GREAT ANNUAL SASKATCHEWAN PEDAL

Spandex shorts glistened under the morning sun, mosquito repellent was being tucked away into carry bags, and cups of steaming hot coffee were being filled for the 40 cyclists about to start the Great Annual Saskatchewan Pedal (GASP).

At 7:30 a.m. Sunday, July 17, when most people are still padding around home in their pyjamas; a group of avid cyclists were getting ready to set off from Humboldt on a six-day cycling trip around the east central part of the province.

But not before they were treated to a Saskatchewan-themed hearty breakfast prepared by chef Jenni Willems, and organized by Local Bounty, a group that aims to connect Saskatchewan chefs with local food producers.

Willems was busy dishing out her farmer’s sausage scramble, along with a hunk of whole wheat flax bannock, and a dish of haskap granola breakfast sundae to each of the hungry cyclists. All of the dishes, she explained, were made with ingredients grown by local food producers.

The young chef was chosen to attend a Slow Food symposium in Turin, Italy in 2008 as a champion for using local foods. This year, Willems was named a “Top Foodie Under 40” by Western Living magazine. She is proprietor of the New Ground Café in Birch Hills.

Men and women of all ages, shapes and sizes were gearing up for the long ride ahead of them. For some, the daily average of 100 km would be a challenge; for others it would be just a short jaunt, said Bob Cochran, the GASP tour representative. Cochran has been cycling in it himself since the year 2000.

In all, the six-day tour covers 600 km. Organizers have dubbed this year’s tour the ‘Golden Ocean’ for the vast fields of canola and mustard along the rural routes.

Some of the cyclists have travelled from as far away as Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia to take part in the tour.

This is the third time Harry Atkinson, of Sidney, B.C., has done the trip. Atkinson comes to Saskatchewan to do the GASP because he enjoys it, but also because this is where his roots are.

“I love having the opportunity to come back here, and I keep giving myself the challenge to do another year,” said the hearty 71-year old.

Dennis Findlay, originally from Semans and now living in Toronto, just finished another week-long cycling tour in Ontario, the Great Waterfront Trail Adventure.

The tour ended back in Humboldt on Saturday, July 23.

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2011 Vancouver Cherry Blossoms & Haiku

If you live in Vancouver, mark the weekend of April 2 & 3 in your calendars, and plan to come and join in the festivities at Van Dusen Botanical Gardens for the 2011 Cherry Blossom Festival.

Vancouver is celebrating its 125^th anniversary, and festival organizers are pulling out all the stops to make this year’s events unforgettable.

The events on April 2 & 3 will coincide with the Sakura Days Japan Fair, a contemporary Japanese festival that honours the cherry blossom tree. The family-friendly Sakura Matsuri (Cherry Blossom Festival) celebrates modern and traditional Japan with a feast of the many culinary items associated with Japanese culture (tea ceremony, festival food, sake tastings) as well as cultural performances of geisha dancers, tanko drumming, Japanese instruments, kimono demonstrations, martial arts performances and more.

While visitors are strolling in the gardens, they can admire the special installation of Haiku poems, written by the winners of the festival’s Haiku Invitational in 2010. These three-line poems, a theme central to the festival, will be reproduced in the calligraphic traditions of the English and Japanese languages, then reproduced on scrim in the form of noren and mounted on bamboo poles supported on stone bases.

And because it’s also a birthday celebration, Vancouverites can still purchase a Birthday Blossoms tree for only $40. Until March 29, the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (www.vcbf.ca) and the Dorothy and David Lam Foundation are offering this very special opportunity to purchase affordable cherry trees and plant them on private property including gardens, school grounds, and company lawns.

It will be a colourful weekend, with culinary delights, Japanese extravaganza, and pink and white petals galore.

Here’s VCBF’s favourite Haiku for this year, written by the winner of the 2009 Haiku Invitational, Katrina Sheperd of Scotland:

cherry blossoms

no need to decorate

the birthday cake!

Come and help celebrate the city and its blossoms!