Purple and Gold - A JLC review by @LeGiff

One of the benefits of growing up in Point Edward, an hour away from “the Motor City”, was the wealth of radio stations we’d get. College radio from Port Huron, nearly a dozen stations from Detroit and Windsor, 2 or 3 from Sarnia and fm96 from London, provided us with all of the variety our music hungry minds could handle.

One station I remember stumbling upon was a short lived funk station in the high hundreds in fm. I can’t remember its name (“the Jam” perhaps?) but I remember discovering a lot of great funk, soul and R&B music on there.

This was the station that introduced me to “Grand Master Flash and the Furious 5”, “The Time”, Rick James and of course Prince.  This was just prior to the music video craze so I got all of my music from radio or raiding my Brother Rob’s music collection. Shortly after I had discovered Prince tunes on this station from Controversy and Dirty Mind, Rob brought me 1999 to borrow. He never got it back.

For my sister Jo-Anne and me, it was like nothing we had heard. It was sultry, funky, danceable, “sing-alongable” and just naughty enough to make our mom cringe whenever we dug the album out. It was super sexy before we had any notion of individual sexuality.  But when Purple Rain came out almost 2 years later with the movie release, I was at the store buying the LP on release day.

“Joee” and I begged our mom to let us see the movie which was surprisingly PG and at 14 I could take my then 11 year old sister to.  Every word of every song became ingrained in our young minds. It was a musical bond between highly rivalrous siblings that saw us become and to this day remain best friends.

Naturally when we heard that Prince was coming to John Labatt Center in London, Joee immediately texted me to make sure I knew about it. Sadly with Jo-Anne just having been laid off and myself not having a lot of freelance work coming in, we didn’t think that either could afford to go. Jo-Anne had a surprise of 2 tickets greet her in her mailbox from a secret benefactor. Then she suggested to me that I try for the twitter “JLC Reviewer” program so I thought I’d give it a shot.

Without going to great details on what I did or if or why I deserved to be a JLC reviewer, we all know that I got the “job” & this is why you’re reading this now. So I have to thank Jo-Anne who introduced me to it and to all at JLC for allowing me the opportunity and especially Chris Campbell for all he’s done with the JLC Reviewer campaigns.  Prince was one of those concerts on my “bucket list” along with The Police & RUSH and I am proud to have been a part of music history in London.

So when I found out I was going to be a JLC Reviewer I had to figure out who would be my guest for the show. Of course a mere mention of the show on Facebook and Twitter garnered dozens of queries from friends from all over, one as far away as Winnipeg! I was trying to think of who was as big a fan of his purple holiness as me and looked at the 1999 cover. Brother Rob’s 1999 LP cover! I sent a text for him to call me.

“Rob, I know it’s a busy time for you, but can you be in London for Dec. 5^th? It’s a Monday”

“I doubt it very much” he says “Why, what’s going on?”

So I told him about the extra seat for Prince and he responded with an emphatic “YES! Why the hell not? I can make it work. How much do you want for the ticket?” I told him I didn’t want a dime. It was as much a gift to him as it was me.  And so for 2 weeks the excitement built and then there we were at the John Labatt Center.

I got a call on show day from Chris who was part of selecting the JLC reviewers.  He explained what he liked to try and do for the reviewers normally but that things were different for the Prince show. He had some high up seats and he had some seats right beside the stage in a cabaret style with tables. While I might have been thrilled to sit at the stage side with my brother, I couldn’t help thinking that’s a spot for you and your sig. other. I knew that the other reviewer was taking his fiancée so instead of a coin toss and potential disappointment; I said “Give them to Brian and say ‘Happy Engagement from Ian’”.

You can read Brian’s reaction here.

Our seats ended up being in the 300s. I was actually quite happy with them as on a couple of the 3 other occasions there were limitations to the view I got of the stage.  RUSH was pretty good as we were center of the rink & midway up, but for Merle Haggard we were right at the side of the stage with obstructions and not very good sound and then for Alexis On Fire we were on the floor at the back with not a very  good view at all. 

