Tag: photojournalism

Port Moody’s first homegrown wrestling show is ready to go ‘over-the-top’

A year-long absence from the ring because of injury has helped birth Port Moody’s first homegrown wrestling show.

Oktober Slugfest takes place Saturday, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m. at Site B Community Space (3012 Murray St.).

The event heralds the return to the squared-circle of former Canadian Apex Wrestling champion Dance Daddy DeNero, who hurt his knee the last time he fought at Site B, in Oct., 2024.

But DeNero, who favours a wardrobe of garish neon-coloured spandex and outsized goggles, was far from idle during his downtime.

DeNero and his alter-ego, workshare executive Mike Arboit, decided to go their own way and form Port Moody’s first hometown wrestling promotion company, Tapped Wrestling Federation.

The TWF aims to put on four shows a year at Site B, in partnership with The Fountainhead Network as well as Brave and Twin Sails breweries.

Take control

DeNero said the time was right to take full control of his own career as well as provide opportunities for other local pro wrestlers to develop their personas.

He said like his 1980s fashion sensibilities, TWF is a throwback to the colourful characters from that era like Hulk Hogan, Randy “Macho Man” Savage and Rowdy Roddy Piper, who helped propel the sport from dingy arenas and beer halls to 60,000-seat domed stadiums.

“It’s okay to have these over-the-top characters again,” DeNero said. “It’s part of the show.”

Not that Arboit has any illusions about taking his show from the 2-300 seats at Site B to BC Place anytime soon.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Port Moody wrestler Dance Daddy DeNero, in action at a recent card at Site B Community Space.

Arboit, whose Fountainhead Network workshare space recently merged with the company that runs Site B, along with Brave and Twin Sails, said the decision to bring together the various enterprises that already share a working relationship made logistical sense.

More than a ‘side project’

“It’s a lot of work to put on these shows,” Arboit said. “It’s time to look at it more as a business than a side project.”

Of course, working out the finer details like scheduling wrestlers, crafting storylines, finding sponsors and securing insurance, didn’t leave much time for training.

To ease his way back into the ring, DeNero will form half of a tag-team duo with the White Tiger, another veteran Port Moody wrestler who’s decided to cast aside the mask that used to hide his true identity and now flaunts his distinctive long handlebar moustache in all its flowing glory.

“We’re on the same page with a lot things,” DeNero said of their partnership. “We understand each other.”

DeNero said the key to the duo finding success in the ring will be putting aside individual egos for the sake of the team

Working together

“It’s not about who does the flashiest moves,” he said. “You have to work together, know when to tag your partner in at the right moment.”

Also on the card will be “Heartless” Sharif Morrow, who’s known for his aerial manouevres off the turnbuckles and top rope, going against up-and-comer Cyrus Maddox.

As well, there will be a “hard-core match” in which combatants BJ Laredo and “Bad Man” McCann are allowed to use pretty much anything they can get their hands on and haul into the ring, like tables, chairs to trash cans, to defeat their opponent.

And, of course, given the current state of cross-border tensions, there will be opportunities for fans to boo some bad guy wrestlers from Washington state deigning to assert their authority on Canadian good guys.

“You’ve got to go heavy with what works,” said DeNero.

“It’s something the community craves,” added Arboit about wrestling’s future in Port Moody.

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Workboat parade makes waves along New Westminster’s waterfront

More than a dozen craft of different sizes and tasks sailed along New Westminster’s waterfront on Saturday, Sept. 27.

The annual Lucille Johnstone workboat parade is part of the RiverFest celebration of BC River’s Day.

The event is named in honour of the late Lucille Johnstone who helped build Rivtow into one of the largest tugboat operators in the world. She was also a driving force behind Expo 86. She’s also a recipient of the Order of British Columbia and Order of Canada.

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Local high school football teams looking to make gains

St. Thomas More’s homecoming football game on Sept. 6 was just that for Knights’ head coach Jared Power.

The sports field behind the Burnaby school that hosted Notre Dame is named after his grandfather, Patrick Power, the patriarch of a family that’s been connected to STM for generations.

