I'd rather be biking...

---

Today was the half-way point of the road trip of the year... Mega Bike Week 3.0.

About 8 of my closest friends, and some random tag-alongs from Victoria are in the middle of tearing up the trails along the West Coast. I was supposed to be there too.... sometimes things don't work out like you think they will. I never thought I'd be in Sudan instead. Missing the annual trip is like missing Christmas... it just isn't done.

So to Yoda, Kamikaze, AGirl, Mountain Man, Triple B, Pic, and the whole gang.... kill it one time for me. I'm thinking of you all.

The trip started in based out of Squamish, with stops in Whistler, heli-biking in Pemberton/Whistler, Squamish, the North Shore, and Mt Vedder... have fun! Ride safe... okay who am I kidding? Mountain biking is inherently NOT safe, but that's one reason we love it.

I expect a full story of all the shenanigans, crashes and hits. Pictures are mandatory, but please size them down to about 800x600.

So.... instead of ripping up "19th Hole" in Squamish today, I finally learned to make real chai tea... I kept showing up too early or too late for the past few days... I also don't think they understood that I wanted to learn. I think they just wanted to feed me the tea, which is great, but I want to learn the recipe. So here you are...

Real Indian Chai (Sudanese Style)

Boil a pot of water; while it is boiling add freshly crushed ginger (no husk) and some freshly crushed cardamom (sp?)

Let that go for about 3-5 mins, then remove a few scoops of hot water and mix the water with some milk.

Then toss about 4-6 Darjeeling tea bags into the boiling pot.

Add the water/milk mixture back into the tea once the colour is right for you... reduce the heat and make sure it doen't boil over at this point as the milk will foam...

Then pour through a tea strainer into the serving jug/carafe... then walk around a remote UN camp serving to your colleagues making their morning a whole light brighter. (Okay most of you can skip that part)

Obviously this is not an exact science, so try it out and let me know how it goes.

I've also included some pictures of me making a broom from some dried grasses that I bought from some IDP's in Torit. IDP stands for Internally Displaced Person... victims of conflict that were forced from/left there homes to avoid the war. They are slowly returning from Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and other countries. The two bushels of grass cost me 100 Dinars, which is about 50 cents US.

Enjoy.

Don

Don

---

Photos

The finished product...
The broom is complete and I thought it was funny beacause it looked like a grass skirt... I think I just ended up looking... um... festive.

Comments

[Carrie]

broom pic begs the quesiton...
Housekeeping?

[Adam]

lookin' good...
I'm reading everyone of these bud and am constantly looking forward to the next. It's a big wknd back in Cdn as Becca and Jesse are getting married and the boys are heading to the Peg for the ceremony. For me - it's back home I head for my Dad's 60th birthday and one serious round of golf followed by a huge birthday meal. Steph and I will stay tuned and are glad to hear all is well (aside from missing Craig's wedding, the big ride, and of course Laura!). Stay safe.

[Mom#?]

Chai Tea
Okay Hon, a new recipe for me to try. You are in my thoughts every day, stay safe. Had a great wkend with Dani and Tim. I am soooo excited about becoming a Grandma. She looks really good and just glows-um, so does Tim I guess. Love your tales about life there. Love ya Cheryl and Tony and Bianca

[Mike]

Nice skirt
Really Don....

[Laura]

I love a man in a skirt. ;) Feel free to come home and sweep our floor anytime. I miss you a lot today. xo