Adventures in Pain III

...following

My Last Day!

I travelled rather quickly I have to admit, from Sault Ste. Marie to Toronto. It was a rather uneventful, although as I write that I remember that heading south through Barrie there was a back up on the 400 that went for about 10km's...not the way I was going, thank heavens, but the other way, and this was around lunch time too so...wow.

(I have yet to get my own computer up and running, basically it needs a desk or a hard object on which to place it, so for those of you who read my other site, I apologize for the lack of updating...)

SO, other than that massive back up (in the other direction) the travel from the Sault to TO was nice, hot, what with the pavement of the 400 catching every last bit of the sun that it could, and with my bikes engine underneath me and the sun blasting my back...you know the ususal...but other than that it was a good travel.

I got home, took a shower, dressed up purdy! and then picked up my special lady-friend from work! Boy were we happy to see each other.

So, folks...there you have it...my Adventures in trying to be Clever. I looked at my odometer and found out that my total KM's for this trip were...12,000!
Have a grand ol' time and maybe we'll see each other on this road again...who knows...Peace out my friends!

p.s. while my home computer is waiting for a desk, I will probably still use this to update peeps on my doings...Love ya and keep reading!

Adventures in Pain II

...continued from the last post

So, I was bounced around like a super ball on that freakin' tube. I went for a total of 4 runs and was gloriously launched off every single time. And the last time was very easily the shortest run as my arms had slowly turned to jelly and my fingers were wet noodles.

The evening was very relaxing. We went into Kenora for supper at Boston Pizza. The following day I was on the road at 7am heading east...little did I know that it was going to be my longest trek of the trip (actually I did know, but I didn't know if I was going to be able to ride that hard that far and still live to ride another day.).

Second Last Day
My journey took me from Kenora to Sault Ste. Marie. The wonderful thing about travelling on a motorcycle is that you are forced to stop at least every 2 hours to refuel, so one does get the opportunity to stretch and refuel oneself as well as the bike.

There was nothing overly interesting to report about this leg of the trip other than it's length. Kenora to Sault Ste. Marie constitutes 1,200 Kms.

More to follow...

More adventures in pain

I ended that last post with Kenora where I met up with some friends of mine who have a cottage at Beauty Bay Golf Resort (of which I'm told the golf course sucks!). I was planning on only spending the morning there so I could surprise Jennifer by being back a whole 2 days early, however I went tubing with them and that is when I changed my mind and decided to stay the rest of the day. I decided that because then I would still be back a day earlier than I was originally planning.

to be continued...

Black & Blue

I'm now back in town reliving the past 6 weeks. So that's what these following posts will mainly be, memories.

........

The morning after Jennifer left I took off on the last leg of my incredible Adventures in Being Clever. I rode from Saskatoon to Regina, had lunch with friends there, that was only 250 km, then the butt bruising began. From Regina to Kenora...800km! Oh yeah baby! The total of that day: 1,050km. That was the longest day I had had thus far...and let me tell you, it was freaking long. I didn't get to Kenora until almost midnight, and riding late at night is not the safest so, I was praying pretty darn hard, let me tell you.

More to follow.......

Whirlwind!

Finally, after 5 freakin long weeks, I saw my lady love! It was a flurry of hugs and kisses.

So, Jennifer flew in on Thursday, and we immediately rode down to Rockglen (southern Saskatchewan) to visit my sister and brother-in-law, Charisse & Tyler. It was a surprisingly restful visit; horse-back riding, gopher hunting, truck driving, all in all quite restful. Then, we rode back to Saskatoon on Saturday and got ready for a meet Jennifer/engagement party that night. That was an awesome time! Jennifer finally got to meet my groomsmen and a number of my very good friends from times of not so long ago.

Praise God for friends.

They loved her and she loved them. It was an amazing time and they are looking forward to the wedding and meeting the rest of my friends here.

Then on Sunday we had a friends wedding to go to which went to a nice late time, where Jennifer met even more of my friends and saw a truly crazy side of me! I haven't danced like that since the last wedding I was at, last year, and Jennifer has never seen me like that...it was freakin' awesome.

Monday ended the trip-extrordinaire with lunch with my other sister Aimee. Needless to say she got rave reviews all around (of course!).

Well, that's enough for today...will update more later. Peace!

p.s. photos to be following in the next week or so.

