PurePwnage

The ride down the St. Lawrence River and along Lake Ontario was fucking beautiful. There is a marked bicycle route from the ON/QC border, all the way beyond Toronto to Niagra Falls, called the Waterfront Trail. Most of it is on roads, but about 30% of it is on separated bicycle paths. The Thousand Islands Parkway near Kingston was one such path, and it was incredible. It is so evident to me that societies which decide to invest in pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure will see the benefits of their use.

In 2004, two guys in Toronto began shooting and releasing for free online a mockumentary web series called PurePwnage. The show depicted the life of a professional computer gamer. It was very popular among gamers pre-Youtube, and gained a large following. The show evolved and was on Canadian TV a few years later, and then was made into a feature film in 2016. I've been a fan of this show since 2005. As I was nearing Toronto, I got in touch with the creators, Jarett Cale and Geoff Lapaire. We ended up going out for beers on Sunday night -- I ended up staying at Geoff's place -- and Jarett chased me down the road the next morning to give me a t-shirt and snap a selfie. They are both awesome, standup guys, as one would expect. It was cool to meet them.