These seats were fine as we got a full view of all of Prince’s custom “symbol” stage and everyone on it, great sight lines to all the stage screens and prime location for sound quality which overall was much better than almost any show I’ve seen at the JLC previously.

The show format was pretty intriguing. It started off with Prince’s band introducing themselves with a very soulful, gospel like Bob Dylan cover ("To make you feel my love") sung by Prince’s 3 backing vocalists. The 2^nd song in, Prince came out and immediately got the crowd into a sing along.  Next up was “When Doves Cry” and Prince got the crowd to sing a lot of the words for him.  The energy was instantly electric and the audience was totally captivated.

From the first note the band didn’t skip a beat for what I counted to be nearly 45 minutes. When they did stop the silence between tunes was brief and Prince and “the New Power Generation” were back into full swing. 

Somewhere in that opening set he played the opening licks of “Darling Nikki” to screams and Prince chuckles “Just testing the house y’all”.

The overall show format reminded me of a Vegas style review. Everything was well timed and seamless. People would bring Prince his signature Fender telecaster guitars (I don’t remember seeing the famous “Cloud Guitar” once!) and when it was his time to solo he proved why he is so popular among music fans and musicians alike. His solo for Purple Rain was incredible and skillful and was put up on the screens as a close up on his hands.

Everything about the show was sexy and scintillating. He would often ask the light guys to illuminate the house and when we could see the floor below it was littered with bodies gyrating and writhing with arms flailing about. Every once in a while I would glance around me and the people surrounding me were doing much the same despite the limited room.

Prince was playful and interactive with the crowd as were the crew and band as evidenced by lights going on and off prior to the show & encores, or band members tossing T-shirts and tambourines into the crowd. He was always changing up what instrument he’d play if any at all. At one point he took the bass from “Niva” and did a kick ass solo. 

For Nothing Compares 2 U he took to the piano. At one point as he announces “Mr. Hayes” his keyboardist for many years and says “We bring you real musicians playing real music!”

The set had many hits; Pop Life, When Doves Cry, Dance Music Sex Romance, Raspberry Beret etc. and then a few unexpected covers like Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough”, Sarah McLachlans's "Angel" plus the opening Garth Brooks hit written by Bob Dylan.

For me as a musician and an audio professional, I see shows in a different light. I criticize shows on overall production and performance values. I can’t say when I last saw such a polished 2 ½ hours straight of performance. It highlighted a band that is highly skilled and experienced and that love what they do night in and night out. His technical crew were obviously also highly skilled at what they do and it made for a pleasing experience right from the start.

So thanks ever so much once again to the John Labatt Center for allowing me to be a part of what was really a dream come true for me and providing the forum to express myself about it.  I was honoured and privileged to be there to see one of my true heroes and to share my love for him with over 8000 others.

Occupying Myself - Thoughts on the New Revolution

Occupying Myself – Oct 28^th 2011

“I don't read no papers, and I don't listen to radios either. I know the world's been shaved by a drunken barber, and I don't have to read it.” – The Colonel – Meet John Doe - 1941

To date I have been sitting on the outside of the “occupy” movement just watching what unfolded.

I find it interesting that so many millions of people have come together under this umbrella concept, one that is not defined by any one mandate other than it is “us” talking peacefully to and about “them”. They are what are being referred to as “the 1%”, being those that hold the bulk of the wealth worldwide while many of the 99% live in impoverished states or largely as a varying middle class. The class distinctions are becoming steadily blurred to be simply “rich and poor”, “haves and have nots”.

I have had no real voice in this movement yet as I have merely sat and watched those around me take part through either social media or by attending the encampments and marches taking place in cities like London or Toronto or any other place that social media has conspired to create such an event.

