Yesterday afternoon I headed over to the Mitchell Eye Centre once again to check on the progress of my eyes. The funny thing is that you need to tell them how you see for them to tell you how you see. I digress.
I've been back at work for a few weeks now and it's been ok. Some dry eye and I'm definitely pooped out by the end of the day.
The appointment went well. I'm now seeing with about -0.5 in both eyes and if I recall correctly, the tech said that it was about 20/25. Not too shabby, but not good enough for me yet. I have some persistent double vision in my right eye that he said was likely due to uneven healing of my epithelium. Basically my eyelid will fix that by blinking to make it even again.
My next appointment is in another month when they expect I'll be pretty much at 0.0.
It's an amazing feeling and I'm quite proud of myself, although I had nothing to do with the quality of my own vision, to be able to see the charts. I'm even more excited for next month's visit now with their expectation that I will continue to improve.
Most of all right now I'm enjoying being able to drive right now. I'd love to be riding but it's been in the -20 degrees Celsius these days with snow and gravel and chaos on the roads. The car will do for now.
More to come...
Friday, February 23, 2007
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Laser eye surgery
First off, my apologies for taking so long to post again. Here is the story of my laser eye surgery. Settle in – it’s going to be a long post.
From my previous post it was clear that I had some anxiety about having the Epi-LASIK procedure. I don’t like things touching my eyes.
Diane picked me up and we headed to the Mitchell Eye Centre a little bit early for my appointment. When we arrived we went over to the consultant’s desk and she gave an overview again of their basic "risks" and we cleared up payment for the surgery. Then I asked for the chill pill to calm my nerves. I was fairly calm, but under the skin I could tell my heart was beating harder than if I was sleeping in on a Sunday morning. It gave me a distinct thumping feeling throughout my body. My pulse was fine but my heart was working hard.
About 20 minutes later, there I was: laying on the operating table waiting for the surgeon. The tech put some numbing drops in my eyes and I waited for what felt like an hour and must have been about 15 minutes. The surgeon tapped my leg when he entered the room and greeted me. With a patch on one eye and bright lights in the other, the touch was calming but my heart was still trying to bash through my ribs make a quick getaway.
My right eye was clamped open – quite uncomfortably and I let out a little noise to let the doctor know how I felt. He sorted it out and then placed a device over my eye.
"You will feel some pressure, your eye will black out and you will hear a noise." The surgeon said.
I got a little more than I had bargained for.
My vision, staring up at the bright white and green lights turned into a scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. And then from the outside in, it blacked out as if pulling the plug on an old black and white TV. Now with only my thoughts to keep me calm, the vibrating noise started. Watching the Epi-LASIK procedure on the Internet, there was no sound. I hadn’t expected a vibrating sound like a beard trimmer.
"Keep calm C.J. – everything will be ok." I thought to myself.
Then I could feel a bit of a grinding feeling on my eye.
"Keep calm C.J. – everything will be ok." It was all I could think of. That is, until my thoughts shifted altogether.
While still trying to look for the lights, longing for the spaceship lights, my thoughts began to wander to other things. "Orange is a totally underrated colour" I thought. "Yeah, orange is a good colour."
And then I felt like Winston at the end of his re-integration in George Orwell’s Nineteeneightyfour:
Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved big brother.
The light returned and I heard a voice. It was Dr. Mitchell, "Have you ever fainted before?" he asked. I replied with a question of my own. "Are you finished?"
Unfortunately the answer was no. "We couldn’t continue until you regained consciousness."
I was pissed. Never having fainted before, I then asked, "What? I fainted? What are you talking about?" Someone then lifted one of my legs back on to the operating table. That’s when I realized that orange may not be so underrated and I had my very own visit with my ‘happy place’.
"Take your time, we’ll get you some juice." Dr. Mitchell said, "We’ll continue in a few minutes once you’ve gathered yourself."
I got some juice but couldn’t drink it because I couldn’t hold myself up. In fact, I couldn’t hold the juice either. My hands were completely numb. I tried to move them and couldn’t. I just stared at my hands trying to will them to move and nothing worked.
After a couple of minutes, I could move my hands again. "I need to go to the bathroom. Now." I told the tech.
I made my way to the bathroom with the help of the tech and my body decided it didn’t like anything that was inside of it – so it had a hellfire clearance sale. Nausea began to swell in my stomach but I didn’t throw up.
Over the next 20 minutes, I repeated that exercise three times. Just when I thought I was empty, my body found more to get rid of. "Normally we continue the procedure after about 10 minutes" the surgeon said, "I’ve never seen this before. Sometimes young athletic men faint, but not like this."
Great. This surgeon has been practicing since 1984 (coincidentally) and has never seen someone react so strongly to this procedure. Not a good way to feel special.
The surgeon put a protective lens in my eye and I stayed in an examination room with Diane for about three hours trying to will myself back to a state where I could continue with the procedure. It wouldn’t happen today.
The bright spot for me was the kindness of everyone in the office that day. I never felt rushed to continue the procedure. We got a garbage bag for the drive home – I knew I’d need it.
The pain in my eye was annoying but not intense on the way home. My nausea was the focus of my discomfort. Diane drove as smoothly as possible for the 20-minute trek back to my condo downtown. About halfway I filled the garbage bag. She didn’t flinch or say anything. I didn’t want her to say anything, I just wanted to turn my stomach inside out and leave it in the bag.
After vomiting I felt a billion times better. Arriving home I set my alarm for two hours later and went to bed. Every two hours I would have to get up to put drops in my eye to keep it moist.
Waking up every two hours means you spend a lot of time trying to sleep and actually spending the time thinking. My thoughts ranged from never going back to convincing myself by the morning that the hard part was over and the laser was just a formality.
The next morning I called Dr. Mitchell’s office to find out when I could go back in. Fortunately it was by 11:00 AM. I wanted to get this over with.
Arriving at the clinic I didn’t have the same pounding heart as I did the day before. I was far more relaxed and ready to handle what was to come my way.
This time the surgeon came in shortly after I did into the operating room. He asked how I was feeling and I felt good. The tech was a woman this time and I found that to be more calming than the man the day before. "Yeah, way more people faint when he is the tech," the woman said. "We’ve been bugging him about it ever since he started here."
I got a stress ball and we continued the procedure starting with removing the protective lens and lasering my right eye.
The lights were like a Pink Floyd show and it was difficult to focus on the laser. There was a breeze and the smell of hair burning for about 30 seconds. No problem.
My left eye was completed with a procedure that doesn’t involve putting any pressure on it but that takes longer to heal called LASEK. With LASEK, an alcohol solution is used to soften the outer layer of one’s eye. I could smell the alcohol and see the liquid on my eye but it didn’t bother me. I would get through this.
The procedure was complete and I felt fine. Fine except for the burning and stinging feeling that was starting to swell in my eyes. I wanted a cinnamon roll and Diane and I stopped to grab one before heading home.
By the time I got home I couldn’t open my eyes because of the stinging. Once again I would set my alarm for every two hours to put drops in and I headed to bed right away. The pain was becoming intense and my eyes were gushing tears like a Las Vegas water fountain. I took a painkiller to help me sleep.
The next day I spent in bed and didn’t do much of anything, I could see a bit about six feet in front of me.
