It's been a wild ride of editing two sample episodes of the TV series and fundraising for Europe and the Americas over the past 1.5 months. I'm finally coming up for some air. My resting pad at my girlfriend Kelly's house looks like a bomb hit it, and I'm getting ready to hit the road for the holidays in S. California for some family time. But if anyone wants to check out the videos (still a work in progress) love to hear your feedback. Just head to http://www.peacepedalers.com/tvseries.html and there's a few videos to explore!

Hope to see many of you on the road next trip out to Africa and Europe!

Jamie

Greetings from San Francisco, California!

I just recovered from what appears to be a bout with Malaria. I had a 104+ fever for several days and fortunately had Coartem treatments with me and self medicated. It was NOT a happy week last week. But it's been great being home with family, friends and my new sweetheart Kelly and I'm preparing our "Sneak Preview Screening" of the Peace Pedaler TV series for our fundraising party on November 15th, so mark your calendar if you are in the Bay Area. I'll get around to the updates of Mali and Burkina Faso as soon as I can, but have many other items on the front burner so thanks for the patience!

Big love!

Jamie

Quick update from Accra, Ghana! I'm a few hours from getting on a plane back home for a much needed visit and I'm as excited as ever! I had a super adventure in Burkina Faso and fell in love with that country indeed. I did have some challenges, but they all turned out to be in divine order as great things happened as a result. I did my first "urban Peace Pedaling" session and it was quite exciting and I'm sure you'll dig the footage and adventure yourself soon.

Ghana has been amazing as well. I've been hosted by a lovely couple Jina and Kwame who are treating me like royalty and making me feel right at home. I'll be looking forward to returning here for the next session of the African expedition.

But for now...OFF TO USA!!! WHOOO HOOO!

Peace,

Jamie

Just a quick update from here in Burkina Faso. I had an unforgettable 2 week adventure in Mali including an off-road adventure of the magical Dogon Country and a few days in Djenne. I had several setbacks with camera and bike equipment as well as transport that set my schedule back several days so I’m afraid I can’t take time to write too much. I WILL tell you all that Mali rocks and you should put it on your travel schedule, especially the Dogon region. The people, nature and culture are truly stunning. I only have about a week to ride and capture Burkina Faso so I’m deep in planning and fixing mode right now before shipping off from here in Bobo Dioulasso. I’ll try to write more later but for now I’m a busy boy! Here are a few pics :)

Sorry for the delay here folks, had some technical difficulties...

After three extremely hot, wild and wacky days of 4 wheel transport I FINALLY made it to the live music capital of the world Bamako, Mali! I had to huff it out here to pick up some camera and bike parts that could unfortunately only be delivered to the capital of Mali.

After 5 great days of riding in Niger with so many sweet souls I hit the end of the road and all that was left were dusty, sandy, barren terrain all the way to Gao in Mali. I decided to take a lift with a Land Rover and it turned out to have no brakes, horrible tires that blew out twice, a dead gear box and flat battery that died when the lights came on. It took us 33 hours to go about 250 kilometers. Somehow I kept my cool—perhaps over a year in Africa has helped me cope with lunacy like this.

Then it was a connecting bus from Gao to Bamako for another 19 hours of hot, stinky, loud and wild bussin it to Bamako! Needless to say, I was a mess upon arrival.

I’m happy to report that I was welcomed by a great Danish chap Joachim for my first night and am now being hosted for 3 days and two nights of five star luxury by the Kempinski Hotel right on the Niger River to clean up, charge up, regroup and prepare for the Mali adventure.

I’ve already got several great contacts for live music to record for you guys (and me, of courseJ) and have a sweet route of some epic Mali adventures planned for next week. Below are some of the Niger adventure—I’ll get an update sooner than you normal too!

Over and out from Mali!

Jamie

Sorry for the delay here folks, had some technical difficulties...

After three extremely hot, wild and wacky days of 4 wheel transport I FINALLY made it to the live music capital of the world Bamako, Mali! I had to huff it out here to pick up some camera and bike parts that could unfortunately only be delivered to the capital of Mali.

After 5 great days of riding in Niger with so many sweet souls I hit the end of the road and all that was left were dusty, sandy, barren terrain all the way to Gao in Mali. I decided to take a lift with a Land Rover and it turned out to have no brakes, horrible tires that blew out twice, a dead gear box and flat battery that died when the lights came on. It took us 33 hours to go about 250 kilometers. Somehow I kept my cool—perhaps over a year in Africa has helped me cope with lunacy like this.

Then it was a connecting bus from Gao to Bamako for another 19 hours of hot, stinky, loud and wild bussin it to Bamako! Needless to say, I was a mess upon arrival.

