Blazing Saddles Odyssey

Whitbourne - Signal Hill Day 72

2009-09-09T03:30:00.000-07:00

Renne-Liese's mascot for the trip. He fell off her bike once about 20km out of Neudorf Saskatchewan and I happened to find him on the road. We tied him to her front handle bars when we got to Binscarth so he wouldn't fall off again. She was very happy to have found him.

This is Sylvie's mascot..

Kruz, a friend of mine from Kincardine gave this Little Kruz to me for the trip.

Juanita's mother gave her this horn for her bike.

Me, Terri and Terry Light setting off from the Irving's restaurant after having breakfast. This would be our last day of riding.

The bodies of water we passed were not called lakes but were referred to as ponds. There were lots.

The landscape was very rugged and it looked like someone threw all these rocks down from the sky.

Terri is dipping her bike in the Atlantic Ocean in St. John's. There was no beach like there was in BC so we had to be careful not to fall in.

This was a little trickier with my bike but I managed to get the job done without getting wet.

Farther down Water Street in St. John's we found the Terry Fox monument tucked away. It was not very well marked and Mike and Don had gone on ahead of us and scouted out where it was.

This is me just rounding the last corner at Signal Hill.

I couldn't lift my bike above my head so this would have to do.

Terri is pretty happy about the arrival at Signal Hill.

We congratulated each other. We waited a long time to get to this spot but it was all worth it.

Happy! Happy! There were other cyclists who arrived ahead of us (no surprise) and they cheered us all the way to the final inch.

Juanita, Terri and I were the only women who did not take any rides to get to the end. Juanita was the only woman who spent each and every night in the designated campground or university. Terri and I bailed a few times to motels/b&bs when the weather was nasty.

We decided we didn't want to throw our bikes over the edge so we threw the next best thing, the peanut butter sandwiches we had left in our bags.

ALL GONE!!!!

We are pretending we caught this moose. Still no sightings. Hopefully Don and Terri will see one during their trip to the other side of NFLD.

The 72 day group at the dinner to wrap up the tour. We are all quite tired but we all felt really great at the end.
Outside my room at the Battery Hotel, with certificate in hand.

Day 72 and the last day of the Tour du Canada started out very cold. We enjoyed a nice hot breakfast at the nearby Irving station. Don, Mike and other cyclists, Terry, Mike, Bill, Steve and Bev were there as well. We ll had stayed at the motel nearby.

We set off about 8:00 am and headed down Route 100 to get to the Trans Canada. There was an option to do a scenic route but that involved 130 km. Terri and I decided to stick to the highway until we got closer to St. John's. We didn't want to be late getting in and rushed for the final party. The road we took was smooth and we did have some long ascents but overall the worst thing was the noise of the traffic.

We tried to spot a moose along our way and didn't stop for a break until we got to the outskirts of St. John's.
It had been prearranged to meet at a Tim's to ride the last 11 km together as a group. We really didn't expect to see anyone as everyone was so excited to get to the finish, they did their own ride. As it turned out Jim joined us on the last 10 km to the park where we all dipped our wheels. It was pretty special. Jim then went on ahead with some of the younger guys and Terri and I carried on to the Terry Fox memorial. We were a bit disappointed that is was only a small pillar and it was not very well signed. Mike and Don had scouted out where it was before we go there. The statues in Victoria and Thunder Bay were much more impressive. We were still honored though to have our picture with the memorial.

We still had to climb up Signal Hill and the guys told us we would "have to work hard" to get to the top. We were a little intimidated by that but anxious to give it a go. We have to say it was very difficult but it wasn't a steady hill there were some flatter sections as you travelled up. I still had a couple of gears on the back cassette to go when I got to the top. I was saving them in case I really needed them. Terri reached the summit ahead of me and was able to do the climb well.

There were lots of other cyclists from both the 71 and 72 day groups cheering as we made it to the top.We arrived at the summit at about 2:30 pm. The moment was bittersweet. We didn't get as emotional as I thought we would and I think it was because we were concentrating on the climb itself and not the fact that it was the end. Lots of pictures were taken and we threw our peanut butter sandwiches (instead of the bikes) over the edge.

We checked into the hotel and after a bit of a delay in getting the room, we got cleaned up and headed downstairs for the final dinner. It was very special to have Mike and Don join us for the dinner. Everyone was all smiles and hugging each other. Certificates were handed out and group pictures were taken. Several of the riders who are quite musical got together and wrote a song about the summer.

Mike and I have left St. John's and are actually on the ferry going back to Nova Scotia as I am writing this. We were able to see a bit of the area and enjoy a few meals in local restaurants. Some of the group got "screeched in". Terri and Don are spending a few more days traveling to the other side of the island and visiting the Grosse Moraine National Park. They will take the shorter ferry back. Terri and I agreed we would touch base back in Kincardine and hope for some nice fall weather to get a few more rides in.

Our total mileage for the tour was 7550 km.

One of the young men on the tour calculated he ate 255 peanut butter and jam sandwiches.

On Wednesday, August 26th I recorded what I ate for the day. Terri would have been very close to the same:
Breakfast:(quantities are a guess and probably larger than what I think, as always)
1 1/2 cup hot oatmeal with raisins, soy milk and lots of brown sugar
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 banana
1/2 cup all bran with soy milk
2 pancakes with syrup
tea

Morning Snack:
whole wheat bagel with butter, peanut butter and jam
3 timbits
tea

Lunch:
peanut butter sandwich

Afternoon snack:
2 bananas
2 rice krispie squares

Afternoon snack upon getting to camp:
bowl of branflakes and rice krispies with soy milk

Supper:
diet coke
tossed salad with dressing
veggie stir fry with rice
1/2 cup choc pudding

In addition to normal maintenance such as cleaning and adjustments, the following list of parts were replaced by the 72 day group at some point from the time we left Vancouver to the end at Signal Hill.

-93 flat tires (Patrick had 14 and Jim had 13)
-37 tires replaced
-6 spokes
-9 rear cassettes
-3 seats
-17 chains
-3 wheels changed or rebuilt
-3 bottom brackets
-5 pedal cleats
-6 pedals
-3 derailleur cables
-6 brakes
-2 brake cables
-2 cycling computers
-2 sets of bearings repacked or replaced
-3 derailleur hangers
-3 helmets
-1 freewheel spring
-2 chain rings
-2 sets of hand grips
-1 crank arm
-2 bike pumps
-2 CO2 kits
-1 mirror
-1 handle bar taping

Terri and I would like to thank all those who followed us throughout the summer. We had a great time keeping the blog up and it will be a real special memory for the both of us. Thank you for all your support and a special thank-you to Mike and Don for "The Summer the Women Went".

Argentia - Whitbourne Day 71

2009-09-08T15:18:00.000-07:00

The wheels from the 30 bikes hat were loaded on he truck and trailer were all lined up for easy identification.

The fellow before me was able to lift his bike above his head. This is as far as I got with mine. The last province almost conquered.

Terri proudly in the tenth and final province. This would be our last sleep until the ride up Signal hill.

This is day 71 and September 5th. What a night!! Poor excuse for lounge chair!! The footrest only came up partway and the back went back half-way so you were always sliding down. Should of got a berth. We both slept poorly as did Don and Mike and others in lounge chairs so catching a nap after breakfast was a definite must . I ended up taking my blanket and pillow and trying to get some sleep on the floor. During breakfast, one of the other passengers spotted a whale and I did get a glimpse of it as well. Crossing over to Argentia was a 15hr trip, arriving around 2pm so by the time we got our bikes, walked off the ferry and took pictures at the Welcome to Newfoundland and Labrador sign, we were on our way to Whitbourne by around 3pm. Cool northeast wind today giving us a headwind all the way to camp and it did look like rain for a while but the sky lightened up. We travelled along the Trans Canada Highway which provided us with a great cycling lane. There were a few good long climbs to challenge us but not like we had done the last few days. Terrain is bush, and lots of small bodies of water nestled between the hills. Picturesque and would be even more so had the sun been shining. Tomorrow is the grand finale!!!

Mike and Don had booked a room at the Whitbourne Hotel and we decided to join them as the alternative was sleeping in an old stadium/arena. When we got to the arena we were glad we had decided to join them at the hotel. It was old and smelly. Others from our group had decided to stay at the hotel as well and we all had a nice dinner at the local restaurant. We had decided to leave directly from the hotel in the morning so we inquired and agreed to meet at 7 am at the local Irving restaurant.

Englishtown to North Sydney Day 70

2009-09-08T15:02:00.000-07:00

All of the luggage from the two groups had to be sorted onto three piles. One for our last overnight stay.

One to go right through to St. John's

and one for carry on to the ferry. There was lots of carry ons!!!

Overlooking St. Ann's on the way to Argentia to catch the ferry.

At the next lookout, Mike and Don caught up to us while there were travelling to the ferry. This was taken overlooking the Great Bra d'Or Channel

Our ferry to St. John's, the Clara and Joey Smallwood

30 bikes from the two groups had to be mounted on the top of the van and trailer as the big trucks did not go on the ferry
We waited for almost 3 hours in line to walk our bikes on. The ferry loading appeared to be very inefficient. Don and Mike were the first two vehicles on the ferry and they loaded at about 10:00 pm. We loaded about 10:45 for a 11:00 sailing. When we got on the ferry they didn't have any place for our bikes to be tied and they wanted us to simply lay our bikes on the floor. We protested and finally they found a place for us to go.

