On My Bike
I am spending 2 months in a mobile sustainable community with 15 other women as part of the Otesha Project. Follow my blog as I post updates about the highs and lows.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
A Spinning Good Bye
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Me and PEI
B u t , l e t s r e w i n d a g a i n , o k , s o b i k e d i n t o C h a r l o t t e t o w n , m e t T o n y , a n d n o w c y c l e d t o t h e h o u s e I w a s s t a y i n g a t i n B o n s h a w . G r o o v y p l a c e w i t h S O O O O M A N Y b o o k s , a n d t h e y h a v e a g o r g e o u s g a r d e n , l o t s o f f o r e s t , a n d a s o l a r h o t w a t e r h e a t e r ! W h e n I w a s t h e r e I g o t t o a t t e n d a p a i n t i n g s e s s i o n a n d g o t o a d a y l o n g w o r k s h o p o n a g r i c u l t u r a l e d u c a t i o n i n t h e s c h o o l s y s t e m s . T h e r e w a s a l o t a b o u t c o n t a i n e r g a r d e n i n g a n d s t a r t i n g u p g a r d e n i n g s t u f f w i t h l i t t l e i f a n y b u d g e t , i t w a s S O O A W E S O M E ! A f t e r w a r d s I f e l t i n s p i r e d b u t a l s o k i n d a d i s e m b o w e l e d , b e c a u s e I w a s n o t a b l e t o t a k e a c t i o n r i g h t a w a y a n d I a m w o r r i e d t h a t a l l t h a t i n s p i r a t i o n w i l l t r i c k l e a w a y . I h o p e n o t ! O k , s o t h a t f a s t f o r w a r d s u s t o d a y 4 !
D a y 4 I c y c l e d t o C h a r l o t t e t o w n t h e l o n g w a y , b y g o i n g a r o u n d t h e s h o r e a n d c y c l i n g t h r o u g h t h e s i t e w h e r e a l l o f t h e P E I A c a d i a n s w e r e d e p o r t e d . T h a t w a s a r e a l l y m o v i n g m o m e n t f o r m e a n d m a d e m e t h i n k a l o t a b o u t h o w l u c k y I a m t o b e s o f r e e a n d d o e s s e n t i a l l y a n y t h i n g I w a n t , a n d w h y w e a s h u m a n s d o s u c h c r a z y t h i n g s . I c o u l d k i n d a u n d e r s t a n d w h y i t w a s d o n e , e v e n i f I d o n t a g r e e w i t h i t . I a m g u e s s i n g t h e y s a w t h e F r e n c h a s a t h r e a t , a n d t h e r e f o r e s c a r e d f o r t h e i r o w n s a f e t y t h e E n g l i s h d e p o r t e d t h e m . P e r h a p s I a m g i v i n g t h e E n g l i s h t o o m u c h c r e d i t t h o u g h . B u t w h a t e v e r t h e r e a s o n , i t s d e f i n i t e l y a s a d p a r t o f h i s t o r y. However, on the upside, it brough about the Cajun culture down south.