I’m happy to report that I was welcomed by a great Danish chap Joachim for my first night and am now being hosted for 3 days and two nights of five star luxury by the Kempinski Hotel right on the Niger River to clean up, charge up, regroup and prepare for the Mali adventure.

I’ve already got several great contacts for live music to record for you guys (and me, of courseJ) and have a sweet route of some epic Mali adventures planned for next week. Below are some of the Niger adventure—I’ll get an update sooner than you normal too!

Over and out from Mali!

Jamie

Sorry for the delay here folks, had some technical difficulties...

After three extremely hot, wild and wacky days of 4 wheel transport I FINALLY made it to the live music capital of the world Bamako, Mali! I had to huff it out here to pick up some camera and bike parts that could unfortunately only be delivered to the capital of Mali.

After 5 great days of riding in Niger with so many sweet souls I hit the end of the road and all that was left were dusty, sandy, barren terrain all the way to Gao in Mali. I decided to take a lift with a Land Rover and it turned out to have no brakes, horrible tires that blew out twice, a dead gear box and flat battery that died when the lights came on. It took us 33 hours to go about 250 kilometers. Somehow I kept my cool—perhaps over a year in Africa has helped me cope with lunacy like this.

Then it was a connecting bus from Gao to Bamako for another 19 hours of hot, stinky, loud and wild bussin it to Bamako! Needless to say, I was a mess upon arrival.

I’m happy to report that I was welcomed by a great Danish chap Joachim for my first night and am now being hosted for 3 days and two nights of five star luxury by the Kempinski Hotel right on the Niger River to clean up, charge up, regroup and prepare for the Mali adventure.

I’ve already got several great contacts for live music to record for you guys (and me, of courseJ) and have a sweet route of some epic Mali adventures planned for next week. Below are some of the Niger adventure—I’ll get an update sooner than you normal too!

Over and out from Mali!

Jamie

Blog Sep 1, 2007, Tilibery, Niger

Quick update from the road here folks. Getting an internet connection to work enough to just post this has been an adventure, I tell ya!

I just spent three glorious days of riding and filming from Niamey to Tilibery and I'm taking a day of much needed rest. The desert riding is tough if you ride after 10AM as the temperatures are well into the 100's. Out Peace Pedaling I often am on the schedule of my guest riders and all three days was out I was in the midday sun cooking like a white egg while my guests got chilly in the shade! Nuts!

But I had a blast riding with three amazing new friends Koudede, Moussa and Hassan. After my ride with my musician buddy Koudede out of Niamey I camped out with a caretake of a golf course (yes, golf in Niger!) named Ali the first night on the Niger River. The next night, after my ride with Moussa who I picked up in the town of Karma, I slept in the village of Lossa with a lovely man named Hassan who I met on the road and his family after a great meal of village grub and a dance fest at someone's wedding. It was a long day that day, about 75KM, and it took a lot out of me riding in the heat.

Yesterday Hassan joined me and we rode here just 45KM but it took every bit of life out of me as we got a very late start due to a morning rain storm. Add to that the fact there was no real food of any power to eat after the rain cleared at 11AM and we rode until 3PM in 110+ degree heat with minmima fuel in our bodies. How tought was it--even Hassan passed out in my hotel room when we finally arrived and showered up. We were toast!

I had planned to ride today but am totally spent. Going to hydrate and stretch and hop a Bush Taxi later this afternoon the next town for a rest day then charge on to the colorful Sunday market in Ayorou tomorrow bright and early before the heat feeling strong and rested. I'll be hitting the Mali border in a few days.

Loving Niger--very peaceful, GREAT PEOPLE, and truly a pleasure to travel in if you can minimize the time in the sun and are patient enough to find good food. Note to self...:)

Over and out from Niger :)

Jamie

Rocking in Niger

Quick update here folks from Niamey, Niger. I just recorded

two of Niger's most exciting and soulful musicians at the

Grand Hotel on the Niger river at sunset--huge success, great

quality recording and video, and we all had a

blast. The artists were very happy to hear a studio quality recording of

themselves as they simply don't have real good studios here

and they are a fortune for them. A triple win--win for them,

win for you future viewers of the show, and win for me who

hopes to make a living from all this hard work :)



I said goodbye to my hosts for one week Sascha and Judith and

decided to give them some space while I continue my

fundraising campaign from Niger with a goal to raise enough

cash this year to take me all the way to 2009 in N. America.



I'm working my tail off--12-15 hours a day on the net,

PowerPoint proposals going out to sponsors, website,

newsletters, fundraising party, video editing/screening

project, filming, planning, etc. But it's all flowing from

within and a power greater than me is driving me so it's not

really work, just life.

