Red Lights

Is it just me, or do we all have a traffic light that we never make? As I type this, I realize that I am writing more about driving these days. I guess that’s because I am driving more to avoid having to come into contact with too much humanity–or too many non mask wearing bus riding types. I miss the reading time, but I enjoy the freedom driving gives me.

Back to the light in question. Since my school opened, I have been driving to and from work 3 times a week. I don’t always take the same route–I could probably take a different route every day if I wanted. Some days, I want to stop at the woodworking store. Some days, I sense traffic ahead is getting dense and jog east or west to avoid the congestion. However, there are some days when I have to encounter the traffic light.

For reference sake, the traffic signal is located at the intersection of Wilson Avenue and Ridley Boulevard. If you happen to see it on Google maps you will notice that it is a little odd in that it isn’t a completely straight intersection. It also isn’t very big and it doesn’t really lead anywhere.

Am I really that frustrated? No. However, I just find it strange that every time I turn onto the street, I run smack dab into a red light. I have even remarked on it to my girlfriend several times in the past couple of weeks. She just laughs and suggests I go a different way or coast more slowly towards the light.

On Friday, I got the last laugh. When I rounded the turn from Avenue Road (Yes, there’s a street called Avenue Road in Toronto) to Wilson, I could see the light was green and the annoying red don’t cross sign wasn’t flashing–an indication that the light would soon be turning yellow. Without speeding up, I made it through the light and felt a huge burden lift off my shoulders. Obviously a Perfect Moment.

Is there a traffic light in your neighbourhood that seems to be permanently on red for you?

The Monday

There is a soccer team–the rival to my friend’s favourite team–called the Wednesday.  The origin, if correct, was that they played on Wednesday.  They were also butchers and their team uniform reflects the apron of the profession.

Why am I telling you this?  Probably because I had considered titling this post and my thrown together cycling group the Monday, rather than the Monday’s–maybe it should be the Mondays….too much to think about.  I am writing this while waiting for my students to appear online for class.  I am going to change it, but I would like your feedback on that.

For the past few Monday evenings, some of us have gotten together to complete a short evening ride.  This group was mostly organized by one of my fellow Newmarket Eagles riders.  She is keen on riding and goes out for a lot of kilometres per week.  She has really caught the cycling and fitness bug and she is relentless.  I have to admit that it is contagious.  I think she is going out every night this week as well as doing early morning high intensity workouts.

My riding has been up and down lately.  On Saturday, I was running late, but managed to meet the group on the way.  It was a bit of a fluke because I hadn’t looked at the route and if I had, I wouldn’t have bothered.  They were supposed to head in another direction, but changed the start of the route at the last minute.  I don’t know if their change was better, but it meant I could run into them.

I ended up not feeling particularly well and bailed after about 15 kilometres.  I was pretty slow and my stomach was a bit nauseous.  I kept up at the beginning, but the climbs wore me out.  I was glad, I got out, but dropping back and dropping out soured me for the rest of the weekend.  I didn’t even put the 15 up on Strava–and you know what they say, if it isn’t on Strava, it didn’t really happen.

So, last night was a bit of redemption.  I was still slower than the group, but kept up until the very end–but by that point I was completely spent.  I rode the last few kilometres fast, but they weren’t the pleasant ones.

When I got home, I was completely spent.  Even eating was an arduous task.  The thing is, despite how tired I was, I felt glad that I had gone out.  I guess it is true.  You regret the things you didn’t do more than the tings you did.

Happy Friday Everyone

I used to have a coworker who would say this every Friday morning.  Sometimes it was sarcastic and sometimes quite genuine–I also had a coworker who called Thursday Friday Junior–but that is another story.

On both Friday and Monday, I usually ask my students questions about their weekend plans or what they did on the weekend.  As you can imagine their answers these days are pretty thin.  They answer with one word sentences like “Netflix”, or “surfing the internet” or”nothing”.  Some of the more articulate ones lament “what can we do?”