“It’s pretty cool and special for me to be able to head coach a program that meant so much to me as a kid,” said Jared Power, an alumnus of the school himself. “It is extra special to have the privilege to lead a team that defends its home field with my family name.”

This year’s Knights is laden with seniors hungry to improve on last season’s record of two wins and four losses followed by a quick exit in the first round of the playoffs.

But their experience will be tempered by the loss of several players to injuries even before practices started in late August.

“It feels like we have been ‘battle-hardened’ because of the setbacks the kids have already gone through,” Power said. “It should make for a team this is high in skill and motivation even if we lack depth.”

Power said he’ll be leaning on leadership from seniors like center Alex Jaspar, guard Aiken Chavez as well as running backs Milano Peloso, Tason Tran, Cristian Coletta and Steven Nicklin to ease the path into the varsity lineup for a pair of promising sophomore quarterbacks, Isaiah Smith and Ken Marasigan.

“They are very different athletes that offer very different strengths for our offense,” Power said. “It will be fun to watch them step up as young difference makers on our team.”

Tran, especially, could be a catalyst for success. He joined the football program last year after winning the provincial 100m track and field championship when he was in Grade 10.

“He will stand out an as absolute burner on the field,” Power said. “We are looking to him to be an explosive player for us on both sides of the ball.”

New Westminster Hyacks

After going 4-2 last season and reaching the third round the playoffs, New Westminster Hyacks co-coach Darnell Sikorski said his charges are ready and eager to take the next step.

“There’s a level of focus and hunger with this team that we might have lacked a bit the last few seasons,” he said. “They’re attentive and really want to improve.”

Sikorsky said the Hyacks’ strength will be its speed and versatility.

“We feel we have a group that can hurt teams in different ways.”

Leadership will come from senior quarterback Gavin Rai, who played the position part-time last season.

Sikorsky said his confidence and poise progressed during the spring season last May.

“He’s an intellectual guy who makes good decisions,” said Sikorsky of Rai.

“You can see him playing much more freely and he is letting the ball rip.”

Grade 12 linebacker Mateo McDonell is also one of the Hyacks’ biggest offensive threats running the ball out of the backfield.

Sikorsky said he’s a “fast, aggressive and versatile athlete.”

Newcomers to watch include linebacker Adriano Maranhao and wide receiver Nigel DeRasp.

Terry Fox Ravens

Staying healthy will be key to the fortunes of Port Coquitlam’s Terry Fox Ravens.

After a winless season in 2023, Fox improved to 3-3 in 2024 but fell short in its lone playoff game.

Ravens’ head coach Tom Kudaba said a rash of injuries late in the season sealed Fox’s fate.

“We will need to be healthy this year,” he said, adding more consistency and greater depth across the team’s lineup should help smooth the inevitable bumps and bruises.

Requiring fewer players to do double-duty on both offence and defence will also help.

“We think we will be able to stay fresher throughout the season,” Kudaba said.

Leadership will come from Grade 12 quarterback Bobby Tilley and his junior battery-mate, Ben Firth, with Grade 11 running back Cameron Seed carrying the ball and senior wide receiver Cole Samson ready to catch it.

Grade 11 linebacker Lukas Graham and senior outside linebacker Ethan Lafortune will be looked to for defensive leadership, Kudaba said.

Centennial Centaurs

Centennial Centaurs head coach Dino Geremia said his team has “growing and maturing to do” if it’s to improve on its .500 season last year.

“Building confidence and playing with confidence will be the factors that will help us make those improvements,” Geremia said.

Leading the way will be a trio of seniors; running back and safety Jasper Baron, quarterback Jacob Cusker as well as offensive and defensive lineman, Amir Ghambari.

Geremia said Ghambari has worked to improve each season.

“Amir is one of those players that has consistently gotten better and continues to just work and dedicate himself to being a great football player.”

Cusker is coming off a strong showing at the National Prospects game last spring in Hamilton, Ont.

“His leadership consistently shines through,” Geremia said.

Baron also played in Hamilton, where he finally had form after playing with a broken hand most of last season, though that didn’t stop him from making the conference All-Star team.

