i'm riding my bicycle from coast to coast, and i'm experiencing everything in between.
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Sunday, July 31, 2011
alberta. wow.
my body was incredibly stiff, but i expected that. i didnt expect to sweat through my mat in ten minutes, sweat through the other side of the mat in five, then toss the mat and create two more sweat slip and slides by the time class was over. warriors and downward dogs are way tougher when you do them on a slip and slide. no exaggeration, my body made the yoga studio a lake. after the class the instructor and i were talking, and he offered to have me crash. we hung out at his place for a bit, partied with some of his friends for a bit. this was a chill group of people, fa sho. aeron, one of yoga instuctor danny's friends, walked me to the saddledome. i ate a medium pizza pie to myself. then i picked up my tickets and found my seats. meat puppets opened. i had heard of the meat puppets, but only vaguely. at the start of the show i was drained from partying, after meat puppets got into the flow i was sucked in. i wanted to go down to the standing room only section so bad, but i didnt wanna get kicked out of soundgarden. the meat puppets were awesome. they had some pop rock hits from the nineties, i recognized it when they played them. they also played lake of fire. i got some food at intermission, then soundgarden came on. chris cornell started off by telling us meat puppets were a great band that were very influential to soundgarden, then they started playing. soundgarden was so tight, it was like they never stopped playing. especially the drummer and singer, those two guys even looked like they were still 25. god, soundgarden was incredible. three straight hours, hit after hit. people were passing around some fire, this helped us all get into the music even more. as if we needed help, chris cornell's stage presence was magnetic. ben sheperd and kim thayil, the bassist and guitarist, had gotten fat, but were still sharp and energetic. these guys were firing on all cylinders the whole time, they just played their classics, only one new song. three hours of epic song after epic song, these were incredible musicians. they didn't perform, they just flowed with it and pushed each other to play better. they were so good, they were so tight, it was unbelievable. chris cornell sang, but he was also an excellent guitarist. both guitarists played great solos, it was never clear which was lead and which was rhythm. i wanted to be in the standing area so bad. that mosh pit was crazy, the fans went nuts. surprisingly, the crowd surfers all survived.
the show ended and i found my way home on the train pretty easily. at times it pays to be a city kid. i almost never get lost and i never show anyone else fear. it's worked since i was a vulnerable miniscule teenager wandering alone through jamaica, queens, and so as a grown man i don't think anyone will fuck with me after their little initial confrontations.
i texted the triathletes, went back to bed, woke up, tuned my bike up, then headed out. the triathletes were awesome, in our limited time talking the girl taught me a lot about the canadian athletic scene. she had all these jerseys for winning stage races. she won a really awesome jersey in this one bike tour race by winning the hill climb stage. whoa! i fly when i climb, i can totally win some jerseys! i need jerseys, those things are expensive, i should race and get free stuff. i rode off, texted my yoga instructor friend, and he just said come over and party. between the 28th and now the 31st of july i crashed on his couch and partied. the funnest way to rest my legs. i've met some amazing people, learned a huge amount about alberta and saskatchewon, and learned even more about canada's micro brews and marijuana laws. these last few days have been awesome. mind expansion in its sincerest form, no dull moment. soundgarden was my two month anniversary of my trip, and this whole time ive never stopped riding for more than one day at a time. for the first time my legs feel great, well rested, ready to go. its only 80 miles to banff, one of canada's most beautiful national forests. riding canadian highway 1 it's under 700 miles to vancouver, then its american highway 1 as far down cali as i can go. im super excited.
danny, the yoga instructor, has been the kindest host i've ever met. he is a gay guy who lives with two girls, and he loves that im here because he's sick of girly small talk. lane, a visitor from saskatoon, saskatchewon, is also an incredibly cool guy. and the friends who come over to party are all also unique and cool. i said to this one girl aeron "im so glad i met you. you dress like the eighties, you talk like you're on broadway, and you sound like judy garland." then she went off to lake glennifer, a transgendered body of water for the children of oil barons. there are many more funny stories, but i wanna leave this computer and get on the road.
my legs feel fresh for the first time in months, i recovered while going on a bender, its been awesome. i cannot find the fleece blanket and eagle feather i was given on the reservation. someone may have taken it, but i probably misplaced it. if anyone in calgary is reading this, such as jenna or aeron or jill or danny or lane, and you come across a clear plastic bag with a blanket, a signed family photo, and a feather in it, please text me. my number is 347 831 5129. thanks guys, have a good one.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
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these rocks are big, it looks like you can safely climb them, then when you get near the top theres no holds, just big drops
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leadville, colorado, the highest town in north america. home to countless high altitude ultra endurance races
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twin lakes, colorado. already started the clock, looking at the very tip of what im about to climb
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yay for independence pass! already delirious from exhaustion and thin air pressure, and i still have way more steep as hell switchback to go :)
when i conquered this 12000 foot road i was so proud and so pumped, like i had nothing else to prove to myself
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my cable snapped right before climbing this mountain, so i had to walk. lol, it was fun going down at 45 mph for half an hour!
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this farmer guy wearing overalls was such a genuine hippie, we kept talking about achieving transcendence and yoga and transcending to other planes of thinking. wow. didnt expect that out here
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that mountain was my excuse for a goal for a hundred miles back in southern idaho. southern idaho sucks like western oklahoma and eastern arkansas, its just desert. but its cooler, so heat stroke only once a day
Friday, July 29, 2011
blackfoot reservation, soundgarden
blackfoot reservation, calgary, SOUNDGARDEN!!!!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
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every little feature, hillside, river, has a unique personality. look at the erosion on that sandy hill!
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seeing its giganticness and layeredness and depth in real life was awesome. this is just a rock out here, the whole region is breathtaking
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look it up, this is the coldest area on earth. stanley, idaho and jackson, wyoming always compete for coldest places on average
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very cool. later that night i got so shitfaced after meeting a wildfire rescue crew on their party night
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justin and hannah, the two people who showed me such an awesome time in missoula, dance too fast for my camera!
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it washed out in like two days because i sweat so much everyday, but its a damn nice design
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a mega awesome montana lake. windsurfers, daysailers, waterskiiers, kiteboarders, you name it