My plan is to be riding in next 48 hours or so with all the

wheels turning and balls up in the air so I can catch them

when I get to Mali, readjust, and toss more up till Burkina

Faso then Ghana then USA for the real show. Exciting times

indeed.

The next posting will be a bit more culturally focused, for

now, this is my life--gotta take care of the adminstration to

make this show go on to the end!

Big love to ya all from Niger!

Jamie

Niamey, Niger:

I left my West Africa nest and base camp of Cotonou, Benin last Saturday after a festive last day of surfing and a late night on the town with my new friends at on a 4AM bus, just a few short days before my visa would expire. I spent almost a month preparing and straegizing for the expedition to Morocco and it was finally time to move on.


I had 3 seats in a row on the bus all to myself and crashed out like a baby till 10AM! There was ho sweat or any charges for the bike, thanks to the angel Elizabeth who happened to be on the bus with me and able to help communicate with the bus company owners as they tried to extort funds for carrying my bike and load. It was a long, 17 hour ride, but all good.

I'm now being hosted again in a sweet pad with another local Ex Pat worker Sascha and his Swiss lady Judith who work with the UN and the EC and they are taking fine care of me indeed. I'm getting spoiled with this new discovery of Ex Pats and their massive houses, cars and luxurious lifestyles. But right now it's exactly what I need to focus and get everything ready--fixing up the production equipment of 4 video cameras, the bike, trailer, bags, chargers, batteries, tripods and mounts, etc. Minus the fact that my helmet camera decided to die yesterday and I received the wrong size disc brake rotor, everything is going pretty smooth. I'm also using this time to finish my sponsorship renewal proposals to gear up funds for 2008 in Europe.



I spent the last few days as well lining up some good music for the show. Just google Koudede from Niger—Agedez, Niger. He's a cool cat performing traditional Touareg music from North Niger. I met just sniffing around the cultural centers and hacking away at my French, which is getting better every day. Also just added a female artist singing modern-traditional pop will join the private concert overlooking the sunset on the Niger River. As soon as I solve a few issues with my gear and record a concert here in the capital, I'll be on the road again, following the Niger river, passing out Malaria meds to very vulnerable villages and connecting with my world once again on two wheels.



Over and out from Niamey, Niger!










Famous Touareg Artist Koudede

Grounded in Benin....

So I received one package of goods from USA--new Panasonic SD1 Hi Def camera, SRAM bike parts, Assos gloves, mics and other stuff. But still waiting on another shipment of wide angle lens and final bits n pieces. The big bonus here is that I'm at a totally pimpin pad of a cool French-Dutch cat named Hugo who is treating me like royalty! The late shipment is a blessing in disguise as I've been able to use this time to contact sponsors about funding Europe and the Americas, plan, regroup and reflect. The pool, WIFI connection, private cook and cool people are making this admin stop a winner. And I start French lessons tomorrow, so diving in there too.

All good here in Benin! Off to Niger soon...

Jamie :)

Update from the Benin Basecamp, West Africa

So I’m chillin in a massive house of a French/Dutch guy named Hugo who, along with his buddy Mathieu, are hosting me here in Cotonou, Benin while I prepare for the expedition to Morocco. Preparation, as of now, means mom sending out tons of new equipment for the bike, camera gear and personal items while planning the 10-country route north. The route has changed at least 3 times since I’ve been here but I think I’ve nailed down a sweet trip that will keep me and my camera gear from suffering from Harmattan Winds (info at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmattan) and still allow me to catch some amazing surf during the peak season of surfing the Ivory coast. More to come, but the latest route and schedule is at www.peacepedalers.com/stage2.html. It is more than likely to change again but if anyone wants to come out and pedal that is about how I’ll be rockin the rest of Africa!

So I’m picking up French pretty fast—not as fast as I thought, it is tougher than I imagined. But it’s a nice challenge. Needless to say, it sometimes leaves me drained from mental exhaustion. But with all the great people I’m meeting, both locals and ex pats working out here, I feel very at home and it’s hard to complain. Most of my crew here are surfers and I have a board, transport with the guys, and plenty of warm water waves to play on. The winds are onshore so the waves are pretty sloppy, but we’re managing to have some fun. I am missing home quite a bit—it’s been 9 months without a visit and that’s a long stretch for the kid! But I’m growing tons and the good times are far outweighing the bad.

I should be on the road in just over a week or so and am very excited about the exciting expedition ahead indeed. I’m also a bit scared as it is tough traveling in these parts. But I know in my heart it will all work out perfect. Benin is a fascinating country and I highly recommend a visit to this region. I’ll get you a far more detailed update when I get moving out of the capital. But it’s got great people, culture, music, food and nature so plenty to keep you stoked!

