Day 1 - Cevio to Airolo (49 km)
  Day 2 - Sursee to Welschenrohr (69 km)

David looking like a pro!

I discovered mountain bikes soon after I turned 40 and have been riding recreationally for the past 10 years. When the Gigathlon was first proposed by Suzanne, a good friend and Swiss travel consultant of Creative Western, I decided it would be an appropriate goal to begin my 50s.

Calgary and area offers some of the most spectacular road and off road riding but also some of the most extreme weather conditions. Winter temperatures can drop well below -25 C and then climb to +15 C in a day, thanks to the warm westerly Chinook winds. At those extremes mountain bike cables, brakes and derailers aren't happy, hard snow pack quickly turns into sand and over night freezing turns paths into ice rinks. The Chinooks also become walls of head winds with gusts up to 60 km/hour, slowing a roadie to a fast walk. This has got to be the perfect place to prepare to climb "the Giant" mountain passes of Switzerland.

Sun or snow, David is always outside training

On the first day I am scheduled to accomplish the mountain bike portion of the race. This is 49 km with a 2100m elevation; lots of long up-hills from Cevio to Airolo. On day 2 I will be on the road, doing a 70 km gentle incline from Sursee to Welschenrohr.

With me on this team are family and friends. My son, Jeremy, is the runner (his mother, Susan the alternate). Ben, my brother's son, brings his ice hockey skills to the inline event. Sharing the mountain and road events with me is Suzanne providing each of us with some variety and welcome recovery time. Joanne, whose research into injury recovery inspires me to stay uninjured, swims like a fish but is also a road bike alternate.

David training on the road

Professionally, I have been a chiropractor for 27 years and am the co-clinic director in a multidisciplinary health clinic in downtown Calgary - Integrative Health Group. And when I do get injured, I know where to go.