Shield Reflections

Finally another post! C'mon Greg, write, you say!


Wow. This crusade across Canada's land of first European contact has been a well-greased whorl of theatre, guerrilla sidewalk chalk, a 25 pound bucket of now cookie-crumb-filled honey pot, and midnight food-in-the-tent raccoon attacks. And by golly it's half done!

Though our team being extremely tardy on keeping taught our electronic discourse during the past month, be assured this reflects only bustle, not boredom. To remedy this paucity of contact, we now have a team journal which chronicles our adventure!

Check it out at:
http://www.otesha.ca/bike+tours/tours+2008/algonquin+tour/index.en.html

So, in lieu of giving you another play-by-play of where we've been and what we've seen, I instead offer you a tidbit from one fateful night.

The pickpocket:

It's 1:30 am. Amardeep has chosen to sleep between myself and Amy, weary of the little grey feet known to grace Killbear Provincial park campsites. We're inside the tent, but our gear nearly falling our the vestibule onto the ground. Well seasoned in the outdoors, Amy(aka nonchalance) assures Amardeep she stowed her theoretically fragrant toothpaste in the support car.

Scratch, swish, whap. Amardeep: "What's that?". Amy: "Raccoons".
Amardeep: a ball in between us.
Amardeep: "What are they doing?". Amy, asleep : "Probably just trying to steal our stuff. Shhhhh".
Scratch, swish.... pop. Pop?
Tent door opened: only 5 pannier bags, and all 3 of us are dually loaded.
Amy: "My nuts!". Vestibule opened, frantically: Amy's other pannier, raccoon, mischief. Me: "Ha!". Amy: stick in hand, tupperware party fugitive ahead of her, running.
Amy, in nearby grove: poorly sealed trail mix rescued.
New rustles.
Next tent over, Stefanie: "What's going on... somebody help me!
Me: "You're bigger than they are, don't worry.
Stef: "Ahhhhh!".
Me: Out the tent, to Stefs, tuggawar with a raccoon over a pannier bag.
Stef: "They got my wallet!
Sure enough. They did.

Lessons: 1) Keep your nuts locked up 2) Have in camp some restaurant quality fare, as Ontario raccoons have apparently upped their standards from pillage to purchase.


More seriously, everything has been going fantasticaly. We've performed to over 1000 people, cycled over 700 kms and have made a whole ton of good memories.

Greg

First days

After a couple nights sleeping in wet tents at Riverglen Farm in Kanata, just west of Ottawa, everyone at the get-to-know-Otesha week began to adore bottom-charred camp-stove oatmeal with a new found reverence. Actually, the food was great, prepared by well seasoned tour veterans with a knack for turning chickpeas into so many identities we lost count.

We got to spend training week with the Great Lakes Tour, another group of Oteshites who are riding by a slightly different map, the fabulous Otesha staff, farmer Dave and his ukulele, and Peter the dog. We held workshops on how to make consensus decisions as a group, how to re-spoke wheels, and how to pretend we know what we're talking about while on stage. Every person involved is amazing and engaged, and we've had the chance to only begin what will be life-long bonds for many.


We left the farm on our bicycles on May 7 and have performed our play in Ottawa and the towns of Arnprior and Renfrew. Response to our group has been amazing. As many motivated individuals as laughs are coming our way. In Arnprior, people were energized to rally for better water treatment facilities. In Ottawa, a couple of Columbian exchange students vowed to switch to buying fair-trade chocolate after learning that their choices here could directly affect their grandfather who farms cacao back home. Getting to intereact with people has finally made this whole experience become a reality for me, and my bones tell me only how much better its going to get. From here, we are moving up the Ottawa river valley on our way towards Algonquin park.

Still flat-free,
Greg