Day two after the surgery was by far the most painful. On Saturday night my eyes were sealing themselves shut with my eyelid sticking to the protective lens. The pain was sharp and sudden when I attempted to open my eyes to put the drops in. Suddenly the burning and stinging feeling seemed like a warm cup of cocoa compared to the sharpness of opening my eyes. I poked myself in the eyes a couple of times trying to get the drops in.
I stayed in bed all day on Sunday and struggled to open my eyes much at all. The guide I was given said that my vision would seem clear at first and would go downhill until the protective lenses were removed five days later. Downhill was an understatement.
For the next three days I kept myself busy by sweeping my floor, vacuuming and listening to a book on CD. By the end of the third day most of the pain had subsided but I could only see shapes and colours. I could focus on nothing. My vision was downright bad.
Those who know me well know that I struggle with doing nothing. I get bored easily and laying in bed blind for four days was driving me nuts. I looked forward to my appointment to have the protective lenses removed. My ugly duckling vision would be transformed into a beautiful swan view of the world.
To say I was excited to have the lenses removed is an understatement. Diane picked me up and we headed to the clinic. A woman I had never met before took me into a room with eye examination equipment and turned an eye chart on.
"Look over there," she said, "Tell me what the letters are."
I replied, "I don’t know. I can’t see them."
She moved the line up to a bigger one and asked again. Still nothing. Next line up on the chart, nothing. One more line up with the letters getting bigger yet. Nothing.
Finally she moved the chart up one more line. I couldn’t read it and told her so.
"What do you mean you can’t read it?!" she asked.
I responded, "I know it’s an "E" because it’s the biggest letter on the chart but I can’t read it."
That’s when I got angry and scared. Within a minute I was in to see the surgeon in another examination room. He put a machine up to my eyes, examined them and pulled the contacts out of my eyes.
"Your vision will be a bit blurry while your eyelid smoothes the surface of your eye." He said.
"What, are you kidding? I asked. "I can’t see a damn thing!"
He started writing on my chart as we talked for a minute and I told him that I couldn’t see much of anything. Then I remembered that I could see a couple of inches in front of my nose. I put my hand up to my face and said, "I can see here but that’s it!"
Dr. Mitchell’s response was not what I expected, nor did it inspire much confidence.
"Oh." He said and began crossing out his notes on my chart. His response was in a tone that showed some surprise, some disappointment and a sigh that reeked of complexity.
"You are seeing about a –4.00 right now." He continued after a significant pause. "You need to take the drops only once a day instead of three times a day."
For context, I was seeing with a +3.25 prescription prior to the surgery. I swung across the pendulum of vision from one extreme to the other. According to the schedule, I was supposed to be able to see by now. I was scheduled to return to work the next day. How quickly those plans changed. My vision didn’t turn into a beautiful swan as I had hoped. Worse, I went from an ugly ducking to feeling like a sitting duck.
The surgeon asked me to book an appointment for the next week indicating that a follow-up usually takes place a month later. I was special and wishing I wasn’t.
Over the course of the next week my emotions would fluctuate far more than my vision which made slow progress. Every day I’d take a rough measurement of my focal length. It went from about three inches to just over a foot in a week. This would be a slow go.
I tried to stay as positive and optimistic as possible. A gift basket was delivered from work. They were very supportive and the basket was a pleasant surprise for me. Another colleague sent me some Big Turk candy bars, which became my comfort food. I spent a lot of time contemplating my future, the future of the trip and what my world would look like if my vision didn’t recover. The fear was intimidating but my energy needed to be focused on healing.
On Wednesday, eight days after registering –4.00 (ish) on the eye chart I went back to the clinic for another exam. This time I could see much better and could read part of the chart. Progress! It was blurry, but I could still read it. I had double vision but at least I could see. The tech told me my prescription had changed to about –1.50. The tech said this recovery still seemed slow and he told me that I was likely having a reaction to the steroid drops. He asked me to stop using them altogether and said that I should see a significant improvement over the next four or five days. Thank goodness he would be right.
When your vision is messed up as badly as mine had become, you start to wonder if your progress is real or imagined. Over the next few days I know there was real progress. It was still blurry, but at least I could focus on things that were across the room.
On Monday (February 5) I decided to return to work. My double vision was still a problem but I hope it will continue to heal and improve over the next few months. It was nice to be back in a place where I could start to function again and have some mental stimulation. There are days at the beginning where I had not even left my condo and now I was able to spend some time at the office.
I pushed it too hard the first day back and headed home in the afternoon and had a long nap.
Today I headed back to work and my vision seems a little worse than yesterday. Double vision has killed the sharpness of my vision but I realize I have come an enormous way since having the surgery nearly thee weeks ago. The fear is beginning to subside and I have an enormous empathy for those with vision problems that cannot be corrected.
These have been the hardest three weeks of my adult life.
More to come...
From my previous post it was clear that I had some anxiety about having the Epi-LASIK procedure. I don’t like things touching my eyes.
Diane picked me up and we headed to the Mitchell Eye Centre a little bit early for my appointment. When we arrived we went over to the consultant’s desk and she gave an overview again of their basic "risks" and we cleared up payment for the surgery. Then I asked for the chill pill to calm my nerves. I was fairly calm, but under the skin I could tell my heart was beating harder than if I was sleeping in on a Sunday morning. It gave me a distinct thumping feeling throughout my body. My pulse was fine but my heart was working hard.
About 20 minutes later, there I was: laying on the operating table waiting for the surgeon. The tech put some numbing drops in my eyes and I waited for what felt like an hour and must have been about 15 minutes. The surgeon tapped my leg when he entered the room and greeted me. With a patch on one eye and bright lights in the other, the touch was calming but my heart was still trying to bash through my ribs make a quick getaway.
My right eye was clamped open – quite uncomfortably and I let out a little noise to let the doctor know how I felt. He sorted it out and then placed a device over my eye.
"You will feel some pressure, your eye will black out and you will hear a noise." The surgeon said.
I got a little more than I had bargained for.
My vision, staring up at the bright white and green lights turned into a scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. And then from the outside in, it blacked out as if pulling the plug on an old black and white TV. Now with only my thoughts to keep me calm, the vibrating noise started. Watching the Epi-LASIK procedure on the Internet, there was no sound. I hadn’t expected a vibrating sound like a beard trimmer.
"Keep calm C.J. – everything will be ok." I thought to myself.
Then I could feel a bit of a grinding feeling on my eye.
"Keep calm C.J. – everything will be ok." It was all I could think of. That is, until my thoughts shifted altogether.
While still trying to look for the lights, longing for the spaceship lights, my thoughts began to wander to other things. "Orange is a totally underrated colour" I thought. "Yeah, orange is a good colour."
And then I felt like Winston at the end of his re-integration in George Orwell’s Nineteeneightyfour:
Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved big brother.
The light returned and I heard a voice. It was Dr. Mitchell, "Have you ever fainted before?" he asked. I replied with a question of my own. "Are you finished?"
Unfortunately the answer was no. "We couldn’t continue until you regained consciousness."
I was pissed. Never having fainted before, I then asked, "What? I fainted? What are you talking about?" Someone then lifted one of my legs back on to the operating table. That’s when I realized that orange may not be so underrated and I had my very own visit with my ‘happy place’.
