Biking It Down The Pan American...

(L. to R.) Bob, Jason on Montreal in the Baha Peninsula. (photo courtesy of Jason)

This is my good friend, Jason.

I first met him in Cairo at the venerable Dahab Hostel on Talaat Harb (a stone's throw from Midan Tahrir). I'd been hanging there for a least a couple of weeks beforehand, chillaxing from a long haul overland journey from South Africa. The Dahab was just what the doctor ordered: a large population of cats and motley crew of international wasters/guests in search of adventure.

Jason and I teamed up and headed out west to the Oasis of Siwa, an improbable, tiny patch of palm trees clinging for dear life in the Great Sahara Desert.

While in Siwa, we spent days under a baking desert sun, throwing back gallons of ice cold, sickly sweet cane juice, climbing the ruins of Shali, swimming in pools of cool spring water, and endless bike rides through forests of date palms.

(L. to R.) Jason, Tomo, Robbie... cycling amongst the salt marshes of Siwa.

Little did I know back then that Jason was really serious about his biking.

Currently, he's biking down Central America on his bike Montreal, volunteering, couchsurfing, and hangin' out along the way.

Check out his blog, Biking It.

You won't be disappointed.

He'll have you coming back for more.

His prose is insightful, yet hilarious. I liken him to a modern day, Seinfeldian Renaissance Man on two wheels.

Very refreshing read...

While you're there buy him a taco.

Or check out the coffee table book he's published about his adventures so far, Me, Montreal & Bob.

Of Bikes And Guns...Or, The Best Bike Touring Idea Ever.

Oh, how I miss the alpine meadows of Kootenay National Park...

I've been thinking of the next trip for a long, long, long time. Maybe too long.

With any trip, you can only prepare so much beforehand. There's just too much to know. In the end of the day, the most important facts to know are visa requirements and where to get them. With that knowledge, anything is possible.

Having said that, in my never ending research, I think I've overindulged a bit in surveying the various on-line bike touring forums.

Case in point, I came across this unique post in Bikeforums:

Anyone tour with a shotgun?

I've been thinking about bringing a shotgun with me on more remote areas or areas with lots of bears. Call me crazy but I feel a lot better having a 12 gauge slug as a last resort rather than bear spray. My question to you is how to carry it so it's not super obvious but not inaccessible? I thought of putting a shotgun scabbard on my front rack (it's a Surly Nice Rack) because there's plenty of rail there to attach it to and it's handy to grab in an emergency. Anyone done anything like this? Any ideas? tips? I know it's not as big a deal in the US but here in Canada even a lot of cops think anyone with a gun is a crook so I'm keen on tips involving discretion within towns. Kind of surprised more covert cases aren't available...

Wow. I was flabbergasted to say the least. I think the poster has mistaken a bike rack for one that belongs in the rear window of a pick up truck.

To each their own perhaps.

In the meantime, I need to embark on my own journey soon.

Very soon.

Tribute to the Qtlibrarian and the Tour d'Afrique

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." - John Quincy Adams.

Here's to the Qtlibrarian: Good luck and have lots o fun on the Tour d'Afrique bike race.

Follow her adventures here as she travels the length of Africa by bike.

Murphy's Law of Biking?

Murphy's Law of Biking?

The great flood of 2005 (the sunshine's so bright it's hurtin' my eyes...)

I managed to fit in a bike ride this weekend. I was so glad the weather was so nice. So warm, I could feel the rays of sun splashing my face.

Spring was finally here, I thought [ed. note: an overnight storm brought 5 cm of snow.]

I was feeling really well. The long winter break allowed my right wrist to heal. The pain in my right hip seemed at bay as well.

The bike felt really smooth.

For this early in the season, biking seemed effortless, I thought.

That was until I rode into the very east end of Fish Creek Park, a natural park close to where I live.

As I was riding along, the bicycle path took a wee dip into a stand of bald poplar trees. At the base of the small knoll the path terminated at a T-intersection.

It was Sunday and the Park was crowded with folks enjoying the well deserved weather.

As I swooped down the hill, I saw a couple of seniors approaching from the right of the intersection.

I rang my bell.

Damn, they weren't going to hear the ring, I thought.

I slowed down for extra measure.

Out of nowhere, a little girl (now more than 8 or 9 years old), riding her Walmart-purchased hot pink bike complete with multicolored bar-end streamers and white tires, came barreling through the intersection from the left.

She was wildly out of control.

Her momentum carried her well into my side of the path.

Distracted just enough by the elderly pedestrians, I swerved.

However, to no avail.

The little girl slammed into my left shin.

An enormous, wretched, sick crashing noise came from behind me.

I turned around to find the little girl lying prostrate over the ground next to the wreckage of her bike.

