"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.