"Take your time, we’ll get you some juice." Dr. Mitchell said, "We’ll continue in a few minutes once you’ve gathered yourself."
I got some juice but couldn’t drink it because I couldn’t hold myself up. In fact, I couldn’t hold the juice either. My hands were completely numb. I tried to move them and couldn’t. I just stared at my hands trying to will them to move and nothing worked.
After a couple of minutes, I could move my hands again. "I need to go to the bathroom. Now." I told the tech.
I made my way to the bathroom with the help of the tech and my body decided it didn’t like anything that was inside of it – so it had a hellfire clearance sale. Nausea began to swell in my stomach but I didn’t throw up.
Over the next 20 minutes, I repeated that exercise three times. Just when I thought I was empty, my body found more to get rid of. "Normally we continue the procedure after about 10 minutes" the surgeon said, "I’ve never seen this before. Sometimes young athletic men faint, but not like this."
Great. This surgeon has been practicing since 1984 (coincidentally) and has never seen someone react so strongly to this procedure. Not a good way to feel special.
The surgeon put a protective lens in my eye and I stayed in an examination room with Diane for about three hours trying to will myself back to a state where I could continue with the procedure. It wouldn’t happen today.
The bright spot for me was the kindness of everyone in the office that day. I never felt rushed to continue the procedure. We got a garbage bag for the drive home – I knew I’d need it.
The pain in my eye was annoying but not intense on the way home. My nausea was the focus of my discomfort. Diane drove as smoothly as possible for the 20-minute trek back to my condo downtown. About halfway I filled the garbage bag. She didn’t flinch or say anything. I didn’t want her to say anything, I just wanted to turn my stomach inside out and leave it in the bag.
After vomiting I felt a billion times better. Arriving home I set my alarm for two hours later and went to bed. Every two hours I would have to get up to put drops in my eye to keep it moist.
Waking up every two hours means you spend a lot of time trying to sleep and actually spending the time thinking. My thoughts ranged from never going back to convincing myself by the morning that the hard part was over and the laser was just a formality.
The next morning I called Dr. Mitchell’s office to find out when I could go back in. Fortunately it was by 11:00 AM. I wanted to get this over with.
Arriving at the clinic I didn’t have the same pounding heart as I did the day before. I was far more relaxed and ready to handle what was to come my way.
This time the surgeon came in shortly after I did into the operating room. He asked how I was feeling and I felt good. The tech was a woman this time and I found that to be more calming than the man the day before. "Yeah, way more people faint when he is the tech," the woman said. "We’ve been bugging him about it ever since he started here."
I got a stress ball and we continued the procedure starting with removing the protective lens and lasering my right eye.
The lights were like a Pink Floyd show and it was difficult to focus on the laser. There was a breeze and the smell of hair burning for about 30 seconds. No problem.
My left eye was completed with a procedure that doesn’t involve putting any pressure on it but that takes longer to heal called LASEK. With LASEK, an alcohol solution is used to soften the outer layer of one’s eye. I could smell the alcohol and see the liquid on my eye but it didn’t bother me. I would get through this.
The procedure was complete and I felt fine. Fine except for the burning and stinging feeling that was starting to swell in my eyes. I wanted a cinnamon roll and Diane and I stopped to grab one before heading home.
By the time I got home I couldn’t open my eyes because of the stinging. Once again I would set my alarm for every two hours to put drops in and I headed to bed right away. The pain was becoming intense and my eyes were gushing tears like a Las Vegas water fountain. I took a painkiller to help me sleep.
The next day I spent in bed and didn’t do much of anything, I could see a bit about six feet in front of me.
Day two after the surgery was by far the most painful. On Saturday night my eyes were sealing themselves shut with my eyelid sticking to the protective lens. The pain was sharp and sudden when I attempted to open my eyes to put the drops in. Suddenly the burning and stinging feeling seemed like a warm cup of cocoa compared to the sharpness of opening my eyes. I poked myself in the eyes a couple of times trying to get the drops in.
I stayed in bed all day on Sunday and struggled to open my eyes much at all. The guide I was given said that my vision would seem clear at first and would go downhill until the protective lenses were removed five days later. Downhill was an understatement.
For the next three days I kept myself busy by sweeping my floor, vacuuming and listening to a book on CD. By the end of the third day most of the pain had subsided but I could only see shapes and colours. I could focus on nothing. My vision was downright bad.
Those who know me well know that I struggle with doing nothing. I get bored easily and laying in bed blind for four days was driving me nuts. I looked forward to my appointment to have the protective lenses removed. My ugly duckling vision would be transformed into a beautiful swan view of the world.
To say I was excited to have the lenses removed is an understatement. Diane picked me up and we headed to the clinic. A woman I had never met before took me into a room with eye examination equipment and turned an eye chart on.
"Look over there," she said, "Tell me what the letters are."
I replied, "I don’t know. I can’t see them."
She moved the line up to a bigger one and asked again. Still nothing. Next line up on the chart, nothing. One more line up with the letters getting bigger yet. Nothing.
Finally she moved the chart up one more line. I couldn’t read it and told her so.
"What do you mean you can’t read it?!" she asked.
I responded, "I know it’s an "E" because it’s the biggest letter on the chart but I can’t read it."
That’s when I got angry and scared. Within a minute I was in to see the surgeon in another examination room. He put a machine up to my eyes, examined them and pulled the contacts out of my eyes.
"Your vision will be a bit blurry while your eyelid smoothes the surface of your eye." He said.
"What, are you kidding? I asked. "I can’t see a damn thing!"
He started writing on my chart as we talked for a minute and I told him that I couldn’t see much of anything. Then I remembered that I could see a couple of inches in front of my nose. I put my hand up to my face and said, "I can see here but that’s it!"
Dr. Mitchell’s response was not what I expected, nor did it inspire much confidence.
"Oh." He said and began crossing out his notes on my chart. His response was in a tone that showed some surprise, some disappointment and a sigh that reeked of complexity.
"You are seeing about a –4.00 right now." He continued after a significant pause. "You need to take the drops only once a day instead of three times a day."
For context, I was seeing with a +3.25 prescription prior to the surgery. I swung across the pendulum of vision from one extreme to the other. According to the schedule, I was supposed to be able to see by now. I was scheduled to return to work the next day. How quickly those plans changed. My vision didn’t turn into a beautiful swan as I had hoped. Worse, I went from an ugly ducking to feeling like a sitting duck.
The surgeon asked me to book an appointment for the next week indicating that a follow-up usually takes place a month later. I was special and wishing I wasn’t.
Over the course of the next week my emotions would fluctuate far more than my vision which made slow progress. Every day I’d take a rough measurement of my focal length. It went from about three inches to just over a foot in a week. This would be a slow go.
I tried to stay as positive and optimistic as possible. A gift basket was delivered from work. They were very supportive and the basket was a pleasant surprise for me. Another colleague sent me some Big Turk candy bars, which became my comfort food. I spent a lot of time contemplating my future, the future of the trip and what my world would look like if my vision didn’t recover. The fear was intimidating but my energy needed to be focused on healing.