Today is day 70 of the tour and both groups are together now for the final leg of the trip to St. John's, Newfoundland. This morning, the temperature was comfortably warm so packing the tents away dry was a plus. We had to sort through our "stuff" since the two large trucks used for the tour will leave us and we downsize to a van and large trailer. Thirty of the lighter bikes will be put on top of the van and trailer so that will be interesting to see. We arranged one carry-on for the ferry, our tent bag for Whitbourne, Newfoundland's overnight stay and what we don't need till St. John's, in another bag. Three separate tarps were spread out on the ground for these three separate bags. The staff prepared a hamburger lunch and we were off for our 42k to North Sydney around 1 pm. Sure got warmer after lunch!!

We travelled along route #105 right to the terminal. Another beautiful ride but not realizing we were climbing up another mountain till at the summit and saw the sign for Kelly's Mountain. Not too tough a climb. We were pulling into the summit lookout when Don and Mike pulled in behind us in their cars. They had left Moncton this morning around 0830 to meet us at the terminal and this was around 2pm. Beautiful view of the coastline and valley. After our descent, we cycled over the Great Bras d'Or Channel Bridge. We had a bit of a tailwind the remainder of the ride to the ferry. Bikes were loaded on top of the van and trailer at the terminal and the remaining 12 bikes were walked on later. We were able to shower at the terminal and then out for supper. It was a long wait before we could go on and departure was 11pm. There seemed to be a lot of disorganization because of changes to the ferry computer system everyone was trying to get use to. We had booked lounge chairs for the 14hr crossing but wished we had chosen berths. The evening was warm and a full moon to view while waiting in the parking lot to walk our bikes on. Then in the ferry, they didn't have an area designated to place our bikes so that took a bit more organizing but once all that was sorted out, we went to the lounge chair areas to settle in for the night.

Dingwall to Englishtown Day 69

2009-09-07T13:10:00.000-07:00

The switchbacks of Smokey were very scary. This picture was taken from the bottom and as it was zoomed in you may not be able to appreciate it quite as much as I did when I thought Little Kruz and I were threatened with becoming fossils on the mountain wall.

On top of old Smokey.

View of Lakies Head on the way up.

Green Cove.

McKinnon's Cove.

Throughout the summer our group has always been willing to lend a hand whenever necessary. This was no exception.

Our trip today would only be a 108 km day but because we were on the Cabot Trail we planned to take our time and take lots of pictures. We had had such a great time yesterday with the views and the climbs that we wanted to take this day in to the fullest.

We were not far out of camp when we came across Edith who had two flats to contend with. She was prepared to wait for the truck and ride to the next camp and we convinced her it was worth a try to get her bike on the road again. Terri had spares to offer her and just as we were getting started, other riders came along. Jim and Ray took charge of the situation and in no time the tires were changed and the three of us were on our way again. We decided to stick together in case there were further problems. Edith ended up going on ahead of us and she made it to camp without incident.

Terri and I took our time and stopped often to enjoy the views along the way. There were may look outs that gave us an opportunity for beautiful vistas. We had some fun at McKinnon's Cove by climbing over the guardrail and onto to the rocks. It was very safe, no cliffs and it was too nice to pass up. The next lookout at Green Cove provided a boardwalk out to the rocks.

We stopped in Ingonish at a very popular restaurant called Main Street Restaurant. We enjoyed great burgers and bought some squares to share with our cook crew when we got to camp.

We were concerned about Mount Smokey but after the climbs we did yesterday it proved to be not so difficult. It was the downhill that was scary, The wind was incredible and the switchbacks provided some opportunity to control the speeds and we were glad we were going down instead of up. We had the brakes on all the way down and at one point the wind was so strong I was sure it was going to pick me and the bike up and plant us on the mountain wall. We found out later that a few of the guys from the 71 day group went up and down all those switchbacks.

Close to the bottom of the mountain they were stripping the pavement for resurfacing and it was like riding over a washboard. One of the construction guys came over to us and offered us a Tim Horton's donut. We talked about wanting to see a moose and he said there was one on the side of the road not 20 minutes before we got there. At the base of the mountain at Wreck Cove general store we got a drink and I made a call to Peter, a 2008 TdC vet who lives on Saltsprings Island. He rode with us from Victoria to the Ferry way back in June and we wanted to let him know we made it through the Cabot Trail without walking up any of the climbs. It was great to talk with him and his wife Mary.

As the day was getting on and the supper hour was nearing, the meal we had before the climb up Smokey was needing replacing. We had seen a sign for the Clucking Hens Bakery so we decided to stop there. The sandwich I had hit the spot. Oh yest the chocolate macaroon tasted homemade and Terri had a square. I had been fading given the long day yesterday and not having eaten enough. Unfortunately I did not replenish soon enough and after about 15 min on the road I felt very faint and not really aware of my pedaling; I felt like I was going in slow motion and felt dangerously close to fainting. We stopped for a few minutes until I regained my composure and headed towards camp. We had a 2 minute ferry ride and then a short trip to camp. Camp was up a very steep loose gravel road. Terri made it up but it proved too slippery for me. I walked it and when we arrived the supper had already been served. Fortunately with our late afternoon break at the bakery we were not famished. We arrived to find the 71 and 72 day group camping together for the night and we received instructions on sorting our things and getting ready for the final two days.

We set up our tent and realized it would be the last night we would sleep outside. As there was so much to do we didn't have much time to get sad about it being the end. It was enough just to get our heads around how the ride to the ferry, the night on the ferry and the ride to St. John's would play out.

Lake Ainslie to Dingwall Day 68

2009-09-02T18:09:00.003-07:00

The steam coming off Lake Ainslee at about 6:30 am.

The last breakfast that Cook Crew #2 will have to make. Oatmeal and french toast.

Our first little climb after getting on the Cabot Trail North.

Beautiful landscapes with houses dotting the landscape. It is as if they were just placed there randomly.

We had lunch at this Acadian Restaurant in Chetticamp. Terri had meat pie and beans, I had fish chowder and fish cake with fresh peas.

The scenery was breathtaking and we were so fortunate to have the sunshine today. It made it that much more beautiful. This is looking back on where we had come from, but not yet at the top of French Mountain.

Can you believe the color of the water???

This is on the way to French Mountain but not there yet. You see this photo often in postcards and in books.

Our friend Terry taking the picture below.

We thought we had already climbed a lot but we had a lot to go.

Here comes the real thing. 11 % grade

The small cove at the bottom is a fishing area, according to the sign posted here.

Terri at the top.

This is actually 0n the way down North Mountain. It was a 13% grade and not the same scenery as going up French Mountain. We had to put our long sleeve shirts on again as we got cold. The wind was gusty as well. North Mountain was the hardest climb today but the Rockies was so long ago we forgot how hard they were.
The scenery on the way down North Mountain was more spectacular than what we saw going up. There were lookouts that gave us a chance for pictures and to control our speeds going down. The disc brakes were very warm. Going down French we Terri clocked 72 and Holly 71.55. Not much breaking on that one as we had a clean descent with good views of what was ahead.

Today's ride is to be 142k and it is day 68 of the tour. Also, September 2nd. We got away from camp at 0800 as it was Holly's crew doing breakfast and clean-up and I help her and when it is my crew cooking, she helps me. Before camp, we already took one layer of cycling clothing off as the sun was warming up the air rather quickly. However, as we were cycling the first few K's on of the day along route #395, it was a bit cool but then onto route #19, the sun was in our favour the remainder of the day. Our cue sheets indicated that this is the climbing day - three summits. The French, and North are the toughones. The Mac Kenzie is in the Cape Breton Highlands and much easier. There were lots of warm-up climbs up to and after Chiticamp, where we had our 1200 lunch in an Acadian restaurant. Shortly after leaving Chiticamp, we entered the Cape Breton Highlands National Park,and the first climb began. But the picturesque beauty of the shoreline is breathtaking!!! Lots of opportunity for picture taking as there were scenic look-outs along the route. The first climb was French Mountain and, in our granny gears, we managed it just fine. It was an 11% grade, and about 3k. We were on the MacKenzie Mountain and really felt it was easy!! We stopped at Pleasant Bay for a snack, then shortly after that, the North Mountain climb began. It is a 4k climb with 13% grade. Tough, but we both managed it in the lowest granny gear again. Then began the 5k descend at 13% grade with lots of twists and turns so braking was a must. Great to get into camp which was another 20k after our descend. Beautiful, enjoyable ride and day inspite of the challenges of the climbs. As of today, we have cycled 7362k and have 4 days of cycling left. The guys left on Monday to meet up with us at North Sydney on Friday. It will be great to see them!!

Lower Barney's River to Lake Ainslie

2009-09-02T18:09:00.002-07:00

Some early morning scenery coming out of Lower Barney's River on our way o Antigonish.

Things can be so beautiful early in the am. We left camp at 6:30 as we had 167 km to bike and Holly had to be in camp for cooking supper that evening.

The Cabot Trail is beckoning us. We will actually get on it tomorrow.

Lots of farms do the landscape. Beautiful lush green landscapes.

Terri chowing down on a peanut butter and jam sandwich. He actually looks like he is enjoying it.

The beautiful water of Lake Ainslie.

