Just like some get married to 'The Mob', I'm married to Canada, eh.

(Alaska might as well be Canada...)

Teenage mountain biker mauled by bear

By Mark Appleton, Bikeradar.com

A teenaged girl competing in a 24-hour mountain bike event near Anchorage, Alaska has been critically injured in a bear attack. The animal, believed to have been a female Grizzly, struck in darkness at around 1.30am in the town's Bicentennial Park yesterday morning, leaving the un-named victim with bite injuries to her head, torso and thigh as well as a "sucking chest wound." The latter typically occurs when an object penetrates the body and punctures the lung cavity.

Medics, accompanied by shotgun-carrying police officers, entered the park to retrieve the rider. According to the Alaska Daily News, she was found by Peter Basinger, a fellow competitor on the Arctic Bicycle Club event which began at noon local time on Saturday, using an 8 mile loop of groomed trails. Basinger is said to have waited with the girl until rescuers trekked the half mile into the forested park to reach them before she was stretchered back to a waiting ambulance.

The teen, who according to some reports is just 14 years-old, underwent surgery at the Providence Alaska Medical Center and is expected to survive according a spokeswoman for the Anchorage Fire Department.

Sound familiar?

Nanaimo Bars Recipe	Printer Friendly Page
anaimo Bars (or N.B.s for short) are one of Canada's favorite confections. The beautiful City of Nanaimo, British Columbia lays claim to these squares, telling us on their website that it all began when a Nanaimo housewife entered a recipe for chocolate squares in a magazine contest some 35 years ago. She called her recipe 'Nanaimo Bars' and when she won the contest, not only did her dessert become popular throughout Canada, so did the town they were named after. Whether this story is true or not, we will never know, but what we do know is that these bars are delicious; a three layered square with a crumb base, followed by a layer of light custard buttercream, that is topped with a smooth layer of chocolate. There are many different recipes for these squares. In fact, when the City of Nanaimo ran a contest back in 1986 to find the 'ultimate' Nanaimo Bar, there were about 100 recipes submitted. All Nanaimo Bars begin with a base layer, a combination of cocoa powder, chopped nuts, coconut and graham cracker crumbs held together with melted butter. Once this mixture is pressed into a square pan and chilled it is then covered with a rich layer of buttercream made of butter, powdered sugar, custard powder, and a little milk. An important part of this buttercream is the dried custard powder, which was the invention of an Englishman, named Alfred Bird. He invented this powder because his wife loved homemade custard but was allergic to eggs. Alan Davidson in his "The Oxford Companion to Food" tells us that this powder is not, in fact, a dried form of real custard but is just cornflour (cornstarch) and sugar that has been colored and flavored. When the dried custard powder is used in this buttercream it adds a lovely flavor and it also turns the cream a soft peach color. Now, if you live in the States, custard powder is not readily available. I have found it in specialty food stores (Bird's Custard Powder is the most popular brand) or online, but if you are unable to find it, just substitute it with an equal amount of instant vanilla pudding. . The finishing touch to these squares is a coating of shiny semisweet chocolate that provides a slight crunch as you bite into them. For this recipe, because chocolate is one of the more dominant flavors, make sure to use a good quality chocolate that you enjoy eating out-of-hand. When choosing a chocolate, always look for one that has a lovely shiny finish (a sign that the chocolate was cooked at the right temperature for the right amount of time) and one that has that wonderful 'snap' when you break it into pieces. Once the melted chocolate is poured over the buttercream layer and has been left to set, cut the squares with a sharp knife that has been dipped in hot water and then wiped off.

Rasmussen handed two-year suspension for missed controls

By Gregor Brown

Michael Rasmussen during a recent court appearance
Photo ©: AFP

Nearly one year after he was forced to leave the Tour de France while wearing the race leader's maillot jaune, Danish cyclist Michael Rasmussen has been suspended for two years for missing out-of-competition doping controls prior to the race.

The Monaco cycling federation, with whom the 34 year-old former Rabobank rider carries a racing licence, released its decision today following a hearing on May 28, according to Rasmussen's manager Moreno Nicoletti. Rasmussen has the right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Rasmussen was withdrawn from the Tour de France after being fired by Rabobank for missing three anti-doping controls. He reportedly missed two controls carried out by the Danish Cycling Federation and one by the International Cycling Union (UCI).

The suspension is expected to be back-dated to start on the day he left the 2007 Tour de France, July 25.

Meanwhile, a verdict in the ongoing court case between Rasmussen and Rabobank, in which the Dane is claiming damages of 5.5 million euros from his former employer, is expected tomorrow in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

This saturday begins the most gruelling month of the year.

TC 1 Cadel 0

ALLEZ CADEL! ALLEZ!

Posted by fyxomatosis on 02 July 2008

8 Comments · 784 Reads -