Un-Road Trip

The Un-Road Trip Comes to San Diego!

2011-09-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

A few months back I heard from the friendly folks at Hostelling International in San Diego who had heard me on the radio and were wondering whether I'd speak at their annual meeting. I said yes, of course, and I'll be flying down next week (on a pedal-powered plane...) to talk about my trip and show some clips. It should be a fun evening and if you're in the area you should come on by!

THE DETAILS:
Spirit of Hostelling Annual Meeting and Party
Monday, October 3, 2011 from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM (PT)
San Diego Foundation, 2508 Historic Decatur Road, San Diego, CA 92106

Head over here for more info: http://unroadtrip.eventbrite.com/

Also, I've never been to San Diego before so I'm excited to explore the city. Anything I should do in the area? Any taco stands I should check out? Let me know!

Un-Road Trip Bloopers!

2011-07-19T07:34:00.000-07:00

You didn't think our three days of shooting intros and wrap-arounds were without incident - did you? Rest assured there were plenty of mistakes and accidental swear words and spontaneous singing. And here's the video proof in two parts:

The Last Episode Has Aired!

2011-06-28T13:54:00.000-07:00

Well, this is it - the last episode of The Un-Road Trip. Or at least the last episode of the first season. I've got a few thoughts as this chapter of my life comes to a close, but I'll post those in a separate blog. For now, enjoy the finale:

Episode 9 is online!

2011-06-22T16:25:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that there's only one more episode of the Un-Road Trip before the end of the first season. I make it all the way back to the Pacific NW in episode 9 - less than 200 miles to go till Portland, the end of the Un-Road!

Episode 8 - perhaps my favorite episode - is online!

2011-06-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

Don't quote me on this but I think episode 8 may contain more modes of transportation than any other episode of The Un-Road Trip. Don't believe me? Watch below! And if you can prove me wrong then I'll send you something cool. Either way, this episode does include couch bikes, treadmill bikes, and the amazing Brent Curry!

Only two more episode two go! Will I live to see the end of the trip? Hint: I'm alive now.

Episode 7 is online!

2011-06-10T04:29:00.000-07:00

When we originally came up with the concept for the Un-Road Trip TV show we had planned to include an animated segment in each episode highlighting some local history or additional information on a mode of transportation. We had a lot of these segments written and/or planned out when we realized that we just didn't have the budget or time to produce these more labor-intensive segments. There was one piece we were especially excited about though and we couldn't bear to to lose it. Somehow Todd, (the producer at Halogen), managed to sneak it into the graphics department and get it animated and you can see it here in the seventh episode of the show. You can't miss it - it airs about 16 minutes into the show.

So what do you think? Do you like it? Do you wish we had one of these in every episode? Let me know and then go bug Halogen to order a second season!

The Un-Road Trip Hits New York in Episode 6!

2011-05-31T16:04:00.000-07:00

Check out the latest episode of the Un-Road Trip in which I make my way across New York, Boston, and New Hampshire on Segway PT, cargo trike, and biplane!

Wanna see episode 5? You're in luck!

2011-05-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

Check out my daring escape from Florida, my hydrogen-powered Segway ride, and a surprise appearance by a shopping cart! Go ahead, watch it:

Un-Roading through Florida on Episode 4!

2011-05-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

Wanna see me ride an airboat?

That's not only my favorite pick-up line, it's also what happens in the fourth episode of The Un-Road Trip. So what are you waiting for? Watch here:

WARNING: I make a really bad pun about gopher tortoises in this episode. I'm sorry.

Watch Episode 3 Now!

2011-05-10T11:01:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite episodes is now online! In the third episode of the series I venture into Chicago's underground world of alternative vehicles before heading over to DC for some official governmental meetings! Check it out:

The premiere was a blast!

2011-05-06T14:52:00.000-07:00

Last night I got together with 175 of my closest friends and watched two of my favorite episodes of The Un-Road Trip. It was thrilling and exhilarating (and a little terrifying) to share the show in such a public way and we had a blast! McMenamins Mission Theater hosted us for free and Keen Footwear provided us with some sweet giveaways. And my pals, Aaron Steph, at KGW's Live@7 even sent Joe Smith down to cover the festivities:

Thanks for everyone who came down. It was truly a memorable evening and I'm so glad I could share my first national TV show with all of you!

Watch Episode 2 Now!

2011-05-05T13:01:00.000-07:00

In the second episode of the show I struggle to get through car-centric Los Angeles and it wasn't easy. I always thought I was 'in shape,' but I quickly learned I was very wrong. Especially when it comes to pogo-sticking, kangoo jumping, and row biking.

Also, this is the episode with the camel!

Watch the first episode! Right here!

2011-04-27T09:29:00.000-07:00

Well, it's aired On Demand, it's aired on TV, and now it's airing online! Finally, all you non-cable folks have no excuse for not watching. Check it out below and let me know what you think:

Now go tell your friends!

Tonight's the night!

2011-04-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Wilson High School where we had the official launch of the show. It was super exciting to share the event with about 1,400 kids at my alma mater. They had a ton of great questions and the friendly folks at Halogen TV and Comcast even made a donation to the school (in the form of a giant check) so they can buy a brand new projector screen!

I can't believe we're mere hours from the premiere of the show. I'll be chatting online on facebook/twitter/computer land in case you have any questions. And if you don't get Halogen you can watch the live stream at www.halogentv.com/unroadtrip.

Here we go!

IT PREMIERES TOMORROW!!!

2011-04-21T13:45:00.000-07:00

I'm still not sure how it all happened, but The Un-Road Trip premieres tomorrow! It seems like just yesterday when I hopped on the motorized cooler and started the trip from my folks' house in SW Portland. Turns out it was actually two years ago and in the meantime we've cranked out 10 action-packed episodes chronicling my journey. Here's a new clip package the folks at Halogen put together in honor of the launch:

Recognize that song? It's by my pals, Rabbit! They were nice enough to let me use it on the show.

And we're celebrating this launch in style - we even launched a sweepstakes to win a pair of Keen shoes and a sweet Columbia Sportswear jacket! You can head over to Halogen's Un-Road Trip site to check that out. So go visit the site, watch the show, and tell your friends. Cause that's the only way I'll get to do a second season.

Behind the scenes of the Un-Road Trip!

2011-04-17T20:21:00.000-07:00

The show's just a few days away from premiering and they're starting to release some sweet videos on the Un-Road Trip website over at HalogenTV.com. Here's a fun one we filmed when we were shooting all the introductory bits for the show:

Now aren't you even more excited for the show?

It's a real promo! For my show! And two others!

2011-04-14T09:20:00.000-07:00

The Un-Road Trip premieres a week from tomorrow and Halogen just put out this Earth Day promo with some clips from the show.

Although the show officially premieres next week, the first episode is actually already up on Comcast On Demand. It's in the Top Picks section, under Our Planet: Earth. So go watch the show and let me know what you think! Then start a petition for a second season!

Un-Road Trip Party/Premiere/Screening/Hootenanny in Portland!

2011-04-13T09:38:00.000-07:00

The Un-Road Trip is premiering at the end of next week and we'll be celebrating in a big way in Portland! On Thursday May 5th (aka Cinco de Mayo) we'll be taking over the Mission Theater to screen two of my favorite episodes from the series, share some bonus footage, give out prizes, and have a lot of car-free-fun! Come on by, get a snack, grab a microbrew (it's a McMenamins pub too), and bring your friends! Here are the details:

WHAT: Un-Road Trip Super Special Premiere/Screening

WHEN: Thursday, May 5, 7:00pm - 8:30pm (doors open at 6PM)

WHERE: Mission Theater, 1624 Northwest Glisan Street

COST: Free!

You can RSVP on facebook here. And yes, it's a McMenamins pub but minors are welcome as long as they're with an adult.

See you there!

2 weeks and 1 day away from the launch!

2011-04-07T16:47:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right - the Un-Road Trip premieres on April 22nd. Amazingly it's getting one day closer each and every day! I'm even on the homepage of Halogen TV's website now:

And I just wrote my first blog over there too. Check it out here.

And the beetle keeps marching on...

2011-03-09T09:45:00.000-08:00

I made the front page of the Lincoln Journal Star today with news of my beetle documentary!

Pretty cool - huh? You can read the article online here. And in even better news the project is over 60% funded! So if you haven't jumped on the beetle bandwagon yet, there's no time like the present! Go here to join the party: www.BeetleMovie.com

I like to spend my time with endangered beetles

2011-02-28T16:59:00.000-08:00

So what am I doing until the Un-Road Trip premieres? I've been working on a documentary about one of the rarest insects in the world. And then I realized I needed a little more money to really do it well. So I started a Kickstarter project! I've been a fan of this site for a while. Basically it's a place to fund any creative project you can think up. You choose the amount you need, tell your friends, give rewards to everyone who pledges (sort of like an NPR drive), and then triumphantly finish your project - but you only get your money if you reach your selected goal amount. You get the idea, now check out my project:

Click on the above box to visit my project page and to get involved. And remember - a contribution of 5 bucks goes a long way. And if you pledge you'll get some cool beetle mementos like this awesome block print by Christopher Flanagan:

Now go tell your friends!

T - 3 Months!

2011-02-15T16:48:00.000-08:00

It's crazy to think that after nearly three years of planning, traveling, filming, and editing the Un-Road Trip is a mere three months away from premiering on television. I'm going to have a real TV show. That still sort of blows my mind. There's still work to do - we've only finished editing 5 out of 10 episodes - but we're definitely in the home stretch. The scripts have been written, the narration has been recorded, and now Todd, (the producer of the show for Halogen), has to finish assembling the footage and finalize some graphics. Then we put it out into the world and hope that some people tune in. It actually sounds sort of scary.

In this media rich world that we live in, how are you supposed to draw people's attention to a little TV show? We don't have the budget to put billboards up or advertise in magazines or get my face on a box of cereal. We can do a lot of cool stuff with social media, but millions of other folks are hocking their goods/services online too. All you can do is be creative, be genuine, and hope for the best. I know we have some fun/compelling ideas and hopefully I'll be hitting the road to visit a few cities (without a car, of course) to do some free screenings of the show. While it's certainly daunting I can't help but get enthused after talking to the folks at Halogen who are already working hard to market the show. What they lack in budget they certainly make up for in enthusiasm and a hard-core commitment to the message of the Un-Road Trip. It's really inspiring to be working with these guys and no matter how many folks tune in to watch in May I know we will have fought the good fight. Our ratings may not rival Two and Half Men, but I can think of a lot of reasons why that's a good thing. I have a feeling we'll succeed in finding an awesome niche audience who not only likes the show but gets engaged in the greater discussion about transportation in America and living sustainably. And that sounds pretty good to me.

Kazoo Day A Humming Success

2011-02-02T10:12:00.000-08:00

Last week's National Kazoo Day Celebration at Backspace was a blast! I could tell you all about the plethora of free kazoos (sent by Kazoobie Kazoos) or the thrilling 'kazoo-that-tune' contest or the rockin' melodies provided by the How Long Jug Band - but I'll just let you see for yourself. Here's all two hours of fun condensed into three minutes:

I'm already thinking about more elaborate kazoo hysteria for next year's celebration.

National Kazoo Day Celebration 2011

2011-01-14T10:14:00.000-08:00

It's your favorite time of year - National Kazoo Day! So come on down to Backspace (115 NW 5th Ave, Portland, OR) for Portland's first annual National Kazoo Day Extravaganza!

It's all going down at 7PM, Tuesday, January 25th. Festivities will include:

• A rockin' performance by Portland's own How Long Jug Band (www.howlongjugband.com)

• The premiere of a new kazoo art exhibit by local photographer Daniel Stark (www.danielstarkphotography .com)

• A rare display of pieces from The Kazoo Museum collection - first time on display in Portland!

• Kazoo-related surprises!

It's all-ages, free, and there will be complimentary kazoos* for everyone!

Hope to see you there!

*until we run out
Tell your friends and click here to RSVP!

National Kazoo Month Has Begun

2011-01-05T10:01:00.000-08:00

It's January. Which means that National Kazoo Day (January 28th) is just a few weeks away. But why stop there? The few days around National Kazoo Day naturally turn into National Kazoo Week. And by default that makes January National Kazoo Month. In honor of the occasion I've started a tumblr for The Kazoo Museum and I'll be updating it all month with kazoo related videos, articles, and interviews. Don't worry - I'll still be posting kazoo-related information here too.

I can't think of a better way to get this month started than with a Kazookeylele:

Happy National Kazoo Month everyone!

Kazoos in the News

2010-12-29T09:23:00.000-08:00

The Kazoo Museum just can't stay out of the papers. A few months back a writer from Beaufort Lifestyle contacted me and now there's a great piece about the kazoo factory and museum in their latest issue.

You can read the whole issue on their site, but here's the part about the museum:

It's almost inspirational - isn't it? Are you planning your trip yet?

Welcome Home, From Fred Meyer

2010-12-21T15:18:00.000-08:00

Well, it finally happened. Last week I brought the quest for my favorite Fred Meyer commercial to the internet and this week I got an answer. For those of you not familiar with my quest, you can read my previous post here. Last night I got an email from Norm Myhr, the retiring marketing director of Fred Meyer. Not only was he happy to help, he's the one who came up with the ad! Norm recalls how he first came up with the idea:

I happened to hear Tom Chapin sing this song on "Prairie Home Companion." Very few tunes cut through to me the way this one did. The essence and feeling of the song struck me as perfect song for the holidays, something we all long for in our hearts, no matter how far we wander.

As I recall the creative team at FM did not like it. "Too corny." Program Directors at some stations didn't like it, "Too Country and Western, our listeners are sophisticated urban professionals." Despite the critiques, the Customer seemed to like it, and remember it.

In those days chasing down music was no easy feat. We finally found Tom Chapin's agent, and he graciously agreed to license the tune.

I never realized that the jingle is actually a modified, rewritten, and re-recorded version of Tom Chapin's So Nice to Come Home. Norm also recalled a few things about filming it:

The commercial was shot at a home in Lake Oswego and the cast included almost all Fred Meyer employees. A bit of trivia was that the grandmother was the former "Safeway" spokeslady, Mary Marsh, and the Grandfather was Bob Anderson, long time host of "The Scandinavian Hour" a 50 year radio program in Portland.

I was so giddy when I got this email. I called up a bunch of my childhood friends so I could play it for them over the phone. And they were just as excited as I was. This commercial truly is an Oregon holiday classic. I haven't seen the video for the ad yet, but I'm pretty thrilled just to have the music. Tom Chapin still holds the copyright for the song so it's not really mine to share, but I can't post empty-handed so here's a memorable snippet that I hopefully won't get in trouble for. And I just sent him an email to check if he minded me posting all of it. If you do want to hear the rest of the song shoot me an email.