Well, time is closing in on us. That being, this is day 67 and September 1st. with a distance of 167k. We left camp at Cranberry Campground in Lower Barney's River at 0630 as the day would be long and Holly's crew had to do supper. We had a quick breakfast with the plan to find a Tim Horton's at about the 50k mark of our ride this morning.
We had pretty good daylight for an early start and the road was in need of work but rideable until about 25k later, we came upon road work and for the next 15k, it seemed like we were riding on a washboard - so rough and slow until just before getting into the town of Antigonish. Our road today was #245, which took us to Antigonish and then on to # 104 to the Causo Causeway then #105 and finally #252 and #395 to the camp. We had a tailwind in the morning but after crossing the causeway, we had headwinds and crosswinds so the last 60 k were tough. We soon came across the Cabot Trail sign and so the long gradual climbs and long decends began but tomorrow will be the real challenge with three summit climbs. Our cue sheet said lots of ups and downs on today's ride. They wouldn't have been so bad had we not had the headwinds and cross winds. There was lots of traffic including numerous transport trucks but with the great wide shoulders on the #104 and #105, cycling was fine and great conditions of the paths as well. Scenery was quite picturesque on all the roads today. We had a Tim Horton's lunch break just before the Causso Causeway and then just a banana and orange break when we had about 30 k left before getting into camp. Holly got into camp around 4:15pm and I arrived shortly after. The last 15k was tough for me with the strong headwind on that road which was #395. Treated myself to a Mars bar at the camp office and the owner gave every rider a can of pop or bottle of water as they came into camp. He had a Welcome sign at the office for Tour du Canada riders. He also had placed 5,4,3,2,and 1k markers on the road leading into camp. Nice English fellow. Awefully windy at the camp as we're right on Lake Ainslie but beautiful spot and as I am typing the blog, the winds have died down to nothing and I'm just hearing the waves splashing gently on the shore. What a soothing sound. Once again, I have my waterfront property but just for a night. Can't have everything.!! night. Skies were cloudy with sunny periods this morning but pretty bright this after noon. Water in the lakes and rivers we came across ranged from bright blue to brownish depending on the wind direction in the different areas. Lots of rivers and lakes here in this beautiful part of Canada. Bedtime as tomorrow comes pretty early for us.

Cornwall to Lower Barney's River Day 66

2009-09-02T18:09:00.001-07:00

You can't go far without seeing the telltale lobster traps on PEI.

Fishermen own these little huts where they store all their fishing gear.

Confederation Building in downtown Charlottetown.

The Wood Island's Ferry from Wood Island PEI to Pictou, Nova Scotia.

We first met this fellow outside Charlottetown and then three other times as he hitch hiked is way to the ferry. Here he is on the NS side trying to get to New Glasgow. He is on his way to Halifax to fly home to France. He had been here working in Montreal for three months. When we saw him at the ferry he said "I won", meaning he got there before me on the bike.

Welcome to Nova Scotia. Another province down.
Our first glimpse of the intimidating Cabot Trail on Cape Breton.

Terri's daughter Renee's mother-in-law Helen Marr is from Lower Barney's River.

A spectacular sunset at Lower Barney's River.

It was a special treat today not to have to pack up the tent. After a wonderful evening with Linda and Norm we had a night in a real bed. Linda drove us back to the campsite for 6:00 am as Terri was cooking. We got away at a good time this morning and we pushed hard all morning because we were aiming for the 12:30 pm ferry from Wood Islands to Nova Scotia. This would give us enough time to ride to our destination on the mainland without it getting too late. We did not stop and pull off the road for a break other than a nature call. One such stop was at Buzz' cafe where Mike and I had a meal when we cycled in PEI in 2005. Our morning ride was for the majority of the distance was on Highway 1. It had some long but not too steep climbs.

We got to the ferry with 30 minutes to spare, only to find out the 12:30 was cancelled due to mechanical problems. We would not get off the island until 2:30. Linda had made us some sandwiches so with a drink fromt he cafeteria we had a very good lunch and then just relaxed until it was time to go.

We landed in Nova Scotia and took the time for the photo at the welcome sign. One more down and just one more to go.
We saw our first sign for Cape Breton and the Cabot Trail is very much on our minds. We have beenreassured by some that if we got this far we would be fine but it is still intimidating. We get to just the start of it tomorrow and the route promises some "ups and downs".

We did not do the side trip to Pictou given our late arrival on the mainland. I had been there before as my first husband was born there and we visited family there when our children were small. Our ride after the fairy took us through New Glasgow which was very much under construction. Due to no signage on the downtown streets, we had to stop and ask the name of the road before we ventured on it to make sure it was indeed our turn.

We rode pretty hard to camp as the afternoon was getting on and we knew there was only so much daylight. Because the ferry at 12:30 was cancelled our truck did not get here at its usual early time. Half the cook crew barreled ahead this morning and took the 10:30 ferry to make sure they got here to start supper. They ended up waiting quite awhile for the truck but supper was not too delayed.

We had an awesome sunset and we are told this is the last one of the trip. It did not disappoint. It was cloudy on the island this morning so we thought the chances of seeing anything was slim but once on Nova Scotia soil, the sun shone and it warmed up considerably. As I sit in my tent recounting the day for you the wind is whipping all around the tents. It was necessary to use all the pegs to batten down the hatches well.

Our ride today was 133 km and tomorrow is a long 167 km. Terri and I are heading out by 6:30, I am cooking tomorrow night. We hav been told by Claire of the Weather Network that we can expect sunny skies and mid 20's for the rest of the week. We are looking forward to that and the spectacular scenery the Cabot Trail has to offer.

Murrray Beach to Cornwall Day 65

2009-09-02T18:09:00.000-07:00

Terri and I would like to have this every morning. How about it Don and Mike??? This was a beautiful Inn called Little Shemogue Country Inn. We escaped the wrath of Danny by staying here.

We didn't even have to worry about the bikes, they were kept in this barn.

The outside of the inn. We were on the water but with the storm we didn't venture too far.

It appears people get to name the road that goes down to their home.

On the way to the Inn we stopped at this take out place and they delivered our meal. The Inn's restaurant was full for the night and at $39.50 we wouldn't have gone there. We ate burgers and fries while watching Marketplace on tv.

We took the shuttle over to the island. The bikes were taken on a trailer and we were in the van. Another province down.

The beautiful red soil awaited us on the island.

This is the house that Terri had her eye on.

Lots of green pastures and little houses and churches dotting the landscape.

After a very comfortable sleep at Little Shemogue Inn, Terri and I enjoyed a nice breakfast by a window that overlooked the yard and water. Fresh fruit, juice, cheese, sliced cold meat, scrambled eggs and bacon, croissants, toast and jam and a bottomless pot of coffee and tea. The Inn is owned bya German couple who have operated it for 16 years. The antiques and old wooden furniture and builtins made the home warm and very comfortable. We were able to keep the bikes in the shed so they stayed nice and dry. We heard the rain through the night and the hosts advised we missed a lot of rain.

We headed out about 9:00 am and road Route 955 to Highway 16 which lead us to the Confederation Bridge. It was a short 23km and then we had a wait of about 45 minutes. The shuttle was just loading a group of our cyclists and there was not room for the recumbent so we waited for the next one.

Once over the bridge and unloaded we headed for the Welcome to PEI sign or the official snapshot. After lunch and a Cows Ice cream cone we headed off for camp. The cue sheet took us on some side trips, some of which we avoided. We spent most of the afternoon on Highway 1 which provided us with a good surface, ample shoulder and periodic siings of the water. Terri's crew was cooking tonight and we were going to a friend's home for supper and to stay over so we tried to get to camp in good time. The tailwind helped tremendously and we arrived around 4:00 pm after riding a total of 76 km for the day.

In speaking with others from camp, we learned that we missed a bad storm and we were thankful for having booked the B&B. Tents were flapping and those who stayed int he shelter didn't get much sleep given the noise and having to get up to adjust the tarps they had put up for proection. The cyclists were split up into two shelters and each shelter had a skunk visit them. One went right past Barry's head but left to scent behind. The other one left some spray behind but not on anything that belonged to the cyclists and not too much. There is a story aabout a previous years ride that had skunks visiting. One of the cyclists bated the side of tent when they thought it might have been a raccoon and it turns ot they ended up throwing away all their tenting materials due to the odour. The Moncton area got over 100 ml of rain.

There were lots of quaint homes along our ride this afternoon and many cottage businesses all along the coast. Our campground was right by the water and we are staying 4 km down the coast from the campground. Linda and Norm Kirkpatrick are long time friends of my sister and they welcomed us into their home and laundry room. They hav a beautiful log home right on the water and Lindais a pro in the kitchen so you know we had a nice dinner. We had great fun catching up on things and they were very curious about the trip.

We opted not to do the additional trips to Anne of Green Gables and Charlottetown as we have both been here before. We preferred to visit with Norm and Linda. We will have conquered another province tomorrow when we leave the island on the Wood Island Ferry to Pictou, Nova Scotia. Our husbands Dona nd MIke will be leaving tomorrow, Monday, Aug. 31st to head to NFLD to pick us up.

Saint-Louis du kent to Murray Beach

2009-08-29T16:20:00.000-07:00

My sister Paula and her husband came to Saint-Louis with a few friends to spend the weekend. She and Brian were waiting at the park gate when we arrived. It was great to see family.

Brian was trying to figure out why the flash was not going off.

A beautiful sunrise at Saint-Louis. It had a lot of red in is that is not obvious here. You know the saying, red sky in the morning, sailor take warning.
Everyone getting breakfast at Saint Louis.

We rode mostly on Highway 11which meant we did not get the scenery of the coastline. We were trying to beat the storm. We did get a look at the Murray River. The route on the cue sheet also had three detours due to bridges being closed. We were able to avoid the detours.

A breakdown on the highway.

The Restigouche River was so calm you could see the reflection of the houses in the water.

Everyone was hunkered down in the shelter to stay out of the rain. The truck was very late in coming, didn't get there until after 5pm. Everyone had a plan by then of how they were going to handle the storm. We and several others went to B&Bs or cabins on site. Those that stayed were going to sleep in the shelter with just their sleeping bags as the wind was to be so strong that a tent would not have been a good idea.

