It was a slow start to the day, which was perfectly fine because the only plan I has was to go look at a blast with dad later on that day at around 5pm. Well the knock on the door came at 2pm and I was not ready. There I am in shorts and a tee shirt scrambling to get my junk together so that we were not flying blind into the depths of Langley. Surprisingly I did not forget anything, and I even remember to print off a map and the number of the guys place we were going to. Now I must admit I was a little sceptical of this deal because the bike seemed too good to be true. Adding to my suspicion was the fact that the owner lives in California, and the guy we were going to see was named sparky.
It was good to spend more then an hour with dad. It was even better to go to his house for the first time in a long time. Much like his body and my mind things had changed. The largest change came in the form of a chez lounge and a man chair instead of the two couch set up that was there before. Immediately I started grinding him about the chez, and how if you have a chez you have to start painting nudes. It is just a fact own a chez and you instantly become an internationally acclaimed painter. Dad is one of the few people I know that can put up with my dry humour at its best or worst so its nice to be able to let loose for a while.
Now what would a father and son do when they are spending the first minutes they have had together in a long time? Well look at used bikes online of course. Now my dad is a technology retarded. I know retarded is not politically correct but before I left I spent literally 2 hours with him simply teaching him how to comment on my blog. I am glad to report he is a craiglist, and youtube pro now….
Soon enough we were back on the road and making our way to Langley. It was raining and pitch black, which made it a perfect recipe for me to drive for the first time in close to 7 months in the largest car I have ever driven. I got to the bridge and that is when I said, “dad you’re taking over”. I like being small. I like being able to manoeuvre with a shoulder check that exposes more the 60% of what is behind me.
We got to the address soon enough. It was at the end of this unlighted gravel road that had multiple beware of dog’s signs. Needless to say red flags were starting to go off. Luckily in a short time a not so little shop appeared with a man standing at the door with two large dogs at his side barking away. This was sparky.
Luckily it all turned out to be legit. Sparky himself turned out to be quite the character. In this private Harley shop rested about 15 motorcycles and a dyno jet. There was only one I was focused on and it was dead centre. I was not as thrilled with it, especially after sitting on it. It just did not feel right. The foot controls felt to far forward, and everything was made of plastic. Which is fine if it is a new bike but this was not, so all the scratches are permanent and cannot be polished out. Adding to that the bike was riddled with corrosion and pain swirls. It got better. When we took the seat off we could not get it back on. We tried and tried for about 10 mins but could not make it happen. But wait there is more. When sparky fired it up it came to life with a HUGE “WOOOOMMMMPPPP”. The bike had been modified with a straight pipe exhaust that made the bike rattle like crazy. It was so loud that it gave me a headache within 5 minutes. I knew if I brought this home my mom would poop her pants.
It was nice to spend the night with dad. It was even nicer having a change of beds for a night. I was getting sick of staying in the same one for a week.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Back to Work Oct 27 2010
When I like something I don’t stop thinking about it. It becomes an obsession. This could manifest itself into a problem later on in life but for now I think I can deal with it. When I got out of the sack I immediately put on my cycling gear because I saw that it the first amazing day in a while. I also knew that I wanted to make a stop in at the Yamaha dealership in port moody just to get my nerding in for the day.
Just as I was about to walk out the door in my lime green cycling kit with my mountain bike I thought to myself “why am I taking the mountain bike”. Then my eyes caught my race bike hanging from the wall. The tires were flat, the grips dirty, no pedals in sight, and no brakes on the bars. This fixie was going to be my stead for the day. I needed to get my hands dirty from working on a bike again anyways as my touring bike still lies in a pile of pieces in the garage.
Within the first 3 pedal stokes I fell back in love with the bike. It’s so light, so low, and so comfy. It took me the entire 3 hour rid to get used to the weight, or lack there of. At first I could not even get out of the saddle to sprint. When I got onto the laugheed highway I got nice and low and started to put power into the pedals. I don’t know how fast I was going but it was fast. It was scary how much power I can put in now compared to when I left.
Almost as soon as I started to crank on the bike I had to lock up my legs to come to a skidding stop. I was so focused on the speed that I was not paying attention to the growing traffic in front of me, and the red light that was in my immediate future. Being able to lock the wheel up at speed was also a new experience because before I could not do that. Not that I want to because that rear tire is worth $70 and last time I check the track is pretty flat so I would quickly find out if I had a flat spot or not.
The first stop was at work to tell them “yea im coming back”. Rhys was kind of funny because he says to me in a dead serious manor “so you want to start tomorrow”. I didn’t know how to respond so I laughed and said no. I need some time. Luckily Rhys did as well and asked me to come back later. This worked out perfect because I wanted to go waste time at the motorcycle shop anyways.
15 minutes later I was at the motorcycle shop. This is the point where I have to voice some frustration. Why can I not get service? Eve if someone just out of pity cam up to me and asked if I was ok that would do. But here I am with multiple thousand dollars literally in my back pocket ready to buy and not one person helped. In fact I stood in front of the sales person who was having a conversation about a hot rod with another guy for 10 minutes before he said, “can I help you”. Thank god I thought to myself. After that asking the parts guys/ girl questions about the bike I was interested in was even more painful. This just made me all the happier with the service I got out in Langley at holeshot. I mean they have better staff, better selection, and a nicer location whets not to like?
Anyways after that I was back at the shop to find out my fate. Tuesday, Wednesday off. Brutal. In other words if I want to hang out with friends and have fun with them I will have to be tired as balls on the weekends. So be it you can ask for the moon, but know one said they would give it to you.
Just as I was about to walk out the door in my lime green cycling kit with my mountain bike I thought to myself “why am I taking the mountain bike”. Then my eyes caught my race bike hanging from the wall. The tires were flat, the grips dirty, no pedals in sight, and no brakes on the bars. This fixie was going to be my stead for the day. I needed to get my hands dirty from working on a bike again anyways as my touring bike still lies in a pile of pieces in the garage.
Within the first 3 pedal stokes I fell back in love with the bike. It’s so light, so low, and so comfy. It took me the entire 3 hour rid to get used to the weight, or lack there of. At first I could not even get out of the saddle to sprint. When I got onto the laugheed highway I got nice and low and started to put power into the pedals. I don’t know how fast I was going but it was fast. It was scary how much power I can put in now compared to when I left.
Almost as soon as I started to crank on the bike I had to lock up my legs to come to a skidding stop. I was so focused on the speed that I was not paying attention to the growing traffic in front of me, and the red light that was in my immediate future. Being able to lock the wheel up at speed was also a new experience because before I could not do that. Not that I want to because that rear tire is worth $70 and last time I check the track is pretty flat so I would quickly find out if I had a flat spot or not.
The first stop was at work to tell them “yea im coming back”. Rhys was kind of funny because he says to me in a dead serious manor “so you want to start tomorrow”. I didn’t know how to respond so I laughed and said no. I need some time. Luckily Rhys did as well and asked me to come back later. This worked out perfect because I wanted to go waste time at the motorcycle shop anyways.
15 minutes later I was at the motorcycle shop. This is the point where I have to voice some frustration. Why can I not get service? Eve if someone just out of pity cam up to me and asked if I was ok that would do. But here I am with multiple thousand dollars literally in my back pocket ready to buy and not one person helped. In fact I stood in front of the sales person who was having a conversation about a hot rod with another guy for 10 minutes before he said, “can I help you”. Thank god I thought to myself. After that asking the parts guys/ girl questions about the bike I was interested in was even more painful. This just made me all the happier with the service I got out in Langley at holeshot. I mean they have better staff, better selection, and a nicer location whets not to like?
Anyways after that I was back at the shop to find out my fate. Tuesday, Wednesday off. Brutal. In other words if I want to hang out with friends and have fun with them I will have to be tired as balls on the weekends. So be it you can ask for the moon, but know one said they would give it to you.
Banks... Need I Say More Oct 26 2010
So I go to withdraw the full amount to purchase my motorcycle first thing in the morning. I assumed that 4 business days would be enough for cibc to get their stuff together but evidently not. So I was left $600 short, and I did not want to dink the guy with the bike around so I had t think of a plan b.
Plan b was to use my credit card, which I am always hesitant to use just because credit card companies are out there to screw us over with interest. The nice thing was that I had a car ride to and form the bank so I was not forced to ruin my board or get soaking wet. Neither option sounded too appealing at the time.
Over the next little bit I am going to work on my peak threshold endurance because right now even after sprinting 100 metres I am just toasted. My muscles hurt, and my heart is racing like a beaver. If I am going to get back on the track I need to fix that, and get used to my race bike again. I will save that for another day.
Nighttime came quick, which got me excited because that meant that it was almost time to go look at my first motorcycle. To put it in prospective I was not this excited when I got my car. It is similar to a few of my first Christmas memories… except not.
When dad showed up he handed me the visa slips from when was gone. Open the first one up and all is normal. I expected to see a $55 credit for the ticket I did not pay but put the money on my credit card for. So I open the next one and see that I am in debt close to $300. I hit the panic switch and think, “who used this”, “it was not stolen I have it in my wallet”. Even dad was baffled. It took us about 10 mins to figure out that they had combined both of out statements together into one. Thank heavens because that would have been a pretty nasty surprise.
Before I knew it there it was. A motorcycle that could be mine right in front of me. Now pitch black outside with nothing to see it but florescent lights their Ben Lee was. I never know what to do in scenarios like this I mean I do not know what the f I am doing so I am relying 100% on my dad and Ben. It is a strange feeling when you have no idea whets going on, and I very quickly came to the realization that I need to get my butt practicing a.s.a.p. In order to not die on public roads. The home depot parking lot is going to be my friend for the next little while.
The bike itself was a beauty. I love the look, and love the sound. Or lack there of. It has its issues but it is a bike that is as old as me. I know I have my battle wounds so it would be irrational of me to expect it to be a new bike. Still the better got of me and I walked away. Within seconds of coming home I was back on the classified sites looking and looking until my eyes started to water. Healthy I know. Then a second great learner bike came up, a buell blast. It says blast so it must be fun right…. I went to bed with thoughts of riding swirling in my head, it was like an addiction at this point.
Plan b was to use my credit card, which I am always hesitant to use just because credit card companies are out there to screw us over with interest. The nice thing was that I had a car ride to and form the bank so I was not forced to ruin my board or get soaking wet. Neither option sounded too appealing at the time.
Over the next little bit I am going to work on my peak threshold endurance because right now even after sprinting 100 metres I am just toasted. My muscles hurt, and my heart is racing like a beaver. If I am going to get back on the track I need to fix that, and get used to my race bike again. I will save that for another day.
Nighttime came quick, which got me excited because that meant that it was almost time to go look at my first motorcycle. To put it in prospective I was not this excited when I got my car. It is similar to a few of my first Christmas memories… except not.
When dad showed up he handed me the visa slips from when was gone. Open the first one up and all is normal. I expected to see a $55 credit for the ticket I did not pay but put the money on my credit card for. So I open the next one and see that I am in debt close to $300. I hit the panic switch and think, “who used this”, “it was not stolen I have it in my wallet”. Even dad was baffled. It took us about 10 mins to figure out that they had combined both of out statements together into one. Thank heavens because that would have been a pretty nasty surprise.
Before I knew it there it was. A motorcycle that could be mine right in front of me. Now pitch black outside with nothing to see it but florescent lights their Ben Lee was. I never know what to do in scenarios like this I mean I do not know what the f I am doing so I am relying 100% on my dad and Ben. It is a strange feeling when you have no idea whets going on, and I very quickly came to the realization that I need to get my butt practicing a.s.a.p. In order to not die on public roads. The home depot parking lot is going to be my friend for the next little while.
The bike itself was a beauty. I love the look, and love the sound. Or lack there of. It has its issues but it is a bike that is as old as me. I know I have my battle wounds so it would be irrational of me to expect it to be a new bike. Still the better got of me and I walked away. Within seconds of coming home I was back on the classified sites looking and looking until my eyes started to water. Healthy I know. Then a second great learner bike came up, a buell blast. It says blast so it must be fun right…. I went to bed with thoughts of riding swirling in my head, it was like an addiction at this point.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Rain Rain And Puddles Oct 25 2010
So I wake up at 7 and know I have a meeting with Rhys at 9:30. I am not stoked for this because this means I am going back to work. I know it is a necessary thing but it is just like when I left. Where as on the road every day is a new adventure. Every road is new. I was like a newborn baby for 4 months is what it boils down to. Now life has to restart.
With rain pouring outside I was thanking the heaven that I had a nice waterproof coat, and boots to strap on so that I would be nice and dry. The only thing I was lacking was an umbrella. Still I was better off then the girl standing at the bus stop in a tank top just completely drenched. I did not feel bad because she clearly had the option of a coat but just decided not to put it on.
The bus stop always seems so far away when you are walking to it. As well my bus passes that have been in my wallet through 3 cycles of the washing machine are super smooshed. I always have this mini panic attack that they are not going to work then everyone one the bus will look at me as if im trying to get on for free. Because we all know the opinions of the people on the buss really matter right. Luckily this time they worked so I was ok to ride the disease tube down to Westwood cycle.
The meeting itself was a meeting. It is what I expected. It is comforting to know that in tough times like this people want you back. It is a bit of an ego boost. Afterwards I had to venture back out into the pouring rain. By this point my pants were fairly wet so I figured an umbrella would be a worthy investment. In BC you would think that would be an easy thing to find but surprisingly no. At the pharmacies they had them hidden behind the front counter. It was as if they were selling drugs from behind the counter because I had to stroll up to the counter in a big puffy jacket and go “hey man you got umbrellas?” Then the teller says “Yo essay I gots them umbrellas right here for you homes”. “I need one big one, high quality. I want it to last more then 2 weeks”. “I got just the one right here”.
After that weird situation I was on the road to find my motorcycles home, which was right near my work. Again I must have looked pretty legitimate skulking around and peering beyond underground parking lots staring at this motorcycle. But because it was a crummy day I just decided to walk away and wait for the call from my dad to go look.
On the way home I decided to treat myself to a hot chocolate to warm myself back up to temperature so that I could push out the last kilometre of walking. I had my house in sight when this a whole smokes this puddle at mach 10 on purpose and just drenches me. My pants were soaked, boots were wet, and I was happy as ever. Who does that really? What a skumbag move on that guys part. Just breath deep and enjoy the now watered down hot chocolate.
With rain pouring outside I was thanking the heaven that I had a nice waterproof coat, and boots to strap on so that I would be nice and dry. The only thing I was lacking was an umbrella. Still I was better off then the girl standing at the bus stop in a tank top just completely drenched. I did not feel bad because she clearly had the option of a coat but just decided not to put it on.
The bus stop always seems so far away when you are walking to it. As well my bus passes that have been in my wallet through 3 cycles of the washing machine are super smooshed. I always have this mini panic attack that they are not going to work then everyone one the bus will look at me as if im trying to get on for free. Because we all know the opinions of the people on the buss really matter right. Luckily this time they worked so I was ok to ride the disease tube down to Westwood cycle.
The meeting itself was a meeting. It is what I expected. It is comforting to know that in tough times like this people want you back. It is a bit of an ego boost. Afterwards I had to venture back out into the pouring rain. By this point my pants were fairly wet so I figured an umbrella would be a worthy investment. In BC you would think that would be an easy thing to find but surprisingly no. At the pharmacies they had them hidden behind the front counter. It was as if they were selling drugs from behind the counter because I had to stroll up to the counter in a big puffy jacket and go “hey man you got umbrellas?” Then the teller says “Yo essay I gots them umbrellas right here for you homes”. “I need one big one, high quality. I want it to last more then 2 weeks”. “I got just the one right here”.
After that weird situation I was on the road to find my motorcycles home, which was right near my work. Again I must have looked pretty legitimate skulking around and peering beyond underground parking lots staring at this motorcycle. But because it was a crummy day I just decided to walk away and wait for the call from my dad to go look.
On the way home I decided to treat myself to a hot chocolate to warm myself back up to temperature so that I could push out the last kilometre of walking. I had my house in sight when this a whole smokes this puddle at mach 10 on purpose and just drenches me. My pants were soaked, boots were wet, and I was happy as ever. Who does that really? What a skumbag move on that guys part. Just breath deep and enjoy the now watered down hot chocolate.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Does Not Get Any Lazier... Sorry Oct 24 2010
So today’s blog really does not have much in it because I was lazy. It was a stretch to even feed myself. I just did not want to do anything because I was not looking forward to tomorrow. I know most of my blogs are filled with crazy stuff, or i make the boring stuff exciting but today that was not the case. I have a lot on the mind because my future is quickly approaching. I have to jump off this bridge of adulthood and commit to a plan... which sucks. So I spent most of the day thinking about nothing. At what point can I be content with a career? When do I stop?
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Not 100% Oct 23 2010
Today started with a bang. I saw a peering eye through my door so I said “im not up yet”. Mom says in response “I am leaving in 10 minutes to go to the dry cleaner. If you want to find a winter coat you have 10 minutes”. I was out of the bed like a rocket and in the shower getting myself de-smellied. I was out the door.
The first stop was marks work warehouse were everything was gigantic. I was getting the same feeling as last night. And was not feeling to positive about the outcome of this venture. After getting in and out we were on our way downtown to go to comor sports. Automatically when we walked in I got good feeling because it looked nice and they were playing good music (passion pit). Right away I made my way for the clearance rack and saw nothing in a small. Still not deterred I looked around and found a handful of smalls. After trying them on I took to liking this electric green number, but it was to small so I put on the medium. It fit like a glove. Using my thinking cap I looked for the last years model of that in a medium and found the exact one in black. I looked a bit like neo from the matrix but it fit amazing and was 40% off. I was sold.
On the ride back however things were not all great because I was not feeling 100%. I was hungry as a beaver ad my body was letting me know by making the roof of my mouth hurt. So within a few minutes we stopped at a local bistro in port moody. I had a breakfast wrap even though it was nearing noon. I do not know what they put inside of it but it tasted almost as good as ranch dressing on nachos.
