Day 1.............
The journey began on the friday morning, june 24th. I was being escorted out of vancouver by a compadre of mine who goes by the name ty, A simple name for a simple man.....ahh but is he a simple man? (yeah, pretty much).
Ty, myself, Betty(my bike aka. black betty) and bob(my trailer) all took part in a purification ceremony in the mighty waters of the pacific(actually false creek which is a salt water inlet infront of ty`s apartment) to mark the beginning of the journey which is to end in the great asian pacific. as one would expect bettty was the first to partake in the proceedings. she was carefully lead down to the mighty waters which, thankfully, were calm that day(possibly an omen of good fortunes or because it`s an inlet, hard to say for sure). her front tire was held for 5 to 10 seconds as the cool waters helped to calm betty`s spirit and prepare her for the journey ahead. however, as most bikes are, betty is adverse to salt water, but as i held here there i could feel her reminisce of her beach home on the west coast of tiawan. with a tender squeeze i was able to remind her that we will return there oneday but that we have a great journey ahead of us and we must be strong.
now it was my turn , empowered by betty`s courageous performance, i approached the water, couched down in the "asian pose" (ass just off the ground with feet still flat) dipped two hands into the water and with a surrendering thrust brought the purifying waters to my face. ahhh!! as i found out after, i must have brought up some seaweed durning that mighty thrust because a large piece of it stayed in my hair until alison(another commerade in this magical mystery tour whom will be introduced in due time) assisted in removal of it, as we met her, on a hill, in a land now known as burnaby.
Next up was , mon amigo, ty who up until now has been expertly documenting the ceremony. a naturally large man with a lean muscular build approaches the water. with his full shoulder swagger he fearlessy (even in the face of real fear as he has repeatedly informed me that the fecal content is commonly known to be at dangerously toxic levels) couches into the "position", his being slighly less natural requiring a "tippy toe" method. he lowers his hands, lets out a " i`m only doing this for you robbie" and in one mighty swoosh the ceremony is concluded.
we retire to a nearby park(the one whith the expo 86 circular structure in it) to eat our subs.
the mood in relaxed, yet anticipatory. not much is spoken, but alot was said. it was understood that whatever was needed to be done, would be. there were no thoughts of turning back now.
"man that kid is pumped!"
says ty, as he notices a young child running towards a large pipe like structure which others are using as a "let`s run through it and then do it again game"
i`m comforted as i see that, "mon frere", is sharing in that same child-like enthusiasim.
the energy is flowing clearly. everything is as it should be..................
Ty, myself, Betty(my bike aka. black betty) and bob(my trailer) all took part in a purification ceremony in the mighty waters of the pacific(actually false creek which is a salt water inlet infront of ty`s apartment) to mark the beginning of the journey which is to end in the great asian pacific. as one would expect bettty was the first to partake in the proceedings. she was carefully lead down to the mighty waters which, thankfully, were calm that day(possibly an omen of good fortunes or because it`s an inlet, hard to say for sure). her front tire was held for 5 to 10 seconds as the cool waters helped to calm betty`s spirit and prepare her for the journey ahead. however, as most bikes are, betty is adverse to salt water, but as i held here there i could feel her reminisce of her beach home on the west coast of tiawan. with a tender squeeze i was able to remind her that we will return there oneday but that we have a great journey ahead of us and we must be strong.
now it was my turn , empowered by betty`s courageous performance, i approached the water, couched down in the "asian pose" (ass just off the ground with feet still flat) dipped two hands into the water and with a surrendering thrust brought the purifying waters to my face. ahhh!! as i found out after, i must have brought up some seaweed durning that mighty thrust because a large piece of it stayed in my hair until alison(another commerade in this magical mystery tour whom will be introduced in due time) assisted in removal of it, as we met her, on a hill, in a land now known as burnaby.
Next up was , mon amigo, ty who up until now has been expertly documenting the ceremony. a naturally large man with a lean muscular build approaches the water. with his full shoulder swagger he fearlessy (even in the face of real fear as he has repeatedly informed me that the fecal content is commonly known to be at dangerously toxic levels) couches into the "position", his being slighly less natural requiring a "tippy toe" method. he lowers his hands, lets out a " i`m only doing this for you robbie" and in one mighty swoosh the ceremony is concluded.
we retire to a nearby park(the one whith the expo 86 circular structure in it) to eat our subs.
the mood in relaxed, yet anticipatory. not much is spoken, but alot was said. it was understood that whatever was needed to be done, would be. there were no thoughts of turning back now.
"man that kid is pumped!"
says ty, as he notices a young child running towards a large pipe like structure which others are using as a "let`s run through it and then do it again game"
i`m comforted as i see that, "mon frere", is sharing in that same child-like enthusiasim.
the energy is flowing clearly. everything is as it should be..................
posted by Rob the biker | 12:55 p.m.
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