Over and out from Cotonou, Benin! Catchya on the road soon!

Jamie

Mission Accomplished Blog: Flying with 200 Pound of Gear through 4 Countries

For those of you curious how I get my load on the planes....

It had been over a year since I had to move my 200+ pound load of bicycle and filming equipment by airplane and I gave myself the ultimate challenge in June-July, 2007 indeed. My mission was to fly from Rwanda to Tanzania for the ZIFF Film Festival, then from Zanzibar to France for a vacation with a lovely friend Kelly from the Bay Area, and finally take yet another flight from France back down to West Africa in Lome, Togo. 3 Flights. What made the mission even more challenging was the fact that I made the decision to do all this flying last minute and thus did not have the proper lead time to contact the airlines for permission to waive my excess baggage. It was time for maximum creative action!

First there was the flight from Rwanda to Tanzania. I was way behind schedule and the buses were not an option as there really are not any going where and when I wanted. So I wrote a proposal to Rwandair Express and went directly to the headquarters to meet the manager and then to the ticketing office to meet the marketing manager. Fortunately I had met a reporter who wanted to cover the Peace Pedalers story and I asked him if he would mention Rwandair Express’ support in the article and he agreed. This was the ammunition I needed to get my proposal approved—-not only for free excess baggage, but for a free flight as well! The marketing manager assured me that if the article came out he would approve my request and set me up with a free flight and waived my excess baggage, thus saving me about $800 on the flight! Mission accomplished! I was able to teleport myself from the mountains of Rwanda to the beaches of Zanzibar for pennies and got there in time for an incredible sunset at Africa House Hotel!

My second challenge would be a highly discounted flight from Zanzibar to Paris on a German airline called Condor. I had only 5 days from when I booked the flight until it left to somehow get permission to waive the 130 pounds of excess weight, which would have cost me upwards of 500 dollars. After several calls over the internet to the airlines in Germany and many unanswered emails all I could manage to get was a waiver to bring my bike on the plane free of charge. However, the email confirmation did not say how heavy the bike could be, so that was my open door. I went to work finding a strong box that could handle not only my bike but all the heavy gear in my kit to create one “bike box” that ended up weighing 55 kilos, or over 125 pounds! The other bag was my trailer and Ortlieb dry bag at about 25 kilos so it was a “standard checked bag”

When I arrived at the airport in Zanzibar I was set for the bike and other checked bag but I still had two massive carryon bags weighing 20+ kilos and you are only allowed one weighing 8 kilos. How to get over this hurdle? I had my good friend Anna with me and she kept one of my carryon bags outside while I went through security to the boarding gate. I then made a dash out to give her one more hug goodbye and grabbed the second carry of my Pelican camera case and proceeded to reenter security again. The guy at the door unfortunately recognized me and questioned me about the bag. I gave him my best puppy dog eyes and made up a story that Anna decided not to come with me and be my filming assistant and I now needed to bring the camera to France with me. His reply was, “tip?”. I had 10,000 shillings left in my pocket, about 7 dollars, and he was more than happy to let me pass with this. I was soon boarding the cheap flight up to Paris only paying 7 dollars for my excess baggage and teleported from a rocking music and film festival to sipping Bordeaux wine in Paris with Kelly. Mission Accomplished.

In Paris I gave myself just one day to get a proposal to yet another super discount airline Royal Air Moroc to allow me to bring my excess baggage back down to West Africa. Kelly and I made the mission to the ticket office in hopes we would find a manager to accept the proposal and get it green lighted while we were off riding and camping on the beaches in the south of France. We met a manager named Owett who appeared to understand the request, made a few phone calls, and said the bike would be “no problem”. She gave me no papers or documentation, just her word that all would be okay and it was taken care of. She spoke little English and I no French so I trusted that somehow it was okay to stop thinking about this and go on vacation. I took her business card and that’s all the proof I really had.

We went on my exquisite holiday thinking all was set with good old Royal Air Moroc and after some long delays due to visa issues (you actually need prearranged visas for most countries in West Africa, I was soon to learn) the day of July 20 finally arrived to catch my flight from Paris to Lome, Togo. This would be the trickiest mission of all, flying out of a major airport without the ability to give “tips” to gate masters and with computer systems and regulations far more strict than most places.