Sometimes the internet talks about me

2010-12-20T10:43:00.000-08:00

Last week I blogged about my attempts to find my favorite Fred Meyer commercial and yesterday I did a quick search to see whether the ad had surfaced somewhere. It hadn't, but I did find this link. I stumble upon sites like this every once in a while. It seems like there must be some sort of automated program that finds relevant information related to a topic and pastes it together on a page. This page had accumulated a bunch of information related to the holidays and Fred Meyer. It had more than a few typos and grammatical errors:

This company was founded in 1922 in Poland. Fred Meyer has rather ordinary assortment... Also you can visit jewelry section, clothes store, shoes store.

And it mentioned me too:

Fred Meyer is planning to launch new advertisement. They want to support holiday spirit. Famous anchorperson Boaz Frankel (his reality show will soon have a premier) will be the main person in advertisement. During the video spectators will feel winter holiday atmosphere when whole family is together. Boaz Frankel will sing a song about holidays: "Home again for the holidays. My favorite time of year. Yes, it's so nice to come home." And a new advertisement slogan will be: "Welcome home, from Fred Meyer."

Well, I'm not really sure what to make of all this. I do appreciate them mentioning the upcoming premiere of the Un-Road Trip and calling me a "famous anchorperson." I'm also humbled by their recommendation of me as Fred Meyer's newest singing spokesperson. This information may not be accurate now, but I sure hope it all comes true.

Fred Meyer - are you reading this? Apparently, the internet is trying to tell you something.

That Time I Met Zooey Deschanel

2010-12-15T13:37:00.000-08:00

I was sorting through the contents of an old hard drive and stumbled upon this short clip which I had almost forgotten about. It seemed seasonally appropriate and mildly embarrassing so I thought I'd share it. Back in the day when I had my own late night talk show on NYU-TV I often got invited to press junkets. Basically, I'd sit around a hotel full of journalists for an afternoon waiting for my five minute interview slot with an actor or director. The press junket for Elf was one of the first junkets I ever attended and I think I was especially bright-eyed and bushy-tailed during those days. I also had a huge crush on Zooey Deschanel at the time. In fact, I had gone to J. Crew with a friend a few days before where I paid too much for the sweater/shirt ensemble that I'm wearing in this video. I think it was worth it though. As soon as I walked in that room with Zooey she complimented the sweater. And then the interview happened - an excerpt of which you'll see below:

There are a few things that strike me about this interview:

1) I say "sweet" a lot. I guess I still do.

2) I am so completely enamored with Zooey that I don't seem to mind (or possibly notice) that she's mocking me. I think I was just so happy that she knew my name (and said it twice!)

3) I think my naivety won her over by the end though. Doesn't her final glance make it seem like I've won her over? Or maybe she's just resigned to spending a few more minutes with me?

Zooey recently showed up on the twitter scene and on tumblr too. So maybe she'll see this and have some sort of response?

Zooey: Are you there? Do you remember this exchange from seven years ago? Were you won over by my naivety? Can we film another interview this year and then do one every seven years from here on out?

Fred Meyer: Where's the Holiday Spirit?

2010-12-14T11:22:00.000-08:00

In a time where most of the Oregonians I meet were born a long way from Oregon I always appreciate meeting other native Portlanders. For one reason, really. So we can reminisce about local TV commercials from the 80s and 90s. When I meet another native PDXer I can finally bring up topics like Tom Peterson (and Gloria too).

We can discuss the range of Scott "if you don't come see me today" Thomason commercials and his untimely financial demise.

And often times you remember the commercial better than the business itself. I don't think I ever stepped into a Kienows or Organ Grinder, but I remember watching the ads. And what ever happened to that Izzy's Pizza jingle?

And then there's the trump card. The classic TV commercial I always bring up. It must have aired around 15 years ago because I remember singing it with my middle school friends. Fred Meyer's "Home for the Holidays" commercial featured a catchy song and a collection of heartwarming shots: folks driving in the snow, bringing wrapped gifts into a house, family gathering around the tree. I think there were a few verses in an extended version of the commercial, but the cheery refrain - as I recall it - went:

Home again for the holidays
My favorite time of year
Yes, it's so nice to come home

And then a folksy-sounding announcer added, "Welcome home, from Fred Meyer."

As cheesy as it sounds, this commercial will always hold a special place in my heart and that tune will forever be implanted in my mind. So about four years ago I started my quest to track down this commercial. Somehow it hadn't (and still hasn't) surfaced on YouTube so I sent an email to Fred Meyer customer service:

I really miss your old holiday commercials with the "Home again for the holidays" jingle? Any chance of bringing them back or at least of putting them online? I hope so.

Thanks,
Boaz

A week later, Ann from the Marketing Dept wrote back:

Thank you for your nice comments about our Home for the Holidays commercials from years past. These are my most favorite commercials ever used by our company, and I'm with you! Hoping we use them again, or something similar. I loved the sentiment of the spots.

Have a good day, and thanks for sharing.

Ann
Fred Meyer Stores
Sales Promotion & Marketing

At least I found someone who shared my affection for the commercial and I was hopeful that it would surface eventually. But here we are, four years later, and there's still no sign of the ad. So in early November I sent another email asking if there was any way I could get a DVD or even just stop by and watch it at their offices. It took about a month to get a response this time:

Thank you for your interest in our “Home for the Holidays” television spot. Unfortunately, it’s unavailable for viewing. We do appreciate you taking the time to tell us that you and your friends remember that spot—I do too!

Again, thank you and sorry for the delayed response time.

Anne-Marie
VP of Marketing, Fred Meyer

Another brick wall. I emailed Ann-Marie back:

Thanks for getting back to me. I'm so bummed to hear that it's unavailable for viewing! Have you considered putting up a "retro commercial" page on your website or on youtube? I think it could prove to be quite popular locally and get some real traction on twitter/facebook/etc.

I hope you'll consider it.

Best,
Boaz

I'm giving them free marketing advice! This ought to encourage them to take some action - right? Perhaps, but I'm not sure what the next step is. Hopefully by now you remember this commercial too or maybe you're so intrigued that you want to see it? If that's the case then you should send a comment to Fred Meyer customer service! Click here if you want to do that. Or maybe some of you have old VHS recordings that might have the commercial on it? Or maybe you know someone who works at Fred Meyer and can sneak a copy out of the basement?

I'm not going to say that I won't go to Fred Meyer till I see that ad, but I'll be somewhat grumpier every time I do go to Fred Meyer. So who's with me? Let's start a revolution!

I'm a Google Street View Celebrity

2010-12-13T10:54:00.000-08:00

I've been waiting for this moment for over a year. Actually, I think it may have been closer to two years... Okay - I just checked my twitter and I can tell you definitively that it all started on April 7th, 2009. That's when I was walking through Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland, OR and I spotted this:

It's the Google-Maps-Mobile! I'd heard stories and seen photos of these camera-equipped cars that drive down every street in a city. The cameras capture 360 degree views along the way that are then available in the "street view" setting on Google Maps. And there were two exciting things about this:

1) I got to see the Google car that takes the pictures! Cool!

2) I will be immortalized in a Google Street View!

And then came the hard part - waiting. I kept checking the Pioneer Square street view every month, but it would always load the same outdated photo. I was starting to lose hope. But a little bit ago I went online and checked once again.

I realize that the casual Google Maps visitor might not notice anything special. No one's going to be recognizing me on the street for this distinguished honor. But you see that guy with a bright green jacket and jeans in the middle of the square walking straight towards the camera? That's me! Let's zoom in a bit.

Yep, that's me. A little blurry maybe, but people have said that I look a little out of focus anyway. And if that's not enough for ya, the car snapped another shot as I was walking away. Check out this great backpack shot:

Nearly two years of waiting has finally paid off, and it feels pretty awesome. Feel free to navigate around the square yourself and try to find other friends too. This is better than Waldo!

View Larger Map
And to make things even better I got immortalized in the same shot as KGW's Studio on the Square. I'm definitely available to come on the show again and discuss our joint newly found fame! Or I'd be happy to autograph glossy 8x11" glossy Street Views print-outs to anyone interested. You know where to reach me.

Back in Unincorporated South Carolina

2010-12-10T12:08:00.000-08:00

I spent most of this week at Halogen Headquarters. After writing all the scripts for the Un-Road Trip series over the last few months it was time stop editing and record the final versions of my narration.

I spent about a day and a half in this recording booth. But I wasn't alone. Well, I was in the booth - it's pretty small. But on the other side of the glass I was joined by two other folks. Todd's producing the show for Halogen and he was giving me notes on my readings and telling me to slow down or telling me when my ad-libs were too inappropriate. Here's Todd in action:

And manning the sound board was Anthony Short.

And this isn't Anthony's first time working with the Un-Road Trip - he also wrote the theme song for the show (which I wish I could share with you, but I don't even have a copy of it yet).

It was strange to relive the whole trip again - talking through every step of the way and trying to reflect my moods and thoughts from nearly two years ago in my narration. Sometimes I found myself closing my eyes so I could picture the locations, people, and vehicles I was describing. And then I'd open them again because I hadn't memorized the script. But it was a blast and I think we came up with some really funny lines. At least Anthony and Todd were laughing.

I always thought I talk a lot in my normal life, but I've never talked as much as I did in my two days in the recording booth. My throat was surprisingly sore after so many hours of reading narration. I'm still a little hoarse even a few days later. Not to be confused with a little horse:

I also spent a day at the Halogen offices meeting with some folks about marketing plans, future collaborations, and I also got to hang out with Cliff who's doing a lot of the editing for the show:

In this photo he's working on a few bits from the last episode.

And a few other things. Spending time in a recording booth turns everyone into a diva:

And while wandering around the studios I found this:

It's the Ark of the Covenant! And I always thought it was in some government warehouse. Don't worry - I didn't open it. They probably wouldn't let me do a season two of the Un-Road Trip if I had a weird melted face.

Another Day, Another High-Five Attempt

2010-11-18T09:31:00.000-08:00

Seriously? It's happening again?

While looking into the recent attempts to break my Guinness World Record for Most High-Fives in an Hour - there were two this summer - I've found yet another attempt that is set to take place tomorrow:

Commemorate BODIES...The Exhibition's Milestone Anniversary with Guinness World Record Attempt for “Most High Fives in One Hour”

Friday, November 19, 2010- BODIES…The Exhibition will welcome hundreds of tri-state students, downtown residents, NY locals and visitors, to partake in the BODIES 5th Anniversary celebration. We will celebrate five years serving New York City with an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for “Most High Fives in One Hour.” A BODIES representative will have only 60 minutes to slap skin, which is the largest organ in the body, with more than 408 people in order to break the record, which was set in Portland, Oregon in 1996. The public is welcome to join in the record-breaking attempt; in addition to making history, participants will receive a free visit to BODIES…The Exhibition and a commemorative t-shirt.

Friday, November 19, 2010
Check-In: 11:00am – 12:00am
Record Breaking: 12:00pm – 1:00pm

I wonder if these guys know that my record may already have been broken twice this summer. Sheesh. My record went nearly four years without being challenged, and now there have been three attempts in the past six months. Can't a guy get a break?

Sometimes I spend my summers making epic musicals

2010-11-08T09:23:00.000-08:00

For the past five summers I've been running the film-making program over at Willowbrook, a summer arts camp located in Tualatin, Oregon. Kids make dozens of movies every summer, but we also all collaborate on one bigger project. During the summer of 2009 we decided to make our most ambitious film. It was a fifteen minute original musical called The Epic Willowbrook Musical. It was a hit at camp and there was no question what the next summer's movie would be.

So when summer 2010 rolled around we started writing The Epicer Willowbrook Musical during the first week of camp. Filming ramped up by the end of week 2, and by week 4 production was essentially complete. Everything you see below was written, composed, performed, recorded, choreographed, acted, and sung at Willowbrook by Willowbrook campers and staff. And for having no musical background I think I did a pretty good job directing it. Take a look:

Epicer Willowbrook Musical from Boaz Frankel on Vimeo.

My nephews are still singing the songs, so we must have done something right.

Life Unexpected's Unexpected Demise (maybe)

2010-11-03T08:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, fine - I'll admit it. I'm a fan of CW's Life Unexpected. I was going to keep quiet about it, (sort of how I kept quiet about being a Gilmore Girls fan a few years back), but I just learned that the network hasn't ordered additional episodes this year which doesn't bode well for another season. It's not my favorite show on TV, but I do watch it semi-regularly and it definitely deserves at least another season. The episodes are fun and engaging. The characters are quirky. I have a huge crush on Shiri Appleby. It takes place in my hometown (and current residence) of Portland, Oregon. And even though I'm bummed that they do their actual filming in Vancouver, BC, they do fill the show with a bunch of Portland b-roll.

I'm a TV producer myself, (even though it still feels like a lie when I write it), and I'm currently in the midst of post-production for a new TV show. And it won't be perfect. I'm learning new things everyday and it's an exciting experience, but I know it won't be as good as I want it to be. I learn new things every episode and by the time I've learned all these things it's too late to re-shoot or rewrite earlier episodes. But future episodes will be better, and if there's a chance to do a second season then I'll really be able to incorporate all the things I've learned. A show can't be perfect on it's first go-round, but that's what networks are making their decision based on. Or at least they are now. Back in the 80s and early 90s they used to give shows a few seasons to let them find their groove. Many popular shows didn't start out quite so popular and many horrible shows ran for years before they got taken off the air. Hello Larry, (another show based in Portland and starring MASH's McLean Stevenson), might be one of the worst shows I've ever watched but it lasted for two whole seasons. Now, for a quick musical pick-me-up let's watch the intro for season 1 of Hello Larry:

And because I can't help myself, let's watch the intro to season 2 and spot all the changes they made, (including a recast daughter and the addition of a Harlem Globetrotter), to try to unsuccessfully improve the show:

If Hello Larry can get two full seasons, can't we at least get the same for Life Unexpected? What's the rush to get it off the air? So the CW can race to produce a slew of other shows which may find mild success before they take them off the air for yet another show?

And the thing that upsets me the most when I think about Life Unexpected being canceled is how they're breaking up a happy TV family. Not onscreen but off screen. It's clear by watching the twitter feeds how well the cast and crew get along and enjoy working together. I've visited quite a few TV show sets and that's not always the case. I don't think people realize that canceled shows = lost jobs. Sure, CW will be hiring for their replacement show soon but it still sucks losing a job - especially one you really like.

So what now? Do we petition CW? Send VooDoo Doughnuts to their offices? Stage a rally in Portland's Pioneer Square? I'm up for all the above, though I'm not sure if I'm motivated enough to chair any of these efforts. Unfortunately I've been through losing a beloved TV show too many times before. R.I.P. Aliens in America and Andy Barker P.I and Greg the Bunny and of course, Freaks and Geeks. We hardly knew ye, and I hope that Life Unexpected doesn't join you in the TV graveyard quite yet...

