On the Otesha Train

So it begins. My bicycle is caked with a thin layer of dirt, my lungs with a thin layer of mucous and my legs with the first hints of muscle.

It turns out that my first two sunny days in Vancouver, while amazing, were an anamoly and were not to be repeated, at least for a while. As soon as I moved out of the warm friendly happy hippy house where I've been hosted for my first couple days and into a tent, it began to rain. It was fun at first, a great chance to test out all my gear and see if it's water proof (the tent is, the raincoat is not), and another reason to feel super-hardcore about the first few days of living my live almost entirely outdoors.

Unfortunately, my body responded to the coldness and wetness by developing the annual late-April cough that I thought I had missed. A scratchy throat on the first day has turned into full-fledged coughing that sounds a lot worse than it is, but it's not an ideal way to start a trip.

My teammates have responded beautifully and generously, checking in on me and offering a full array of miracle cures, including frequent cups of tea, vitamin C supplements, various cold medications, and the insistence that eating a clove of garlic a day will cure everything (except halitosis.)

Despite a bit of sickness this week has been truly incredible. Like most training weeks, we've been kept so busy I can barely remember what we've done. Those of you who know me well will be shocked to know that on two days I VOLUNTARILY woke up at 6:30 am for "superstar training," which includes running, stair climbing, squats, and a beautiful Yoga session in the sand complete with a rare live performance of ocean waves and chirping birds.

Also in the training week tradition, we've subjected to an accelerated getting-to-know-you as we meet our 20 new best friends, the people that will define the next two months of my life. They are great people, as expected, with quite a few common values, uncomon levels of openess, and impressive individual commitments to making this trip work.

On our very first night, before we really knew eachother at all, six of us stood in a circle, huddled for warmth... Mike started to beat box and before we knew what was happening the space between us had erupted into a constantly evolving music made only from ourselves. It went on for a few minutes before breaking down into awed and somewhat self-conscious laughter, and someone named our triumph "Organic Beats". Since then music, games, and creation have been a constant presence on our trip, the art that I'd been missing and come here to find. with this as a starting point, i can't wait to see how this group evolves.

As always there is more to write about than i have time for in my one day off. We've been staying on an organic farm and learning about how it works, I saw a bike-inspired dance troupe called the bicyclettes (or B.C.clettes) and they were awesome, wherever I end up living I would love to start one up. We're developing our play and our first performance is tomorrow (I am playing a toilet. seriously.) we've spent hours making our rules and fiid mandate by consensus decision making, a painfully slow process that makes me want to gouge my eyes out sometimes, but overall feels good. I am so happy to have had a day off and slept in a warm bed. thanks Brendon. Today I will go get a sleeping bag liner so this doesn't happen again.

Tomorrow this trip begins in full, and I can't wait to get in gear. We have a performance at a school in the morning (eek) and then we ride about 24k and take the ferry to Gibsons, BC. It's time to see what's really in store.