Once home I phoned dad and told him that I wanted to see him. When he picked me up we decided to go look at some motorcycle gear. The first stop was this little one-man show, and the guy was just a huge wiener. He did not answer and questions and was super negative about everything. Needless to say he lost our business. The next lady at a reputable shop had no quality information. She simple told me “oo that ones road racy, that ones touring”. Thos are just words they don’t give me any information about the product and what to look for. Luckily after that we found cam at holeshot motorsports. He was kickasser. Gave me a ton of good information and was not pressuring me into anything. Knowing I was not buying today he even gave me the heads up on a new shipment of the jackets I want that is coming in next week. STOKED. It is something about putting on a full-face motorcycle helmet that makes you feel SO b.a. (Badass). The fact that they offer awesome protection also helps. I am kind of hoping that I can fit into some of my dads older gear though because that means I can either save some funds or invest it in the countless other things involved in getting ready to ride.
As you know my life is go go go so when I got home I was only in for a few minutes before kev was on my doorstep ready to ride. No hill climbing for me on the mountain bike today we had a car. I was expecting to feel like a puma climbing on my bike but it was not the case because I am so used to putting in huge efforts all day that a short high intensity 15-minute climb was not my forte. The downhill was a little scary. It was like being a kid again because it felt so foreign. It was loose, a little wet, and starting to rain things could not be any better for re-teaching yourself how to ride a mountain bike. Luckily I only had to pucker my butt three times, and kept up with kev for the most part… even though I think we was dialling back the speed.
Once home my throat was feeling a little sore and after a nap I knew that the plans for the Halloween part tonight just were not going to happen. But ce la vie.
The first stop was marks work warehouse were everything was gigantic. I was getting the same feeling as last night. And was not feeling to positive about the outcome of this venture. After getting in and out we were on our way downtown to go to comor sports. Automatically when we walked in I got good feeling because it looked nice and they were playing good music (passion pit). Right away I made my way for the clearance rack and saw nothing in a small. Still not deterred I looked around and found a handful of smalls. After trying them on I took to liking this electric green number, but it was to small so I put on the medium. It fit like a glove. Using my thinking cap I looked for the last years model of that in a medium and found the exact one in black. I looked a bit like neo from the matrix but it fit amazing and was 40% off. I was sold.
On the ride back however things were not all great because I was not feeling 100%. I was hungry as a beaver ad my body was letting me know by making the roof of my mouth hurt. So within a few minutes we stopped at a local bistro in port moody. I had a breakfast wrap even though it was nearing noon. I do not know what they put inside of it but it tasted almost as good as ranch dressing on nachos.
Once home I phoned dad and told him that I wanted to see him. When he picked me up we decided to go look at some motorcycle gear. The first stop was this little one-man show, and the guy was just a huge wiener. He did not answer and questions and was super negative about everything. Needless to say he lost our business. The next lady at a reputable shop had no quality information. She simple told me “oo that ones road racy, that ones touring”. Thos are just words they don’t give me any information about the product and what to look for. Luckily after that we found cam at holeshot motorsports. He was kickasser. Gave me a ton of good information and was not pressuring me into anything. Knowing I was not buying today he even gave me the heads up on a new shipment of the jackets I want that is coming in next week. STOKED. It is something about putting on a full-face motorcycle helmet that makes you feel SO b.a. (Badass). The fact that they offer awesome protection also helps. I am kind of hoping that I can fit into some of my dads older gear though because that means I can either save some funds or invest it in the countless other things involved in getting ready to ride.
As you know my life is go go go so when I got home I was only in for a few minutes before kev was on my doorstep ready to ride. No hill climbing for me on the mountain bike today we had a car. I was expecting to feel like a puma climbing on my bike but it was not the case because I am so used to putting in huge efforts all day that a short high intensity 15-minute climb was not my forte. The downhill was a little scary. It was like being a kid again because it felt so foreign. It was loose, a little wet, and starting to rain things could not be any better for re-teaching yourself how to ride a mountain bike. Luckily I only had to pucker my butt three times, and kept up with kev for the most part… even though I think we was dialling back the speed.
Once home my throat was feeling a little sore and after a nap I knew that the plans for the Halloween part tonight just were not going to happen. But ce la vie.
Christina Lake... What A Memory Oct 21 2010
With my passport dry after going through the washing machine today was the day. Today was the day I get my motorcycle license. I got on my bike and went to the road test centre and got one of the books and raced home. Once home I put that book on the desk and promptly got distracted by everything else around me. I thought to myself ill just read it tonight and take the test tomorrow. I then looked at the weather network and saw rain for the next 4 days. For some reason that triggered me to get on my bike and go back to take the test right then.
At the centre I realized that I forgot 2 pieces of id so I had to go back and get my passport. On the way back I started to question what I was doing. The biggest question on my mind was “what if I pass”? When I stormed into the office and grabbed my passport I was surprised when I did not receive 20 questions about why I needed it.
Now back at the Centre I paid my dues and stood looking at a screen. A screen that determined whether I was fit on the road or not. Things did not start off well when I promptly go the first question wrong. After that things quickly improved. Really everything seemed like common sense as a crummy car driver, and a good cyclist. In order to pass you were able to get 8 of the 40 questions wrong, which I found amazing. Shouldn’t we be making sure people know most things about the road and not some of it.
Well I passed and was over the moon. Without ever starting up a motorcycle, learning the mechanics of one, or even cracking the learners manual I was now able to ride one. Kind of scary when I think about it. All I know is that I am ready to learn. Which intern means knowing my limits? Which as it stands now is everything. Luckily my dad is a great rider so I am trusting him to guide me down this path with a patient mind. I guess that means a motorcycle in the driveway is going to become a reality in the near future.
I could not contain myself so I had to share the good news with friends. So I went right over to Courts house. E-dawg and C-Donkey reunite for the first time in a long time. This time I was not on the doorstep on the brink of tears in serious need of a friend, which seemed like a common theme for the last 2 visits to her place. Court is simply an awesome person. It is strange how similar we are. She is like talking with one of the guys (if I had guy friends). We talked about everything from skating to girls. One of the funniest things is the fact that we have the exact same taste in women, funny how that works.
It is also funny to see how we have not matured. When I got back from the trip I was feeling all high and mighty about how different I was but really not much has changed. I am still myself and I still enjoy the same things in life. One of the highlights of the night was looking back on some of our favourite memories together. The best of which came in Christina Lake. The family and court made the 7-hour trek to the coldest tree lined lake in B.C. roughly 7 years ago. After 7 hours f my sisters putrid farts and the most uncomfortable gm seats in the world there we were staring down our home for the next 8 days. My sister and I had visions of a nice lakeside house; instead we had a 80’s trailer that reeked of shag carpet. Court and I talked about the things we saw and how little we did on this trip. About the only thing that stood out was possibly the largest argument of my childhood. It all started because of a remote. This remote controlled the air-conditioning that was turned off at the time the remote was lost. Apparently I was the last one to use it so I was the first to get yelled at by mom. For days this went on until I finally lost it. I remember that this was the first time I ever dropped an f bomb in front of my mom on purpose. Days later after the dust had settled someone found it in a pot that was below a well-placed pan. It was planted and I am pretty sure it was my sister because I remember she made Kraft dinner the night before the disappearance. Court and I still to this day wonder what my sister did t fill those days.
At the centre I realized that I forgot 2 pieces of id so I had to go back and get my passport. On the way back I started to question what I was doing. The biggest question on my mind was “what if I pass”? When I stormed into the office and grabbed my passport I was surprised when I did not receive 20 questions about why I needed it.
Now back at the Centre I paid my dues and stood looking at a screen. A screen that determined whether I was fit on the road or not. Things did not start off well when I promptly go the first question wrong. After that things quickly improved. Really everything seemed like common sense as a crummy car driver, and a good cyclist. In order to pass you were able to get 8 of the 40 questions wrong, which I found amazing. Shouldn’t we be making sure people know most things about the road and not some of it.
Well I passed and was over the moon. Without ever starting up a motorcycle, learning the mechanics of one, or even cracking the learners manual I was now able to ride one. Kind of scary when I think about it. All I know is that I am ready to learn. Which intern means knowing my limits? Which as it stands now is everything. Luckily my dad is a great rider so I am trusting him to guide me down this path with a patient mind. I guess that means a motorcycle in the driveway is going to become a reality in the near future.
I could not contain myself so I had to share the good news with friends. So I went right over to Courts house. E-dawg and C-Donkey reunite for the first time in a long time. This time I was not on the doorstep on the brink of tears in serious need of a friend, which seemed like a common theme for the last 2 visits to her place. Court is simply an awesome person. It is strange how similar we are. She is like talking with one of the guys (if I had guy friends). We talked about everything from skating to girls. One of the funniest things is the fact that we have the exact same taste in women, funny how that works.
It is also funny to see how we have not matured. When I got back from the trip I was feeling all high and mighty about how different I was but really not much has changed. I am still myself and I still enjoy the same things in life. One of the highlights of the night was looking back on some of our favourite memories together. The best of which came in Christina Lake. The family and court made the 7-hour trek to the coldest tree lined lake in B.C. roughly 7 years ago. After 7 hours f my sisters putrid farts and the most uncomfortable gm seats in the world there we were staring down our home for the next 8 days. My sister and I had visions of a nice lakeside house; instead we had a 80’s trailer that reeked of shag carpet. Court and I talked about the things we saw and how little we did on this trip. About the only thing that stood out was possibly the largest argument of my childhood. It all started because of a remote. This remote controlled the air-conditioning that was turned off at the time the remote was lost. Apparently I was the last one to use it so I was the first to get yelled at by mom. For days this went on until I finally lost it. I remember that this was the first time I ever dropped an f bomb in front of my mom on purpose. Days later after the dust had settled someone found it in a pot that was below a well-placed pan. It was planted and I am pretty sure it was my sister because I remember she made Kraft dinner the night before the disappearance. Court and I still to this day wonder what my sister did t fill those days.
Massholes and Trivial Drama Oct 22 2010
After silencing my alarm 3 times it was time to get my butt moving. I don’t know what it was but I popped off the side of my bed instead of the front like I normally do. Apparently my gut knew something my mind did not because there in front of my bed was a stack of feathers, a wing, and a cat looking prouder then ever. Even though mom was working I yelled, “be on the lookout for a wingless bird”. To which I got a response of “where is it”. In retrospect I should have said her bed just to get a quick laugh but when I said in front of my bed I could hear a sigh of relief.
Next came a good workout. Few things are as fun as running in the rain and getting nice and wet. At least the wetness masks smell of sweat and Gatorade. The only unfortunate thing is my legs have been acting up. Even with stretching and enough tiger bomb to sink the Bismarck my calves are still hurting. Ce la vie though because I am not going to stop working out.
After that it was time to sit down and make some plans for the evening. Last minute as usual but by now everyone who is close to me knows that is how I roll. Thing were going good. My ticket that I tried paying 3 times finally went through. But now they want more money so I have to wait in a call cue for another 1.5 hours to get to someone and give them a piece of my mind. There is no way I am paying another $55 on top of my $50 ticket because there systems would not let me pay for a ticket. I will read off the confirmation numbers to them in series and tell them to pound it. I am not bitter at all. There is a reason they call them Massholes.
It was right after that ticket getting paid that I got a series messages that upset me. It is not very often I let people get to me but this did. When my mom asked “is something wrong”. I lied and said, “No, everything is fine”. Girl troubles I will leave it at that. I can hear my dad sighing saying to himself “o great”. I can already hear the onslaught of questions I am going to hear after people read this. But I would really prefer to simply drop it. When you wear your heart on your sleeve all the time eventually people will stomp on said heart.
That’s why I have friends. Within 5 minutes Kristi was at more doorstep to sweep me away for the night and it was needed. I was not down for sitting in her basement the whole night so we decided to go frustrate ourselves with shopping. My goal was simple a warm winter coat that is not size huge. First stop Winners. It was like a case of the three bears. One was two small, the other to big, and then the third to thin. What I found amazing was that there was only 3 winter coats in a size small in the entire store. The best part was Kristi’s shopping experience. She had this item that was missing a button so we were reasonable when we asked for a discount. What was not reasonable was the response we got. “Let me call my manager.” “Yea we can discount that by $1”. At that point we just walked out of the store. $1 that’s just an insult. Good luck trying to sell that piece of garbage top to anyone before it goes in the 50% off bin, and enjoy having that in you inventory forever.
After that we went to the mall where I encountered ore frustration. Every store had a wide selection of jackets for men but they were all shells or medium weight. Literally nothing that fit was a heavier weight jacket for the winter. If you did not want to wear 3 layers you had a few options, but they all started at $250 and up which just was not working for me.
Luckily we had a success story. Apple sider from this Christmas specific store. It came in this little package that was $9 but Kristi was not sure it it was the same mix from when she was a kid so the lady said, “here we have a package that was dropped on the ground and has a puncture smell it”. Kristi knew right away it was the right stuff and purchased one package of the stuff, but before it got rung through I said “hold on a second how about $1 for the busted package (that I saw was ¾ full)”? I expected a triumphant no, but was surprised to hear a “sure no problem”. Got to love shopping with a cheap ass.
Next came a good workout. Few things are as fun as running in the rain and getting nice and wet. At least the wetness masks smell of sweat and Gatorade. The only unfortunate thing is my legs have been acting up. Even with stretching and enough tiger bomb to sink the Bismarck my calves are still hurting. Ce la vie though because I am not going to stop working out.
After that it was time to sit down and make some plans for the evening. Last minute as usual but by now everyone who is close to me knows that is how I roll. Thing were going good. My ticket that I tried paying 3 times finally went through. But now they want more money so I have to wait in a call cue for another 1.5 hours to get to someone and give them a piece of my mind. There is no way I am paying another $55 on top of my $50 ticket because there systems would not let me pay for a ticket. I will read off the confirmation numbers to them in series and tell them to pound it. I am not bitter at all. There is a reason they call them Massholes.
It was right after that ticket getting paid that I got a series messages that upset me. It is not very often I let people get to me but this did. When my mom asked “is something wrong”. I lied and said, “No, everything is fine”. Girl troubles I will leave it at that. I can hear my dad sighing saying to himself “o great”. I can already hear the onslaught of questions I am going to hear after people read this. But I would really prefer to simply drop it. When you wear your heart on your sleeve all the time eventually people will stomp on said heart.
That’s why I have friends. Within 5 minutes Kristi was at more doorstep to sweep me away for the night and it was needed. I was not down for sitting in her basement the whole night so we decided to go frustrate ourselves with shopping. My goal was simple a warm winter coat that is not size huge. First stop Winners. It was like a case of the three bears. One was two small, the other to big, and then the third to thin. What I found amazing was that there was only 3 winter coats in a size small in the entire store. The best part was Kristi’s shopping experience. She had this item that was missing a button so we were reasonable when we asked for a discount. What was not reasonable was the response we got. “Let me call my manager.” “Yea we can discount that by $1”. At that point we just walked out of the store. $1 that’s just an insult. Good luck trying to sell that piece of garbage top to anyone before it goes in the 50% off bin, and enjoy having that in you inventory forever.
After that we went to the mall where I encountered ore frustration. Every store had a wide selection of jackets for men but they were all shells or medium weight. Literally nothing that fit was a heavier weight jacket for the winter. If you did not want to wear 3 layers you had a few options, but they all started at $250 and up which just was not working for me.
Luckily we had a success story. Apple sider from this Christmas specific store. It came in this little package that was $9 but Kristi was not sure it it was the same mix from when she was a kid so the lady said, “here we have a package that was dropped on the ground and has a puncture smell it”. Kristi knew right away it was the right stuff and purchased one package of the stuff, but before it got rung through I said “hold on a second how about $1 for the busted package (that I saw was ¾ full)”? I expected a triumphant no, but was surprised to hear a “sure no problem”. Got to love shopping with a cheap ass.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Be Safe Oct 20 2010
So I am behind a day in blogs but I have been struggling to find time t breath let alone type. When I have a second to relax the last thing I am thinking about is “I really want to type about my life”. Tomorrow morning though I pledge to catch up to date.
After yet another late night I was stuck shutting off my alarm to catch a few more precious moments of sleep before the light started to peer through my blinds. When the light comes in that means that I have overslept and need to get my butt moving.
At this point I forget what I did to fill two hours but I can guarantee you it involved eating and reading the paper while I watched the morning news. You can never overdose on news so just cram it in. It seems like you can not get a positive stories these days so when the tri cities news contacted me to run a story in the paper I was thrilled because I am sick of reading about all of the junk that happening to our area these days. About 15 minutes after the paper called the newsroom gave me a ring. Unfortunately is as not around so I had to return the call to a guy who took all my information but I am pretty sure did not relay the message.
While shaving my hair down the the scalp I hear the doorbell. I forgot I invited my old friend Jamie over to do some rekindling. It is hyperawsome that she is living back in coquitlam because we here best friends back in the days of the old neighbourhood I really don’t remember what we spent 3 hours talking about but it was a good waste of time.
After that it was time to leave. Not before we found out Jamie left her lights on and killed her battery. So leans were put on hold while we waiting for bcaa to come give a jump because my cables are in my hot rod and not at home. After ben came by to help us out I was on my way to talk with Rhys about work and possibly get a smoking deal on some shoes at the shoe warehouse.
Again plans are only good if they work and these did not. Rhys was not at work, and the shoe warehouse had no shoes for 13 bucks like I thought they all said $25. Still I tried some on and found a comfy pair. I needed new kickers for skating and mountain biking so why not get two. When the lady at the counter said, “you total is $25”. I said in response “for 2”? She nodded and I paid her. Turn out the shoes were 50% of the clearance price just to get rid of them. With no room to carry them my old beaten up converses from an outlet mall in the states we went to 5 years ago to get my sister a bathing suit from a Victoria Secret that eneded up not having the suit she wanted laid there next to a garbage can for some homeless man to wear.
When I got back and was faced with 24 middle-aged women screaming I was ready to head right back out the door, but not before being a little social first. T was right then I remembered that I was supposed to be at my neighbour’s house to catch up with them and get the low down on how the rest of the family is doing.
After that visit I was back on the road again to go spend the evening with Megan and her brother Jake watching episodes of a web series called the guild, and looking at old photos. After a good dose of laughs sleep was starting to creep into my mind so I had to hit the road and start skating home. When I arrived back the last thing I expected to see was my mom and gay still up partying. I got in just as they were heading to bed and I remember very clearly something gay said. As my mom walked up the stairs she said “good night”. To which gay said, “be safe”. Which I thought was an odd thing to say because what was there to be safe about I mean a bed was only 20 feet away. Still I got a bit of a chuckle out of it as I ate my semi stale nesquik cereal.
After yet another late night I was stuck shutting off my alarm to catch a few more precious moments of sleep before the light started to peer through my blinds. When the light comes in that means that I have overslept and need to get my butt moving.