Miraculously unscathed, she quietly picked herself off the ground and started walking off with her bike.

I checked on her.

She said she was okay.

Her dad watched the whole situation unfold from atop the grassy knoll. He came down and scolded his young daughter for missing the turn. Ugh.

He asked me how I was. I told him I was more concerned about the little girl.

I rode onwards albeit in some shock from the crash.

On the next hill climb, as I shifted to a lower gear, my bike's rear derailleur cable snapped.

I'm not sure why it broke.

What else could go wrong?

I limped home on the three remaining gears...

"Flintstone car" not a motor vehicle...Yabba Dabba Doooooo!!!

Sweet justice, my friends...

'Flintstone Car' Driver Off The Hook For Ticket

It was a work of art that wound up getting a traffic ticket.

To understand that statement, you have to go back to October 2007, when an odd looking Buick Regal made its maiden voyage around the streets of Toronto. Cops eventually flagged it down because the decrepit and rusted out hunk of junk was only going 15 kilometres an hour down a city street, impeding traffic.

But when P.C. Derek Walsh stopped the car and looked inside, he couldn't believe his eyes. The vehicle had no floor, no engine, and used candles for headlights. "Not even close to being legal," the officer noted in a moment caught on video, as he wrote out the ticket.

...Not long after, the jubilant defendant came out a winner. The judge dropped the charge, not because he liked the concept but because the vehicle wasn't actually a car at all. Therefore the specific charge of operating an unsafe vehicle didn't legally apply.

for the full story, click here. or, click here.

if you haven't already checked out the original clip, here it is...

now for a two minute intermission...

Keep your ears open.
- Farangi Rule of Acquisition #7

now for a well deserved commercial break...



Out of Canuckistan: A travel blog, Mar 20/08
Bigtubofgoo.com
Buy Bubba a Beer Now!

Nairobi, Kenya, Day 9 - Stop the donuts!!

Tiffany's race number on her really sweet koga-miyata bike.

Tan lines galore, eh...

Now that's my kind of "water" bottle...
I still have a bit of research to do but did zip/nodda thing this morning. Got off the TV couch at noon. That was life drainingly difficult. Managed to tap into the WWW. No reply from Aaron, the dude I met in Kampala. He's got critical data for the stretch into Ethiopia. Do have to take the plunge myself? Do I really need to put myself into danger again and again... Damn it's like I'm on a giant adventure or something. Ok, Ethiopia here I come. Ready or not.

Later on, "the gang" and I went downtown for chocolate covered donuts (i.e. me and thomas were the only ones cramming donuts) and cafe lattes at a "fancy" cafe. Newest gang member today was Tiffany from the States, a cool cyclist/burnt out lawyer from S. Carolina but working in London.

What's a nice girl like Tiffany doing in a place like Nairobi? Well, the Tour D'afrique (not to be confused with the Cirque du Soleil) just rolled into Camp. She's gonna be a participant! The famous Tour is a bike race from Cairo to Capetown. It's legendary. It also costs something like $12,000 USD to enter the race. Yikes...that's some serious money. Thomas reckons it would pay for a four year bike ride, non-stop.

Well, the Camp grounds are now packed with cyclists' tents now. There must be at least 25 bikers. That's a whole lotta tan lines...

Out of Canuckistan, Mar 11/07
Bigtubofgoo.com
Buy Bubba a Beer Now!

year of the rat, part 2..

hmmm... abandoned bicycle... backpack contents strewn... must be a missing chinese guy.

despite what it looks like, there were only a few patches of snow/ice along the way. for BTOG overseas fans, that's the WID (western irrigation district) canal on the right. it provides water for dem farmers to the east of calgary. yes, there is a EID. note: should have brought my skates along.

at "the park". chestemere lake is just the WID dammed up. talk about dams, damn it was noisy out there with them redneck ATVers and skidooers. anywho, the "lake" is bedroom community. most inhabitants either commute to the city for work or tend to their basement grow-ops. ah, gotta love livin' in the country, eh.

the WID path was sparsely populated that day, until the paparazzi showed up.

dang it's lonely out on the lone prairie...as you can see the path was mostly clear of snow.

alright, i had a chance to rock out with my girlfren jessica simpson this past weekend. a quickie vay cay out in strathmore to be specific.

instead i chose to spend time with my friends at bikeclub and head out to chestemere. i could not let the team down.

my impression of the trip: dang, it da tundra out there in january. i figured if i couldn't hack blizzard like conditions or permafrost i didn't deserve to be a canadian.

ok, it was a beauty day out there. a handful of degrees above freezing. dead calm. the only wind going through my luxuriant locks o' hair was the one created by slick moves of my bike.

seriously, it was a really good time. winter biking? bring it on...

dunno if the cold numbed our brains or it was just mine, but we came up with this idea of converting the WID canal into the world's longest skating rink.