On Wednesday, eight days after registering –4.00 (ish) on the eye chart I went back to the clinic for another exam. This time I could see much better and could read part of the chart. Progress! It was blurry, but I could still read it. I had double vision but at least I could see. The tech told me my prescription had changed to about –1.50. The tech said this recovery still seemed slow and he told me that I was likely having a reaction to the steroid drops. He asked me to stop using them altogether and said that I should see a significant improvement over the next four or five days. Thank goodness he would be right.
When your vision is messed up as badly as mine had become, you start to wonder if your progress is real or imagined. Over the next few days I know there was real progress. It was still blurry, but at least I could focus on things that were across the room.
On Monday (February 5) I decided to return to work. My double vision was still a problem but I hope it will continue to heal and improve over the next few months. It was nice to be back in a place where I could start to function again and have some mental stimulation. There are days at the beginning where I had not even left my condo and now I was able to spend some time at the office.
I pushed it too hard the first day back and headed home in the afternoon and had a long nap.
Today I headed back to work and my vision seems a little worse than yesterday. Double vision has killed the sharpness of my vision but I realize I have come an enormous way since having the surgery nearly thee weeks ago. The fear is beginning to subside and I have an enormous empathy for those with vision problems that cannot be corrected.
These have been the hardest three weeks of my adult life.
More to come...
...and we're back...
Just a quick post for now to let people know that I'm back from the laser surgery. I won't go into any details just yet, but will write a detailed post when I have a chance and can write for a little while.
more to come...
more to come...
Thursday, January 18, 2007
T-minus five hours...
I'm going in for laser eye surgery in five hours.
It's been 10 years of wearing glasses and waking up to grab them. All I can hope is that there are no complications today and that I'll be able to see clearly.
There are certain people I trust more than myself when driving. There are people I trust more to fly planes when I'm on one. I don't know how to trust someone with my eyes.
Here's an example of what epi-lasik looks like. I made the mistake of watching it.
Good thing they have chill pills there.
It's been 10 years of wearing glasses and waking up to grab them. All I can hope is that there are no complications today and that I'll be able to see clearly.
There are certain people I trust more than myself when driving. There are people I trust more to fly planes when I'm on one. I don't know how to trust someone with my eyes.
Here's an example of what epi-lasik looks like. I made the mistake of watching it.
Good thing they have chill pills there.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
New plug and four days till laser surgery
Yesterday I headed out to the Shooting Edge where EarInc has their Calgary location. I was surprised to see how large the showroom was and how many gadgets there now are available for hunters and folks with firearms. I also didn't realize that a Pelican Flashlight could cost $223.00!
So I got my second earplug made and it sounds pretty good. I'm really pleased that I went back to go and get it after the motorcycle show last week. I also saw a few gadgets at the Shooting Edge that might be worthwhile to bring on the trip.
All of this is to distract me from the fact that I've got my surgery on Thursday. I'm still nervous as all heck about it.
More to come...
So I got my second earplug made and it sounds pretty good. I'm really pleased that I went back to go and get it after the motorcycle show last week. I also saw a few gadgets at the Shooting Edge that might be worthwhile to bring on the trip.
All of this is to distract me from the fact that I've got my surgery on Thursday. I'm still nervous as all heck about it.
More to come...
Thursday, January 11, 2007
What?
.... I can't hear you!
I'm busy wearing my new ear plugs! Ok, so I only have one so far. But it's so comfortable once it's up to body temperature that I've ordered another one for my good ear. I'll be going in on Saturday to get injected with silicone once again.
All this earplug talk is a nice distraction from my eye surgery which is one week away.
More to come...
I'm busy wearing my new ear plugs! Ok, so I only have one so far. But it's so comfortable once it's up to body temperature that I've ordered another one for my good ear. I'll be going in on Saturday to get injected with silicone once again.
All this earplug talk is a nice distraction from my eye surgery which is one week away.
More to come...
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
A great motorcycle show
My hat goes off to everyone who put in long hours at the Calgary Motorcycle Show. It was a great event and was well attended.
The news of the weekend for me is that I got a custom earphone manufactured. I'm completely deaf in one ear so stereo sound is lost on me. In fact it's annoying to only hear a guitar and wonder, "What happened to Mick Jagger? I was certain he sang in this part of the song." Then, upon switching earphones asking, "Hey Mick, where'd Keith go?"
EarInc.ca is where I got them done. Linda did a great job, but I have to say, it's an odd feeling having silicone injected into your ear. I bought the deluxe, custom molded model and got it for half the show price because they only need to make one! The plug is being wired for mono sound as well so I get both channels in one ear. The great news about it is that the earphone also acts as an earplug, blocking sound to make riding more comfortable.
It wasn't that comfortable for Dylan though when we went back to the booth to pick up our plugs after they dried. He got a custom pair of earplugs done in a two colour swirl pattern; orange and black.
He tried them on when we picked them up and claimed they didn't fit well at all. Odd for a custom plug that's molded to your exact ear.
"Oh" the woman proclaimed, "that was you. I'm glad we got that sorted out!"
Apparently another person (with larger ears, purchased the same plugs in the same colour combination. They forgot to write one of them down and then didn't know which plugs belonged to who. So they guessed and guessed wrong!
It was a little gross. The woman said that at least Dylan was the first person to come back and try them. What she failed to appreciate is that they came out of the other man's ears in the first place!
More to come...
The news of the weekend for me is that I got a custom earphone manufactured. I'm completely deaf in one ear so stereo sound is lost on me. In fact it's annoying to only hear a guitar and wonder, "What happened to Mick Jagger? I was certain he sang in this part of the song." Then, upon switching earphones asking, "Hey Mick, where'd Keith go?"
EarInc.ca is where I got them done. Linda did a great job, but I have to say, it's an odd feeling having silicone injected into your ear. I bought the deluxe, custom molded model and got it for half the show price because they only need to make one! The plug is being wired for mono sound as well so I get both channels in one ear. The great news about it is that the earphone also acts as an earplug, blocking sound to make riding more comfortable.
It wasn't that comfortable for Dylan though when we went back to the booth to pick up our plugs after they dried. He got a custom pair of earplugs done in a two colour swirl pattern; orange and black.
He tried them on when we picked them up and claimed they didn't fit well at all. Odd for a custom plug that's molded to your exact ear.
"Oh" the woman proclaimed, "that was you. I'm glad we got that sorted out!"
Apparently another person (with larger ears, purchased the same plugs in the same colour combination. They forgot to write one of them down and then didn't know which plugs belonged to who. So they guessed and guessed wrong!
It was a little gross. The woman said that at least Dylan was the first person to come back and try them. What she failed to appreciate is that they came out of the other man's ears in the first place!
More to come...
Friday, January 05, 2007
A fun weekend ahead
I'm pretty excited about the weekend.
Last year at this time I could care less about motorcycles, motorcycling, "adventure travel", and I'd never given a thought to going around the world on a bike. It wasn't until a week from now last year that the idea for a RTW trip came up. As such, I didn't even think about going to the Calgary Motorcycle Show.
This year is another story. I'm definitely looking forward to meeting some of the folks at the show, seeing what products might work well for the trip. So far I've learned that there is a company that makes custom earphones and earplugs there. Normally I wouldn't be thinking this is one of the best booths at the show, but I'm completely deaf in one ear. Protecting my hearing is critical and if I choose to use headphones, one of them is absolutely no use to me and it just gets in the way and transfers static energy into my good ear - giving it a nice electrical shock every few seconds.