I have been watching with sheer glee at the utter befuddlement of politicians and the media at the lack of leadership and a clear cut mandate by the people involved in the Occupy movements. I have “gotten” why we need this protest and when asked to define it I could only give marginal responses based on things I have read from folks involved “It’s about the 99% vs the 1%” or “it’s about banks cheating people out of their money” or whatever I had in my head from it all that day.

I listened to a call in radio show that my sister Jo-Anne and a friend named Eric were on after they had attended a Toronto “occupy” event. They described a peaceful atmosphere where people shared stories and ideas. The radio host decried the lack of a leader and my sister said that if a leader is needed, through discussion and continuance of the movement, a leader may just emerge!

The radio host also asked my sister why we cannot just rely on our elected officials to do the right thing when we have just had elections in all offices over the past year. This question made my eye twitch and I wasn’t sure why. Today it hit me.

I saw a picture of an older woman holding a placard that read “I don’t mind you being rich. I mind you buying my government!” and that was the trigger of the epiphany. This is what the movement is about. It’s about the poor not having a say because they cannot afford it. Sure we can go out and vote and elect the framework of the government but we don’t influence the actual work that gets done by the government because the votes in parliament are being influenced by lobbyists who are in the house, put there by corporations and wealthy individuals. There’s a saying “money talks” but it could also be said that “Money walks all over anyone that does not possess it.”

We the 99% don’t need a single voice, we all just need to speak as one.

We the 99% don’t need a tonne of money we just need government to respond to the real people in their homes and hospitals and schools and not just those with the money.

We the 99% need a government that recognizes and respects the rights of it’s people to protest corporations, government etc. through whatever peaceful means necessary including legal strikes without the government legislating non-essential industry back to work.

We the 99% don’t need any one leader, we need the governments that we select to act on what WE the people need to help us survive and not the CEOs of giant banks and corporations whispering to the governments that THEY know what WE need and what is in OUR best interest.

We the 99% need the banks and corporations that control mortgage rates, gas prices, laws, food production to back off and work towards a healthy sustainable economy for all.

We the 99% shouldn’t be forced to eat crap food because that’s all we can afford. Major corporations make it so that crap food is all that people can afford and when it affects their health, it’s the corporations who work in the privatized health sectors that are still reaping all the profits.

We the 99% are seeking to end the cycle of rich wielding the carrots in front of the people that those rich persons/non-persons (i.e. corporations and banks) use for their blood and sweat to make their almighty dollar while the rest of us try to scrape two nickels together.

While this movement has no real true figure head that serves as a scape goat for all of the media and the rich’s counter arguments and shady politics, there are many in the public spotlight that are lending their voices. Celebrities and activists like Harry Shearer (actor), Tom Morello (musician), Michael Moore (film maker/writer), Al Gore (former US VP) and thousands of others are speaking in favour of the “Occupy” movements popping up around the world.

Folks in Tahrir square in Egypt were showing support for their American cousins and friends involved in the different cities that have embraced this movement just last week.

This is more than just a protest. This is unrest. This is people genuinely unhappy with the state of things as a whole but being nice about it to start. This is what can certainly turn into a full out revolt if the politicians and corporations don’t start listening to what the people are saying. When that happens, a leader will emerge and likely not with a megaphone but rather with a large stick or a gun or whatever else they can find. Then governments will learn the true meaning of “We, the people!”

This is why we cannot have one clear leader for the media and corporations who control them to perform a character assassination upon. This is what makes the CEO’s and media moguls most angry about this whole thing. Because how can you smear millions and millions of ideas and voices that all say something unique but are directed towards the same problem? That is, that the poor can’t afford to pay to have their voice heard and needs/demands met when banks, media and corporations have the money to make their voices seem the loudest.

Veggie Hell - an Addendum

I saw the manager of my local Taco Bell today who gave me good news. It appears that the surcharge on Tacos for substituting the Beef with Beans was a "mis-communication" and all stores have been alerted to change this back. So no more 60 cent fee for us Vegetarians! Wooo Hooo! The squeaky wheel gets the grease as my Mum always used to say!