“He is always the hardest worker,” Geremia said.

Regular season begins Sept. 26

St. Thomas More opens its regular season schedule Sept. 26. The Knights host Carson Graham at the Burnaby Lake Sports Complex West at 1:30 p.m.

Centennial plays Belmont at Gaudy Field in Victoria at 4 p.m. while the Terry Fox Ravens travel to Chilliwack to play G.W. Graham at 7 p.m.

The New Westminster Hyacks host Robert Bateman at 7:30 p.m. at Mercer Stadium.

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New faces fuel optimism for Coquitlam Express anniversary season

A few more fans might have been inclined to pick up lineup sheets for the Coquitlam Express prior to the team’s BC Hockey League home opener on Saturday, Sept. 20.

Only a handful of players from the squad that finished fifth in the Coastal West division last season and then lost its first round playoff series in six games to the fourth-place Victoria Grizzlies remain.

But Express head coach Jeff Wagner said the addition of several veterans who feel they still have something to prove makes for an enthusiastic, motivated group.

“The guys that we’ve added, they kind of have a fire in their belly,” said Wagner, who’s entering his second full season as bench boss of the Express. “There’s a lot of guys in that room that really want to win.”

The lineup revamp also meant a busy training camp for captain Cooper Wilson, who’s been charged with integrating the newcomers into the Express’ systems on the ice and culture off it.

“We play a style that some of these guys have never played before,” Wagner said. “So we just talk about the details and habits they need to do in order to be successful.”

The results through the preseason were encouraging, as Coquitlam won three of its four games.

Wagner said second-year defenseman Liam Loughery appears ready to elevate his game after his promising rookie season with the Express was cut short by an injury.

“He’s mature beyond his years,” Wagner said of Loughery, who’s from Pitt Meadows. “He’ll be a guy that we’re leaning on heavily.”

Newcomers bolster defense

Bolstering the blue line corps will be BCHL newcomers Tyler Russell, who played 27 games with the Wenatchee Wild in the Western Hockey League last season, and 18-year-old James Odyniec, the younger brother of former Express forward Joseph Odyniec.

As well, Wagner said he expects Will Distad, who scored 23 points in 27 games in his final season at White Bear Lake High School in Minnesota, to have an immediate impact in his first season of junior hockey.

“Despite our veteran presence, we really like our young guys as well,” Wagner said. “It’s a really nice blend.”

Veterans lead offense

Up front, familiar names include Nate Crema, who’s back for his third season with the Express after scoring 28 points in 45 games last year, and Carson McGinley, who contributed 17 points in 25 games after starting the season with the Vernon Vipers and then the Sherwood Park Crusaders.

They’ll be supported by veteran acquisitions like Cole Bishop, who joins the Express after two seasons with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs, and Port Moody’s Luke Pfoh, who’s played for the Langley Rivermen, Cranbrook Buck and Merritt Centennials.

Christian Maro spent the previous two season with the Powell River Kings, where he scored 54 points in 80 games, while Justin Ivanusic spent time with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants and Calgary Hitmen before playing last season with Camrose and Drayton Valley in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

One rookie forward who’s likely to attract a lot of attention is Cole Bieksa.

The 18-year-old son of beloved Vancouver Canucks’ defenseman and current Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster, Kevin Bieksa, signed with the Express last February but spent much of training camp with the WHL’s Giants. He helped lead his Fairmont Prep program in Southern California to the national final last season, scoring 73 points in 55 games.

Goalie position wide open

The departure of starting goaltender Andrew Ness for Wilfred Laurier University has left that position wide open.

Ness blossomed in the Express net after he was acquired last November from the Penticton Vees, where he’d been playing a secondary role.

Wagner said he’s hoping former Trail Smoke Eaters’ backup Ryan Parker will follow a similar developmental trajectory.

Parker won 12 of the 20 games he played last season, including one shutout, and posted a .910 save percentage.

“He was part of probably one of the best goalie tandems in the league,” said Wagner of Parker. “He’s calm and he plays the puck really well so that helps our transition game.”