How Twitter Saved My Street

2010-10-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

It all started with a morning walk down my street. That's when I saw it for the first time - a small hole in the road. But as I crouched down to inspect it I noticed it was more than just a break in the asphalt. There didn't seem to be any dirt underneath for at least a foot or so. Was it the start of a catastrophic sinkhole? A portal to another dimension? A shortcut to Clackamas? Either way, I photographed it and twittered about it:

And here's the accompanying photo:

Later that morning my pal @Jandroid retweeted my discovery to Mayor Sam Adams' attention and he was pretty quick to respond:

I got back to him with the info and the very next morning when I took my morning walk I discovered this:

Twenty-four hours later a cone and a barricade were already in position over the hole. And there was some official-looking spray painting around the area too. And that's how it stayed for a little over a month. Then late last week I noticed this piece of machinery in the area:

Later that morning the asphalt had been ripped up and they had leveled out the dirt and gravel underneath:

And just a few hours after that the barricade was gone and there were four cones protecting the freshly paved (and hole-free) patch of street. Beautiful.

It was pretty exciting to watch the whole process and it all happened surprisingly quickly. You always hear about all hassle and trouble it takes to get things done in a city, but this got resolved so efficiently. Maybe they call it "the city that works" for a reason. To be completely honest, someone else may have called or contacted the city as well (heck, maybe there was a letter-writing campaign I never heard about), but can we pretend that my twitter started it all? Or maybe Mayor Adams and the folks at the city gov can fill in their side of the story? How do all these things work anyway?

Either way, thanks for fixing my street!

Zombies, Bikes, & Venomous Spiders

2010-10-19T10:09:00.000-07:00

So my pals at BodyVox got in touch with me a few months back and asked if I was interested in producing a few spooky videos for them. They wanted something short and fun to help spread the word on their upcoming Halloween-inspired dance show, BloodyVox. I came up with a long list of zombie/ghost/vampire related ideas, but finally whittled it down to two concepts I was really excited about. I pitched them to BodyVox and they liked both of them so we moved forward and started planning.

There are so many one-take online videos out there and I've always wanted to make one myself. I also really liked the idea of bicycling zombies, and after scouting the Springwater Corridor I found a stretch of the path that seemed perfect. After sending out a facebook message, I recruited a solid group of zombies (thanks Daniel, Chris, and Lisa!) and BodyVox brought some of their dancers and volunteers as well.

I shot this from the back of an Xtra-cycle as my pal MacKenzie pedaled.

This only took about 7 or 8 takes. This was the last take:

A few years back I started making an annual Thanksgiving movie with my nephews and due to popular response (mostly from my family) we started making them for other occasions as well. This seemed like a great opportunity to employ my 5 & 8 year old nephews once again and tackle yet another subject. They're always game for putting on costumes and I'm always impressed by their range of emotion and acting chops:

Stay tuned for our 2010 Thanksgiving movie - coming next month. And don't forget to buy your tickets for BloodyVox!

The Kazoo Museum Has Opened Grandly!

2010-10-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

After weeks of planning, months of research, and too many hours spent on ebay The Kazoo Museum has officially reopened in Beaufort, SC. It's in a whole kazoo complex that's also the home of Kazoobie Kazoos and their factory.

The big event took place on Wednesday, October 6th and it seems like most of Beaufort came out to celebrate.

Rick Hubbard (founder of Kazoobie Kazoos and famed kazoo performer) and Stephen Murray (president of Kazoobie Kazoos) shared some remarks along with a number of local government officials who came out for the big event.

People were really excited to welcome a new attraction to the area, and located about halfway between Savannah, GA and Charleston, SC it really is a convenient location. I gave curated tours to anyone interested and answered quite a few question for interested visitors. I realize I'm incredibly biased, but kazoo history really is quite interesting and we've amassed a pretty nice collection that I think will appeal to most folks.

And the local press came out too. I even got a few mentions. An article in Bluffton Today referred to me as "Kazoo historian and curator of the Kazoo Museum." I like the sound of that. I may get some new business cards printed. There was another great article in The Island Packet. And WTOC from Savannah Georgia did a story for their evening news - though they didn't talk much about the museum opening (but I still get a few seconds onscreen). You can check that out here.

And you can see more photos from the museum and the grand opening here:

If you want some more info on the Kazoo Museum and what all this is about you can check out the museum website here or this old blog post. So are you planning your trip yet?

One episode down, nine to go

2010-09-20T09:05:00.000-07:00

I watched the first episode of the Un-Road Trip TV show last week. It was pretty surreal. The graphics weren't quite finished and the audio wasn't final yet but there it was - twenty some minutes of television about the first few days of my trip. And it was pretty cool. I forgot how many awesome people I met on this trip and it was fun to see all of those folks again. And it's been fun to get back in touch with a lot of them to get new depiction releases for Halogen's legal department. Who knew procuring legal documentation could be so fun?

This pilot episode is now making the rounds at Halogen TV and once it gets approved, (hopefully this week), we'll get started on the remaining nine episodes. I've been recording temporary narration tracks for the show on my laptop in Portland, but I'll head out to North Carolina again in November to lay down the final audio. And in a few short months the TV show will be unleashed into the world.

It's incredible to see how much collaboration goes into a TV show. I know I already wrote about that a few posts ago, but I was looking over the credits for the first episode and it's surprising to see how long that list is. I was trying to remember all the folks who helped out with the first week of the trip and adding them to the "special thanks" section. Did you help with the trip? Want to be in the credits? Let me know and maybe I can squeeze you in.

Time to start the hand exercises again...

2010-09-14T08:27:00.000-07:00

I feared this day might come and it looks like it has. In fact it looks like the day might have come twice this summer. It appears that my Guinness world record for "most high fives in an hour" has been broken. Twice. It all started a few weeks ago when someone mentioned that they had searched online for my world record and found plans for another high-five record attempt in Chicago. ComedySportz in Chicago was attempting to break my record:

After each and every performance of ComedySportz, our players line up and high five the audience on their way out of the theatre. It is a simple gesture of gratitude and camaraderie that has been a part of our show for over 23 years. In short, the High Five is part of our culture and now we will bring the "high-five culture" to the City of Big Shoulders. Especially with so much bad news permeating the headlines, we think this is exactly the kind of fun, positive event that Chicago needs.

The current record for 'Most high-fives in one hour (individual)' is held by Boaz Frankel (USA) who high-fived 408 people at the Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland, Oregon on October 23, 2006. C'mon Chicago, we can do better than that!

It was honestly a little strange to be reading about myself in this context- as "the guy they wanted to beat." I emailed the ComedySportz guys to see how it went and apparently they beat my record by less than a hundred high fives though they were still waiting for verification from Guinness.

Then just a few days ago I heard about another attempt around Chicago at Hoffman Estates High School:

Hundreds of Hoffman Estates high school students slapped hands with their mascot, Flash, Friday afternoon in a bid to smack down the Guinness World Record for most high-fives in an hour.

The current record stands at 408 high-fives. Boaz Frankel set the record at Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland, Ore., on October 23, 2006.

One by one students filed into the football field near the school, delivering a high five -- no underhands, down lows or fistbumps allowed -- to a purple lightning bolt standing outside.

The final tally in the school's effort: 1,363 in one hour.

That's three times as many high fives as I got! That's just over 20 high fives a minute. It looks like I've got my work cut out for me.

I'm already starting to think about my next record re-breaking attempt. In order to high five all those people I'll have to do plan it at a sporting event or parade or something like that. Stay tuned for details...

Shine your kazoos! We're planning a party!

2010-09-08T09:22:00.001-07:00

After weeks of toil, hours spent on eBay, and a soft open a few weeks ago the Kazoo Museum is having an official grand opening! I spent a week in Beaufort, SC in June installing the museum in its new spacious home at the Kazoobie Kazoos Factory and now we're ready to share it with the world! Or something like that. I'm still not exactly sure what this event will include but I guarantee fun, wonder, and definitely kazoos. I'm prepping a short film on the history of the instrument which will premiere at the event and then play year-round in the Kazoo Museum Theatre. The Kazoo-Spectacular will be going down at a yet-to-be-determined time on Wednesday, October 6th. So book those tickets!

I've also been toying with the idea of starting a kazoo podcast. Maybe something quarterly? Anyone have interesting insights on the kazoo and want to be a guest?

Post production is moving along...

2010-09-01T14:55:00.000-07:00

For the longest time the Un-Road Trip was just me. I started planning the trip in August of 2008 and for nearly a year it was just me sitting at my computer, doing lots of research, sending a lot of emails, and looking at a lot of Google maps. And then I set off on the trip in April of 2009 and suddenly a lot more people were involved. So many folks helped me out along the way. They lent me their horses and boats, invited me to spend the night, and offered a ton of helpful advice. Those people really made the trip the amazing experience that it was, and I still keep in touch with a lot of them. In the last few months production has really ramped up on the Un-Road Trip TV show and now the whole Halogen TV family has gotten involved. I can't even track all the folks currently working on it. From what I gather they include musicians writing a theme song, animators creating the show open, editors cutting it together, marketing people planning how to promote, and probably some other people I'm not even aware of. And suddenly there are dozens of people involved in the Un-Road Trip that I've never met. It's a pretty strange/funny/wild thing to have this little project suddenly employing people. So it's bizarre to talk to Todd (who's producing the show for Halogen) and have him show me all these clips created by people who I don't know. During an iChat conversation yesterday Todd showed me a rough cut of a segment from the show:

It was crazy to watch. Sure, I was there but I had no concept of what it would all look like. And I probably still don't have a great idea since when I look at these clips I remember my thoughts during filming and interactions with the off-camera crew. And then came the really wild part. Todd showed me an early version of the animated opening segment of the show. It features a little collage-animated version of me traveling around the world on all sorts of modes of transportation. I had no concept of what the opening would look like and this really blew my mind. I can't believe that a guy I've never met had to sit at a desk somewhere and animate me. So strange. Here's the end of the intro as photographed on my laptop:

It looks pretty sweet and I can't wait to start sharing clips with you guys- thought that probably won't be for another few months.

There's other wacky stuff on the horizon too. My documentary about the endangered Salt Creek Tiger Beetle is coming along, I'm helping to plan a big grand opening for the kazoo museum in South Carolina, and I'm working on a little music video too. Stay tuned!

I think it's time for another trip...

2010-08-23T12:20:00.000-07:00

I've been learning about so many awesome vehicles in the past week or two and I'm starting to feel a little antsy. Being in Portland is nice and all, but hitting the road (or Un-Road) in one of these contraptions sounds pretty darn tempting...

First off if this glass-bottomed hot air balloon. I never did use a hot air balloon during the trip- mostly because their route is pretty unpredictable and it requires a chase vehicle (which seems sorta un-un-roady). But this seems like one heck of a ride and a little terrifying too:

And there's this life-sized Lego car that some guys built in the Phillipines:

I've written about these guys before, but this Bay Area-based airship (aka blimp) company was giving rides in the Pacific Northwest last week. Too bad it cost $725 for a 90 minute ride...

And lastly (for now, since I'll probably hear about something cool later today) there's this adorable three-wheeled camper.

It's like a tiny house on wheels! It's only a concept but I'd be happy to take it cross-country if they build one for me. Are you guys reading this? Maybe Halogen can make another series about that? It is small, but it's also so cute and efficient that I think I'd be up for it. Get in touch!

Back in the paper!

2010-08-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

Flipped through The Oregonian this morning to find my face smiling back at me.

Always a little strange, but it was a fun article by Peter Carlin. He's been one of my favorite writers there for years so it was awesome when he started covering the Un-Road Trip a little over a year ago. This article covers my cross-country journey along with a bunch of my other side projects. It's nice to get some press for my beetles and kazoos too. And hopefully reading about my Tiger Beetle documentary in print will inspire me to finish editing it even sooner! Check out the article here.

Cameras are Rolling on the Un-Road Trip

2010-08-10T11:04:00.000-07:00

It was just about a year ago that I completed the Un-Road Trip and two weeks ago I headed out to North Carolina to tape the final intro and in-between segments for the Un-Road Trip TV show (the series is scheduled to premiere on Halogen in early 2011).

Halogen is cutting together all the footage from my trip into ten 30-minute episodes which will be strung together with a sort of conversational narrative. We wanted to try something new that wasn't a straight-to-camera hosting situation and I think it should be pretty cool (or at least interesting). Essentially the show takes place as I'm presenting a slide show of my trip to pals at my house in Oregon. It moves in and out of video as we count up modes of transportation, joke around, and delve deeper into the trip.

I flew in a few days before the rest of the cast so I could work on the script a bit more and help get the set in order. The set was one of the coolest parts of the shoot. They essentially recreated my house (okay - who are we kidding - I haven't lived anywhere for two years) in a studio in North Carolina. It looked pretty authentic and pretty Oregonian too. It definitely looked like some place I would live. After two days of prep work the rest of the cast arrived and the cameras started rolling. In addition to four cast members, there was a crew of about ten folks. We had three cameramen, a script supervisor, a gaffer, an intern, a producer- even a make-up person to touch us up every few minutes. I've been involved in some big productions before, but never in the middle of them like I was this time.

Take a look at some photos from the shoot:

I think it went pretty well, though it's pretty hard to tell when you're in the middle of it all. Were we funny? Was it interesting? Did I look too pale? The whole crew seemed to think it was going great so I'll have to take their word for it for now. I guess I'll find out for myself in a few weeks when I see the finished pilot.

Post-production is really in full swing now. The theme song's been written, the opening's being animated, and the first episode will start getting cut together next week. It's starting to feel pretty real, and I'll document as much as I can right here. Stay tuned...

Recreating Oregon in North Carolina: A Quick TV Show Update

2010-07-09T18:08:00.000-07:00

In a little over two weeks I'll be flying out to Charlotte, NC to film all the introductory and in-between bits for the Un-Road Trip TV show. We're recreating my house in Portland, OR in a studio in Charlotte, NC where I'll be hosting the show from. Pretty crazy! They've hired DPs and set dressers and gaffers- this is going to be the biggest production I've ever been involved in. I'm collecting various Oregon mementos and souvenirs to place around the set to make it look a little more authentic. And I'm trying to include some fun details on the set and in my outfits since I always like catching that stuff when I watch TV shows. If anyone has any ideas let me know. I'll be taking a ton of photos and video to put up here and also to create some behind-the-scenes featurette for the eventual DVD. Who knows when I'll have my next TV show so I've got to make the most of this!

New & Slightly Improved Trailer

2010-06-29T07:32:00.000-07:00

Remember the original trailer for the Un-Road Trip? The one with Matt Lauer? Well, in anticipation of the upcoming series the trailer has been re-edited with real Un-Road Trip footage! Check it out:

The Un-Road Trip: Coming soon to TV! from Boaz Frankel on Vimeo.

So go ahead and click play and listen to Lauer's familiar timbre as action-packed vehicularly-exhilarating footage plays!

Seattle TV still loves me!

2010-06-20T18:22:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite local pieces covering the Un-Road Trip was produced by Evening Magazine, a nightly magazine show on Seattle's King 5. A few weeks back they called me for an update (I told them about the upcoming TV show) so they could write a new intro for a re-airing of the segment. They really covered the whole trip pretty thoroughly and were even there to cover my rib-shattering fall! Take a look:

The Kazoo Museum Comes Home!