Thanks to Jimmy and the Taco Bell management for responding so swiftly. I will go eat a celebratory Taco tomorrow!

Veggie Hell – Eating right in a meat-centric world

I am a busy person and like many of you, I often find myself dashing out of the house hungry in hopes that I’ll find time to grab a fast bite to eat. This is way easier said than done as is to be expected as a vegetarian living in a meat-centric world.

There seems to be a misconception that Vegans and Vegetarians don’t eat fast foods. As a meat eater, you can go into any corner convenience store and find yourself a pre-made meal like hot dogs/sausages, a sandwich/sub, soups and the like. It’s not too often that you’ll find anything vegetarian.

Check the cans of soup. I’ll bet pretty well all of them contain chicken or beef broths, various kinds of meat, or that the pea soup is made with Lard (i.e. Habitant Pea Soup). The cans of beans will likely have pork in them, though Heinz also makes them in just a tomato sauce. If there’s a Stagg chilli on the shelf it will be of the meat variety, though there is a vegetarian one available!

Next, check the frozen foods. You’ll find the freezers contain pizzas (with meat), “Michelina’s” entrees (all meat with the exception of frozen macaroni and cheese, which is a rare find), Burritos (most often meat and sometimes bean and cheese), and Swanson TV dinners (you got it… all meat!)

I used to work at a 7-11 and I knew the routine. They’d start selling something meat free and it wouldn’t sell well right away so they’d stop carrying it within a few short weeks, while they’d keep the meat products. I used to tell my manager that the reason was they weren’t giving the vegetarians time to discover the product. Nothing was ever done in the way of advertising to draw the vegetarians to it, so why would they suddenly believe they would find something suited to them in that store now?

Over the duration of my 'special diet', I have watched the cycles of grocery stores getting a new product that I would get into, and one day I would show up and it would be gone. Ask the management why it’s gone and they blame poor sales. I always ask the same questions:

·         How long did you carry it?

·         How much did you advertise it to vegetarians?

·         How much did you advertise it to non-vegetarians?

·         Do you still carry the meat version of that particular brand/product group?

The stock answers would most likely be “not that long”, “not much”, “not much” & “Probably”.

Another concern of mine is that cooks in restaurants don’t put too much care into the thought that they are preparing something for a vegetarian. Though they have a pretty good selection for vegetarians, my last 3 visits to Jack Astor’s Restaurant have resulted in my returning the food to be remade for me.

I don’t have time to wait these days for another 10 minutes while they get right what should have been prepared as ordered the first time. The first two times was because they had put bacon on a baked potato that I had asked for without it. The 3^rd time was also bacon on a Caesar salad that I had asked for without it, then when the bartender goes to fix the order they send back a salad with basically just lettuce and some Parmesan and no croutons so again I have to wait another 3 minutes for this to be corrected.

This kind of thing is common in my life. I will often ask for a vegetarian item, say a Mexican flauta or an egg or spring roll, and will be mistakenly given the chicken version. And I know it at first bite. It’s gross!

There was a restaurant in London called “The Five and Diner” where I ordered a veggie burger and fries and found bacon in the fries when I got back to work. Again, I found myself going back to the restaurant to find out what the hell was going on. I showed the girl at the counter my takeout tray with the bacon in it and she didn’t seem at all surprised.

“Sometimes people want extra crispy bacon with their breakfast so we put it into the deep fryer” she told me.

“So you’re cooking your fries in pig fat?” I asked

“No, it’s vegetable oil”

“Not anymore!” I said

“Maybe you should get the salad next time.” She said, and of course I was instantly angry.

“Maybe you should get your manager right now.” I said through clenched teeth.

