Olympic rower and keen cyclist Adam Kreek leads a celebration of World Health Day with a bicycle ride down Shelbourne Street. Saanich was one of six Canadian cities taking part, with 1,000 others worldwide, in raising awareness of healthy urban living. The Shelbourne corridor was car-free during the festivities. Photograph by: Adrian Lam, Times Colonist

Saanich celebrates World Health Day, Car-free family bike ride part of the fun

Times Colonist, Sunday, April 11, 2010

 

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My first time on the open ocean with my new brothers at OAR Northwest  was horrible and wonderful at the same time.  There was a lot more suffering than I had anticipated, and a very different type of suffering than what I experienced while training for the Olympics.  The physical pain was less acute.  The experience felt more like a drawn out misery.  But suffering on the Ocean, like life, always gets better.

This was a gem of advice I received from a seasoned cyclist named Lister.  “It always gets better.”

A year after the Olympics ended, I began to bike regularly with a fantastic, local cycling group called triple shot.  This group of cyclists ride well together, and act as a team.  Top riders are pushed and slower riders are lifted up.  The most important part of the triple shot ride is the coffee afterwards.  Sipping in triple shot americanos, the gems of knowledge from experienced riders come out.

One morning at coffee, after being dropped from the front peloton just before the final sprint, a wise, old rider named Lister took me aside.  “When I was younger I used to have a sign taped to my bike – It always gets better. 

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Sunday, April 11th - Bicycle down Shelbourne Road in Victoria, BC with Adam Kreek to help promote a new biking corridor and bike lanes!

Depart at 11.00 am from Gordon Head Recreation Centre to Shelbourne Plaza (near Pear St).   We will be riding at a slow pace with a police escort.

For more information visit the website: shelbournecorridor.ca  

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Toronto Sun

KHALID MAGRAM, QMI Agency

With the spotlight on Canadian Olympians on the podium, one former gold medallist is using the attention to highlight the upside of a stigmatized disorder — ADHD.

"I found that the disorder isn't negative infliction but it gives positive energy as well," said Adam Kreek, who reached his pinnacle in men's eight rowing at the Beijing Games in 2008.

Diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder when he was six — he is only now speaking out about the condition for the first time.

Kreek said he learned to channel his energy through the rowing when he was teenager.

"Anyone with ADHD can train their mind to control the incredible energy people with ADHD have," said Kreek, who describes himself as a high energy child who had trouble concentrating. "I found rowing to be an outlet to control my ADHD."

He also credits proper diet, exercise and family support to be the key in controlling the disorder.

 

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