I am sure we can all relate.  However, I want to do my best to encourage people.  Yes, the weekend may look a little less inviting if you haven’t been working.  And not having the opportunity to engage in what used to be normal weekend activities, might seem a bit depressing.  I just want you to remember that it can still be Happy Friday.  You can make it one with a bit of creativity and effort–you might have the time.

For this long weekend, I just want to spread the message.

Responding to a Fellow Blogger

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

I am following about 270 bloggers.  That seems like a lot, but since I haven’t cleaned it out in a while, I am sure the number of active bloggers is around 30, certainly less than 50.  Most are cyclists, a bunch are travelers, some are craft makers, and a few represent something completely different.  One of them is RetroDee.  She writes a unique blog that hearkens back to the 1950s and the music of Buddy Holly.  She writes from both a knowledgeable perspective and a personal one.  I urge you to give it some attention.

She also nominated me for a Sunshine Blogger award.  I am not going to go through all the rules, or nominate people, or make deep philosophical questions and stuff because that never works out for me.  I have nominated probably close to a hundred people for these awards and only a few have ever responded.  I get it.  It’s either a pain or it really isn’t why people are doing this.  No problem.  I have learned my lesson.

However, I am touched that she nominated me and is publicizing me to her dedicated followers.  I am glad she thought of me and I hope my blog brings a smile to her face.  As a result, I will answer the questions she has taken time to write.  I am also glad because it gives me something to write about.

1.What’s your favorite spice?

If I am cooking my famous chicken sandwich, it has to be oregano.  It makes the chicken taste even better.  I don’t have much of a spice rack.  My grandmother used to make these crescent rolls–more bread than pastry–with caraway seeds on the top.  They were fantastic.

2. Who is your favorite character of all time? (can be from anything)

I’ve got hundreds.  I have devoured books, TV and movies.  I like the heroes and the scoundrels, the detectives and the criminals, the pure and the evil.  Really, it all depends on how good the writer is.

3. Do you believe in Aliens?

I have always been into science fiction, so this only seems natural to me.  Also, and I believe this is a quote from Calvin and Hobbes, the surest sign of intelligent life in the universe is that they haven’t contacted us yet.

4. Do you use social media and which is your favorite platform?

I have a bunch of them.  I have Facebook, Linkedin, and Instagram.  They all have their uses, but I am not sure I really like any of them.  I like blogging, but if I am being honest, I wish I got more of a response from people.  My students love Instagram, but while I check it every day, I only post in spurts.

5. Do you remember your dreams the next morning?

I do when I wake up, but this fades as the day unfolds.  I dream quite a bit, especially when I sleep on my side.  I seem to be having a lot of dreams where I am traveling either by bike, bus, or plane.  I never seem to be driving in my dreams.

6. What is your favorite charitable cause?

I can’t say as I have one.  I want to help, but I am so filled with cynicism that I do not.  I heard that many charitable organizations use up their donations in the course of soliciting donations.  That doesn’t seem right to me.

I would like to give to Sick Children’s Hospital in Toronto.  They do some fantastic work.  I would like to find a cure for Crone’s disease.

I am currently interested in the program in Africa that gives bicycles to children so they can get to school faster.  I think that is awesome.

7. Do you collect anything?

I collect everything.  I’ve got a collector’s mentality without the collector’s organizational skills.  Currently my focus is on my stamp collection.  I am trying to collect every stamp issued from the year 1970.  There are enough to collect that it won’t finish too quickly and there aren’t as many expensive stamps as there would be in other years.  There are some expensive ones, but I am holding off until later before investing in them.

Digitally, I seem to be collecting woodworking vloggers on YouTube.  For reasons that I cannot explain, lately, I am fascinated by people making little wood projects.  There are so many talented and creative people with fantastically organized shops making some great videos.  Fortunately, I do not have space for this or I might launch myself into another hobby that is both expensive and time consuming.