At this point I forget what I did to fill two hours but I can guarantee you it involved eating and reading the paper while I watched the morning news. You can never overdose on news so just cram it in. It seems like you can not get a positive stories these days so when the tri cities news contacted me to run a story in the paper I was thrilled because I am sick of reading about all of the junk that happening to our area these days. About 15 minutes after the paper called the newsroom gave me a ring. Unfortunately is as not around so I had to return the call to a guy who took all my information but I am pretty sure did not relay the message.
While shaving my hair down the the scalp I hear the doorbell. I forgot I invited my old friend Jamie over to do some rekindling. It is hyperawsome that she is living back in coquitlam because we here best friends back in the days of the old neighbourhood I really don’t remember what we spent 3 hours talking about but it was a good waste of time.
After that it was time to leave. Not before we found out Jamie left her lights on and killed her battery. So leans were put on hold while we waiting for bcaa to come give a jump because my cables are in my hot rod and not at home. After ben came by to help us out I was on my way to talk with Rhys about work and possibly get a smoking deal on some shoes at the shoe warehouse.
Again plans are only good if they work and these did not. Rhys was not at work, and the shoe warehouse had no shoes for 13 bucks like I thought they all said $25. Still I tried some on and found a comfy pair. I needed new kickers for skating and mountain biking so why not get two. When the lady at the counter said, “you total is $25”. I said in response “for 2”? She nodded and I paid her. Turn out the shoes were 50% of the clearance price just to get rid of them. With no room to carry them my old beaten up converses from an outlet mall in the states we went to 5 years ago to get my sister a bathing suit from a Victoria Secret that eneded up not having the suit she wanted laid there next to a garbage can for some homeless man to wear.
When I got back and was faced with 24 middle-aged women screaming I was ready to head right back out the door, but not before being a little social first. T was right then I remembered that I was supposed to be at my neighbour’s house to catch up with them and get the low down on how the rest of the family is doing.
After that visit I was back on the road again to go spend the evening with Megan and her brother Jake watching episodes of a web series called the guild, and looking at old photos. After a good dose of laughs sleep was starting to creep into my mind so I had to hit the road and start skating home. When I arrived back the last thing I expected to see was my mom and gay still up partying. I got in just as they were heading to bed and I remember very clearly something gay said. As my mom walked up the stairs she said “good night”. To which gay said, “be safe”. Which I thought was an odd thing to say because what was there to be safe about I mean a bed was only 20 feet away. Still I got a bit of a chuckle out of it as I ate my semi stale nesquik cereal.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
No matter How Tired Dont Froget To Blog Oct 19 2010
So I pooped the bed. Even though I was tired should have done my blog yesterday because now 24 hours later I have forgotten the smaller detail of the day. So this blog will be a little shorter because it will only cover the larger things.
The beauty of being on vacation is I can start at whatever pace I feel like, and today I started slow. I knew what laid ahead for me was a tub of laundry to fold, a cycling drawer to rifle through and some bike stuff that needed to be done. So I figured I would get a head start and watch some starcraft 2 highlights. For those who don’t know Starcraft is one of the nerdiest pc games ever created but watching competitive play is strangely addicting and interesting.
By the time I got showered and de-nerdified I was ready to tackle the laundry. This is when I realized that I have way too much cycling gear. I now have two drawers full with a certain amount of cupboard space dedicated to shorts as well. The nice thing with the trip is it wore out a few of my jerseys and all of my shorts so I now have some track gear that I can race with and crash on with now hard feelings, because when I ate it and wrecked my new jailhouse arm warmers I was a little miffed.
A day earlier I spoke with Mr. Chambers and asked what time he would be free because I know he is a busy man. He told me 1:30. So at 1:30 on the nose I show up and wait patiently. Within 5 mins I knew what was going to happen. Another 10 mins pass and he came flying out of his office and put one arm around my shoulder and said Evan bud I forgot I have parent teacher interviews tonight starting in 30 minutes. I told him not to worry, and that like arny “I’ll be back”.
Feeling the savings of time I decided to go get something that would warm me up in the winter. Again me shopping I was in and out of marks work warehouse in 5 minutes and was set up with something that will keep my core warm through the cold weather. I also got an unexpected savings, which is always nice.
After that the day was pretty normal until I had to make plans for the evening. I hate letting people down but when I had 2 chat conversations going with someone on the phone it was just getting out of hand. What came of all of it was nice evenings with Kristi where we chatted and got to watch a pretty kick butt movie called get him to the Greek. I also had the most wicked conversation with a mutual friend of ours Marshall who was being a bit of a weirdo so I called him out on it in traditional Evan in you face fashion.
The beauty of being on vacation is I can start at whatever pace I feel like, and today I started slow. I knew what laid ahead for me was a tub of laundry to fold, a cycling drawer to rifle through and some bike stuff that needed to be done. So I figured I would get a head start and watch some starcraft 2 highlights. For those who don’t know Starcraft is one of the nerdiest pc games ever created but watching competitive play is strangely addicting and interesting.
By the time I got showered and de-nerdified I was ready to tackle the laundry. This is when I realized that I have way too much cycling gear. I now have two drawers full with a certain amount of cupboard space dedicated to shorts as well. The nice thing with the trip is it wore out a few of my jerseys and all of my shorts so I now have some track gear that I can race with and crash on with now hard feelings, because when I ate it and wrecked my new jailhouse arm warmers I was a little miffed.
A day earlier I spoke with Mr. Chambers and asked what time he would be free because I know he is a busy man. He told me 1:30. So at 1:30 on the nose I show up and wait patiently. Within 5 mins I knew what was going to happen. Another 10 mins pass and he came flying out of his office and put one arm around my shoulder and said Evan bud I forgot I have parent teacher interviews tonight starting in 30 minutes. I told him not to worry, and that like arny “I’ll be back”.
Feeling the savings of time I decided to go get something that would warm me up in the winter. Again me shopping I was in and out of marks work warehouse in 5 minutes and was set up with something that will keep my core warm through the cold weather. I also got an unexpected savings, which is always nice.
After that the day was pretty normal until I had to make plans for the evening. I hate letting people down but when I had 2 chat conversations going with someone on the phone it was just getting out of hand. What came of all of it was nice evenings with Kristi where we chatted and got to watch a pretty kick butt movie called get him to the Greek. I also had the most wicked conversation with a mutual friend of ours Marshall who was being a bit of a weirdo so I called him out on it in traditional Evan in you face fashion.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Crazy Days Oct 18 2010
After taking my sweet time to get home last night I ended up getting to sleep at close to 2am because of bloging and wasting time. So when I woke up at 10 it was not really too much of a surprise. I was going to start my day with making plans with people but I was feeling lazy because I have not done any hard workouts in about a week. It was time to lace up and hit the ground running.
Once I was suited up in skins from head to toe, looking really intimidating in my matching spandex compression wear I was ready to workout. Now the way I usually run is simple get out and go for 2 hours and run as hard as I can. One thing the trip taught me is that not warming up destroys your muscles (as evidence from the kickboxing class shows). This time I decided to spend some time and dedicated myself to a proper warm up and cool down, and boy did it help. I felt quick. After 4 100m sprints I started doing 5 lap endurance efforts, then took it easy. Now instead of just walking home I decided to stay and talk with a few old friends at school. First up were Mr. Cambers and Dr. Provost. Both equally amazed that I got back so quick. Then after that a talk with Coach K. Coach K is a man that seems to have done everything. Whenever I want to get advice about my next crazy idea he is always a good person to go to because he has done it or has a sound opinion on how I could best accomplish it. Then once done said event I can come back and talk about it and realize that he was not blowing smoke up my… you know. Now here is were I made a plan with Mr. Chambers for coffee tomorrow.
After getting home and de-smellied I was back on the road to meet with Kristy to go for lunch at Happy Chinese Food. I am not sure what about this small restaurant was happy, but it sure was not the decor or the 1970’s building it was placed in. Now I am a guy who likes to throw curve balls so when Kristy asks me “what are you getting”? Most would give a simple answer. I instead say “you ordering for the both of us”. Which would be easy if the owner spoke any English. About the only thing we could make out was that the order Kristy wanted to make was not possible so she scrambled to create some other monster of a Chinese food dish that would stuff us with MSG. It was good spending some one on one time with friends. When everyone was at the airport all at once it was very overwhelming. Where as in a setting like that I can tell stories that fit with those people and situations not just some broad statement about which place I liked most then having to spend 15 minutes qualifying said statement.
Now after last night episode of not fitting into my jeans because my butt and legs were to large to fit in them I knew I had to go to the mall, which is one of my least favourite places in the world. So I figured I would ask Kristy if she wanted to come shopping with the mother unit and I. Surprisingly she said yes but then backtracked and said what can be summed up as “if you scare me off a bus stop is 20 feet away”.
The way I shop is can be described in one word, power. How long does it take for a girl to buy 3 pairs of jeans? Possibly an entire day. I hauled Swope into 2 stores walked through without stopping and saw nothing. The last stop was Bluenotes. I grabbed 3 pairs off the shelf tried them on got the girl seal of approval and was out the door in 15minutes. Now to get Kristy one top took the remainder of our 30-minute time budget. Baby steps though Rome was not built in a day so I cant expect to change the way females shop in one day, there is always tomorrow though, then the next day.
Now at home I dropped my bag and was off to visit the neighbours who had been loyal blog followers. The picture I remember of the heffelfingers is of a family that was very sheltered and not very outgoing. Well those thoughts were completely wrong. This was really the first time I have spent time and talked with them in a long time. It was good to hear that Leslie hitchhiked New Zealand, that Anna is not the cleanest person in the world (slob was actually the word used but in a nice way), and that the boyfriend is an average guy that drives a car that seemingly brakes down all the time. Maybe it is the trip but I now realize that 99% of people are normal. What is normal? Normal is getting worried about someone leaving on a trip. Normal is enjoying spending time with people new or old, young or old. Normal is just… I want to finish this statement but I don’t have a third thing yet and don’t want to force it but it will come.
The came a quick grilled cheese and I was back on the road to Kristi Wilson’s to disrupt her while she tried to study for a midterm. Things were strangely normal. I don’t really have much more to say then that, it is looking like tomorrow is going to be equally crazy because I have said to 4 people that I can make time for them. So make time I must. Sorry to anymore if im not responding quickly because I have been all over the map.
Once I was suited up in skins from head to toe, looking really intimidating in my matching spandex compression wear I was ready to workout. Now the way I usually run is simple get out and go for 2 hours and run as hard as I can. One thing the trip taught me is that not warming up destroys your muscles (as evidence from the kickboxing class shows). This time I decided to spend some time and dedicated myself to a proper warm up and cool down, and boy did it help. I felt quick. After 4 100m sprints I started doing 5 lap endurance efforts, then took it easy. Now instead of just walking home I decided to stay and talk with a few old friends at school. First up were Mr. Cambers and Dr. Provost. Both equally amazed that I got back so quick. Then after that a talk with Coach K. Coach K is a man that seems to have done everything. Whenever I want to get advice about my next crazy idea he is always a good person to go to because he has done it or has a sound opinion on how I could best accomplish it. Then once done said event I can come back and talk about it and realize that he was not blowing smoke up my… you know. Now here is were I made a plan with Mr. Chambers for coffee tomorrow.
After getting home and de-smellied I was back on the road to meet with Kristy to go for lunch at Happy Chinese Food. I am not sure what about this small restaurant was happy, but it sure was not the decor or the 1970’s building it was placed in. Now I am a guy who likes to throw curve balls so when Kristy asks me “what are you getting”? Most would give a simple answer. I instead say “you ordering for the both of us”. Which would be easy if the owner spoke any English. About the only thing we could make out was that the order Kristy wanted to make was not possible so she scrambled to create some other monster of a Chinese food dish that would stuff us with MSG. It was good spending some one on one time with friends. When everyone was at the airport all at once it was very overwhelming. Where as in a setting like that I can tell stories that fit with those people and situations not just some broad statement about which place I liked most then having to spend 15 minutes qualifying said statement.
Now after last night episode of not fitting into my jeans because my butt and legs were to large to fit in them I knew I had to go to the mall, which is one of my least favourite places in the world. So I figured I would ask Kristy if she wanted to come shopping with the mother unit and I. Surprisingly she said yes but then backtracked and said what can be summed up as “if you scare me off a bus stop is 20 feet away”.
The way I shop is can be described in one word, power. How long does it take for a girl to buy 3 pairs of jeans? Possibly an entire day. I hauled Swope into 2 stores walked through without stopping and saw nothing. The last stop was Bluenotes. I grabbed 3 pairs off the shelf tried them on got the girl seal of approval and was out the door in 15minutes. Now to get Kristy one top took the remainder of our 30-minute time budget. Baby steps though Rome was not built in a day so I cant expect to change the way females shop in one day, there is always tomorrow though, then the next day.
Now at home I dropped my bag and was off to visit the neighbours who had been loyal blog followers. The picture I remember of the heffelfingers is of a family that was very sheltered and not very outgoing. Well those thoughts were completely wrong. This was really the first time I have spent time and talked with them in a long time. It was good to hear that Leslie hitchhiked New Zealand, that Anna is not the cleanest person in the world (slob was actually the word used but in a nice way), and that the boyfriend is an average guy that drives a car that seemingly brakes down all the time. Maybe it is the trip but I now realize that 99% of people are normal. What is normal? Normal is getting worried about someone leaving on a trip. Normal is enjoying spending time with people new or old, young or old. Normal is just… I want to finish this statement but I don’t have a third thing yet and don’t want to force it but it will come.
The came a quick grilled cheese and I was back on the road to Kristi Wilson’s to disrupt her while she tried to study for a midterm. Things were strangely normal. I don’t really have much more to say then that, it is looking like tomorrow is going to be equally crazy because I have said to 4 people that I can make time for them. So make time I must. Sorry to anymore if im not responding quickly because I have been all over the map.
Back To Semi-Normal Life Oct 17 2010
It is strange for me to be reflecting back on when I got into YVR because it seems like so long ago. When really it was only 27 hours ago.
When my flight landed I had to wait to get my bags after literally walking through customs. It was a lot easier flying then it was shipping my stuff home from Austin, and about the same price as well. When I came around the corner to find my box wide open I had a mini panic attack but it looked as if everything was there so I loaded it on my cart and walked right out the Dorr. But only after taking about every single pole because my load was so wide.
Once out the doors I saw a large group of people and banners. It was an odd thing to see because I was anticipating simply saying hello and getting on the way. But this kicked way more butt. It was really nice seeing everyone for the first time. The only problem was I did not know how to react. Should I be yelling and cheering, crying, or play it cool. I decided that keeping calm would be my best bet. After exchanging a few hugs per person and telling a few stories people started to disperse which was my cue to get out of the terminal, which I might add is about 10000000% better then LAX. With what can only be described as an entourage behind me a man said, “He must be important”. I said in response “I am as important as I look”. A cocky statement but a well-deserved one I think.
Within an hour there I was laying in my own bed, which felt strangely foreign. I thought I had new sheets, but no. I thought my room had been painted, but no. It was all just new to me.
Without an alarm to wake me I got to arise to the smell of pancakes. When you don’t have an alarm trust you gut to wake you. Once I had some food in my stomach I was ready to tackle the easy task of unpacking. Unpacking of my single luggage bag then led to going through my closet and purging clothing for Big Brothers, which led to going through every drawer to reorganize, which led to fixing my desktop computer, which then led to recycling some old bicycle parts in the garage, and of course laundry. Needless to say I had a full plate of thing to do and it still isn’t completed.
My clean room now looked like a bomb went off and when mom came by she looked horrified. I said I kept getting side tracked and getting 50% of one job done then moving on. Eventually though I did mange to get everything cleaned and organized the way I like. No flowers or candles anywhere like there was when I showed up.
It was a success to because the only thing missing was my fairly empty wallet. So I asked if I could get a ride to the mall to find another one. Happily she obliged and we set off to the mall, but first a stop in at Westwood cycle to warranty my camelback that was leaking.
When we got back of course I continued to search through things, and of course I found my old wallet. So now tomorrows task is to return the new one because I am cheap… even though it was a gift.
Just like that the phone blew up. People wanted to see me and get ahold of me. So I had a choice of plans hang out with various groups of old friends or form a bond with new people. I decided on the ladder to expand my horizons. After chilling out for an evening I was on my way back home. I have been rushing for 4 months straight and tonight on my long board sesh home was the first time I had a genuine moment of peace where I thought about nothing. It was just about pushing, a dead road, and pumping back and forth at 1am. I could not think of a better welcome home then the combination that was but together today.
Yesterdays blog is on my laptop and will be uploaded tomorrow when it is unpacked and up and running.
When my flight landed I had to wait to get my bags after literally walking through customs. It was a lot easier flying then it was shipping my stuff home from Austin, and about the same price as well. When I came around the corner to find my box wide open I had a mini panic attack but it looked as if everything was there so I loaded it on my cart and walked right out the Dorr. But only after taking about every single pole because my load was so wide.
Once out the doors I saw a large group of people and banners. It was an odd thing to see because I was anticipating simply saying hello and getting on the way. But this kicked way more butt. It was really nice seeing everyone for the first time. The only problem was I did not know how to react. Should I be yelling and cheering, crying, or play it cool. I decided that keeping calm would be my best bet. After exchanging a few hugs per person and telling a few stories people started to disperse which was my cue to get out of the terminal, which I might add is about 10000000% better then LAX. With what can only be described as an entourage behind me a man said, “He must be important”. I said in response “I am as important as I look”. A cocky statement but a well-deserved one I think.
Within an hour there I was laying in my own bed, which felt strangely foreign. I thought I had new sheets, but no. I thought my room had been painted, but no. It was all just new to me.
Without an alarm to wake me I got to arise to the smell of pancakes. When you don’t have an alarm trust you gut to wake you. Once I had some food in my stomach I was ready to tackle the easy task of unpacking. Unpacking of my single luggage bag then led to going through my closet and purging clothing for Big Brothers, which led to going through every drawer to reorganize, which led to fixing my desktop computer, which then led to recycling some old bicycle parts in the garage, and of course laundry. Needless to say I had a full plate of thing to do and it still isn’t completed.
My clean room now looked like a bomb went off and when mom came by she looked horrified. I said I kept getting side tracked and getting 50% of one job done then moving on. Eventually though I did mange to get everything cleaned and organized the way I like. No flowers or candles anywhere like there was when I showed up.
