Trip to Victoria

Upon the recent receipt of Sabrina's new permanent resident status, or as it is more commonly known, her 'green card', we were able to fulfill our plans, long in the tooth as they were, of visiting the Canadian capital of Victoria. Cool eh? We left Friday morning and boarded our ferry at 9am. The 3 hour trip was quite nice as we weaved through many of the San Juan islands and were treated to their various histories by the well-versed captain. Sabrina slept for most of the trip while I stayed peeled to the window soaking in the views. Upon arrival in Canada it was immediately apparent that we were once again in a big city; perhaps my long upbringing in Alaska is culprit, but I truly do have a hard time with air pollution. To me it is as if I was chained behind a running vehicle with the exhaust pipe centered directly in front of my face. The air didn't quite carry the burning sensation of the terrible haze in downtown Seattle, but it was noticeable still.







Nonetheless, downtown Victoria is still quite beautiful with its large old hotels, and the prominent parliamentary castle. I actually laughed out loud when I saw a statue of Henry the 8th in front of the parliament, and then realized we were in a country which still recognizes the tired constitutional monarchy of Great Britain. The head of state in Canada is literally a quiet old woman who sits in England drinking tea and eating crumpets while her days slowly tick away. The 'heir apparent' to his illustrious position is a chinless, adenoid, wisp of a man who is said to be considering a conversion to the blood-soaked religion of Islam, Prince Charles. But, as Christopher Hitchens is fond of saying, what else can we expect from a government founded upon the family values of Henry the 8th. Blimey!







We finished off day one by spending some time in China town, shopping around a bit, and generally being a bit shocked by how weak the US dollar is in Canada. The conversion rate is 1 to 1 right now, and as everything in Canada is usually about 30% more expensive, the dollar conversion no longer works in our favor.

We spent the night at the Holiday Inn which was really not too bad. It was fun to watch some TV, a treat as we only get 2 stations in Bellingham, and also to have a good work out in the weight room.







On Saturday we went to the world famous Butchart Gardens. The gardens were created in 1904 by the Butchart family when they slowly converted an old limestone quarry into a number of distinct gardens, including but not limited to a traditional Japanese garden, Italian, various rose gardens, and an Eden-esque sunken paradise.

















The gardens really are an incredible sight, and a testament to the vision of the family who installed them. As the before and after pictures attested, the quarry which existed before the lush colors of the present was a blight, a reminder of the unquestioned sacrifices of industrial progress. I find the transformation inspiring and a testament to what can happen when one squares their shoulders and meets the arduous reality of ahead of them. I must recommend these gardens to anyone who loves green things.

Our ferry ride back to Bellingham was, by my opinion, pretty fun! The wind had picked up since Friday and the waves we experienced through the straits were pretty good size. The captain informed us that he hadn't seen seas like of this size in years. The all-you-can-eat salmon dinner indulged by those willing to pay for it (read not me or Sabrina) didn't spend all that much time in the stomachs of a few unfortunate few passengers.

The trip was fun, and a bit refreshing. I'm grateful Bellingham has a ferry service to such interesting places.

A Few Good Things

The following is a list of some of life's small indulgences. My day is usually made if I can experience at least one of the following: (in no particular order)

• Sitting in a hot, steaming bath on a cold night with a good book.
• Coming home from work, immediately grabbing a cold drink (or two) and a seat on the floor and letting the pressure of the past 8 hours fade away.
• The aching sensation and the period muscle twitch in the legs after a long, hard ride.
• Stopping for a couple minutes under a tree listening to the sound of rain pouring through the forest canopy deep in the mountain on a mist filled ride.
• Slowly falling into a deep sleep on a Friday night, ear plugs in, and alarm clock turned off.
  

Back to the Bike

Busy week, and a weekend that seemed too short for its own good. Tommorow of course, its back to Lanigan's Ball to pay the bills and hopefully fund a few more bike parts and books. In other news, Sabrina and I welcomed the newest addition to our household this week, a nice young woman of 23 years named Soo-Yeung who is staying with us while she takes ESL classes at the local college.

This weekend I managed a couple good rides, one at Galbraith, and one to a Bike Festival out in Larabee State Park. I hope to upload a good chunk of my latest research this week, but we'll see

Fall is in the air	The Whatcom Falls Park waterfall	Mr. Crab on a bed of barnacles
Peaceful	A newly reopened trail on Galbraith

Consistency.

