"I'm not anti-social; I'm pro-solitude"
Hello World!
Chances are if you're here, you've met me on the road or seen my crazy lo-fi helmet cam YouTube vids of my adventures to the Arctic Circle, and you're wondering who the hell does something like that. I'm a motorbike-riding vegan chef and author who, despite adoring the solo ride, is also sweet on sharing it here with you. I also love to share great food along the way, so if you're on my route, lemme know and I'll stop in and cook up "One Meatless Meal" with you and your groovin' friends.
I've had a lifelong passion for travel, and in my twenties, used my job as a Toronto-based flight attendant to see the world.
When I moved to Alberta in the early '90's I opened Fossil Face Cafe, Banff, Canada's first vegetarian restaurant, where I spent the better part of six years in the kitchen developing recipes for my loyal local and international clientele. I was burned out and bitter when I sold, divorced and left town naked with just my motorbike, so I never thought I'd miss it.
Now, years later, I admit I do. I miss the community that sprung up around it. I miss the quirky and sometimes neurotic regulars, who felt enough at home to walk right into the kitchen and lift the soup lid to see what was on. I miss the alchemy of the kitchen - there would be days I'd cry into the Winter Vegetable Stew and customers out of the blue would start to cry; or days I was so full of joy, I could see pure delight mirrored back on the faces of my customers when they filled up on Organic Grain Burgers and Vegan Brownies. People were strangely drawn to help me, and even though I was a stressed-out freak for the last two years of that chapter, I made lifelong friends through the inevitable struggles of running a small business.
I first began riding motorbikes as a passenger on the open winding roads of the Rocky Mountains. The bug caught and stuck like a bee in my boot, and it wasn't long before I needed a machine to call my own. So I learned to ride on a little used Honda CB500, then quickly graduated to a 750 Nighthawk, whom I loved, but never named, because before I could become too attached, I fell in love with Henk the Buell. That was in the spring of '98, and to this day, he and I share the most successful relationship of my life.
When you read my blog, you'll quickly figure out that Henk is not just a machine. He's a freedom vehicle with a ready heart who's carried me through universes over 100,000 kilometres of North American pavement, chip-seal, gravel and dirt. Yes, we've covered some cosmic territory together. If you're really interested, I started blogging this whole adventure in 2005 and there might be some juicy stuff way back there in the archives.
I always ride alone because, well, I like it. For that little sliver of five weeks or five months, I get to hear my own thoughts. I get to empty the trash and start fresh, bring in nature and silence and bears. I get to exercise my courage and get reacquainted with myself at the core in solitude. I get to make choices based on the weather and my gut.
Over the winter Henk had open heart surgery performed by the amazing Dr. Scott at Kaotic Custom Choppers in Grand Forks, BC. I only saw photos, but I hear he's good as new after a blown transmission on a hot August day last year.
While Henk was having open heart surgery, I was busy writing books, generating content for Feel Good Guru, helping people clean up their diet, hosting Animal Lovers Brunches and LOVE cafes in my Venice garden, all things that open my own heart and feel more like play than work, and all things that I'm excited to share with you as I journey through the universe again in August.
Preparing food and riding: my two lifelong passions, each a form of meditation, each with its own lesson I can apply to everyday being - like going with the weather, striving for balance, staying healthy and colorful and delicious, surrendering to things over which I have no control, promoting truth and beauty and authenticity, and above all, having the best adventure of my life and inspiring you to do the same.
May the great spirits bring you guidance and a safe journey.