Also seeking time in the crease are returnees Logan Kennedy and Mitch Pearce.

Kennedy played in three games for Coquitlam last season, losing twice and allowing 11 goals, while Pearce allowed seven goals in his two appearances.

Wagner said he’s confident both will continue to progress under Parker’s mentorship.

Wagner said despite the high turnover of players, he’s setting high expectations for this milestone season.

“We’ve created a non-negotiable standard for our players to abide by,” he said. “The guys who are willing to compete and do what it takes to win are the guys you’ll see here at the end of the year.”

Express tame Grizzlies

Three goals in the third period powered the Express past the Victoria Grizzlies, 4-3, in Saturday’s season opener for both teams.

Trailing 3-1 midway through the final frame, a power play goal by Christian Maro at 12:42 sparked the late comeback.

Nolan Dupont tied it 3:09 later, then Nolan Flynn scored the game-winner with 2:45 remaining in regulation time.

Maro added an assist to lead all Coquitlam scorers.

Justin Ivanusec scored the other goal for the Express, 4:21 into the first period.

Ryan Parker stopped 27 of the 30 shots he faced in the Express net, one of them a penalty shot by Victoria’s Max Silver.

Coquitlam fired 42 shots at Grizzlies’ goalie Carter Capton.

The Express host the Chilliwack Chiefs on Friday, Sept. 26. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex.

Express honours quarter-century team

As part of Coquitlam’s 25th anniversary season, the team unveiled its Quarter Century Team of distinguished alumni as voted by fans.

Forward:

  • Kyle Turris
  • Mark Soares
  • Tyler McNeely
  • Alex Kerfoot
  • Corey Mackin
  • David Jones
  • Tyler Kopf
  • Brett Hemingway
  • Massimo Rizzo
  • Brandon Yip
  • Andrew Ladd
  • Ryan Tattle

Defense:

  • Brad Hunt
  • Keith Seabrook
  • Matthew Campbell
  • Marc Biega
  • Noah De la Durantaye
  • Alan Mazur

Goal:

  • Clay Stevenson
  • Mark Dekanich
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For this Port Moody teen, basketball is the quiet game

This story first appeared in the Tri-City News on June 13, 2021

Playing a game in front of a gym full of raucous, cheering fans is a highlight for most high school basketball players.

For Olivia Pero, it’s kryptonite.

The Heritage Woods secondary school senior is deaf, and though she has cochlear implants that allow her to have normal, verbal conversations, a loud gymnasium with sounds and vibrations reverberating off the walls, hardwood floor and ceiling can be overwhelming.

That hasn’t held Pero back, though. In fact, she said, it’s made her more resilient, competitive and prepared to advocate for her disability.

Pero’s deafness was diagnosed when she was just six months old. She received her first cochlear implant — a small electronic device that delivers sound signals directly into a person’s auditory nerve — shortly thereafter.

As the only deaf person in her family, Pero said it was important everyone have the ability to communicate normally, although she also knows American Sign Language (ASL).

But, she explained, the implants don’t deliver a perfect experience. Ambient noise fuzzes up the system so she has to be in close proximity and she also supplements the electronic signals that create a sense of sound by reading lips.

Achieving both of those in the frantic action up and down the basketball court, with teammates all around calling for the ball and the coach shouting plays and positioning from the bench can be a challenge, she said.

“I really can’t hear on the basketball court.”

So Pero’s adopted various coping mechanisms and worked to educate her teammates and coaches on how they can adjust to her unique needs. Some of those include getting them to enunciate very clearly and look directly her way when speaking to her. Her coach at Heritage Woods, Ross Tomlinson, uses cue cards and colour-codes plays on his iPad so she can process them visually rather than aurally.

“Yelling out plays was not an option,” said Tomlinson, who’s coached Pero since she was in Grade Five — a year after she picked up the sport at a Steve Nash camp.

“Your visual response and body language when communicating with a player is just as important as what you are saying verbally.”

Pero said her hearing disability has been both a blessing and a curse, on and off the court. The focus she’s had to learn to be able to follow conversations or absorb lessons in the classroom can serve her well in the chaos of moving bodies and waving arms during a basketball game.

