Go Ryder!

The Tour de France starts Saturday! From July 2nd to Sunday July 24th 2011, the 98th Tour de France will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,430.5 kilometres.

Team Leopard-Trek's star is Andy Schleck. He was only 39 seconds out of first place last year. 39 seconds after 21 days! We like Andy. And Fabian Cancellara is also on the team. Leopard is a new team, first year in the race.

The Canadian guy I root for is Ryder Hesjedal from Vancouver. He's 30 this year and has been on Team Garmin-Cervelo for a few years. The TV commentators don't mention him which puts him a bit under the radar, unfortunately.

Ivan Basso is back. He's leading Team Liquigas. He hasn't raced in "The Tour" for a few years. Drugs. He's the pretty boy of the Tour.

Lance Armstrong was on Team Radio Shack. His coach/manager is still there - Johan Bruyneel. And the team has some great riders with experience.

There's only one guy we DON'T want to win - Alberto Contador. He's a weasel. Not a team player. Sorry - we don't want Alberto in the race!

The Heart of Worship

I'm getting excited about LIFE 100.3's "Heart of Worship" concerts. July 9 in Huntsville and July 10 in Barrie.

We're bringing in four of our favourite Canadian contemporary worship leaders. All four guys have hits on the radio.

The best news is - the concert is free! Do you think you should pay to worship God? Of course not. No cost. No passing the plate. Just come, sing, worship, enjoy!

Will you be there?

PHOTOS - top left - Dan Macaulay, top right - Dan Bremnes; middle - Sean Dayton; bottom - Chris Bray.

Planet Of The Apes

"Re-boot" is the movie term for a movie that is well known, like Spiderman or Batman, but when it's a "re-boot" it means the new movie is not a sequel but a new storyline. Same concept, same characters but as if the story happened differently.

The newest re-boot is "Planet of the Apes".

We all know the original with Charleton Heston. Then, about 10 years ago there was the version starring Mark Wahlberg. Now we have the re-boot, starring James Franco.

The movie was filmed in Vancouver. Toby MacGuire was originally the main star but there was a change of plans. (Maybe the director realized that Toby can't act. Well, it's true!) James Franco - great actor. Interesting person. Box office gold.

The re-boot comes out August 5. I can't wait!

The "Rise of the Planet of the Apes".

My Memories of the Tour de France - 2005

The Tour de France starts July 2. I’ve watched every year since 2004 when I got the biking bug. Funny that I’m not a sports guy, but I follow this event.

Photo of the famed street sign in Paris.

Lance Armstrong certainly made the sport relevant to North America, from what was originally a European sport. It’s cool to see a couple of Canadians on international teams, compete for the yellow jersey. I love it!

But, it isn’t the same since Lance retired. Lance was hype, buzz, starpower and the miraculous winner seven times in a row! Big deal...? It's like doing 21 marathon in a row, day after day! Now, without Lance, the “rock star” atmosphere is gone. True, there are still great bikers who ride just as fast and as hard as Lance but they don’t bring that compelling excitement before the tour that makes you want to watch.

Photo of Lance signing in on the final leg of the tour that took him to first place by the end of the day.

Since Lance retired, I have really come to treasure my photos from the Tour in 2005. It was Lance's last year (at the time) and his remarkable 7th consecutive win. I stood on the Champs-Elysees, near the Arc, where the riders turned the corner for their Victory Laps, giving me an immediate up and down view as they flew past, knowing Lance was in the pack making history!

Photo of Lance somewhere in the peleton, riding at such a pace that even my Nikon couldn’t catch him in action!

Will I watch this year? Probably. Maybe Andy Schleck will win! Or Canadian rider Ryder Hesjedal!

Sunday In Peterborough

Sunday morning me and the LIFE 100.3 Street Team were in Peterborough, visiting Christian Victory Church. CVC is one of our regular hot spots in Peterborough. Pastor Mark Murack and Mike Walker LOVE Christian music and are big supporters of LIFE. We should probably make them co-presidents of the 89.3 LIFE Booster Club!

The people at CVC are great for interaction. They know when to laugh at my goofy jokes and if they don't, then I prod them - and they respond well! On behalf of LIFE, thank you CVC for the love offering which will keep our ministry advancing!

After the service there was some schmoozing in the lobby during which time we recorded some listener comments for use on the air. It's always great to hear positive feedback and some unbelievable stories about how someone's life has been altered because of a song on the radio.

After CVC we visited Gotta Havva Pizza on Lansdowne. Awesome pizza! It really is! We love those guys!

Then Janice and I jumped on our bikes. Our afternoon ride began at Little Lake and rode thru the Trent U campus. While Janice took a break at Lock 22, I rode on to Lakefield and back.

What a day! Sun, the Trent Canal, bikes, wife, pizza! Mmmm!

Lovin' These Songs!

In my iPod, here's what in high rotation:

Galaxies - Owl City
Knockin' On My Door - B. Reith
More Each Day - Chris Bray
Background - Lecrae
Only You - Dan Bremnes
Felt Good On My Lips - Tim McGraw
Are I The Walrus? - Furthermore

We were purging the music categories and I said, "Hey why aren't we playing 'Are You The Walrus' and I got some goofy looks! No worries - it's in my iPod so my personal choice won't burden LIFE listeners! Ha!

I Hate It When THIS Happens!

Today, I was minding my own business, sitting in my office, working on my computer with my back to the window, and BOOM!

I scrambled to look out the window to see what had happened and there I see a van unusually close to window and the front of the van is out of my view - kinda like it's inside the wall!

I ran outside - sure enough, the van has driven into the wall! Mostly the door!

The van plowed into the cement wall, the glass door shattered and was hanging on its hinges with the nose of the van stuffed into the corridor! The driver told me he hit the brakes but the van jumped forward. Uh huh. Maybe... he hit the gas by mistake?

Fortunately, no one was hurt. No one was walking out the door at the time, thankfully. The driver was an elderly man and he and his wife got out on their own. Everyone came. The cops. The paramedics. The firetruck. Everyone except A Channel.
I'm feeling like, wow, God really protected me. Had the van crashed six feet to the left, it would be parked in my office - and I probably would be dead.

And to quote Air Raid 19 artist B. Reith - "No, I'm not ready, yet".