It was a success to because the only thing missing was my fairly empty wallet. So I asked if I could get a ride to the mall to find another one. Happily she obliged and we set off to the mall, but first a stop in at Westwood cycle to warranty my camelback that was leaking.
When we got back of course I continued to search through things, and of course I found my old wallet. So now tomorrows task is to return the new one because I am cheap… even though it was a gift.
Just like that the phone blew up. People wanted to see me and get ahold of me. So I had a choice of plans hang out with various groups of old friends or form a bond with new people. I decided on the ladder to expand my horizons. After chilling out for an evening I was on my way back home. I have been rushing for 4 months straight and tonight on my long board sesh home was the first time I had a genuine moment of peace where I thought about nothing. It was just about pushing, a dead road, and pumping back and forth at 1am. I could not think of a better welcome home then the combination that was but together today.
Yesterdays blog is on my laptop and will be uploaded tomorrow when it is unpacked and up and running.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Back Home REDONE Oct 16 2010
I apologize in advance todays blog is all over the map because I am worried about coming home. My mind is racing and does not know what to make of the whole situation. I have had over 110days to think of this moment and now it is here.
It was a stranger feeling this morning waking up and realizing that tonight I will be sleeping in my own bed. It was also a strange feeling knowing that I would be saying goodbye to the Holland family who have taken me in for the past week. Having the stability of a family unit was a big help in detoxing me from bike touring. That being said I think I have some attachment issues because I really was not looking forward to that goodbye.
I made the conscious choice to plant a butt firmly on the coach and spend some quality time thinking while watching a full day of college football. The sporting events were a great way to distract me from my own emotions because man they are going at 110%.
I would summarize the games that I watched but really it does not matter. At the end of the day it is simply guys smashing their bodies together in a coordinated fashion. Or in the case of the auburn game bodies running down the field for touchdowns.
Now I am going to cut to the meat of the day, which came when I entered the airport. Thankfully Babs and Rich walked me in and showed me where to go because I was a little nervous of the whole getting on a plane thing. After swiftly passing through security I was in a case of hurry up and wait. There I sat for two hours with nothing to ponder but my own insanity. That mixed with the awesomeness that is airport food.
Airport food. Let me rant on that for a second. I am hungry so thinking ahead that plane food is going to be a rip-off I decide I would be smart and buy a meal before I got on the plane. So I go to a reputable name like starbucks thinking that I could get a muffin or something of that nature. Well the muffin was half the size and double the price. It left me still hungry and my wallet a little lighter. Still its better then plane food.
So there I was sitting alone in an airport terminal. It was like a scene out of a movie. Slowly people started to trickle in with loved ones in tow. It was almost as if I had this weird funk around me because for 8 seats in either direction there was no one. It was a strange feeling of loneliness; I have traveled great distances of nothingness but here surrounded by people no one wanted to be around me. Then I thought about it from the opposite side of things. This world is as lonely as you want to make it. I was infact the problem here. If I wanted to be social it was up to me to take the reins and sit next to someone and start a conversation. That is the beauty of being human we get to decide the type of life we live.
Before I knew it I saw flight 1799 pulling into the gate. Shortly thereafter I was on the plan buckled in. Now I really rolled the dice because I could select a seat for 15 extra dollars or let them choose for free. When I was waiting to board I saw a large amount of children, which did not make my chances of sitting next to an adult good.
Before I knew it I was sitting on the plane ready to roll. All worked out for the best. I have an empty seat beside me, and a nice man going to visit family in Vancouver sitting by the window. This flight also came with a very pleasant surprise. I sat in my seat minding my own business thinking about home when the stewardess pats me on the shoulder and says “good job”. Odd. I then respond with a “how did you know”? She said kindly back “we have our ways”. So whoever got that organized thank you because as I type I have a few people asking about the trip after they made a lengthy announcement via the intercom. It helping to distract me from my own thoughts of life after riding. 110 Days wiser and still asking myself the same questions, perhaps it is something I will not find the answer to. Maybe I just have to throw myself at the wall and see if I stick to something (plus one cool point for using a poo reference again). I can see my friends and family reading this going “same old Evan”.
The landing and such will be uploaded tomorrow, as I will be getting in around 11pm and home by midnight. Needless to say I will be a little tired.
Remember if life is worth living its worth recording.
It was a stranger feeling this morning waking up and realizing that tonight I will be sleeping in my own bed. It was also a strange feeling knowing that I would be saying goodbye to the Holland family who have taken me in for the past week. Having the stability of a family unit was a big help in detoxing me from bike touring. That being said I think I have some attachment issues because I really was not looking forward to that goodbye.
I made the conscious choice to plant a butt firmly on the coach and spend some quality time thinking while watching a full day of college football. The sporting events were a great way to distract me from my own emotions because man they are going at 110%.
I would summarize the games that I watched but really it does not matter. At the end of the day it is simply guys smashing their bodies together in a coordinated fashion. Or in the case of the auburn game bodies running down the field for touchdowns.
Now I am going to cut to the meat of the day, which came when I entered the airport. Thankfully Babs and Rich walked me in and showed me where to go because I was a little nervous of the whole getting on a plane thing. After swiftly passing through security I was in a case of hurry up and wait. There I sat for two hours with nothing to ponder but my own insanity. That mixed with the awesomeness that is airport food.
Airport food. Let me rant on that for a second. I am hungry so thinking ahead that plane food is going to be a rip-off I decide I would be smart and buy a meal before I got on the plane. So I go to a reputable name like starbucks thinking that I could get a muffin or something of that nature. Well the muffin was half the size and double the price. It left me still hungry and my wallet a little lighter. Still its better then plane food.
So there I was sitting alone in an airport terminal. It was like a scene out of a movie. Slowly people started to trickle in with loved ones in tow. It was almost as if I had this weird funk around me because for 8 seats in either direction there was no one. It was a strange feeling of loneliness; I have traveled great distances of nothingness but here surrounded by people no one wanted to be around me. Then I thought about it from the opposite side of things. This world is as lonely as you want to make it. I was infact the problem here. If I wanted to be social it was up to me to take the reins and sit next to someone and start a conversation. That is the beauty of being human we get to decide the type of life we live.
Before I knew it I saw flight 1799 pulling into the gate. Shortly thereafter I was on the plan buckled in. Now I really rolled the dice because I could select a seat for 15 extra dollars or let them choose for free. When I was waiting to board I saw a large amount of children, which did not make my chances of sitting next to an adult good.
Before I knew it I was sitting on the plane ready to roll. All worked out for the best. I have an empty seat beside me, and a nice man going to visit family in Vancouver sitting by the window. This flight also came with a very pleasant surprise. I sat in my seat minding my own business thinking about home when the stewardess pats me on the shoulder and says “good job”. Odd. I then respond with a “how did you know”? She said kindly back “we have our ways”. So whoever got that organized thank you because as I type I have a few people asking about the trip after they made a lengthy announcement via the intercom. It helping to distract me from my own thoughts of life after riding. 110 Days wiser and still asking myself the same questions, perhaps it is something I will not find the answer to. Maybe I just have to throw myself at the wall and see if I stick to something (plus one cool point for using a poo reference again). I can see my friends and family reading this going “same old Evan”.
The landing and such will be uploaded tomorrow, as I will be getting in around 11pm and home by midnight. Needless to say I will be a little tired.
Remember if life is worth living its worth recording.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Surf and Soufflé Oct 15 2010
Ok so lets start this over again. Yesterday was both relaxing and a little chaotic. I started off with my regular of fibre 1 and a bagel and was ready what I thought was ready for surfing. My mind had jumped the gun though because beforehand I had to go through all of my stuff and make sure I packed everything and check the weight of my bag to make sure that my weight shedding was enough. According to the scale I am going to be within a couple pounds of the limit so fingers crossed they don’t skin me for that because that would hyper blow.
Now maybe it was the fact I was in vacation mode or simply the fact I was moving slow but noon came up far to quickly. I hear rich yell from downstairs “you ready to go”. I there on my trunks and was ready to hit the road. I could tell rich had done this before simply by the little things he packed, like a jug of hot water to warm our heads up after being in the water.
By the time we got on the road my stomach was in my throat. I am not a great swimmer, the ocean is huge, and I am small a perfect combination for someone to go surfing. Rich took me to a few of the local spots to do an extended surf check. If I am honest I wanted that to go on all day because from the look of the waves it was going to be sketchy. I considered bailing and saying “so how about go karts”, but I knew this is something I had to at least try.
That brings us to the beach. It was now 2pm on a Friday and the water was littered with little black dots of people in wetsuits. I was the only one going into the water in just trunks. This fact made me a little nervous so my heart started racing more. Just the thing you want when someone is telling you “calm down and just pop up on the board”. With a chill running through my spine I said, “Lets get in the water”. Just like that I was stumbling my way over rocks with board in had. I would have felt pretty b.a. about the trunks thing but the farmers tan kinda gave away the fact that I was a complete newb.
With the first burst of whitewash in my face I was ready to go in. But for some reason I kept getting deeper and deeper, and with that the waves kept getting larger and larger. The second that I had to start diving under waves with the board it just felt strangely right. Then I turned around and realized I was only about 500 feet out to sea… ego deflated.
Now came the part where I actually had to get my butt or in this case feet on the board. Rich made it sound simple “just pop up”. And it was… on the beach. As soon as I got into the water I hit the brainfart button. From skateboarding I am used to the side to side movement but getting up and going you have the whole front and back action as well.
Needless to say getting me to surf was not an easy birthing. I never stood up for an extended period of time (more then 2 seconds, have to set the bar high you know), but I did manage to knee a few waves and only swallow roughly 15 gallons of ocean water.
When we headed in I looked down and it looked as if a shark had attacked my leg by the amount of blood gushing from me. I guess I had popped my knee scar open on a rock when I bailed. Once I was cleaned up rich headed out to get some legit surfing in. By this point I saw another bare back in the water so there was a whopping two of us. The water really was not that bad though, infact it was warmer then the air temp. At this point something weird happened. This mom and he kid pull up beside our truck and unload. In my head I was thinking awesome she is going to teach her little 2-3 year old son how to get his feet wet in surfing. When only one full sized board came out of the car I started to question my self. Then she pulled out a mat and some toys. Then came the speech “you stay right here. If someone talks to you don’t talk back”. After then talking to the people in the other car beside us she was in the water. Odd parenting but who am I to judge.
Pretty tired rich and I needed a pick me up so some delicious Mexican food from a little place called la siesta was in order. The plates were huge, and delicious. As I ate what seemed like a full plate of beans I was thinking this is going to suck later. Luckily by the time that kicked in I was taking a nap so it was only my subconscious that was getting ambushed with farts.
Before I knew it I was plunked down watching the rangers dominate the Yankees, and the canucks suck. At the intermission we set off to have a little goodbye dinner at a really cool place near south coast plaza. Before we left I decided to turn back to the Rangers game and saw the worst thing in baseball. A team blowing up. 6 unanswered runs, 3 pitchers, and 0 outs the 8th inning was looking really good for them. At that point I knew it was time to leave.
When all 4 of us pulled up to this place I felt a little out of place in shorts and sandals because it was nice. When I look at the menu I do not know what half the stuff is so I just looked over to rich and said im trusting you. My trust was well rewarded because the Mahi Mahi was amazing. Then to top it all off he ordered from what I hear is this places piece de resistance, the molten lava soufflé. Now rich is a man who loves his food so when he said, “I only want one bite” I knew I was in for a mouthgasm. Now you may ask, “is this similar to a bikegasm”. The answer is no. It is much more enjoyable. I took one bike and it was like a unicorn started dancing in my mouth with fireworks exploding chocolate in the background. With descriptions like that I should become a food critic. All I no is that it was awesome, and a prefect way to wrap up my last full day in California for now.
Now maybe it was the fact I was in vacation mode or simply the fact I was moving slow but noon came up far to quickly. I hear rich yell from downstairs “you ready to go”. I there on my trunks and was ready to hit the road. I could tell rich had done this before simply by the little things he packed, like a jug of hot water to warm our heads up after being in the water.
By the time we got on the road my stomach was in my throat. I am not a great swimmer, the ocean is huge, and I am small a perfect combination for someone to go surfing. Rich took me to a few of the local spots to do an extended surf check. If I am honest I wanted that to go on all day because from the look of the waves it was going to be sketchy. I considered bailing and saying “so how about go karts”, but I knew this is something I had to at least try.
That brings us to the beach. It was now 2pm on a Friday and the water was littered with little black dots of people in wetsuits. I was the only one going into the water in just trunks. This fact made me a little nervous so my heart started racing more. Just the thing you want when someone is telling you “calm down and just pop up on the board”. With a chill running through my spine I said, “Lets get in the water”. Just like that I was stumbling my way over rocks with board in had. I would have felt pretty b.a. about the trunks thing but the farmers tan kinda gave away the fact that I was a complete newb.
With the first burst of whitewash in my face I was ready to go in. But for some reason I kept getting deeper and deeper, and with that the waves kept getting larger and larger. The second that I had to start diving under waves with the board it just felt strangely right. Then I turned around and realized I was only about 500 feet out to sea… ego deflated.
Now came the part where I actually had to get my butt or in this case feet on the board. Rich made it sound simple “just pop up”. And it was… on the beach. As soon as I got into the water I hit the brainfart button. From skateboarding I am used to the side to side movement but getting up and going you have the whole front and back action as well.
Needless to say getting me to surf was not an easy birthing. I never stood up for an extended period of time (more then 2 seconds, have to set the bar high you know), but I did manage to knee a few waves and only swallow roughly 15 gallons of ocean water.
When we headed in I looked down and it looked as if a shark had attacked my leg by the amount of blood gushing from me. I guess I had popped my knee scar open on a rock when I bailed. Once I was cleaned up rich headed out to get some legit surfing in. By this point I saw another bare back in the water so there was a whopping two of us. The water really was not that bad though, infact it was warmer then the air temp. At this point something weird happened. This mom and he kid pull up beside our truck and unload. In my head I was thinking awesome she is going to teach her little 2-3 year old son how to get his feet wet in surfing. When only one full sized board came out of the car I started to question my self. Then she pulled out a mat and some toys. Then came the speech “you stay right here. If someone talks to you don’t talk back”. After then talking to the people in the other car beside us she was in the water. Odd parenting but who am I to judge.
Pretty tired rich and I needed a pick me up so some delicious Mexican food from a little place called la siesta was in order. The plates were huge, and delicious. As I ate what seemed like a full plate of beans I was thinking this is going to suck later. Luckily by the time that kicked in I was taking a nap so it was only my subconscious that was getting ambushed with farts.
Before I knew it I was plunked down watching the rangers dominate the Yankees, and the canucks suck. At the intermission we set off to have a little goodbye dinner at a really cool place near south coast plaza. Before we left I decided to turn back to the Rangers game and saw the worst thing in baseball. A team blowing up. 6 unanswered runs, 3 pitchers, and 0 outs the 8th inning was looking really good for them. At that point I knew it was time to leave.
When all 4 of us pulled up to this place I felt a little out of place in shorts and sandals because it was nice. When I look at the menu I do not know what half the stuff is so I just looked over to rich and said im trusting you. My trust was well rewarded because the Mahi Mahi was amazing. Then to top it all off he ordered from what I hear is this places piece de resistance, the molten lava soufflé. Now rich is a man who loves his food so when he said, “I only want one bite” I knew I was in for a mouthgasm. Now you may ask, “is this similar to a bikegasm”. The answer is no. It is much more enjoyable. I took one bike and it was like a unicorn started dancing in my mouth with fireworks exploding chocolate in the background. With descriptions like that I should become a food critic. All I no is that it was awesome, and a prefect way to wrap up my last full day in California for now.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Surfing. No I Will Take Target Oct 14 2010
Im so used to crazy days that when I went to sleep at midnight I felt obligated to wake up at 7-8 am just to make the most out of the day. So instinct told me to set my alarm and brace myself for the rude awakening that laid ahead.
When I arose eyes weeping from the harsh awakening but in a way I was glad because now I had all day to do… well nothing. And nothing I did. I spent the first 2 hours flipping through the L.A. times and various other papers that rich gets delivered. As a journalist he loves to read rather then watch the news, which I can appreciate.
After getting myself familiar with the world around me and getting some cheerio’s in my stomach I was set for the day. What was on the docket for the day you ask? Surfing. I figure no California trip would be complete without carving a few waves and showing off my wicked farmers tan. This was just a plan though and we all know how plans in my world go. It fell through. Even though the surf was good the overall weather was just not very friendly for catching as rich says “flows”. What are “flows” I can not tell you, all I know is that you want them and when you don’t have them its not a good time.
Instead after getting a quick nap in I went to go have my first target experience pronounced tar-get all French and stuff. Remember we are in Orange County here its high class. I do not know how I would give staters (the local supermarket) that same treatment.
On the way to target we listened to the grateful dead station. Which prompted a series of questions because I knew Rich was a dead head. Did they really make that many albums that they deserve a station? What was a concert like? How did one become a dead head? And so on and so forth. The music itself is not anything special in my opinion but I like it more now knowing a bit of the background behind the band. The fact that they were the number one grossing band as said by rolling stone 14 years running really tells you that it was a culture. Once at target I had to find myself a piece of luggage because there is no way that airline is going to rip me for having more baggage. I found this expandable item and made an impulse buy thinking everything would fit. Well when I stuffed everything back in wouldn’t you know it. I was right. Its tighter then a (if you know me you now then end to this statement) but it works. I did have to trim some things out so unfortunate I can not bring my old ball cream home, or my bungee cords. I can just imagine Anastasia walking into the bathroom and looking in the garbage and seeing this strange assortment of things and wonder “what happened while I was gone”?
That whole packing thing really took it out of me so I took another nap. This time I arouse and decided to go for a walk. Walking is actually an enjoyable thing when you can bend at the knees and are not barefoot on a sidewalk.
Walking aside it was time for dinner and I have to say Rich amazes me. Not only did he cook the best meal I have tasted in a long time he is a wealth of knowledge. Now I wont say this is just rich because it is a statement for people in general they amaze me. For example Babs and I were talking about some old fortune magazines from the 30’s that she was bringing over and talked of bullfighting. Without hesitation rich says that was written by earnest Hemmingway. Low and behold with that magazine in front of me it tells me it was infact written by Hemmingway. These sorts of facts just kept flowing out like a waterfall. The person who is educating me about “flows” is also giving me a history lesson. This is a crazy world.