Day 64 and August 29th of our tour started with a very cool morning temperature of 2 degrees!! And also at 0600, it is still quite dark. But with a 148k ride ahead of us, cyclists wanted to get on the road so tent zippers were opening and tents coming down, being stuffed in bags and taken over to the truck for loading later. Of course the cook crew would get things going for breakfast. This morning, they were having trouble getting the propane stoves going. Holly got a great photo of the sunrise over the campground. We were off by 0730 with overcast skies. The weather forecast was not in our favour for today as we would be getting rain and winds this afternoon and also tomorrow so, getting away early, we hopefully would get to camp before all that started. Also, the cue sheets indicated a very scenic coastal ride today with gentle terrain but we were informed yesterday that there would be three detours on the route because of bridge work, so we chose take a more direct route to get to camp today. Had the weather forecast been for a sunny, warmer day, we would have done the scenic route right along the Northumberland Strait in spite of the detours. We took highway # 11 south then followed # 15 east and left onto # 955 to Murray Beach. Highway # 11 and
# 15 were great for cycling as there were nice wide shoulders and in good condition. The scenery on our ride was mainly bush and forest but our aim today was to beat the rain and wind so we didn't mind. Holly and I both use I-pods while cycling so the music entertained us as we cycled along. We did have a bit of a tailwind most of the riding on # 11 and # 15. However, light rain began falling shortly after we turned onto # 15 so we ended up putting our rain gear on and continued on. Traffic on the first two highways was heavy but not bothersome as the wide shoulders were there for us to use and stay out of the traffic's way. Shortly before getting to # 955, we stopped at a convenience store to get a coffee and use the washroom. We had decided to inquire about a B&B near the campground since the rain wasn't letting up at all. So we got a room at Little Shemoque Country Inn which is about 5k before camp. We got to camp about 2:30 pm and waited till 5pm along with the other cyclists for the truck to arrive. It is usually at camp by 2pm so I am not sure why they were so late but I am sure I'll find out tomorrow. We got tomorrow's cycling clothing and other necessary items to take with us to the Inn for the evening then cycled back to the Inn getting there around 5:30 pm. We had burgers and fries delivered there for our supper. As we were waiting for the truck to arrive, the rain got heavier although the winds hadn't picked up yet and after arriving to the Inn, the rain got heavier yet so sure am glad to be here. A few other cyclists got rooms at another B&B up the road. There were a few cabins at the campground so they were also booked by some cyclists. So, we're nice and cozy this evening, out of the rain. Tomorrow, we head to the bridge to cross over to P.E.I. Lets hope the rain has passed on by morning. The weather for the remainder of the week looks great for cycling the Cabot Trail and into Newfoundland. Wow, almost over!!!!

Petit Rocher to Saint-Louis-du-Kent Day 62

2009-08-28T04:35:00.000-07:00

A beautiful sunrise at the campground in Petit Rocher. I have seen more sunrises this summer than I have ever seen in my whole life.

Our route took us through a proud Acadian village called Allardville. Most of the houses were adorned with
the colors. About mid August there is a great celebration not far from here celebrating the Acadian history.
The bridge over the Miramichi River. It was extremely windy at the top.

The view from the top of the bridge overlooking Chatham.

We had a very cold start to the day. The early morning temperature of about 5 C meant that many of us were cold through the night and got dressed in may layers. The wind blew all night long. We had a beautiful sunrise and we were promised sunny skies and a tailwind.

One of the cyclists had been speaking to a local resident who is also a long distance cyclist. He said he never bikes through Bathurst as the road is not very good. That was all we needed to hear. Terri and I took a slight alternate route. Our cue sheet indicated Route 134 but we chose to do the first 40km on Highway 11. It was noisy with all the trucks but the shoulder was great and the surfaces smooth. It ended up adding about 5km to our ride but it was worth it. We got back on Route 134 in time to see a nice little diner in Allardville where we joined others for a hot breakfast. We are travelling through Acadian country and the homes reflected their loyalty. Acadians are displaced French people who took up residency in New Brunswick when they left Quebec.

We continued on Route 134 until Miramichi. The area is pretty desolate with a beautiful forested landscape. The road was good but the wind seemed to hold us back somewhat. It gusted all around us with the occasional push on our backs. So much for sailing for the day.

We had some errands to run in Miramichi and once we were finished we went to Tim's for a bite to eat. We had a climb out of the city and once we were on the highway again we had a pleasant surprise. A tailwind made the last 50km go really well. Waiting for us at the entrance to our camp for the night and rest day was my sister Paula and her husband Brian.

Our camp is right next to the Kouchibouguac National Park. Terri and I will visit with Paula and Brian who will take us around the park and into town. We each had 3 ears of corn last night, homemade hamburgers and brownies. Tonight we are having STEAK and NEW POTATOES. Yes it is all about the food.

In discussions with a few of the other cyclists it seems that several are looking forward to the end of the trip.
Whether it is a psychological awareness that we are almost finished or we are just naturally tiring from the day in and day out cycling. We have 9 days of cycling left and have travelled 6691 km.

The rest day in Saint-Louis-de-Kent has been relaxing. Sleeping in till 7:30/8:00 is a treat. The sky was filled with stars last night so we were encouraged that the weather would be good today. It would have been a great day for cycling as the blue sky and cooler temperatures stayed with us for the day. I am working on the blog sitting in the screen room where Paula and Brian are camped. Well not camped really, they have a beautiful trailer with an indoor loo. We took a drive to Miramichi to run a couple of errands and stopped in at the trailer dealership. Brian is looking to upgrade. After we get our things organized for tomorrow's ride we will work on supper preparations.

This is the last rest day before the end of the ride but we hope to have access to the internet where we are staying between here and the end. We both have one cooking day left. Wish us good weather and safe rides to the end.

Atholville to Petit Rocher Day 61

2009-08-26T15:19:00.001-07:00

Not a sign you are likely to see in Kincardine.

Sugarloaf Mountain as we leave Campbellton.

Crossing over Eel River on the way to Charlo.

A great break at Jacquet River. I could not convince the fellow who took this picture to si on my bike. I guess to those who are not used to it, it seems a bit unnerving.

Terri has been trying to get a picture of a logging truck since we started the ride. Now all we have to do is see a moose and then we can come home.

Contemplating life as he looks out over the Bay of Chaleur.

The view from our tent. The truck in the background is the tour truck.

The French Connection, Renee and Sylvie who met on this trip and I think will remain friends after it is over.

I was on cooking duty for breakfast and it was a bit difficult to get up given the time change. It was dark for quite awhile after I got up and everyone seemed to be moving a bit slower this day. It was either that or those tuna corn fritters we fed them for supper.

We had some sprinkling of rain throughout the night bu things were pretty dry this morning and surprisingly warm. We got out of camp and headed towards Route 134 which will take us east and then south as we head towards Saint- Louis- de -Kent for our rest day.

We had coffee at Tim's in Dalhousie and some people in the restaurant were telling us we had a big hill to do to get out of town. They were right. The grade was 11% or 13% depending who you talked to but it made my lungs scream. I was going 5 km/hr at one point and had to put my food down as the bike gets very twitchy at this low speed. I likely could have walked it at that rate but chose to continue. The one nice thing about the recumbent is that you can start again on the hill if you can get your feet doing a 150 cadence right away. I made it to the top but not before Terry. I don't think she even stood up. We are told this is what the Cabot Trail will be like but more of it and longer. Terri and I are discussing how we can lighten our load for those two days.

We had varying winds today. They seemed to swirl up around us every which way but fortunately not too many kms were a head wind. We were on Route 134 the whole way and for much of the ride it was pretty desolate. The road for the most part was good. We went through an area where there was a sawmill and then a lead smelting plant as well as a generating station. All this was within a 5km stretch on the road and then on either side there was no visible industry.

After a relatively short day of 101 km, we are camped in Petit Rocher along the Bay of Chaleur and it is incredibly windy. One cyclist and his wife had their tent by the water but moved it because they were afraid it would blow over. It will be a cool night
and we are promised a great wind on our back tomorrow with warm to hot temperatures. That will be appreciated for it is a 149 km day . We will then have our final res day for the tour. Most people will be cleaning their bikes for the last time before the end. We have done our laundry and I was fortunate to have the internet tonight. I will be able to have a nice visit with my sister and brother-in-law now that I am caught up on the blog.

St-Damase to Atholville Day 60

2009-08-26T15:19:00.000-07:00

The mist on the lake when we got up in St. Damase.

A family of ducks shared our site. They were very brave, even goingup to the doors of the tents.

Such a beautiful site, fly fishing.

The water seems too shallow for boats. Apparently the boats they use are crafted in New Brunswick specifically for this area. Not sure if this is the type but we saw a few of this design all along the Matapedia River.

We just could not take our eyes off the scenery.

We saw a business that advertised Matapedia River adventures. This is likely one of them.

When we crossed the Restigouche Brunswick River this is the only sign we saw for New Brunswick so we thought we should capture it.

And then we saw this. Quite a bit nicer entrance than we had going into Quebec. Coming into NB also meant a time change, we lost an hour and it will be darker in the morning but light later in the evening.

We woke up to an extremely heavy dew this morning. So heavy that I refused to pack my fly with the rest of my tent gear knowing that everything would be wet when I opened it up at our next camp. There was steam coming off the lake and for the first 10 km or so we had to deal with a lot of land fog. If the ride into camp wasn't hilly enough the night before, we had more of the same going out of camp, for about 15km. That is tough on cold muscles. Not to mention the road surface was far less than perfect.

Our cue sheet had us mostly on Route 132 with a lot of little side trips through small towns. Basd on yesterday's ride and the poor conditions of the roads we decided to opt for the busier road but better surface. We were not disappointed at all as we had plenty of nice scenery and a great stop at McDonald's for coffee. Unfortunately there was a bus load of tourists as well so it took a bit of time to get what we wanted. I took a few minutes to connect with my sister and I am looking forward to seeing her on rest day. She promised us corn, steak and burgers. Knowing her we will be spoiled.