Some of you may have heard about my 400 level class I fondly refer to as my "save the world class." If you haven't then I will catch you up on our progress which you have no doubt felt and seen all over the world, but didn't know where these changes were coming from. Well, these changes are being generated by hot air spewed back and forth between approximately twelve mouths in my twenty-six person class. Noelie, the instructor, revealed to us on our first day in Dialogues in Community Development 494C that the "time is right" and that we "have a chance to change the world." She outlined how we were expected to participate in class as a "tribe" in which she as the instructor has no more say in the path we take than any other member of the tribe. We would have council members, all volunteers in the class with no limit to the number of people involved, and have a complete democracy by which we vote and discuss as a whole our plans for saving the earth. But wait, first we must introduce ourselves, lets start with you Justin Avery, it seems you are just beaming forth ready to talk and give an announcement. Oh wow, it seems Justin is Student President! Good for him, oh wait he's still talking... it's going to be a while before he stops telling us how great this class is going to be and how much he anticipates we will be able to accomplish. Lets move on to see who everyone else is. Oh, it looks like Georgia would like to speak as well, wow, treasurer on the student senate. It looks like we could make great progess in this class if only we would stop talking about stuff. Oops it looks like others have caught on to the fact that we are going slow, lets roll on out this democratic process and find another way to learn about each other in a more efficient process. It seems that some people are taking too long to get their critical background info out. It looks like we're out of time.

Day two-- Repeat Day 1, with additional info on some vegans who are adament about removing GMO's from the world. More announcements about events to attend, movies to watch which will BLOW MY MIND, enlightening me to the fact that the United States Healthcare is out of wack, other vegans writing anti-meat propoganda on the board, "you wont EVER want to eat chicken or beef after you see this!" I'm starting to get hungry, I wonder if they will be offended if I bring in McDonalds next week. Who Cares, but I'll watch the movies anyway to see if they'll work, (nope, still want a steak, medium rare).

Second Week-- Friday

6th day of class, lets see if we can make it the rest of the way around the circle today. Ooh it's almost my turn... Hi, my names Nate, I hail from Alaska, I'm very interested in cycling advocacy, I would really like to see more college students ride bicycles rather drive, I know parking is starting to be an issue here at UH and I think alternative transportation can solve some of the local congestion problems as well as our environmental footprint, thanks. Wow, that was easy, maybe some of the next people will take my hint and not reveal every life detail... it seems to be working. OK, NOW we can get started on saving the world.

Week Three-- Wednesday (Today)

"Now we're going to do 'practice study-circles.' We are all going to have to do them throughout the semester so we should really pay attention to how they are done, start by introducing your controversial topic while staying impartial to either side, then thank everyone for participating in the activity, and try to help conversation to flow, and as we progress, the conversation should become deeper, eventually enlightening everyone present as to what we should do." Ok this is interesting, it seems most people in this class feel about the same way as most others, all others have already dropped the class because they knew they wouldn't fit in. But I'll bite. Raise my hand to be counted amoungst those to enter the circle of elite wisdom. Cue video of pundits attacking Bush. "I would like you all to respond to this video straight out of your gut. Really let yourself go and say what you truly think." Ok, well, sure, they're right, Bush is a moron. But nobody is doing anything about it, we all seem to be just counting down days until he's gone, why dont we just impeach the SOB and get it over with. Show the government that the power still rests in the people, ultimately. But, regardless of how many international laws he's broken, how many times he's gone ahead of the Justice Department as in the case of Scooter Libby and pardoned someone, we were all over Clinton for lying in court about having sex, but man, its unpatriotic to tell this president what's what. Ok that went well. "Well why don't we impeach him, we can start the process right here right now on this campus." Great now they are probably going to have me heading this up. Let me just go ride my bike, I'll be back.

So, nearing the 4th week of school, tremors of change are starting to eminate to just beyond the crack of Noelies "always open door" at a rate of 6 cm/day. Hilo will be positively affected, completely enveloped in this earthshaking understanding that is our Dialogues in Community Development within the century I'm sure. So far we are still in the "Dialogue" phase, Comm Dev will come later after I graduate I expect.

Social Obesity

I've been thinking about something Americans are exceptionally good at: consumption.

• The United States, with less than 5 % of the global population, uses about a quarter of the world’s fossil fuel resources—burning up nearly 25 % of the coal, 26 % of the oil, and 27 % of the world’s natural gas
  
• As of 2003, the U.S. had more private cars than licensed drivers, and gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles were among the best-selling vehicles.
  
• New houses in the U.S. were 38 % bigger in 2002 than in 1975, despite having fewer people per household on average.
  
• An estimated 65 % of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, leading to an annual loss of 300,000 lives and at least $117 billion in health care costs in 1999.
  
• This is not just an American problem, but we did spawn it. American consumer culture has amazingly replicated itself all over the globe, wherever the financial base exists to sustain it and nourish it. In China for example, over 11,000 cars roll onto the streets everyday.
  
  What concerns me is the fact that any growth beyond maturity is obesity; both physically and socially. Why do we Americans need to consume so much? I'm afraid this sense of arrogant entitlement is rapidly pushing us towards a dangerous point; the science behind global climate change, expanding waste lines, declining support for education, and receding rationality are examples of a socially obese culture. It has been estimated that for every human on earth live at the standards of the average American, we would need 3 earths to support the resource demands. This fact alone should be enough to incite change.