8. Do you use curse words on at least a semi-regular basis?

I am surprisingly restrained in this area.  Of course we all reach levels of frustration.  In these times, I tend to blurt our words that are not normally in my vocabulary.  My girlfriend finds it cute and starts to laugh.  That usually diffuses my anger quite quickly.  On a strange note, when driving, I tend to swear in Japanese.

9. Would you like to go back in time and live in the 1950’s?

I don’t think it would be my first choice.  I am much better suited to go back to the 30’s when I could write pulp science fiction.  I also would like to have hung out with the lost generation.

I was an English Literature major in University.  And like Jim Croce said on one of his live albums, “I left University prepared for life in the 18th or 19th century.”

That being said, I would love to have owned a  57 T-bird, so getting the opportunity would be rather nice.  I also might have found work in television or movies during that time.

Upon reflection, I might have found comradeship in the life of the Beats, but then again maybe not.  They seem much better reflected through our current lens than actually living that life.

10. What’s your favorite Elvis song?

When I was young, it would have been Hound Dog.  However, on one flight to Japan, Air Canada was giving away Elvis EP CD’s in the in-flight magazine.  I took a few of them and when I gave one to a friend I was visiting in Japan, he became ecstatic that Suspicious Minds was on the CD.  He played the song non-stop that weekend.  He has since died, and I can’t help remembering him whenever I hear the song.  He was a great friend.

Mules, Motorbikes and Malodorous People

So, there I was the morning of the trek. I had my daypack packed and my other stuff stored at the hotel.  I was excited but second-guessing everything.  I second guessed what I packed, and I second guessed my choices for coming on the trip.  Everyone else showed no signs of these things.  They were excited.

I had been told that we were walking 3 days to the Lost City, and on the fourth day in the morning we would see the city, and then head back for two presumably longer days of hiking.  I had been told that we would be tired and we would stink, but that’s about it.

We split up into two groups and got on board two rugged trucks. We did an hour on the highway before switching to a less hospitable road until we got to a checkpoint.  At the checkpoint we went to the washrooms and got our official bracelets to say we were on the tour.  Apparently, you can’t do this yourself and you need to book with a tour agency.

We stopped for lunch and to park the trucks. From this point onward, we would be on foot.  There was excitement in the air.

We set out after lunch. I had my walking poles, two water bottles strapped to the sides of my pack, and at least some determination.  The trek started out okay, except that the people coming back from the trek looked absolutely worn out and you could hear them grumbling about drinking a very cold beer.  They also reeked something terrible, but it was their hangdog faces and near physical exhaustion that struck me.

So, we walked onward and upward. The trail alternated between stones, packed dirt, and loose dirt.  None of it was easy.  In the first section we had to contend with motorbikes and mules ferrying goods and people up and down the trail.  That was quite surreal.

Most of the group seemed fitter and more determined than I.  The guide, who hung at the back with me, reminded me that this was not a race.  I tried to take solace in those words, but struggling to keep up, whether on foot or by bicycle, is never a great feeling.  It isn’t about winning or losing, but nobody feels great being the slowest.

As it turns out, some people love to race and see hiking or trekking as a competition. I didn’t see that the first day, but it became clear by the end.  There were three groups on the trip:  The competitive ones, the social and talkative ones, and the quiet one.  Yeah, I know, you probably can’t see me as a quiet one, but climbing that mountain, that is who I was.

The highlights of that first four-hour hike were of course the scenery, and the juice we had at one of the stops. It was freshly squeezed and for 2 dollars was one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted.  It was so good that I looked forward to stopping there on the return part of the trek five days later.

It was hard work and hot. I was slathered in sunblock and mosquito repellent.  If it had not been overcast, I don’t know how much worse I would have felt.  By the time we reached the camp, I was a sweat drenched mess and already tired.

Day two was much the same as day one.

The camps that we stayed at were basically solid roof structures with no walls. Their functions were to house the bunkbeds we would sleep on under mosquito nets.  They had washrooms with flush toilets, and showers–well, cold water pipes that ran upwards so you could get water splashed on you.  There were no showerheads.  I am not sure why.

