More on Micah

As many of you know, I won't actually be at feast tonight, as I am heading off to Pigeon Lake in an hour or so. So, if you're just now looking for Micah's address, I suggest getting a hold of Lana or Malcolm, who will also know the details. Enjoy!

Friday Feast

Our lovely Feast host for this week, the Marvelous Micah, wanted me to remind everyone that there is indeed a Feast this week, though at a new location - Micah's place. Please email me for the address. Please show up after or around 7pm and as usual, everyone's welcome. Well, everyone we know & their friends, that is. Random people off the street may be forced to answer a skill-testing question.

Change of Plans

I went away for two little days and the plans got mightily changed. Sadly, Rem's dad has had to give up pedalling for a while due to Achilles tendon issues. He took the bus back to Vernon today and will be meeting Rem tomorrow with a 4-wheeled vehicle and acting as a support car rather than a biking buddy. He's planning on sticking with Rem until Thursday when he gets to Rocky Mountain House and then has to depart for Calgary for a good friend's funeral.

I'll be meeting Rem in Pigeon Lake on Friday night and coming back with him Saturday. Whether I bike down or get a ride from my sister depends partially on the weather forecast and partially on whether I can find a biking buddy to come some or all of the way with me. I'm a little nervous about doing a long day on my own though Kirsten has graciously agreed to rescue me should the need arise. I have neither bike tools nor bike fixing abilities as Rem took both of those with him so really would be useless in the face of a breakdown.

Yup, they're still fine...

For those of you who may be looking for such information, I heard from Rem yesterday that he and his dad are doing well. It was a long day - something like 145km (groan!) - and complicated by some construction that required them to ride in a pilot truck over a very goopy road, but no real troubles. I'm going to be out of communication with them for a couple days due to our trip to Crimson and their moving into a dead zone for cell phones, but hopefully they will continue to behave themselves even without me checking up on them.

Over the mountains and through the woods

Okay, maybe they're not actually to the woods yet, but there was definately mountainous terrain to be traversed on Rem and his dad's first day of biking from Vernon to Edmonton. They made it safely to Kamloops on schedule, with some minor difficulties.

It seems Clare's cycle had been repaired by a slightly potheaded bike mechanic who evidently felt that aligning derailleurs fell on the optional side of maintenance so Clare spent the day manually helping his gears to shift. Fortunately, he's riding a recumbent tricycle with a plastic tube chain guard and the chain in easy reach so this is actually possible. He and Rem spent some time this evening realigning everything. Hopefully their work will solve the problem and tomorrow will be an easier pedal.

Of course, the two large bags o' stuff that Clare's abandoning with a friend in Kamloops will probably also help. After hauling a whole lot of weight up some pretty steep climbs, the benefits of packing very lightly have become a whole lot more real. Abandoned items include: an electric razor, a large flashlight, and bear spray. Although I like the idea of their having some defense against a bear, it seems unlikely that the bear will be courteous enough to wait while the bear spray is dug out of the panniers. I guess they'd just best keep moving through bear country!

So that's the news at 11...

No Friday Feast - June 23

Crimson lake, here I come! Anne, Lana, Anne's friend Sophie (I do love that name) and I are heading out to Anne's family's rustic but charming cabin on Crimson Lake this Friday and so there will be no Friday Feast. At least not in Edmonton. We will probably be feasting on S'mores or possibly S'Malcolms out in the mountains, though.

Feasts resume next week, this time guest-hosted by the marvelous Micah - email or call me for the address. Festivities start at 7pm unless you wish to join Micah earlier at the Critical Mass ride.

Biking with Cell Phone = Very Bad Idea

No, the title does not refer to me.

Rem and his dear friend Mark went out cycle camping around Vancouver this weekend. Mark needed to call his girlfriend for whatever reason and was cycling the 10km or so to the nearest landline as they didn't have cell reception at the campsite. Unfortunately, while doing so, he was also holding his cell phone to see if he could get reception before going all the way to the phone booth.

Lo and behold, along the way he noticed a full bar of reception, got all excited and braked suddenly - on a downhill slope - with his left hand only. Now, for those of you who don't cycle, the left hand is your front brake, and a sudden stop of only the front brake, particularly going down the hill, is very very likely to send you head-over-handlebars. Which is exactly what happened to poor Mark.

He landed on his hands, smashing the cell phone but generally preserving the skin on his right hand. His ungloved left hand, however, was apparently pretty road rashed. More importantly, he managed to slightly fracture both elbows. Yup, the poor fool will be in slings for three or four weeks. Good thing he already wrote his final exams.

Two lessons may be taken from this:

One, dismount before attempting to do anything at all with a cell phone. Please!

Two, wear gloves. Or protect your hand with a cell phone.

Get better soon, Mark!

Perspective

I just wanted to note for the record that my life is pretty darn good. (knock on wood.) My job is interesting, challenging and rewarding, my husband is loving (and cooks), my friends and family are near and dear, my health is great and I love my city. Thanks, life.

Further Fabulous Friday Feasts

Anne's Morrocan themed feast did an excellent job of kicking off June as Guest Chef night yesterday. Chickpeas, couscous, chicken and a sweet potato & squash ragout were eagerly consumed by the waiting crowd. The majority of attendees were attired in variously coloured t-shirts and jeans, with the highlight of the fashion scene most decidedly being Malcolm's leg brace. A wonderful time was had by all.

NEXT WEEK: Lana takes on the guest chef challenge. Come cheer her on!

Further Friday Feasts

Good news! Friday Feasts are filling up!

Anne is making a guest appearance in our kitchen this week (June 9th). We may have cous-cous! Hurrah!

Micah and Malcolm have also graciously agreed to guest-host a feast in the absence of our mighty cook Remkes. June 30th's Feast will be held at Micah's place - email me for the address, those of you who don't know it.

That still leaves next week to be claimed. Speak now and save us all from my so called cooking.

Some of you may have noticed I'm not mentioning the 23rd - since I shall probably be away that weekend, it's not been a high priority for me. However, if someone would like to host for that weekend, I'm happy to advertise it here!

Coming Home

One of Rem's comments about being back in BC today resonated and reminded me of a quotation I came across the other day. It's from Northern Exposure, a slightly off the wall television show from 10 or 15 years back.


'As you may know, I spent the last three months in Africa. A wondrous, magical place. But as shadows lengthen across the KBHR window, thoughts turn to homecoming. Journey's end. Because in a sense, it's the coming back, the return which gives meaning to the going forth. We really don't know where we've been until we've come back to where we were. Only, where we were may not be as it was because of who we've become. Which is, after all, why we left.'

- Bernard
Stevens, 'It Happened In Juneau', 1992