Hello from Fernie, BC!

Hi everyone!

I apologize for my lack of blogging - it's been hard to get on the internet this past week as we have been so busy with biking, educational touring, performing, and working together to keep our mobile community happy and healthy!

The last time I wrote, I was in Okotoks, Alberta. I've come so far since then!

We spent one evening after Okotoks in Nanton; a tiny little town on the way south towards the highway that would take us on to BC. We camped out in the backyard of a couple named Darren and Ali; Darren is a freelance writer for the Toronto Star, and his wife Ali is also a writer who is currently working on some poetry. They showed us around their very cool house, and talked to us about their travels and how they met - which was on a reality tv show! The town of Nanton was fun for the time we spent there - there was a huge candy shop that was such a treat after a long biking day!

The following day we continued on to Fort Macleod, and the ride there was probably one of the best! The wind was at our backs, and despite the fact that we were going 84 km, we seemed to fly there and managed to do the ride in half the time we anticipated! We stayed in a United Church while there, and gave a performance to a local high school. That was also our last stop with Quinn, our honourary tour member and Otesha staffer, who helped us get on track for the first week of our travels. Thanks Quinn; we miss you!!

Following Fort Macleod was Pincher Creek, Alberta. The ride out there, while significantly shorter than our ride to Fort Macleod, was infinitely more difficult! We were riding directly into headwinds coming west out of the mountains, and since we had performed that day, we didn't leave until the afternoon. The ride was very beautiful - we watched the mountains rise up towards us as we pushed west - but we didn't get there until close to dinner time and we were all frustrated, tired, and cold. The great thing was that the drivers of the Otesha car were there to meet us with food prepared, and we were lucky enough to spend our nights at a man named John's house. He basically opened his home to us, with full use of the showers and kitchen! Pincher Creek also offered us free swimming passes, so we were able to relax in the community pool. While we were in the town we gave a performance and also were offered the opportunity to visit a cattle ranch and a wind farm. The cattle ranch was an interesting learning experience, and allowed us to really think about some of the environmental issues that come out of this farming practice and how we can accurately and sensitively address these issues in our play. Sidenote - while we were in Pincher Creek we were requested not to perform the "cattle scene" of our play so as not to offend the predominantly cattle farming community, so the opportunity to learn more about their farming practices allowed us to alter that scene to be more accurate and less offensive. The wind farm was also a really cool experience - we got to go inside a giant wind turbine, and Catherine (one of my tour mates) got to turn it on! I took some really cool pictures of that place, so as soon as I can I will try to upload some photos!

I was the driver of the Otesha support vehicle for our next leg of the ride - from Pincher Creek to Crowsnest Pass! This was one of our scarier rides, as it was heading directly into the headwinds and gradually uphill. Needless to say, I was happy to be in the car! Rozzy was my car buddy, and we made a point to pick up some fair-trade chocolate to give to the riders as we passed them, and we also left happy chalk messages on the side of the road for them to see! That riding day was also Caili's 23rd birthday, so we had some fun writing birthday messages on the road. Rozzy and I got to Blairmore, the town we were staying in while in the Pass, and met up with Jenice who was our host for the days we spent there. We stayed at the local Elk's Hall, and performed that night in the town of Coleman at the Blackbird Cafe. That performance was by far one of my favourites! Lynn and Lucy sang and played the guitar as part of our intro, and we had a great audience of young and old that really participated in our play and presentation. And on top of that, I got to buy a latte at the end of it! That evening we went out to the local bars for some drinks in Caili's honour - I think we scared away a bunch of locals with all our loud talking. I guess some towns aren't used to a rovng band of crazy cyclists!

The next day we had a presentation at the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre, and what a cool place that was. The town of Frank was partially buried in a rock slide off of Turtle Mountain during the early 1900's, and the area is completely covered by huge boulders! If you have some time, I highly recommend looking up the "Frank Slide"; it is really a crazy sight to see. We performed to a wandering crowd that day, which wasn't ideal but was still enjoyable, and then got some time in the afternoon all to ourselves. I spent some extra time at the interpretive centre learning more about the slide, and then I attempted to go for a very challenging hike up Turtle Mountain with some of my team! After about 10 minutes of hiking up the outer ridge of the mountain, I had to turn back - my fear of heights got the better of me. But, a couple of my tour mates made it all the way to the top! They have some pretty fantastic pictures of that experience too. It took them all afternoon and into the evening!

We headed out the next day from Blairmore, excited to be crossing the Alberta/BC boundary! That ride was also pretty fantastic - it was the first ride we ever spent in just our shorts and t-shirts, and it was also mostly downhill! Mountain streams followed us all along our travel route, and we stopped for lunch in a park alongside the road with a fantastic view of the mountains. We made it to Fernie in great time, and were able to spend the afternoon lounging in the sun at a local organic cafe and alongside the river. That night a few of us hit up the local pub and mingled a little with the Fernie crowd - my impression of this place so far is: cool, laid-back, sporty, and fun! It seems like a great place to visit if you like mountain sports of any kind: snowboarding, skiing, biking, hiking, whatever! They really cater to the mountains here.