The camps sold cold drinks at slightly inflated prices.  When I say that, it should be noted that a beer in the jungles of Colombia costs less than a beer at any bar in Canada.  It was never more than three dollars and since it had to trucked there by mule, I really don’t begrudge them the price.  In fact, it seemed quite reasonable.  I saved my drinking for the completion, but I did buy a few sports drinks after we finished the day’s hike.

The best thing about the tour was that we had our own chef who prepared breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This chef would prepare our breakfast, and then hike faster than us to the next camp to start preparing our lunch.  Then at night, he would prepare our dinner.  His name was Diego and he really treated us well.

On the morning of our third day, the guide told us that he was going to adjust our plan. Instead of waiting until the fourth day in the morning to climb the precarious stone steps to the lost city, we would arrive at the third camp, eat lunch, leave anything we didn’t want to carry and head for the lost city that night.  The idea was that we would make our fourth day a little easier, and that we would also arrive at the lost city without the crowd.

One of the group worried that this wouldn’t give us enough time at the city, but many of the others thought it was a good idea. This one group member has a “strong personality”, but we finally managed to shut her down.

The climb was rather hard. The stone steps were steep and irregular.  At least a few times, I had to grab some rocks with my bare hands to steady myself or pull myself up.

Besides our CEO, we had to guides from the Wiwa tribe–descendents of the Tayrona. They climbed up this trail with incredible ease.  I struggled.

On that third night, we arrived at the lost city. I heard other members of the group pump themselves up by saying that they “earned it” and it was so much more rewarding than taking the train to Machu Pichu.  I don’t know about all of that, but I was quite pleased with myself that I made it.  I never thought of quitting and turning back.  I never thought of paying for a ride on a mule back to the first camp.  I had wished it wasn’t hard, but other than needed to rest and do a better job of regulating my breathing, I didn’t give up.

The lost city is definitely a beautiful place. I hope my pictures can give you an idea of what I experienced.  How it was built in such a remote place is quite incredible.

The walk back was quite arduous. We had to walk the same distance we did in three days, in two.  My walking poles bent and no longer telescoped.  They were fundamentally useless and I abandoned then at an army camp.  I wanted to bring them back for a refund, but there was no way they would ever fit into my luggage again.  Making the descent without poles was quite hard and I asked the Wiwa guide to machete me off a walking stick, which he did.  It made the last day all the better.

The last day was hot and we had to walk from camp two to the start in one go. Of course we stopped for a snack, but lunch was waiting at start finish line.  Arriving there felt like finishing a marathon.  I was sore.  One foot had blisters and sore nails.  My knees were good, but my muscles were tightening up.  And yes, that victory beer tasted pretty good.

On the whole, the trek part of the trip was much better organized and executed than the first part.  I will document this and give a summation in my next blog.

Five Continents and Counting…

Long time readers to this blog will know that I often have a tough time deciding on things and then have a tough time committing to the decision I made. This is true with food, clothes, and joining activities.  This is true with travel plans.  I really don’t like to look so far ahead, but these trips have a way of filling up before I am usually ready to commit.

However, with ten months to go, I have committed to cycling around South Africa with Exodus. (I am going to have to make a new addition to my travel section).  At the urging of my British friend, we chose to forgo the typical Asian trips we’ve been on to do something else.  So now we are cycling around the cape and I might finally develop a taste for wine.

When I think back, it is quite interesting how that first cycling trip to Vietnam changed the way I thought about vacations and opened my world up to so much more.  I took that trip after more than a year of thinking about it.  I was inspired by the Lonely Planet/Globe Trekker program and the wonderful episode featuring Justine Shapiro.  She made Vietnam seem so accessible and fifteen or twenty years later, I was there.  Group travel had never seemed appealing, but that trip changed all that.  I met some great people and had a wonderful experience.

Since then I have been to Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam (again) and Costa Rica.  My food options have opened up and travel has become a big part of my life.  Best of all, everywhere I have visited has had some amazing coffee.  This year, I am scheduled to go to Colombia and South Africa.  By the end of the year, I will have visited five continents.  That is amazing.  Who knows what the future will bring?

