31-40
#39 Motorcycle rally [podcast]
Oct 25th
Hey Team,
Here it is! One more step closer to home! Biketoberfest was quite an experience, I’m glad I get to share a little piece of that with you.
#39 Motorcycle rally. Enjoy.
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I’m done.
Brett.
If you liked this post, why not buy me some leather chaps?
What? I bet I’d look hot.
AKPC_IDS += "95,";
Fish out of water(…and into retaw?)
Oct 21st
Hey Team,
Question: What happens when you find yourself tossed in the middle of a huge group of people that have nothing in common with you (besides maybe the fact that they’re bipedal) yet EVERYTHING in common with each other, thus making you as out of place as possible?
Answer: You find yourself one step closer to home!
Fish out of water doesn’t even begin to describe the position I found myself in today. The fish would have to be not only OUT of water but then back into something that is the opposite of water…like steam, or fire maybe (or retaw?). Of course this feeling was compounded by my company. Mike, my CouchSurfing host, is an awesome guy…unfortunately, he’s also just as skinny and dorky as I am. Not to mention, for the first time on this trip I actually felt overdressed.
So, to say we stuck out like a pair of sore thumbs at Biketoberfest would be an understatement. Luckily, that’s exactly what made the day interesting.
Fun facts:
1. Motorcycle rallies are not a place to find “attractive” women.
2. Fat men in leather will not hesitate to use their girth to move you.
3. The English language needs FAR fewer words than it has. More >
Bee Careful What You Wish For
Sep 7th
Hey Team,
I just did something that falls firmly into the amazing category. I beekept! (Beekeeped? I think I’m making up words again.) It was a little creepy…but a lot awesome.
The dad of one of the guys I met at the ten-year reunion in Illinois keeps bees as a hobby. So I was just over at his place plundering the Hymenoptera palace. It was quite the experience, in more ways than one.
After getting suited up in some hardcore beekeeping garb I was handed a smoking can with a billows attached, a paintbrush and a pry bar…that’s when I started to think maybe I was just getting screwed with. But without a trace of a smile on his face Tom (in his own beekeeping paraphernalia) started walking me down the hill toward a ring of white boxes.
“This one right here should do,” Tom pointed with his gloved hand. “Just blow some smoke in the hole”
I THOUGHT, “That’s what she said!” But what I SAID was more like, “Okay.”
Apparently the smoke (from the can with the billows) makes the bees think there is a fire and they shift from “protect the hive” mode to “get the hell out” mode. And according to Tom, More >
Flying Fire and Fireflies
Sep 5th
Hey Team,
It’s been a HUGE week. #30, 33, and 38 all down the metaphorical drain! I’ve got a story about #33 all lined up for tomorrow. But today, for your viewing enjoyment, is a little video we’ll call “Mission: Firefly!” Enjoy.
Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player. var WT2_2 = { params : { wmode : "opaque", allowscriptaccess : "always", allownetworking : "all", allowfullscreen : "true"}, flashvars : { file : "http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amtrekker.com%2Findex.php%3Fxspf%3Dtrue%26id%3D49", volume : "80", bufferlength : "5", controlbar : "over", 'logo.hide' : "false", shuffle : "false", playlist : "bottom"}, attr : { id : "WT2", name : "WT2"}, start : function() { swfobject.embedSWF("http://www.amtrekker.com/wp-content/uploads/player.swf", "WT2_2", "437", "522", "9.0.0", false, this.flashvars, this.params , this.attr ); } } WT2_2.start();And here’s the link if the video gives you wacky PCs any trouble.
Okay, looks like my work here is done!
Brett. Want to keep living vicariously? I know what you could do!
Don’t let me stop you.
AKPC_IDS += "47,";
Gardening and Entering
Aug 8th
Hey Team,
It’s going to be at least another day or two before I can get this podcast cut together so I’ll spare you all the suspense and fill you in on the Vancouver portion of the trek. You all read about how I got there so you know things were kind of at low ebb.
Now picture this: You’ve been through a grueling twenty-four hours of travel to make it to one of only three hedge mazes in North America (according to VanDusen Botanical Gardens). Finally the low-grade frustration that accompanies a rough stretch of travel starts to give way to the excitement of crossing one more thing off your list.
You approach the main entrance of a large botanical garden eager to interview an employee and wander around a maze for a while getting lost. As you get closer to the ticket booth a sign begins to come into focus. A sign that says something like this:
(GARDEN CLOSED DUE TO LABOUR DISRUPTION DO NOT ENTER)
I’ve had quite a few conversations with people over the years about what constitutes a “sign” or “omen” and personally I’m not a big believer. Sure, there are plenty of people out there that would shrug, announce to More >
Lancaster…no! Superfuncaster!
Jul 10th
Hey Team,
This was too awesome not to throw up a quick update. (That’s throw up as in “put up quickly.” I don’t mean to suggest I just vomited on my keyboard and these words magically appeared.) I was wandering the streets of Lancaster, PA this morning looking for an Amish man with a cow I could milk (Which actually went better than you’d think it would.) when I saw a sign promoting all the great things Lancaster provides to the interested tourist. LOOK!
They have a field and a park AND a cemetery. If only I had time to take it all in.
In other news: I’m 1/48th of the way done with 32 after finding this geocache in Pennsylvania!
PLUS (as long as this sudden and all too biblical rain storm lets up) I’m suppose to meet the patriarch of an Amish family at their home at 5:30 because his son-in-law owns a dairy farm. Look out 9, I’m right on your tail! (So to speak.)
The bad news: Regardless of whether or not this lead pans out I have an eight mile walk back to the train station, at night…possibly in the rain, to look forward to. Once more, with feeling More >
