September 17th, 2017 by Pierre in Travel, Writings
An LP Afternoon (Note: LP means Luang Prabang. The biggest and most popular city in northern Laos.) The air is molten when the sun shines. The breath you take is hot in your throat, and the thought of movement brings sweat to your…
September 17th, 2017 by Pierre in Travel, Writings
I’ve been putting this off. To write this would be to acknowledge that my summer ride is over and I didn’t want to do that. But the reality is what it is. I have been back to work in China for a week and am tepidly sticking my nose back to the grind stone of developing…
August 4th, 2017 by Pierre in Travel, Writings
I should have known the jig was up when the lady started laughing at me. It was early morning and I was just beginning the ascent of a challenging but manageable hill. She looked almost mad with her hair splayed off in all directions, her blackened teeth bared, and her eyes wild as hells flames.…
July 29th, 2017 by Pierre in Travel, Writings
I didn't plan this trip, but it is the trip I have. One week into it I am learning to make it the trip that I want. I was supposed to be in Xinjiang, a wild and untamed region of China alone and contemplative among the great deserts, grasslands, and mountains of that vast region.…
June 14th, 2017 by Pierre in Writings
The worst thing you can do to a person who struggles to make decisions is give them a lot to choose from. I know. I am that person. The problem is especially trying for me when I like all the things I am trying to choose from. This is the predicament I found myself in…
April 11th, 2017 by Pierre in Writings
Zao Shang Hao (Good Morning) The early morning was shrouded in the lingering mists of the morning rain. I prepped my machine and headed out. It was a Saturday with no classes due to provincial examinations in preparation for the national exam in June. It was a free day, forecasting a sunny day, and I planned to…
April 4th, 2017 by Pierre in Cycling, Writings
There are many different reasons to ride bike. It may be for enjoyment, or for exercise. It may be for travel, or it may be to pick up a few things at the supermarket. To me it doesn’t really matter what the reason for getting on the bike is. I enjoy them all. I also…
March 21st, 2017 by Pierre in Cycling, Writings
The weather doesn't exactly inspire dreams of cycling. Thankfully, my book does. I am sitting on my balcony and looking out into a dense night fog. It is rainy season here in southern China and much of the days and nights are shrouded in the velvet mists that linger on after the rains have come…
February 27th, 2017 by Pierre in Writings
Winter comes just about everywhere. Even here in my Chinese hometown of Jianou, just a short hop north of the Tropic of Cancer, winter comes. To be sure, the very short and mild winter we get here doesn’t bear any resemblance to what most people in Canada would consider winter. Daytime temperatures spend little time…
November 14th, 2016 by Pierre in Writings
It’s a beautiful, warm Autumn Sunday afternoon in Jianou. What can I do with it? I know! How about gather some friends together and head to the spa? That’s right. The spa. In China, a trip to the spa is a wonderful treat and rather inexpensive. So, what better way to spend a nice relaxing…