But all that concentration can be wearying. By the end of a busy day at school, she’s ready to remove her implants and just settle in silence to read a book.

Pero said not being able to finish out her high school basketball career because of the COVID-19 pandemic that put the brakes on all school sports since March, 2020, has been difficult. The team continued to practice through the winter, but, she admitted, motivation sometimes flagged.

Instead, Pero said she channelled her competitive energy into her studies and she started a support group for other deaf and hard of hearing students called CoCo.

Invisible disability

She said because deafness is an invisible disability, it can be hard to get the hearing world to understand and empathize with the challenges deaf people face daily.

Connecting with other students in the school district and providing a sounding board for them to share their experiences has been an important outlet.

Pero said one challenge that’s been unique to the past year is the face-masks everyone is required to wear in school and out and about in the community because of the pandemic. They may help keep everyone safe by limiting airborne spread of the virus, but they also hide lips and facial expressions that are vital components of communication for the deaf.

Another was online learning where teachers giving lessons to a mix of live students and those watching from home still wore masks and sounds echoed around the classrooms so Pero sometimes couldn’t tell who was talking.

Starting anew

In the fall, Pero heads to Trinity Western University in Langley to study biology, play basketball and begin anew the process of educating her classmates, teachers, teammates and coaches about how best they can communicate with her.

She said the school’s reputation for small classes and inclusivity should smooth the process.

“My motto is ‘nothing is going to stop me, I’ll just find a way to make it work,’” Pero said.

“It’s my way of living in the world.”

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‘It’s like winning the lottery;’ What a Mann Cup championship would mean for New Westminster, WLA

Paul Dal Monte was on the green wooden floor at New Westminster’s Queen’s Park Arena as a player the last time the Salmonbellies won the Mann Cup.

That was 34 years ago.

Now, as the commissioner of the Western Lacrosse Association, Dal Monte knows the importance of bringing the Canadian senior lacrosse national championship back to the old structure.

“From a league perspective, to have it played in Queen’s Park, where you’ve got 3,500 fans every night in a building with such tradition and history — you just have to look around at all the banners and retired jerseys to understand that this is something special,” said Dal Monte, who won three Mann Cups as a player but has yet to witness a WLA team win it during his tenure at the league’s helm that began in 2017.

Dal Monte said the success of the Salmonbellies is often the measuring stick against which the other WLA teams assess their own achievements.

After all, New West has won the Mann Cup 24 times.

And now, with the Bellies’ two appearances in the past three years, others are starting to pull up their bootstraps.

Dal Monte pointed to the Coquitlam Adanacs, which pushed the Salmonbellies to five games in the WLA final after years as the league’s doormat.

He said the Maple Ridge Burrards is another team on the rise again.

“It’s good for the league. There’s great awareness and passion,” Dal Monte said.

MARIO BARTEL PHOTO An honour guard from New Westminster Police Department stands watch with the Mann Cup.

It’s also good for the City of New Westminster, said Mayor Patrick Johnstone.

“Lacrosse is in its blood,” he said, equating the Salmonbellies and the team’s iconic logo of a salmon leaping through a giant W to hockey’s Montreal Canadiens and its distinctive CH symbol.

Johnstone said Queen’s Park Arena holds a special place in residents’ hearts, especially when it’s the centre of the lacrosse world.

“It’s the dusty old barn that rocks.”

Dal Monte said players feel that energy, especially if they’re part of a victorious home team.

“There’s that expectation and history that goes along with it because you are following in the footsteps of others,” he said. “It’s like winning the lottery.”