19 Hours and counting...

Yes my friends...in just around 19 hours Jennifer and I will set eyes upon each other for the first time in 5 weeks. Yep, you read right, 5 LONG weeks. It hasn't been easy; it has been a learning experience for sure though. She gets in around 10am tomorrow (Saskatoon time) and then it is a whirlwind weekend of family, fun and parties (not too many, just enough though) with some (hopefully enough) hours of rest for her. On Saturday we are having an engagement/meet Jennifer party at my friends place, which I am so very much looking forward to. Jennifer finally gets to meet some of the faces that I have merely told her about, and even some that I haven't had the chance (or memory) to tell her about. Exciting. Please keep Jennifer and myself in your prayers during this weekend as it will be busy; we need some time for just the two of us, so please pray for that.

God Bless you all.

A Letter to my Love

Dearest Jennifer,

I wait in silent anticipation as the hours pass till I get to see the sun shine from your eyes. I can't wait to drink in your beautiful fragrance with all my senses. May we both sleep well and restfully till that beautiful moment, and then may the weekend bring rejuvenation to our souls.

Sleep well my beloved and know that you are in my thoughts.

Your friend,
Lyf

Back in Saskatoon

I am back in my home town of Saskatoon. I have started my vacation and will be in Saskatoon here for about 10 days, 4 of which Jennifer will be here for (YipeeeeEEE!!).

On my way from Vancouver to Calgary I saw two unbelievable things.

1) a pedestrian overhead walkway had crushed a garbage truck (I have a picture that I will post later). Yeah, unbelievable eh?! It split it in half. So, as I was turning around from that...

2) I saw a motorcycle cop get hit by a truck. Yeah, so from one accident to another in less than 10 minutes...what a way to start my vacation.

But, after those two things, I finally got myself on the road again and booking it along the TCH (Trans-Canada Highway) back to Calgary where I hung out with my old bud Graeme. Then this morning I was on my way bright and early to Saskatoon and got here about 2 hours ago. The weather was lovely even though it was threatening to rain pretty much the whole way...I could see it ever present on the horizon.

Not much else...Peace!

First Injury!

So, I finally get a chance to engage in some outdoor summer activities and what happens? I injure myself. Oh yes, it wouldn't be summer (or my life) if I didn't injure myself in some way, shape or form. So what happened? I was on Vancouver Island, Chemainus to be exact, at the Fuller Lake beach to be even more exact, and playing a round of soccer with the guys when I took one right in the thumb! WHAM! Now, it is slightly swollen, but not so much so that I can't type or do what I need to do, ie: ride. I am still fully capable of that. In fact, tomorrow I head out of Vancouver on my way to Saskatoon. I will be stopping to visit a friend in Calgary and then will be in Saskatoon by Thursday night.

Back to my thumb...

I not only jammed it up good, but then I was invited to play beach volleyball at Kitsuano beach and, hey, with all that sunshine and water, who was I to resist. Fortunately I didn't hurt it once while doing that. So that was lucky.

I am having fun and am looking forward to relaxing in Saskatoon.

I highly recommend the summer show at Chemainus Theatre Festival
if any of you are going to be going that way. It is the Wizard of Oz and is quite entertaining.

"Most modern freedom is at root fear. It is not so much that we are too bold to endure rules; it is rather that we are too timid to endure responsibilities." - What's Wrong With the World

I AM HERE!

Well folks, I have arrived at my next-to-last destination.

I say next-to-last as I was just informed by my friends in Vancouver that I will be sharing my work with a friends church on the island. I have friends who are working in Chemainus at the Theatre there. I am looking forward to visiting the island on my motorcycle.

The trips so far have been excellent. Of the 5,500 km I have gone so far, only about 1,000 of it has been wet, which is pretty good considering how the weather has been lately.

Love you all and will write more later.

Peace.

The wait...

Well my friends, talk about luck. The wait was a mere 30-45 minutes. It was an accident. Don't know what the injuries were. Am heading out in the rain this morning...WHEEEE!

--
Sent from my Treo

Stuck!

I am currently stuck on the outskirts of Salmon Arm @ 8pm. I do believe there has been an accident. Don't know how long I will have to wait. Destination: Kamloops, Distance left: 100 Km

Time to play the waiting game.....

Lyf out
--
Sent from my Treo

Day 13

So far my time in Saskatoon has been excellent.

I have had my first of 2 dessert nights and today, Tuesday, will be my 2nd. (I just changed the # in the title of this post because I didn't want it to be 13 but oh well, it's the 13th day of my trip and so I will use the # 13.)