There you have it. I'm excited about earplugs.
More to come...
Last year at this time I could care less about motorcycles, motorcycling, "adventure travel", and I'd never given a thought to going around the world on a bike. It wasn't until a week from now last year that the idea for a RTW trip came up. As such, I didn't even think about going to the Calgary Motorcycle Show.
This year is another story. I'm definitely looking forward to meeting some of the folks at the show, seeing what products might work well for the trip. So far I've learned that there is a company that makes custom earphones and earplugs there. Normally I wouldn't be thinking this is one of the best booths at the show, but I'm completely deaf in one ear. Protecting my hearing is critical and if I choose to use headphones, one of them is absolutely no use to me and it just gets in the way and transfers static energy into my good ear - giving it a nice electrical shock every few seconds.
There you have it. I'm excited about earplugs.
More to come...
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Biting the Bullet
In a previous post I mentioned that I was going to go in for laser eye surgery. Since that time I have been waiting for confirmation of a few facts from Dr. Mitchell's office. Now that I have those facts, I've decided that I will in fact have it done.
Before I waffle again and change my mind, I have the surgery booked for January 18th - Two weeks away!
I asked the patient councillor about my anxiety and how to handle it. Fortunately if I'm too freaked by the whole thing (I watched an epi-lasik surgery online once and nearly lost my lunch onto my keyboard) they have pills to fix that. I'm certainly not big on drug use - I had two shoulder surgeries with no painkillers after the initial doses - but this is a little different.
Until five years ago I had never, ever touched my eye. I decided I wanted contacts and it took more than an hour to get the first one in. Times have changed for me since then, but I still am anxious when I think about touching or messing with my eye.
I've been reassured and comforted and know it's the best thing to do for this trip and to get me out of glasses. I just hope I can chill out enough to let them do it.
More to come...
Before I waffle again and change my mind, I have the surgery booked for January 18th - Two weeks away!
I asked the patient councillor about my anxiety and how to handle it. Fortunately if I'm too freaked by the whole thing (I watched an epi-lasik surgery online once and nearly lost my lunch onto my keyboard) they have pills to fix that. I'm certainly not big on drug use - I had two shoulder surgeries with no painkillers after the initial doses - but this is a little different.
Until five years ago I had never, ever touched my eye. I decided I wanted contacts and it took more than an hour to get the first one in. Times have changed for me since then, but I still am anxious when I think about touching or messing with my eye.
I've been reassured and comforted and know it's the best thing to do for this trip and to get me out of glasses. I just hope I can chill out enough to let them do it.
More to come...
Friday, December 29, 2006
The trip route is planned!
Well, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone. I've been enjoying a few days away from computers to celebrate the holidays but now it's time to get back at it.
We have finished planning our trip route. If you click on the map, it might take you to a larger version... (maybe).
The summary goes a little like this....
Start in Calgary, Canada... head East till we hit the coast at either Halifax, Nova Scotia, or St. John's Newfoundland - Flights will determine what city we leave Canada from as we want direct flights only to ensure our bikes stay with us.
Next we hop on a plane, landing in London, UK. We'll ride North to Liverpool and grab a ferry to the Isle of Man to check out the Isle of Man TT race. From there we'll grab another ferry over to Dublin, then up Ireland to Scotland (with yet another ferry in there) and then down to the channel tunnel to France.
While in Europe we will head northeast though Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. Germany has much to offer in our minds so we'll head south for a while and zig-zag through Germany to Switzerland. Next it's off to Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, then back southeast to Slovakia and Hungary.
Eastern Europe is an area I'm extremely excited about (having lived in London, and done some travel, western Europe isn't as appealing for this sort of adventure, but then again, it's still going to be an amazing section of the journey - I digress).
We will track from Hungary to Ukraine where we will visit Chernobyl. Then, heading north we will go to the very Soviet-style Belarus and further to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia where it is rumoured that Dylan and I have ancestry.
Once in Russia we will tackle St. Petersburg and head to Moscow - a place that has always left me in awe since I was a little boy. In fact, I still have a soviet flag that I bought when the Olympic games were in Calgary in 1988. I was in fourth grade and did a report on the Soviet Union. It continues to fascinate me to this day.
From Moscow we will travel southeast to Samara, Russia. Then we'll be taking the plunge and heading into Kazakhstan. We will visit what's left of the Aral Sea - one of the greatest natural disasters ever created at the hand of man. Onward we will travel across Kazakhstan and then into the Altai region of Russia to get into Mongolia.
Mongolia is my new fascination. Since seeing Ewan and Charlie ride it in "Long Way Round", I've definitely wanted to try my hand at riding through such a mystical and beautiful land. It's going to kick our butts but I think it will be completely worth it.
Hopefully by 2008 the trans-Siberia / trans-Russia is completed. That will make the journey from Ulan-Ude to Vladivostock easier and safer. We've scheduled a couple of weeks for this section of the journey.
Our Russian section will draw to a close at Vladivostock with a two-day ferry ride to Japan. We'll ride from the ferry on the west coast of Japan to Tokyo. From there we grab a trans-Pacific flight to Vancouver, Canada - the homeward stretch.
Earlier this year I rode from Vancouver to Calgary in one day. I never want to do that again. So we've scheduled more time for this beautiful trek of 600 miles (1,000km).
Finally, after four months and an estimated 20,000 miles (32,000km) we will arrive home in Calgary. We will have gone from Here to Here.
We have finished planning our trip route. If you click on the map, it might take you to a larger version... (maybe).
The summary goes a little like this....
Start in Calgary, Canada... head East till we hit the coast at either Halifax, Nova Scotia, or St. John's Newfoundland - Flights will determine what city we leave Canada from as we want direct flights only to ensure our bikes stay with us.
Next we hop on a plane, landing in London, UK. We'll ride North to Liverpool and grab a ferry to the Isle of Man to check out the Isle of Man TT race. From there we'll grab another ferry over to Dublin, then up Ireland to Scotland (with yet another ferry in there) and then down to the channel tunnel to France.
While in Europe we will head northeast though Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. Germany has much to offer in our minds so we'll head south for a while and zig-zag through Germany to Switzerland. Next it's off to Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, then back southeast to Slovakia and Hungary.
Eastern Europe is an area I'm extremely excited about (having lived in London, and done some travel, western Europe isn't as appealing for this sort of adventure, but then again, it's still going to be an amazing section of the journey - I digress).
We will track from Hungary to Ukraine where we will visit Chernobyl. Then, heading north we will go to the very Soviet-style Belarus and further to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia where it is rumoured that Dylan and I have ancestry.
Once in Russia we will tackle St. Petersburg and head to Moscow - a place that has always left me in awe since I was a little boy. In fact, I still have a soviet flag that I bought when the Olympic games were in Calgary in 1988. I was in fourth grade and did a report on the Soviet Union. It continues to fascinate me to this day.
From Moscow we will travel southeast to Samara, Russia. Then we'll be taking the plunge and heading into Kazakhstan. We will visit what's left of the Aral Sea - one of the greatest natural disasters ever created at the hand of man. Onward we will travel across Kazakhstan and then into the Altai region of Russia to get into Mongolia.