all we need are couple of zambonies and a load of smart investors.

year of the rat, part 1...

bikeclub in front of "the chief"...

bikeclub

soapydave.

sunset over the frozen water supply...

had alot of fun last weekend, eh.

managed to go biking with soapydave and gina, eh. felt a bit nippy outside but, dressed appropriately, it felt like hawaii out on the tundra.

made it out to the new native american, aboriginal, first nations, indigenous peoples casino located on the western outskirts of town.

i went in and had a look around the premises.

very, very, very nice interior. lots of blinking lights. lots of happy and sad customers. lots of old folks playing the one armed bandits, eh. lots of cigarette smoke wafting in the air.

and how about those washrooms? immaculate.

one con though. no bike racks. i spoke to the armed guard/manager outside about that. i told him, 'dude, bicyclists are big-time gamblers'. they're gonna think about getting racks. maybe in the spring. wahoo...chalk one up for bicyclists!!

one more tip: build a singin' palace for celine. i'll be first in line for tix.

had to bug out fast 'cause it the sun was settin'. man, it was only 3 PM or so. i thought the days were getting longer, eh?

movie review: brick (2005).

not to be confused with the brick furniture store, brick (2005) was perhaps the best film noire i've seen in years. simply delicious. a masterpiece. humour was sardonic as it gets.

dudes, who the hell am i kidding? i felt like a mouth-breathing Luddite after the viewing.

i dunno get it.

i'm sorry.

do i recommend? yes, with 2 caveats.

1) before watching, get a good night sleep, avoid rigorous exercise and eating a heavy but delicious meal (thanx soapydave/gina).

2) have available a star trek-type universal translating device that converts mumbling, jive, detective lingo, and metaphors to plain english.

if the above don't help out, fforward to the last 5 minutes of the film.

bonus review: bridge on the river kwai (1957).

obi wan kenobi goes off deep end. you know. obi wan goes for a walk on the dark side.

whoops. too much detail.

bridge at first glance was pretty slow for a war movie. i almost drifted off but hung in there. my frail attention span was rewarded with a spine tingling, barn burner of an end to the film.

the brilliant alec guiness, played a washed up british colonel WWII POW, leading his fellow POW's in constructing the bridge for their nasty japanese taskmasters. his character was soooo weak, succumbing to old school pride and prejudice in the building process, it made me sick.

william holden held his own as the token smart ass american. there's one in every crowd, eh. ha!

definitely give this one a chance. it's a freebie dvd rental at the local liberry.

have fun qt!!!!

i managed roll out of bed this morning (aside: damn it was cold. how do people get up in the dark, eh?) just in time to hoof it down to CyclePath South to bid qtlibrarian a bon voyage on her quest to raise funds for cancer research, cancer survivors and their fams.

she's very brave because the fundraiser is a marathon bike ride down to the land o'lance, austin TX to be precise.

if you have spare cashola on hand, give it to the cause by clicking here.

here are some pix i took at the party...


back row: cute lil' car, middle row: kick ass lance bike, nice bike rack, eh, front row: qtlibrarian looks pretty good in a uniform, eh?

if qt feels as good as she looks, damn she must be feeling really good.

qt chillin' in the chase van...

qt and groupies...

qt and team...

nothing like being sponsored by good carma...

the big team...

off topic: exciting to see mr. ski (a local celebrity) at the breakfast...

planning, planning...

BABR

bridge on the river bow...

i love fall... until today when the weather turned nasty.

the weather was unbelievable on saturday though. sun drenched and hot. one of those autumn days where the sun's ray pressed down upon your face.

i had to get out.

so, i decided to embark on a BABR (Big Assed Bike Ride). First, i made my way through FCP (fish creek park). gaadd, it's beautiful down there this time of year with all leaves changing. (i'm happy to inform all bikers that the elbow drive parking lot has been officially reconnected to the east side of the park. however, the path system to the west is still in a state of chaotic disrepair. it's still impenetrable, unless you're willing to perform multiple fordings the stream. even so, the paths are strewn with fallen trees. not nice.)

from FCP, i followed elbow drive all the way downtown. i took a break on the path by eau claire. not much happening there except a group of bible thumpers were giving a public multimedia presentation extolling the virtues of their god and the benefits of avoiding the clutches of the devil. it was interesting to watch.

it was funny when their sermons were interrupted by a nearby busker posing as a bagpiper.

c'mon, no one can shout over a bagpiper. ha!

i love downtown.

from eau claire, i plodded along the bow to edworthy park (which is also beautiful this time of year) then up the mofo coulee. from there i dragged my sorry, sore ass home (i was really pooped)

i love fall on the tundra.

sunday...

nasty, nasty, nasty sunday weather. cold and wet. i'm totally not ready for winter.

