From Port Coquitlam, BC, we rode just over 50km's to a harbor in Vancouver to dip our tires. But...not before I popped two more tubes and ripped two tires, forcing Adrian and Rainer (who generously offered) to ride forward to the nearest bike shop, which I had fortunately located and drawn on a map before we left. Mike and I sat on the side of a busy road, watching the rush hour traffic home for about 45 minutes before seeing Adrian and Rainer biking towards us bearing toothy grins with new tires in plain view. I was overjoyed to have new tires, new tubes, and new brake pads, which I desperately needed, forgot to mention to the boys before they left, but which they still remembered for me. I love my team!!
So, from there we biked beneath the skytrain towards the very edge of downtown Vancouver. On the way I popped another tube, ripped my front tire, and so was now riding on my two brand new tires and tubes, which reassured me a good deal. A little peace of mind went pretty far at this point, an assurance that was solidified once Rainer bought a dozen donuts we devoured while the tire change was in progress. We definitely eat like real cyclists.
So on we went, through Vancouver, and what a beautiful city it is. Granville, Stanley Park, all the shopping areas are filled with eclectic local stuff (plus the customary crap stores in every city) and restaurant and pub areas are lined with trees. I immediately got hooked by the city.
We eventually found the water and chose the rowing club as our tire-dipping point. We were welcomed with open arms there and some of the vets at the club bought us pitchers and shots, which as you can imagine, directly after biking hits the system very quickly.
From there we were picked up by Geoff Scoates, our good friend and roommate of the rest of the guys, who took us back to New Westminster, a beautiful suburb not too far from downtown.
In the following days we got to:
-See Transformers
-Take the ferry to Vancouver Island
-Ride to Tofino with Matty Bond, go surfing and camping
-Visit Victoria, hit the bars, and free tickets to see Rise Against, Silverstein, and Comeback Kid
-All you can eat Sushi in Vancouver for lunch
-Hilarious t-shirt shopping at the vintage shops downtown
-Enjoy the great company of the Scoates family
-Mail pictures and letters to all the families and people who housed, helped, or provided camping spots along the way
-Bike through a gigantic paper finish line made by Geoff (video coming soon)
So our flights arrived back in Toronto late last night, and Mike reached Moncton a bit earlier for his 10 day solo trek to Montreal. To make up for the portions I missed from Sudbury to Espanola and Bassano to Calgary, I'm biking solo to Montreal (gonna do it in one day, 200 or so kms, eeesh), then will ride with Mike back into Ottawa.
What a journey this was. The four of us did little training for this trip and mapped out our route along the way. We met some of the most generous people this country has to offer and experienced the massive beauty of its landscape. It's impossible to pick a favorite moment, so I won't. Each part of the trip, the easy rides and those straight into heavy wind and/or rain, combine to form our collective experience, one we won't forget for the rest of our lives. I highly recommend doing this trip yourself, it's not a matter of how much time you budget or money or weather or bike. Though having some things on your side and a bit of luck is always beneficial, toughness, patience, character, and determination allow both people like us and couples in their 60's to travel the exact same roads and conquer the same challenges. It's a personal test that is as mental as it is physical, and one that feels pretty damn rewarding upon completion. As we sat on the docks of the rowing club having a pint and telling locals of our journey, we couldn't help but smile while taking in the high-rises and olympic construction towering before us. "We biked across Canada!" Rainer said, and I replied, "we sure did."
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Calgary to Present, More Details
July 10th Calgary, AB to Banff, AB - 119km, 4:35
July 11th Invermere, BC Rest Day spent at Columbia Lake and Hot Springs
July 12th Banff, AB to outside Golden, BC - 134km, 6:33
July 13th Outside Golden, BC to near Revelstoke, BC - 121km, 5:11
July 14th Near Revelstoke, BC to Salmon Arm, BC - 131km, 5:14
July 15th Salmon Arm, BC to Kamloops, BC - 119km, 4:55
July 16th Kamloops, BC to Merritt, BC - 99km, 5:06
July 17th Merritt, BC to Hope, BC - 124km, 5:20
July 18th Hope, BC to Port Coquitlam, BC - 131km, 5:29
From Calgary we had a beautiful ride towards Banff, with our first sighting of the magnificent Rocky Mountains. After just a few minutes of riding I experienced some severe groin muscle pain/cramps, possibly from dehydration or some random other thing. Maybe it was the Bocce ball tournament at the Doble house, who knows...After that subsided it was a smooth ride downhill into Banff. You'd think it would be going up heading west into the Rockies, but Calgary is actually very high, so more often than not through the mountains we were going down. The views approaching Banff were incredible, with majestic hills all around and jagged peaks in the distance. One of our easiest and most enjoyable rides for sure.
In the ski village of Banff, amid mass construction unfortunately, we left our bikes with friends of Mike's aunt and uncle. Mike's uncle Jean-Luc picked us up in the evening and drove us to his family's home in Invermere, BC, a beautiful town nestled near a gaping valley. On the drive in we saw a mountain goat with a tiny baby licking the rocks about 20 feet up from the road, very cool. The balance of those animals is to be admired.
Jean-Luc is a gourmet chef, his wife Stephanie a massage therapist, and baby daughter Vanessa is a hilarious, incredibly bright little ball of energy. We had a great time meeting them all, enjoying their company, their hot-tub, beds, and delicious food. Our day off took us to some wonderful, albeit sulfur-smelling hot springs, perfect for relaxing the muscles. After that we cooled off in Columbia Lake, with perfectly warm water and more time to relax.