2010-06-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

After over a year of living in boxes in my parents' house the Kazoo Museum has gone out into the world and is once again educating people about the wonders and history of my favorite instrument. A few months back I got an email from Rick Hubbard (aka The King of Kazoos) about the possibility of moving the museum to South Carolina. His company Kazoobie Kazoos had just relocated there themselves and now had a larger space to house a gift shop and visitor center. So a few weeks ago I re-packed and mailed a few boxes from Portland, OR and last week I opened up those boxes in Beaufort, SC. The space is pretty awesome. The building used to be a lighting showroom so it's already an inviting space with more overhead power outlets than you know what to do with.

Rick and Stephen Murray (president of Kazoobie Kazoos) had already purchased six glass cases and arranged them in a cozy nook of the front room. I spent a week with them laying out a chronological exhibit outlining the history of the instrument with antique kazoos, patents, and a lot of new text I wrote up for the occasion.

In addition I also set up a few side exhibits. I really like this mini exhibit about the kazoo as one of the few instruments invented in the USA:

We also did some thrift store shopping to put together this recreation of Thaddeus Von Clegg's workshop where the first kazoo was supposedly built in the 1840s:

The Kazoo Museum is already open for business, though we're in the early stages of planning an epic grand opening celebration in October. So keep you calendar clear and start planning that trip to Beaufort!

Livin' La Vida Un-Road

2010-06-03T05:09:00.001-07:00

Even though I finished the Un-Road Trip about a year ago I still haven't been spending much time in cars. Now I'm on a sort of mini-car-free vacation in South Carolina. Before the trip I bought a folding bike that I'd been eying for a while and it's pretty awesome. As soon as the train arrived in Charleston around 5:30AM I unfolded my bike, hopped on it, and rode into town as I watched the sun rise. I hadn't done a ton of research before I got to Charleston so I was pretty much exploring the town with my bike and iPhone.

Downtown Charleston is fun to bike around- small streets, slow traffic, friendly drivers- though it's a little trickier once you get out of the center of town. Apparently South Carolina is ranked 33rd in the list of bike-friendly states and while some other SC cities (Columbia, Greenville, Spartanburg) are working on building some infrastructure to promote cycling it doesn't seem like Charleston has started on that task. In my few days of riding I've seen two small stretches of bike lanes and a couple of "Share the Road" signs with a picture of a bicycle. Otherwise I've been doing my best to wear bright colors find wide shoulders and ward off reckless drivers. I've had to change a few of my plans after a man at one of the bike shops strongly recommend I stay off some roads, though I've been able to find plenty to do in the area.

Five years ago they did open the massive Ravenel suspension bridge that does accommodate a roomy bike lane:

One of the days I ditched the bike altogether and joined a bike tour to check out one of the many plantations in the area. It's pretty wild to see these places in person after reading about them in my elementary, middle, and high school history books. I love Oregon, but it certainly doesn't have the same sort of colonial, revolutionary, and civil war history that the Carolinas do. And there I was on the Magnolia Plantation looking at former rice paddies and rustic cabins that slaves used to live in. Pretty wild.

Coincidentally I planned my trip during the Spoleta Festival, an annual arts festival that's been going on for over thirty years and is somehow linked to an Italian arts festival. There were literally hundreds of performances happening throughout the week- from blues to jazz to plays to dance pieces to marionette operas. It was tough to decide what to check out, so I ended up seeing five concerts and a one-man-show. A few of the shows were free, so I didn't even have to shell out that much cash.

And after a sweaty nine mile bike ride through the hot and humid streets of Charleston I'm drying off at the Amtrak Station getting ready to board a train to my next desitination- Beaufort, SC- where I'll be reinstalling the Kazoo Museum after a few year hiatus. Stay tuned...

The Un-Road Trip: Coming to a TV near you!

2010-05-28T13:12:00.000-07:00

It looks like it's really happening. The Un-Road Trip is going to be a television show. These things never move very quickly, though this process has been pretty darn speedy. It all started in October when I happened to meet a voice over artist who told me about some spots she had just recorded for Halogen, a new cable channel. The network sounded pretty cool- as they say on their website:

Halogen is a television network featuring empowering entertainment that targets and activates a generation that is willing and ready to give back. With shows, documentaries and short-form films, Halogen offers a variety of lifestyle programming that aims to motivate viewers to leave their mark and make the world a better place.

It sounded like a good fit for the Un-Road Trip so I emailed the head of programming and after a few months of emails and phone calls we decided to make a deal. A few weeks ago we really got things moving when I spent a week at their offices right outside Charlotte, NC. I worked side by side with my newest buddy Todd who will be producing the show (with my assistance, of course). We started the week by digitizing all my footage from the Un-Road Trip and importing it into the Halogen mega-computer. Then we went through every single clip- and there were a lot of them- and I talked Todd through every city, vehicle, person, and mishap on the journey.

That part took a long time. About three and a half days to get through the nearly thirty hours of video. And then on Thursday afternoon it was time to get creative. We started filling up the white board in Todd's office with every city and major mode of transportation on the trip. And then we started talking about them in terms of episodes so we could break them up into bite-size 30 minute chunks. Although in television 30 minutes really means 22 minutes. And 22 minutes actually means four separate 5 minute segments. Which isn't a lot of time to squeeze in a 12,000 mile journey. We broke the trip into 10 separate episodes- which is more than I initially expected- and suddenly it started to feel pretty real.

And it got more exciting from there. Todd and I spent Friday discussing the framework of the individuals episodes. How would they be introduced? What would the graphics look like? How would the narration work? What kind of music would we use? I wanted to make some interesting choices and create something that would look/sound/feel unique and incredibly Todd was thinking the same thing. One of my primary goals was to figure out a way to host the show without talking to camera and doing cheesy introductions and segues. We talked over a lot of options and I think we found a solution that seems more casual, genuine, and hopefully funnier. I'm not going to go into our scheme quite yet as we're still figuring out details, but hopefully it will turn out cool. And if not I might have to blame it on Todd.

The week flew by and I was back in DC before I knew it. I've been emailing and talking with the folks at Halogen and everything seems to be moving along amazingly well. It's hard to believe that this TV show is really happening. I'll be meeting up with Todd again soon to film some of the introductory pieces and record some narration and hopefully I'll find out our premiere date soon.

I always hoped the Un-Road Trip would have a second life after the journey and it's beyond exciting to be able to share the story with a wider audience with help from Halogen. I have no doubt that we're going to create something that's engaging, unique, and fun. Hopefully it'll be good too.

I Still Love Alternative Transportation

2010-02-09T15:55:00.000-08:00

I can't seem to get over my love of unusual vehicles and transportation, so when I got the opportunity to produce a video for the Smithsonian's website it didn't take me long to decide on a topic...

Check it out:

I'm a Real Pioneer

2009-12-16T18:59:00.000-08:00

At least that's what Columbia Sportswear says. I entered their video contest a few months back, and they chose my entry as the winner. So thanks Columbia! Honestly, I'm not exactly sure what this new title means. I guess I can put "Pioneer" on my business card now. And maybe on the back of my hoody. And speaking of clothes, they're giving me $500 worth of Columbia Gear. They have these fancy videos on the site about their other pioneers- maybe I'll get one of those? For now you can see a small photo of me on a hydrobike on their site here. I'll let you know if I learn anything else about my new position...

Happy Hannukah/Channuka/Xanuka

2009-12-11T08:07:00.000-08:00

In honor of the holiday I'm taking a trip down memory lane to the time I taught Sarah Silverman to play dreidel. It was the winter of 2006 and her film, Jesus is Magic, was just about to hit theatres...

It's pretty surprising that she never knew how to play the game, and I just hope she's put those skills to use since.

And what do I want for Channukah? A glockenspiel. Really. But don't go rushing to your neighborhood music store because my mom already ordered me one. Stay tuned for some elaborate glockenspiel/kazoo tunes coming your way...

Un-Road Trip: December Update

2009-12-09T09:08:00.000-08:00

Even though the physical trip may have ended the journey is far from finished. I'm still plugging away on editing the Un-Road Trip documentary. I'm currently sorting out how I'll string it all together. It will be in chronological order, but I want to do something interesting with the narration. Maybe I could film narration sequences as I ride modes of transportation that I didn't get to last spring, (dog sled? innertube? ostrich?). Or maybe I should film narration as though it's a presentation I'm delivering- like Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth- except I'd be delivering it to a class of kindergartners or something. Or maybe you have a better idea?

I've been talking to some cool folks in DC about working together as well. I met with Planet Green a few weeks back and this morning I had a great chat with some people at the Earth Day Network. Hopefully I'll be able to segue this trip into some more fun content.

And I'm still talking a lot with the people who made the trip possible- my corporate partners. Keen Footwear recently had me put together a short recap of the trip to show at their global sales meeting. It was a lot of fun to edit together, and it forced me to play with the footage in new ways that I think will help make the final documentary even better. And I've been chatting with Columbia Sportswear too, though that stuff is still top secret. It won't be for long though.

And in Un-Road Trip style I'll be taking the train home to Portland in two weeks. This will be my fifth time riding Amtrak cross-country, but my first time doing it in winter. I'm really looking forward to seeing Glacier National Park in the snow. I'll make sure to take a lot of photos and videos.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T10:28:00.000-08:00

My nephews and I have a Thanksgiving tradition. Actually, this is only our second year doing it so I'm not sure if it counts yet. Anyway, we get together and produce a short film for the holiday. This year Gavi (age 7) and Ezra (age 4) give their spin on the origins of Thanksgiving. Check it out:

A Thanksgiving Story from Boaz Frankel on Vimeo.

Have a rockin' holiday!

Un-Road Trip's Still in the News

2009-10-12T08:10:00.000-07:00

Folks keep on clamorin' for more Un-Road Trip , or maybe they're just late to the party. Either way, Earth Techling just published a nice interview about the trip. It was interesting to reflect on the trip now that I've had a few months to think about the experience. You can check out the piece here.

And I'm still working on ways to segue the Un-Road Trip into some other projects. I'll be meeting up with Planet Green, Discovery's green-themed channel to discuss ways we might be able to work together. I'd love to take the Un-Road Trip to other countries, and I've got some ideas for some other related programming too. They already air a bunch of awesome environmentally conscious shows, and I think I could be a fun addition to their line-up. I've got pages of ideas, and they're bound to like some of them. I'll keep you posted.

And the editing process continues on The Un-Road Trip Documentary. I honestly thought it would go faster, though I guess I underestimated how much time it would to take to organize and arrange all this footage. A friend recently challenged me to finish it up by March 16th, which sounds like a pretty good goal.

In other news, I just discovered that as of this weekend I'm now over 10,000 days old. 10,000 feels pretty good. I think I'll have to plan a party for 20,0000.

I'm a Columbia Pioneer (with your help)

2009-10-05T16:25:00.000-07:00

Columbia Sportswear helped me out on the Un-Road Trip, so when I heard about this contest to become the next Columbia Pioneer I figured I was a shoe-in. Or I'd least have a shot. Either way, here's how they describe the position:

Intrepid lovers of the outdoors, they embody a spirit of unconventional exploration. Simply put: they love the outdoors, and they aren’t afraid to find their own ways of showing it.

Current Pioneers include tundra golfers, an off-road unicyclist, and Todd & Shelly Twilbeck who find nice spots in the woods and sit there. An Un-Road Tripper sounds like a natural fit- doesn't it?

You can watch the video I submitted and vote for me by clicking below:

Eastward Bound

2009-09-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

In a few days I'll be heading east. Last time I went to the east coast it took a few weeks, a camel, six train rides, a couple bikes, a few dozen Clif Bars, two pairs of Keen shoes, and a pogo stick. This time I'm just taking a plane. I'll be visiting some friends in New York and Boston before I head down to Washington DC in search of a job. In preparation for the trip I've printed up some shiny new business cards and launched a new website- GoBoaz.com -to serve as an umbrella site for the the various projects I've been working on. I can point prospective employers there, and hopefully they'll want to hire me. If you know anyone who may want to hire me, feel free to send them the link.

In Un-Road Trip news- I've been writing my application for the Oregon Media Arts Fellowship. I'm hoping to secure some funds to cover post-production costs for the Un-Road Trip documentary. I'm editing together some footage from the journey to submit along with my application- I'll post it here when I finish.

Feeling Stationary

2009-09-09T09:41:00.000-07:00

After a year of constant traveling- from Australia to the Un-Road Trip- staying in one place for a few months is a little unnerving. Especially since I have no clue what's coming next. Though I'm certainly not lounging around in the meantime. I'm keeping busy editing Un-Road Trip footage and seeing how I can keep that ball rolling and segue the journey into other projects. Meanwhile, I'm also looking for jobs in DC. And I'm developing a personal website too. I have various projects that I've worked on over the years, and I figured it would be nice to have an umbrella site that links to all of them. After some heated debate and discussion I settled on GoBoaz.com- which currently links to UnRoadTrip.com, but will soon be its own site.

I've been rummaging through old hard drives to look for possible video to put up on the site, and I found a reel I edited together a few years back for Clips & Quips, (the offbeat entertainment show I hosted/produced that aired at college TV stations across the country). You can watch highlights from my occasionally embarrassing interviews with celebrities below. It features George Clooney talking about suspenders, Samuel L. Jackson flossing, my appearance on a soap opera, and one of my favorite interviews ever- with This American Life host Ira Glass.

Clips & Quips from Boaz Frankel on Vimeo.

So many memories...

Where I've Been

2009-08-18T17:45:00.000-07:00

It's been a whirlwind summer. The morning after I got back from the Un-Road Trip I was off to Willowbrook, a summer arts camp where I was running the film making program. So what did I do over six weeks with hundreds of campers? We made an epic musical!

Epic Willowbrook Musical from Boaz Frankel on Vimeo.

And now that camp's over I'm turning my attention back to the Un-Road Trip. Last week I started digitizing and organizing all my footage. It's fun to look back at all the things I filmed, though I think this will be a long process. I hope it continues to be fun...

Watch the Abridged Version!

2009-07-07T07:17:00.000-07:00

12,000 miles, 101 modes of transportation, 32 states, 10 weeks, 3 pairs of shoes, 2 countries. Watch the very abridged version of the Un-Road Trip:

Un-Road Trip: 12,000 miles and 101 modes of transportation from Boaz Frankel on Vimeo.

Music by Paul Gude, Sylvan Goldberg, Tullycraft, and Coconut Records.

12,000 miles down

2009-07-03T17:38:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe the Un-Road Trip's all over. Last Sunday morning I took the train into Portland's Union Station where I was met by my friend Peter and Phillip of Metrofiets.

The folks at Metrofiets handbuild custom cargo bikes that carry everything from children to lumber and everything in between. But even with a large cargo hold, it still rides pretty much like a regular bike. I hopped on board as the cargo, as Phillip pedaled me down to waterfront park. That's where I met up with Mitch, Oregon's only owner of the Go-One. It's a German made velomobile- basically a recumbent bike in an aerodynamic shell.

It's not cheap, but it does cut down on a lot of drag and it was really fun to pedal down Waterfront Park. Next, Peter and I headed over to the Portland Aerial Tram.