S t i l l w i t h m e ? M y s o l o b i k e t o u r i n g s t a r t e d 1 0 d a y s a g o , t h a t i s a l o n g t i m e t o b e t r a v e l i n g s o l o , b u t I a m a l i v e a n d w e l l . I h a v e b e e n o n P E I f o r 7 o f t h o s e d a y s . I n 7 d a y s y o u w o u l d t h i n k I c o u l d h a v e s e e n t h e w h o l e i s l a n d b y n o w , b u t n o t m e . I s e e m t o b e t a k i n g i t s l o w . I d i d n t e v e n m a k e i t t o t h e w e s t s i d e , t h e f a r t h e s t I g o t w a s K e n s i n g t o n , w h i c h i s w h e r e I m a d e t h e u n f o r t u n a t e d e c i s i o n o f t r y i n g t o c a m p o n t h e l a w n o f a n A n g l i c a n C h u r c h ( o o p s , I t h o u g h t i t w o u l d b e o k s i n c e a U n i t e d C h u r c h w a s c o o l w i t h i n N o v a S c o t i a & I g u e s s a l l c h u r c h e s a r e n t b u i l d e q u a l , t h a t s c o o l , w e a l l g o t o u r w a y s ) , o r p e r h a p s i t w a s f o r t u n a t e s i n c e t h e l a d y w h o t o l d m e I c o u l d n t c a m p t h e i r ( l a t e r e x p l a i n i n g t h a t s h e w a s t r y i n g t o s a v e m e f r o m t h e w r a t h o f t h e c o n g r e g a t i o n ) l a t e r d e c i d e d t h a t I c o u l d c a m p o n h e r l a w n , s i n c e s h e c o u l d s e e I w a s c l e a r l y h o m e l e s s t h a t n i g h t ! S h e w a s a p r e t t y i n t e r e s t i n g l a d y , a n d s o w a s h e r f r i e n d w h o w a s a m b l i n g a r o u n d t h e i d e a o f r e l i g i o n a n d t r y i n g t o f i g u r e o u t w h a t s p i r i t u a l i t y m e a n s t o h e r . I f a 6 5 y r c a n s t i l l d a p p l e w i t h r e l i g i o n s o c a n I , r i g h t ? !
B u t I d i g r e s s , a n d I m i s s e d m y f i r s t 4 d a y s o f P E I ! S o t h e f i r s t d a y I c y c l e d i n t o C h a r l o t t e t o w n , a n d a l m o s t f e l l o v e r d u e t o e x h a u s t i o n & I d o n t k n o w w h y , b u t t h e r i d e w a s r e a l l y h a r d . T h e r e w a s a n a w e s o m e h e a d w i n d , h i l l s , a n d s c a r y t r a f f i c ( I s t a r t e d s w e a r i n g a t t h e t r u c k s a n d c a r s , t o o b a d n o n e o f t h e m h e a r d m e ) . B u t o n c e i n C h a r l o t t e t o w n I q u i c k l y f o u n d a c a f é a n d c h i l l e d o u t f o r a w h i l e . T h e n I a t t e p o s i t i v e n o t e i t i s w h a t b r o u g h t a b o u t t h e C a j u n c u l t u r e d o w n s o u t h !
I n C h a r l o t t e t o w n ( s t i l l D a y 4 ) I m e t u p w i t h a g u y n a m e d T y l e r w h o i s f r i e n d s w i t h a f r i e n d o f m i n e a n d w e h a d a g r e a t t i m e c h a t t i n g a n d l a u g h i n g a t a c r a z y o p e r a s i n g e r s i n g i n g t h e s e a r e t h e b e s t d a y s o f o u r l i v e s i n a n o p e r a t i c v o i c e ! W e h a d n e v e r m e t e a c h o t h e r b e f o r e , b u t I r e a l l y e n j o y e d h a n g i n g w i t h h i m , p r e t t y g r o o v y .