The next few days of riding were some of the most incredible ones of the entire trip. Descending from Kicking Horse Pass was a wild ride, with very little pedaling involved. To the bottom of the pass took us about 15 minutes, reaching wicked speeds. Heading into Golden was similarly fun, though we missed our campground and had to camp in a construction site right beside the highway. Not the most comfortable sleep, but by the end of the day it was surprisingly okay. Rogers Pass, the most difficult ascent of the trip according to people's tips and testimonials, turned out to be tough but nothing too challenging. Steady climbing for 45 minutes to an hour in high heat, and we didn't think it was that bad.
Revelstoke BC was a beauty of a spot to stop for lunch, where Gramma G, a local baker/merchant and very nice lady, gave us some free baked goods for the road as well as neck coolers you're supposed to soak in water. Very friendly and helpful people in this quaint town. This is where we learned that Kamloops was a better route to take than Kelowna, as Kelowna holds "The Connector," apparently one of the highest of highs in BC. Not wanting to climb unnecessarily, we headed for Kamloops. In Salmon Arm we stayed with a newly married older couple with a great backyard, nice shower and cold beer on the house. Too much!!! Then it was off to Kamloops, where we got to hit the beach for a little while and found a nice couple on the hill to stay with in their yard. Their neighbors made us breakfast as well...people everywhere seem to open their doors, and it never ceases to amaze us.
Merritt, the home of Canada's biggest country music festival that we missed by a week, was pretty uneventful, though we had some hilarious jokes in our camping spot near the grocery store. From there we ventured to Hope, ascending the Coquihalla pass and descending it with furious speeds, reaching our highest of any point during the trip. It was nerve wracking at times, but the brake pads are now worn thin for good reason. In Hope we saw a sign for an all you can eat Fish and Chips dinner, which turned out to be tasty and very very filling. Our server kindly recommended a camping spot on a sandy enclosure at a nearby creek, which was one of the more beautiful camping spots thus far. This takes me to the previous post I wrote last night, which should more or less mean I'm fully updated. I know I missed tons of details from each day, but each day could be 10 paragraphs full of hilarious sightings, mishaps, jokes, biking challenges, and descriptions of the sheer beauty of British Columbia. Now we finish our long overdue laundry, I'm off to change my brake pads, re-tape my hand, and head for the coast!!!! Almost there, mixed feelings for all of us.
Also, our overgrown, terribly uneven facial hair has reached its bitter end, and in Vancouver we're all going to get a hot shave leaving only our sweet Burt Reynolds-esque mustaches. Should be a sight to see, I'll post pictures when I get a chance!!!!
July 11th Invermere, BC Rest Day spent at Columbia Lake and Hot Springs
July 12th Banff, AB to outside Golden, BC - 134km, 6:33
July 13th Outside Golden, BC to near Revelstoke, BC - 121km, 5:11
July 14th Near Revelstoke, BC to Salmon Arm, BC - 131km, 5:14
July 15th Salmon Arm, BC to Kamloops, BC - 119km, 4:55
July 16th Kamloops, BC to Merritt, BC - 99km, 5:06
July 17th Merritt, BC to Hope, BC - 124km, 5:20
July 18th Hope, BC to Port Coquitlam, BC - 131km, 5:29
From Calgary we had a beautiful ride towards Banff, with our first sighting of the magnificent Rocky Mountains. After just a few minutes of riding I experienced some severe groin muscle pain/cramps, possibly from dehydration or some random other thing. Maybe it was the Bocce ball tournament at the Doble house, who knows...After that subsided it was a smooth ride downhill into Banff. You'd think it would be going up heading west into the Rockies, but Calgary is actually very high, so more often than not through the mountains we were going down. The views approaching Banff were incredible, with majestic hills all around and jagged peaks in the distance. One of our easiest and most enjoyable rides for sure.
In the ski village of Banff, amid mass construction unfortunately, we left our bikes with friends of Mike's aunt and uncle. Mike's uncle Jean-Luc picked us up in the evening and drove us to his family's home in Invermere, BC, a beautiful town nestled near a gaping valley. On the drive in we saw a mountain goat with a tiny baby licking the rocks about 20 feet up from the road, very cool. The balance of those animals is to be admired.
Jean-Luc is a gourmet chef, his wife Stephanie a massage therapist, and baby daughter Vanessa is a hilarious, incredibly bright little ball of energy. We had a great time meeting them all, enjoying their company, their hot-tub, beds, and delicious food. Our day off took us to some wonderful, albeit sulfur-smelling hot springs, perfect for relaxing the muscles. After that we cooled off in Columbia Lake, with perfectly warm water and more time to relax.
The next few days of riding were some of the most incredible ones of the entire trip. Descending from Kicking Horse Pass was a wild ride, with very little pedaling involved. To the bottom of the pass took us about 15 minutes, reaching wicked speeds. Heading into Golden was similarly fun, though we missed our campground and had to camp in a construction site right beside the highway. Not the most comfortable sleep, but by the end of the day it was surprisingly okay. Rogers Pass, the most difficult ascent of the trip according to people's tips and testimonials, turned out to be tough but nothing too challenging. Steady climbing for 45 minutes to an hour in high heat, and we didn't think it was that bad.
