Revolutions complete

It's the final installment! As before, check out our team journal for a more in depth (and likely much more witty) rendition of the final legs of our journey:

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

(Also check out http://www.otesha.ca/ if you have no idea what the heck all this about.)

As for my own take, here is Otesha, picked, pitted and distilled into some savory statistics: 1700 kilometers cycled, 29 performances of cranky old professor sidebottom in our "morning choices" environmental play, 34 communities visited , experienced and learned from, 4 flat tires, more ice cream than I've eaten in my whole life combined and a few new really good friends.

I learned a ton on this trip. The environmental and social message we shared through our play with over 2300 students was generally received with laughs, challenging further inquiries and inspiring ambitions (with of course the odd cat call and paper ball attack). Yet each school was different. In some, the message of sustainability was old hat: they already had compost, recycling and campus greening projects in place. In these schools, such as Pretty River Academy near Collingwood, we were met with ambitions to do more, in their case to create an entire environmental purchasing infrastructure (for food, paper, clothing etc.). In other schools, our message fell on less green ears, such as our last school performance at Sacred Heart Elementary in Espanola. The teachers remarked that our performance was one of the best they'd seen, and were so keen to learn more they would hardly let us cycle away to Sudbury on time. In every school though, we could feel the energy and enthusiasm behind people making the world a better place through little choices (such as shorter showers, buying local, fair trade or organic products, riding their bikes instead of driving their cars, dancing like there's no tomorrow). Overall, I'm pretty blown away to have gotten the opportunity to take part in this experience. To hear what people are doing for the world, to share things they perhaps hadn't heard, and most of all to let students have a break from math class to see a goofy play by goofy bikers.

The lessons learned outside our performance will likely stay with me longer. A large part of the journey ended up being the opportunity to explore a dream I have had since working with an organization in Honduras last summer: of doing community based art. This fortune blew my way in the form of the entire rim of Southern Georgian Bay being full of towns full of murals and friendly houses full of easels. The inspiration began in Midland where I was blown away by an astounding 45 murals that artist Fred Lenz painted in only 9 years. From here, responses to my inquires with school principals and teachers as to the tenability of doing student based mural projects on otherwise bare school hallways were met excitedly and with much encouragement. I don't know what shoots may sprout, or if dream trees even grow without dream streams, but dream seeds were definitely cast in central Ontario (assuming dream streams only flow on the moon).

The largest lessons of all though were from the people on the tour. It's a unique experience to spend 2 months, nearly 24 hours a day, living with 9 other people who you knew nothing of before. Seeing the world from perspectives other than your own is both a personal and a global challenge, one that's incredibly difficult, without bottom, and infinitely widening if you let it be. I was definitely challenged, and after all the dust of excitement settles, I know my world will be wider for sure.

Thank you to everyone who donated to support the Otesha project and this trip for me. I really believe its changed not only my life but perhaps a lot of others too. And thanks for reading this far if you have... you can go outside now.

Greg

http://www.otesha.ca/

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