Interview

Yesterday Sabrina and I attended our formal green card interview at the immigration office in Seattle. I can say, with some minor puffing of the chest, that my pedantic ways served us well; our interview was short, without serious grilling, and even a bit jovial! As the purpose of our interview was to provide corroborative evidence that our marriage was undertaken in 'good faith' we brought tons of documents, pictures, letters, and anything that indirectly, or directly suggested that we live together, have known each other for some time, and seem relatively happy.

After the interview we stomped around Seattle for a while. This was good because it reminded me of how glad I am to not live there, and how bad I feel for all the cyclists who commute there. 'Look', Sabrina might say, 'Isn't that store cute?' Yes, the store is cute, but why is that homeless man next to the store yelling at the tree? Or later, 'Joel, lets go to that mall!' Sure, as long as the mall doesn't have steaming sewer vents in the walkways like these here streets do... And of course, 'Joel I love being in the city again!' Yes, fresh air is over-rated, as is the extended life expectancy one gains as soon as they leave the endless pavement. Its not all bad though, the food there is amazing, and the Asian grocery stores are pretty cool. I can understand how some people come to love the convenience of it all even though it isn't for me.

One more thing. WHY do so many bikers ride fixies in Seattle? I saw a dude walk his bike down a hill. Yes, he WALKED his fixed gear bike down the hill, and I can't blame him, how else can you safely get a fixie with no brakes down a steep hill? I say give me 8 inch rotors, and lots of suspension; I'll pay for the luxury in added weight but so what.

2nd Bi-annual Tree Planter's Epic

Almost four hours in and still goin strong!	Taking one of few breaks along the way.
NASA's plan to provide habitation on the moon is going well.	Testing the 1/6 gravity on the moon, somehow hills are still tough.

First I would like to say a big happy birthday to my dad, 53 years old and still going strong.

Second, Monday, Sades and I set out for our second take on the grueling 50 mile epic where the first 20 miles of climbing warm you up for 13 miles of harsh, non-flowing singletrack (still gaining elevation) and come out 16 miles above Hilo on Saddle road to fly back down into town. Two years ago, Doeman, Sadie and I set out for this very same epic, primed, carbed and ready to go only to have Sadie and I only manage to stay just ahead of the virtual sag wagon that was our energy. All but having finished that day two years ago, we hit the first stoplight entering town, not but 1 mile from home, and I sit down, refusing to move on until I finish my last power bar. My legs felt like jelly and I was certain my quads were at that point ochos. The total time for that trip was around 6 1/2 painful hours.

In our attempt to remain well-fed throughout this epic, we stuffed our packs with more cliff bars than we could eat in a day, watered our camels and poured the last drop of the sweet, life-giving nectar that is our Raspberry HammerGel and at the stroke of noon headed out to begin our adventure.

From the beginning it was clear that we would be taking a percieved slower pace and I admit that I thought it would take longer to complete the day's ride. We continued up the hill unrested for miles, only pulling over for seat adjustments and momentary pictures until we made it to Tree Planter's Road, which isn't really a road so much as a 13 mile long line where trees don't grow and trucks with 3' clearance sometimes go to look for pigs. A shot of hammergel, a quick picture or two and a cliff bar later we were off again, having logged 2 hours into our ride. Again, we rode casually without breaks, slowly sipping the hot rubbery tea from our camel's teet.

Then, about an hour into the trip, we found ourselves on the moon, and yes, as it was a cloudless day on the moon, we could look up into the sky as we held our breath and saw earth, silently spinning away, so we figured we should hurry up before our air ran out and peddled onward til we found trees again.

At 4:30 we found Saddle Road and without stopping, turned downhill to peddle for glory. At just before 5:00 from mile 16 on Saddle, we hit downtown-18 miles total in ~25 minutes, averaging 35 miles an hour with bumps above 40. We finished our ride in just under 5 hours total.

Next we are going to try Stainback up to Flume to hit Saddle then up to TreePlanters and back to Stainback for about 65 miles. We're going to need some more Gel!

Peeing blood = good ride

Nothing like a little Urethra crushing fun on a gloomy Sunday. I rode to the south summit of Chuckanut mountain. It was a 4 hour ride from the door step to the summit and back, but I loved every moment. I got some absolutely breath-taking views of the San Juan islands, Mt. Baker, and the Canadian Rockies and on top of that I was deep in the woods, and like any time I am far amongst the trees I was treated to the soundtrack of silence. My Ipod died on the way out, so that helped too.

When I got home I mixed up a tall glass of Recoverite and swallowed two huge gulps and then nearly puked my guts out. Apparently my system was not quite ready for the incoming barrage of 'food'. After that I sipped the rest and it went down fine. All in all, I'd say the ride was about 50 miles with a good dollop of climbing.

Mr. Snail	San Juans at a distance	Peeking through the trees at the isles
An ancient stump that used to nourish an enourmous tree	A stretch of 'boreen' the Irish word for small road with grass in the middle.	Landscape glory