Revelstoke BC was a beauty of a spot to stop for lunch, where Gramma G, a local baker/merchant and very nice lady, gave us some free baked goods for the road as well as neck coolers you're supposed to soak in water. Very friendly and helpful people in this quaint town. This is where we learned that Kamloops was a better route to take than Kelowna, as Kelowna holds "The Connector," apparently one of the highest of highs in BC. Not wanting to climb unnecessarily, we headed for Kamloops. In Salmon Arm we stayed with a newly married older couple with a great backyard, nice shower and cold beer on the house. Too much!!! Then it was off to Kamloops, where we got to hit the beach for a little while and found a nice couple on the hill to stay with in their yard. Their neighbors made us breakfast as well...people everywhere seem to open their doors, and it never ceases to amaze us.
Merritt, the home of Canada's biggest country music festival that we missed by a week, was pretty uneventful, though we had some hilarious jokes in our camping spot near the grocery store. From there we ventured to Hope, ascending the Coquihalla pass and descending it with furious speeds, reaching our highest of any point during the trip. It was nerve wracking at times, but the brake pads are now worn thin for good reason. In Hope we saw a sign for an all you can eat Fish and Chips dinner, which turned out to be tasty and very very filling. Our server kindly recommended a camping spot on a sandy enclosure at a nearby creek, which was one of the more beautiful camping spots thus far. This takes me to the previous post I wrote last night, which should more or less mean I'm fully updated. I know I missed tons of details from each day, but each day could be 10 paragraphs full of hilarious sightings, mishaps, jokes, biking challenges, and descriptions of the sheer beauty of British Columbia. Now we finish our long overdue laundry, I'm off to change my brake pads, re-tape my hand, and head for the coast!!!! Almost there, mixed feelings for all of us.
Also, our overgrown, terribly uneven facial hair has reached its bitter end, and in Vancouver we're all going to get a hot shave leaving only our sweet Burt Reynolds-esque mustaches. Should be a sight to see, I'll post pictures when I get a chance!!!!
Coquitlam, BC!!! Bike Trip is Over Today!
I'll get around to updating again in the morning with details since Calgary, sleep soon.
We are only a handful of km's from Vancouver now, with probably an hour or two to put in tomorrow. Today was quite possibly the worst day of the trip in terms of things going wrong. If there ever was a test of patience, pain, and aggravation, today was it. We awoke in stunning Hope, BC on a sandy riverside spot, fully secluded from the nearby road. However, as the sand quickly dampened with the slow-starting drizzle of the day, it began to stick to everything we needed to pack, not to mention getting in the cracks of tire rims, brake pads, you name it. After a great breakfast at the local family diner, we set off for Coquitlam, roughly 120km away. The rain came down all day, making up for the dry spell we'd experienced for a long while.
At the day's end we'd experienced doses of heavy traffic, unpredictable roads, and steady streams of road grime being shot from the back tire of the rider immediately in front. The road sludge does well in laying down a first and second coat of muck to face, legs, and clothing. For me the day really started after one unfortunate event. A water bottle fell from Mike's rack, who was directly in front of me, and as it was fairly large I swerved suddenly to avoid it, losing control and sliding to the ground. At first my left thigh smacked the stem under the handlebars, then as I luckily unclipped my feet from the pedals, I skidded to the ground using my palms to bear all the impact. Since the day before I had slipped on a turn, going very slowly thankfully, my hands and arm had already sustained some scrapes and road rash. Today's fall though was harder and faster and my right hand lost a loonie size piece of flesh. I was in shock at first, a strange sensation, and the sting had me on my knees biting my lip and grimacing more than one should have to grimace. After 15 minutes of collecting my breath and wiping up the damage, we were off again.
Adding to the fun, I managed to pop four tubes, and the bracket holding my rack and panniers to the seat post happened to snap mid-ride, causing all the gear to suddenly fall to the road and drag behind me. Terrific. And these were just my troubles. There were other flats in the group, we missed a turn-off, so on and so forth. The final long riding day and it just had to be this eventful. Ah well, shit happens! Now we're at Mike's Aunt and Uncle's in Coquitlam, showered and well fed, so it could be plenty worse. Tomorrow we end our bike trip and begin our week of BC exploration until flying back home. I'll update the gap between Calgary and here when I get a chance in the morning. For now, sleep.
We are only a handful of km's from Vancouver now, with probably an hour or two to put in tomorrow. Today was quite possibly the worst day of the trip in terms of things going wrong. If there ever was a test of patience, pain, and aggravation, today was it. We awoke in stunning Hope, BC on a sandy riverside spot, fully secluded from the nearby road. However, as the sand quickly dampened with the slow-starting drizzle of the day, it began to stick to everything we needed to pack, not to mention getting in the cracks of tire rims, brake pads, you name it. After a great breakfast at the local family diner, we set off for Coquitlam, roughly 120km away. The rain came down all day, making up for the dry spell we'd experienced for a long while.