The most spectacular scenery today was on a 40 km stretch of Route 132 from St. Florence to the New Brunswick border. The weather was beautiful with sunny skies and about 25 C with a breeze. It actually felt a bit like fall weather but I found it excellent for riding. One of those days that could have gone n forever. I had to cook tonight so there a was a bit of time pressure. The Matapedia River is known for fly fishing and we did find a few fellows out there. The sun glistening on the shallow water made it look like the water was dancing over the rocks. We would like to have watched until they caught a salmon.

We crossed the border into New Brunswick this afternoon about 4:00 pm as we went from Route 132 across the Restigouche River and then onto Route 11 into the Campbelton area. Terri welcomed NB with a super butter pecan ice cream cone. A great reward for a good days ride. It feels great to be in the province where I was born and raised. Over the next few days I will be travelling through parts I have never seen before.

We are camped at Sugarloaf Mountain Parc and as I write this at 10:30 pm it has just started to rain. We have been blessed with several days of dry weather. I hope the shower is only just that. We road 145km today and have two more cycling days in this leg of the tour. We are all counting down now to the last 11 days before the end of the tour. People are starting to ask about plans when they return home. While riding today, it seemed unreal that we have come this far and that we will actually be able to say "I rode my bike across Canada"! WOW!!

Trois Pistoles to St-Damase Day 59

2009-08-26T15:18:00.002-07:00

A large windmill project but yet not one of them was turning. Perhaps a new build??

This is interesting how the cloud is just sitting between two hills.

We travelled along a coastal road that ran parallel to the main highway. The view was more spectacular. You had little cottages along your right and the open water to your left. Many people have rental cottages along here. It is not busy and very nice to bike along.

There were lots of lawn chairs on the water side so you could sit and get lost in the view.

A distant view of the next little town we would cycle through. The tide was low when we were there.

A nice little cottage with a great view.

There ae additions and then there are additions!!

We started out today on the cool side but we could see the sun would warm us up. The 10% hill we had to climb going out of camp got the heart rate up early. We spent the better part of the 135 km on Route 132 which was busy by times but it had a pretty good shoulder.

Terri had one of the fellows check her pedals this morning because she was hearing a noise that did not sound good. It was his recommendation to head to the bike store in Rimouski, 56 km away and have the mechanic check her pedals and bottom bracket. It was an easy ride to there with only a few hills and we did not have the head wind we had yesterday. When we got close to the city we stopped by a gas station and checked the phone book, copied down the names and addresses of the four stores. As it turned out, the cue sheet had us going down the main street and we found on of the shops on this street. The bottom bracket needed to be changed and while he was doing that we went and had lunch (A&W). It was not too expensive and he also adjusted her cable slightly. Hopefully she is good to the end now.

Once leaving the shop we rode on a secondary road that ran parallel to Route 132. It was so quaint and quiet with lots of summer cottages and rental units overlooking the mightly St. Lawrence. It reminded me of what the towns probably looked like before the highway was built. We had this wonderful scenery and sun for all by the last 12 km. The air off the water was definately cool, felt like fall. The water was very calm today. Four people who stopped along the way to have lunch at a restaurant on the water saw a whale.

Our route today veered off Route 132 at a town called Baie-de-Sables where we went away from the water for the last 12 km. We actually saw only a very small part of the Gaspe Peninsula by looking at the map we picked up at the Tourist Information. It would be great to bike it all the way around. One could stay at the many Gites (inns) and relish in the local artists and interesting restaurants.

When we turned onto Route 297 that is when the fun really started. We were now climbing up the north side of the Gaspe. We had many hills, some likely more than the 10% we started the morning with. They were long and that last 12 km took us almost an hour to complete. Pretty tough even with an easy ride up to then. When we go to St-Damase however is was just reaching 6:00 pm and the bells of the local church were ringing. It sounded beautiful.

And then a dog came out on the road by me and a truck went by and struck it. It really stunned it and I am not sure how it turned out. Sad to say I could not go back, it frightened me too much. The truck did not stop either. I informed a woman walking her dog just a block or so from where it happened hoping she would see the dog or its owner.

We are camped by a small lake that is so calm you can see the reflection of the trees along the shore. They have canoes and pedal boats but our arrival at camp was too late to take advantage of either. We shared the campground with a family of ducks and you could hear the sounds of wildlife in the background. Tomorrow we head to New Brunswick where we will have a time change and can strike another province off our list. Our route map indicates it will be much easier terrain than we experienced in the last hour of today's ride. I hope so, I am on cook duty tomorrow evening.

Riviere Ouells to Trois Pistoles Day 58

2009-08-26T15:18:00.001-07:00

The mightly St. Lawrence.

Who could pass this up for a morning tea?? Beautiful view of the St. Lawrence from the back.

Our front row seats for the beautiful sunset on the St. Lawrence.

And here it is!!!

The day started out very cool and there was not a spot of dew on the tents or flies. It was great to pack up in these conditions. It didn't warm up very much today with only a high of about 15C recording on my thermometer. Had to stop and put on layers today and kept them on most of the day. The sun shone but did not provide enough warmth. The worst however was the headwind we dealt with all day. Someone thought it was about 25 km/hr. It required a lot of leg work and determination not to let it get to you. It helped that it was only 117 km today. The last time we had this wind that kept our average speed down to 17.5 was through the Qu'Appelle Valley. The difference today was that the temperature was lower.

Most of our riding was on Route 132 which is a nice secondary highway with good shoulders and not too busy. Our cue sheet took us off the route a couple of times, we suspect for scenery reasons. The road bed was in such horrible shape you could not take in the scenery the way you would have liked because one had to keep a close eye on ruts, holes and bumps. Those on regular upright bikes find it is harder on the behind. They also feel every bump in their arms and shoulders. For me, the recumbent is such a long wheel base, there is a couple of seconds between the front tire going over something and them the rear tire. Yesterday Terri commented that it looked like I was riding a horse. I literally came off my seat on two occasions because of the bumps. Believe me even with watching closely, they can catch you off guard.

The scenery today was along the ever expanding St. Lawrence for much of the morning. We stopped at a nice "Auberge"(hotel/B&B) at about 24 km. We couldn't resist the spot, the building was so pretty and it overlooked the water. A woman stopped us inside and asked about our riding and she said the area is always windy as it is situated in a long valley (just like the Qu'Appelle Valley). She was there to teach painting. She likes touring by bicycle as well but has long since lost the notion to bring her bike to the Kamouraska area because of the wind. After a nice hot tea and toast we were off again to fight the wind.

Our lunch stop was a Tim's in Riviere-du-Loup. At that point when the cue sheet took us off 132 for a few km, we opted to avoid those side trips in favour of a better surface. We did witness lots of farm country and quaint areas and decided other side trips would only repeat what we saw. The mileage was the same either way. Our bikes are really getting jolted around. I have lost, but since replaced, a small screw from my shifter. Others have found racks loose and it is hard to say how many flats these rough roads have caused.

After being beaten up by the wind and the terrible road conditions we decided that even though a very good bakery was only 13km from camp we decided we deserved the stop. Unfortunately the cue sheet was off and the bakery was not where it said it was. Instead of it being on one side of the bridge it was on the other and also on the other side of a very busy highway. Those few who went said it was great but we opted to push on to camp.

We are camped by the beautiful St. Lawrence seaway. Terri and I had front row seats for the sunset. It was not quite as spectacular as last night but still wonderful. It has cooled off significantly. When we arrived at camp the sun was warm and the wind had died right down. One of the fellows from the states (California) swam ten strokes. He said he had a goal to swim in the Atlantic. He predicted that by the time he got to NFLD it would be too cold, so he took the opportunity today.

Our route tomorrow will take us along Route 132 again but we are expecting less of a wind and in our favour. We are looking forward to that.

Quebec City to Riviere Ouelle Day 57

2009-08-26T15:18:00.000-07:00

This row of businesses/residences barely fits between the street and the rock wall that towers
behind them.

The view along he path to the ferry. At the top of this rock wall are the streets of Old Quebec City.

The ferry we should have caught going over to Levis.

The famous Chateau Frotenac in Old Quebec City.

The area of St.-Jean-Port-Joli is home to many artists. Some lawn ornament
s??
I thought this one would look good in Akerleyville, Paula and Brian???

Terri wanted to bring this home but it would not fit in her bike trunk.

One of the smallest churches we found.

Mike, I would like the house painted this color by the time I come home??

A beautiful sunset in Riviere Ouelle.

Can you believe those colors?

Rest day yesterday in Quebec City was not totally a rest day. We did not have any laundry but we had bike work, the blog and the drying of our very wet tents to contend with. The rooms we stayed in were quite small and we were expected to keep our bikes in the room. The recumbent would have taken up all the floor space so I managed to get a storage room to put it in. We had muggy weather the whole time we were there and with no air conditioning it may it very uncomfortable for sleeping. We in fact had a nap before supper last evening as we had slept poorly the night before. No cross breeze so even leaving the windows open did not help. We were glad however to miss the couple hours of rain last evening. Our breakfasts were in the cafeteria and the food had no taste to it. As a result, our rest day lunch and dinner was at the mall. We are looking forward to getting home to our regular diets, we really miss the fresh vegetables.

Our ride out of Quebec City was not near as stressful as the ride in on Thursday. As it turned out there were several cyclists that found getting to the campus nearly impossible by way of the map, some were fortunate enough to have met cyclists who rode them in. The streets in the city are hyphenated and they have been going through some name changes over the last couple of years. We were thankful the people we stopped to ask were able to communicate with us well enough for us to understand. It also helped that all we had to say was "Laval University". Our first turn this morning had a detour through some construction. For fear of getting lost we walked the bikes across the lawns until we could get on the road again.