O k , I a m t i r e d o f t y p i n g n o w . T h e r e i s s t i l l D a y 5 , 6 , a n d 7 ( t o d a y ) t o t e l l a b o u t t h o u g h . B u t I m g o i n g t o l e a v e y o u h a n g i n g . I h a v e a l s o b e e n a w a r e o f t h e f o o d d e s s e r t n e s s t h a t P E I i s . T h e r e a r e n t r e a l l y a n y g r o c e r y s t o r e s e x p e c t i n t h e r e a l l y m a j o r t o w n s , w h i c h a r e f e w a n d f a r b e t w e e n ( w h e n y o u r o n b i k e ! ) , w h i c h m e a n s I h a v e h a d t o b u y a b u n c h o f g r o c e r i e s a t g a s s t a t i o n t y p e p l a c e s r e c e n t l y . I h a v e a l s o n o t e d h o w a l o t o f p e o p l e l e a v e i d l e t h e i r c a r s a l o t , a n d t h e r e i s a l o t o f p e s t i c e s u s e d h e r e , w h i c h r e s u l t s i n m a j o r r u n o f f s t h a t a r e k i l l i n g t h e i r c l a m a n d o y s t e r i n d u s t r i e s ( n o t t h a t I s u p p o r t s u c h i n d u s t r i e s , b u t I d o s u p p o r t t h o s e a n i m a l s l i v e s ! ) . T h e m e g a p e s t i c e u s e a l s o r e s u l t s i n a r e a l l y h i g h c a n c e r r a t e . B u t a n y w a y s , t h e s e a r e j u s t s o m e o b s e r v a t i o n s o f m i n e . Y o u o b s e r v e , a n d c o n v e r s e w i t h y o u r s e l f , a l o t w h e n c y c l i n g s o l o !
K e e p o n p e d a l i n g ( e v e n u p t h o s e b i g h i l l s ) .
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Flashbacks and Whats to Come
1. FLASHBACK!! Who doesn't love a little history, right? Look below for a flashback to one crazy tour on my Otesha tour!
What a day.
Today we biked from Wolfville, NS to Kingston, NS and I cycled with Rebecca. We had a radiculous day that started off with both of us heading backwards, to the bike shop in Wolfville to get both Bessy's (my bike) chain fixed and Sharp Tooth's (Rebecca's bike) fender fixed. Unfortunately along the way my chain was...well...unimpressed and got all tangled amongst itself so that I could not ride. Instead I got to hitch a ride with some pretty awesome para-racers (race in wheelchairs)! They told me all about their racing and how they can get up to speeds of 35km/hr, CRAZY!!
Once I arrived and Rebecca cycled in to meet me, I was promptly told the chain the bike shop sold me earlier was not needed, and would actually make my gear changing issues worse since my cogs were so worn out. Bahh, I was a little bit annoyed, but I also choked it up to learning! Now I know to changed my chain more often! So, they adjusted the tolerance and tension on my gear shifter and we were off on the road again.
To help with our morals we slapped mud from the dyke all over our faces. Now we were warriors ready to take on the world. If only we knew what the world had for us today...
It was only 15 minutes later when I noticed Sharp Tooth's back tire was looking pretty flat, alas it was. So we stopped to replace the tube, and then once we got going again it was about 5 minutes till...
"clunk, gerrr, scrap, BANG"
My chain had fallen off and got tangled, luckily I detanged it and got back on, but to no success. Annoyed I got off, and starred at Bessy with angry eyes, murmured a few inappropriate works, and played with the gears. I discovered the chain would not fall off if I forced the front derailleur to stay in a specific position. To do so I had to tap some old material with duck-tape to my frame. Didn't do engineering for nothing!
Off we went, and although I only had 2 gears for the entire ride Bessy held up, and we stopped at Bulk Barn to get candy, which helped me to keep going!
Nearing our destination suddenly all light was blocked out by the ENORMOUS farm vehicle that passed us! It came so close to both Rebecca and I that I could lick the manure off of its ginormous tires! We stopped to take and breather and freak out a little bit after that one.
Finally, we did arrive at the church we were staying at, the rest of our team already there, ready to welcome us and laugh at our still mud painted faces!
2. Whats to come!
Our tour ended 1 week ago, although it was only a few days ago that Nikola and I sent the last of the paperwork to the Otesha office. But it has already been ONE WEEK that the team has been separated. That's a long time in the Otesha world, yet it flew by! Now I get to think about ME as I continue habits such as consuming copious amounts of trail mix, only showering when REALLY needing to (even if the house I am staying in has 2 showers), and making it a habit to frequent a cafe everyday (when there is one in town). The habits keep me grounded while I get lost in my thoughts.