I arrived at 4:45AM for my 6:30AM flight to Casablanca, Morocco with my massive cart with the a huge 55 kilo bike box, 25 kilo trailer bag and my two big heavy carry on bags. They are VERY strict about only having one carryon in Europe, versus two in USA, so I brought two carts with me and left one strategically out of line in my sight but just enough out of theirs. The trick was keeping it close enough so when security saw a cart sitting alone I was close enough for me to claim it was mine before they destroy it, but far enough so the ticket folks don’t know what I’m up to. I’m so sneaky!

When I hit the checkin I told her my story about Owett giving me the okay to bring my bike up to 50kilos. But, as I feared, there was “nothing in the system”, “no telefax” and nothing that gave any indication that she approved it. Because it was so early, there was no way for them to call the office. The quote for my excess baggage was almost 600 dollars—about the same as my airfare!

I was persistent, friendly and had full intentions of NOT paying a cent for my excess baggage. I had put Royal Air Moroc on the website per the proposal I gave to Owett and got the manager to see this, my letter I presented to Royal Air Moroc, and gave her some stickers and bracelets to prove we were legit. She would not budge. She was to the book and was calling everyone she could to see if there was any way to get in touch with Owett. She finally caved just 30 minutes before the flight was to depart and I gave her my one lighter laptop bag and a helmet to check as my one carry on and one “personal item”. Both items get a coveted “Cabin Baggage” tag allowing you to take it through security. This was a my second strategic move on my part as you’ll soon discover.

After I said my thanks to the manager I darted off to security. But before I entered I had to gently remove the “Cabin Baggage” tag from my cycling helmet and put it on the 25 pound Pelican Case and then strap the helmet to my laptop bag. Now I had two “legitimate” carry on bags approved by the ticket agents, and supposedly weighed. I went through security with full confidence and carried my 25 pound camera case as if it were a light, simple case so as not to let on that it was a beast of a load. The guy stopped me, looked at my bags and I confidently showed him my two cabin baggage tags and walked right by. I was in! Mission Accomplished!

So, I managed to get myself from Rwanda to Tanzania to France to Togo for 7 dollars in extra fees and for a price so low on budget airfares it was impossible to pass up a holiday in France. It’s not easy, but with some creativity and finagling my mojo with excess baggage continues to flow! I won’t need to test this again for a while as I’ll be on the ground all the way to up to and through Europe. Shouldn’t need to test this until February 2009 when I head to Brazil for Carnival and to start stage 3 form South to North America.

Over and out from Casablanca, Morocco!

Plan B: Off to Benin

So I’m on the border of Togo and Benin now and my original plan was to start a small surf club for the community here in a town called Aneho and learn some French. However, my plans have changed. I arrived yesterday after a 50KM ride along the ocean from the capital Lome and I arrived to find the beach littered with endless human turds (aka Poo Poo, crapola, kah kah). The Togolese people have been using the beach as a bathroom in this area for generations, and during my visit to checkout the surf I was accompanied by at least two dozen people doing their number.

Now I have indeed surfed in some yucky water. San Diego is famous for poor water quality at various breaks. And the fact is that these guys usually poo above the high tide mark so it’s not in the water, really. But what added to my turnoff was the vast amounts of trash that accompanied the poo. Not only was it a bathroom, but the beach was a dump. Endless plastic bags and bottles, car parts, mattresses, glass chunks, syringes and other atrocities like drug attics and riff raff crushed my vision pretty quick. Bottom line, I just did not the get the vibe and I do want to spend a month in this area.

I don’t have the time to commit to educate the locals about their age old habits and I decided to leave that battle to someone else. My plan was to spend a month or two building a club to stoke out the youth, but this education effort would take years to do it right. Finally, the vision of learning French here was also quickly squashed when I realized that 90% of the locals don’t even speak French, and the ones that do speak French that most French people would have difficulty understanding.

So, Plan B is in full affect. I’m doing a 110KM ride tomorrow to Cotonou, Benin. Cotonou is a larger city that will have more folks speaking proper French, a decent wave with a local surfer Marc who may be able to help me start a club there, and it will be the official starting country of my Western Africa trip. Mamacita will be sending me an important package the a new Panasonic Hi-Def camcorder as I killed my other one in Zanzibar, as well as other important replacement equipment to gear up for the journey to Morocco. I plan to be on the road early to mid August to ride Benin, Togo, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal and Gambia in a continuous expedition that should be a whopper.

West Africa is so different than East Africa. Perhaps it’s more like East Africa was 10-20 years ago. The infrastructure is extremely limited, there are very few tourists and it appears to be as real an African experience as one can have in the few safe countries in this region.

On the genuine note, I can honestly say I feel far more alone and freaked out here than in the East. At least in the East you could, if you wanted to, engage with other travelers at a backpackers or something. I felt just far enough away from western civilization, but close enough to be in my comfort zone. I can say now I’m out of my comfort zone, but luckily not by so much that I’m suffering. It’s just enough to keep constant butterflies in my tummy and I’m sure I’ll grow from the experience tremendously.

