The Beginning

An old cassette deck is playing in the back of the shop, it’s aged motor wavering as strains of an old Seldom Scene tape fill the room. Out front, an old man hunches over a car fender, reaching for a wrench, when the door flies open with a crash. The kid busts in quickly to get himself and his bike in out of the rain, slamming the door behind him as the old man chuckles aloud. “Forty west again, eh Dave!” he laughs.

“Yup, forty west again today, forty west yesterday, and forty west everyday!!”

As a young man heading to work at an auto repair shop, Dave DeVries would jump on his bicycle and pedal off down the road to the shop. Rain or shine, night and day - there he was, counting off the 40 minutes as he pedalled furiously along, setting his own pace.

Dave is still setting his own pace today as leader of the Eastern Ontario BluBack to stevehanes.com