That brings me to today! We performed twice already today; once in the morning to a great audience at the Fernie Academy, and to a not-so-great lunch crowd at the local high school. I don't really know who's idea it was to set up a performance during a high school lunch hour, but whoever it was should have seriously reconsidered! It was definitely my least-favourite performance of the entire trip; no one was listening to us, and we weren't getting much from them in return. Hopefully this can be a learning experience for Otesha - don't book performances where no one will pay attention! I'm planning on spending the rest of my time in Fernie doing a little essentials shopping (need toothpaste!) and just relaxing before we head out tomorrow on our longest ride yet - 100 km to Cranbrook!

I'll do my best to update this blog more often - I hate falling behind, I don't want to forget anything! I hope all is well with everyone at home, I miss you all very much. Wish me luck for tomorrow - I hear the going isn't too tough, but anything could happen!

Take care, and be safe!

Sarah

Current Location: Okotoks, Alberta!

Hello again from Okotoks!

I hope all is well with everyone "back East" as they say out here, and that you all had fantastic Mother's Days!

So, to get you all up to speed; we hit the road from Kamp Kiwanis on Friday, and took the Trans-Canada Highway into Calgary. What a great ride that was! Much better than my first - probably because it was mostly downhill al the way into Calgary, and partly because the wind was at our backs, but also just because I think it's cool that I got to bike on the Trans-Canada Highway! How many people can say that?

In Calgary we visited the Good Life, a local bike co-op founded by former Otesha tour members! The mall it was located in was a really cool, earthy kind of place as well, and while we were on our break I managed to stop in at the Good Earth (a really awesome coffee shop out here) and pick up a fabulous fair-trade chocoloate brownie!

After the stop, we headed out again, this time bound for Okotoks. Just as we were leaving (I was biking with Lucy and Seth), it began to rain very hard. It was driving down on us for the most part of our trip out of Calgary, and started to let up as we hit the highway headed south. Just as we neared Okotoks, the skies cleared and the sun came out! There were still isolated storms all around us and out to the West (it looked really cool to be surrounded by dark storms, blue skies, and mountains!) but we managed to miss them all when we pulled up to the Okotoks United Church.

Upon our arrival, Doug, the minister, and an active church member named Elizabeth had concocted this fantastic feast for us, with two kinds of soup, tuna sandwiches (for the non-vegans!) and dessert! Doug had also set up our whole team with billets, and so myself and my teammates Kayla and Katryna got to stay with Elizabeth. The rest of KMT stayed with other members of the Okotoks United Church. Elizabeth has been the most hospitable and caring host to us; she allowed our whole team the use of her basement kitchen, and has even left her garage and back door open to allow for us to come and go as we need!

The reason we were staying with members of the Okotoks United Church is because the 2008 KMT team had stayed and performed with them the year before, and they loved Otesha so much they invited us back for another performance this year. As a special treat, they even set us up with a tour of the Okotoks Recycling Depot and a tour of a partially off-the-grid home just on the outskirts of town. Both were really interesting and informative trips - especially the house! Even though it wasn't totally self-sustainable, it was really cool to see all that the couple had done - including using old tires as roof shingles! And on top of that, it was gorgeous and luxurious - now that's the kind of sustainable home I can be comfortable in!

That afternoon we were given the opportunity to hang out with the youth group of the United Church, who were in the middle of World Vision's 30-hour famine. We talked with them about their passions, and gave them some information on why were were there supporting our causes, and crossed our fingers that they would come to our performance the next day! Oh, and for Jess and Akili; they were playing Rock Band when we arrived, and for once I was one of the "skilled" people playing! I taught some of my teammates how to play the drums and guitar :)

On Saturday night we were given access to the school gym (where their church service is being held as their church is renovated) to practice for our first-ever official performance outside of training week. During that practice we all realized that after 2 days of time off from the play, we were pretty rusty and needed to work on our lines and transitions. We came back to Elizabeth's basement kitchen that night and worked on the play until almost midnight!

On Sunday morning we were ready to go. We performed during the church service to a fantastic audience, who laughed along with our silliness and were so supportive of our cause! We had so many great comments and tons of positive feedback afterward that people even asked for our autographs. I couldn't believe the impact we had made! I truly enjoyed hearing about the community members' ways that they were working to help their community and the environment, and I felt truly inspired by the active nature of the United Church congregation. I think some great things are going to come out of Okotoks, Alberta!

Sunday afternoon was reserved as personal time, so I gave my family and Kareem a call and then went for a walk with Elizabeth in search of the first crocuses of spring. We ended up seeing two deer and multiple crocuses on our walk! Spending time with Elizabeth was great - she is a well-traveled and passionate woman, who works hard at preserving her community and the environment. I truly believe that we have a lot to learn from her example! In the evening, Kayla, Katryna and I spent some time looking through Elizabeth's travel pictures to Cuba and Gabon (in Africa) and we learned that she once had a Cuban band stay in her basement while they were on tour in Alberta!

I've really enjoyed my time in Okotoks and I'm really going to miss this vibrant, active and sustainable town. Tomorrow we hit the road again; cycling 54 km to Nanton, Alberta! We are only staying over one night there, as the next morning we will be getting up and biking 84 km to Fort MacLeod. Lots of biking in the next few days - I hope my legs can handle it! Not far now until we travel through the Crow's Nest Pass, and on to BC!

That's all for now - I really should be getting to bed since I've got the craziest cycling schedule ahead of me. Take care, stay safe, and I'll talk to you all again soon!

Cheers,

Sarah