The frustration of waiting

I've was back home for over a week to take care of many needed tasks to continue on with The Planet Tour. Getting some more work done to the bike is one of them. We just had the logo airbrushed on and are now searching for a top case to mount so I have more room for gear. Plus fixing the shudder in the front end which turned out to be a very expensive warped rotor. Didn't need that expense!

I would like to get the episodes out faster but the biggest hurdle thus far is funding. After last years economic meltdown many companies are a bit gun shy when it comes to spending money, yet all of them want to get more exposure for their product or service. My goal is to have the funds so an editor and their assistant/driver would be on the road in a car so I could meet up several times a day and give them the footage right away so that editing can begin. But of course that is 2 paycheques and travel expenses that just don't fit the budget at present.
The Planet Tour is a great place for a business to showcase their stuff but, I'll admit, the show concept is new so of course there is hesitation. The fear of the unknown!
If you want the to use the fear of the unknown try giving up a normal life to live on a motorcycle. Scary? hell yeah! Educational? You bet! Fun? For sure!. Rewarding? So far it has been. I will continue on and produce the best videos with the budget I have and it will continue to grow. I could sit around and wait for that big sponsor but figured...N'ah, they can try and catch me instead.

But I can hear you say "Daryl, you already have sponsors!"
Yes I do and I am grateful for their help thus far but they are in for a limited budget and product donations, but we can change that and this is where I need your help.
First, please invite others to watch and not just your riding buddies. I'm a comic and am used to appealing to a variety of people. The more people watching = more exposure for a sponsoring company. This will translate into a bigger budget.
Sponsors

Second We are still building our directory of approved services by area. If you know of any companies that wish to participate let us know. We promote the directory thru the videos, newsletter and more. Soon there will be a clickable map to help travellers locate services in the area they are.
Business Directory

Third
Show your support with a limited edition "I helped launch The Planet Tour" t-shirt. Fund from the sales go to paying my support staff.
The Planet Tour store

Lastly, if you have an interest in me showing up in your area and know of a venue to perform in please contact us thru the website.
Contact The Planet Tour

Off and running again to try and beat some rain
Cheers

What's in a name? EVERYTHING! and nothing...

I just did a quick run up thru the Columbia Icefield Parkway and had some great weather going up (it rained most of the way back so it was worth it).

It was a great way to get to my gig,which was a golf tournament, in Grande Cache AB. An awesome ride up through some of the most amazing mountain valleys with the crispness of the air as you pass the glaciers and streams. Pure bliss, the travel doesn't feel like a chore so you ignore that it is over 7 hours of butt numbing because you don't care!

James Moore, from Comedy Monday Night, was with me as he was to be my emcee for the event. Any chance to get out on the bikes and do comedy and you can usually count him in.
We stopped for gas and food in Lake Louise as there are not many places to stop on the parkway and the ones you do find, can be hard on the wallet. Besides, once on there we were only stopping for pics and nothing else as time was tight.

While in Lake Louise I snapped this pic through the restaurant window with my GoPro. A third sport tourer  had pulled in along side Suzy B and James' Kaye. (yeah, he named his too). Those that know me understand my love of sporting bikes so I had to take a pic. The fish eye lens gives it an odd perspective yet it captures the beauty of the view we had plus the 3 sporty rides.

Inside there were 2 friendly couples across the aisle that had ridden up here from Wisconsin USA, on their motorcycles so that was enough to start a conversation. They were very pleasant and excited by all the attractions they had scene on their tour so note comparing was the order of the moment as we rattled off places visited.

They were also receptive to suggestions of places to see, so I gave them all sorts of places to check out on their way back that they would've  never found on their own in the short time they had. Its a common trait I've noticed with bikers. If they've had a great time on a great road or attraction they want to share it with other riders so they can experience it too. It is a sort of 'pay it forward' that seems to find its way back to you in strange ways.

Like that time last year when that CHiPs officer pointed my group toward a fantastic road we had not even thought of going down while we were making our way through the desert heat to see Joshua Tree National Forest. I am always eager to tell people about those hidden gems so maybe that was a payback? Either way, thanks officer for making our ride that much better. But I've side tracked, now back to the recent trip and my new Wisconsin friends.