Today was the first day of the whole tour that we rode in in the same clothes we rode out in. There was no need for layers and so no layers to remove. It was muggy this morning and threatened rain but we stayed dry all day. The temperature was around 25C at the high point. Not much air movement though when we stopped.

We traveled out from the university and down over the hill to the ferry over to Levis. There was a nice path to ride for much of this trip to the ferry. Terri and I were taking a picture of what we thought was our ferry only to see another leave the dock. We had missed the ramp to enter. The next ferry left about 20 minutes later. Once we were off the ferry we were on a bike path for about 7 km and then onto route 132 which we stayed on for the rest of the 142 km trip. The scenery was great, through some small towns and farm areas and with the St. Lawrence within site for most of the way. The water was very muddy and it looked like there was a lot of scum but it seems that from the recent rain, the water was just stirred up. The towns are strung out along this secondary highway. The road surface was broken up in many places which made the ride a bit rough at times but the traffic was good and we found overall the ride was very pleasant. Some very gentle terrain for most of the way so we could get some speed up. We had our lunch stop at a Tim's and then afternoon tea at a small cafe.

One very interesting town we rode through was St-Jean-Port-Joli. It is home to many artists especially sculpters. You saw some of their work in the pictures. We were not in a position to shop and did not take the time to get off the bikes and venture into any of the studios but could see a lot of their works from the road.

The province of Quebec has been able to make cycling a great sport for the average person. We have seen many cyclists out over the last several days and the ride along 132 would be great for a days outing. There was a sign forbidding anyone under the age of 12 riding without an adult. You also see many signs indicating that cars and bikes share the road.

Our camp tonight in Riviere Quelle provided a great sunset as you can see from the pictures. I was having my bike tended to by a couple of guys from the group so Terri went down to take the pictures. ( I have been having some trouble with my front brake rubbing and without any idea of how to adjust it, I had to ask for help today, seems to be good now)There are also very few mosquitos out tonight.

Our ride tomorrow is relatively short, 117 km so we should be able to get into camp early and enjoy a couple more leisure hours.

Trois Rivieres to Quebec Day 55

2009-08-20T19:19:00.000-07:00

There were lots of very nice gardens along the route today. We thought these were quite nice and thought about them for our gardens in the future???

The first Irving sign this trip. It lets us know that we are almost in the Maritimes.

Stopped here for a nice late breakfast. It was the kind of cafe that you could have lazed away an afternoon quite easily watching the boats go by. Kind of far away but you can see a freighter in the background; it was going at quite a clip. We noticed that the St. Lawrence was quite shallow near the shore on our side so it must have quite a deep channel down the centre.

This small sleepy town looked like it had no decent places to eat so we stopped a local who directed us to this little bakery where Holly had a nice spinach quiche and we both had a date square. This little town had the typical narrow streets with people sitting on their balconies. It was about 2 pm when we went through and the veranda of the seniors' residence was line with the elderly in their chairs just watching the day go by. It is a shame that most of the people we see have no clue that we are on our adventure.

Day 55 riding and August 20th with our distance today being 144k. Tomorrow is our rest day in the city of Quebec. We spent a lot of our cycling time today on route # 138. Again, another beautiful, scenic ride and mainly in the country. Terrain is flat to rolling again and we're pleased with that! We had a big detour in Trois Rivieres and at the end of the detour, met a gentleman who had done the Tour du Canada ride in 2006. He had recognized the shirts and reflective triangles that were on the backs of our shirts. We had an interesting chat with him.

On our route today, there were lots of fruit and vegetable stands along the roadside. We had a coffee break at a little shop in Batiscan which is along the river and we watched a freighter pass by. Also, we had an afternoon break at a little bakery in the quaint little village of Donnacona. Yesterday, we came across a blueberry farm and again today. It seems that there is a huge church or cathedral in every little town and village here in the areas we're cycling through. There is a hugh cathedral in Notre Dame-du-Cap that attracts Catholic pilgrims from around the world. We cycled by it today.

Cycling into Quebec was a little hectic as the cue sheet was a bit difficult figure out. We did have one good steep hill to climb up and of course there was a stop light mid-way up and, yes, it had turned red by the time we got there so getting going on a green light was tricky!! We ended up missing a turn and got lost but then got re-directed after asking a couple of times the direction to Laval University. Good to know that we weren't the only ones making wrong turns. A bit of a hassle after arriving here but got settled into our room fine and had pizza for supper. The people we've met so far make an attempt to speak English to us. Also, something that is commonly done here in the corn season is buying cooked corn at stands along the roads. Enjoy reading this week's blog and we'll have more for you next week. Terri and Holly

Mont St.- Hilaire to Trois-Rivieres Day 54

2009-08-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

Wonderful scenery along the Richelieu River. Lots of people own boats. What a view from your back porch every day!! We couldn't understand when we saw two men were sitting in lawn chairs in their garage when they could be sitting looking at the river.

There were many beautiful cathedrals along the route. The next picture is on its side (still haven't figured out how to turn it) These stairs come up from the river. We imagined when the church was first built and boats were the main source of transportation they would dock and then walk up these steps in their long heavy garments to go to this cathedral.

Steps from the river.

Haven't seen this many at one stop for several days. Place and company were wonderful but we waited one hour for a crepe that we shared.

One of the many ferries we have had to take over the last few days.

Found some more corn only theses stalks were much higher. There were many stands along the way to buy corn. We wish we had known we had a microwave in the kitchenette aswe would have bought some. There was a stand that sold cooked corn you could eat right there but unfortunately we only saw the one and we had eaten not 15 minutes before.

Today, August 19th, takes us 137k to Trois Rivieres and it is day 54. Gorgeous morning, no dew and an early sunrise. Eveyone seemed to be eager to get riding. The route takes us along the Richelieu River. We eventually get to route # 223, and once again, cycled through quaint villages and towns. Countryside is flat to rolling with lots of farmland to enjoy cycling through. Lots of old stone farm houses and they are also seen in the villages with stone "hedges" surrounding the front of the property and also along the driveways. I noticed that a lot of the little town and country homes are white sided or else bright coloured siding with matching trim. I guess the French like bright colours?? We did a 20 minute ferry crossing at village of Sorel-Tracy to go to St-Ignace then onto route # 138. Everyone at camp commented on a great scenic ride.

Our ride to date has been 5,896 km. Not far to go now!!!!

Hudson to Mont St-Hilaire Day 53

2009-08-20T18:36:00.000-07:00

An amazing sculpture along the waterfront path through the suburbs of Montreal.

Terri and I thought we might try this activity out when Lake Huron gets angry. There was a group of young people learning this activity on the calmer side of the Lachine Rapids.

Alison had her bike stolen from in front of her apartment this morning (it was even double locked) so she rented one of the city bikes so she could join us for the day. This is a new project for Montreal and it has been quite well received. A little expensive but handy for commuters.

Alison rode over the Jacques Cartier Bridge with us.

August 18th, day 53 and 113k to ride today. The cue sheet for today is one full page of very detailed directions, so even though we have a shorter distance to cover today, we'll not get into camp any earlier as there are lots of stops and turns as well as items of interest on our route through the city of Montreal for us to venture off the route if we wish. We cycled along on route # 40 and # 20, through little villages and towns such as Vaudreul, Dorion and Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue before the highway turns into Lakeshore Blvd. and as it goes through the different suburban Montreal communities, the boulevard's name changes as well. Those districts were Beaconsfield, Dorval, Lachine, Verdun, just to name a few. Place Jacques-Cartier was a point of interest but we somehow missed it!!?? The city has cycling paths everywhere as well as walking paths along the cycling path and they are both well used. It was a beautiful day and maybe that is why there were so many people out and about and as well, it is summer and lots of tourists enjoying the city.

Holly's daughter, Alison, who lives in Montreal, met up with us at Marche Atwater, a public market by the Lachine Canal. We had our lunch here and then she cycled with us over to the Jacques-Cartier Bridge which takes you off the Montreal Island back onto the mainland. There is a cycling path going right across the bridge which is amazing! We were cycling over bridges, under freeways, across canals, over railway bridges, under railway bridges, watching for street signs, watching traffic, watching other cyclists and pedestrians, checking the cue sheets to make sure of the right turns, etc, so were we glad to get out of the city into the country? Yes!!! But we did enjoy the cycling along the Lachine Canal and the St. Lawrence, with lots of scenery and parkland to enjoy. After leaving the city, we eventually got onto route # 223, taking us into Mont St.-Hilaire where we stayed at Camping Laurier for the night.

Ottawa to Hudson Day 52

2009-08-20T18:30:00.000-07:00

The Parliament buildings in the background on the left.

Just to prove we were on Sussex Drive. Neither of us went sight seeing on the rest day so we were pleased when our route took us through downtown.

The Royal Canadian Mint. Unfortunately it started to pour after this so we did not get pictures of Stephen's house. We can understand why he has that little smile on his face. You would too if you had the house he had, right beside the Money.

The 2007 and 2008 vets who provided us with a wonderful break. Banana cake, granola bars, bagels and cream cheese etc, etc. Such a wonderful gesture, thanks guys!!!!!

Our entrance into Quebec was not as spectacular as other provinces. This was the sign we saw when we got off the ferry. Petit Kruz a la Quebec!!! 5 down and 5 to go!!!