My current plans are to travel onwards, but that means making some pretty big purchases...such as a tent, stove, and other camping essentials. This threatens my dedication to buy nothing new for a year, since all venues I have sourced out for used goods are coming up dry (friends, kijiji, thrift shops), so...I had to buy new. It was hard but I did. And it was interesting to observe how once I bought a few things new how I started to just want to buy more new things...WAIT A MINUTE...TRICIA WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! This is what I yelled in my head, which helped me stop and think about what I was buying, and why was it so easy to buy things new? Did I really need these things? What I bought I did need (tent, stove, tarp, tensor bandage, fold-able water container for gorilla camping, and chain breaker), but I really don't need an extra dry sac, those pretty looking tights, or that fancy thermos which I almost bought (before I sat down and had a chat with me).
But anyways, other then gearing up I am also getting my plans sorted out for this trip! I am excited to explore PEI, and then later Newfoundland. I am excited to become a camping super star (did you ever think you would see the day, I know I didn't), read, and enjoy the maritimes.
I hope to keep you more posted then I have this past month. I will be flying solo, so I am sure I will be craving a little communication, even if it is with a computer screen!
Talk soon, and don't be strangers!
Thursday, May 24, 2012
To ADD to this, I am fairly grumpy right now, and utterly sorry for this, but when sleep becomes elusive I think I get upset because I just want to rest and not play games. But anyways.
With all of that said, it is great to be cycling with the Otesha team. Last night during our daily check-in, every person expressed their challenges with being super exhausted, so I am not alone. However I also expressed to the team how its the little things that are awesome. Writing chalk messages on the road (even though none of my other team members saw it...booo), eating lunch in a car wash since that was the only shelter we could find from the rain, having awkward conversations with people in health food stores, swapping clothes, laughing at how ridiculous each of us looks, its all part and parcel of the experience and I love it! Without these little things life would be so boring. The hardest part sometimes is to leave space for these little things to grow and frolic.
Ok, I better go do my back exercises before we head on the road. Thanks for listening.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Rising Tide Tour Begins
It is only day 3 of the "official" training week (although I have been in Fredericton for 6 days) but it feels like we have been here for weeks, which is characteristic of most intense experiences. I am trying to take it day by day, embracing the silly times and conversations but also finding places and time to be with me and reflect and listen to my body and self.
(Aside: there are chick monks going crazy behind me right now that I hope do not attack me...I am sitting in the woods.)
I am really excited for our team, there seems to be a lot of openness, creativity, and passion. I hope that I am able to keep true to myself without being a leader. I find it challenging to draw the line that divides where I am stepping up because of simply my nature and who I am vs because I planned the tour and am a tour liaison. Something that has seemed to work is that by sharing the route pages (where we are going, distance biked each day, etc.) with the whole team prior to training week starting tour members have been able to check out where we are going on their own and have been commenting on stuff that they have found out for them selves rather then always asking me!
Thats all the reflection I have for you now! Bike safe and wear those reflective vests!!
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Busy Times on my Bike
Pedal up and pedal down, pedal all over town.
This has been my mantra the past few weeks! It has been a busy time, full of Otesha outreach events, warmer weather, long runs, rock climbing, birthday parties and other events.
I love being engaged in my community, active and busy! Its great to meet new people (and see people I already know) at events. But, this network that I am forming will be left behind (again) as I take off to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia on an Otesha bike trip (again). The upside is my plans are to return to Ottawa at the end of September, so this network I will have formed will be re-united with me…yippee!
But back to the Maritimes. Yes, I am heading out to the east coast now to bike along the Bay of Fundy with an awesome crew of other volunteers. There will only be 9 of us this time, and I am excited to meet them! Our training week starts in a month and I can’t wait! However between now and then there is a lot to get done! I can’t believe its already April!
Along with April showers, April also brings Easter, CanBike training, a half marathon, finishing a business plan, fix my bike, and work and do fun things too! Wowzers! Busy!