Now while writing this blog I was chatting with an old friend lilian and she said we would have to meet and talk about the trip when I got back. I said sure whenever you can fit me in. To which she responded “well I assume you are very busy as well”. It was at that point that a switched clicked and I wrote something that just flowed.
I have learned that you can always find time for the people you care about. Things. Meetings. All that just stuff can be redone or changed, but when I was having my worst days on the road in a tent crying on an inflatable matt my friends were there for me. Whether it was a message, a voice, or just something that reminded me of that person I had those memories and people to fall back on. It was at those moments i thanked heaven i spent every second i could with them even if it ment changing some plans.
When I arose eyes weeping from the harsh awakening but in a way I was glad because now I had all day to do… well nothing. And nothing I did. I spent the first 2 hours flipping through the L.A. times and various other papers that rich gets delivered. As a journalist he loves to read rather then watch the news, which I can appreciate.
After getting myself familiar with the world around me and getting some cheerio’s in my stomach I was set for the day. What was on the docket for the day you ask? Surfing. I figure no California trip would be complete without carving a few waves and showing off my wicked farmers tan. This was just a plan though and we all know how plans in my world go. It fell through. Even though the surf was good the overall weather was just not very friendly for catching as rich says “flows”. What are “flows” I can not tell you, all I know is that you want them and when you don’t have them its not a good time.
Instead after getting a quick nap in I went to go have my first target experience pronounced tar-get all French and stuff. Remember we are in Orange County here its high class. I do not know how I would give staters (the local supermarket) that same treatment.
On the way to target we listened to the grateful dead station. Which prompted a series of questions because I knew Rich was a dead head. Did they really make that many albums that they deserve a station? What was a concert like? How did one become a dead head? And so on and so forth. The music itself is not anything special in my opinion but I like it more now knowing a bit of the background behind the band. The fact that they were the number one grossing band as said by rolling stone 14 years running really tells you that it was a culture. Once at target I had to find myself a piece of luggage because there is no way that airline is going to rip me for having more baggage. I found this expandable item and made an impulse buy thinking everything would fit. Well when I stuffed everything back in wouldn’t you know it. I was right. Its tighter then a (if you know me you now then end to this statement) but it works. I did have to trim some things out so unfortunate I can not bring my old ball cream home, or my bungee cords. I can just imagine Anastasia walking into the bathroom and looking in the garbage and seeing this strange assortment of things and wonder “what happened while I was gone”?
That whole packing thing really took it out of me so I took another nap. This time I arouse and decided to go for a walk. Walking is actually an enjoyable thing when you can bend at the knees and are not barefoot on a sidewalk.
Walking aside it was time for dinner and I have to say Rich amazes me. Not only did he cook the best meal I have tasted in a long time he is a wealth of knowledge. Now I wont say this is just rich because it is a statement for people in general they amaze me. For example Babs and I were talking about some old fortune magazines from the 30’s that she was bringing over and talked of bullfighting. Without hesitation rich says that was written by earnest Hemmingway. Low and behold with that magazine in front of me it tells me it was infact written by Hemmingway. These sorts of facts just kept flowing out like a waterfall. The person who is educating me about “flows” is also giving me a history lesson. This is a crazy world.
Now while writing this blog I was chatting with an old friend lilian and she said we would have to meet and talk about the trip when I got back. I said sure whenever you can fit me in. To which she responded “well I assume you are very busy as well”. It was at that point that a switched clicked and I wrote something that just flowed.
I have learned that you can always find time for the people you care about. Things. Meetings. All that just stuff can be redone or changed, but when I was having my worst days on the road in a tent crying on an inflatable matt my friends were there for me. Whether it was a message, a voice, or just something that reminded me of that person I had those memories and people to fall back on. It was at those moments i thanked heaven i spent every second i could with them even if it ment changing some plans.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Its Just A G Thing Oct 13 2010
So today I attempted to get up and walk to the shower. That was not happening. I have pushed it way to hard in sports that I frankly suck at. Babs comes and asks me if I wanted to come downtown today. I said “Ima be honest. I am not going to come.” I gained 20 gangster points for using the term “Ima” in a sentence. Next step is to wear a do-rag. Wait I already have that down. I cant think of anything more I need to do to become official. Maybe a backwards baseball cap is in my near future.
After hobbling up and down the stairs with laundry I was working up a good sweat. Apparently good cardio means nothing when you hurt. Thinking it would help I put on my skins but the damage had already been done so all the muscle wrapping in the would was not going to help. About the only thing that would, would be a massage from a woman with small hands. I can just picture my dad lining up the small hand jokes as he reads this.
After getting a good dose of CSI Miami I decided the Jacuzzi would be a good place for me to go. That would be a really awesome place to go if I made it there. I was on the couch about to roll off when I found a really comfortable pillow, and it fell in just that right spot that made you instantly fall asleep. Well it was amazing and when I woke up with a cat pawing at my face it reminded me of home. Little did I know twinkle was pawing at me because she needed her bowel medicine? Thank god I woke up is all I can say.
When I woke up I was ready to eat and a 2 sandwiches just were not cutting it and I needed to stretch my legs anyways so the next stop was Carl’s junior. Which if you do not know is the best fast food chain ever. I could get fat just by sitting and sniffing the air in that place. I did not tell babs about my little trip because they always eat healthy and that would not have flown well I think.
With a full stomach of bacon, burger, and a little bit more burger we set off to go pick up rich (babs’s husband). Now I don’t remember much of rich but my memories were quickly gossled free by the hello of “hey broski how are you”. I re fell in love with rich all over again. He is everything that a surfer meets fisherman meets middleaged man should be.
Right away we started catching up and it seemed as if after every one of my stories or a good play in the hockey game there would be a collection of curse words usually centring on a large f bomb. It was really a good time getting some testosterone in the house. I swear I was about to loose it (my penis) when teen mom came on and I had to be walked threw it the night before.
With that I am off to bed. This blog was pretty painful to write because I keep getting detracted by these delicious tacos rich made. I know the process to make them but it is a family secret… sorry food network.
After hobbling up and down the stairs with laundry I was working up a good sweat. Apparently good cardio means nothing when you hurt. Thinking it would help I put on my skins but the damage had already been done so all the muscle wrapping in the would was not going to help. About the only thing that would, would be a massage from a woman with small hands. I can just picture my dad lining up the small hand jokes as he reads this.
After getting a good dose of CSI Miami I decided the Jacuzzi would be a good place for me to go. That would be a really awesome place to go if I made it there. I was on the couch about to roll off when I found a really comfortable pillow, and it fell in just that right spot that made you instantly fall asleep. Well it was amazing and when I woke up with a cat pawing at my face it reminded me of home. Little did I know twinkle was pawing at me because she needed her bowel medicine? Thank god I woke up is all I can say.
When I woke up I was ready to eat and a 2 sandwiches just were not cutting it and I needed to stretch my legs anyways so the next stop was Carl’s junior. Which if you do not know is the best fast food chain ever. I could get fat just by sitting and sniffing the air in that place. I did not tell babs about my little trip because they always eat healthy and that would not have flown well I think.
With a full stomach of bacon, burger, and a little bit more burger we set off to go pick up rich (babs’s husband). Now I don’t remember much of rich but my memories were quickly gossled free by the hello of “hey broski how are you”. I re fell in love with rich all over again. He is everything that a surfer meets fisherman meets middleaged man should be.
Right away we started catching up and it seemed as if after every one of my stories or a good play in the hockey game there would be a collection of curse words usually centring on a large f bomb. It was really a good time getting some testosterone in the house. I swear I was about to loose it (my penis) when teen mom came on and I had to be walked threw it the night before.
With that I am off to bed. This blog was pretty painful to write because I keep getting detracted by these delicious tacos rich made. I know the process to make them but it is a family secret… sorry food network.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Kickboxing Kicked My Butt Oct 12 2010
When I got up this morning I was sore. My calves feel like someone stomped on them then lit them on fire. The first steps today looked as if I was an old man with sore balls. It really was not a pleasant sight. Adding to that I had the three mondo blisters on each foot from my sandals.
Before I knew it all three of us were up and moving around the house getting ready. I forgot the chaos that was involved in a woman getting ready for the day. When I take 2 trips up the stairs it seems like Anastasia was up and down at least 5-10 times.
When we set out I got a ride with Anna to babs’s workplace just across the street from the community college. It was really the first talk I have had with her in… ever. Because when I was younger I was really shy and did not say much, where as now I have busted out of my shell and am not afraid to be my weird geeky self. Even if that means coming downstairs in my bib shorts because all my other stuff was in the wash tonight. 5 minutes later Babs says to me “I laid out some shorts and a tee-shirt on your bed”. To which I said, “are you saying you don’t like the spandex”. I know this is going to sound weird but even just two days without spandex felt weird. Maybe I will become like the naked cowboy in New York, but the Vancouver naked cyclist. I think I will think on that one for… ever.
When I got dropped off I decided to go for a walk (just the thing to do with blisters). Now I was aiming for south coast plaza, which is a huge mall here in Orange County. The way I navigate is I pick a route I think is right and fallow it. Well in today’s case I was wrong. I went the complete opposite way and ended up at the beach some 6 miles away. Once I hit the beach I thought to myself “damn now I have to walk back”.
Needless to say it was a much slower walk back because the blisters were getting worse. I walked down there though so I had to climb my way out with sandals on this time. I got back and Babs went “aww ev”. Which means you’re dumb. What was not dumb was the choice I made on my walk back. I say shiny colours in a store window so I went in. There laid in front of me were a plethora of g-shock watches. I have always wanted a nice day-to-day watch so this was a perfect chance. So I say to the sales lady/ man could not tell “I have small wrists and hate the overlap of extra strap, and I want a black analog watch”. She pulls out exactly what I wanted which was a matt black, metal clasp, analog g-chock that fit amazing. I said, “Ill take it”. Then she said it was a little over $300 to which I said, “I have deep pockets but short hands. I will have to think about it”. I thought about it all the way out the door. Instead I bought deodorant.
It was time to relax though so having a nice 56 inch TV and college football in h.d. was much needed. So much so within 5 minutes I fell asleep. When I woke up I was told that I had another boxing class to go to. O great I can’t walk and now im gunna have be light as a feather on my feet.
When we got to la boxing I was not super pumped but surprisingly once I got warm it was not all that bad. It got to that point though that you could feel every muscle in your legs movement to the point that you knew it was going to hurt when you cooled down. It was fun though. So much so that I am seriously considering joining a club when I get back.
The night got even better because when I got back I saw that I had an email. It was the one I wanted to get from this gentleman selling my dream starter motorcycle, a 91 Yamaha SRX 400. It’s a beauty of a little café racer. Cheap insurance because it is in the low tax bracket, good as a commuter, and no ferrings (because the most expensive thing on the planet is Japanese plastic. Maybe I am just going crazy but I am going to get something new to me on two wheels bike or motorcycle.
Before I knew it all three of us were up and moving around the house getting ready. I forgot the chaos that was involved in a woman getting ready for the day. When I take 2 trips up the stairs it seems like Anastasia was up and down at least 5-10 times.
When we set out I got a ride with Anna to babs’s workplace just across the street from the community college. It was really the first talk I have had with her in… ever. Because when I was younger I was really shy and did not say much, where as now I have busted out of my shell and am not afraid to be my weird geeky self. Even if that means coming downstairs in my bib shorts because all my other stuff was in the wash tonight. 5 minutes later Babs says to me “I laid out some shorts and a tee-shirt on your bed”. To which I said, “are you saying you don’t like the spandex”. I know this is going to sound weird but even just two days without spandex felt weird. Maybe I will become like the naked cowboy in New York, but the Vancouver naked cyclist. I think I will think on that one for… ever.
When I got dropped off I decided to go for a walk (just the thing to do with blisters). Now I was aiming for south coast plaza, which is a huge mall here in Orange County. The way I navigate is I pick a route I think is right and fallow it. Well in today’s case I was wrong. I went the complete opposite way and ended up at the beach some 6 miles away. Once I hit the beach I thought to myself “damn now I have to walk back”.
Needless to say it was a much slower walk back because the blisters were getting worse. I walked down there though so I had to climb my way out with sandals on this time. I got back and Babs went “aww ev”. Which means you’re dumb. What was not dumb was the choice I made on my walk back. I say shiny colours in a store window so I went in. There laid in front of me were a plethora of g-shock watches. I have always wanted a nice day-to-day watch so this was a perfect chance. So I say to the sales lady/ man could not tell “I have small wrists and hate the overlap of extra strap, and I want a black analog watch”. She pulls out exactly what I wanted which was a matt black, metal clasp, analog g-chock that fit amazing. I said, “Ill take it”. Then she said it was a little over $300 to which I said, “I have deep pockets but short hands. I will have to think about it”. I thought about it all the way out the door. Instead I bought deodorant.
It was time to relax though so having a nice 56 inch TV and college football in h.d. was much needed. So much so within 5 minutes I fell asleep. When I woke up I was told that I had another boxing class to go to. O great I can’t walk and now im gunna have be light as a feather on my feet.
When we got to la boxing I was not super pumped but surprisingly once I got warm it was not all that bad. It got to that point though that you could feel every muscle in your legs movement to the point that you knew it was going to hurt when you cooled down. It was fun though. So much so that I am seriously considering joining a club when I get back.
The night got even better because when I got back I saw that I had an email. It was the one I wanted to get from this gentleman selling my dream starter motorcycle, a 91 Yamaha SRX 400. It’s a beauty of a little café racer. Cheap insurance because it is in the low tax bracket, good as a commuter, and no ferrings (because the most expensive thing on the planet is Japanese plastic. Maybe I am just going crazy but I am going to get something new to me on two wheels bike or motorcycle.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Is That Yours? Oct 11 2010
I woke up this morning and my butt was sore. I don’t know how a padded seat on a jet ski hurt my butt more then a leather saddle but it sure did. If I were to make a bet it would be from hitting the wakes at 40mph.
The simple things that change are sometimes the most refreshing. Today for example I got the chance to take a shower in the morning instead of having to take one after the ride and before I go to sleep. It really sets you up right for the day.
Today I got my chore out the way early. Today I had to get my bike boxed up so the first task was to find a shop. Next was to see how far away it was because once I got rid of my bike I had to walk back. Well turns out the closest shop was 3.5 miles away so that meant a 3.5 mile walk back in sandals.
When I arrived I was surprised because the shop actually looked very nice, but the brands they carried were extremely odd. Half the floor was dedicated to 24 inch bmx bikes then the other half was dominated by b rated carbon road bikes. This was no problem though because I got the chance to try out many brands of helmets to see which I want to invest in when I get back because my atmos is falling apart. Turns out the Giro is the most comfortable with the Lazer helmet coming a close second.
After leaving almost immediately I felt blisters starting to form on my feet so I stripped my sandals off and continued on bare foot. A 3-mile walk barefoot on the warm pavement of California turned out to be a very… freeing experience. For .000001 second I contemplated walking across Canada barefoot as the next big task. Then I thought if I were to do that how mangled my feet would be for life.
When I got back I immediately soaked my feet because they were mangled. I have to say any time that I am extremely dirty it is so rewarding to watch that sick mess wash down the drain. But I was not still for long because Babs stormed in and said we were going to lunch on the beach.
After a short ride there we were in a state park along the old bungalows of the beach. Snuggled in these bungalows is a little place called the beachcomber? It had a beautiful view of the ocean that was unbeatable so I thought it fitting to order the fish and chips. While we were waiting we wanted to open up the glass slat board window. I tried and promptly gave up because it was not working. Babs then tries to jimmy it and one of the 2 foot glass panels falls on the table and makes a huge sound. Everyone looks at us with this strange look on their faces and we have nothing to say. Instead of speaking we both just burst out laughing, to the point that babs was actually crying. Then to top it all off out server (who was extremely weird) comes over and asks, “Is that yours” as she pointed to the glass plate on the table. That was easily the highlight of the lunch.
Again once we got back we were not still for long as babs had planned for me to go to a kickboxing class with her. I was a little hesitant at first thinking it was going to be all middle-aged women and I would be the only young guy there. But when we came up on LA Boxing I was surprised when I saw everything from professional fighters, to elderly people, to young girls. It was a killer workout. Almost latterly because I opened up the scar tissue on my knee so I was bleeding all over the place, and my feet blisters I could feel getting worse. It was so much fun though throwing punches, knees, and getting a good amount of leg kicks in. Once I finished the workout I was a sweaty mess that was sore as heck. I am so used to riding that incorporating core, and upper body into a workout really shows my weaknesses. Only once I was back home did I realize that I bruised both of my shins. I guess my legs kick hard but my shins are not used to the abuse. Still I would say it was worth it and I would defiantly go back.
I could think of no better way to end a solid day then watching some dancing with the d list and eating some tacos.
The simple things that change are sometimes the most refreshing. Today for example I got the chance to take a shower in the morning instead of having to take one after the ride and before I go to sleep. It really sets you up right for the day.
Today I got my chore out the way early. Today I had to get my bike boxed up so the first task was to find a shop. Next was to see how far away it was because once I got rid of my bike I had to walk back. Well turns out the closest shop was 3.5 miles away so that meant a 3.5 mile walk back in sandals.
When I arrived I was surprised because the shop actually looked very nice, but the brands they carried were extremely odd. Half the floor was dedicated to 24 inch bmx bikes then the other half was dominated by b rated carbon road bikes. This was no problem though because I got the chance to try out many brands of helmets to see which I want to invest in when I get back because my atmos is falling apart. Turns out the Giro is the most comfortable with the Lazer helmet coming a close second.
After leaving almost immediately I felt blisters starting to form on my feet so I stripped my sandals off and continued on bare foot. A 3-mile walk barefoot on the warm pavement of California turned out to be a very… freeing experience. For .000001 second I contemplated walking across Canada barefoot as the next big task. Then I thought if I were to do that how mangled my feet would be for life.
When I got back I immediately soaked my feet because they were mangled. I have to say any time that I am extremely dirty it is so rewarding to watch that sick mess wash down the drain. But I was not still for long because Babs stormed in and said we were going to lunch on the beach.