It opened a few years back to transport people from the waterfront up to OHSU in the west hills. It's a twenty minute drive, but only a four minute tram ride. In addition to being a time-saving way of getting around, it's also become a tourist destination with it's awesome views of downtown, Mount Hood, and Mt. Saint Helens.

After a roundtrip tram journey, Peter and I got picked up by Jonathan Magnus of PDX Pedicab.

The company's been around for a few years and it looks like business is doing pretty well. Though there are a few pedicab companies in Portland now, PDX Pedicab was the first one in town. As Jonathan explained, in a biking city like Portland it only made sense to have some sort of bike taxi available. I got dropped off at Keen Footwear headquarters to prep for the Un-Road Trip party. All the photos from the party were taken by my pal and incredibly talented photographer, Daniel Stark.

There were a bunch of fun electric vehicles to zoom around on including Hammacher Schlemmer's 14 MPH cooler, GoPet Electric Scooters, and some awesome vehicles from Scoot On This. People zoomed around as Seattle jugband sensation, The Dexter Street Stompers, played two short action-packed sets.

I also talked a bit about the trip, showed off my recent longboard injury, and played a video of nearly all the modes of transportation, (including video from mere hours ago on pedicab, cargo bike, tram, and velomobile).

To see more of Daniel's photos and watch some video of the jugband in action, check out his post on the party over on his blog.

And then it was time to wrap up. I got a ride most of the way home with Gary, a member of Oregon Electric Vehicle Association, who did an electric conversion of his Insight.

I walked back the last mile or so, and ten weeks and one day later I was back to where I started- my parent's house in Portland.

Awesome story on Evening Magazine

2009-07-01T22:28:00.001-07:00

I met up with KING 5's Evening Magazine when I was in Seattle last week and they put together what's probably my favorite segment on the Un-Road Trip. Check it out here.

Video from Idaho

2009-06-30T06:43:00.000-07:00

The Un-Road Trip reaches Sandpoint, Idaho and traverses the state on train, seaplane, and bicycle.

Day 65 - 66 from Boaz Frankel on Vimeo.

Special thanks to Paul Gude for composing and recording the song featured in this video.

Nearly 100 with 1 day to go

2009-06-27T22:06:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy few days in Seattle, and somehow this Un-Road Trip is coming to an end tomorrow. But first a quick recap of my other modes of transportation in Seattle.

#93 - Escalator up to the monorail at Westlake Center

#94 - Monorail from Westlake Center to Seattle Center

#95 - Elevator to the top of the Space Needle

#96 - Roller Skates

I stopped by my former place of employment, Groupee, and borrowed them from my friend Paul. I skated around the office, but soon realized that I didn't actually know how to roller skate. I guess I haven't done it in about ten years, and now that I think of it I'm not sure if I ever really knew how to skate.

#97 - Rowboat

I headed down to the Center for Wooden Boats on Lake Union, rented a rowboat, and paddled out to the middle of the lake. It was a beautiful day for rowing, but rowing by myself was a little complicated as the rower faces backward and there was no one to tell me that I was about to hit a boat. I didn't actually hit a boat, but I may have come close.

#98 - Streetcar

From South Lake Union I hopped on the streetcar to get back downtown. And with only two more modes of transportation to reach 100 I think I should be able to make it. In Portland I'm planning on riding velomobile, pedicab, and the aerial tram.

And lastly, don't forget the Un-Road Trip party coming up tomorrow, Sunday June 28th from 4-6PM at the Keen Footwear Headquarters in Portland (926 NW 13th Ave # 210). There will be alternative transportation to check out, a performance by jugband sensation The Dexter Street Stompers, food to eat, and new videos to watch. Hope to see you there!

Video from Milwaukee

2009-06-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

Milwaukee, Wisconsin here we come! I have a hard time keeping the 'Laverne & Shirley' theme song out of my head as I explore the city by cargo tricycle, electric Alfa Romeo, and Hydro Bike!

Day 61 - 63 from Boaz Frankel on Vimeo.

The Race to 100 Continues in Seattle

2009-06-26T10:42:00.000-07:00

I started yesterday morning on foot with 86 modes of transportation under my belt, but by the end of the day I would surpass 90. I headed down to Westlake Center, a shopping center in Seattle, where I met up with Paul and Chris, two former co-workers and current friends. Paul's written all the original songs in the Un-Road Trip videos, and Chris filmed the very first Un-Road Trip promo video. Paul was going to provide me with my 87th mode of transportation:

Piggyback ride! On Paul's back, I traveled about a block down 5th Avenue as Chris documented the ride. Next I was headed to Play it Again Sports, who generously loaned me a bike for the day. I biked along Lake Union to The Electric Boat Company, who offered to take me across the lake in one of their Duffy Electric Boats. That's also where I met up with Michael and Mark of KING 5's Evening Magazine. They were joining the journey for the afternoon to film a piece for the show. I wheeled my bicycle onto the boat, and we were off across the lake.

I was dropped off at a dock on the other side and rode over to Inner Space Skatepark in Fremont. I've never been on a skateboard before, but I was excited to learn. Mike, who started the indoor skatepark a few years back, gave me a few tips and coached me as I took my first few kicks and rolled forward a few feet.

The skatepark was full of dozens of preteens zipping by and over various ramps. I was the annoying beginner, zig-zagging through the room, but everyone was amazingly supportive. The kids would clap for me when I didn't fall off, told me I was doing great, and one ten-year old even offered, "you're better than I was when I first got on a skateboard." I took a few tumbles, but I managed to skate across the room and even down one of the small ramps. As I successfully made it down that ramp, the kids took their skateboards and banged them against the ramp in triumph. I was not only pretty proud to call myself a remedial skateboarder, but I felt like I was part of the gang.

Next I headed to my friend and jugband colleague, John Brown's house on the other side of the bridge. He had proposed a pretty unique mode of transportation on twitter a few days before, and I couldn't pass up the offer. My 89th mode of transportation would be puppy-pulled longboard. As we were about to head out with the puppy, I noticed a wheel barrow in John's yard and fit in another quick mode of transportation. Then we headed down to the Burke Gilman trail, I fastened my helmet, stepped onto the longboard, and took the leash from John. John instructed Zulu, the puppy, to run, and I was suddenly zooming down the path. I was still figuring out how to balance, and after a few seconds I stumbled off the board and was simply running behind the dog. I decided to try again, and within a few seconds I was speeding down the path again. I was going pretty fast as I noticed Zulu veering a bit towards the grass and dirt... Next thing I knew I was sliding across the ground in a sudden wipeout. I sat up, then stood up, then decided to sit back down again. I was pretty winded and a little out of it. I wasn't too badly bruised, except for the rough patch on my elbow.

I felt better after a few minutes and hopped back on the bike to head back over to Fremont and the Dutch Bike Company. Fritz and Stephan invited me to take out their 7-person conference bicycle. But first, I had to find six friends to bring along. I didn't have to look very far. I realized it was the perfect opportunity to reunite The Dexter Street Stompers, Seattle's jugband sensation, for whom I play kazoo. We loaded our instruments on board- easy for a kazoo and jug but not so easy for a washtub bass.

Then we hit the streets, playing our tunes as we pedaled up and down Ballard Avenue. People seemed pretty happy to see us- even the motorists who were forced to slow down as we blocked most of the lane.

I'm really looking forward to seeing video of this. We returned the bike to the store, and I chatted with Fritz and Stephan about their range of vehicles.

They sell a true cargo bicycle, different from most of the cargo trikes I've seen as it only has two wheels. I took it for a test ride before I hopped in the front and became the cargo as Fritz pedaled. And there I had mode of transportation number 92. I think I can almost see 100 now. Stay tuned...

A Quick Seattle Post

2009-06-26T06:47:00.001-07:00

I'm heading over to KING 5, Seattle's NBC affiliate to do an interview on the morning news, but after that I'll have time to post a more thorough post about yesterday. Here are two photos to pique your interest though...

Come back later to hear the action-packed stories.

The Un-Odorant Goes Everywhere

2009-06-25T20:20:00.000-07:00

Crystal deodorant takes the ultimate test as it travels beyond the underarm...

The Un-Odorant Goes Everywhere from Boaz Frankel on Vimeo.

Thanks to Crystal for sponsoring the trip!

Can I get to 100?

2009-06-24T12:03:00.000-07:00

So far I've used 86 modes of transportation, and I'd really love to get to 100. My 86 modes have consisted of:

1. Motorized Cooler
2. Walking
3. Tandem Bike (with Mayor Sam Adams)
4. Amtrak Train
5. BART Commuter Rail
6. Ferry
7. Motorized Yacht
8. Inflatable Motor Boat
9. Electric Golf Cart
10. Agricultural Helicopter
11. Horse Drawn Wagonette
12. Bike
13. Duffy Electric Boat
14. Hobie Pedal-Powered Kayak
15. Harley Motorcycle
16. Pi Electric Bike
17. Electric Shuttle Bus
18. Tesla Roadster
19. Catamaran
20. Los Angeles Subway
21. Kangoo Jumps
22. Spring-Powered pogo Stick
23. Pneumatic Pogo Stick
24. RowBike
25. Natural Gas Bus
26. Xtracycle
27. Camel
28. Kick Scooter
29. Walking Rickshaw
30. Wine Bike
31. Pedal-Powered Drum Tank
32. Gramophone Bike Cart
33. Electric Ladder Machine
34. Water Taxi
35. Secret Senate Subway
36. Paddle Boat
37. Airboat
38. Horseback
39. Flats Boats
40. Kayak
41. Hotel Luggage Cart
42. Motorboat
43. Sailboat
44. Electric/Diesel Hybrid Boat
45. Electric GEM Taxi
46. Vegetable Oil Powered Ambulance
47. Electric Lawn Mower
48. Shopping Cart (pushed by Lauren Ponder)
49. Fuel Cell Powered Segway
50. Folding Bike
51. Unicycle
52. Powerwings Razor Scooter
53. Industrial Cargo Tricycle
54. Pedal Powered Surrey
55. Sail Powered Land Cruiser
56. All Terrain Pedal Buggy
57. Recumbent Tricycle
58. Razor Electric Scooter
59. Greenwheel MIT Electric Bike
60. Biplane
61. Segway PT
62. PUMA
63. Paragliding
64. Geometric Reciprocating Pedal Bike
65. Sike (Snow Bike)
66. Paddle Surfing
67. Pick Up Truck Bike
68. Penny Farthing
69. Treadmill Bike
70. Handcycle
71. Hula Bike
72. Recumbent Bicycle
73. Kick Bike
74. Family Truckster
75. Horse-pulled Carriage
76. CouchBike
77. Tandem Recumbent Bicycle
78. Light Rail
79. Cushman Electric Cart
80. Rollercoaser
81. Electric Convenience Vehicle
82. Converted Ford Focus
83. Pedal-Powered Pub
84. ZAP 3 Wheel Pick-Up Truck
85. Hydro Bike
86. Float Plane

In Seattle I already have plans to ride a conference bike, monorail, street car, row boat, electric scooter, escalator, and get a piggy back ride. That brings me up to 93, but I'm still looking for 7 more modes of transportation. Any ideas?

It's a Long Train Ride to Idaho

2009-06-23T21:32:00.000-07:00

I got on the train Sunday afternoon and thirty-some hours later I finally arrived in Sandpoint, Idaho. Of course, a lot happened in between. Especially as we got into Montana and started riding through Glacier National Park.

It's pretty stunning scenery and I even forgot about the lack of power outlets on Amtrak trains for a few hours as I watched the mountains go by. And then it got dark outside, and I wished that I could charge my laptop...

At around 1:40AM this morning, (about two hours late), the train pulled into Sandpoint, Idaho and got off the train at the nearly abandoned train station. I ventured outside and followed the directions I vaguely remembered from an email message I had received before my cell phone lost power. And as I crossed over a bridge into downtown, I realized that these are the moments I'll really miss after this trip is over. There's something exciting about walking around a city you've never been and finding a place you've never seen in the middle of the night. It turns out I remembered the directions pretty well, and within a few minutes I was walking up to the Inn at Sand Creek and picking up the keys they had hid for me.

They had generously put me up in a spacious and comfortable suite and after living in a train seat for nearly two days it was a welcome sight. After a great, (though brief), night of sleep I was up before 8AM to get ready for the day. I walked over to Outdoor Experience to talk with Kevin about borrowing a bike for the day.

They're just starting a cruiser rental program, and I was the very first customer, (though they were nice enough to lend me the bike for free). I even gave them some feedback on their rental forms. Here's the official inaugural rental in action:

I rode the shiny new cruise on an awesome bike path for three miles down to Dover, Idaho. That's where I met up with Steven of Sandpoint Seaplane Service.

He's been flying float planes for years, starting in Alaska, and he moved down here a few years back. In Alaska, Steven made deliveries to remote areas in the northern part of the state, but now he's primarily giving visitors to the area a unique view of the surrounding lake and mountains. I climbed aboard, buckled my seat belt, put on my headphones, and we were off- gliding on the water for a few minutes before we took off over Lake Pend Oreille.

It was a pretty spectacular ride. I thought it was beautiful from the ground, but it was breathtaking from the air. I said goodbye to Steven and rode back to downtown Sandpoint where I met up with Jim, an active member of Pend Oreille Pedalers, the local cycling club. Jim uses bike as his primary modes of transport, and though he sometimes has to get around in his car he certainly puts more miles on his cycle than on his automobile. The Pend Oreille Pedalers have been working on a lot of neat projects, including an action-packed bike week full of dozens of cycle-related activities and events. They held an incredible successful "Bike to Work/School" day, where hundreds of kids rode to school. And even more impressive- a lot of them rode to the school the following days as well.

I returned my bike to Outdoor Experience and checked out the A2B, an electric bike they selling. It's made by a company called Ultra Motor, and I'm embarrassed to say that this is the first I've heard of them on this journey.

I took it for a spin around the block and it was a pretty powerful ride. It reminds me of a more angular version of the Pi Electric Bike, though this one looks more like a motorcycle.

And now I've got a long evening ahead of me until my Seattle-bound train arrives at 11:40PM. Actually, I just checked the schedule and it's already thirty minutes late. Hopefully it won't be two hours late like last night...

Crystal Rides the Rails

2009-06-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

My Crystal deodorant and I made it through the 30-plus hour journey from Minnesota to Idaho.

Thanks to Crystal for supporting the trip!

Video from the Twin Cities

2009-06-23T16:51:00.000-07:00

The Un-Road Trip travels to the twin cities to check out Mineapolis, Saint Paul, and the not-so-small city that is the Mall of America. Also, a pedal-powered pub and an electric Ford Focus!

Day 58 - 60 from Boaz Frankel on Vimeo.

Special thanks to Paul Gude for composing and recording the songs featured in this video.

