10/27/2011
I sold my 1969 Mustang Mach 1 today and
that reaffirmed my plans to leave for this
bicycle trip through South America. I am
12 years older than my last ride and I
remember some of the hardships endured on
that one. So I am a little nervous about
this whole prospect, I have not
investigated anything about this proposed
route of mine. I do not know anything
about the mountain ranges or roads I'll be
on. I know there are travelogues out there
but I decided to avoid getting any idea in
my mind of what it might look like. I want
to just go and experience the unknown.
There is still a lot to do, I need to get
more gear. My tent is still the same one
from 12 years ago! Time for a new one. I
will see a friend in Canada tomorrow that
I have not seen in 18 years. We had
anthrolopology together at East Carolina
University and it will be great to see her
and her partner. While there she is going
to help me choose some gear for my trip
too. I am hoping to meet Gord on this trip
too as well as meet Toni Childs who is in
Victoria recording a new album and has a
very unique approach to promoting her
album.
1969 Mustang Mach 1 390 big block car,
concours condition show car
loaded up and will soon belong to a
collector in Austrailia
10/29/2011
Got into Vancouver last night and finally
met my friend Sheska that I had not seen
for 17.5 years. We stayed up until 12:30
talking and it was great to connect again.
We spent most of today visiting about 5
different outdoor shops investigating
gear.
Driving across the bridge
into Vancouver
Sheska and I have a chat :)
testing a lightweight tent
10/30/2011
Today Sheska and I went and looked at some
more gear, she bought an awesome camping
knife and then we went to investigate the
tech eqpt for my ride such as the latest
in mp3 players and netbooks. We met Erika
at a place where they honor the dead in a
Latin tradition, it was very similar to
the Zen Buddhist tradition I was once
involved with called "feeding The Hungry
Ghosts". Afterwards we went for lunch at a
Mexican restaurant as they were helping to
prepare me for the Latin culture I'm
heading into.
an alter honoring the dead as well as
making a political statement
Sheska having coconut water out of a real
coconut
Live Latin music
mmmmmm breakfast
10/31/2011
I left Sheska's and Erika's place this
morning, what a fantastic time. Looking
forward to visiting again next year. I met
Gord and his wife for lunch today. I
initially met Gord on my bicycle trip in
1999 when he was playing with the Canadian
band "The Falcons" at the Dawson City
Music Festival. It was good to see him
again after all these years. In a way he
is a connection to the last bicycle ride a
did so it was fitting for a visit as I
prepare for my next journey. After lunch I
headed for the ferry terminal for my trip
to Victoria.
Gord and I with friends 12 years earlier
The road as I'm leaving Vancouver
View from
the ferry headed to Victoria
11/01/2011
I met with Toni and her fiance Mick this
morning for breakfast at a small quaint
cafe. For the first time I got nervous
talking about my trip, I do not understand
it but I was really nervous. Toni was so
kind and very encouraging as I am planning
this vision quest of mine. She has such a
beautiful soul and Mick is a lovely man
too. The conversation consisted primarily
of the soul work and my focus on moving
further from being egocentric to
soulcentric. Toni is finishing up her new
album "Citizens Of The Planet" in Victoria
so it was just my luck that I was in that
region while she was there. She has set an
intention to become a ‘sustainable’
independent recording artist who is able
to release albums and tour globally
without the need for record companies,
concert promoters or booking agencies. In
order to this she is appealing directly to
her supporters. She made one song from her
new album available for download now. With
enough sales of that song, it will help
her finish recording independently.
As I stated
in the "about this ride section", I found
inspiration in what Toni Childs is doing
with Wrap The World In Beauty
and while I am only able to do my part in
a small way, it is artists like her who
can spread a beautiful message in a big
way. I think that is a wonderful gift, but
no matter how big or small we all need to
do our part.
The ride on
the ferry back was 3 hours. I have to
respect all those I encounter and do not
want to disrespect conversations told that
were never intended to be made public.