When the manager appeared I told him that they needed to stop the practise of cooking meat in with vegetables. I let him know that there are many vegetarians or meat eaters that wouldn’t be too happy knowing that pig fats were being cooked into their fries, and that because they advertised the fries being cooked in vegetable oil, it was ultimately false advertising. I also told him that he needs to train his staff to be a little more sensitive to the needs of vegetarians and not be so quick to stick us with a salad. He was patronizing and semi apologetic and offered me a free lunch, which I never used. Not long after that the restaurant closed down. I don’t ever wonder why.

I’ve always liked that there are options for me at a place like Taco Bell but I just found out the other day that there is now a surcharge to get beans instead of beef on a taco. This doesn’t make any sense at all. It’s not like it’s a huge inconvenience to anyone, as all of their food is prepared on the spot. I talked to the manager at my usual Taco Bell and he even told me that the cost centre on the beans is much lower than the beef mixture so it’s not that either. Like I say it makes no sense and is just further proof of the fast food industry’s lack of respect for non-meat eaters. I have told the manager that as long as that surcharge is there, Taco Bell has lost my business.

At least these days more and more grocery stores are carrying a wide variety of veggie options that are quick and easy to prepare, but you don’t want to always have to go into a grocery store to pick up a quick bite, right? I have found the various Loblaws stores to be very good at having a good selection of vegan and organic vegetarian fast foods, as is Metro.

There you’ll find the Gardein products, Veggie Patch, Yves and Tofurkey brands as well as some of the Schneiders vegetarian products. The PC Blue Menu brand has a few items of interest like a “Vegetarian Bolognese Spaghetti sauce” and a simulated “ground round”. Once again, going to a grocery store and standing in line for a couple of small items can be a real hassle. It’d be great if the variety stores like Macs or 7-eleven would stock such things, even if only a small selection.

Now that such items are out there, what is it that’s taking so long for stores to get on the ball with it and keep a regular and varied supply of them at all times? Most of these items have longer shelf lives than meats and fish as they are fully cooked. Perhaps it’s apathy on the part of vegetarians who are just so used to having to prepare a lunch or dinner to take with them for the day? Perhaps it’s a lack of knowledge about the vegetarian lifestyle on the part of the food distributors? Perhaps it’s a misconception that there is no money to be made by catering to the vegetarians out there?

That’s a pretty dangerous misconception to have, for any business.

Places to look for a quick meat free bite to eat:

·         Smokes Poutinerie – They make a vegetarian mushroom based gravy. Delicious!

·         Harvey’s – Their veggie burger is one of the premier burgers out there and not priced way over their regular meat burgers

·         Jack Astor’s – Veggie fajitas, Spring Rolls, Greek hand tossed pizza and one of the best veggie burgers I’ve ever had!

·         Los Comales (London, Ont) – Bean and Cheese Pupusas and a fabulous Jalapeno and Cheddar soup

·         Subway

·         Mr Sub

·         Sammy’s Souvlaki (London, Ont)

·         Shawarma Palace (London, Ont)

·         Prince Albert Diner (London, Ont) – Veggie burritos, chimichangas, quesadillas, Veggie dog and the best fries in town

·         London Burgers (London, Ont) – A good veggie burger and great people!

·         Jambalaya (London, Ont) – Maybe not so quick but their Veggie Roti is a must try for anyone!

·         Pho Ben Than (London, Ont) – They can have almost anything ready for take out in about 10 minutes (except peak periods) and have a great selection of Thai and Vietnamese vegetarian dishes. They made me a tofu eater where as I used to avoid it. Not any more!

If there’s any I have missed, please feel free to let me know in the comments. 

Becoming and existing as a Vegetarian

For those that don't already know, I am a vegetarian. 

At least that's what I tell anyone asking. Technically, I would be known as a lacto-ovo-pescetarian because I eat eggs, some dairy and fish. All of those have come into my diet over the last few years, and I have very select tastes for each of them. I was fairly close to veganism at one point as I had troubles processing milk products. That has since passed and now I enjoy my cheeses more than anything else in my diet, though I still don't drink milk aside from in tea. For all intents and purposes I just say that I am a vegetarian. 

