Sans Cancer, Sans Thyroid, Sans Voice Modulation

But only for a while (the voice modulation). 3 days post op and feeling good, things went well according to the surgeon, and now I take a thyroid replacement every morning, swallow a radioactive iodine pill in a couple of weeks, and that's game. All in all a pretty small production for how terrifying everything seemed for a while. What are you taking in school? Hows Ceej and the new Apt? Bitchin' ride by the way, I've been considering one for quite some time.

A New Old Bike

Dear John,

Since our bike trip is on hiatus riding has totally taken the back seat, even though I got a new bike:

I suppose I am still riding, but the pedals don't move and the thing weigh's 400 pounds. Though I have been scouting out trails I plan to cycle through later, so maybe it's like a reconnaissance ride. I've been using it to scout out local beaches. Today I tried to make it to Lawrence Town, but got a little bit lost taking back roads so I settled for Rainbow Haven. Apparently Lawrence Town is the closest surf spot and they rent gear so I am pretty stoked to get out there when I get the chance.

Crystal Crescent is also a nice beach:

Ever seen the film Barfly? I recommend it, written by Bukowski.

Dear John

In memory of.

New York New York

Dear John,

It has been a time since I last posted. I've traveled many kilometres, drank many bottles of wine and homemade beer, and crossed a few borders. I have switched employers and then back again, almost walked out on the lease we never signed and started a bit of gardening. To say I was to busy to write is not true but one needs to be in the mood to sit down and journalize.

Last month Cj finished her semester and we decided to drive down and visit my sister in New York, New York. 1400km or so? Figuring that though the day would be long it could still be a day's ride, but once you hit Massachusetts things get very congested. And so we bailed off the I-95 and spent the night in West Haven. For the best cause driving through Brooklyn at 2 am would have been a disaster. I can't read street signs at night.

We pulled into to park in front of my sisters apartment, which is just off the Brooklyn Bridge - Brooklyn side, around noon on a saturday. Got some burritos and mojitos with my Bro-in-Law and sat down with the baby's.

The week was nice, saw MoMA, some Picasso, Kandinsky, Munch and a really interesting exhibit with Marina Abramovic. Essentially she comes to the gallery from open to close everyday for 6 months! and sits at a table motionless staring forward and opposite her there is another chair in which patrons of the gallery can sit for as long as they'd like and return the stare. We also hit the Guggenheim and saw some balling paintings from the impressionist era.

It is a pretty impressive structure.

Our feet ached from standing and our eyes were strained from viewing, so we decided to go shopping in SoHo.The next couple were a little ridiculous with new these and new those, while we also had a few late nights with my sister and her husband and her cousin.

Chris Taylor is my sister's cousin, but not my cousin for she is my half sister. He is/was the guitarist for AidsWolf and also works as an Artist of many virtues, video being one. He made a couple videos for Susnset Rubdown, Black Swan and Dragon's Lair. The latter of which was shot on some family property near Wainwright.

Anyway, New York is/was awesome and my sister lives a successful yuppie life in Brooklyn.

Aiya, it's late and I need to pose for some photos for cj's homework.

There's more, just wait.

Back In Ack(tion)

Hey Buddy! Long time no me not to lazy to write! I'm starting to get pretty hip-hyped about this tour. I have a tent and other camping crap we can use, fa'rill. How many days total riding do you project? 4? I'm thinking if we can do it so I can fly both ways on a Tuesday or Wednesday it will make it cheapest for me flight-wise. What's the weather like out there in late August? Things are warming up here. I'm trying to ride 1000 km this month to prep for our Alberta ride, which unbeknownst to me has raised upwards of 60 grand already. Bitchin. I think the wheels on that Colnago would probably be okay, though a larger diameter tire may be a wise choice. The main thing will be figuring out how to put a rack and panniers on it. That or see if we can rent a trailer for a couple days. I'm trying to work out how I can get an iPhone so has to have mapmyride going all the time. I checked out a couple of your routes today, they look quite scenic. Can't wait. Here are a couple shots that Matt took last week on our ride to Squamish and back. It was pretty epic and more than a little exhausting, but I'm glad we did it. It was just over 150 km for me, and 20 km shorter than our longest day in Alberta. It also took us slightly longer to go 150 km than it took Fabian Cancellara to go 289 km mere days before in the Paris-Roubaix. So proud. Anyway, hit me with some pics of the riding around your area. TTYL.