That coming Sunday, back in Calgary, I was doing a show and a DVD recording. The cheese heads, as Wisconsin residents are sometimes affectionately called,  were going to be in town so I gave them information on the show. I don't think we even introduced ourselves as there were so many stories about where they were going and where they had been. It was that bond strangers, who enjoy being out there traveling on the bike just seem to have. It is a short relationship that lasts until you part ways. Names seem like an unnecessary formality.

I never really thought I would see them again but, come Sunday, there they were, buying tickets to the show! I had hoped they would stick around after so I could say hi, but with all the distractions, people I had to talk to right after the show, they somehow slipped out before I could thank them.
Complete strangers who shared a common bond of touring so they came out to support my show and the live art form that is my life. It is the type of gesture that is golden to a performer and reminds me of why I do this crazy thing I do for a living. I hoped they enjoyed the show. I heard they were laughing.

 Upon downloading my window pic I see I also captured the 2 big Harleys, in the top right hand corner, that belonged to those nice folks from Wisconsin. So in a way they are part of this picture.
Since they were heading to Jasper and then back I know they also shared this view (in my next pic) as you reach the top of the pass on the parkway.

I hope you 4 made it back safe and one day perhaps I will get an email to let me know you did and that you found the Wayne Hotel near Drumheller like I told you.

If you ever see this pic I'm sure you will have a vivid memory of that view that far exceeds what a camera could capture but I hope it brings them flooding back in as it does to me. I can't wait to do this road again and I am sure you guys are on the same page.

Be safe everyone. Never go faster than your guardian angel's screaming can be heard.
Cheers
Daryl

Bears and camera settings!!

Hi folks
to date The Planet Tour has logged over 4000km and we have just started! This does not include the 15,000 test kms I did the last 2 seasons.
I have seen 3 bears so far and one was a grizzly right alongside the road. I will show that in episode 5.
Yesterday while driving back from a show in Grande Cache AB I was on the Columbia Icefield Parkway which has some spectacular views. Then it was thru Banff National Park so I decided to do the Bow Valley Parkway as chances of spotting wildlife are always good on that road at dusk.
This is when I saw bear number 3 in as many weeks. A medium sized black bear wandered across the highway. I hastily retrieved my new camcorder from my tank bag. In my excitement I did not notice it was set to still pics (it doubles as a regular camera). I was more worried about making a clean getaway incase Yogi suddenly changed course. As such, no video or pics and then....my battery died. Sigh... more gear to buy!!

Episodes will be coming a bit faster now. A few teething problems at first, as we get the logistics figured out on the best way to get video from the road to the editor.
If you wish to see more episodes more often you can help in 2 ways.
1- I need more people to subscribe to the show as sponsors only think in terms of numbers. Also please share the video links with as many people as you can because hits are good too
2- be the coolest person in your 'hood with the limited edition "I helped launch The Planet Tour" T-shirt available on the website.
The store is up and running.
Money raised from the T-shirts goes to help pay for my support team. There are people in the background that are all part of this fun project. Lynda who manages the business and office end of things and of course my editor(s).
We have them with The Planet Tour logo in blue for the dudes and pink for the chicks.
By the way if you are offended by the use of the term "chick" you're probably not the kind of broad that should be watching the show....no offense to the dames and skirts
;-)

If you order now I am throwing in a copy of my first comedy album "Herding The Sheeple" in MP3 for your iTunes or personal MP3 player as my thank you.

If you wish for The Planet Tour to stop into your town or business please contact us to arrange it.
info@theplanettour.com

Thanks for following along and please share the road safely with motorcycles and all others.
Cheers
Daryl

Chasing bears-Episode 1 "The Planet Tour"

Chasing bears!!

The first episode is now online. Subscribers will have been informed already.

 Production value will increase as we go. Just working within the budget I have.
Made it from Calgary to Birkenstock II, down to Vancouver, over to Kelowna and home all in one piece. Experienced rain, a party, rain, bears, more rain, shitty Vancouver traffic. Yes, I said it. Vancouver traffic is the worst part of that city. Besides the fact that there are many new drivers on the road there it is the road system and its lack of planning that irks me most. For a city that pretends to be so "green" I found myself idling in traffic jams from road ways that are 20 year behind the demand. The Skytrain is not an option as it is limited to where it goes. Bike paths are few in comparison to my home city of Calgary. Odd how the big evil oil city of Calgary is more eco-friendly. We have the most extensive bike path system in North America, green wind energy powering our C-train and roads that are not always plugged at 2 in the afternoon with traffic jams.
Protesting and being proactive are 2 different things folks. Vancouver....get working on it even if it means you may have to cut down a tree or 2 to do it.
You'll see what I mean when you see the video.
Here is the link for it on Youtube
More to come folks, stay safe.
Daryl

It has begun...will you be a part?