I might as well jump right to the how, what, where, when and why of it. From 1987 to about 1990 I worked for McDonald's Restaurant as a maintenance crew member. I got to clean the manifolds above the grills, the fry vats, the floors and pretty much every article in the store from 11pm-7am, 5 nights a week. I made pretty good cash for a kid right out of high school, and I worked pretty hard at it.

It was there and then that I had an epiphany. This goopy yellow-ish stuff I was scraping away from the sides of the manifolds, beyond the silver mesh screens, was rising off the steam from the meats we grilled every day. It smelled just like the burgers it came off of.  

One day while cleaning I thought "Good thing I am not eating this stuff". Then it hit me. If this is able to rise through several layers of screen mesh filters and still make it 8 feet from floor level, what stays IN the burgers? It was a disconcerting thought to say the least. 

Not long after that, I woke in the early evening (after sleeping post shift) to my dad making steaks for dinner. He had run out of propane on the bbq and had to broil them in the oven to finish them. The smell of the beef cooking wafted through the house and the visions of the McDonald's browny-yellow goop popped to mind. I instantly felt nauseous. I had no appetite whatsoever and knew I wasn't going to eat that steak. In fact, I had a notion that I would likely never eat a steak again.  

I went downstairs and told my dad and mom that I couldn't eat the dinner they had prepared, and while my mom understood my dad took offence.  

"What am I supposed to do with this extra steak" 

"Eat it, save it for your lunch or feed it to Pip" (our dog at the time) 

"What are you going to eat?" 

"I'll find something. I'll have to figure it out because I am thinking of going vegetarian." 

My dad scoffed at the notion. He threw a million or more reasons at me why I would fail, even making up some ludicrous statements like "The vegetarians I know all suffer from malnutrition and bad body odour". I had known vegetarians to that point and never recognized body odour as a side effect. He told me I'd never find a way to make it work, so I called him on it. 

"Haven't you always told me that I can succeed at anything that I put my mind to?" I asked him, and again he scoffed. That was it; I was now a budding vegetarian. But time would prove I was a bad one. 

I threw myself into a lifestyle that I didn't understand. I could barely cook pasta or potatoes at that point in my life, so I didn't eat very well. Kraft dinner and cereal and Campbell's soups were my staples and they left a lot to be desired in my weekly menu. I did sneak some chicken once in a while there but felt guilty for it. It got to the point where I wouldn't eat simply so I could avoid eating meat and I eventually dropped my weight to about 108 lbs. At 5'11" that made me not only look sickly but I was seriously on the verge of malnutrition. I had failed. My dad was right. 

Needless to say, I was talked into eating meat. I had moved back to Sarnia needing to get my physical and emotional self back in shape, and my parents took me in for a few months till I got my feet under me again. I remember the sense of pride and gloating air about my dad as he would plop a fat steak on a plate in front of me. I remember the sinking sense of failure and resignation as I laboriously chewed and choked back every bite.  I wasn't any more a meat eater then than I had been when I first made my decision to quit it. I just didn't know what else to do. 

A few years later after moving back to London to go to school, I knew I couldn't continue to eat meat. It made me gassy, smelly, often lacking in energy after a big meal and just gross overall. It wasn't till after meeting and falling in love with a long time vegetarian that I learned how to be a better one. One day she took a stack of vegetarian cook books and tossed them down in front of me and said "start cooking!" and so I did. 

Fast forward to today. Not only do I eat well and have a good body weight, but I cook very well. I love cooking for chefs and other foodies. Not only is their critique valuable, it's also nice to get tips and ideas from them. My cupboard is filled with every known herb and spice that has ever crossed my palate (there are very few I am yet to stock) and my fridge is often stocked with a wide compliment of vegetables. There is never a time when I can't whip up something pretty tasty and nutritious should family or friends come by. One of my goals with each meal I cook for a meat eater is to make sure that they don't miss the meat. I've fooled many people with the Yves products or TVP. 