Day 12...
I am writing this very early Tuesday morning, 1:30am to be precise, and so I decided to have a short synopsis of yesterday.

Didn't do much in the morning. In the afternoon I had some devotional time. I am going through Colossians right now and at the same time reading Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire by Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat. It is quite fascinating. I'll have more of a review of it on my home page when I get back. Until then, I've linked to the books main page and here's another link on Amazon.ca for ya.

I read it at my favorite coffee shop in Saskatoon, the Broadway Roastery. If you're ever in Saskatoon, don't be fooled by the, in my opinion, imitation Broadway Roastery's that aren't located on Broadway. That one is the original and the best. And they have fair trade, organic coffee, so it's good for the world!

I then took a scenic cruise around Saskatoon while on my way to Scott's Parable. I went by my old house, ahh it still looks good. I miss it.... Then I went and toured around the old neighbourhood; then headed to the first house that we lived in in Saskatoon, cruised around that neighbourhood some, swung by my old elementary school and high school. Wow. It's been a while. It was quite a nice little tour. The sky was practically perfect as far as the eye could see (and believe you me, in Saskatoon the eye can see pretty far away).

Well, onto the land of Nod. Keep me in your prayers. I have Calgary, Edmonton, Rosebud and Vancouver yet to travel to. Blessings on you my friends and strangers. Don't be a stranger, leave a comment or e-mail.

"To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it." - A Short History of England, Ch.10 -- G.K. Chesterton

To My Beloved

Dear Jennifer,

Sometimes I think that I want to be dramatic and romantic in the way I say I Love you. Other times I want to be so pragmatic in my statements of Love to you that I keep some of my strongest words to myself. I have realized that neither is right or wrong. I am a dramatic person, but I am also pragmatic. I am superstitious and yet very logical. In short...I am human. I am a man. I am God's man and soon to be yours. I am not perfect. I don't have the right thing to say all the time. I forget things, simple things.

You have helped to make Love more real in my life.

I was sharing our story with a friend tonight and I got to the part where we "went for brunch." I paused and remembered the story and realized how much God has done in me through you and through our relationship. Thank you for being such a great conductor of God's Spirit (look at this Baptist go!). Let us make this a regular thing, being conductor's of God's Spirit to each other. I know that some of what I'm "feeling" will go away, but I know that my, I mean our, Love will grow as long as we tend it well, let the Son of God shine, the rain of the Spirit soak us through and God the Father laugh and breathe His breath through us.

Thank you.

I Love you.



Truly Yours,

Lyf Edward Stolte

Travel Map 3

ignacewinnipeg
Originally uploaded by Blacksmyth.

My third day of travel was the shortest to that date being a mere rough 540 Km from Ignace, Ontario to Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Travel Map 2

saultignace
Originally uploaded by Blacksmyth.

My second day consisted of roughly 980 Km of riding from Sault Ste. Marie to Ignace (about 220 Km outside of Thunder Bay).

Travel Map 1

tosault
Originally uploaded by Blacksmyth.

This was my route on Day 1. From Toronto to Sault Ste. Marie. A total of roughly 750 Km.

Days 3 thru 7

I have gone through my fair share of weather these past days.

Day 3: Travel to Winnipeg...
Total Kilometers: 550 (roughly)

It was a pretty much normal day...overcast but not raining, warm but not overbearing. I only rode 540 Kilometers that day and arrived safe and sound in Winnipeg. Days 4 & 5 I stayed with friends of mine, Christine & Charles, in Winnipeg and spoke at a church in Landmark (just East and South of Winnipeg). It was a great time; I also have friends, Leighton & Nita, in Landmark who made the arrangements for me to speak at this church. I spoke at the sunday school and then performed my monologues for the congregation. I then partook of lunch at their place and got caught up. It's been a few years since I've really had a good chance to catch up. They are wonderful people and I hope they are able to make it to the wedding.

After that, I relaxed the following day with my friends in Winnipeg and we visited their church and some of their church's initiatives; they go to New Life which is located in one of the core neighbourhoods there. Quite an amazing ministry. At the end of the day, we had supper and then I helped them out in their part of a community garden. A little bit of a frustration for them as there has been some serious miscommunication between departments and they've had to move their community garden a couple of times...not for bad reasons other than miscommunication. So I helped them transplant whatever could be saved.

Day 6: Travel to Regina...
Total Kilometers: 540

WET! Stupid, rainy and bloody wet!