Monday’s Perfect Moment is definitely all about signing up for more adventures and making my world a smaller place.

The Sandwich Report

This isn’t a great shot of my sandwich. In fact, it is for Wednesday’s lunch. Tuesday’s lunch is long gone.

Obviously, Today’s Perfect Moment was my turkey sandwich lovingly made from the leftovers of Thanksgiving. It was so delicious that I am going to have to make some more American friends so I can have Turkey in November with which to make sandwiches.

Once again, several people commented on my sandwich while I was toasting it prior to consumption. I was rather surprised by this.  I expected several, if not many, people to be bringing turkey sandwiches as their post thanksgiving lunch.  I couldn’t be the only one…. could I?

I seem to be writing a lot about sandwiches lately. Perhaps I should start a new blog called the Sandwich Report…..maybe being a food blogger would be more successful.  I wonder if I could get sponsored to travel the world eating sandwiches.

My students are wondering when they can sample some of my “legendary” sandwiches. I don’t want to break their hearts, but I am not sure I can make this a reality.

*               *               *

On a completely different note, I had a good idea for a short story or novel while riding the bus to work today. The sun was bright and the reflection made looking out the window at the construction difficult.  The novel I am reading, while technically brilliant, isn’t doing much for me.  I often found myself closing it to think of something I should be writing rather than reading.  The basic idea has come together, but not too many of the specifics.  Now I just need to find the time.

Riding with the B Group

On Friday, the topic of bucket lists came up. After some discussion and some correction, they asked me about mine and I explained that I don’t really have a lengthy bucket list, bur rather a lot of smaller interim goals.   When all of them said that they wanted to travel around the world, I explained that I wanted to decide on where I should have my next vacation–for the record it is either riding from Prague to Budapest in August, or going to the lake district of Chile and Argentina in December–I welcome any advice on this.  I might have to make it Monday morning’s blog in hopes of receiving some useful advice.

I am starting to digress.

One of my interim goals was to become a solid B rider with the Newmarket Eagles. Today, in spite of the incredible humidity, I took a step in that direction.  I went out with the B group for a variety of reasons.  I knew who was leading the B group and I felt confident that I could keep up with them.  Also, the C group looked like it was only going to do about 40 kilometres, or less and I wanted to go a bit longer.  Additionally, I thought to myself, if not now, when?  So, today was the day.

For the most part, I had no trouble keeping up. The big difference between the groups seems to be that the B group can keep together a lot better than the C group.  We were able to maintain a social pace line above 30kms an hour, each taking turns at the front for the entire ride out to the lake.  I didn’t feel like we were going too fast, but it required a bit of concentration.

I was quite happy with my decision.

The way back was not as crisp as the way there. One rider fell back and someone stayed with him.  When we were nearing home, the group split to pursue their own routes.  The group I was with dropped me like a bad penny (strange expression that one.  I wonder what the modern equivalent is?).

Once I lost the draft, I had to face the headwind all by myself and it was a slow ride home. My feet started aching and I struggled to maintain any pace.  I also had to contend with a broken cleat, but that was small potatoes.  It just gives me a task to do this week.

Nearing my home, I remembered that I had slipped the remnants of my Starbucks gift card into my cycling jersey. I had used most of it when I met Sarah Warsi, but maybe I had enough for a cool down drink.

I went into the Starbucks and started a conversation with the staff. One young lady was completely blown away by the distance I traveled.  She really couldn’t believe it.  I tried to explain that the B+ and A groups went much farther and much faster but she was too shell shocked to believe it.  Maybe I have made a bike convert out of her.

My drink–whatever it was–tasted quite good. I saw it as a reward for finally taking that step.  I don’t think I am a solid B rider yet, but I have more confidence, and my ambition is renewed.

Meeting Sarah Warsi

This blog has given me many things–an outlet for my writing, positive thoughts, answers to some pressing questions, help in getting a girlfriend, and place to put all my food pictures. Today it gave me something else.  It gave me the chance to meet a fellow blogger and meet a very fine person.

