Jamie's Blog, 24/03/2010 5:49:59AM
The "Road" is a cliché. Kerouac and McCarthy have overshadowed absolutely any chance of writing about life on the move in any meaningful or reflective sense, not to mention titling it.
But all that aside, life on the road is an interesting thing. Often exhausted at the end of a long hot day, we make our beds wherever the van happens to park. No five star hotels here, but then again, when you're as tired as we usually are, especially Rob, a pillow is more than enough. In fact, from the perspective of road life, a pillow starts to feel like a five star hotel all on its own. We go to bed early and we wake up early. The sun is the overruling Dictator in our world. The sun, and the sun alone, decides when we move and when we rest. Cooking is always interesting, and we are always keeping an eye on the health factors involved in what we're eating. The 'health' aspect becomes even more difficult when you consider we are working with a portable gas stove and... well just a portable gas stove. But we all do what we can to make sure our bodies are getting what they need to keep on keepin' on.
Coming across a shower is none too often, which is why we were oh-so-elated when James, the driver of our lovely van, hooked us up with a place to stay while we passed through Albury. This town sits right on the edge of the interstate border between New South Wales and Victoria, and Troy, the kind soul who invited us into his home, was situated right on the edge of our border between slightly dirty and absolutely disgusting. I think we actually used his shower for 2 hours straight, one team member after the other. Without fail, each member came down to exclaim, "Best shower of my entire life!" I could tell Troy didn't quite fathom why we were so grateful just to have a shower, but I was ready to kiss this man's feet. Life on the road can really change your perspective on things.
To fill our downtime, sometimes we watch movies, sometimes we sit around and chat, and sometimes we all just vibe out with our headphones and favourite music. The New BEAT spends a great deal of it's time preparing this blog and all the components included in it, which is none too easy from the back of the van. But we manage, because when we look at Rob, pushing as hard as he does living out of the back of a van, it keeps us all in check.
All in all, life on the road is a special experience, especially when you're on a mission as worthy as the one we're on. And I know, these little tidbits may seem secondary to all of you sitting at home, but it's the world that surrounds the skates, and if we're to understand how important what we're doing is, it's important to understand how exactly we're doing it.
To read more of Skate4Cancer's blog, view more amazing photos or check out their wicked videos, visit Skate4Cancer. SMAC Magazine would like to thank Rob, Daniel, Jamie and the team for letting us share their amazing journey with you. Stay tuned for more updates and an exclusive chat with Rob Dyer soon!