First of all, yesterday's rest-day was spent at my daughter, Renee's, who lives near Perth and that is about an hour from Carleton University. She picked me up at about 5pm and brought me back Sunday evening. Great day spent with her, Steven, and their three boys. When I got there, the boys showed me the latest addition to the family - six young hens and a rooster!! Ben asked me if I could get him a hamster and a lizard!! He is 5yrs old so, that request was no surprise. The hens are actually Luke's. Ben has one as does Joe. Renee put on a barbeque lunch and family, friends and neighbours dropped by congratulating me on the ride so far and of course, their were lots of inquisitive questions about various aspects of the tour.

Monday morning, we had breakfast at the university cafeteria and headed out of the city by around 0730. August 17th and day 52 and 164k to go to camp at Hudson, Quebec. The day was over cast and muggy. There were great bike paths to use throughout the city so we sure took advantage of them when possible. The route out of Ottawa took us past national landmarks such as Parliament Hill, Chateau Laurier, Convention Centre, Royal Mint, External Affairs H.Q., French Embassy, the Prime Minister's Residence, the Governor General's Residence to mention a few. Then on through Orleans, Cumberland and into the country. We did have a brief downpour and missed taking pictures of the Prime Minister's Residence and Governor General's Residence.

Before our turn to catch the ferry, a few vets from tour 2007 and 2008 had a table set up with snacks for the riders going by. What a pleasant treat!! No peanut butter sandwichs for morning break!!! After spending a few minutes chatting, we carried on to catch the ferry to go from the Ontario side to the Quebec side which was just a 6 minute ride. Suddenly, I can't read the signs! We're in a foreign country? We'll somehow have to manage with the language and the signs. We travelled on various roads, going through little towns and villages throughout the countryside - towns like Thurso, Plaisance, Papineauville , Montebello, Fasset, Calumet, and Grenville, to name a few and some of the routes were # 148, 344 and 342. The farmland we cycled through along both sides of the Ottawa river was flat and picturesque. The roads had rideable shoulders most of the time. We had another ferry crossing to Pointe Fortune at k134 but again, just a short ride, but costing a toonie. Again, beautiful homes along the Ottawa River. The road leading into camp was pretty rough for cycling so we were glad to see the campground sign.

Ivy Lea to Ottawa Day 50 August 15

2009-08-16T07:38:00.000-07:00

A little hideaway on one of the 1000 Islands would be nice on a day like today.

Terri and her daughter Rennie. She surprised us with watermelon and cold water. Thanks Rennee!!!!!

Leaving camp in Ivy Lea it was not hard to tell it would be a hot and muggy day. The dew was very heavy on the fly and I only needed the liner of my sleeping bag to keep me warm through the night. We set out early to do the 154 km so we could get into the University and get organized for our rest day there. Terri was meeting her daughter and going to her home outside of Ottawa to stay overnight and visit with the family. Terri's sister Mary had told us we would have a pretty ride today and she was very right about that.

We travelled along the 1000 Island Parkway for about 15 km and then we turned away from the water to travel through country roads. Terri took an extra side trip and added 10km to her ride. (but don't tell Don) I saw her go but could not get her attention. I sent word with a motorist heading her way that I would be waiting for her. About 30 minutes later she came up over the hill. Once we were together again we covered some pretty country roads and passed over the 401 at one point.

Terri's daughter Rennee met us just outside of Merrickville with cold water and watermelon for the cyclists. Many of the faster riders had missed her and she went ahead to a more distant spot so she could see them. We appreciated the stop and the watermelon really hit the spot. Just after seeing Rennee we got to Merrickville where we had a nice lunch. It is a quaint tourist town and a popular spot for cyclists from Ottawa to do an out and back ride.

Once on the road again we followed the Rideau Canal almost the rest of the way to Ottawa. It was a pretty ride with some fantastic homes along the way. We met Rennee again and had our second helping of watermelon. We put ice in our water to take us the rest of the way.

The heat was oppressive today and while you had a breeze when you were riding, you really felt the heat when you stopped. At any one point it would have been nice to jump into a pool. We came into Carlton University about 4:30 pm to find we had a bit of a walk from the truck but we had the advantage of Renee's van.

Terri will be spending her rest day with her family but she promised to bring me a piece of homemade pie. I am catching up on laundry, the blog and phone calls to family. I will be meeting my daughter Alison in two days in Montreal. She plans to ride with us for part of the day. I have to head to a bike store for a screw for my shifter. It is being held by electrician's tape right now.

We have been blessed with good health on the trip. We have just three weeks left and to date we have travelled 5,307 km. Hard to believe I know. Each day we are in a different city, on a different road. It is kind of funny, sometimes when I wake up in my tent in the morning I have to think where I am and what is actually on the other side of the door of my tent. It can be a bit disorienting. Even though we all have our routines in the mornings and evenings to get things done and on the road or ready for bed, we have to have enough flexibility to handle the new environment. Have you ever gone to the cupboard only to find you put a container of milk here? Well things like that happen on this trip. I have packed my tent in its bag and done it all up only to find out that my cycling gloves were in there. I have not decided yet whether I will be more or less high maintenance when I get back to Kincardine.

See you down the road.

Carrying Place to Ivy Lea Day Day 49

2009-08-16T07:13:00.000-07:00

The Lake on the Mountain on one side of Bridge Street in Picton. The lake is level with the road. Just across the road you can look down over the mountain to see Picton Bay.

On the other side of Bridge Street you see (way down there) you see Picton Bay.
Way in the background you can see the wind farm. It appears to be built right in the water.

Many of he homes along Picton Bay were not only beautiful but they had the water as their front yard.

We got started on our trip out of camp this morning about 7:45 am and arrived at our destination about 6:20, a total of 167 km. The dew was very heavy this morning and it was warm enough to start out with just shorts and a shirt. The sun shone all day and the temperature got to 30 C on my thermometer. Thank goodness for the breeze you create when you are biking. I had mentioned several days ago in this journal we were all beginning the think we would not tan anymore. I was wrong for we are supposed to have nice weather again for the next several days.

We travelled along secondary roads for the better part of the day. The roads this morning went through farms again and the terrain was flatter except for one big hill early in the morning. I clocked only 5 km/hr and Terri said she was down to 6 km/hr at one point. We were thankful we were in the shade the whole way up and as it was only 24 km out of camp, it was early so not too hot. As we had a long day our goal was to not take long breaks and not too many. Our first rest was at the Lake on the Mountain where we spent time reading up on the folk lore regarding this lake. We climbed up a 2 km hill to find the lake at roadside at the top. You looked way down over the other side of the road and saw Picton Bay. There is an Indian legend that goes with this lake about a young Indian woman who dove into the lake (on purpose) and drowned. Some thought it did not have a bottom to it. It is a though the lake comes out of nowhere as it does not appear to have any body of water feed into it. Scientific evidence suggests that it is a result of glacier activity.

After going back down the hill we took the Glenora Ferry across the bay. I had been on this ferry in 2004 when I was on my first tour with Braun Cycle (from Kitchener). Much of the road after this until Kingston was familiar to both Terri and I. It took us along Lake Ontario and we loved the view of the water and the coolness it offered. This road called The Loyalist Parkway started before the ferry and continued on until Kingston. It took us through Bath where we had an official lunch break at a small cafe. I was not able to find the little bakery our group in 2004 had a break at but we enjoyed our lunch on the front porch of the cafe. Unfortunately there was no breeze there and a nap would have been nice.

We set off again with the clock in mind. We sent word on with another cyclist that we would not make the lunch stop offered by Mike and his wife Ruth. We felt we would not get there in time and did not want them to wait for us. We found out later that it was a very nice lunch and we were sorry to have missed it. We rode through Picton without stopping but found it to be a very quaint town. Our Braun group stayed there in 2004 and I saw little then and saw no more today. We spied several quaint eateries that would have been nice to visit.

The ride through Kingston was very busy with very rough road surface and we were glad to leave it behind us. This area is home to a somewhat transient population. It is home to a few federal penitenturies which in and of itself gives a certain atmosphere. Families of inmates sometimes move here for the length of their husband/father's sentence just to be able to visit more. In addition to the prisons, CFB Kingston is here.

We carried on through Gananoque, a very nice little town to stop in but our time was getting on. We were in the area of the 1000 Islands with a bike path running parallel to it. There was some views of the lake at various points. We are camped at Ivy Lea Campground very near the bridge to the USA. I got a glimpse of the bridge through some trees and noted it was a very high bridge.

We had a nice surprise just minutes after we got to camp. Terri's younger sister Mary (from nearby Prescott) stopped by for a visit. She stayed for supper and we shared some stories. She and Terri did a week long tour of the Finger Lakes last fall so Mary has some idea of the challenges this kind of a trip has.

We are off to Ottawa tomorrow where we will have a rest day. We will be sleeping at Carlton University for two nights and hopefully some of us will get to see some of the Capital.

Nestleton to Carrying Place Day 48 August

2009-08-13T17:38:00.000-07:00

We were not the only ones out for a 7:30 am ride. Many horse farms in this Scugogg area.

Terri and I got away nice and early this morning, but ....this flat got in the way. This fellow, Terry, is always willing to assist. He helped me near Rogers Pass. He was used to fixing flat, his wife Sandra has had about 8 so far.

While we were fixing the flat, this local cycling group rode by. Given the average age we decided they were all retired. So nice to see so many keeping their health as a priority. They have such nice country scenery for their rides.
This was our first glimpse of Lake Ontario.

Terri appreciating the calm and serenity of Lake Ontario.

As we have travelled across Canada we have seen the corn grow. We hope we can get a feed of it soon.

Our ride today was spectacular. We had sun all day and although it was hot, 30 C, it felt good and I am sure it made the day more pleasant for everyone knowing the chances of rain were slim to none. We headed out of camp at 7:00 am because Terri was on cooking duty tonight. Our ride took us through beautiful Scugogg countrysides with more beautiful homes and several equestrian businesses. The hills were rolling and not too difficult. The road surface however was embarassing. There were several layers of patches which made for tricky riding.