Mann Cup facts

  • The Mann Cup has been contested since 1910, after it was donated by Sir Donald Mann, an Ontario railroad baron and entrepreneur
  • There was no winner in 1916 and 1917 because of WWI, and the COVID-19 pandemic scuttled the 2020 and 2021 championships
  • For the first 22 years, the national senior lacrosse championship was played under traditional field rules
  • The first indoor championship was awarded in 1932 at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens
  • The Mann Cup trophy to be awarded to the winner of the series between the New Westminster Salmonbellies and Six Nations Chiefs is actually its third incarnation: the original was retired in 1985; the replica that replaced it was destroyed when it was accidently dropped into a bonfire as the Peterborough Lakers were celebrating their championship in 2004
  • The last WLA team to win the Mann Cup was the Victoria Shamrocks, in 2015
  • This year’s best-of-seven series begins Friday, Sept. 5, with game two scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 6. Games three and four are scheduled for Monday, Sept. 8 and Tuesday, Sept. 9. If subsequent games are needed, game five will be played Wednesday, Sept. 10, game six on Friday, Sept. 12 and game seven set for Saturday, Sept. 13. All games begin at 7:30 p.m. except the seventh game, which would begin at 7 p.m.
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On frozen pond

In the midst of a late-summer heat wave, it’s time for some cooling images.

I shot these photos in January, 2024. We’d had several days of very cold days and nights, and I’d been monitoring the ice forming on a local lake in anticipation someone would eventually skate on it.

On a clear, crisp Sunday afternoon, my patience was rewarded.

We don’t get the opportunity to skate on frozen lakes and ponds very often in this part of the world, so it’s very special when it does happen.

My only regret: I didn’t bring my own skates.

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PoCo trainer making tracks with standardbreds

This story first appeared in the Tri-City News on Jan. 30, 2019

Port Coquitlam’s Christopher Lancaster is riding the family business to success.

The 28-year-old graduate of Riverside secondary school is a finalist as a future star of the O’Brien Awards, the top honours for standardbred horse racing in Canada, that will be presented in Mississauga, Ont., on Saturday.

The recognition is a reward for the long days Lancaster puts in at the barns at two harness racing tracks in Alberta — Century Downs in Calgary and Century Mile in Leduc — and at Fraser Downs in Cloverdale. More importantly, it’s affirmation he made the right decision to turn his back on a potential career painting cars and, instead, follow the footsteps of his grandfather and father to the track, trading, training and racing horses.

Not that Lancaster was unfamiliar with life and toil in the paddocks. He pretty much grew up there, as his dad, Ron, trained horses then started shoeing them at tracks in Ontario before working his way west to eventually settle in British Columbia.

“It’s the life of a gypsy,” said Lancaster, who divides his year equally between the three tracks as the standardbred racing season progresses.

In fact, Lancaster spent so much time with his dad behind the backstretch, he earned the nickname “Cub,” to Ron’s “Bear.”

At 12, Lancaster climbed into a sulky for the first time. He was enthralled.

“It was exciting,” Lancaster said.

So much so, when Lancaster graduated from Riverside in 2009, he decided his chosen path to study automotive paint in college wasn’t for him, and headed to Alberta to begin his apprenticeship as a standardbred trainer. He hooked up with one of the best in the province, Kelly Hoerdt, who’s won more than 3,000 races as a driver and trainer.

Lancaster learned the drudgery of cleaning out stalls and feeding horses beginning at 5:30 in the morning, grooming them, caring for their aches and pains, then harnessing them up to the two-wheeled cart for runs around the track to prepare them for the evening’s racing card.

He also gained insight into the wheeling and dealing of horses that pays the bills, how to spot a horse with potential in a claims race and then turn it into a winner that can then be sold at a profit.

Lancaster, who’s spending the winter season at Fraser Downs, said while the days with his stable of eight horses are long, they don’t feel like work.

“It’s a lifestyle,” he said.

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Like cycling? Like beer? A Port Coquitlam enthusiast of both has created a community for cyclists and beer lovers to get together

This story first appeared in the Tri-City News on April 10, 2022

A Port Coquitlam cyclist is creating a community of like-minded individuals who share his passions for exploring the Tri-Cities and beyond by bike, followed by a refreshing beer at one of the local craft breweries.

He’s finding no shortage of takers.

Since starting Tri-City Bikes and Brews on Facebook last fall, Bill Jones has registered more than 320 members.

He said they’re in all shapes, sizes, ages and levels of cycling experience, from neophytes who’ve just acquired an e-bike to help them get active to enthusiasts on hybrid or gravel bikes looking for new routes and beers to sample.