At the day's end we'd experienced doses of heavy traffic, unpredictable roads, and steady streams of road grime being shot from the back tire of the rider immediately in front. The road sludge does well in laying down a first and second coat of muck to face, legs, and clothing. For me the day really started after one unfortunate event. A water bottle fell from Mike's rack, who was directly in front of me, and as it was fairly large I swerved suddenly to avoid it, losing control and sliding to the ground. At first my left thigh smacked the stem under the handlebars, then as I luckily unclipped my feet from the pedals, I skidded to the ground using my palms to bear all the impact. Since the day before I had slipped on a turn, going very slowly thankfully, my hands and arm had already sustained some scrapes and road rash. Today's fall though was harder and faster and my right hand lost a loonie size piece of flesh. I was in shock at first, a strange sensation, and the sting had me on my knees biting my lip and grimacing more than one should have to grimace. After 15 minutes of collecting my breath and wiping up the damage, we were off again.
Adding to the fun, I managed to pop four tubes, and the bracket holding my rack and panniers to the seat post happened to snap mid-ride, causing all the gear to suddenly fall to the road and drag behind me. Terrific. And these were just my troubles. There were other flats in the group, we missed a turn-off, so on and so forth. The final long riding day and it just had to be this eventful. Ah well, shit happens! Now we're at Mike's Aunt and Uncle's in Coquitlam, showered and well fed, so it could be plenty worse. Tomorrow we end our bike trip and begin our week of BC exploration until flying back home. I'll update the gap between Calgary and here when I get a chance in the morning. For now, sleep.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Calgary, Alberta and 5 Days of Wind
Hello all, I write from the comfy confines of our friend Chris' basement, where we all slept last night. The Doble family has graciously hosted us for a couple days here in beautiful, brand new Calgary. Really though, everything here looks new and sparkling, lots of money in this city. Apparently they can't even give jobs away at restaurants and mall stores, or so we've been told so far.
But back to biking. Since Regina we've had 5 days through the scorching prairies, with consistent and stubborn wind head-on or partially head-on and slight, but as Mike said, constant uphills. The combination of heat and wind really dries you out, forcing us on some days, like going through Medicine Hat, to guzzle upwards of 12 litres in day. Also, people may lead you to believe the prairies are flat, but that isn't always the case. Rolling hills are abundant in Saskatchewan and Alberta, hills that would seem miniscule in a car ride but become a little more evident when the legs are doing all the work. Still, between Superior and the Rockies, climbing is far less prevalent in the driest part of the country.
I'll summarize our distances and times for the past 5 days:
July 3rd Regina to Bessant Park, SK - 104km, 4:08
July 4th Bessant Park to Webb, SK - 176km, 7:32
July 5th Webb to Walsh, AB - 141km, 6:35
July 6th Walsh to Brooks, AB - 163km, 7:30
July 7th Brooks to Bassano, AB - 45km, 2:15 or thereabouts
In Bessant we found a great little campground that a stranger near Sobey's described as "free." Apparently it wasn't, but since we rolled through late at night after the office had closed, we never had to deal with anybody working there. In the morning we rode on out past the office and returned to the Trans Canada without paying the tab. No harm done we figured, there were plenty of empty lots and we didn't use their showers. Our first day didn't amount to much since we only got out of Regina around 3pm after visiting the bike shop downtown and cheffing a huge pasta lunch. I'd like to think my sauce concoction fueled our decent speed pushing over 25km/hr into the dying sun. And I should mention that the prairie sunsets are something else. We've done a good portion of our riding after dinner, since the wind and heat tends to die down. The open skies and vast expanses on every side provide great red, orange, and purple hues as a backdrop for our trek, and it seems like the during those moments we like to push our bodies harder, all in unison, making for some very efficient drafting.
From Bessant we took off for Webb, a small town a few kilometers off the highway. We actually never made it into the town, instead camping in a field near an abandoned little farm house/shed that had the roof blown off. Another great sunset, it was fun to camp without the fly on the tent and let the wind through. Though the wind was persistent again that day, we chipped away at the highway and completed a solid 176km.
From Webb we rode toward the Alberta border. The west end of Saskatchewan was my favorite part of the province landscape-wise, with smooth, almost perfectly rounded molehills on each side of the highway. In the crevices that lay in between we found small herds of cows and horses, and there were enough turns at the end of the day to keep the ride interesting. There was a particular stretch near the end of the day where Mike had a great shift ahead of me, powering up and down hills harldy wavering in rpm's. My shift followed, and likewise I led up and down the hills without trouble. Our legs at this point allow a lot more freedom in terms of when and where you choose to turn it on, so when it seems like everybody is on the same page we can really let loose, charging down hills to eliminate half of the following climb. Sometimes those climbs don't even warrant shifting out of third gear, which is a comforting thought knowing that such tactics won't last when we hit the rockies! The final leg of Saskatchewan had a long downhill before a sweeping turn to the border, which we coasted into for a photo, available on Mike's blog. Just 2km from the border was the small, boring town of Walsh, where we stayed at a gas station campground, which was as picturesque as it sounds. The selling point were showers, not too clean but clean enough with flip flops on. The paste of sweat, dirt, dust, bike grease, bug spray, and sunscreen does not wash easily, but when it does come off it feels terrific.
The following day took us through Medicine Hat, our biggest city in a while, filled with SUVs and box stores. Granted, we didn't have much time to check out the cultured spots, but it didn't seem terribly interesting to me. It was over 40 celsius that day, just scorching. I wouldn't recommend biking in that kind of heat, but we have a schedule to keep. Oh well, we dealt with it and drank plenty, and kept roadside rests brief to maintain the breeze of the biking. Our day ended with a Tim Horton's dinner in Brooks, and a sweet spot to camp behind the Victory Church. Victory over what, I'm not sure...evil I suppose, maybe witches or supervillains.