A Map

Since I didn't have to work to day I decided it was time to get serious and put some work into where we are going to go. This is a loose plan that we can clean up together, I sent you a colab invite I believe.

View Dear John Let's Go For a Ride in a larger map

I envision a four day journey, allowing for beach time and maybe some fishing, though it's all fly fishing I believe. With four days the cycling will be a little more broken up, which isn't an issue for you, but may be for me. There is lots of camping on the trail as well as B&B's if we wuss out or something. I have read a few itineraries and notes on peoples rides and there are some decent climbs but lots of coastal riding.

Gear is my only question at this point. I wonder if loading up the Colnago will put to much load on those tiny wheels. Should I be looking into an alternative setup for this ride?

If we camp what do you think about tents? I got a 6man tent, it's large but not excessively heavy.

I watched Che parts 1 & 2 this week, it's a pretty good movie. Benicio Del Toro is a good actor, I'd like to see more films with him in them.

Back Online

Dear John,

Please pardon my lengthy absents, after Cj and I were burgled my online commitment has faded to checking emails on my phone and text messaging. I've been thinking about this bike trip and been feeling I need to get planning it with you. Late August would be great for me too, I think Ceej might be planning to head to Cuba around then as well. I haven't studied much of the trail so far, but much of what envision is riding, camping, seafood, ocean, surfing, and the occasional bottle of screech. How each of those things gets down is still very much in the open. In my vision I see campfires on the occasional beach, and setting up a tent where & when we see fit. I know the terrain isn't quite mountainous, but from what I remember it's fairly .....(Upy downy).

Late in the summer I hope the ocean is warmer, I seem to recall someone saying that region is cold because of arctic ocean currents, but maybe they're wackers.

N to S Alberta would be a fun ride, I miss the prairies in the summer. I have an album of panoramic views resting in the frames of cross canadian trips. Long stretches of unbending highway, bright yellow canola fields, dilapidated homesteads. Nova Scotia has some charm though, you'll see.

Oh man, we are in a pause mid episode and it's all happening, the cliff hanger for season 5 is set. McNaulty is upset over Boodies death, Freeman is more or less leading the major crimes investigation, Daniels is being groomed for a substantial promotion.
I feel like the polarity between good cops and bad cops is exemplified well in season 4 with Carver and Haulk. They grew together as rookies through the western then into narcotics and major crimes until they saw different roads to better their positions. Conversely to their partnership the relationship between the roads they do take is definately one of this series themes, politics in police work.
Carver's return to the western shows him as an honest cop looking to get back to real police work, or at least the police work who grew up doing. While there we see him take a leadership position and also report to the notorious Bunny Colvin (one of my personal favourite characters).
Though he disappoints the viewer and his commanding officer on a couple of occasions we eventually see his epiphany and the fruition of proper police work.
Haulk on the other hand looks to climb the ladder, taking on a laid back assignment protecting the mayor with the notion that everyone else he knows to have taken the assignment has moved up. After his assignment is cut short by an unforeseen promotion he serves in major crimes as a sergeant(?) to the disappointment of all. No one is on Haulk's side.
Though they both kicked off the season getting their stripes the Gospel of the Baltimore Police Department chose only one to keep them.

Cabot Trail

Dear John,
I have been entertaining the idea of doing a bit of randonneuring this summer. The Cabot Trail comes to mind and fromwhat I have seen of and read about it is a pretty majestic trail around Cape Breton Island. Rated one of the best treks in the world yadda yadda...
The whole loop is only 300 km and would be nice to do over a week. The area is full of fishing villages and beaches and campsites to stop at with lots of fish to eat and Acadians to attempt french with.
Sometime in mid to late summer would probably be best because I think it gets really wet here in the spring.
In doing it I see myself with a co-pilot, and I know Cj wouldn't be that interested, would you?

VLC SNAP!

Just picked up with the Wire again this evening. Saw the sequence with Omar looking for some cereal and then walking to the store to get some. It's kind of a hilarious scene. The celebrity of his character is really brought out by his green satin robe.

I was thinking that since you've retired the Baltimore beat, do want to do a biweekly movie viewing? I was thinking in theatres would be a good outing on a casual basis, but if you find a really worth while movie we could each make an effort of seeing it. At least until we find something as good.

Taking a cat on a plane is kind of a pain, I wouldn't suggest it. Although I did get to walk through the metal detector holding a cat.