Jeremy Kroeker

I’m pleased to say that my article about Dave Thomson (1955 – 2009) is finally in print. It’s in the winter edition of Alpinist, issue 33. My friend Andrew Querner did all the photo illustrations and, as you can see by the title page, he did a fantastic job. So did all the editors and staff of Alpinist who helped shape this into something that I like.

The new issue is not out yet in Canada, but it should be within the next month or so. You can find the magazine at M.E.C. and other gear stores and, I believe, at select Chapters locations.

This photo of Dave (above) was taken by Tom Wolfe in the 90′s sometime (although Tom’s wife, Deb Lantz also claims to have taken the photo). Anyway, it’s one of the very best images of Dave. Dave was usually on the other side of the camera. As for all the photo illustrations in the magazine article, yes, they are of me pretending to be Dave. But if you don’t know what either of us looked like, then they are especially good!

I just got two tickets from Canmore bylaw officers, one on each of my motorcycles. The tickets were for abandoned vehicles.
You see, I live in a condo with several roommates. Between the three adults in the house, we have 5 vehicles, but only one parking spot. So I park on the street. The bikes are covered for winter, and I’ve put them so close together that when I park my Honda Civic in front of them, all three vehicles take up as much room as one SUV.
They are not parked in front of anyone’s house. They are on a street corner, wedged into the space between a sidewalk and a fire hydrant. In other words, the space only allows room for one car when the bikes are not there, but when the bikes are there it still allows room for one car.
Now, Canmore law states that vehicles parked on the street must move once every 72 hours. But it’s winter. These are motorcycles. At the moment, our streets are covered with snow and ice. It would be dangerous to ride my motorcycle.
So what’s the solution? To satisfy the bylaw, I would have to uncover my bikes and push them down the street to where they would actually occupy a space in front of someone’s home, then three days later, uncover them and move them back out of the way. I can do that, but it begs the question, why? Would anyone benefit from me moving my bikes back and forth all winter? Isn’t that the reason for these laws anyway, to improve life for citizenry? For example, issuing a citation for excessive noise at a party is not to inconvenience revelers – it’s to give peace to the neighbors. Having me push my bikes around for the next several months serves no purpose.
Also, to be completely honest, I haven’t moved my Honda Civic in the past 72 hours, either. As we’re all encouraged to do in Canmore, I’ve made an environmentally responsible choice – I walk to work. So often, my car stays put for weeks at a time. It is not abandoned. It is idle, just like my bikes. Except that I only drive my car when I have to… I ride my bikes whenever I can.

Every time I sit down for a beer with my friend Michael Holton, two things happen:
1. I narrowly escape alcohol poisoning.
2. I yearn – I desperately yearn to hit the road with my motorcycle.
You see, Mike is the guy I wrote about in “Motorcycle Therapy.” Trevor and I met him at the Panama Canal and then, years later, I ended up living in his house while I worked as a motorcycle instructor in Calgary. He shares my passion for bikes and travel and we cannot speak to each other, it seems, without bringing up the subject. Mike is preparing for another huge trip and he’s trying to convince me to join him. Sadly, I have my priorities in order for the moment, and there are things I need to do first before I can ride. But, man, he’s got me thinking about it again. Here then, is a semi random photo of my last trip that sort of embodies the bitter-sweet taste of travel… actually, I just like the doodle.

A lot has happened since my last post, and it’s all good. “Motorcycle Therapy” has officially become a High School textbook in one Calgary school, and others are considering it for next year. That’s right. Now I’ll be hated by hundreds of grade 10 students, right along with William Shakespear and J.D. Salinger. What an honour!
Also, although “Motorcycle Therapy” has been out since August, 2006, I had one of my best three book events just the other day at the Banff Centre. Before an audience of approximately 100 – 150 people, I read with three other authors – Jerry Auld, Chic Scott and Sid Marty. The crowd was slightly drunk, which must have helped, but they all laughed at the right spots as I read my “Austrian snake bite” story. After that, my book sold out at the table hosted by Pages On Kensington.
Honestly, I was surprised to see my book there – I hadn’t arranged it. And I was concerned that Pages had probably ordered too many – there was a large stack. But then they all sold and I had to resupply!
Finally, regarding my next book, it’s still being considered by that small Alberta press (that I won’t reveal just now. Actually, when I let it slip to Sid Marty, he said, “That’s no small Alberta press. That’s good.”) Anyway, if that falls through, I actually lined up another two publishing houses that want to read the manuscript… all through the power of rubbing shoulders with people at the Banff Mountain Book Festival. Thanks to everyone at the Banff Centre for the invitation, hosting the event and making us all feel welcome.

Well, I suppose I’d better update my website shall I? It’s just that, since losing my original Jeremy Kroeker domain, I kind of lost interest in the Internet. Colour me jaded. Side note: I see that the old domain can be bought for 1,200 USD… and that it’s getting more hits now than when I ran it. Sigh. Anyway, enough griping.
The news: I’ve nearly finished work on an article for Alpinist. The piece is about my friend, Dave Thomson (deceased) and it’s slated to run in issue 33, which comes out in December, I think. Although I’m normally unhappy with my own writing, I have to admit that I’m satisfied in this case. The editors tore the article down and forced me to rewrite it so many times that it eventually turned out O.K. A real team effort. My friend Andrew Querner was hired to do the photography so it will definitely look good. Check his website to verify the quality of his work. I’m really excited to see it all come together when the magazine hits the stands. I’ll let you know when that happens.
Now, concerning work on my book, what can I say? I’ve not touched it in months, partly because I’ve been busy with my paying job, partly because of the article for Alpinist, and partly because… well, there are other reasons. However, that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten about it. In fact, the manuscript is currently in the hands of a small publisher that originally showed an alarmingly high level of enthusiasm for the project. “Great! This is perfect! We’ll take it!” he said, after reading the first and last sentence. Anyway, there are people looking at it now to see if they’ll publish it, but it’s way too early to say. Even if they do take it, it needs extensive rewrites and it won’t come out for at least another year. I’m not holding my breath, but I have a good feeling.
And then there’s a recent vacation I took with my friend, Chris:

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