All are united in their belief that there’s no greater reward for an afternoon of spinning the pedals than a stein of stout or a thistle of ale.

Jones said in his native Manchester, England, a stop at the pub is a common goal of any exercise, whether it’s a ride, run or walk.

“Earners and burners,” he said it’s called.

But since moving to Port Coquitlam two years ago, Jones said it’s been difficult to connect with other cyclists to learn the safe routes around the Tri-Cities, as the established road groups are a little too hardcore for his recreational aspirations.

Then, while enjoying a refreshing beverage at Coquitlam’s Mariner Brewing, an idea popped into Jones’ head.

“It’s a pretty easy sell,” he said of the bikes and beer combination.

It’s made all the easier with the preponderance of craft breweries in the Tri-Cities, many of them located right along or nearby established cycling routes.

Most of them also have bike racks.

Jones said the group is focused more on social interaction than Strava segments.

Apart from sharing beer news and riding routes online, there’s a regular group ride on Thursdays that he’s rechristened “Thirstday.”

Routes range from 10 to 30 km, always along designated cycleways or trails to help bolster the confidence of cyclists who might be nervous navigating roads busy with traffic.

“I want it to be accessible,” Jones said, adding future plans include longer rides to breweries further afield, like Burnaby and maybe even Langley, as well as monthly challenges to help boost everyone’s fitness.

As for the perfect post-pedalling pint, Jones said a “good wheat ale is my go-to.”

But with so many varieties of beer on offer from Moody Ales in the west to Tinhouse in the east that could easily change with a serendipitous discovery.

“You’re never short on options,” Jones said.

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Port Moody inventor makes it easy to get your beer home by bike

This story first appeared in the Tri-City News on Nov. 21, 2021

For Nathan Thomson, necessity was indeed the mother of invention.

Along with a thirst for craft beer.

The 26-year-old criminology graduate who works in government said he’s never designed or built anything, nor had any entrepreneurial inclinations.

But riding his Kona bike two blocks from his Port Moody home to the city’s renowned Brewers Row to meet friends and enjoy the latest offerings at its five craft breweries changed that.

Frustrated by the challenge and inconvenience of toting a pack of a newly discovered beer he really liked home on his bike, Thomson developed the To Go bag. It’s a canvas cube-shaped sack that tucks underneath the saddle of his Jake the Snake bike and is large enough to accommodate four tall cans.

It sounds like an obvious idea, but after Thomson had his light-bulb moment last spring, he discovered no such saddle bag existed.

So he started sketching out ideas and sampling materials to build a prototype.

Creating a beer conveyance for cyclists, it turns out, isn’t as easy as it sounds at first blush.

Thomson said the bag had to be large enough to hold the four cans, but not too bulky to be an annoyance on the bike. It had to be strong, but not overly heavy.

And it had to be easy to use, without complicated flaps or straps, but still secure.

“I didn’t want it to throw you off balance,” he said.

Using mock-ups Thomson created out of cardboard, friends were enlisted to try his designs and provide feedback.

Angle proved to be the key factor.

Thomson said by finding the right pitch to suspend the bag, it wouldn’t sway from side-to-side or interfere with the cyclist’s pedalling motion.

Material was another challenge. Nylon was too flimsy, leather too heavy and expensive.

Instead, a canvas exterior with nylon lining offered the optimal combination of strength, durability, weight and insulation. The straps that secure the bag to the seat rails and seat post are made of synthetic leather.

Thomson said the development process took several months, but by July, he’d enlisted a manufacturer and was ready to go to market.

Online sales have placed Thomson’s bags under bums across Canada and into New York State and Minnesota. They’re also on the swag shelves of a couple of Metro Vancouver craft breweries: Container in East Vancouver and Five Roads in Langley.

He said he’s had discussions with others, even explored co-branding opportunities.

Thomson said he’s continuing work on more refinements, like adding side pockets and more colours.

He said there seems to be a natural connection between cycling and beer that makes his ToGo bag the right product at the right time.

And considering its genesis on Port Moody’s Brewers Row, the right place as well.

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