As most of you know, I'm headed out of town for a little while. I'm leaving July 1st for 27 months of Peace Corps Service in Benin.
In where? Benin is young republic in West Africa. It's located between Togo and Nigeria, and it covers an area about the size of Virginia. Beninese culture revolves around sustenance farming, with predominating animist religion (Voodoo) and strong tribal traditions. I'm sure these blurry images will be supplanted by the visceral realities of my particular community, friends and experiences. Benin has sustained a peaceful democracy since a brief brush with Marxism in the 1980's. It's a beautiful place, with a mangrove coast and thick forest in the highlands.
And 12 species of monkeys. Boy do I love monkeys.
I'll be working as a natural resources adviser: helping to adopt sustainable harvesting practices where clear-cutting has devastated forests, improving the productivity of local food systems, and teaching HIV/AIDS awareness on the side. I have no delusions of spreading enlightenment and saving the world, but hopefully I'll be able to collaborate with some folks, mix ideas together, and facilitate small steps towards healthier people and ecosystems. There's no doubt I'll learn much and get dirt between my toes.
The last few months have been a giddy whirlwind of travels with friends and family.
I'm going to step aside from 2skinnypros and let it rest as an archive of several incredible years. I would however like to introduce you to the newest iteration of my online personality:
Herby goes West (christoph)Thursday, October 18, 2007
Okay people. Anybody still read this thing? Give me a shout, old enemies and friend-o-me's.
My dad tells a story of riding the subway in NYC. Amidst the uncomfortable silence and blank stares, a grizzly old man steps into the car and proclaims: "ain't it good to be alive and goin' somewhere!"
Amen brotha.
I'm moving to Ketchum, Idaho in 2 weeks.
I've wrangled some employment at Gelena Lodge, a backcountry ski center 23 miles north of Ketchum. No lifts or groomers in sight. This place is for the free-healers. I'll be waxing skis, shoveling snow, and delivering supplies via snowshoe to the yurts. In my free time I will wrestle the Yeti.
This is most likely the end of my tenure in Charlottesville. I'll be moving off the North American continent in mid-2008. Details TBA.
Ian and I have been working towards a more self-sustaining Happy Rickshaw. We've had an awesome fall, and we want to keep this puppy running. We're promoting some drivers to management positions and nailing down long-term relationships with UVA and the C'ville community. It's super exciting. I feel like I've raised a baby wolf and it's time to set him loose in the wild.
Ian will be in the 'ville for another couple years with Darden, tracking the wolf with a radio collar and setting some kibbles on his porch once in awhile.
We intend to keep this blog rolling. This is NO LONGER A BIKE RACING BLOG. But it is our little corner of the web, where we'll tell stories, marvel at the world, and perpetuate self-deprecating humor.
If you've got this site bookmarked in your "cycling" folder, move that shit. If you've stumbled on this site looking for cycling stories, check out our archives, or click that little arrow in the top left corner of your screen.
We ain't racing pro these days, but we both love bikes as much as ever. It's a different kind of love, one might say.
Exhibit 1: I'm in Switzerland right now, visiting family. This afternoon I pedaled from my dad's doorstep to the top of the Col de La Givrine. Then I stashed the bike and climbed up the summit of La Dole, overlooking Lake Geneva. Lovin' it.
Next week I'm headed home to pack up and turn some wrenches on the 1971 VW Beetle that I'll be driving to Idaho.