One week till the end (and the party)

2009-06-22T07:33:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe I'll be arriving in Portland next Sunday and this Un-Road Trip will be all over. It's been a whirlwind of interesting vehicles, amazing people, and beautiful places. I've biked farther, slept less, walked longer, and sweated more than I ever have before, (but thanks to Keen Footwear my feet don't hurt, and thanks to Crystal I still smell good). And hopefully I have some good footage and stories to show for my travels. I'm getting excited about looking over all my footage and seeing what all this raw video turns into. But before I get to that...

If you're reading this blog you are officially invited to the Un-Road Trip wrap party on Sunday, June 28th from 4PM - 6ish. It should be an action-packed few hours complete with:

• a performance by Seattle jugband sensation, The Dexter Street Stompers

• free socks from Keen Footwear

• test rides on some alternative vehicles

It will all be taking place in downtown Portland. If you can make it, send me an email at boaz(at)unroadtrip(dot)com, and I'll send you the location.

Hope to see you there!

A Weekend in Wisconsin

2009-06-21T09:49:00.001-07:00

Friday morning I called the boat rental shop again to see whether they'd be renting Hydro Bikes that day. It had been extremely stormy the night before, and their dock had flooded so they wouldn't be open at all that day. The forecast was looking good for the weekend though, so I wasn't giving up yet.

I went downstairs to the lobby of The Pfister Hotel and met up with Joe Kurth, the general manager of the hotel. He took me around the hotel, pointing out some of their Victorian art collection, (which is the largest one in any hotel), as well as the ballroom, and amazing views from the top floor. He also took me by the artist in residence studio, which is part of the new program they started a few months ago. Reginald Baylor is the first artist in residence. He'll be working out of a studio in the hotel for a year, interacting with hotel guests, and eventually leaving a piece behind when his residency is up. It's the first program of its kind, and it seems like a pretty cool one.

Next I met up with Dana, who does marketing for The Pfister Hotel and some others in the area. The Intercontinental Hotel nearby recently got a cargo tricycle to do some food deliveries and Dana arranged to let me borrow it for the morning.

Then the rain started falling and I decided to return the bike before I found some cover in the Milwaukee Public Market- a fun collection of restaurants, bakeries, coffee shops, and various food merchants. The rain stopped just in time for me to make it to the train station for my shortest Amtrak ride yet. After ten minutes on board I got off at the Milwaukee airport station where I was met by Chris and his converted Alfa Romeo. Chris started up K-Man Auto and Scooter, Wisconsin's first electric vehicle dealership.

Chris has done a number of electric conversions over the years, but this was a special project. He bought the Alfa Romeo from a junkyard for $300 and wanted to see how cheaply he could build an electric car. He sold the engine out of the car for $300, (so the car was free), and has spent $5,000 on the conversion. It runs pretty well now, with a range of around 20 miles. We drove around a bit and picked up some frozen custard from Leon's, a Milwaukee institution, which was amazingly good. We stopped by his shop to see a few projects in progress before we hopped in a ZAP! three-wheeled truck and returned to the airport station.

After another short train ride I started my walk to my home for the weekend- Marc and Bonnie's house. I was put in touch with Marc the day before and he had generously invited me to be their guest for a night or two. Marc has worked on a lot of unique photo/video projects of his own, and it was awesome to hear about the,. Since July of 1999, he's been taking a polaroid photo of himself everyday.

Here's what one box of the pictures looks like. And this is just a small percentage of the collection. Next month, after ten years of taking the photos, he's going to put an end to the project. Now he's sorting out what he's going to do with this documentation of his life. He's assembled an exhibition of a few years of photos and he's been putting together some videos too. Here's one of them:

On Sunday morning I called the boat rental place at 10AM, and got the answer I'd been waiting for. The Hydrobikes were available for renting! So I headed down to Juneau Park Paddleboats at the Veteran's Park Lagoon, put on a life jacket, and hopped on a hydro bike for my 84th mode of transportation.

It moved through the water a lot faster than I expected, and it's very stable. I couldn't imagine taking it into any seriously moving water, though Tim, (of Juneau Paddleboats), told me some people have done the Mississippi upstream in a Hydrobike. Either way, it was a very pleasant ride.

And now I've found some WiFi before I depart on a 30 hour train ride to Idaho. I hope they have power outlets in these train cars, though I'm not holding my breath...

Twin Cities Live covers my trip to the mall!

2009-06-20T16:56:00.000-07:00

Twin Cities Live, a local afternoon talk show, followed me around when I visited the Mall of America this past week and captured all the excitement in this segment:

This is totally different from any other segment I've filmed with local affiliates along the way. It was fun to "host" the piece, and they really edited this together in a fun way. Thanks to producer Sarah and cameraman Nick for coming out!

Video from Ontario

2009-06-19T10:06:00.000-07:00

The Un-Road Trip rolls through Ontario on some of the most unique bikes in Canada. See the treadmill bike, penny farthing, CouchBike, and more in action as we travel over 100km.

Day 53 - 55 from Boaz Frankel on Vimeo.

Thanks to Brent Curry of Bicycle Forest for making this leg of the trip possible. And thanks to Evan Nisenson for filming most of this episode.

Extra special thanks to Paul Gude for composing and recording the songs featured in this video.

A Car-Free Trip Across (the Mall of) America

2009-06-18T19:48:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, as my trip to the Twin Cities was approaching, I sent an email the Mall of America. I figured that at such a huge complex, there were bound to be some unique modes of transportation. Within a few hours I received a phone call and Bridget, a PR Coordinator for the mall, was not only supportive of the trip but she was more than happy to set up a tour including some new forms of transit.

So yesterday morning I boarded the light rail in Minneapolis and rode it to the end of the line- The Mall of America. Bridget met me along with a TV crew from Twin Cities Live, and we headed into the largest mall in the USA.

We followed Bridget into one of the back entrances and within a few minutes we were riding an electric cart through the underground tunnels of the Mall of America. It takes a lot of people to make the Mall of American run smoothly, and we met up with Lydell, one of the guys in charge. He showed us around the recycling center, which was a pretty huge operation. A few times a week, people sort through the waste, separating out bottles to recycle and food to send to hog farms. Another impressive fact about the mall- they have no heating system. So how does the mall stay warm during the long winter months... I'm still not exactly sure, but it's quite impressive.

Next we headed down to Nickelodeon Universe, an amusement park in the center of the mall, where I experienced one of the most fun modes of transportation- roller coaster.

I'm in the last occupied car, wearing the green shirt. There some pretty hardcore rides, though I chose one of the calmer roller coasters, (the one that didn't go upside-down).

Next I hopped on an Electric Convenience Vehicle- basically one of those electric carts that you see people using in supermarkets.

I threw my backpack in the basket in front and rode (very slowly) to Underwater Adventures- the aquarium underneath the mall. We checked out the sharks, rays, and sawfish from the moving walkway that leads through an underwater tunnel. Then I said goodbye to the Twin Cities Live folks and Bridget and I explored the mall on my own for a bit. Not only is there a theme park and aquarium inside the mall- there's also a special retail-focused high school and a wedding chapel. And that's in addition to the 500 plus stores. I stopped by the new Columbia Sportswear store, (they're outfitting me with clothes for the trip), and said hi to Laura, one of the managers.

Then I got back on the light rail and headed back into downtown Minneapolis. I met up with Lisa, who works with Twin Cities Streets for People, a local bike/pedestrian advocacy group. They're a new organization, but are already coming up with some cool projects. The city already has a lot of bike lanes and I noticed a lot of bicycle commuters on the streets, so they must be doing a lot of stuff right.

Next I met up with Chris and his wife, Judy. Chris converted his Ford Focus into an electric vehicle about a year ago and he took me for a spin. It felt strange getting into a car, but as soon as he started up the nearly-silent car I knew I didn't have to worry. Chris didn't have any experience working with cars, but he found a lot of helpful information online, and his background in electrical engineering didn't hurt either. It's got a range of about 35 miles, which is more than enough to get him to work and back home along with a few errands on the way.

Chris and Judy dropped me off in downtown where I met up with the PedalPub. It's a fifteen person bike built around a bar, so you can enjoy various beverages as you pedal through Minneapolis. People can reserve the PedalPub for two hour rides, bring their own keg, and celebrate in style. I didn't have the cash to reserve a PedalPub on my own, but there happened to be another reservation that night and they said they didn't mind if I joined up. So I ended up pedaling along with Kelly and her friends on the occasion of her 21st birthday.

Happy birthday Kelly!

It felt a little strange crashing someone's portable birthday party, but everyone was super friendly and they seemed glad to have another pedaler along. I rode along and filmed for about an hour before I headed off around 9PM. I wanted to be able to walk back to my hotel in the light.

Early this morning I got on a train bound for Milwaukee and pulled into town around 3PM (about an hour late). I scoped out the city, looking for interesting modes of transportation. I had heard rumors of hydrobikes available for rent in one of the parks. Sure enough, I found them at the Veteran's Park Pond. Though they were floating in the middle of the pond- unused. Although it was warm and sunny out, lightening had been in the forecast, and they don't rent them out if there's a threat of stormy weather. I tried to negotiate with the woman at the rental station, but she wasn't changing her mind. She told me to call tomorrow morning to check in. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, because that could very well be my 82nd mode of transportation.

Now I'm sitting in my room at The Pfister Hotel, who generously invited me to stay for the night. I think this may be the most beautiful hotel I've stayed in so far. The lobby looks more like a museum or cathedral, complete with an amazing fresco on the ceiling. And when I got back to my room, they had left these in my room.

Pretty fancy! Now, I've got some chocolate to eat. But I'll keep you posted on those hydrobikes.

Just when I thought I was unique...

2009-06-18T18:09:00.000-07:00

Uh oh. It looks like this guy had a TV show where he tried out a bunch of modes of transportation too. The only difference- he was a dog.

The Un-Odorant Goes Biking

2009-06-17T21:52:00.000-07:00

I put my new sponsor, Crystal deodorant, to the test in Ontario. One application and 100km of bicycling- see what happens...

Biking with the Un-Odorant from Boaz Frankel on Vimeo.

The Un-Party!

2009-06-17T12:15:00.000-07:00

No, it's a real party, but it's an Un-Road Trip Party! It's hard to believe I'll be making my way back to Oregon in less than two weeks. So get ready to celebrate alternative vehicles and sustainable transportation!

We'll be celebrating in downtown Portland on Sunday, June 28th from 4-7PM. It should be a fun afternoon/evening full of snacks, cool vehicles, and a performance by jugband sensation, The Dexter Street Stompers (I'm their kazooist).

I'm not posting the address here, but if you've been following the trip then you're invited! Send me an email at boaz(at)unroadtrip(dot)com, and I'll send you the details.

See you there!

Un-Road Tripping Home... Somehow

2009-06-17T05:50:00.000-07:00

I thought I had my return route all sorted out. From Minneapolis, I'd backtrack to Chicago via Milwaukee and get on the Amtrak's California Zephyr to head west via Salt Lake City. I could even stop by Lake Tahoe for a day. Then I'd come up through Southern Oregon, past Portland up to Seattle. After a few days in Seattle, I'd get back down to Portland. But now many of the modes of transportation I'd been planning in those cities are falling through...

So I started coming up with a back-up plan where I'd still have to backtrack to Milwaukee, (as I've already scheduled some activities there), and then I'd head back in this direction through Montana, Idaho, and into Seattle. There seem to be some cool modes of transport around Sandpoint, ID and then I could also get to Seattle a little earlier and spend some more time boating/exploring the Puget Sound area. Though this last minute planning is always a little haphazard, and it's always tough to predict what will actually work out.

At this point, I'm pursuing both options and looking for any feedback/ideas/thoughts/transportation. So if you have any brainstorms- send them my way.

The Un-Road Trip (and Un-Odorant) passes through Chicago

2009-06-16T21:03:00.000-07:00

It would take 473,362,674 sticks of Crystal deodorant to fill the Sears Tower! That's enough deodorant to keep the entire population of Illinois smelling fresh for over seventy lifetimes!

Actually, I just made up both those facts but don't they sound impressive?

Thanks to Crystal for supporting the trip!

Video from Vermont

2009-06-16T06:17:00.000-07:00

The Un-Road Trip whizzes through Vermont on Geometric Bike, Snow Bike, paddleboard, and ferry. See tensions escalate as the threat of missing a train become very real...

Day 51 - 52 from Boaz Frankel on Vimeo.

My Un-Odorant Crosses the Border

2009-06-15T22:04:00.000-07:00

My Crystal and I crossed the Canadian-US border this morning.

Thanks to Crystal for sending it out and supporting the trip!

Biking every which way through Ontario: Part Two

2009-06-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

After checking out pretty much every bike available at Brent Curry's Bicycle Forest, we rode over to Mohrgan's house where we met up with Ted, and all of us boarded another of Brent's creation- the Family Truckster.

It's a four person recumbent bicycle, where the two cyclists in the rear sit back-to-back with the cyclists in front. I sat in one of the back seats, which was a little disorienting as you never knew what was coming next. One second we'd be riding by a field and the next second we'd be crossing a busy intersection. It was a good thing I trusted the guys who were steering the bike We also got a visit from a local police officer, who was interested in the Family Truckster's construction.

We rode the Truckster into St. Jacobs just as the rain started coming down. We took shelter inside some of the shops as it started pouring and had a long lunch hoping to avoid the rain before we continued our journey. Ted, Brent, and Mohrgan were heading back on the Truckster while Evan and I were meeting up with Glen who'd be taking us to Phillipsburg on his horse-pulled carriage. After an hour, the rain turned to a drizzle, and I picked up a bright yellow poncho at the hardware store on our way to the stables.

Evan and I climbed aboard and with Prince (the horse) leading the way we started the 30 km journey. We passed a number of other carriages on the way, as this part of Ontario has a large Mennonite population.

After three hours we arrived at Neil and Laurel's house. The poncho did a good job at keeping me dry, but I was pretty chilled after the ride. Laurel made us some tea and lent me a sweatshirt and we took a short tour around the property, checking out their varied livestock along the way. Brent, Natalie, and Mohrgan arrived shortly thereafter and we all sat down for a great dinner and an impressive dessert made by Laurel's mom.

The next morning we woke up early to start our adventure on CouchBike. The sun was shining as Brent and I got comfortable on the pleather furniture and started pedaling.

Although it may not be the most efficient cycle out there it was really pleasant to ride, especially with the tailwind propelling us slightly. Brent's taken the couchbike on a 500 km journey, so this was nothing. After about two hours we pulled up to Meg's house. She's a friend of Brent's, and she allowed her house to be used for a swap point. She also left out a cooler of snacks!

After refueling, we got a visit from a local paper and from the CBC who interviewed me for the 6 o'clock news.

Apparently, gas prices had just passed $1 per liter, so fuel-free transportation was big news. Though the morning had already been pretty exciting, the largest biking segment was still ahead of us. I hopped on a recumbent with Brent for the 70 km to London, Ontario. Evan hopped in a car this time, as he had to make his flight back to New York, and Mohrgan joined us on another bike.

Brent's a powerful pedaler so I think he was probably doing a lot of the work, but the ride was surprisingly easy. We passed many farms and cows and eventually in three hours we were already riding through the London suburbs. I was sad to say goodbye to Brent and Mohrgan after so many fun biking adventures together, but the Un-Road Trip must go on.