Over and out from Aneho, Togo. Try to find this on the map, I dare ya. Try to find Togo! It’s tiny! This place is surreal, you’ll dig the photos and video no doubt!

Laters,

Jamie J

MY BIKE WAS STOLEN!!! July 3^rd 2007 journal

Okay, before we all freak out, this is an epic story of intention and determination. Check it out...

It was as lovely Saturday night in Zanzibar. I had just finished recoding and filming 3 amazing artists at the ZIFF Music and Film Festival and was in great spirits. I was invited to catch the sunset at the epic Africa House Hotel. After a lovely meal and some drinks I proceeded to take some rest and prepare for a night on the town. I left my bike at the Africa House, which I was warned by the manager NOT to do, and went about my festive Saturday night. I figured they had 24 hour security and I left my guard down and just locked it with a basic alarm lock one uses for laptops and all. Bad move.

After a fun night with friends I went back the next morning to get ready for another day of filming and the bike was gone. Yikes! Had I moved it in my party frenzy the night before? How could this happen?

After the initial shock wore off, it was time to act—and act fast. My biggest worry was that it would be sent by boat to the mainland capital of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam. I had to make sure this did NOT happen. With the help of my Italian buddy Anna we stepped into immediate action. Anna went and rented us two bikes while I went to work on a flyer offering a 1 million shilling reward—about $800 dollars. This is a HUGE in Zanzibar and I knew this would get the buzz started.

We printed out 200 copies of the flyer and went out on the town handing them out to shady characters and business leaders alike. We peppered the port areas to make sure the bike would not make it past anyone there. I made a police report, if you can call what I did a police report, but knew it was up to US to get the bike back. Many locals told me the police would be worthless and I had to find other ways. I agreed having been in Africa for so long and seen their work ethic and corruption tolerance.

I was then led to the local TV station by a chef from the Africa house and they immediately went about putting me on the news and I even bought air time to show photos of the bike and the story of the Peace Pedalers with the reward offered! It was about 30 bucks for 6 spots of 30 seconds (not bad!).

By early evening the entire island knew about this bike and the buzz was everywhere! The crazy thing was that both the security guard working AND the another night auditor BOTH said they saw me take the bike and unlock it at 10PM the night of the theft! Something was fishy! I would know if I took a priceless bike back to my hotel. I only had a few cocktails.

After dinner, less than 24 hours of the theft, I got an anonymous call from a guy Adil who said he heard the bike showed up in a drug addict part of town last night at about midnight. Somebody had been trying to sell it for 20,000 shillings, or about 18 dollars. Nobody would buy it as it was too big and obvious it was stolen. The addict who stole it was at a loss and brought it back to his house. That was the story. That night we went to find a guy who knew the thief to take him to the police but he was a no show. My hopes were again shattered, but at least I knew the bike was on the island and everyone kept telling me “Hakuma Matada”—no worries!

The next morning I got a call from Adil and he confirmed that the bike was found but the only way to get it was to come out and pick him and his buddies up. We went back to the shady part of town in a mini-van taxi and proceeded to pick up about 7 stinky, shady characters who wanted in on the reward. I used my intuition to guide me here as they said we had to go without the police if I wanted to get my bike back for sure. They, like most locals on the island, said the police were very corrupt and would likely make matters far worse.

As we drove to a mysterious location the van reeked with body odor so foul I put my head out the window. Deep inside I knew it would all be good. Adil is a solid cat and the taxi driver very trusted. They all knew is was the process. We simply drove to the thief’s house and wheeled the bike out! I even met the guy! He apologized and said thank you for not bringing the police. I did not care, I just wanted my bike back and to get back to filming and enjoying the festival.

Adil and I drove back and on the way back to told him I was not prepared to pay the full 1 million reward because I had to spend two days of my time and money out working WITH them to find the bike. They were happy with a 500,000 shilling reward, about 400 dollars. So, a very hard lesson learned but I did indeed get my bike back in just over 24 hours.

All along I have to say I was not THAT worried. I knew it would show up either here on the island or in Dar. I was just more bummed that I had to spend all the time and money away from the festival for being careless and not taking the advice of the manager. But I’ve forgiven myself, the thief and the security guard and am moving on. But I have to admit, it has taken the wind out of my sails and it’s been a struggle to get excited to be here in Zanzibar. There is a air of corruption and deceit that one can feel here, and until now I was able to sort of ignore it. We’ll see how I do the rest of my stay here….

