ROADTRIP! (by Shane “Pedal to the Metal” Adamczak)

It’s been a frantic few days. Straight after my final show in the Toronto Fringe, in an unexpected torrential downpour, the delightful Ingrid Hansen (Whose show Little Orange Man is currently playing at the Winnipeg Fringe and I would HIGHLY recommend checking out) and I jump in a car begin our epic three day long drive to Winnipeg!

It’s a race against time as we have to make it to town before I my tech in three days! (I couldn’t be late! Last year I was drinking at The Kings Head pub with some fellow artists and got a call from the fringe asking why I wasn’t at my tech…which I thought was the following day…hence I was determined to be on time this year)

It was a long drive in which I got to drive on the wrong side of the road for the first time! We got to share stories, podcasts, introduce each other to new tunes and share food that Ingrid brought (Fruit, Sandwiches and nutrition bars) and the food that I brought (Chips, candy and jerky) …it was a match made in heaven! Although we can both agree on one thing…chocolate milk.

I’d like to point out that Ingrid and I don’t really know each other. We met briefly last year in Victoria and we’re friends on FaceBook but we’d really only met once or twice in real life. Yet, she needed a co-pilot and I needed to get to Winnipeg, thus is the power of The Fringe Family which I just won’t seem to shut up about… now we have an cool story about how we (mostly Ingrid) drove across the beautiful landscapes of Canada, drank choc milk, saw a moose and some dudes with awesome beards and buggys and we didn’t crash the car AT ALL!

And now… because I know you want it…

TWITTER HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR JOURNEY:
(Follow me @zackadamscomedy or Ingrid @snafudance if you feel so inclined)

1st road trip shift off to a good start. Currently singing to Elton Johns “I’m Steve Standard” ‪#OnTheRoadAgain‬*

Oh no! Our first fight! I’m bad at folding maps! But we both love adventure time! ‪#OnTheRoadAgain‬

Crotch carrots! ‪#OnTheRoadAgain‬

Totally just drove ON THE WRONG (but correct) SIDE OF THE ROAD!!! CANADA! ‪#OnTheRoadAgain‬

Stalling the car tally. INGRID-2, SHANE-O ‪#OnTheRoadAgain

Chocolate milk! Good start day2 ‪#OnTheRoadAgain‬

‪#OnTheRoadAgain‬ UPDATE. The chocolate milks where great. Listening to @rickygervais podcasts again. Effing hilarious. I need to pee soon.

Amish people watch: 2. ‪#OnTheRoadAgain‬

Pee, air pressure and beef jerky break. my favourite part was peeing and I’m also pretty excited about the jerky… ‪#OnTheRoadAgain‬

Ingrid vs Jerky. “smells like ass, taste like jerky” ‪#OnTheRoadAgain‬

Back in range. So, here’s some updates… Stalling the car tally: INGRID-3, SHANE-O ‪#OnTheRoadAgain‬

Ingrid @snafudance is clearly SUPER glad she brought me along…‪#OnTheRoadAgain‬ pic.twitter.com/R9TUk0WM

‪#HolyKites‬! In all the places in all the towns in Canada we bump into fellow ‪#wpgfringe‬ artists @keystonetheatre!**

@BrentHirose I’ve been told that if we drive at night we will be killed and raped by moose!

Start of day3 of ‪#OnTheRoadAgain‬. 8 hours til ‪#wpgfringe‬

Saw a MOOSE!!! For realsies!!!! FINALLY!!!! ‪#OnTheRoadAgain‬***

See you in a few hours @WinnipegFringe -Shane (Zack Adams) &Ingrid (Little Orange Man) ‪#OnTheRoadAgain‬

Winnipeg! ‪#OnTheRoadAgain‬

FINAL Roadtrip tally:
Moose – 1
Amish – 2****
Ingrid stalls the car – 4
Shane reaches for gear stick on wrong side – 5*****

So we arrived safe, Ingrid drops me at my Billet’s place and I quickly re-string my guitar, grab a quick bite to eat and head to my tech rehearsal (which goes amazingly well, I’ve been blessed with realy great techs once again). Afterwards I am totally exhausted…yet I still found myself rightback at The Kings Head pub that night for what feels like a beautiful “First day back at school” reunion with old Fringe friends from last year, last month and who I’ve just met but already wanna drink with…It’s gonna be a long tour.

NEXT WEEK: The Winnipeg Fringe and why I already love it.

-S

*If you sing these lyrics to Elton’s “I’m Still Standing” it’s SUPER FUNNY and makes it an EVEN BETTER SONG
**We really did! At our random steakhouse dinner stop “PROSPECTORS STEAK HOUSE”…they were there! Love those kids!
***This was pretty much the only reason I came to Canada, that and De Grassi.
****And a LOT of barns.
*****I also activated the windscreen wipers instead of the indicator about 6 times.