. He said that he was my resident 10 years ago and assured me ‘that he was very good now’. I didn’t want a bypass. I just wanted to take aspirin and go home. He told me that if I didn’t have a bypass, that I would never play hockey again as I would have angina every time I played. He told me that as I was an ‘athlete’ playing so many sports that my peripheral cardiac circulation was terrific. He could bypass me to my peripheral cardiac circulation and that I would have a fantastic cardiac output. I could play hockey in 3 months with the appropriate post bypass cardiac training. He was right.

1 month after the surgery, I started a cardiac training program. The following year, my friend Glen, an ironman convinced me to do a triathlon. I couldn’t even spell triathlon correctly then. I entered my first sprint triathlon the following year and won a gold medal in my age group, 65-69. I was the only one in my age group. It is very hard to do a triathlon over the age of 65. I have done the sprint, olympic and half iron man relay 14 times. I usually win a medal as there were always 3 or less competitors in my age group. The sprint is 750m swim, 20k bike and 5k run. The olympic is 1500m swim, 40k bike and 10k run. The half ironman is 1.9k swim, 90k bike and 22k run. I have done all 3. I did the swim in the half ironman relay. I will do the sprint here on Thursday.

2 years ago, I qualified to be on the Canadian National Triathlon Team, age group 70-74. I competed at the World Triathlon Championships in Hamburg and came 43 out of 44 in my age group. My goal was simply to crawl across the finish line. This year I once again qualified and will compete at the World Triathlon Championships for Canada in Torremolinos, Spain, Sprint, age group 75-79. This will be my 15th triathlon. The race will by televised on the internet beginning on Wednesday. There will be a ‘Parade of Nations’ on Wed evening through the streets of Torremolinos with a large crowd cheering us on. I will race at 2:00pm Spanish time on Thursday if any of you care to watch it.

I flew to Barcelona and then to Malaga yesterday. I then took a train to Torremolinos and walked over to my hotel. I came to Torremolinos in 1970 on my motorcycle trip. In those days, it was the hippy capital of Europe. Everyone came here and slept on the beach …. The Guardia Civil came by regularly to check your passports but otherwise didn’t hassle you as long as you didn’t get drunk or do drugs. That was a severe no-no. It was a great time for me. I had a motorcycle, a black leather jacket, long blond hair and a headband. (I thought that I was an Apache). I was travelling alone, with no responsibilities and no one to answer to. I was cold, I was hungry, I was lonely. It was the best year of my life. I was free. I was enjoying a freedom that year that I would never know again.

Torremolinos is fabulous. It has of course changed a lot since my first visit here 54 years ago. I can no longer live on $3 a day. It seems more like $3 a minute. I am staying in a 4* ‘adult’ hotel, what ever that means, overlooking the beach. Torremolinos is a beach town built on the side of a mountain. The beach is endless and the water is relatively warm for this season. Hopefully I will not be obliged to wear a wet suit for the race. The older part of town has staircases instead of streets. There are shops selling whatever you care to buy. The town obviously caters to the tourist trade. However, as October is off season, the town is not over run with tourists.

There are restaurants, bars and cafes everywhere. I am staying in a 10 story older, modernized hotel with a beautiful view of the town and the beach. The hotel has several terraces with cafes and restaurants. Both the 8th floor and the 1st floor have entrances onto a street. I had supper at the hotel restaurant last evening as I was too tired to go out. This morning I had breakfast at the hotel restaurant as well. Both times I ate out on the terrace overlooking the town. The view is ‘to die for’. I could easily feel comfortable retiring here or coming and staying here for a month, parking my yacht in the harbour. The menu both times was an endless buffet with everything that you could dream of. The Spanish have developed tourism down to a ‘T’. I can never get enough of life in Spain.

I am sitting at a table on the beach , in a restaurant, sipping my cappucino watching with surf role in. I am writing my blog, my second entry for the day. I have already received 10 responses from my readers.

Tomorrow, I will meet the Canadian team and do the final registration for the race. I will read up on the rules today. I packed lightly and very carefully so as not to forget anything. I forgot my bicycle helmet so I will purchase one today. I pick up my bicycle tomorrow. I rented a high quality racing bike rather than going through the hassle of bring my own. Last year some of the competitors bikes came too late for the race or ‘folded’ in two. That must have been somewhat of a disappointment.

Love,

Brian