I spent two nights with the Levin family, (relatives of friends from Portland), before getting on another train bound for Toronto. I was originally supposed to re-enter the US through Detroit, but bicycles aren't allowed through the tunnel or over the bridge border crossing, and the river was closed to all crossings due to some air races. Hotel Novotel in Toronto generously put me up for the night, and after a great night's sleep I was boarding another train.

Now I'm in Depew, which is outside Buffalo, NY for a ten hour layover. A little before midnight tonight I'll be boarding a train to Chicago, and after a few hours in Chicago tomorrow I'll be boarding another train to Minneapolis/St. Paul. I'm really looking forward to visiting the twin cities. I'll be checking out some converted electric cars and even visiting the Mall of America. The mall is pumped about the Un-Road Trip and it sounds like there are more modes of transportation in there than you can imagine. Although with the very limited space in my backpack, I don't think I can really do any shopping...

My travel size deodorant really does travel

2009-06-14T17:37:00.000-07:00

Here it is along for a tandem recumbent bike ride in Ontario, Canada.

Thanks to Crystal for sending it out and supporting the trip!

Couchbike and the Un-Road Trip on Canadian News

2009-06-14T08:33:00.000-07:00

CBC News came out to Stratford, Ontario to check in with the Un-Road Trip.

I'm riding the couchbike built by Brent Curry of Bicycle Forest.

Biking every which way through Ontario: Part One

2009-06-12T04:11:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a blur of nearly a dozen different kind of bicycles owned or created by Brent Curry of Bicycle Forest. Along with a newly formed bike posse, (made up of Brent, Natalie, Mohrgan, Evan, myself, and later Ted), we rode these unique cycles all over Kitchener, Waterloo, and St. Jacob, Ontario.

After spending the night with Brent and Natalie, we wheeled out nearly every bike from Brent's garage for a quick spin. Including the handcycle, which you operate by rotating a pair of pedals with your hand.

I also tried out this tiny folding European bike.

A recumbent tricycle similar to the one I tried out at Hammacher Schlemmer.

A classic-style penny farthing, which was surprisingly fun to ride. I wouldn't recommend it for hills though, as it doesn't have a chain or gears- you're pedaling the front wheel directly.

And one of Brent's most popular bikes is the treadmill bike.

It's been featured on Japanese television nearly half a dozen times. Including this appearance:

And that was only the start of the day, but I've got to get biking. Stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion...

Video from New Hampshire

2009-06-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

The Un-Road Trip barnstorms New Hampshire on 1930s biplane, Segway PT, unexpected bike ride, and paraglider.

Day 46 - 50 from Boaz Frankel on Vimeo.

Special thanks to Paul Gude for composing and recording the songs featured in this video.

Crossing Canada: Montreal to Kitchener

2009-06-10T20:08:00.000-07:00

After a great breakfast at Le Petit Prince Bed & Breakfast in Montreal, Evan and I said goodbye to Pam, the B&B's manager and set out to check out BIXI- the city's new bike share program.

You go to one of the dozens of bicycle stations across the city, swipe a credit card, and walk away with a bike. It's free for the first half hour, and a few bucks if you want to check it out for longer. Or for $78, you can ride Bixi the whole year. It's a pretty nice bike too, with three gears and very solid construction. The program's only a few weeks old, but I saw a lot of people using the bikes already. We took a quick ride through the old town before heading to the Gare Central, aka the train station.

Even before boarding the train, it became clear that riding Via Canada Rail is a very different experience from riding Amtrak. The lines were orderly, the boarding happened promptly, and we left the station at exactly the correct time. The train cars seemed pretty new with plugs at every seat, nice overhead baggage storage, fancy tables that flip out of your armrest, (so that they don't jostle around when the person in front of you adjusts their seat), and even free wireless internet. Even the other passengers seemed more polite. And all the conductors were bilingual!

We switched trains in Toronto, and around 7:30PM we pulled into Kitchener, Ontario. Brent, (of Bike Forest) and Mohrgan met us at the station with a tandem bike truck to haul our bags back to Brent's house.

I rode in the truck with Mohrgan and Evan hopped on the tandem with Brent.

We pedaled down the street, as all the nearby drivers honked and waved. Instead of being annoyed by our slow pace, everyone seemed amused by the giant yellow Hummer-like creation.

If you think that bike's cool, just wait until tomorrow and the next day. Brent has designed and built dozens of amazing and unique bicycles and I'll be riding a lot of them. Tomorrow's rides include a penny farthing, a hula bike, and a four-person recumbent bike. Stay tuned...

A Mad Dash Through Vermont

2009-06-09T19:45:00.000-07:00

I boarded the train in Claremont, NH and found Evan on board. He's a buddy of mine from NYU, and he's joining the trip for a week. It was a short two hour ride to Burlington, Vermont. We pulled into the station as the sun was setting and were met by Steve and Jeanie. I hopped on the back of Steve's motorcycle, while Evan got in a car with Jeanie and we went for a quick tour around town. We walked along Lake Champlain and checked out Church Street- a busy pedestrian mall in the middle of town. There were a lot of people out enjoying the Burlington Jazz Festival and we walked by a few performances, before heading back to Steve's house for the night.

The next morning we woke up early for a day full of new vehicles. We also had a lot of distance to cover, as Evan and I had to catch a train across the lake in Plattsburgh, NY at 3:20PM. We started on bike as Steve led us down the rail trail along Lake Champlain. We kept an eye out for Champ, the Lochness Monster's American cousin, who's had some recent sightings, but we didn't see anything suspicious. Steve was riding a Geometric Bike, one his own inventions that he first came up with thirty years ago. A few years ago, he decided to finally build it.

Instead of pedaling in a circular motion like most bikes, the Geometric Bike has a reciprocal pedal system where you simply press down on the pedals in whatever pattern you like.

I took it for a spin around the parking lot, and it was a really unique riding experience. It seemed like a smoother pedal, without the tough spot you sometimes encounter while pedaling a normal bike. I could also feel it using a totally different set of muscles. Steve's already making a list of changes he wants to make the current prototype, and hopefully he'll have a final version soon.

I also met up with Brooke, who builds bikes for use on snow. He calls them Sikes.

He started playing with the idea in high school, when he took the front wheel off a bike and replaced it with a ski. Now he's on the thirteenth version of the Sike and he's hoping to start manufacturing them soon. For our purposes, he put a wheel attachment onto the ski so we could test it out on the pavement.

It's a pretty cool idea, and it certainly comes in handy when living in a place that's covered in snow for most of the year. He's taken it down big slopes at speeds upwards of 30 miles per hour, and he's building a version that replaces both wheels with skis for the thrill-seekers out there.

Then we were joined by Jason of Paddlesurf Champlain. He's a longtime skier who started getting curious about the different surfaces he could ski on. So he started toying with the idea of skiing over waves without a boat pulling him. Now he's come up with a set of floating skis, (almost like mini surfboards), that allow him to do something like cross-country ski over water. I wasn't quite ready for those so Jason set me up on a paddle board for some "stand-up paddle surfing."

Standing on the board was a little disorienting, and every small wave seemed ready to topple me over. As we headed into a bay of Lake Champlain I decided to stuck to "kneal-down paddle surfing" for a bit.

In addition to paddling with Jason, we were followed by Jon who was riding his bike along the nearby causeway. Jon helped coordinate a lot of my Burlington stop, and put me in touch with many of the guys I met up with. He was riding along, snapping the photos you see here and ready to call for help if Champ came up for an attack. Eventually I got a little more comfortable with the paddle board and with Jason and Jon's encouragement I finally stood up for the proper experience. Standing also made it much easier to paddle with stronger strokes.

Even with my improved stance, it was still pretty slow going and Jon biked ahead to see if he could get in contact with the people I was supposed to meet on the other side of the bay. A few minutes later, we saw a boat approaching. I immediately got a little nervous about what it's wake might do to my comparatively petite paddle board. As I looked closer, I saw that Jon was on the boat. And it wasn't just any boat- it was Local Motion's bike ferry. Local Motion is the local bike advocacy group in town, and I had talked with them about meeting up before coming to town. They also run a bike ferry in the summer to connect two long stretches of the bike trail. It had looked like they would be using their ferry upriver, but apparently their schedule opened up at the last minute so they decided to swing by to lend a hand. Jason and I paddled over and boarded the hybrid ferry.

It took us no time to get across to the other side of the causeway, where I met up with Josh and Phelps. Josh was one of my first contacts in Burlington, and put me in touch with Jon and some other folks. I had only been in touch with Phelps since the day before when he volunteered to meet us on this side of the bay and let us borrow some bikes. I was also reunited with Evan, who had reached this side using non Un-Road Trip means. Evan and I hopped on bikes with Phelps and rode towards the ferry that would take us across the river and into New York. It was a pleasant cycle through farmland and the occasional forest, and Phelps had a lot of interesting stories to tell. He seems to have done it all, and he's currently making paddles for canoes and kayaks. We talked about his summer plans which include getting a friend to dive Lake Champlain to rescue one his bike that broke through the ice last winter. He broke through the ice too, but he had "never taught the bike to swim," he explained.

Evan and I bid farewell to Phelps at the ferry landing, and we were on our way across Lake Champlain. Our train was leaving in about an hour, and the ferry only took fifteen minutes. Unfortunately, the ferry landed six miles from the train station and we had no way to get there. We had originally planed on having bikes to ride there, but that fell through do to some miscommunication. We noticed two guys on a motorboat fishing near the dock. I yelled out to them, but they couldn't hear. They brought the boat a few feet closer and I tried again. They listened, but the station was out of their way and they seemed pretty content fishing. Evan called a cab and headed over, and I would try to find a motorcyclist and convince him/her to give me a ride. I started walking towards the station and kept scanning the road for any non-car vehicles driving by. Suddenly I saw a motorcyclist coming towards me and I started waving wildly. I yelled out as the motorcycle zoomed past. This wasn't going to be easy when I was on a 50 MPH road. A few more motorcycles passed, but they either ignored or didn't notice my pleas. I kept checking in with Evan by phone as he got into a cab, made his way to the station, and eventually watched our train leave for Canada without us. He headed over to a hotel to get a reservation for the night, (my third night paying for accommodations), as I walked the remaining four miles to downtown Plattsburgh.

It was frustrating being so close yet so far from making that train, but after some quick emailing and phone calls I was able to reschedule the itinerary for the coming days. I'm meeting up with some people in Ontario, and luckily their schedules seem to be pretty flexible this week. Hopefully they won't resent me before I even arrive...

And Evan and I ended up with a bonus day in Plattsburgh, NY which we used to catch up on emails and editing and to check out the surprisingly quaint downtown area. We got to the train station extra early this afternoon and happily headed towards Canada.

Now I'm sitting on my bed at Le Petit Prince, a fun bed and breakfast in Montreal. There's art on every wall, an adorable ivy-edged balcony, and a huge jacuzzi in the corner of the room. We took a quick stroll through the center of town tonight. Although we're not that far from the US border, all the French signs make it seem miles away. Though most people in the street are still speaking English. Hopefully we'll get to see some more of the city tomorrow morning before we catch the train to Kitchener, Ontario.

Video from New York and Boston

2009-06-09T06:32:00.000-07:00

The Un-Road Trip arrives in New York and Boston as I check out a hundred-year-old company that makes cargo tricycles, the vehicular wonders of Hammacher Schlemmer, and recent "robot wheel" innovations at MIT.

Day 38 - 41 from Boaz Frankel on Vimeo.

Paragliding New Hampshire

2009-06-08T21:36:00.000-07:00

I wasn't sure what to expect as I rode my bike down to Morningside Flight Park. I originally contacted them about taking a tandem hang glider ride, but they recommended a paragliding lesson instead. They thought it would be a better fit for the Un-Road Trip. I wasn't even sure what paragliding was. I knew it had something to do with wind-powered flight, but wasn't quite sure how it was different from hang gliding or para sailing.

As soon as I arrived they paired me up with Fernando, a paragliding instructor. He'd teach me the basics and they promised he'd have me flying in a few hours. It turns out a paraglider is a fabric wing attached to a harness. Unlike a hang glider, a whole paragliding set-up weighs under 20 pounds and can fit in a backpack. It really is pretty portable. You could stuff one of these in your bag, hike up a hill, and run off. This is the hill I was trying to run off:

We picked up all our equipment and headed out onto the hill. Fernando helped me pull on the backpack-like harness and tighten the many straps. Then we laid out the giant fabric wing and attached all the lines onto my harness. We talked through all the various cords, and what I should hold on to, and when I should let go of them. Fernando outlined the various things he might yell out to me as I was pulling up the wing or starting to get off the ground. And then we started playing the game which quickly became a staple of the morning- "watch the air sock." The wind conditions have to be just right to take off, especially since I'm a beginner. Once the conditions were right, we didn't waste any time. I put my hands in the straps and pulled the appropriate cords to pull the wing into the wind, (which is pretty difficult as the wing pulls back with a surprising amount of force). Once the wing is up you have to lean forward and keep moving until you're either off the ground or ready to bring the wing down. Sounds simple, but it took two hours before my feet even left the ground. Sometimes there would be uneven wind gusts that would yank me in one direction, knock me down, and pull me across the hill. Other times I would brake too much on one side and the wing would collapse behind me. After a few hours I started getting a better feel for the wind and the steering.

As soon as the wing was overhead I ran down the hill, taking care to follow Fernando's yelled instructions- "Release A straps!" "Brake left!" And then I'd suddenly be off the ground for a bit before I started coming down again. I started running before I touched the grass to make sure my land speed wasn't any slower than my air speed, and then the hill would drop out below me and I'd be airborne again. I could gently pull the brake on one side to turn gracefully as I flew over the hill. Then I'd start running again to ensure a smooth landing. After four hours on the hill, I accomplished two great flights, and dozens of not so great ones. The moment that your feet leave the ground is pretty spectacular, and it's easy to see how this can become addictive. I think I'll be doing this again soon.

Then I rode back to the Goddard Mansion Bed & Breakfast to pick up my backpack, use a little WiFi, and say my goodbyes to Scott and Keith.

I left my bike at the B&B and walked down to the train station. Though calling it a "station" isn't quite accurate. It was really just a sign near some train tracks. I was there early and had nearly an hour until the train arrived. I wasn't sure how I'd pass the time. But then I saw the sign.

So I followed the arrow. Was there really another option? Soon I saw another arrow, and less than half a mile later I reached the fabled source of ice cream- Le Moo's Dairy Barn. There were about thirty flavors to choose from, but I finally settled on Wild Maine Blueberry.

It was the right choice. As I walked back to the train, I realized I had learned an important lesson. Always get to the train station early because you never know when you'll see a sign pointing towards ice cream.

A Triumphant Farewell to my Cimarrons

2009-06-07T11:50:00.000-07:00

It's that time again. I bid a tearful farewell to my Keen Cimarron water shoes as I remember all the good times we've had, before putting on a fresh pair of Jaspers. Get your kleenex ready...