I can’t remember exactly when I started following Sarah’s blog, but I know that I decided to follow it after reading one post. Today she told me that I was the first person outside of her circle of friends and relatives to respond to the blog.  That’s pretty awesome.  That she remembered this is pretty awesome too.

Her blog is subtitled Happiness, Positivity, and Inspiration. That is undeniably true.  Her blog is a definite source for all of these things.  Please check it out if you haven’t already.

We have read each other’s blogs, followed each other on instagram, and exchanged email for a while. Since we both are in the Toronto area, we had always made plans to meet up for coffee.  Until today, work and life commitments made that impossible.  Until today.

We met at the smallest Starbucks I have ever seen, tucked away at a side entrance to Hillcrest mall. I arrived early enough to have time to peruse the menu.  Despite the infiltration of the coffee chain, I haven’t been there frequently enough to have any confidence with their offerings.  I considered ordering something and sitting down at a table, but I couldn’t remember if we were meeting outside or inside–actually, she sent me a message that meeting just outside the place, but comfortable inside the mall, would be best, but I somehow didn’t get that message.

I have to admit, teaching so many students, and memorizing names that are foreign to many of us with ease, used to make me feel confident about recognizing people. I have come to realize that I am not good at it at all.  So, you can imagine that I was a little apprehensive about trying to spot her.

Luckily, I shuffled back outside to wait. Almost instantly I spotted her coming in the door.  She looked exactly like her pictures and instagram videos.

We fell into chatting right away and time flew by. I even forgot to take a picture of my coffee and spinach and feta wrap.  We talked about our blogs, our fitness interests, life, and even some of our goals.  What I got from it all was that she is truly a positive person.  You can feel it radiating off of her.  She was also funny and smart.  I am so glad that we had a chance to meet and I hope we can do it again.

She told me that the company she works for is involved in this weekend’s ride for mental health in Newmarket.  I found out later that my cycling club (the Newmarket Eagles) are also involved. I kind of wish I hadn’t scheduled something else for this Sunday.

We parted at the outside entrance to the mall.  I thought about asking to take a selfie for the blog–having already determined that it would be Today’s Perfect Moment.  However, it was raining, and having just met, I didn’t want to seem creepy.

The only bummer was that I had to walk through the rain back to the bus stop to go home. I certainly can’t blame that on her.

Champions Day

Today was the Raptor’s celebration parade. I couldn’t go, but that didn’t stop me from getting a taste of what was happening.

My bus seemed more crowded than usual. I didn’t really put two and two together until I realized, as the bus was emptying out at the terminal, that the majority of the people were wearing some kind of Raptors shirt or cap.  I was subconsciously counting them when it hit me.

In the subway station, there were lots of people milling around, looking like they had never taken a subway before. If it weren’t for the fact that it wasn’t the second week of September and I didn’t already know what was going on, I would have thought that a new school year had begun.

There was a definite upbeat mood on the subway and on the platforms. Canadians, in general, sometimes don’t talk to people not because they don’t want to, bur rather, because they don’t want to disturb someone.  There was a lot of that going on this morning on public transportation.  The only difference was the smiles on people’s faces.

I heard that the public transportation was really crowded and that some stops had to be bypassed.  I heard that some people grumbled, but what is one day of inconvenience for the Champions?  Besides, construction makes things so much worse, but that goes on unabated.

Several of my students missed class to see the parade. I don’t know how close they got because the footage I saw seemed to be a huge mass of humanity and I don’t know how anyone who didn’t camp overnight was going to see anything.

I watched some of it on TV and thought it was amazing. Sadly, I heard that it wasn’t all the perfect dream of peace and celebration.  Apparently someone got shot.  Thankfully no one died, but I would have loved if this celebration could be a positive, non riot model that other ones in the future could be modeled on.

Thank you Raptors. You brought sporting pride to the city, and you did it with quite a bit of class.  Thank you.