i headed down to kensington to meet some old university friends. we all know my friend, ahmed. we were joined by wayne and karen. i haven't seen them in a long time.

well, we met at a cafe, across from the plaza, called higher grounds. i'm sure all my hipster calgary friends are familiar with this establishment.

i ordered a BAC (Big Assed Coffee).

it was alot of fun. i told them they were getting really old. that was hilarious.

we should get together more often.

wishes...

forgot to wish my jewish readers/friends a happy yom kippur (and a really belated Rosh Hashanah)

while i'm at it, i want to wish my islamic readers/friends (that means you ahmed) a continued happy ramadan season.

note: these wishes are in not in order of importance.

really big ad...

bigger the better...

i think it's time for a really, really, really bloody big ad... now that world cup 2006 is back on the big tv.

damn TSN. damn Sportsnet. damn the USGA. damn the edmonton oilers while i'm at it...

go togo go!

they're out but it was fun typing that...

the 'hood ain't so bad...

beautiful sunday. so, the bikeclub convened for a massive trip into the 'hoods of east calgary. destination: elliston lake via the slums of forest lawn, marlborough, and radioactive lynnview.

i was a bit nervous about my quick release tires but nothing happened out of the ordinary. in fact the bicycle ride was quite pleasant.

as it turned out elliston storm water pond, i mean lake, was inundated with stormy waters. the path around it was submerged. at least we saw a great blue herron (Ardea herodias). that was exciting.

well, nearly ran out of gas on the way home. pure exhaustion. i stumbled through the front door just in time to watch that knuckle head phil mickelson choke on the 18th hole of the freakin' US open.

i felt much better after attending LB's piano recital in the evening. more on this later.

i'm not sure about this photo...

purdy flower at elliston...

soapydave doin' his best impersonation of barbara eden as the jeannie... or it's exactly 12:26 pm.

then there was light... or cirque de booger de soleil by soapydave...

soapydave and soapygina...at elliston lake.

post-lunch physio or another awkward moment for the rest of bikeclub.

reduce the deuce...

i used to watch the classic stampede wrestling show hosted by the venerable late wailin' ed whelan a.k.a. to younger readers as the late voice of your calgary flames. ed would start out by welcoming his viewers and all the "shut ins". for the longest time i couldn't figure out what a shut in was.

for this posting, i want to welcome all of bikeclub's shut ins. well, there's only one. that'd be dillan. poor guy did a somersault with one half twist over his bike's handle bars last week. damn all motorised vehicles. if he didn't break every bone in his body, sounds better than a sore wrist, i'd say cool man.

he missed bikeclub meeting this weekend due to self applied physiotherapy to his ailing wrist. so, if you have his email address handy drop the guy a note of condolences.

by the way, his fine cannondale's unscathed, thank goodness.

now this weekend's report. damn, the bikeclub trip on saturday was a hoot. what a great time. sorry you couldn't be there dillan. u were missed. next week, my friend.

my advice for all bikers is if the wind is a gale from the west, best keep the route running north and south.

this time we headed north, through confed park, to the eastern flanks of nosehill (along beddington trail), then back to soapydave and gina's via the elbow river trail.

all completed the ride but dave ran outta juice and hit the wall really bad. never seen him so wiped before, eh. but, hey, he still slayed the sandy beach monster hill. that was great.

all of this to get some exercise. it's soapydave's and my goal to crack the deuce (crack the 200 lb barrier) this summer (thus reduce the deuce). we're currently looking for investors to help us print this slogan on bumper stickers.

thanx soapydave and soapygina for dinner. it was really delish.

break #1. lunch and crashing phantom weddings in confed park.

post-lunch calisthenics. it doesn't work if it doesn't hurt, eh.

break #2. can't suffer all the time. i-scream at confetti's on the banks of the mighty nose.

roll #2

okay, the second roll of images came back from the lab.

bikeclub made the trip out to chestermere lake/slough on good friday.

that was a tough trip. it was a song going out. there was pay back on the way back. 3 words summarized the excursion: gale force winds. it was disconcerting to see whitecaps on the stagnant WID waters.

we did manage to get everyone home safely.

legs didn't feel right for the next few days though.


soapygina

break #1: i luv breaks.

apple eater #1

apple eater #2

apple eater #3

there we are: lil hanoi...finally.

who need's a tripod, eh?

the right stuff.

getting cosy on the bridge.

getting real cosy on the bridge.

muuussssssssttttttt ffffffffiiiiiiiight....

ttttttttthhhhhhhhheeee wwwwwwwwwwwinnnnnnnnnndddddddd...

snack on the bald prairie...

dillan...sit down. you're making me nervous... relax, eh.


that path is mighty straight n' flat. sorta like life... depressing, eh...