After a short ride there we were in a state park along the old bungalows of the beach. Snuggled in these bungalows is a little place called the beachcomber? It had a beautiful view of the ocean that was unbeatable so I thought it fitting to order the fish and chips. While we were waiting we wanted to open up the glass slat board window. I tried and promptly gave up because it was not working. Babs then tries to jimmy it and one of the 2 foot glass panels falls on the table and makes a huge sound. Everyone looks at us with this strange look on their faces and we have nothing to say. Instead of speaking we both just burst out laughing, to the point that babs was actually crying. Then to top it all off out server (who was extremely weird) comes over and asks, “Is that yours” as she pointed to the glass plate on the table. That was easily the highlight of the lunch.
Again once we got back we were not still for long as babs had planned for me to go to a kickboxing class with her. I was a little hesitant at first thinking it was going to be all middle-aged women and I would be the only young guy there. But when we came up on LA Boxing I was surprised when I saw everything from professional fighters, to elderly people, to young girls. It was a killer workout. Almost latterly because I opened up the scar tissue on my knee so I was bleeding all over the place, and my feet blisters I could feel getting worse. It was so much fun though throwing punches, knees, and getting a good amount of leg kicks in. Once I finished the workout I was a sweaty mess that was sore as heck. I am so used to riding that incorporating core, and upper body into a workout really shows my weaknesses. Only once I was back home did I realize that I bruised both of my shins. I guess my legs kick hard but my shins are not used to the abuse. Still I would say it was worth it and I would defiantly go back.
I could think of no better way to end a solid day then watching some dancing with the d list and eating some tacos.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
The Best Way To Die Is On A Jetski
Waking up to the smell of something other then your own farts is sure something different. Eating something other then oatmeal in the morning is sure something different. Living a semi normal life is sure something different.
I have to say though I am a little bit in culture shock. I am so used to being by myself and on my own schedule that making plans with other people is for lack of a better term weird. Trying to make 6 peoples schedules work to go jet skiing was a task as large as riding a bike 100 miles, possibly 150 when 4 of the 6 people were women.
Anastasia (babs and Richs daughter who I am stay with) brought over 3 of her friends. This is the first time I have been around people my age in 4 months. Now in general I have always felt like an outsider just because I look at things a little bit differently, but today that was made even more apparent to me. I mean I was still having conversations with them and trying to be social but I am as it stands right now socially retarded. All I can talk about is the ride, and all I think about is the ride. I can still come up with the odd saucy comment but it just is not as easy as it once was.
When we all made our way down to the beach I asked if we should have brought wetsuits to which drew (one of the friends) said, “wetsuits are for Canadian waters”. Drew was quite a character. He is the type of person that you would use his name as an adjective. At one point of the ride home he says to babs “pull over I think I am going to throw up”. Which he did, but no one seemed surprised so I think you could call that situation a drew.
Once in the water on the Jet Ski m nerves were going because I did not know what to expect. When I first grabbed the throttle it almost threw abs and me off the ski because it was so responsive. Now I am a guy and you give me the sea equivalent of a sports car im going to go all out. After hitting 54mph on the water, and doing some wicked awesome turns I was feeling confident so I handed over the controls to babs who took it a little easier then me. When we switched back I hit the gas made a sharp turn right into a wake doing about 34mph, which then flung both of us into the air doing 360’s in the air. I hit the water headfirst and babs hit her head on something because her head was swollen immediately. We were only 20 mins in and already had a near death experience, that’s how you can tell it is going to be a good day.
Now we all live busy lives so I really appreciate these people taking some time out of there’s to make one of mine come true. That being said everyone split off pretty quick so that left babs and I to have a quick nap and go out for a drive around. She showed me all the beaches and even took me for a stroll along the Huntington Beach pier, as the sun set it was really awesome. It was nice to see happy people everyone holding hands and hugging as the sun set all while a homeless man played bad renditions of bob Dillon songs.
By this time I was getting tired because it was past my 7pm bedtime so we ended up going out to dinner. Even better one of the friends from earlier in the day decided to come. I cant even remember what the conversations were about but that is half the fun in getting to know new people… even though I think they think I am extremely weird. Even I think I am a little weird, I mean once I got rid of my food today all of my stuff fit into 3 bags comfortably. It is strange to think I lived off that for so long.
I have to say though I am a little bit in culture shock. I am so used to being by myself and on my own schedule that making plans with other people is for lack of a better term weird. Trying to make 6 peoples schedules work to go jet skiing was a task as large as riding a bike 100 miles, possibly 150 when 4 of the 6 people were women.
Anastasia (babs and Richs daughter who I am stay with) brought over 3 of her friends. This is the first time I have been around people my age in 4 months. Now in general I have always felt like an outsider just because I look at things a little bit differently, but today that was made even more apparent to me. I mean I was still having conversations with them and trying to be social but I am as it stands right now socially retarded. All I can talk about is the ride, and all I think about is the ride. I can still come up with the odd saucy comment but it just is not as easy as it once was.
When we all made our way down to the beach I asked if we should have brought wetsuits to which drew (one of the friends) said, “wetsuits are for Canadian waters”. Drew was quite a character. He is the type of person that you would use his name as an adjective. At one point of the ride home he says to babs “pull over I think I am going to throw up”. Which he did, but no one seemed surprised so I think you could call that situation a drew.
Once in the water on the Jet Ski m nerves were going because I did not know what to expect. When I first grabbed the throttle it almost threw abs and me off the ski because it was so responsive. Now I am a guy and you give me the sea equivalent of a sports car im going to go all out. After hitting 54mph on the water, and doing some wicked awesome turns I was feeling confident so I handed over the controls to babs who took it a little easier then me. When we switched back I hit the gas made a sharp turn right into a wake doing about 34mph, which then flung both of us into the air doing 360’s in the air. I hit the water headfirst and babs hit her head on something because her head was swollen immediately. We were only 20 mins in and already had a near death experience, that’s how you can tell it is going to be a good day.
Now we all live busy lives so I really appreciate these people taking some time out of there’s to make one of mine come true. That being said everyone split off pretty quick so that left babs and I to have a quick nap and go out for a drive around. She showed me all the beaches and even took me for a stroll along the Huntington Beach pier, as the sun set it was really awesome. It was nice to see happy people everyone holding hands and hugging as the sun set all while a homeless man played bad renditions of bob Dillon songs.
By this time I was getting tired because it was past my 7pm bedtime so we ended up going out to dinner. Even better one of the friends from earlier in the day decided to come. I cant even remember what the conversations were about but that is half the fun in getting to know new people… even though I think they think I am extremely weird. Even I think I am a little weird, I mean once I got rid of my food today all of my stuff fit into 3 bags comfortably. It is strange to think I lived off that for so long.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Tour Day 106 The End Oct 10 2010
Last night I was down in the dumps because in all honesty I did not feel like I had accomplished all that much. Now I usually pack my life up at night and get on the road early in the morning but for some reason I decided to sleep in this morning and unpack a few of my things and check my emails. When I checked my blog I was quickly brought down to earth by the amazing people who are in my life. It really meant a lot to wake up t have people assuring me that I was doing the right thing.
Now as much as having other people say it was the right thing I still was not convinced myself. So I left with thoughts of the future in my head. Right after passing angles stadium I got onto the Santa Anna bike path. This bike path was crazy full with cyclists. Now me being hyper competitive I would not let people pass me without a fight. This would be all fine and dandy if I did not get into a pissing match with a hyper distance racer. George of georgesepicadventures.com is a pretty amazing guy. He has completed the R.A.A.M. and multiple 500-mile races. When I asked jokingly if he wanted to trade bike he confronted me with a very serious “yes”. We were at two different stages of our cycling careers. He wants to tour long and slow. I want to race long and fast. I do not think it is a coincidence that I met this man on the last day of my ride.
It is also is not a coincidence that 5 kilometres down the road I ran into a man with bags strapped to his bike. After catching up to this guy I asked him where we has going, and he said just around the block for a day to shake out his gear. This man is thinking of doing a long distance tour of America so I offered him what little advice I had. I almost felt as if this was a symbolic passing of the torch.
After talking for a while I promptly missed all of my turns that I had planned out, but fortunately my new route took me right along the water for my symbolic wheel dunking. When I got to Laguna Beach I decided that this was going to be the finishing point. So after struggling to get my bike down the white sandy beach and answering multiple questions I found the most beautiful woman on the beach and approached he asking if I could get my picture taken of the wheel dipping. Even better Stephanie just so happened to be a very good photographer and managed to take a few very good photos that made me look like the stud that I am.
After that I was back on the road and I had the task of trying to find a house that I had not been to since I was 9 years old. I had directions but me being stubborn I was dead set on finding it by gut. This actually got me pretty close but I did need the directions for the last stretch.
Well 66km later I am here. With family enjoying having company for a change. It is nice having someone around for more then a couple hours. After getting a good nap in today I am ready to go jet skiing tomorrow.
Well thanks to everyone for reading I will still be posting my daily journal but I will no longer have stories of running into strangers in the desert, or endless flats. The blog will be more about the day-to-day life of a normal 18-year-old boy.
Trip Distance: 66km
Ride Time: 2:53hr
Avg. Speed: 22.76km/h
Total Distance: 15777km
Total Ride Time: 731hr
Destination: Laguna Hills, California
Now as much as having other people say it was the right thing I still was not convinced myself. So I left with thoughts of the future in my head. Right after passing angles stadium I got onto the Santa Anna bike path. This bike path was crazy full with cyclists. Now me being hyper competitive I would not let people pass me without a fight. This would be all fine and dandy if I did not get into a pissing match with a hyper distance racer. George of georgesepicadventures.com is a pretty amazing guy. He has completed the R.A.A.M. and multiple 500-mile races. When I asked jokingly if he wanted to trade bike he confronted me with a very serious “yes”. We were at two different stages of our cycling careers. He wants to tour long and slow. I want to race long and fast. I do not think it is a coincidence that I met this man on the last day of my ride.
It is also is not a coincidence that 5 kilometres down the road I ran into a man with bags strapped to his bike. After catching up to this guy I asked him where we has going, and he said just around the block for a day to shake out his gear. This man is thinking of doing a long distance tour of America so I offered him what little advice I had. I almost felt as if this was a symbolic passing of the torch.
After talking for a while I promptly missed all of my turns that I had planned out, but fortunately my new route took me right along the water for my symbolic wheel dunking. When I got to Laguna Beach I decided that this was going to be the finishing point. So after struggling to get my bike down the white sandy beach and answering multiple questions I found the most beautiful woman on the beach and approached he asking if I could get my picture taken of the wheel dipping. Even better Stephanie just so happened to be a very good photographer and managed to take a few very good photos that made me look like the stud that I am.
After that I was back on the road and I had the task of trying to find a house that I had not been to since I was 9 years old. I had directions but me being stubborn I was dead set on finding it by gut. This actually got me pretty close but I did need the directions for the last stretch.
Well 66km later I am here. With family enjoying having company for a change. It is nice having someone around for more then a couple hours. After getting a good nap in today I am ready to go jet skiing tomorrow.
Well thanks to everyone for reading I will still be posting my daily journal but I will no longer have stories of running into strangers in the desert, or endless flats. The blog will be more about the day-to-day life of a normal 18-year-old boy.
Trip Distance: 66km
Ride Time: 2:53hr
Avg. Speed: 22.76km/h
Total Distance: 15777km
Total Ride Time: 731hr
Destination: Laguna Hills, California
Friday, October 8, 2010
Tour Day 105 Save the Worst For Last Oct 8 2010
Last night was amazing. After I finished my blog I went outside to meet the other bike tourists. When I came out I saw a recumbent, and a couple guys sitting in lawn chairs one of which was holding a beer. Right away I knew these people were going to be my type.
Before I am going to go any further I am going to get upset. I wrote down there names on a piece of paper because I knew I was going to forget. Also on this piece of paper was a poem I wrote in a semi daze after waking up in the middle of the night. But the way my day is going of course it is missing. If you want to check them out go to transam2010.blogspot.com
We talked and talked; it was mainly me doing the talking because I have had so much time to myself. I was just happy to have someone around with open ears. It also helped that we were in the bar for most of the time and they had a few margaritas.
I went to sleep happier then I had been in a long time. These guys were super nice, and took care of me for my final push by giving me a pair of gloves and a do rag (because they were concerned with the sun burn on my head and the huge calluses on my palms). In the back of my mind I was thinking of a better way I could say goodbye because just saying, “see yea” has been bugging me. This time I wrote a nice note that I posted on the window of their support van with a toonie. This toonie had been with me since day one and has seen a lot road. It meant a lot to me so I hope that meaning was transferred properly in a note.
As for today it was easily the worst day of the tour. It all started nice with a steady downhill passing through a few small towns. Then I had a nice easy ride into a town called Parker. Things were going smooth so I decided to stop for a snack. During my snack break I purchased a map. This map was the biggest hunk of garbage ever. I opened it and all it showed me were the interstates and had no markers of county line, side roads, or homestead watering holes. I went to return it and explained that it was a hunk of junk but they would not return it.
Because this upset me I threw it out in the garbage right in front of them and I was back off on the road. This is when I hit the real desert. Hot, dry, dusty, and rough roads. I am not sure if it was something I ate or if it was the heat but I started to throw up. I could not keep anything down. Because I knew I was loosing a lot of water in my system I stopped at this one gas station 10 miles before my lunch stop in Rice. Here I met a group of very nice women that were curious about the trip. I did not have many answers for them though because I was toasted.
After getting some water, Gatorade, and some food in my body I thought I could get riding again. Nope here comes the diarrhoea. This gas station was strange because they charged you to use the washroom but I was in no mood to poo my chamois so I forked over the whopping $1.
I was back on the road and my mind started to wonder. I could not focus on anything because it just made me angry. I thought about wind only to have it come in my face. I thought about speed only to encounter a false flat. I thought about lunch in Rice and found an abandoned town that had a demolished gas station, and a 150metre fence lined with old shoes.
Now 1/3rd into this 109-mile gap (after riding 70km to get into the gap) I am on the verge of screaming. The only thing holding me back was the fact that no one would hear me. The only option was to keep riding. It was slow going so I went to put my bike in the middle chain ring to grind out some kilometres when my front derailleur cable snapped off inside the shifter. I rode a little while thinking I could finish the 60miles in my small chain ring but I quickly realized I was done for the day.
Stranded in the desert on a side road perfect. After trying to get help for 15 minutes I was ready to give up. Luckily Garry Wilson pulled up and said that he would help me out. Everything seemed normal because Garry drove a beat up pickup truck, with a woman in the passenger seat, and the traditional 60-year-old man gut. Even better no guns to move. What was not normal was Garry himself. This quiet 60-year-old man played major league baseball for the whitesox and bluejays, and owns a top fuel drag racing team. My mind was racing because I did not know which one I had more questions about.
The miles ticked by and Garry says to me “29 palms to L.A. is going to be a crappy ride because the only decent way is by interstate.” I say to him “I am going to Orange County eventually so what would be the best way”. Garry says, “I am going to Orange County what a ride”.
At this point I am cooked so I agreed. I really was not taking in much of the scenery because I had a pounding headache and was trying not to crap my pants. So when the motel came I was excited.
Now in L.A. I was hoping for a storybook ending that never happened. Did I meet 16000km. Nope. Did I meet my 150km per day goal. Nope. Am I upset and letting it show in my blog. Yeap.
One of my friends Corey asked me why I was not going up the west coast back to Vancouver and I gave him a long cliché answer. The truth is the reason I am ending the trip here is because when I dreamed up this trip in grade 10 I originally only wanted to hit st.johns and New Orleans. The rest was simply filler. When I stopped in with Tami in Connecticut I told one of here family members I was thinking of ending in New Orleans or Austin and he said, “sometimes the filler is the most fun”. Well the filler is not fun anymore and I think that hitting rain, super short days, and possible ice may just push me over the edge and create one murdered bike. The real question I have to answer is will I be disappointed in coming home? I do not have the answer to that one yet but I think after spending some time with family for the next few days I will have an answer.
Anyways I am off to go sit on the porcelain goddess for the rest of my night. Remember if life is worth living its worth recording.
Trip Distance: 144km
Ride Time: 6:14hr
Avg. Speed: 23.07km/h
Total Distance: 15711km
Total Ride Time: 728hr
Destination: Anaheim, California
Before I am going to go any further I am going to get upset. I wrote down there names on a piece of paper because I knew I was going to forget. Also on this piece of paper was a poem I wrote in a semi daze after waking up in the middle of the night. But the way my day is going of course it is missing. If you want to check them out go to transam2010.blogspot.com
We talked and talked; it was mainly me doing the talking because I have had so much time to myself. I was just happy to have someone around with open ears. It also helped that we were in the bar for most of the time and they had a few margaritas.
I went to sleep happier then I had been in a long time. These guys were super nice, and took care of me for my final push by giving me a pair of gloves and a do rag (because they were concerned with the sun burn on my head and the huge calluses on my palms). In the back of my mind I was thinking of a better way I could say goodbye because just saying, “see yea” has been bugging me. This time I wrote a nice note that I posted on the window of their support van with a toonie. This toonie had been with me since day one and has seen a lot road. It meant a lot to me so I hope that meaning was transferred properly in a note.
As for today it was easily the worst day of the tour. It all started nice with a steady downhill passing through a few small towns. Then I had a nice easy ride into a town called Parker. Things were going smooth so I decided to stop for a snack. During my snack break I purchased a map. This map was the biggest hunk of garbage ever. I opened it and all it showed me were the interstates and had no markers of county line, side roads, or homestead watering holes. I went to return it and explained that it was a hunk of junk but they would not return it.
Because this upset me I threw it out in the garbage right in front of them and I was back off on the road. This is when I hit the real desert. Hot, dry, dusty, and rough roads. I am not sure if it was something I ate or if it was the heat but I started to throw up. I could not keep anything down. Because I knew I was loosing a lot of water in my system I stopped at this one gas station 10 miles before my lunch stop in Rice. Here I met a group of very nice women that were curious about the trip. I did not have many answers for them though because I was toasted.
After getting some water, Gatorade, and some food in my body I thought I could get riding again. Nope here comes the diarrhoea. This gas station was strange because they charged you to use the washroom but I was in no mood to poo my chamois so I forked over the whopping $1.
I was back on the road and my mind started to wonder. I could not focus on anything because it just made me angry. I thought about wind only to have it come in my face. I thought about speed only to encounter a false flat. I thought about lunch in Rice and found an abandoned town that had a demolished gas station, and a 150metre fence lined with old shoes.
Now 1/3rd into this 109-mile gap (after riding 70km to get into the gap) I am on the verge of screaming. The only thing holding me back was the fact that no one would hear me. The only option was to keep riding. It was slow going so I went to put my bike in the middle chain ring to grind out some kilometres when my front derailleur cable snapped off inside the shifter. I rode a little while thinking I could finish the 60miles in my small chain ring but I quickly realized I was done for the day.