Yesterday we left Brooks and early on I noticed a crack developing in my rear tire rim. About two inches long, the crack made the rim flare out near the tire and as a result the tire itself would balloon out in that spot. With Adrian's help I loosened the back brakes so they wouldn't rub the rim or tire and cause the crack to widen. Unfortunately the town of Brooks has no bike shop, so I was forced to hope for the best and ride towards Calgary. It was pretty smooth sailing for 45km until the small town of Bassano, our lunch stop with again, no bike shop. Right when we stopped, my tube deflated at the town's edge. It was then we noticed a second crack in the rim, about four inches from the first crack. The rim itself was now slicing the tube beneath the tire, making my bike unrideable. The local auto repair shop couldn't even weld it temporarily because they didn't have the tools necessary to weld aluminum. Luckily, a man approached us at the gas station and quickly after hearing my situation, offered a ride into Calgary. What luck, and what a generous guy! Really, that was my only option, and I didn't slow the group down.
Mike Garett, my driver, was full of great stories from his travels around the world. He talked about the golf course he manages in Calgary and the last minute emergency repairs he was forced to make for a recent CPGA tournament, as well as his wife's degree in photojournalism and current art direction career. I cannot stress enough how interesting the people are that we meet along the way, or how their travel experiences have led them to being extremely kind to fellow travellers in need. Mike drove me downtown, and then to several bike shops to locate the rim I needed. We tried four different shops with no luck, until we found The Bike Shop downtown with 15 minutes until close and only one rim in stock compatible with my bike. The price tag was a hefty 239.99, way beyond anything I could afford on my budget for the trip. However, after getting a chance to speak with the manager and the mechanic and explaining my situation and endless search shop to shop, I managed to bargain for a deal at 133 bucks. Over a hundred dollars off the rim, PLUS they gave my bike a tune up and cleaned out all the parts, which normally runs around 40 to 50 dollars. Considering the desperation of my situation, they could've left me optionless with no affordable rims in town, but again, people are kind more often than not.
So now we're in Calgary and will check out the stampede tomorrow. We've been well fed here and started watching the start of the Tour de France on tv. Those guys are fast.
Not sure of where or when the next update will come, but we're all very excited for the rockies and the challenges to come, we're almost there!
But back to biking. Since Regina we've had 5 days through the scorching prairies, with consistent and stubborn wind head-on or partially head-on and slight, but as Mike said, constant uphills. The combination of heat and wind really dries you out, forcing us on some days, like going through Medicine Hat, to guzzle upwards of 12 litres in day. Also, people may lead you to believe the prairies are flat, but that isn't always the case. Rolling hills are abundant in Saskatchewan and Alberta, hills that would seem miniscule in a car ride but become a little more evident when the legs are doing all the work. Still, between Superior and the Rockies, climbing is far less prevalent in the driest part of the country.
I'll summarize our distances and times for the past 5 days:
July 3rd Regina to Bessant Park, SK - 104km, 4:08
July 4th Bessant Park to Webb, SK - 176km, 7:32
July 5th Webb to Walsh, AB - 141km, 6:35
July 6th Walsh to Brooks, AB - 163km, 7:30
July 7th Brooks to Bassano, AB - 45km, 2:15 or thereabouts
In Bessant we found a great little campground that a stranger near Sobey's described as "free." Apparently it wasn't, but since we rolled through late at night after the office had closed, we never had to deal with anybody working there. In the morning we rode on out past the office and returned to the Trans Canada without paying the tab. No harm done we figured, there were plenty of empty lots and we didn't use their showers. Our first day didn't amount to much since we only got out of Regina around 3pm after visiting the bike shop downtown and cheffing a huge pasta lunch. I'd like to think my sauce concoction fueled our decent speed pushing over 25km/hr into the dying sun. And I should mention that the prairie sunsets are something else. We've done a good portion of our riding after dinner, since the wind and heat tends to die down. The open skies and vast expanses on every side provide great red, orange, and purple hues as a backdrop for our trek, and it seems like the during those moments we like to push our bodies harder, all in unison, making for some very efficient drafting.
From Bessant we took off for Webb, a small town a few kilometers off the highway. We actually never made it into the town, instead camping in a field near an abandoned little farm house/shed that had the roof blown off. Another great sunset, it was fun to camp without the fly on the tent and let the wind through. Though the wind was persistent again that day, we chipped away at the highway and completed a solid 176km.
From Webb we rode toward the Alberta border. The west end of Saskatchewan was my favorite part of the province landscape-wise, with smooth, almost perfectly rounded molehills on each side of the highway. In the crevices that lay in between we found small herds of cows and horses, and there were enough turns at the end of the day to keep the ride interesting. There was a particular stretch near the end of the day where Mike had a great shift ahead of me, powering up and down hills harldy wavering in rpm's. My shift followed, and likewise I led up and down the hills without trouble. Our legs at this point allow a lot more freedom in terms of when and where you choose to turn it on, so when it seems like everybody is on the same page we can really let loose, charging down hills to eliminate half of the following climb. Sometimes those climbs don't even warrant shifting out of third gear, which is a comforting thought knowing that such tactics won't last when we hit the rockies! The final leg of Saskatchewan had a long downhill before a sweeping turn to the border, which we coasted into for a photo, available on Mike's blog. Just 2km from the border was the small, boring town of Walsh, where we stayed at a gas station campground, which was as picturesque as it sounds. The selling point were showers, not too clean but clean enough with flip flops on. The paste of sweat, dirt, dust, bike grease, bug spray, and sunscreen does not wash easily, but when it does come off it feels terrific.