Over and out from Zanzibar!

Jamie

this came in from a fellow world traveler regarding my expereince with Gift in Malawi:

I have struggled with this throughout my travels.  It is quite an
interesting subject.  It is so hard to look at things from a different
perspective.  It has been explained to me, and this may not be the case
in Africa, but I would guess it is, that culturally it is expected that
if you are one that HAS, you will share, willingly and happily.  That
simple.  Those that have share, those that don't just ask for and get
what they need from those that have.  Completely different from our
culture.  It goes way back in time to early indigenous, native cultures
where everyone was one family, one village and they all took care of
each other as family.  Tough for us to comprehend coming from a world
where "mine" is one of the first words kids learn to say.

I like this...new perspective!

Jamie

Blog for 6/19/07: Location: Kigali, Rwanda

I'm awaiting the arrival of a reporter at a cafe who will be riding with me a few days and together we'll be putting together an article for the local and international press. Rwanda is a factinating country, very hilly, naturally breathtaking, and the people are super warm and friendly...almost too friendly. it's hard to get a moment to myself out on the road as someone is always chasing me on the bike or on foot. When I stop I'm surrounded by dozens, or even 100 people! They don't get many visitors outside the touristy mountain gorilla route...

You would never know that the world's largest genocide occured here just over a decade ago-there are modern buildings, business as usual and a peaceful vibe. But one can sense that there is still some healing going on...

I'm heading off on a 4 day expedition to the cultural/intellectual capital of Butare in the south near the border of Burundi. I'm a bit behind schedule from my burnout blues/recovery session in Uganda, but heck, 5 days of riding in Rwanda is better than nothing, eh?

Over and out from the heart of Africa!

Jamie

Latest blog on 6/10/07

Well folks, based on some feedback from our supporters, I’m going to do a better job keeping a regular blog. Excuse me as I get used to this new way of updating…

I’m in a hammock on Lake Bunyonyi in the mountains of Uganda. This is my “recharging station” of sorts, as I have been struggling with a mean case of the traveler’s burnout blues. I tried to fight through it on an expedition into the remote hills of south western Uganda but I could not muster the strength to pull out a camera much less tackle the steep, rocky, muddy, brutal roads. The colors, sounds, faces, smells and experiences on the road were beginning to become dull and bleak.

I felt empty, sad, totally uninspired and unmotivated. This is rare for me as I’m normally quite the go-getter, charger type of guy able to see the beauty and get fired up easily. Since my mom left I’ve been super down. I keep meeting people, growing close, then saying goodbye. After months of doing this and living out of small black bags it wears on you. It sure did with me. This is all a sign of the burnouts, so I needed a checkup from the neck up, and some time to chillllllll.

So I hit this resort called Lake Bunyonyi Overland Resort and the owner hooked me up with a luxury safari tent overlooking the lake for free, as long as I need recharging. And it’s just what the doctor ordered. Been watching movies, reading, sleeping long hours, napping, hammocking and just spending as much time as I can doing as little as possible. Finally I’m feeling my strength both emotionally and physically to get on the bike and ride 4 days to the border of Rwanda, then about 6 days around Rwanda to Kigali, then making my way back to Tanzania to Zanzibar for the ZIFF film and music festival. I’ve been blessed to have been given rights to film international world musicians coming in from Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Pemba, USA, China, India, Egypt, Netherlands and Denmark! Score!

So I’m happy to report I’ll be back on the road tomorrow and will be charging it all the way until I leave this region of East Africa to head to West Africa for my French language stop in Benin, or perhaps Togo, we’ll see. It will be nice to have community, friends, some steady projects to work on and perhaps dresser drawers and a closet instead of black panniers and a backpack! Having my own place for a month or two will be nice too!

Overall, this journey has been about one year in total, 3 months pre-production in South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland and now 7 months in full production mode through another 9 countries. It’s been an unforgettable, amazing, fulfilling adventure but boy has it been tough! Africa is no cakewalk, but it’s SO SO worth it. I’ve grown more in this year than likely any year in my life physically (I’m SO MUCH stronger carrying 200+ pounds of gear), emotionally and spiritually. I would not exchange this experience for anything!

Mom just left yesterday and I've had 2 doses of family visits from my cousin and now mom in Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. I love my family dearly and now I see a family drought coming my way so if you want to come play, let me know!

I just typed a 10 page newsletter for Zambia and am catching up with Malawi and soon Kenya. I hope to get this blog and newsletters more current so be patient as I catch up.