Mongolia is my new fascination. Since seeing Ewan and Charlie ride it in "Long Way Round", I've definitely wanted to try my hand at riding through such a mystical and beautiful land. It's going to kick our butts but I think it will be completely worth it.
Hopefully by 2008 the trans-Siberia / trans-Russia is completed. That will make the journey from Ulan-Ude to Vladivostock easier and safer. We've scheduled a couple of weeks for this section of the journey.
Our Russian section will draw to a close at Vladivostock with a two-day ferry ride to Japan. We'll ride from the ferry on the west coast of Japan to Tokyo. From there we grab a trans-Pacific flight to Vancouver, Canada - the homeward stretch.
Earlier this year I rode from Vancouver to Calgary in one day. I never want to do that again. So we've scheduled more time for this beautiful trek of 600 miles (1,000km).
Finally, after four months and an estimated 20,000 miles (32,000km) we will arrive home in Calgary. We will have gone from Here to Here.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Dylan's V-Strom gets a makeover
Dylan and I both bought "silver" V-Stroms. In 2006, "Silver", according to Suzuki meant more like, "Dodge Caravan baby blue champagne metallic".
I bought it in this colour to differentiate my bike from all the sport bikes out there. Since the V-strom is not another crotch rocket, I didn't want it to look like one.
Dylan hated it.
So, after he picked up his bike, using his professional painting skills (no sarcasm here, he is actually does paint aircraft) he decided on a flat black for his V-strom. Here it is in his garage, not yet assembled. He already has the Pat Walsh Crash plate on the bike as it came with it when he bought it.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Take the plunge - or the epi-lasik
I have tried out my last pair of contact lenses and they are not good enough for me to read with. I've tentatively decided that I'm going to take the plunge and get the epi-lasik eye surgery done at Mitchel Eye Centre.
I'm nervous as all heck about it but think it's probably the best option for me. One of the main reasons for it - besides the trip, is that my girlfriend has a couple of dogs and one of them likes to get quite rowdy. I get my glasses licked, booted, knocked, smudged and otherwise messed up at least 10 times in a weekend. It would be great to be able to "fight back" against the dog and be able to see at the same time. Maybe she's just smarter than me and is able to play dirty by knocking my glasses off.
I'm nervous as all heck about it but think it's probably the best option for me. One of the main reasons for it - besides the trip, is that my girlfriend has a couple of dogs and one of them likes to get quite rowdy. I get my glasses licked, booted, knocked, smudged and otherwise messed up at least 10 times in a weekend. It would be great to be able to "fight back" against the dog and be able to see at the same time. Maybe she's just smarter than me and is able to play dirty by knocking my glasses off.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
In the meantime
While I'm waiting on deciding whether or not to take the plunge and do the laser eye surgery, I'm trying out some new contact lenses. So far the results are mixed.
For the past few years my contact lenses have been ok for sports but not for anything else. My vision just hasn't been sharp enough with them in. So I tried a new pair called "Pro Clear" - a brand I had never heard of.
These ProClear Contact lenses were nice, but I tore my sample pair taking them out on just the first use. I'm waiting now a couple of weeks to get another sample pair to see how they work.
Dylan and I are nearly finished our route and we'll be giving more details about it soon. We also have a new fundraising / partnership idea that I think might help the trip and make a difference in the community too. Stay tuned.
More to come...
For the past few years my contact lenses have been ok for sports but not for anything else. My vision just hasn't been sharp enough with them in. So I tried a new pair called "Pro Clear" - a brand I had never heard of.
These ProClear Contact lenses were nice, but I tore my sample pair taking them out on just the first use. I'm waiting now a couple of weeks to get another sample pair to see how they work.
Dylan and I are nearly finished our route and we'll be giving more details about it soon. We also have a new fundraising / partnership idea that I think might help the trip and make a difference in the community too. Stay tuned.
More to come...
Friday, December 08, 2006
A different angle on laser eye surgery
A week after my experience at Gimbel Eye Centre, I had an assesment appointment at Mitchel Eye Centre, also in Calgary.
The experience was like night and day. I went with a friend who was also having an assesment and we both agreed that Mitchel, or Mitchel's staff and processes are far more thorough and comforting for the prospective patient. The only problem was when I met with Dr. Mitchel to go over my results.
I want to throw the question out there for people, what does 15 percent risk mean to you?
My situation (the scaled-down version) is that I'm far sighted. The proceedure for far sightedness involves steepening the cornea. I have a "steep" cornea already, so there is a risk (15 percent according to Mitchel) that I would develop as he described, "oil drop vision" basically my vision could turn into what you see in the reflection of a drop of oil. It's correctable with another procedure, but it puts me back in my glasses.
I've spent the last couple of weeks thinking about it and I have a new set of contact lenses on order. If I could get away with contacts on the trip, and in life, I think that would be ok. However, contacts have never made my vision clear enough and so I only wear them for sports.
More to come... sooner rather than later this time!
The experience was like night and day. I went with a friend who was also having an assesment and we both agreed that Mitchel, or Mitchel's staff and processes are far more thorough and comforting for the prospective patient. The only problem was when I met with Dr. Mitchel to go over my results.
I want to throw the question out there for people, what does 15 percent risk mean to you?
My situation (the scaled-down version) is that I'm far sighted. The proceedure for far sightedness involves steepening the cornea. I have a "steep" cornea already, so there is a risk (15 percent according to Mitchel) that I would develop as he described, "oil drop vision" basically my vision could turn into what you see in the reflection of a drop of oil. It's correctable with another procedure, but it puts me back in my glasses.
I've spent the last couple of weeks thinking about it and I have a new set of contact lenses on order. If I could get away with contacts on the trip, and in life, I think that would be ok. However, contacts have never made my vision clear enough and so I only wear them for sports.
More to come... sooner rather than later this time!
Sunday, November 26, 2006
True Fear...
... this time is wasn't riding in the rain near Kamloops, BC.
About 10 years ago, when I started university, I started to get pretty serious headaches. They felt like my eyes were rotting out from behind. After a few months of this, I went to get an eye exam - low and behold I needed glasses.
When I was growing up, I thought it was normal to be able to concentrate and focus my eyes, and then relax and have everything go blurry. I could read the eye charts with ease and tested at 20/10 vision. I had played basketball, learned to shoot and drive all with good success and without glasses. Times had changed.
Fast forward 10 years ago to my scare on the motorcycle when I accidentally forgot to put on my glasses (remember, I'm able to concentrate and focus for a short time now). I rode down the street, came to an intersection and everything went blurry. I found my glasses but lost a lot of confidence.
So, laser eye surgery must be the solution right? I decided to find out.
I went to Gimbel Eye Centre here in Calgary. When I walked in, I couldn't help but think how nice the place looked. It had an air of quality about it. After all, Dr. Gimbel was the pioneer of laser eye surgery in Alberta. Sitting in the waiting room with my friend Diane, I turned to the side and noticed a large painting of a laser eye surgery. The machines were there, an assistant, the surgeon, but then something I found strange - Jesus was there too.