The following day took us through Medicine Hat, our biggest city in a while, filled with SUVs and box stores. Granted, we didn't have much time to check out the cultured spots, but it didn't seem terribly interesting to me. It was over 40 celsius that day, just scorching. I wouldn't recommend biking in that kind of heat, but we have a schedule to keep. Oh well, we dealt with it and drank plenty, and kept roadside rests brief to maintain the breeze of the biking. Our day ended with a Tim Horton's dinner in Brooks, and a sweet spot to camp behind the Victory Church. Victory over what, I'm not sure...evil I suppose, maybe witches or supervillains.
Yesterday we left Brooks and early on I noticed a crack developing in my rear tire rim. About two inches long, the crack made the rim flare out near the tire and as a result the tire itself would balloon out in that spot. With Adrian's help I loosened the back brakes so they wouldn't rub the rim or tire and cause the crack to widen. Unfortunately the town of Brooks has no bike shop, so I was forced to hope for the best and ride towards Calgary. It was pretty smooth sailing for 45km until the small town of Bassano, our lunch stop with again, no bike shop. Right when we stopped, my tube deflated at the town's edge. It was then we noticed a second crack in the rim, about four inches from the first crack. The rim itself was now slicing the tube beneath the tire, making my bike unrideable. The local auto repair shop couldn't even weld it temporarily because they didn't have the tools necessary to weld aluminum. Luckily, a man approached us at the gas station and quickly after hearing my situation, offered a ride into Calgary. What luck, and what a generous guy! Really, that was my only option, and I didn't slow the group down.
Mike Garett, my driver, was full of great stories from his travels around the world. He talked about the golf course he manages in Calgary and the last minute emergency repairs he was forced to make for a recent CPGA tournament, as well as his wife's degree in photojournalism and current art direction career. I cannot stress enough how interesting the people are that we meet along the way, or how their travel experiences have led them to being extremely kind to fellow travellers in need. Mike drove me downtown, and then to several bike shops to locate the rim I needed. We tried four different shops with no luck, until we found The Bike Shop downtown with 15 minutes until close and only one rim in stock compatible with my bike. The price tag was a hefty 239.99, way beyond anything I could afford on my budget for the trip. However, after getting a chance to speak with the manager and the mechanic and explaining my situation and endless search shop to shop, I managed to bargain for a deal at 133 bucks. Over a hundred dollars off the rim, PLUS they gave my bike a tune up and cleaned out all the parts, which normally runs around 40 to 50 dollars. Considering the desperation of my situation, they could've left me optionless with no affordable rims in town, but again, people are kind more often than not.
So now we're in Calgary and will check out the stampede tomorrow. We've been well fed here and started watching the start of the Tour de France on tv. Those guys are fast.
Not sure of where or when the next update will come, but we're all very excited for the rockies and the challenges to come, we're almost there!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Regina
It's been a while, lots to update. We're set to leave shortly in the direction of Moose Jaw, but first to share what we've done since Kenora.
Kenora to Winnipeg took two days, stopping in McMunn, Manitoba and camping on a man's sprawling front lawn just off the highway.
In Winnipeg we stayed with the Sanders family, two fantastic parents proud at the fact their son Ben just finished a trip like ours going West to East. He gave talks about engineering at various schools and campuses along the way with his riding partner.
Ben's parents Keran and Jim were so hospitable to us, driving us downtown two nights in a row so we could check out what people our age should be doing in the summer, meaning social activities requiring only meager amounts of leg movement. The first night we chilled at The Toad in the Hole, a cool bar with a server who brought us Jager and the Trouble board game. The second night we were fortunate enough to be in town for the Jazz festival, where Girl Talk, the amazing Pittsburgh DJ, happened to be playing. The show was a full-on crazy dance party, with people flooding the stage just a few songs in. We all had a great time, I think having attractive women throughout the crowd might have had something to do with that. Too bad for our ghastly facial hair.
The same day as the concert Keran took us around CBC, showing us her office, the radio and tv studios. We met some familiar CBC personalities and even got to talk a little live on the radio to the afternoon host. Very fortunate experience for Mike and I in particular given our Communication education...
From Winnipeg we decided that rather than four days to Regina as previously planned, we would try to do it in three to make it to the city for Canada Day. Seeing as how there are only 30 days in June and not 31, our initial plan needed some tweaking. So there it was ahead of us, 600kms in 3 days, seemingly impossible based on the fact that we'd yet to do 200kms in one day.
But long story short, and perhaps when I have more time I'll provide the details of this 3 day exhaustive trek, we made it as planned. First day, 169kms. Second day, 226! Third day, 216! We had the right mix of luck, determination, wind, and most importantly, will to refuse celebrating our nation's birthday in a town of less than a 1000.
