Missed the first installments of Josh’s sustainable ride? Check it out and stay up to date, as he brings us along on the journey: Ready to ride and spread the sustainable word.
One of the key elements for a sustainable life and world is community. To make 
your community a sustainable one you need to invest a lot of time and effort.
Now for the last 2 months I have been making that investment and now the time has come to leave this bubble of support and be reinstated back with the rest of the planet. I have learned to appreciate diversity in a way I never thought I could.
The “me” before this tour wouldn’t even imagine that I could interact, and live the way I plan to/have been doing. It’s time to apply this knowledge and share it with the people around me.
Otesha’s Prairies Sky tour 2009 ended today in Regina; half our crew of 10 is gone and the remaining will be gone in a day or 2. I will be heading west of here still on my bicycle towards Vancouver with a few stops in between. This change to traveling alone is going to be an interesting one, I now have to start providing my own food again, luckily “Eat healthy foods” on 12th.St. in Regina can provide me with some good ol’ lentils, granola, and some type of grain undecided as of yet.
I’d like to jump back a bit and tell a pleasant story from this tour about one of the awesomest people I met. I began the ride that day heading south from Saskatoon to Kenaston, and about 15 km north of our stop my bike partner, Mille, noticed my rear tire bulging out! I sprang into action jumping off of Evelyn (my bike), ripping off my panniers, and examining the damage. I decided I had no choice but to ride on it, but I gave one of my bags to Mille to lighten the load. As we arrived in Kenaston I took instant notice of the fact there is no way I’m going to buy a new tire in this little town and probably nowhere else until Regina.
I began conversing with the locals trying to find a solution, as they are bending over backwards making phone calls to help this poor fellow out. Eventually it is decided to call our host who lives about 15 km outside of town on a gravel road to come and pick me up as I cannot ride there. So the farmer comes to get Mille and I, we hit it off with great chatting, and picking everyone else up too as the gravel was just laid making for an impossible bike ride.
Following dinner it is offered to me to ride to the next town about 30 km’s away to buy a tire found in the discontinued section of the hardware shop. While driving there I learn more about our host whose name is Arnold Taylor, and is the president of Canadian Organic Growers!! (www.cog.ca)
After picking Arnold’s brain some more I went to work fixing this tire problem, as I pull it over the rim and start pumping it up I notice a huge split in the tire! The reason it was in the discontinued section is because someone cut it with box cutters by accident I imagine. I get pretty frustrated at this point, my group gets a little scared of me, and I go to bed not too happy.
First thing in the morning Arn suggests I go to the back of the farm where some old, weather/sun beaten bikes reside. Going back with a fair trade, organic coffee in my hand I locate the machines find the one with 27 inch wheels and commence to remove them. These tires have seen better days, much, much better days, I mean really, you could see through part of them!
I get to work as quick as possible as we perform in about an hour’s time. I put the good front tire on the back and well this next part is easy put the tube into the tire, pull the tire over the rim and pump it up. That day however was much different, after several ripped tubes and about 16 patches I finally get the rear tire on and working, but now I have to fix the front!
Arn gives me a lift to the performance then we drive together to the next town and spend a little more time repairing the front while I wait for the others to arrive on their bikes (see photograph).
Once its working I bid farewell to Arnold and continue my ride on the transparent/ancient tire for almost 200 km’s into Regina where I purchased top notch German tires!
A quick note on Arnold and his farm, Taylor Farms, is registered for WWOOFING (www.WWOOF.ca) and one of our Otesha crew is headed that way to work with him, and you should too he is a wealth of knowledge.
This little story turned into a bit of a big story but I feel it was important to share, and I’m sure I will share more as the weeks go on. I hope you continue reading about what I’m up to while I ride to a new destination with a different but similar goal.
Love, peace, and bicycle grease,
Joshua
Image courtesy of Katrina Siks
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Discussion Take a look at what is being said about this article.
Alice Parsons, on July 5th, 2009 says:
Great, definitely keep us posted, Josh. I’ve loved your articles.
barry bronson, on July 5th, 2009 says:
to a close!!!! Glad you’re still going to keep going.