Stranded in the desert on a side road perfect. After trying to get help for 15 minutes I was ready to give up. Luckily Garry Wilson pulled up and said that he would help me out. Everything seemed normal because Garry drove a beat up pickup truck, with a woman in the passenger seat, and the traditional 60-year-old man gut. Even better no guns to move. What was not normal was Garry himself. This quiet 60-year-old man played major league baseball for the whitesox and bluejays, and owns a top fuel drag racing team. My mind was racing because I did not know which one I had more questions about.
The miles ticked by and Garry says to me “29 palms to L.A. is going to be a crappy ride because the only decent way is by interstate.” I say to him “I am going to Orange County eventually so what would be the best way”. Garry says, “I am going to Orange County what a ride”.
At this point I am cooked so I agreed. I really was not taking in much of the scenery because I had a pounding headache and was trying not to crap my pants. So when the motel came I was excited.
Now in L.A. I was hoping for a storybook ending that never happened. Did I meet 16000km. Nope. Did I meet my 150km per day goal. Nope. Am I upset and letting it show in my blog. Yeap.
One of my friends Corey asked me why I was not going up the west coast back to Vancouver and I gave him a long cliché answer. The truth is the reason I am ending the trip here is because when I dreamed up this trip in grade 10 I originally only wanted to hit st.johns and New Orleans. The rest was simply filler. When I stopped in with Tami in Connecticut I told one of here family members I was thinking of ending in New Orleans or Austin and he said, “sometimes the filler is the most fun”. Well the filler is not fun anymore and I think that hitting rain, super short days, and possible ice may just push me over the edge and create one murdered bike. The real question I have to answer is will I be disappointed in coming home? I do not have the answer to that one yet but I think after spending some time with family for the next few days I will have an answer.
Anyways I am off to go sit on the porcelain goddess for the rest of my night. Remember if life is worth living its worth recording.
Trip Distance: 144km
Ride Time: 6:14hr
Avg. Speed: 23.07km/h
Total Distance: 15711km
Total Ride Time: 728hr
Destination: Anaheim, California
Tour Day 104 Last State In Sight Oct 7 2010
I could not sleep last night. I just laid there thinking. Im not even sure what was racing through my mind because it was all over the map. One minute I was attempting to write poetry the next I was thinking about my cat.
Because I did not get much sleep when my alarm sounded today I did not want to get up. I turned the alarm off and shut my eyes. Today was going to be a rest day. 5 minutes later I was up and making breakfast. I figured I was up so why not get out riding. Surprisingly even with my morning hiccup I was still out the door ahead of schedule.
My expectations were low for the first 38 miles because I was informed that the construction lasted that length. Fortunately I was miss informed and the construction only lasted 5 miles. After that I had a brand new wide shoulder that saved my butt and my legs for a little while. This was important because my legs were cooked and just were not getting warmed up. Adding to this I knew that I had a small 1200foot climb ahead of me.
When I started to climb my legs came into there own. After passing a group of roadies who were not very friendly I was in Wickenburg. Wickenburg is a funny city because there is not one young person in it. When I went to get some groceries I was getting looked at as if I had boils growing from my face. Speaking of which from wearing my helmet so long I have indentations on my head. Now I did not need groceries but I have learned from traveling west that you never roll this dice and hope for things, you go wit what you have.
Getting back on the road I thought I was going to have a decent. Instead I had a little bit more climbing that lead me to this wide-open valley. You could see down the road for miles, which is awesome, if you have a tailwind, but as with most days I had a slight headwind so I just had to keep hammering. I was thinking about the terrain and was confused. Whenever I think of flats I think of sea level. Where as here I am on a flat that is raised at 2000 feet. It is just a strange thing to think about.
As with any day that’s fairly flat you have way too much time to think about everything that surrounds you. Today was no exception. I was looking at the sand shoulder and was left amazed by the amount of bottles that laid in them. It was so shocking that I stopped to take a picture. At one point in a about a 2 metre square area I counter over 12 bottles. If we were in a city that would not be so shocking but the fact is I was in the middle of nowhere. Does this mean I should be concerted with every car coming up from behind me for fear that they are drunk?
With hydration in mind I stopped in at a strange little town. It had three buildings and two of them had groups of people just loitering in front of them. The only one that did not had a woman sweeping the sand swept porch. I pulled in and asked to use the washroom and was met by another woman who did not speak any English so in order to find the unmarked bathroom I had to make a poo’ing and pee’ing gesture, which is as unpleasant as it sounds. When I found the bathroom I had to laugh at the layout. Right in the middle of this bathroom was the toilet (I guess if you wanted a 360 degree view of nothing) then mounted high one the wall was the sink. If you wanted paper towel that was on the opposite side of the door.
By this point it was starting to get warm so I was glad I had water in the tank. With my music blasting I saw this semi on the horizon. As it got closer I saw it pull into my lane. Now im thinking “great another a hole like in Manitoba”. So I was pleasantly surprised when he pulled back into his own lane. Once back in his lane it revealed something strange.. a bike tourist. On this side road in Arizona where cars are sparse two tourists meet up. After getting a nice conversation in and talking about routes, warning each other of dried up homesteads and big hills we parted ways. I had only 15 miles left at 12:30 because I did not stop for lunch.
When I got into the town I stopped. When I stopped in at the less sketchy of the two motels I was again surprised when I saw a motor home with a trailer, and an empty 5-bike rack. More tourists. As I type this I haven’t met this fresh batch of tourists yet because they are still out riding while I relax here with ice cream in hand. That is the beauty of starting my ride before the sun gets up.
Now I am a firm believer in fate because after talking to these two groups I have learned that I am allowed on the interstate at certain points, which means I may change my route to eliminate my 80-mile detour.
Trip Distance: 149km
Ride Time: 6:43hr
Avg. Speed: 22.21km/h
Total Distance: 15567km
Total Ride Time: 721hr
Destination: Salome, Arizona
Because I did not get much sleep when my alarm sounded today I did not want to get up. I turned the alarm off and shut my eyes. Today was going to be a rest day. 5 minutes later I was up and making breakfast. I figured I was up so why not get out riding. Surprisingly even with my morning hiccup I was still out the door ahead of schedule.
My expectations were low for the first 38 miles because I was informed that the construction lasted that length. Fortunately I was miss informed and the construction only lasted 5 miles. After that I had a brand new wide shoulder that saved my butt and my legs for a little while. This was important because my legs were cooked and just were not getting warmed up. Adding to this I knew that I had a small 1200foot climb ahead of me.
When I started to climb my legs came into there own. After passing a group of roadies who were not very friendly I was in Wickenburg. Wickenburg is a funny city because there is not one young person in it. When I went to get some groceries I was getting looked at as if I had boils growing from my face. Speaking of which from wearing my helmet so long I have indentations on my head. Now I did not need groceries but I have learned from traveling west that you never roll this dice and hope for things, you go wit what you have.
Getting back on the road I thought I was going to have a decent. Instead I had a little bit more climbing that lead me to this wide-open valley. You could see down the road for miles, which is awesome, if you have a tailwind, but as with most days I had a slight headwind so I just had to keep hammering. I was thinking about the terrain and was confused. Whenever I think of flats I think of sea level. Where as here I am on a flat that is raised at 2000 feet. It is just a strange thing to think about.
As with any day that’s fairly flat you have way too much time to think about everything that surrounds you. Today was no exception. I was looking at the sand shoulder and was left amazed by the amount of bottles that laid in them. It was so shocking that I stopped to take a picture. At one point in a about a 2 metre square area I counter over 12 bottles. If we were in a city that would not be so shocking but the fact is I was in the middle of nowhere. Does this mean I should be concerted with every car coming up from behind me for fear that they are drunk?
With hydration in mind I stopped in at a strange little town. It had three buildings and two of them had groups of people just loitering in front of them. The only one that did not had a woman sweeping the sand swept porch. I pulled in and asked to use the washroom and was met by another woman who did not speak any English so in order to find the unmarked bathroom I had to make a poo’ing and pee’ing gesture, which is as unpleasant as it sounds. When I found the bathroom I had to laugh at the layout. Right in the middle of this bathroom was the toilet (I guess if you wanted a 360 degree view of nothing) then mounted high one the wall was the sink. If you wanted paper towel that was on the opposite side of the door.
By this point it was starting to get warm so I was glad I had water in the tank. With my music blasting I saw this semi on the horizon. As it got closer I saw it pull into my lane. Now im thinking “great another a hole like in Manitoba”. So I was pleasantly surprised when he pulled back into his own lane. Once back in his lane it revealed something strange.. a bike tourist. On this side road in Arizona where cars are sparse two tourists meet up. After getting a nice conversation in and talking about routes, warning each other of dried up homesteads and big hills we parted ways. I had only 15 miles left at 12:30 because I did not stop for lunch.
When I got into the town I stopped. When I stopped in at the less sketchy of the two motels I was again surprised when I saw a motor home with a trailer, and an empty 5-bike rack. More tourists. As I type this I haven’t met this fresh batch of tourists yet because they are still out riding while I relax here with ice cream in hand. That is the beauty of starting my ride before the sun gets up.
Now I am a firm believer in fate because after talking to these two groups I have learned that I am allowed on the interstate at certain points, which means I may change my route to eliminate my 80-mile detour.
Trip Distance: 149km
Ride Time: 6:43hr
Avg. Speed: 22.21km/h
Total Distance: 15567km
Total Ride Time: 721hr
Destination: Salome, Arizona
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Tour Day 103 Starting To Close A Book Oct 6 2010
Trying to sleep last night was a tough thing to do. My mind has been racing and eating me alive. With less than 500 miles to go till I hit the water I am having a tough time thinking about the end. I was thinking what to do after the trip, but then I got to thinking why I did this in the first place. For 102 days I have been trying to convince myself that it is for personal growth, but the fact of the matter is this trip was an escape. A chance to run away. It is hard for me to come to terms with but this is the end of a not only a chapter but an entire book in my life.
What am I running away from? I am running away from the future because I do not know what it holds for me. I have only thought about life up till this point and no further. The truth is the reason I decided to continue from st. Johns, Miami, and Austin is because im scared.
That brings me to another point that has really been eating at me. When I tell people about the trip 9 people have given me a response that has left me… dumbfounded. When I say I am riding for a hospital they have said “what did you have cancer or something”? Why is it to do something amazing I have to be affected by something? Why can’t someone normal undertake a huge task? Then why is it at this age we are so scared to be normal? Is normal going to university? If so am I not normal? I have so many questions that I cannot answer. It helps to write this all down even if it does not make any sense because it is just what my mind is thinking.
Thinking about the past I got to thinking about my childhood and what memories have stuck with me. When I think back 4 events stick out. The first was riding with my dad down to the duck pond with a bag of bread and feeding the ducks. That pond seemed so far away on my little bike but when I ride it now it is only 3km away.
The next was getting my 24inch wheel bike. I remember that we went into this little shop in the middle of nowhere and there right in front of us was a black with that 90’s splatter paint pink paint job. I remember my dad asking “do you like it”? Even at that young age I remember thinking “damn its pink”. But to appease everyone I blindly agreed. No matter the colour I rode this pee out of that bike.
After that came my first attempt at mountain biking. We were up riding burke mountain on my trek 4300. My first adult bike that we got from my Keith (a family friends) basement. I fell multiple times and I kept hearing “get you butt back”. I heard those words but never really put it into practice. I kept falling and kept getting more and more frustrated. Mid way through the trail dripping in blood from numerous flesh wounds I started to cry. This was the point I hung up my bike for and extended period of time. Until I started to work at Westwood cycle. I have never thanked Glen and Kelly but after looking back cycling has been a huge part in the process of me growing up and maturing. And I almost lost that until they stepped in that night and called me asking if I wanted a job.
The last memory is one that does not involve a bike. I was sitting in the basement with my sister. I think I was 8 or 9 at the time. At this point in time the Rosie O’Donnell show was huge. What was even bigger was the coosh balls she launched into the audience. Everyone wanted one. Even if you don’t think you wanted one when you had it in your hand you could not stop playing with it. I was no exception. I played with that ball right until the point I threw it into the open upward facing lamp. When that lamp was turned on it got very hot. Hot enough infact to light it on fire. My sister and I scream “Fire” and my mom runs downstairs. Without missing a beat she unplugs the flaming lamp and runs up the stairs with it still in flames and throws it on the porch. Out rolled that coosh ball in a black mess. There was not any anger about the situation; probably because the house did not burn down, but that was my favourite memory of that old house on Chestnut Street. Fallowed closely by family viewings of married with children.
I don’t know why im writing about all of this but it is soothing. I think it is giving me some form of closure to this book.
As for today it started with hail still resting on the ground and a tornado warning for the surrounding area. This came after 3 smaller tornados hit the valley. When I left to start riding right away I had a 1600foot climb on legs that did not want to move 1km. After a short descent I then had another 1200 foot climb. It was at that point I was thinking, “I thought the run into phoenix was downhill”.
At that point I saw the magical sign. It read 7% downhill grade next 5 miles. This sign was fallowed by one that said turn your lights on. Around the next corner was a tunnel with no internal lighting. Now my headlamp was useless because I was doing 60km/h and this road had no shoulder so my only option was to ride right down the centre. After shooting out of the tunnel I hit a series of switchbacks that were even tighter then in the canyon yesterday. It was the first time I have used my brakes on a descent to date. The shoulder then opened up and a flood of cars passed me. I was so focused on not dieing that I ignored the car piling up behind me. When I got to the bottom I let out a huge yell. The people walking along the sidewalk looked at me as if I was drunk, a common thing in Arizona im sure.
Then it levelled out and I was on the run into phoenix. Mile after mile was ticking by. My legs were starting to stretch out. As much as I love the hills I love the challenge of the flats. I know that sounds backwards but when you have a wind in you face and you have to keep hammering with really goal to achieve it is something else. Today was no exception only for 15km I had a tailwind the rest of the time it was pretty neutral with the odd bust into my face. I just kept hammering and hammering. Ignoring my body and focused on my goal of reaching phoenix.
Before I knew it I was there and even with the mountains I managed an inhuman 25km/h average. I was happy with what I had achieved but was not content with stopping so I pushed on.
This is when I hit construction along route 60. This road is 6 lanes wide with a sidewalk on one side. The construction closed 4 of the lanes and the sidewalk. So I had a choice. Ride on the road and get hit by a car, or beat my way through a closed sidewalk that was more side and less walk. The closed sidewalk was the choice and boy was it an adventure. It had sections pointing up at a 45-degree angle that gave me airtime and promptly shattered both bolts holding on my front rack. It was worth it though. Unfortunately it meant I had to bring a stop to the day. It turned out to be a good thing though because my scheduled stop in Wittham is was apparently the roughest part northern Arizona.
Thank you for listening to my rambling for the day. I realize now that I have to close one thing before I open another.
Trip Distance: 169km
Ride Time: 7:08hr
Avg. Speed: 23.73km/h
Total Distance: 15418km
Total Ride Time: 715hr
Destination: Sun City, Arizona
What am I running away from? I am running away from the future because I do not know what it holds for me. I have only thought about life up till this point and no further. The truth is the reason I decided to continue from st. Johns, Miami, and Austin is because im scared.
That brings me to another point that has really been eating at me. When I tell people about the trip 9 people have given me a response that has left me… dumbfounded. When I say I am riding for a hospital they have said “what did you have cancer or something”? Why is it to do something amazing I have to be affected by something? Why can’t someone normal undertake a huge task? Then why is it at this age we are so scared to be normal? Is normal going to university? If so am I not normal? I have so many questions that I cannot answer. It helps to write this all down even if it does not make any sense because it is just what my mind is thinking.
Thinking about the past I got to thinking about my childhood and what memories have stuck with me. When I think back 4 events stick out. The first was riding with my dad down to the duck pond with a bag of bread and feeding the ducks. That pond seemed so far away on my little bike but when I ride it now it is only 3km away.
The next was getting my 24inch wheel bike. I remember that we went into this little shop in the middle of nowhere and there right in front of us was a black with that 90’s splatter paint pink paint job. I remember my dad asking “do you like it”? Even at that young age I remember thinking “damn its pink”. But to appease everyone I blindly agreed. No matter the colour I rode this pee out of that bike.
After that came my first attempt at mountain biking. We were up riding burke mountain on my trek 4300. My first adult bike that we got from my Keith (a family friends) basement. I fell multiple times and I kept hearing “get you butt back”. I heard those words but never really put it into practice. I kept falling and kept getting more and more frustrated. Mid way through the trail dripping in blood from numerous flesh wounds I started to cry. This was the point I hung up my bike for and extended period of time. Until I started to work at Westwood cycle. I have never thanked Glen and Kelly but after looking back cycling has been a huge part in the process of me growing up and maturing. And I almost lost that until they stepped in that night and called me asking if I wanted a job.
The last memory is one that does not involve a bike. I was sitting in the basement with my sister. I think I was 8 or 9 at the time. At this point in time the Rosie O’Donnell show was huge. What was even bigger was the coosh balls she launched into the audience. Everyone wanted one. Even if you don’t think you wanted one when you had it in your hand you could not stop playing with it. I was no exception. I played with that ball right until the point I threw it into the open upward facing lamp. When that lamp was turned on it got very hot. Hot enough infact to light it on fire. My sister and I scream “Fire” and my mom runs downstairs. Without missing a beat she unplugs the flaming lamp and runs up the stairs with it still in flames and throws it on the porch. Out rolled that coosh ball in a black mess. There was not any anger about the situation; probably because the house did not burn down, but that was my favourite memory of that old house on Chestnut Street. Fallowed closely by family viewings of married with children.
I don’t know why im writing about all of this but it is soothing. I think it is giving me some form of closure to this book.
As for today it started with hail still resting on the ground and a tornado warning for the surrounding area. This came after 3 smaller tornados hit the valley. When I left to start riding right away I had a 1600foot climb on legs that did not want to move 1km. After a short descent I then had another 1200 foot climb. It was at that point I was thinking, “I thought the run into phoenix was downhill”.