So in Regina we're staying with Ben and Katie, sister of my old roommy Jess, who hooked us up with the connection. Ben has been awesome to us, providing beer, accomodation, laundry, his bbq, kitchen, weights, great tv and soundsystem and a day spent at the cabin about an hour's drive from downtown. At the cabin we all tried wakeboarding, and all got up with little trouble. I got up on my second try, crossed the wake, crossed back, then decided that was as good a time as ever to try a jump. I'm sure it looked funny, and I did get some air (apparently), but the landing was disrupted by my cheek hitting the edge of my board. A butterfly bandage later and another beer and I'm ready to see another day, hopefully I get a sweet scar out of it, haha.
Off for now, we'll be in Calgary in 5 days for the Stampede!!!!
Kenora to Winnipeg took two days, stopping in McMunn, Manitoba and camping on a man's sprawling front lawn just off the highway.
In Winnipeg we stayed with the Sanders family, two fantastic parents proud at the fact their son Ben just finished a trip like ours going West to East. He gave talks about engineering at various schools and campuses along the way with his riding partner.
Ben's parents Keran and Jim were so hospitable to us, driving us downtown two nights in a row so we could check out what people our age should be doing in the summer, meaning social activities requiring only meager amounts of leg movement. The first night we chilled at The Toad in the Hole, a cool bar with a server who brought us Jager and the Trouble board game. The second night we were fortunate enough to be in town for the Jazz festival, where Girl Talk, the amazing Pittsburgh DJ, happened to be playing. The show was a full-on crazy dance party, with people flooding the stage just a few songs in. We all had a great time, I think having attractive women throughout the crowd might have had something to do with that. Too bad for our ghastly facial hair.
The same day as the concert Keran took us around CBC, showing us her office, the radio and tv studios. We met some familiar CBC personalities and even got to talk a little live on the radio to the afternoon host. Very fortunate experience for Mike and I in particular given our Communication education...
From Winnipeg we decided that rather than four days to Regina as previously planned, we would try to do it in three to make it to the city for Canada Day. Seeing as how there are only 30 days in June and not 31, our initial plan needed some tweaking. So there it was ahead of us, 600kms in 3 days, seemingly impossible based on the fact that we'd yet to do 200kms in one day.
But long story short, and perhaps when I have more time I'll provide the details of this 3 day exhaustive trek, we made it as planned. First day, 169kms. Second day, 226! Third day, 216! We had the right mix of luck, determination, wind, and most importantly, will to refuse celebrating our nation's birthday in a town of less than a 1000.
So in Regina we're staying with Ben and Katie, sister of my old roommy Jess, who hooked us up with the connection. Ben has been awesome to us, providing beer, accomodation, laundry, his bbq, kitchen, weights, great tv and soundsystem and a day spent at the cabin about an hour's drive from downtown. At the cabin we all tried wakeboarding, and all got up with little trouble. I got up on my second try, crossed the wake, crossed back, then decided that was as good a time as ever to try a jump. I'm sure it looked funny, and I did get some air (apparently), but the landing was disrupted by my cheek hitting the edge of my board. A butterfly bandage later and another beer and I'm ready to see another day, hopefully I get a sweet scar out of it, haha.
Off for now, we'll be in Calgary in 5 days for the Stampede!!!!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Kenora
We're leaving Ontario today, finally. Our home province is huge, and though this is obvious when glancing at a map, it doesn't resonate quite the same until you've travelled it on bike.
We left Dryden yesterday morning and the weather channel warned of thunderstorms and heavy rain. Our host Mr. Collins, however, guessed that the storm coming through Kenora would bypass us to the north.
The clouds were quite ominous on the highway at the start of our day, and light drizzle progressed into a heavy downpour right as I took my first half hour shift at the front of the line. However, with the humidity the temperature was resting up around 23 degrees at that point, and was only going up, so the rain didn't pose much of a problem. After 45 minutes of precipitation, it ceased for the rest of the day. Strangely enough, by the mid afternoon it had all cleared up and we were riding in the sun.
We were told coming into Kenora that it was beautiful, a cottage country comparable to Collingwood or Muskoka for this part of Ontario. The area for some time has been attracting people from Manitoba, the West, Minnesota, and Southern Ontario. Biking along highway 17, it was easy to see why. Around every single bend there were lakes on each side, clear and sparkling with little crap built up around them. The winding road lay flat for most of our day, with the hills being low in grade and rolling gently up and down. We stopped in Vermillion Bay for lunch next to the water, and though the mosquitoes were happy to greet us, it was a great stop nevertheless. Later on, at the peak of the sun's heat, we pulled off the highway at Dogtooth Lake and went for a swim. It was secluded enough with nobody else in or around the water, and a great spot to rest up and get recharged for the last leg. Rainer also popped another tube, putting him quite far ahead in that department, though with 7 or so popped by yours truly, I still remain in second place in terms of tire problems.
At the day's end we hit 160kms, one of our longer days though it didn't seem that way to me. We bought dinner and ate outside the grocery store, then hit up the residential area to find a backyard to camp. Somehow we managed to find probably the kindest family on the block, the Sweeney's. Mike, the father, kindly drove us back to the grocery store to buy our breakfast for the morning, and their son John told us all about his school in Lethbridge and his aspirations of piloting commercial planes. Very genuine and down to earth people. Mike had finished golfing with John that day and told us about their round, told us about their beautiful camp on Lake of the Woods (it's only a "cottage" in southern Ontario), as well as giving us a lesson in bush planes and railroads, the latter of which was Mike's line of work for many years.