It may have been a miserable ride but getting to see Gary and Renee in Regina was awesome. They have the cutest kids in the world. When I am able to scan the pictures in of them I will and you all will agree with me. So, even though the trip to Regina was a nightmare, being in Regina was awesome.

Day 7 (today): Saskatoon!
Total Kilometers: 250

Another stinkin' rainy day. Blah! Stupid.

But here I am, and I am staying here for roughly a week talking to churches and individuals about partnering with me financially in my ministry. I have a number of friends here and am typing away at my buddy Don's 'puter. [Thanks big guy!]

I am wet, tired and my bum is numb, well actually more than just numb. But I will go into that later.

Thank you for reading...tune in next time when I talk more about my bum!


Total Kilometers to date:

3,000

Day 1

Ahhhhh! What an amazing first day. I couldn't believe my luck. Gorgeous weather all the way to the Sault. I only counted 5 dead raccoons in the first hour and then there were no more. So far so good. No numb bum yet.

TOTAL KILOMETERS:
750

--
Sent from my Treo

Day 2

Another gorgeous day for riding. Wayne finally caught up last night. Will explain more when at actual computer...am on my phone.

TOTAL KILOMETERS:
980

--
Sent from my Treo

Testing 1, 2, 3

hey folks, one more time...hope this works.

(I did this one using my e-mail! WHEEEEE!)

Street Art

Street Art
Originally uploaded by Blacksmyth.

I just wanted to share this with you all. Oh and roughly 40 hours till I leave.

My Beautiful, Wonderful Wife-to-be

Dear Jennifer,

I Love you. You amaze me with your smile. You delight in me even when I don't find myself all that delighting. I pray that God will grow our love into a garden that we will tend together in Heaven, even though none are given in marriage there. It is my hope that our life together will be adventurous, even, especially, in the day-to-day activities of eating, working, sleeping and being.

Thank you for blessing me with many memories, happy and sad, of the beginning of our romance. Thank you for taking the initiative. Thank you for being patient with me when I am slow in reading you. Thank you.

I Love you. I Like you. You are my friend, my best friend.

Yours,
Lyf

Benchmark

Well to those of you who read this...I just passed the two week mark, it is now 13 days till I leave on my grand bleed, oops I mean, adventure!

I purchased some exercise tubing to keep me in a little bit of shape while I am on the road. I couldn't believe it the other day when I was at the gym getting my fitness assessed and this piece of rubber stretchy material kicked my buttocks. It's gonna be a good ride.

One of the guys from work, Wayne, will be joining me for the first day, which will take me past Sault Ste. Marie, probably into Wawa area. It's gonna be a blast.

Things are coming together quite nicely for the first half of this trip. The first half is business related as I will be talking to churches and individuals in the area about partnering with me financially in the work that I am involved in here in Toronto.

To find out more, e-mail me!

Aero Shadow 2004 (redux)

Yo all! This is my ride 99% pimped out. All I'm waiting for is my highway pegs to come in and then I am locked, stocked and ready to ROK!
Aero Shadow 2004 (redux)
Originally uploaded by Blacksmyth.

Soon, Soooooon...

Tomorrow or Thursday I go to get my accessories for my baby. Then I will take a picture and post it for all of you to see.

I am working on a series of dramatic monologues for the trip. So far I've done the first draft of 2 of the 4 that I have committed to. I am working on the second draft of the first 2 and will also be starting the 3rd one. Please pray for me if you are so inclined.

Jennifer - thank you for your continued support. I love you. I want God to help me love you more completely. I want our love to shine and bloom and to go through the seasons that love must in order for it to be whole and holy.

Aero_medium_09

Aero_medium_09
Originally uploaded by Blacksmyth.

Here's my baby naked. This is what she looked like exactly a year ago. Next week I will post a new photo of her with all her lovely accessories. Watch out for it!

The Preface

I will begin my travels soon. I have begun this post so you my family and friends can be kept up to date. I haven't figured eveything out, uploading pictures from my camera and such but I will. And if I can't then you will all just have to wait to see them when I get home.

I will be posting occassionally between now and then as I feel like it. Then when I am on the trip itself I will post almost every chance I get. So for the first couple days it will be when I can get to an internet cafe, if there are any between here and Winnipeg. After that it will be at least every 2 or 3 days.

I will be leaving on June 23rd bright and early. I will be gone for 6 weeks altogether.

I will miss my fiance Jennifer very much.


Jennifer - I love you. You will be in my prayers and thoughts continually.