Doored by the Tooth Fairy by Jene-Paul Lemieux

"A picture is worth a thousand words" is a very common phrase that I hear on a regular basis. After all it's so much easier to just look at a picture of a beautiful mountain road then it is to attempt to convey or understand that same image with powerful words.

For most of us this is true but an exception to the general rule is Jene-Paul Lemieux. He recently went on a tour "down the Williamette, Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys to LA, California, USA and back again". When he eventually decided to write his online journal about his bicycle touring adventure he did so on the Crazyguyonabike.com web site without including even a single picture of the places that he visited, observed and interacted with. Instead he relied on his very powerful skill at painting pictures using words that leave your imagination to fill in the blanks!

Beginning with the first day's report you learn about how to cook without worrying about dishes using a Zip stove. Day Three talks about the beauty of birds flying overhead and the ugliness of a thrown beer can.

On Day Five he has the opportunity to watch deer strolling by the front windows of the local restaurant while he is eating his breakfast. He continues on to discuss the wonder of water bladders/Camelbacks that allow you to easily keep yourself hydrated along the way.

Day Eleven includes a visit from a bear. The story continues until the end of Day 56. Each day is wonderful to read about and usually takes you in an entirely new direction very much like what you experience during a normal tour.

Personally my two most favourite parts of his tour included the visit from the bear and his visit to Mission San Miquel. The bear story got my heart beating in a way similar to if I had been there while the Mission segment talked about a visit to what sounds like a very special place and thanks to Jene-Paul a place that I very much want to visit someday.

Crazyguyonabike.com is a web site with many, many excellent journals and you could easily lose yourself for months in all the wonderful adventures that have been showcased there. A very suitable starting place in my opinion is Jene-Paul's Doored by the Tooth Fairy.

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