A Triumphant Farewell to my Cimarrons from Boaz Frankel on Vimeo.

Thanks to Keen Footwear for providing me with all my shoes, socks, and a lot more!

Sweatin' on my Schwinn

2009-06-06T19:02:00.000-07:00

I woke up Friday morning with no idea how I'd be getting to Claremont, NH. I called the airport, but they were fogged in. I called a motorcycle shop to see if I could hitch a ride with someone, but nobody was heading that direction. Even the bike shops were out of all their rentals because of a big race this weekend. A guy at one of the shops recommended I try Goodwill and Salvation Army, who occasionally carry a few bicycles. I called both- Goodwill didn't have any but Salvation Army had five. I walked the three miles to the thrift store, realizing that I probably should have asked a few more questions about the bikes that they did have, (Are they kid's bikes? Do they have wheels? Do they work?). An hour later I arrived and the man at the counter pointed me in the direction of the men's bikes. There were three- two mountain bikes and a Schwinn road bike. The mountain bikes were both filthy and although the Schwinn didn't look much better at least it was a road bike and much lighter. I paid $25 for the bike and $2 for what looked like a twenty year old helmet.

Within a few minutes, I was bumpily making my way down the road. The front tire was completely deflated, and I was uncomfortably being reminded of that every second. I biked the three miles back to the bike shop and bought a new inner tube ($5) and got some grease applied to the very rusty chains. Although it was far from being fancy, it was definitely usable now, and I set out on the fifty mile ride to Claremont.

There are a few other things I should mention. I don't think I've ever taken a bike ride longer than fifteen or twenty miles in my life, so I had no clue what to expect. Also, the gears on this bike are operated by these two metal handles which I was confused about how to use and terrified that the chain would fall or crumble if I did use them. So I decided to stick to the the gear the bike was already in.

So I was off, riding into the New Hampshire hills. And pretty soon I was walking my bike up the New Hampshire hills. Regularly, I would push myself a little harder when I was pedaling up hills, but with so many miles ahead of me, I didn't want to wear myself out so early. Walking may have been slower, but I figured I would take a "slow and steady wins the race" kind of attitude. In two hours I had covered about 18 miles which wasn't great, but was faster than walking the whole way. I stopped at a gas station to refill my water bottle and bought some Vitamin Water and a small bag of Wonka candy that I had never seen before. It was sort of like chocolate-covered pop rocks, and I figured I could eat them sparingly over the next few miles as a sort of incentive.

And as I kept riding, it became more and more of a blur. I think it had something to do with the intense sugar rush I had suddenly entered thanks to the candy and Fruit Punch Vitamin Water. Time was flying by even if the miles weren't, and I was finding all sorts of ways to keep my mind occupied. First I sang every Simon and Garfunkel song I could think of. Then I started singing Jackson 5, and pretty soon I was trying to sing through every song I could remember from my various Pandora radio stations. I loudly commented to myself about everything I rode by. "How about that river!" "I see seven cows and three geese!" "That elderly couple is driving very fast and coming dangerously close to pushing me off the road!"

And then I started crashing- mentally not actually. I got off my bike even for the slight hills and walked up. Even going downhill didn't seem that easy. I stopped off to pick up another Vitamin Water. I felt like an addict. But pretty soon I was getting my second wind, and was pedaling up the hills again. These cycles, (pun intended), continued the entire way, though I only drank 1 and a half bottles of Vitamin Water.

Finally, after seven miles- I think I was on my fifteenth wind at this point- I pushed my bike up the last hill to the Goddard Mansion Bed and Breakfast. I'd never been so happy to be somewhere in my life. I hadn't called to tell them I'd be late but the owners, Keith and Scott, had been following my travels on this blog and twitter. They showed me to my comfortable room in the expansive 1905 house, and although my body was tired my mind was very much awake from what may have been the longest work-out of my life. I had some chamomile tea before I laid down and let the images of rural New Hampshire race through my head. And eventually I fell asleep.

I took it easy today- enjoying a slow and delicious breakfast, (prepared by Scott), with my fellow B&B guests before walking into downtown Claremont and along the Sugar River. There's a charming business district with a lot of fun shops and restaurants, and although there are some recession-induced empty storefronts, there are a number of business opening up too. After stopping by a garage sale, I returned to the B&B. There are many lounges and sitting areas in the Goddard Mansion, and I spent at least fifteen minutes reading in all of them before finally going outside and playing fetch with Shadow, the dog. And now I'm getting ready to head to bed again. I'll be getting up early tomorrow to head over to Morningside Flight Park, where I'll be getting a lesson in paragliding. And tomorrow evening I'll be getting on the train and meeting up with Evan, (who's joining the trip for a week), as we head to Burlington, Vermont.

Gliding to Concord

2009-06-05T04:09:00.000-07:00

I set out from my hotel yesterday morning and walked the five miles to Segway Headquarters. Sarah from Segway, recommended a shortcut over the river on a train trestle.

I was imagining the scene from Stand by Me, but luckily there was plenty of space to walk on the side. And I didn't even see a train. Pretty soon I had arrived at the Segway offices.

Sarah greeted me inside and wasted no time in getting me on one of their PTs (personal transporters). I'd been on a Segway once before, but only for a few minutes. This time I'd be riding over 25 miles on one. She went through a basic introduction. "You don't have to balance on a Segway, the Segway balances you," she instructed as I stepped on. She put the PT in "turtle mode" and I started gliding around the parking lot at a very sensible 3-4 miles an hour. Then Gerri- who'd be joining me on the road- came out and went over some safety precautions and the various alerts I should be looking out for. Basically, you can occasionally look down at the electronic display to make sure that the little profile of a face (which reminded me of Jay Leno) is still smiling.

After practicing some quick stops, I was ready to graduate from "turtle mode" and start cruising closer to 12 MPH. We took a lap around the building to practice some hills and inclined stops. Next we headed back inside to meet up with some product developers. I had heard about the PUMA, (acronym for Personal Urban Mobility & Accessibility), project
a few months back, and I really wanted to check it our for myself. The prototype happened to be at the headquarters and Derrick was able to take me for a spin on it.

As you get harnessed in and pull down the sidebar it feels like you're getting into a roller coaster. And then you're off. It zips around surprisingly fast and fluidly, and it's only on two wheels! Your feet sit on a little shelf that shifts forward and backward as the whole body of the car seamlessly balances itself on the wheels. And it maneuvers amazing well since it's got a zero turning radius, which basically means it can spin in place. They're working with GM on building the PUMA, which goes about 35 MPH and can go for about an hour on a charge. Derrick also showed me another prototype for the Centaur, a vehicle they're no longer developing.

They basically used components they had already developed, and tried to see what else they could put together. The Centaur moves pretty fast and can do some impressively long and stable wheelies. Check it out:

And then it was time to leave on my Segway PT pilgrimage to Concord, NH. I secured my helmet, hopped on, and along with Gerri on bike and Sarah in the auxiliary vehicle, we headed north.

I was amazed at the intuitiveness of it all. At first I was very conscious of shifting my weight to operate the PT, but pretty soon I was just admiring the passing woods and fields as I glided around 10-12 MPH. And whether you're going up or down hills, it operates just as smoothly and consistently. When you start approaching the Segway's speed limit of 12.5 MPH, the handlebar starts pressing against you, encouraging you to lean back a bit and slow down. It's a little surprising at first, having the device interact with you, but pretty soon I was able to find the "sweet spot" a little under 12MPH that allowed me to glide without interference.

We took some breaks, but the 25 miles took around 3 hours. I was surprised that my legs were a little sore afterward. I guess standing for three hours has it's effects, and I think I was using my knees to compensate a little over some of the uneven terrain. We entered Concord and rode to the Capitol to pose for some photos.

Then I glided over to beautiful and historic The Centennial Hotel, where I spent the night. It used to be a home for Civil War widows, and every room looks a little different. Mine had a huge deck and a little circular sitting room.

And now... I'm not sure. I have to get to Claremont, NH by the end of the day, but I'm still not exactly sure how I'll do that. I could bike, but it's about fifty miles and honestly, that's not my first choice. I'm looking into some scooter, airplane, and hot air balloon options, and we'll see what I can come up with. And feel free to send ideas this way.

To New Hampshire and Beyond!

2009-06-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

I turned on the TV yesterday morning at my friend Peter's apartment in Boston. The Today Show was on and Matt was on location in front of some historic building. As I started waking up a little more I realized that Matt was in Boston and broadcasting from Faneuil Hall which was on the way to the train station- my destination for that morning.

I hopped on the T and headed downtown. As soon as I got off the train at Government Square, there were TV trucks everywhere. The Clark Rockefeller trial was going on, and all the crews were out to cover it. Then I spotted the NBC News truck, and pretty soon I saw Matt Lauer glancing over some notes as a crowd of cell phone photographers looked on.

He was finishing up his part of the show, and as I walked by he was leaving the set. I waved and he looked at me a little confused. "What are you doing here?" He asked. I explained I was on the trip, heading North. He introduced me to Jim Bell, executive producer of Today, and Matt reminded Jim of my segment last week. We chatted for a minute before he headed back to New York and I headed for the train station. I boarded the Downeaster Amtrak a little after 9AM and headed into New Hampshire.

After about an hour and a half we pulled up in Exeter, New Hampshire. I had been talking and emailing with Mike from the nearby Hampton Airfield for a few days. He owns an old biplane from the 1930s and offered to fly me to Manchester. We were planning on flying the next morning, but the biplane can't fly in heavy winds, so we had to keep the plans tentative. I called Mike from the train, and he said the current weather was great, but it looked like rain was on the way and that we should try to take off ASAP. I had also been in touch with Josh from Wheel Power, a bicycle shop in Exeter, a few weeks earlier so I walked there from the train station.

We were originally talking about biking the whole way to Manchester, but that was before the biplane ride entered the picture. I told him I had to get to Hampton Airfield as soon as I could, so he generously lent me a mountain bike and gave me directions for the eight mile ride. About half an hour later I reached my destination.

I met up with Dick, my pilot, at the Airfield Cafe. He was sitting down to lunch with the other airfield staff and some local plane enthusiasts. He didn't seem to be in a rush- the weather was still looking good- and he encouraged me to join the table for a snack before we left. They told me about the history of the plane- it was originally used for barnstorming (aka stunt flying) before it somehow fell into the hands of a crop duster in the Midwest. The Hampton Airfield bought it a few years ago and recently restored it to its barnstorming glory.

It looked like something out of a movie with the cloth wings and all the wires and poles holding them in place. The seats were open to the outside, and they warned me that it would be loud and windy so I suited up with an Amelia Earhart-style pilot's cap and goggles before I climbed aboard.

Dick and I got comfortable in our seats and he turned the engine on for ten minutes to warm up the oil before take off. We taxied to one end of the grassy runway, turned around as the propeller amped up, and pretty soon we were airborne. Looking at the classic plane on the ground, it was hard to imagine that this contraption could actually fly, but pretty soon we were soaring over trees and buildings. It was louder and windier than I expected, and without windows it really gives you a different flying experience. I was much more sensitive to the changing wind currents and various air pockets that provided the occasional weightless "stomach dropping" moments.

After about forty minutes we landed at Manchester International Airport and pulled into the Wiggins Airways terminal between some FedEx planes and some Army helicopters. Everyone on the tarmac seemed to gravitate over to get a closer look at our unique aircraft. Dick mentioned that it's one of only five of its kind still flying. There were only around 150 of them manufactured to begin with.

I had planned on staying in Exeter that night and had already arranged for a place to sleep there, so I wasn't sure what I was going to do now that I was in Manchester. I put out a tweet and called a few people, but nothing seemed to be coming together. The nice folks at Wiggins Airways had a contact at a nearby hotel though, and were able to get me an employees rate for the night. This was my second night paying for accommodations on this trip, but at least I wasn't paying much. And there was free WiFi.

Today I'm walking to Segway headquarters for a tour and then a twenty-five mile Segway "glide" to Concord, NH. I'll be in Concord tonight, and then tomorrow I'll have to find my way to Claremont, NH about fifty miles away. I'm looking into a few options, though I'm far from having a concrete plan. I could bike the fifty miles, but I hear it's hilly. Feel free to write in with any ideas...

My Afternoon at MIT

2009-06-03T13:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took Boston's Subway over to MIT to meet up with Ryan Chin and some masters students in their Smart Cities program. As their website explains:

We examine intelligent, sustainable buildings, mobility systems, and cities, with a focus on new technologies for efficient use of urban energy, sustainability, and cultural creativity.

For the past few years they've been working on "wheel robots," which are basically wheels which incorporate the motors and suspension in the wheel itself. They've applied this technology to a few different projects which are in various states of development. Ryan and Michael showed me their GreenWheel project first.

Basically, they've taken off the back wheel of a bicycle and replaced it with one of their "wheel robots" turning it into an electric bike. Unlike other electric bikes though, the battery and motor are all in-wheel which means it doesn't need any wiring and the throttle can be controlled by a wireless remote on the handlebar.

I took the prototype for a spin around the block, and it's got a surprising amount of power. I was zipping along at over 15 miles per hour, though they say it can go close to 20 MPH. They're talking to a few companies about getting the GreenWheel to market in a few different ways. They could sell it as a complete bicycle or they could just sell the wheel which could then be attached to any other bike with a simple conversion. They're very interested in using it in bike share programs similar to ones that exist in DC and Paris.

Next Ryan showed me the RoboScooter, an electric scooter with robot wheels that folds in half.

They have two prototypes so far, though neither was available to ride when I stopped by. It goes about 35 miles per hour, and they'd like to see share programs set up for these as well. The RoboScooter probably won't be available for another two years or so, but you can see it in action here:

And lastly Ryan showed me a few prototypes-in-progress for the CityCar- their most ambitious "wheel robot" project. By putting these smart wheels on a car, it changes pretty much everything. When each wheel has its own motor and suspension you no longer need a drive system or pedals or even a steering wheel. Each wheel can move independently allowing for parallel parking or for the car to rotate in circles. These two seaters would open from the front, and even fold themselves up for parking. I saw a few different prototypes they had built to test different aspects of the CityCar- one testing the steering (which looked more like a videogame joystick), one testing the wheels, and one testing the folding ability. They're currently working on building a small-scale operational version of the vehicle. Here are some early computer animations that give you an idea of what the completed car would look like:

It was inspiring to see so many smart people working on all these exciting projects. The Smart Cities team is passionate about creating sustainable transportation, and they don't stop at vehicle creation. They're also working out the details for the share programs where they envision their vehicles being used. Ryan even showed me a chart which calculated how to use a flexible price model in order to keep the vehicles properly distributed around a city. It's not a huge team, and they're not working with big budgets, but they're doing some serious innovation. Instead of handing over hundreds of millions to the car companies, couldn't we just give a few million to these guys?

On a side note- when I was walking through the Boston Public Gardens I saw ducklings in the pond! Which is special because the gardens are the inspiration for the classic book, Make Way for Ducklings. If only I could harness the cuteness of ducklings to power a vehicle...