After hearing the thunder and seeing flashes of lightning after heading to our tents for the night, we quickly changed our minds and took Mike up on his offer for us to sleep in his basement. I had a couch and probably my soundest sleep of the trip. This morning we cooked up our eggs and toast and are now packing for the day.
The Weather Channel is promising us (but what is their word worth?) a wind coming from the southeast, which should make our relatively short day past the Manitoba border an easy one. Tomorrow night we'll arrive in Winnipeg and then take a rest day to explore and visit a bike shop. We are very excited for that, as well as Canada Day in Regina!
Cheers, will update again soon.
We left Dryden yesterday morning and the weather channel warned of thunderstorms and heavy rain. Our host Mr. Collins, however, guessed that the storm coming through Kenora would bypass us to the north.
The clouds were quite ominous on the highway at the start of our day, and light drizzle progressed into a heavy downpour right as I took my first half hour shift at the front of the line. However, with the humidity the temperature was resting up around 23 degrees at that point, and was only going up, so the rain didn't pose much of a problem. After 45 minutes of precipitation, it ceased for the rest of the day. Strangely enough, by the mid afternoon it had all cleared up and we were riding in the sun.
We were told coming into Kenora that it was beautiful, a cottage country comparable to Collingwood or Muskoka for this part of Ontario. The area for some time has been attracting people from Manitoba, the West, Minnesota, and Southern Ontario. Biking along highway 17, it was easy to see why. Around every single bend there were lakes on each side, clear and sparkling with little crap built up around them. The winding road lay flat for most of our day, with the hills being low in grade and rolling gently up and down. We stopped in Vermillion Bay for lunch next to the water, and though the mosquitoes were happy to greet us, it was a great stop nevertheless. Later on, at the peak of the sun's heat, we pulled off the highway at Dogtooth Lake and went for a swim. It was secluded enough with nobody else in or around the water, and a great spot to rest up and get recharged for the last leg. Rainer also popped another tube, putting him quite far ahead in that department, though with 7 or so popped by yours truly, I still remain in second place in terms of tire problems.
At the day's end we hit 160kms, one of our longer days though it didn't seem that way to me. We bought dinner and ate outside the grocery store, then hit up the residential area to find a backyard to camp. Somehow we managed to find probably the kindest family on the block, the Sweeney's. Mike, the father, kindly drove us back to the grocery store to buy our breakfast for the morning, and their son John told us all about his school in Lethbridge and his aspirations of piloting commercial planes. Very genuine and down to earth people. Mike had finished golfing with John that day and told us about their round, told us about their beautiful camp on Lake of the Woods (it's only a "cottage" in southern Ontario), as well as giving us a lesson in bush planes and railroads, the latter of which was Mike's line of work for many years.
After hearing the thunder and seeing flashes of lightning after heading to our tents for the night, we quickly changed our minds and took Mike up on his offer for us to sleep in his basement. I had a couch and probably my soundest sleep of the trip. This morning we cooked up our eggs and toast and are now packing for the day.
The Weather Channel is promising us (but what is their word worth?) a wind coming from the southeast, which should make our relatively short day past the Manitoba border an easy one. Tomorrow night we'll arrive in Winnipeg and then take a rest day to explore and visit a bike shop. We are very excited for that, as well as Canada Day in Regina!
Cheers, will update again soon.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Dryden, Ontario
Hey everybody, just a quick post before leaving the Collins' home here on the outskirts of Dryden. From Thunder Bay we travelled to just outside Upsala, where we ended the day by camping in a secluded, albeit noisy spot between the highway and the train tracks. At least it was free, though the mosquitoes were everywhere.
The following day we biked into Ignace, another 124kms or so, and though we got poured on for the last half hour of the day, we escaped the oncoming mammoth storm. We knocked on a family's door, and they allowed us at first to camp in their yard. After realizing the severity, or at least the threat, of the oncoming storm, they set up cots in the garage for us to sleep on. Dinner and breakfast, as well as a phone for calls home were all provided. Bob and Pam were wonderful people, providing stories of life up north, fishing, working in the mines, tips for the road and routes ahead, and even giving us some beans and muffins for our lunch yesterday.
The Ericksons from Thunder Bay had also generously called ahead to friends in Dryden and that's how we ended our day from Ignace at this great home on the lake. A refreshing swim last night and bbq chicken and potato salad for dinner, a little overwhelming but greatly appreciated.
For now we leave for a longer day to Kenora, with major storm warnings in effect. Here's hoping for the best.
The following day we biked into Ignace, another 124kms or so, and though we got poured on for the last half hour of the day, we escaped the oncoming mammoth storm. We knocked on a family's door, and they allowed us at first to camp in their yard. After realizing the severity, or at least the threat, of the oncoming storm, they set up cots in the garage for us to sleep on. Dinner and breakfast, as well as a phone for calls home were all provided. Bob and Pam were wonderful people, providing stories of life up north, fishing, working in the mines, tips for the road and routes ahead, and even giving us some beans and muffins for our lunch yesterday.
The Ericksons from Thunder Bay had also generously called ahead to friends in Dryden and that's how we ended our day from Ignace at this great home on the lake. A refreshing swim last night and bbq chicken and potato salad for dinner, a little overwhelming but greatly appreciated.
For now we leave for a longer day to Kenora, with major storm warnings in effect. Here's hoping for the best.
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