During this 3 hours I stepped into a world
through stories that was totally foreign
to me. This woman was a stock trader and
shared some stories well worth writing
about, but they are not my stories. She
appeared independent, strong, yet very
graceful, attractive, highly intelligent
and extremely observant. While talking she
would say "look out the window, there's a
whale". She seemed to be acutely aware of
all of the surroundings while being
totally engaging in a conversation. I felt
much more at ease on the ferry than I did
earlier in the day. Listening to a lot of
the stories helped me forget about my
upcoming trip alone.
11/01/2011
I just bought my one way ticket to Bogota,
Colombia today. I leave on the 17th and
I'm nowhere close to being prepared yet. I
have to finish up some house projects, get
the landscaping guy started on the major
renovation at the front of the house and
finish buying the gear I need.
11/07/2011
I took my bicycle to REI and Shane helped
me with a bent front derailleur, replaced
the middle chainring which had a broken
tooth on it, and we figured out how the
old man maount rack went on the front of
the bike. I just realized the small
portable solar charger will not charge my
small net book. So that is being returned
to REI today. I have been considering the
purchase of a small day pack for my trek
to Machu Picchu but I think I will wait
until I'm in the area and see what I need
and can buy something there.
You can see the front derailleur is bent
to the right in this pic
10/09/2011
My new panniers still have not arrived,
I'm hoping they arrive tomorrow. I
bought a small super light tripod which
will be useful. weighs only 16 ozs and
although has a overal height of 42", it
collapses down to 14".
The other big news
for today was the completion of my
website redesign. This site was
dedicated to my North America trip for
the past 12 years and now it was divided
into 2 sections and lots of cool
graphics work done by www.jennicartoon.com
I bought a Big
Agnes sleeping pad which is thicker than
my old one and 1/3 the packed size and
1/3 the weight.
11/12/11
It was a little bit challenging today
for me. Things have been going very
smoothly and I've been enjoying my days
preparing for the trip. Today I had to
go through all my stuff and make sure it
was going to fit on my bicycle, I also
needed to try out my new stove to make
sure I knew how to use it prior to
taking off. Last trip I had a trailer
with lots of great storage. Now I find
my sleeping bag takes up one whole rear
pannier and that will not work! There
was a lot of sorting stuff out trying to
figure out what will go where and how. I
finally got it set up and looks like
everything is going to work beautifully.
Just a bit of fussin' for awhile, but
got there in the end. I did discover
that I'm still missing a few items such
as those adjustable bungee cords, H2O
tabs, and about 6 other miscelleaneous
items.
all the stuff that
has to go on the bicycle
putting on my new
Shimano SPD A530 pedals, the allow for
SPD cycling shoes with cleats on one
side,
and is a standard flat pedal on the
other side so I can wear any ole shoe or
sandal on this side showing.
Since there are 2
different types of metals, steel
threading into aluminum, that stuff has
to be used or it will
seize up over time and then it's next to
impossible to get off.
I11/13/2011
I got my bicycle loaded up and figured
out where to put everything, here is a
short video:
11/14/2011
Wow great things happened today, I was
able to meet with a friend, Marci who
graciously agreed to be videotaped with
"the question". She also gave me a
mission! Toni first told me about the
Earths Kundalini and Marci also told me
about it. Marci gave me some sacred
healing water that has been infused with
lots of healing love and light energy by
a group of women for many years. Drops
of this water will be placed along
places in the Andes for healing and help
the Earths Kundalini. This sacred water
is filled with feminine heart energy to
help balance the strong male energy that
has done so much destruction to the
planet.
Another
bit of excitement is the perfect timing
for Jade to be passing through my town
just before I leave on my journey. Jade
is a vision quest guide who helped guide
me on my vision quest earlier this year.
She has such a wonderful spirit and a
beautiful soul that shines through. I
was blessed to see her as she is a
connection to my past, someone who
helped form that bridge for me to be
able to pass from my old life and become
reborn into a new one. I had not seen
her since that day I left the quest and
the universe timed it just perfect for
this encounter.
I also
had great conversations with dear
friends I love very much who are also
connections to my past and I was
overwhelmed with the feeling of being in
love with so many people who love me.