Uganda is amazing. The people are proud, humble and peaceful in light of a pretty rough recent past. We stayed with families, rode with the papa, tackled the mean roads and traffic, plunged down the class 5 rapids of the Nile and now it's all about music and culture here in Kampala. Also will be doing a visit to an orphanage and some media work. Kampala is busy, dusty and wild but not nearly as crazy as Nairobi or even Dar.

In a few days I'll begin the major riding section of Uganda with some tough yet beautiful hills up towards the Congo border then turning back to Rwanda. Congo is a no-go--I'll be flying over it next month to West Africa.

All is all, life is dandy. It's no vacation anymore with the filming and recording--shooting about 15+ hours per country of hi def footage is not easy, and managing sound, lighting, voice files, etc can get wearing at times. Luckily I get blessed with great people, awesome places to stay and fun things to do to break up the work a bit.

Off to film a live Jam SEssion in the park. Catcha ya'll later :)

Jamie

My Mom has arrived in Nairobi and I'll be riding with her to Western Kenya and Eastern Uganda. It's nice to have family in town again. Nairobi did not impress me so much, but it was not as bad as many people say. I did get my phone stolen from my pocket at a dance club, but that's my own fault. Still feels bad. We are off today so that's all to report...

Jamie

I'm taking time to be with my cousin so am not doing a lot of writing now. But the latest lesson I've learned on the road is this--

Africa beats to its own rythym. The way people view the world is vastly different than in the west. As a visitor sometimes these differences can get frustrating as we judge their value system as flawed without taking time to TRULY understand the circumstances that shaped their values.

The massive NGO aid coming into the continent has created a "give me" mentality in many ways to the point where the majority Africans see white skin and immeditaly associate that with weatlh and free handouts. But remember, we in the west created this monster and as an independent traveler this can get frustrating when we just want to make friends and keep it real. It is a challenge to find a friendship where there is no expectation of "assisting", "supporting" or "helping". That's just the way it is. So we can fight it or accept it. Our choice.

So tolerance, compassion and understanding must be practiced on this continent or you will go crazy and leave with a bad taste in your mouth. Keep this in mind before you venture out on independent, adventure travel.

If you go with a tour group, well, I don't know how it will be as I don't roll that way. This is a lovely, safe, exciting continent to travel in. But we just have to keep things in perspective to manage our peace of mind.

Over and out from Tanzania!

I recovered from the bout of dishonest folks and muscled up my courage to pedal 3 days in northern Zambia. I met some amazing people, likely saved the lives of a few babies suffering from Malaria, and made it to Malawi with a huge smile! Malawi is heaven--great people, awesome roads, rockin music. Lovin it! Just arrived in Lilongwe and will be meeting my cousin Shannon shortly for some good fun. over and out!

binks

Makin Ripples...

Got 2 articles in #1 newspaper, big article in #1 magazine and on the #1 talk show. Between all these media sources I'll hit about 75% of the entire population with the stories of how it felt when someone was dishonest with me. If a few folks get inspired to live a more honest life then all this was worth it.

bike parts are here, few more goodies coming. will be rollin soon to Malawi!

binks :)

I've had about a week of feeling cold and bitter after some tough run-ins with a string of dishonest riders and locals, but I'm finally back on my feet and feeling better.

I learned a few things...

1) TOLERANCE: this is what I claim to practice on my expedition. But I was not being tolerant of the fact that there are varying levels of integrity that people value in this world. I was not being tolerant of lower values of integrity and this has caused my own suffering. By just tolerating the differences of values, I stop feeling frustrated and celebrate the differences.

2) KEEP DIGGING: Sometimes there is a diamond of a person just behind some dirty, immature rocks. If I stop digging, I miss out on a chance to find a real gem. So I kept digging, and am now loving life with amazing, soulful friends here in Lusaka. There are great people in all countries, but sometimes we may run into a few "immature apples" and need to keep picking till we find the ripe ones :)

Off to film and record an AMAZING musician Patricia Phillippe http://www.patriciaphilippe.com/ at a live sunset show. Life is good!

Jamie

I'm in Lusaka, Zambia now licking my wounds a bit from a tough few countries in Zimbabwe and now Zambia. I so want to believe that people are honest, genuine and pure at the deepest level and that I can be a catalyst to allow people to express this true nature. But I've met about a dozen people whose values are just so wrecked with dishonesty and lack of integrity I have to admit I'm having to dig deep to keep this conviction...

Add this to my busted and bruised bike in need of major repairs before carrying on to Malawi and you have a pretty frustrated Peace Pedaler...but this too will pass :)

On the bright side, I have a week to kill in Lusaka with high speed Internet courtesy of Holiday Inn so I plan to get this blog thing going and see how it goes. Also going to get caught up on the newsletters and record some local musicians.

Cheers,

Jamie