This is a blog about motorcycling around the world, not religion. However, for the sake of accuracy I'll tell you that I'm not a religious person. I try my best to respect the religion of others, and that's about it. However, I feel that Jesus shouldn't be in the operating room with me. What if I was muslim? Buddist? a Jedi? Does the surgeon need luck? Do I? Am I going to die? It all left a bad first impression on me. And then came the testing.
Gimbel Eye Centre is set up for the best possible efficiency. I felt like it was like herding cattle and determining which cows could have surgery. Then getting passed on to the sales department for misleading information.
There were small rooms with five machines and five technicians, five patients and a couple of guests. We bumped into each other, could overhear other people's testing, it was horrible. You get herded around to different waiting rooms to meet with different people, don't even meet with the surgeon (have to book a surgery for that), get told you are a marginal candidate by the optomotrist but an excellent candidate by the sales department. You even get herded out a different door from the one in which you arrive.
Needless to say, the combination of being treated like cattle, being told they'd rather insert a contact lens INSIDE my eye rather than laser me (and not learning ANY of the results of my testing, and knowing that the surgeon would like Jesus in the room for surgery was enough for me to say, "not a flying chance in hell would I ever go to Gimbel Eye Centre". So I went to visit the Mitchell Eye Centre for another round of testing...
More to come... (and apologies for the lack of posts this week. I'm "Sprinting to the Finish" at the office)
About 10 years ago, when I started university, I started to get pretty serious headaches. They felt like my eyes were rotting out from behind. After a few months of this, I went to get an eye exam - low and behold I needed glasses.
When I was growing up, I thought it was normal to be able to concentrate and focus my eyes, and then relax and have everything go blurry. I could read the eye charts with ease and tested at 20/10 vision. I had played basketball, learned to shoot and drive all with good success and without glasses. Times had changed.
Jesus was there too.
Fast forward 10 years ago to my scare on the motorcycle when I accidentally forgot to put on my glasses (remember, I'm able to concentrate and focus for a short time now). I rode down the street, came to an intersection and everything went blurry. I found my glasses but lost a lot of confidence.
So, laser eye surgery must be the solution right? I decided to find out.
I went to Gimbel Eye Centre here in Calgary. When I walked in, I couldn't help but think how nice the place looked. It had an air of quality about it. After all, Dr. Gimbel was the pioneer of laser eye surgery in Alberta. Sitting in the waiting room with my friend Diane, I turned to the side and noticed a large painting of a laser eye surgery. The machines were there, an assistant, the surgeon, but then something I found strange - Jesus was there too.
This is a blog about motorcycling around the world, not religion. However, for the sake of accuracy I'll tell you that I'm not a religious person. I try my best to respect the religion of others, and that's about it. However, I feel that Jesus shouldn't be in the operating room with me. What if I was muslim? Buddist? a Jedi? Does the surgeon need luck? Do I? Am I going to die? It all left a bad first impression on me. And then came the testing.
Gimbel Eye Centre is set up for the best possible efficiency. I felt like it was like herding cattle and determining which cows could have surgery. Then getting passed on to the sales department for misleading information.
There were small rooms with five machines and five technicians, five patients and a couple of guests. We bumped into each other, could overhear other people's testing, it was horrible. You get herded around to different waiting rooms to meet with different people, don't even meet with the surgeon (have to book a surgery for that), get told you are a marginal candidate by the optomotrist but an excellent candidate by the sales department. You even get herded out a different door from the one in which you arrive.
Needless to say, the combination of being treated like cattle, being told they'd rather insert a contact lens INSIDE my eye rather than laser me (and not learning ANY of the results of my testing, and knowing that the surgeon would like Jesus in the room for surgery was enough for me to say, "not a flying chance in hell would I ever go to Gimbel Eye Centre". So I went to visit the Mitchell Eye Centre for another round of testing...
More to come... (and apologies for the lack of posts this week. I'm "Sprinting to the Finish" at the office)
Monday, November 20, 2006
The longest day yet
I was fairly tired when I got to Vancouver to visit with Bronwen and Neil and I was happy to start drooling on their couch when everyone got to sleep.
The next day I spend hanging out with Neil and getting to know him a bit better. Bronwen and I have been friends for years and, although she'd known Neil longer, I hadn't met him until they started dating a couple of years prior.
The next morning I got up with only one destination in mind - back home in Calgary.
Normally I wouldn't attempt such a long day in the saddle. However, the woman I was dating had been in Europe for five weeks and I was anxious to see her again. She arrived the day I was in Vancouver.
I set off a lot later than I'd hoped. Getting everything ready to go and double checking it took more time than I expected. Then, with directions out of town from Neil, I headed out of Vancouver toward Calgary.
The majority of the trip is a blur at this point (it was a few months ago). I know it was cool and cloudy in Vancouver and then it warmed up in the interior and cooled off when I approached Alberta again. I rode straight through, stopping for fuel and snacks only.
There was one stretch where I was briskly passed by a new VW GTI. I estimated it was going about 190km/h or so in a 100km/h zone. In all honesty, that was the thing I remember most about the journey.
I arrived in Calgary in the middle of the evening, having ridden about 600 miles (1000km). I parked my bike at my girlfriend's apartment and called her, pretending I was in Vancouver still. - Until I asked her to come downstairs.
The next day I spend hanging out with Neil and getting to know him a bit better. Bronwen and I have been friends for years and, although she'd known Neil longer, I hadn't met him until they started dating a couple of years prior.
The next morning I got up with only one destination in mind - back home in Calgary.
Normally I wouldn't attempt such a long day in the saddle. However, the woman I was dating had been in Europe for five weeks and I was anxious to see her again. She arrived the day I was in Vancouver.
I set off a lot later than I'd hoped. Getting everything ready to go and double checking it took more time than I expected. Then, with directions out of town from Neil, I headed out of Vancouver toward Calgary.
The majority of the trip is a blur at this point (it was a few months ago). I know it was cool and cloudy in Vancouver and then it warmed up in the interior and cooled off when I approached Alberta again. I rode straight through, stopping for fuel and snacks only.
There was one stretch where I was briskly passed by a new VW GTI. I estimated it was going about 190km/h or so in a 100km/h zone. In all honesty, that was the thing I remember most about the journey.
I arrived in Calgary in the middle of the evening, having ridden about 600 miles (1000km). I parked my bike at my girlfriend's apartment and called her, pretending I was in Vancouver still. - Until I asked her to come downstairs.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
"Hey, want to grab a coffee?"
Sitting down to lunch at good ol' A&W, I pulled out my map. Fortunately I had purchased a laminated version of BC and Alberta so I could still read it after the storm. I took a look at the map and realized how far I had ridden - and how far I really could go. So I made a call....
I called my friend in Vancouver at work and said, "Hey, what are you doing tonight? Want to grab a coffee?"
I realized when looking at the map that I was only three and a half hours away from Vancouver. Surely I had it in me to keep riding and make it all the way from Jasper, Alberta to Vancouver, British Columbia.
Following up on my coffee invitation I said, "Oh, and can I crash at your place tonight? I'm going to be a little tired"
So my coffee date with Bronwen and Neil was a go and I got back on the bike and rode the additional four hours (considering city traffic) to Vancouver and their new house in Kits. The sky had opened up once again and the storm seemed like a distant memory after I stopped for lunch. It was a beautiful day once again.