One of the first things I had to learn was to find a comfort food I thought I'd never have again and make it better than ever. I had eaten veggie wieners and veggie burgers but what about a meaty style Lasagna? Stuffed peppers are another I've tried, as well as "Meat loaf", Tacos, Enchiladas and Shepherd's Pie; all foods that I loved as a kid. Suddenly I have a wide repertoire of hearty meals that aren't terribly difficult to make. The challenge now is to change them up, improvise, find my own recipe and find out what others like. 

If any among you are seeking ideas for replacing meat dishes in your diet with something with better overall nutritional value, by all means write me. While I call myself Vegetarian I eat eggs and cheeses and soured creams as I mentioned, I just find it easier to say Vegetarian so people know what NOT to try and cook for me or have me order. In my next blog I'll give some thoughts on fast food as a vegetarian, and signs of a good place to grab a fulfilling snack or meal in a hurry.

Meditation in Motion – Cycling out of your comfort zone

For about the past 3 years now, I have been spending the bulk of my 4 weeks worth of vacation days in Port Burwell, Ontario at the home of my close friend Dave. As former roomies it's a great chance for us to catch up and talk and make good food with some other friends by the lake.

Sometimes Dave will pick me up in his truck or I'll find a ride out there with someone else or as was the case on four occasions, I bike out there.

I've done so on a variety of bikes, all of which were assembled for me by my brother in law Brad who is a bit of a natural at it. We call them the "Franken-bikes" as they are usually built out a few bikes worth of parts. Brad was part of the first trip I had made out there as well as the second while my third and fourth treks were both solo.

When I tell people in town that I biked from London they generally comment with "Surely, you mean motor bike?" and the look of surprise changes to astonishment and then curiosity as they follow up with "How long did THAT take you?" when they realize that I did actually mean by leg power.

My best time was 5 ¼ hrs with my nephew Jensen and Brad. My Longest 6hrs 5mins and this last trip was 5 ¾ hrs. For some that I talk to they immediately say "I could never do that length of a trip. I wouldn't make it." I told myself that until the day I called Brad up and said I thought I was ready. He had already done the trip and had a good idea of which roads should be avoided and which were good.

Now let me say that I am not a "cyclist" and I do not train for this as an athletic endeavour. For me the bike is my mode of travel by choice around the city and with a full set of bags for transporting groceries or clothes or whatever, I am pretty self sufficient without a car. Riding the various multi-use pathways every couple of weeks in the summer I believe has given me the impetus to try something bigger and I am not done there. Brad and I are talking about a few days at a time with more gear like tents and cook tools.

So I guess you could say that my main inspiration was the knowledge that Brad had done it and fairly safely at that. My biggest concern was finding suitable roads where I didn't have to fight with traffic and I have done that now. My trip is pretty well mapped out but I know where I can make detours and stops for various reasons, like lunch or the odd fruit and vegetable stand or even for a beer.

The trip overall is more about enlightening your senses now and experiencing a variety of interactions with nature, man, the wind and rain. Our first trek was started in a hard rain fall.

On all of the previous trips we/I stopped at The Hill Berry Farm, and rested up, cooled down, had a bite to eat and grabbed some fresh foods for after the trip. Brad and I remember "Wicket", a type of Jack Russell pup who knew he could mooch a piece of sandwich or other snack off of us. The other two dogs would lumber over as if they were only half interested in the activity but would still stick their nose in your lunch pack when you weren't looking. Unfortunately, the stand wasn't open due to the rainy spring. Still I had hopes that maybe I'd find some asparagus but to no avail.

Keep in mind this ride isn't near what some of those die hard cycling enthusiasts work for and do year in and out. A colleague I have met through work, Ted, is in his 50's and trains in rain and snow to keep his self race ready year round. His treks astound me and at this point I couldn't fathom doing any of them.