Hello Planet folks! The first chunk of travel and video has been done and is now in post production. My first webisode for The Planet Tour will be up this week with another to follow soon.
I am working as a one many crew doing the shooting, shot logging, travel and live shows on my own....and loving it!
My editor is frantically piecing it all together (and, I hope, loving it!)

This first leg of the journey was a trip to the west coast of Canada in the beautiful (and sometimes screwy) province of British Columbia. It is the kind of place that makes you want to live there...until you find out all the weird rules and fees (read taxes).
There are many there that pretend to be green yet they allow their city to build poorly designed roads that increase congestion and idling. There are some that encourage eco-friendly transport like bicycles yet their pathway system is far behind places like Calgary, which is often touted as an evil oil city. Odd as Calgary has the most extensive pathway system in North America, a train that runs on wind generated power, sewage treatment plants that put out water cleaner than they took out of the river. In short I feel my city is greener than those that pretend to be green.
Either way, it is always fun to visit the left coast, laugh at their hypocrisy and enjoy the views...while cursing their traffic.

What is on the first episode? Rain, a bear, more rain, a party, a rear tire that almost blew...did I mention rain?

Stopping in the Okanagan Valley on my way back the sky finally found its sun and the heat was too nice to not take advantage of, so I stayed an extra day. Stay tuned some cool video from the bike with my new GoPro Hero cam donated by Fusion Race Cars

The next thing is to do some more modifications to Suzy B. It seems with all the gear I have to pack I am at my limit for storage space. A top case trunk is in the works.
Do you want to be a part of The Planet Tour? Right now we have a limited number of "I helped launch The Planet Tour" T-shirts.
BUY YOUR SHIRT HERE
Payment can be made by PayPal.
Stay safe, share the road and enjoy the planet.
Peace
Daryl

Duck Ass Awards

Are you a Duck Ass? I hope not but I am sure you have seen many. Every group has its rotten apples and I am going to purge them by having a weekly Duck Ass Award in each category. I will be looking for examples of bad drivers and to be fair bad motorcycle riders.

What is a Duck Ass? It’s the back end of a duck of course but the phrase was coined by my beloved mom, Doreen, who passed June 14/2007 after a battle with a rare form of brain cancer. I miss you mom. You were my main inspiration and support when I decided to enter this crazy business of comedy.

 Mom always encouraged humor and taught me to laugh at almost anything. During my early teen years, my dad’s company transferred us to Winnipeg Manitoba and mom was not impressed. She was an Alberta gal and really did not enjoy living in Winnipeg, Manitoba at all. No offense to the ‘peggers out there. We all have our own Edens and for mom, The ‘peg was not it. 

With her distaste against the city and province, anyone who did anything dumb was a (censored-not fit for printing). Of course she could not swear in front of us kids so she substituted with her own phrase “That stupid Manitoba Duck Ass!”. Try it some time, call someone a Duck Ass, its fun and empowering!

The phrase soon caught on with the neighborhood friends and soon it was shortened to “That stupid Duck Ass!” as the world has Duck Asses everywhere. Why be geographically specific? When it was time to move again (dad’s company did that a lot)  the neighbors held a going away party where they presented mom with an actual Manitoba Duck Ass. A real mallard hen’s rear proudly mounted on a plaque. It was a comical hit in our house for many years and was displayed on the wall.

About a decade back mom was going to toss it out during one of her spring cleaning rampages.  I told her I would take it, not wanting to see a family heirloom destroyed. I always thought is was funny on the wall of the den so I moved it to my place. It is a piece of family history after all and now its an award for any stupid driver or any stupid motorcycle rider I see. I will be presenting them with the title of Duck Ass. There will be no trophy for them, why would a Duck Ass deserve a trophy? Instead they will receive their much deserved public humiliation on The Planet Tour Web -TV show along with video of their Duck Ass move that earned them the spotlight.

If you have any recent video clip of a Duck Ass in traffic please contact us thru the website.

I'll be hitting the road soon folks. If you have not yet done so please subscribe to the Web show via the website. There will be prizes, discounts and other rewards for being a Planet Tour member.

Talk to you soon, and watch out for those Duck Asses out there.