Yesterday afternoon was my last show in Maine, and it was a public show, and it took place in the Camden Opera House. This beautiful venue was perfect for the event which included the showing of Manifesto, Trial and Error, and Crux; then a live demo, and a Q&A session to follow. The whole event was about 2 hours long; that’s a whole lotta Ryan time!

 

The best part of this trip was meeting and hanging out with so many great people. From Chris Christie the owner of Bikesenjava who thought of and organized the whole tour, to Ian who built all the demo obstacles, to Andrew who took care of the bike shop while Chris took me around, to Karl and John who both took a week of holiday to help set up and tear down, and drive the trailer; Chuck, Tanya, Gabe, Andy, Woody, and Steve for also helping with set up, Jeff at the snow bowl for helping with the Opera House venue, and Kaarie and Hayden who hosted us at their house; hopefully I didn’t miss too many names! The capacity of these Mainers to give their time for this tour was incredible; and I think it ultimately says a lot for a community that is willing to put others (in this case the students of the schools and cycling enthusiasts) ahead of their own needs that brings a community together, and ultimately creates a friendly neighborhood where good things can happen. For instance, it was rare that I saw anyone lock their vehicle, even if it had a bike in the back. The pace of life is rather laid back in mid coast Maine, yet everyone certainly knows the value of hard work. No trip to the Maine coast is complete without eating some local lobster, so Chris got the whole crew together for a cook up, very nice!!

 

I arrived home last night, (Caryn and I counted six Starbucks from gate to gate during our layover in the Chicago airport) and now sit in a hotel after a seven hour drive up to Revelstoke, BC, where I start the next week of schools which will consist of nine T.O.L. presentations and one bike shop show, whew!!

 

Go Barak, Peace Y’all,

 

Ryan