Yet.

The trek is a lot of work at times as you can never fully avoid some steep hills or long inclines, but that being said there are many great hills to get a good momentum built from as to propel you up the other side with a minimum of effort. Wind can be a factor also in regards to the level of work your legs need to do. Going up a steep incline with a headwind can slow you down a fair bit and tire you out.

What it comes down to is that you have to be bigger than the trip. You have an ultimate destination and various other goals and tasks and distractions. Every stop is a means to an end, a checkpoint or the like. You get yourself to a point where it would be wrong to turn back or give in and call for the ride which of course any distance rider would have setup in advance in case of an emergency etc.

I try to absorb as much from every pedal turn as I can. Conversely I try to absorb something from the stops. The whole trip becomes a communion with your ever changing environment. You are thrust into strange places alone with whatever you can fit in your panniers or rack trunk and the bike itself.

I must admit to having become a bit of a bike geek being fully outfitted with panniers, a rack pack, my trusty helmet, a mirror, a bell and various lights and reflectors. The only area of biking I haven't gotten to at this point is the clothing.

You know what I mean, the lycra "junk in the trunk" shorts and the multi coloured moisture wicking, form fitting shirts complete with a pair of Oakleys and the special toe clip shoes. Ummm yeah… not ready for that yet.

It doesn't matter about the training, it doesn't matter about the clothes or the type of bike as long as you are comfortable first and foremost.

Being out there on the road under your own propulsion heading 70km away from home is daunting for about 5 minutes, and then every meter you ride gets etched into your memory with a variety of sights, sounds, smells etc.

The dead animals along every stretch of road remind you of the frailness of all in comparison to the great road monsters you will meet along the way. We've seen the usual assortment of cat, squirrel, ground hog, birds, rabbit and raccoon. Sadly on this last trip I also saw someone's hound dog at the edge of a ditch and on our first trip we stopped to see a deer. Morbid and horrifying maybe, but it's part of the trip and acknowledging what they gave for the road to be there is greater than all of us and our machines.

Whether you ride like I do with a source of music accompanying you on the trip, or with just the sounds of the environments and terrains, the sound track can very much influence the overall trip.

All in all, I find the trip to be an awakening or maybe an escape from the confines of the city. For nearly 6 hours, it's me, the elements and the inhabitants of the country side. I can't imagine ever getting tired of that.

This being the earliest of my 4 trips here, was quite interesting as I get to witness the various stages of growth in spring. I hope to do another summer trip and then one more in the fall this year so as to enjoy all of the cycles and colours and treasures of the land before the snow hits.

Things I recommend to anyone ever considering taking such a trek:

• Have a good set of plans. Know your roads available to you and map it out if you have to for the initial inspiration. Google Maps has a beta feature currently that gives you a few different cycling directions between two destinations with a travel time estimation.
  
• HYDRATE! Of course this point cannot be stated enough. I have never found that I need more than 2 litres for a trip but sometimes I stop for a sports drink to keep electrolytes up and a chance to cool down.
  
• Light weight high protein snacks like granola or sports or cereal bars are good to have. Bags of trail mix and nuts are good snacks to tuck in a pocket and eat as you ride. I like to pack a few sandwiches with an ice pack in my rack pack for short breaks.
  
• Take a smallish towel. There's a good chance you're going to sweat and you'll thank me later.
  
• Have a "buddy", someone who'll keep in touch with you through your ride by text or cell phone or that you can call in case of an emergency. Always let people know you are going on a long trip before you hit the road, google Maps can also be used to email someone your projected route.
  
• Take your time to enjoy every stretch of road and all that appears along them.
  

 

This is the trip I took on Saturday May 21^st, 2011


 

 

 

Eye and Ear There and Hear 5: Matadors, Navy Blues Fest

Eye and Ear There and Hear 5: Matadors, Navy Blues Fest