NEW WEBSITE AND BLOG

Please check out the link below for my website and new blog content...

www.rowsnvrow.com

Recap from the hospital....yes, very belated

Well I've been out of the hospital for 6 weeks and things are starting to improve.  How could they not...I'm free!  I've been surprisingly busy with all sorts of random tasks and a lot of appointments.  A personal organizer or day planner would have been a good investment.  Here are my two favourite iPhone hopsital snapshots.  You can talk to Apple about the quality or just get over it and laugh at the content.

First photo is of my special "tattoo".  Apparently (I almost remember) I was fond of showing this beauty off to my visitors.  It is actually just black permanent marker, circling the site of my TB test.  I passed!


















Now this next shot (at left) is in high demand but I want to remind everyone that it is protected by copyright laws, so no thieving please.  After many requests, I've put up what best exemplifies my hospital experience...well the more exciting part.
In this photo, I was showing off my drug "clicker" or Jeopardy buzzer for a few of my guests.  If I could remember who had visited me in the hospital I might be able to cite names.

All for now.  More to come, hopefully in a more timely fashion than last time.

First Blog of the New Year....

Welcome 2011!!  The new year hasn't started off so well.  A nagging back pain that began in October was diagnosed as osteomyelitis.  First few days of the new year began in excruciating pain followed by a two week stint at the Victoria Greater Hospital.  Finally back home again, crawling down recovery road at a turtle's pace.  This pace was forced upon me by my doctors and my portable intravenous pump that I haven't been able to make friends with yet.  Needless to say, I am not rowing ( = grumpy Steve) or doing anything for that matter.  Lots of rest and the occasional errand.

The best day of my hospital stay was when my teammates all bleached their hair and came in for a visit.  I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard, for so long.  Laughing so forcefully made me feel alive again and was truly one of the most thoughtful ways to show support.  Check out the links below for photos and some words about the afternoon's events.

Rares' blog entry about the visit

Kevin Light's photos

Another favourite moment (probably 2 of 2), was the delivery of a parcel to my bed.  Who gets personal mail in the hospital!?  Well apparently I do.  The Canadian Athletes Now Fund was awesome enough to send me a care package filled with all sorts of goodies to keep me entertained, fueled and warm.  Also kept me occupied with a winning scratch and win ticket-booyah!  Nobody supports Canadian athletes like the CAN Fund.  Why not take a few minutes and read about the Athlete Holiday Drive.  It's not very often that you can donate to such a good cause and have your money go twice as far...

CAN Fund Athlete Holiday Drive

All for now....bones need sleep to regenerate (its science!).  Lots more to come... hospital photos (paparazzi), the screaming hallway woman, buzzer fun (drip drugs), why hospital's don't make sense...

Great blog!

Here is a blog worth checking out if you want an insider look into rowing on Elk Lake and a different perspective on team dynamics.  Latest post includes a captivating interview with the youngest 2010 team member, Conlin McCabe.

Click below for Rares Crisan's blog, "Rares Rhythm" - name sucks but whatever.

http://www.raresrhythm.com/

SNV

Welcome!

The official Steve van Knotsenburg blog is now here!  Taking advantage of some down time between rows to set up an amazing blog for the masses.  There will be lots of input from the one and only Gabe Bergen, for a different perspective on life.  Stay tuned for interesting news and views on training with the Canadian National Team and general awesomeness.  Yeah thats a word!

In the mean time you can get stuck in with one of my favourite sites.....www.lamebook.com.  Legit.

Over and out....SNV

Summer Travels 2010

Canadian Men's Eight racing at Henley Royal Regatta 2010 (b-s:Steve
van Knotsenburg, Gabe Bergen, Anthony Jacob, Conlin McCabe, Rob Gibson, Doug Csima,
Andrew Byrnes, Derek O'Farrell, (cox) Mark Laidlaw) Photo: Kevin Light Photography

It was a busy summer of racing and a strange season for the Canadian Men's National Team.  The World Championships are very late this year (early November) because they are in New Zealand.  Apparently the weather should be more agreeable for racing in November.  This meant that we raced two World Cups in late May and early July, then had a few months of training before leaving Elk Lake for Wanganui, NZ.  During this time the Men's 8+ had the rare opportunity to race at Canadian Henley for the first time since the World Championships were held in St. Catharines in 1999.  It was nice to race on my home course as Team Canada and the spectators were awesome....so much cheering.

We raced the Men's Eight at Henley Royal Regatta (Henley-on-Thames, UK) in early June.  Generally the team uses this event as preparation for the last World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland.  Our first competitor was Germany and although we raced well, we fell a few seats short by the finish line.  At World's in 2009, the German 8+ was the only crew we couldn't beat, leaving us with silver medals.  They are a polished crew who row very cohesively as a unit, always making them a favourite at any race.  My boat quickly turned our focus on to racing at World Cup III.

Lucerne World Cup recap.....coming soon!