Boy was I glad to see friendly faces when I got into town that night. I was exhaused but I'd completed my longest riding day just a day after completing my previous longest riding day. I rode just over 800 kms (500 miles) in one day.
We had a good visit and I hit the couch. Zzzzzzzzz.....
I called my friend in Vancouver at work and said, "Hey, what are you doing tonight? Want to grab a coffee?"
I realized when looking at the map that I was only three and a half hours away from Vancouver. Surely I had it in me to keep riding and make it all the way from Jasper, Alberta to Vancouver, British Columbia.
Following up on my coffee invitation I said, "Oh, and can I crash at your place tonight? I'm going to be a little tired"
So my coffee date with Bronwen and Neil was a go and I got back on the bike and rode the additional four hours (considering city traffic) to Vancouver and their new house in Kits. The sky had opened up once again and the storm seemed like a distant memory after I stopped for lunch. It was a beautiful day once again.
Boy was I glad to see friendly faces when I got into town that night. I was exhaused but I'd completed my longest riding day just a day after completing my previous longest riding day. I rode just over 800 kms (500 miles) in one day.
We had a good visit and I hit the couch. Zzzzzzzzz.....
Monday, November 13, 2006
I think I'm going to die now...
I have never been hit with such a fury in my life. I slowed the bike down to about 60km/h and the wind was tossing me around the road and throwing the rain with all its gusto at me.
Two thoughts were running through my head. Ok, three. The first, "Just relax your grip and keep looking ahead", second, I don't want to die and third, "I'm so incredibly happy I'm not on the KLR right now."
The spray from vehicles cut my visibility down quite drastically. I tried using the little rubber blade on the thumb of my gloves to wipe my visor. It only made things worse. I kept going.
The storm lasted for about half an hour. I rolled into Kamloops about 20 minutes after that. I was cold and felt like I had been mauled by a crocodile. So I stopped for fuel and lunch.
Then looked at the map and made a phone call...
Two thoughts were running through my head. Ok, three. The first, "Just relax your grip and keep looking ahead", second, I don't want to die and third, "I'm so incredibly happy I'm not on the KLR right now."
The spray from vehicles cut my visibility down quite drastically. I tried using the little rubber blade on the thumb of my gloves to wipe my visor. It only made things worse. I kept going.
The storm lasted for about half an hour. I rolled into Kamloops about 20 minutes after that. I was cold and felt like I had been mauled by a crocodile. So I stopped for fuel and lunch.
Then looked at the map and made a phone call...
Friday, November 10, 2006
A cold, wet hell ahead
Off I went on my way to Kamloops BC, about 6.5 hours away from Jasper. It was another stunningly beautiful day with a warm, but not hot breeze, bright blue skies and some of the most spectacular scenery on Earth. Until I got to about an hour from Kamloops.
That's when the wind started and I pulled over because I could see the storm ahead. I struggled to quickly put on my my waterproof jacket and pants because the wind was so strong. I had never experienced - or noticed experiencing being in such a quickly changing weather system. Looking West I saw a warm summer day. Looking East I saw a wall of cold, wet hell. I got back on the bike and kept riding. Maybe I could make it to Kamloops, or close to it, before the storm itself hit me.
I was wrong.
More to come...
That's when the wind started and I pulled over because I could see the storm ahead. I struggled to quickly put on my my waterproof jacket and pants because the wind was so strong. I had never experienced - or noticed experiencing being in such a quickly changing weather system. Looking West I saw a warm summer day. Looking East I saw a wall of cold, wet hell. I got back on the bike and kept riding. Maybe I could make it to Kamloops, or close to it, before the storm itself hit me.
I was wrong.
More to come...
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
A night in Jasper - what if?
After fuelling up the V-Strom, I headed across the street as two guys with BMW 1200 GS Bikes were there, and their bikes looked like they had been through a lot. I chatted with them for a few minutes. They were on a ride from Arizona to the Jasper area and back. It was nice to see someone else who was actually doing a long ride as I had never met anyone who had before. After a few minutes chatting they went on their way and I decided to change the oil in the bike.
I changed the oil and then set about finding a campsite for the night. I ended up riding another 75km or so before I found one that wasn't full. It was an enjoyable twisty road up a long hill near Castle Mountain.
Setting up camp I realized I had never done anything like this by myself before. It was nice to be alone with my own thoughts for the night. The trip around the world, my ride to Jasper, what life on the road would be like were all things that I pondered.
How would Dylan and I get along? What if... ah, the "what ifs". That's exactly what this trip is about. It's about conquering "what ifs" that we will face before the trip and during it. The "what ifs" from our friends and colleagues. The "what ifs" from the people we meet while planning this adventure. The "what ifs" will cause the trip to never happen unless the obvious ones are planned for and the others become an acceptable part of the risk we will face. Heck, I got a big "what if you encounter a bear" when I was entering the campground in Jasper as a warning from the warden. If the "what if" of encountering the bear was so bad, why would I even camp? Why would I ever go to such a beautiful place? Why bother?
The bother is that it's about experiencing life. I've spent too much of my life in classrooms and in achingly boring corporate meetings rife with buzzwords and balderdash to not go out at least once and stick it out there. We might get hurt, we might end up in jail somewhere, we might be delayed by politics or nature. The point is, that's ok. I have as much chance of getting hurt walking down the street, or as Dylan learned first hand, trying to get a glass of milk.
Ahem,
The next morning I didn't expect I'd sleep in as late as I did. I'd slept well and was very excited about tearing the camp down and moving on. I loaded the bike back up and headed toward Kamloops, BC. I calculated it to be about 6.5 hours away.
More to come...
I changed the oil and then set about finding a campsite for the night. I ended up riding another 75km or so before I found one that wasn't full. It was an enjoyable twisty road up a long hill near Castle Mountain.
Setting up camp I realized I had never done anything like this by myself before. It was nice to be alone with my own thoughts for the night. The trip around the world, my ride to Jasper, what life on the road would be like were all things that I pondered.
How would Dylan and I get along? What if... ah, the "what ifs". That's exactly what this trip is about. It's about conquering "what ifs" that we will face before the trip and during it. The "what ifs" from our friends and colleagues. The "what ifs" from the people we meet while planning this adventure. The "what ifs" will cause the trip to never happen unless the obvious ones are planned for and the others become an acceptable part of the risk we will face. Heck, I got a big "what if you encounter a bear" when I was entering the campground in Jasper as a warning from the warden. If the "what if" of encountering the bear was so bad, why would I even camp? Why would I ever go to such a beautiful place? Why bother?
The bother is that it's about experiencing life. I've spent too much of my life in classrooms and in achingly boring corporate meetings rife with buzzwords and balderdash to not go out at least once and stick it out there. We might get hurt, we might end up in jail somewhere, we might be delayed by politics or nature. The point is, that's ok. I have as much chance of getting hurt walking down the street, or as Dylan learned first hand, trying to get a glass of milk.
Ahem,
The next morning I didn't expect I'd sleep in as late as I did. I'd slept well and was very excited about tearing the camp down and moving on. I loaded the bike back up and headed toward Kamloops, BC. I calculated it to be about 6.5 hours away.
More to come...
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