At that point I saw the magical sign. It read 7% downhill grade next 5 miles. This sign was fallowed by one that said turn your lights on. Around the next corner was a tunnel with no internal lighting. Now my headlamp was useless because I was doing 60km/h and this road had no shoulder so my only option was to ride right down the centre. After shooting out of the tunnel I hit a series of switchbacks that were even tighter then in the canyon yesterday. It was the first time I have used my brakes on a descent to date. The shoulder then opened up and a flood of cars passed me. I was so focused on not dieing that I ignored the car piling up behind me. When I got to the bottom I let out a huge yell. The people walking along the sidewalk looked at me as if I was drunk, a common thing in Arizona im sure.
Then it levelled out and I was on the run into phoenix. Mile after mile was ticking by. My legs were starting to stretch out. As much as I love the hills I love the challenge of the flats. I know that sounds backwards but when you have a wind in you face and you have to keep hammering with really goal to achieve it is something else. Today was no exception only for 15km I had a tailwind the rest of the time it was pretty neutral with the odd bust into my face. I just kept hammering and hammering. Ignoring my body and focused on my goal of reaching phoenix.
Before I knew it I was there and even with the mountains I managed an inhuman 25km/h average. I was happy with what I had achieved but was not content with stopping so I pushed on.
This is when I hit construction along route 60. This road is 6 lanes wide with a sidewalk on one side. The construction closed 4 of the lanes and the sidewalk. So I had a choice. Ride on the road and get hit by a car, or beat my way through a closed sidewalk that was more side and less walk. The closed sidewalk was the choice and boy was it an adventure. It had sections pointing up at a 45-degree angle that gave me airtime and promptly shattered both bolts holding on my front rack. It was worth it though. Unfortunately it meant I had to bring a stop to the day. It turned out to be a good thing though because my scheduled stop in Wittham is was apparently the roughest part northern Arizona.
Thank you for listening to my rambling for the day. I realize now that I have to close one thing before I open another.
Trip Distance: 169km
Ride Time: 7:08hr
Avg. Speed: 23.73km/h
Total Distance: 15418km
Total Ride Time: 715hr
Destination: Sun City, Arizona
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Tour Day 102 Isn't The Wizard Of Oz In Kansas Oct 5 2010
When you wake up knowing you have an impossible task ahead of you it is a strange feeling. I would reference it to 1/10000000 of that of the Jews walking into the death showers. Great start Evan you have started your blog with a Nazi WWII reference.
Ok let’s start over. When I woke up today I got the treat of a continental breakfast, which is rare because I am up at 5am and usually leave at 5:45 – 6am. I thought it would be uneventful but I was wrong. I was just sitting down to eat my waffles when the lady from the front desk sits down right beside me. Odd I know but it get better. She asks me how old I am. I respond. She then says I have a 10-year-old son who just refuses to apply himself to math how can I get through to him? Hmm I don’t know I am only a kid. She then keeps going on and on about her family issues. It really made me feel both uncomfortable and sad because this woman had no one to present these issues to except an 18-year-old Canadian cyclist. This rambling went on for roughly 15 minutes and progressed from her genuine concern for her child to anger about the issues she could not solve. I tried my best to offer some advice but I honestly did not know what to say.
When I left I was flying down the road. Climbing at my average speed and tarring up the first 50-mile gap. About halfway through this ride I got to thinking “o crap if I have a tailwind now then for the big gap im going to have a brutal headwind”. Well I was right. As soon as I got into show low I hit the first of the wind. Seeking shelter I hoped into a gas station. At this gas station I asked about what lay ahead for me in this gap. What the lady said just crushed my moral. You are going to have a headwind, you and going o have the biggest hills in Arizona, and there is nothing between here and there.
Because I had already been dealing with the crosswind getting into Show Low I wanted to stop. I had a sure thing in show low, but I pushed on. My expectations were at 0 and were quickly raised. When I entered the forest the wind died down and I was able to have a normal ride for a while. I was on a steady descent for about an hour, which as awesome as it sounds is a really bad thing. The reason is I knew I had to climb to the highest peak in Arizona so every foot I went down I knew I had to climb back up.
Well I was right, but not before going up and down a few big climbs. My legs were completely toasted then I saw it. The mountains opened up to this huge empty space. Across this gap I saw a road zig zaging up the face of this rock. “O crap”. I have never been so intimidated by a climb before in my life.
As I started going down the canyon I gained more and more speed. I was nearing 70km/h on this awesome road. Every few hundred metres would be a tight curve that I would shoulder check then take up the whole road to road the corner. It was simply awesome.
After going down I hit the bridge that crosses the river of the Salt River canyon and very quickly my momentum was robbed. I was brought back down to earth within 15 metres of finishing the decent. Ahead of me was a 1.5-hour climb where I was pushing to do 10km/h the entire time. Hitting the peak was a like nothing else. I mean I had climbed to the highest peak in Arizona after battling a headwind, and rain the entire day.
On the horizon I saw it. Pitch black clouds and a sheet of rain that brought visibility down to nothing. I live in b.c. rain is ok im used to it so lets ride through it. Then a guy in a blue truck pulls up beside me. “The state has issued a severe weather warning for the area. 60mph winds, and serve hail. Don’t be stupid let me give you a lift to Globe”. After riding beside him and talking for a while I caved. Within 7 minutes the hail started. I have never experienced weather like this. It had everything from hail, to monsoon style rain, and a wind that caused some semi trucks to pull over. It was ugly.
I forgot to talk about someone I met who was crazier then the lady at breakfast. I met a guy by the name of Michael Blogg. We was walking along the highway so I stopped to ask what was up. This man has spent the last 21 years walking around America. He may only do 10 miles a day but the fact is he has been walking for 21 years, and even has a wife (who does not travel with him). I had so many questions that I forgot to ask because I was just in aww of what this man was doing. I thought I was crazy for leaving for 100 or so days. This man has left his life for almost a quarter century.
Trip Distance: 150km
Ride Time: 7:55hr
Avg. Speed: 19.01km/h
Total Distance: 15248km
Total Ride Time: 707hr
Destination: Globe, Arizona
Ok let’s start over. When I woke up today I got the treat of a continental breakfast, which is rare because I am up at 5am and usually leave at 5:45 – 6am. I thought it would be uneventful but I was wrong. I was just sitting down to eat my waffles when the lady from the front desk sits down right beside me. Odd I know but it get better. She asks me how old I am. I respond. She then says I have a 10-year-old son who just refuses to apply himself to math how can I get through to him? Hmm I don’t know I am only a kid. She then keeps going on and on about her family issues. It really made me feel both uncomfortable and sad because this woman had no one to present these issues to except an 18-year-old Canadian cyclist. This rambling went on for roughly 15 minutes and progressed from her genuine concern for her child to anger about the issues she could not solve. I tried my best to offer some advice but I honestly did not know what to say.
When I left I was flying down the road. Climbing at my average speed and tarring up the first 50-mile gap. About halfway through this ride I got to thinking “o crap if I have a tailwind now then for the big gap im going to have a brutal headwind”. Well I was right. As soon as I got into show low I hit the first of the wind. Seeking shelter I hoped into a gas station. At this gas station I asked about what lay ahead for me in this gap. What the lady said just crushed my moral. You are going to have a headwind, you and going o have the biggest hills in Arizona, and there is nothing between here and there.
Because I had already been dealing with the crosswind getting into Show Low I wanted to stop. I had a sure thing in show low, but I pushed on. My expectations were at 0 and were quickly raised. When I entered the forest the wind died down and I was able to have a normal ride for a while. I was on a steady descent for about an hour, which as awesome as it sounds is a really bad thing. The reason is I knew I had to climb to the highest peak in Arizona so every foot I went down I knew I had to climb back up.
Well I was right, but not before going up and down a few big climbs. My legs were completely toasted then I saw it. The mountains opened up to this huge empty space. Across this gap I saw a road zig zaging up the face of this rock. “O crap”. I have never been so intimidated by a climb before in my life.
As I started going down the canyon I gained more and more speed. I was nearing 70km/h on this awesome road. Every few hundred metres would be a tight curve that I would shoulder check then take up the whole road to road the corner. It was simply awesome.
After going down I hit the bridge that crosses the river of the Salt River canyon and very quickly my momentum was robbed. I was brought back down to earth within 15 metres of finishing the decent. Ahead of me was a 1.5-hour climb where I was pushing to do 10km/h the entire time. Hitting the peak was a like nothing else. I mean I had climbed to the highest peak in Arizona after battling a headwind, and rain the entire day.
On the horizon I saw it. Pitch black clouds and a sheet of rain that brought visibility down to nothing. I live in b.c. rain is ok im used to it so lets ride through it. Then a guy in a blue truck pulls up beside me. “The state has issued a severe weather warning for the area. 60mph winds, and serve hail. Don’t be stupid let me give you a lift to Globe”. After riding beside him and talking for a while I caved. Within 7 minutes the hail started. I have never experienced weather like this. It had everything from hail, to monsoon style rain, and a wind that caused some semi trucks to pull over. It was ugly.
I forgot to talk about someone I met who was crazier then the lady at breakfast. I met a guy by the name of Michael Blogg. We was walking along the highway so I stopped to ask what was up. This man has spent the last 21 years walking around America. He may only do 10 miles a day but the fact is he has been walking for 21 years, and even has a wife (who does not travel with him). I had so many questions that I forgot to ask because I was just in aww of what this man was doing. I thought I was crazy for leaving for 100 or so days. This man has left his life for almost a quarter century.
Trip Distance: 150km
Ride Time: 7:55hr
Avg. Speed: 19.01km/h
Total Distance: 15248km
Total Ride Time: 707hr
Destination: Globe, Arizona
Monday, October 4, 2010
Tour Day 101 Expect The Unexcpected Oct 4 2010
After an extremely hard end to the day yesterday I was ready to have a nice long sleep. 10 hours later I woke up and was ready to make the 140-mile gap to Springer Ville Arizona. I loaded down with 9 litres of water, a full load of food, and a full tank of gas.
Within the first 20 feet I knew exactly how the day was going to go. Right off the bat I had a stronger wind then I finished off the day yesterday with (roughly 12 – 15mph) and I had an extended climb out of town that lasted an hour. In that hour I only covered 6 miles. It was the slowest and hardest riding I have encountered yet.
When I summated the hill I saw the plains of San Agustin ahead of me. This was a dead flat space that extended 20 miles. I was extremely nervous about this because I thought that if the wind was bad in the hills then it would be 10 times worse in the open area. Fortunately I was mistaken and I got up to the whopping speed of 20km/h. By this time the sun was coming up but because of the elevation it was still cold as heck. Cold enough for me to dig out my winter gloves. Once I got heat back in my hands I could focus on the horizon. This is where I saw something unique, a radio observatory. I stopped to take a closer look for a few minutes. While I was stopped I heard a loud alarm then 10 seconds later they all moved at once to a specific location. I was amazed how quick they moved, and how elegant the whole thing was.
After plugging in my ipod I was back grinding down the road. Then it happened. You guessed it another flat. So let me set the scene. We are either 80 miles back to the next town or 100 miles ahead. The sun is just starting to peer out of the clouds, it is cold, and I have no circulation in my hands. I had one spare tube so I thought all was going to be peachy. All was not peachy because I was an idiot and pinched the tube. Ok back up plan I can use my patches to limp my way down the road a ways. After applying the patch and inflating to a lower then normal pressure I started rolling again. After 2km it was flat again. Peel and stick patches are useless.
So I am not stoked because I am only 45km into the day and im stuck. At this point I have only used .5 of the 9 litres of water I had on me. Luckily I was close to a gas station and at this station were two older gentlemen that were topping up their camper with fuel. I asked them if they were heading west to Springer Ville. They said yes. I then fallowed up with the question if I could hitch a ride to Springer Ville to get a few tubes. My hopes were high, but then they hit me with an answer of no because they had their guns in the backseat and did not have room. Accepting the answer I went on my way and started walking down the road. 2 Minutes later I see them waving frantically at me. After making my way back they said that they had moved the guns and had room for me in the back seat.
Once we were rolling we got to talking. In a way it was actually a good thing because they were both pilots, and one was a pilot for the air force. This gave me a chance to ask some questions that have been nagging in the back of my mind. Now this is the reason I love cards because as much as im trying to remember I cant for the life of me remember the name of these two fine gentlemen. I believe they were named bill and john but im pretty sure I am wrong.
We stopped in a small homestead and they said they were going to treat me to a breakfast, which was an unexpected surprise. This whole trip has made me a lot more confident with the way that I deal with strangers. When you approach people as your friend, and as if they are out to help you they are a lot more open to your stories and sharing their life with you. When I left I approached people as if they were out to do me harm. Now I know that sounds weird but most of us are guilty of that because as much as we try to ignore it a lot of us are judgemental. Case and point getting in a car after they say just let us move our guns.
Now in Arizona I expected the weather to be bright and sunny because most of this state gets between roughly 15-25 inches of rain a year. Well I managed to hit Arizona during those 15025 inches because it started to rain as soon as I hit Springer Ville. Looking at the forecast it does not look like it going to get much better because it shows three straight days of rain. Adding to my luck I have the largest gap of the trip tomorrow. The day is going to stat off with a 40 mile run into sho how, and then fallow that up with 116-mile gap into Globe. Because the first 40 miles I wont use any of my resources this is pretty much a 156mile gap. Great. Even better the western wing I had today is going to shift to a southern wind tomorrow. Guess what. I am heading south tomorrow. Adding to this apparently the road out of Springer Ville has some of the most brutal hills I have ridden to date. Lets see how far 9 litres of water gets me.
As much as I may sound chipper today I am very disappointed about the day not only for how little I accomplished, but also because I am watching my goal of maintaining my 150km average disappear day by day. About 700 miles to go till the ocean. If I don’t hit 16000km by the time I hit the water I am going o spend a few days doing some local rides because I simply cat return hoe without hitting that milestone.
Trip Distance: 47km
Ride Time: 2:56hr
Avg. Speed: 16.24km/h (shows you how brutal the ride was)
Total Distance: 15098km
Total Ride Time: 700hr
Destination: Springer Ville, Arizona
As a side not my body clock is completely screwed because I was just starting to get readjusted to mountain time, then I find out Arizona does not sue daylight savings. So it is Mountain Time but is actually the same time as Pacific Standard Time.
Within the first 20 feet I knew exactly how the day was going to go. Right off the bat I had a stronger wind then I finished off the day yesterday with (roughly 12 – 15mph) and I had an extended climb out of town that lasted an hour. In that hour I only covered 6 miles. It was the slowest and hardest riding I have encountered yet.
When I summated the hill I saw the plains of San Agustin ahead of me. This was a dead flat space that extended 20 miles. I was extremely nervous about this because I thought that if the wind was bad in the hills then it would be 10 times worse in the open area. Fortunately I was mistaken and I got up to the whopping speed of 20km/h. By this time the sun was coming up but because of the elevation it was still cold as heck. Cold enough for me to dig out my winter gloves. Once I got heat back in my hands I could focus on the horizon. This is where I saw something unique, a radio observatory. I stopped to take a closer look for a few minutes. While I was stopped I heard a loud alarm then 10 seconds later they all moved at once to a specific location. I was amazed how quick they moved, and how elegant the whole thing was.
After plugging in my ipod I was back grinding down the road. Then it happened. You guessed it another flat. So let me set the scene. We are either 80 miles back to the next town or 100 miles ahead. The sun is just starting to peer out of the clouds, it is cold, and I have no circulation in my hands. I had one spare tube so I thought all was going to be peachy. All was not peachy because I was an idiot and pinched the tube. Ok back up plan I can use my patches to limp my way down the road a ways. After applying the patch and inflating to a lower then normal pressure I started rolling again. After 2km it was flat again. Peel and stick patches are useless.
So I am not stoked because I am only 45km into the day and im stuck. At this point I have only used .5 of the 9 litres of water I had on me. Luckily I was close to a gas station and at this station were two older gentlemen that were topping up their camper with fuel. I asked them if they were heading west to Springer Ville. They said yes. I then fallowed up with the question if I could hitch a ride to Springer Ville to get a few tubes. My hopes were high, but then they hit me with an answer of no because they had their guns in the backseat and did not have room. Accepting the answer I went on my way and started walking down the road. 2 Minutes later I see them waving frantically at me. After making my way back they said that they had moved the guns and had room for me in the back seat.
Once we were rolling we got to talking. In a way it was actually a good thing because they were both pilots, and one was a pilot for the air force. This gave me a chance to ask some questions that have been nagging in the back of my mind. Now this is the reason I love cards because as much as im trying to remember I cant for the life of me remember the name of these two fine gentlemen. I believe they were named bill and john but im pretty sure I am wrong.
We stopped in a small homestead and they said they were going to treat me to a breakfast, which was an unexpected surprise. This whole trip has made me a lot more confident with the way that I deal with strangers. When you approach people as your friend, and as if they are out to help you they are a lot more open to your stories and sharing their life with you. When I left I approached people as if they were out to do me harm. Now I know that sounds weird but most of us are guilty of that because as much as we try to ignore it a lot of us are judgemental. Case and point getting in a car after they say just let us move our guns.
Now in Arizona I expected the weather to be bright and sunny because most of this state gets between roughly 15-25 inches of rain a year. Well I managed to hit Arizona during those 15025 inches because it started to rain as soon as I hit Springer Ville. Looking at the forecast it does not look like it going to get much better because it shows three straight days of rain. Adding to my luck I have the largest gap of the trip tomorrow. The day is going to stat off with a 40 mile run into sho how, and then fallow that up with 116-mile gap into Globe. Because the first 40 miles I wont use any of my resources this is pretty much a 156mile gap. Great. Even better the western wing I had today is going to shift to a southern wind tomorrow. Guess what. I am heading south tomorrow. Adding to this apparently the road out of Springer Ville has some of the most brutal hills I have ridden to date. Lets see how far 9 litres of water gets me.
As much as I may sound chipper today I am very disappointed about the day not only for how little I accomplished, but also because I am watching my goal of maintaining my 150km average disappear day by day. About 700 miles to go till the ocean. If I don’t hit 16000km by the time I hit the water I am going o spend a few days doing some local rides because I simply cat return hoe without hitting that milestone.
Trip Distance: 47km
Ride Time: 2:56hr
Avg. Speed: 16.24km/h (shows you how brutal the ride was)
Total Distance: 15098km
Total Ride Time: 700hr
Destination: Springer Ville, Arizona
As a side not my body clock is completely screwed because I was just starting to get readjusted to mountain time, then I find out Arizona does not sue daylight savings. So it is Mountain Time but is actually the same time as Pacific Standard Time.
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