About 20 km into the ride Terri had a flat and our lead dwindled to us being last. The spare she tried to put in was not holding the air so we had to put another one in. On top of this, the CO2 cannister head had an insert missing and we wasted about three cannisters trying to fill the tire. Another cyclist Terry (who by the way helped me when I had trouble at Roger's Pass) came to the rescue and we used the hand pump to inflate the tire. This took us an hour to get going again but once we did we had no more bike trouble today. While we were changing the flat a group of local cyclist who were out for a morning ride sailed past us. They looked like the "over 50 group".

Our trip today took us through several small towns so there was lots of opportunity to have coffee and treats. I think everyone enjoyed the quaintness of these towns and most took an opportunity to visit one of them for a break. We passed many farms and lots of corn fields. Several independent markets were advertising fresh produce and the words "new potatoes" sure made my mouth water.

We had our first peak of Lake Ontario about half way through the ride and we stopped to enjoy the view. It was calm on the water today. There were several signs posted that you could not swim in the lake due to the high bacteria count and one beach park we stopped at had a heavy sewage odour. We are so thankful to have the clean waters of Lake Huron in Kincardine.

Much of the route after lunch today along Lake Ontario was on the "Waterfront Trail", one I am familiar with in the Toronto area. Terri had also been on a supported group tour with Braun Cycle that used this trail system on their trip from Oakville to Ottawa. Some of the route tomorrow will be familiar to me as I also did a Braun tour in 2004 that was a 600 km circle trip that started and ended in Brighton with stops in Kingston, Picton, Trenton and Bath. That was the trip I met Mike on. Little did we know then that I would take 10 weeks and travel the whole of Canada. He and our friend Dennis are off on their own adventure this weekend, taking the bikes and trailers to Sauble Beach and return.

We have a long day tomorrow, 164 km that will take us through Kingston and to the home of one of the cyclists who has kindly offered, with his wife, to provide us with our lunch. We are looking forward to that. Weather promises to be sunny.

Alliston to Nestleton Day 47 August 12

2009-08-13T16:51:00.000-07:00

I was spoiled with a couple of nights in a real bed in Alliston. As you can see I was not real anxious to part with it.

The canal through the Holland Marsh area. The water did not look very clean and I am not sure I would eat the fish caught by the fellows on the bridge.

This is Ray trying his best to see his credit card through the space between the deck boards. He just could not believe his luck to have the card slip through such a narrow opening. You couldn't do if you tried. The deck was only a few inches off the ground and sealed on all sides. He had to give in in the end.

A metal statue of you guessed it, a blue camel. So the story goes this was made and sits on the property of the man known as Father Goose and the inspiration for the movie Fly Away Home.
Our camp was beside a swimming hole. Some had time to enjoy the warm water.

Our rest day in Alliston was hot, muggy and as usual pretty busy. Mike tweaked both mine and Terri's bike. Since the overhaul in Owen Sound we had had an opportunity to try all the gears out. Mike had to do some minor adjustments. Our friend Sue Axe who moved from Kincardine to Angus came by our hotel and had lunch with us. She and her husband, Dave plan to do a cross country self supported tour next summer. Several years ago they did a self supported ride, in stages.

It is hard to believe we are now on the other side of Toronto. Our ride from Alliston to Nestleton (132 km) was for the most part on quiet country roads. You had to really pay attention to the cue sheet as there were lots of turns so therefore opportunities to get lost. I was warm even at 6:30 am as we were having our breakfast. Not too far into the morning we had to change into sleeveless shirts and put on sunscreen, something I had not used for the past few days. We hope the weather forecast of no rain for four days holds true. It was tough to say goodbye to Mike again and it was good to spend so much time with him over the last several days. We will meet Don and Mike in North Sydney where we take the ferry over to Newfoundland.

Back to the ride today. At one point in the ride, at 87, km we were told we were at a high point on the escarpement. The route was very scenic as we went through the country roads. We encountered many hills, some fairly challenging but others nicely rolling. We actually crossed the 400 today and were on Yonge street, Leslie and Bathurst and Woodbine Avenue, if only for a brief moment. It is hard to believe we are on the east side of Toronto now. We travelled through farm country and Holland Landing where the farmland is vast and lush due to the water table in the area. The canal water looked very dirty but there were some people fishing off the bridges. This canal is famous for at least one death every winter when cars slide off into it. There were several spots where there was no guardrail.

Our lunch stop was at a pub in Uxbridge. As you saw from the picture above one of the cyclists had a mishap with his credit card. It was hilarious watching him try to see it through the deckboards. After several attempts he conceeded and called his wife to cancel the card.

We rode through the outskirsts of Port Perry and had a brief glimpse of Lake Scugogg. There are some pretty impressive homes in this area. Our camp in Nestleton, Springwater Resort is right on Highway 7A. It is a small site with a swimming hole. Those who ventured in said it refreshed them after a somewhat muggy day. We are camped among the trees and the air has cleared so our sleep should be restful. Terri has gone to spend the evening with her sister Margo. We enjoyed one ear of fresh corn for supper. Hopefully this will not be the only day we get to enjoy it.

We are off to Carrying Place tomorrow as we venture into Prince Edward county.

Feels Like Home

2009-08-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

Playing around at Blueberry Hill Campground.

Sandra with her aunt and uncle who provided us with a wonderful Italian dinner at Blueberry Hill Campground. A great way to end our rest day. No pots and pans to wash!!!!

To some this hill seemed insurmountable. Not to our group of cyclists. There appears to be no hill we can't climb.

Terri and Stephanie enjoying pie and ice cream in Leeburn.

Sunset on the North Channel at our campsite in Thessalon.

Holly's home on the beach, for a few hours anyway.

The North Channel coming into Spanish. Calm and serene.

Terri with sister-in-law Jean and her husband Harold. What a treat to have a nice meal with them.

The sky at Spanish Marina on the North Channel at 6:00 am. The light in the centre is actually the moon.

Stephanie enjoying her double scoop Farquahar's Ice cream at Three Cows and a Cone in Little Current.

At ten mile point on Manitoulin Island.

The ten mile view from the top of the hill.

Sunrise on the way to the ferry at South Baymouth. We were on the road by 6:00 am this morning.

Anxiously waiting for the ferry to dock at Tobermory. It felt great to be there as a group to exit the ferry together. We had a coincidental visit with Stacey and Slade Millar as we pedalled down the ramp.

Probable the only time you will see Terri and Holly unloading the truck.

The sky view on Highway 6 just north of Ferndale. The storm hit hard with a pretty impressive light show.

Hard to believe this is the same day on the other side of the bay.

Rob spent several hours getting our bikes in order for the remainder of the trip.

Rob is changing the chain on the recumbent, a long one, 2 1/2 times the length of a normal chain.

Thanks so much Rob for all your help in getting us to St. John's.

Mike and Kruz, it is not what it looks like.

Holly and Terri on the steps of the cabin at the KOA in Owen Sound (5:30 am) getting ready to head out for Alliston.

Goulais River to Thessalon

Day 40 or our tour took us out of Blueberry Hill Campground heading south on Highway 17 to Sault St. Marie. The morning started out cool and sunny and the forecast was for no rain. Hoorah! Three days rain out of five days cycling was enough even for the avid cyclist. Shortly after leaving camp our first challenge was climbing a 2 km climb up Mile High Hill. At the end of the day when talking with other cyclists we decided it was not near the challenge people in the area thought it would be for us, we had done much worse. In the "Soo" we followed #17 Highway east to Echo Bay and then followed #638 through Leeburn and Rydal Bank and met up with #17 again at Bruce Mines and then on to Thessalon. We had a much more challenging hill on #638 Highway. This secondary road took us through more of the Canadian Shield and through farm country which was similar to Bruce County but with more bush and rock. The farm buildings were not in as good shape as you will find in Bruce County. This was a great road for cycling, not much traffic and lots of twist and turns and rolling hills with great scenery. Of course there had to be a glitch-21k of gravel road. It was very tough cycling especially going down some of the steeper hills. This section of the road was being resurfaced and had only had gravel laid down three days prior. In fact, the smaller group which travels one day behind us, were told to avoid this road. Had we not gone on it though we would not have gone through Leeburn where there was a quaint little store where they sold the best apple pie and ice cream in the area. I had the pie and caramel caribou ice cream, delicious!! The lady up the road makes the pies for the store. A few of them were bought by other cyclists and taken to camp for supper. A gentleman by the name of Jake Molders, yes a dutchman, owns the store but has it up for sale. He sells the usual items you would see in a little general store and he also has antiques. Shortly after we left the store the gravel surprised us. The temperature today was around 20 C. and we were thankful for a tailwind especially on Highway 17 east.

Our campground for the night is Pinecrest Campground on the North Channel. I am actually sitting at the picnic table facing the water with the waves washing ashore and the sun slowly setting in the west. What more could a person want, right? Holly has her tent set up on the grass right next to the beach. She said it is the closest she will ever get to living on the water. Today's ride was 125 km and tomorrow we are off to Spanish.

Thessalon to Spanish

Day 41 and August 6th takes us along Highway 17 again along the North Channel from Thessalon to Spanish. Cool morning when leaving camp but the day warmed up as we went along. Nothing unusual about our ride today. The terrain was easy for cycling and the Canadian Shield is still very evident. Arrived at Spanish Marina(great showers) by 1:00 pm which was a record for us. Distance covered today was only 109 km. We had stopped in Blind River at Tim Horton's and ran into Bob and Dianna Griffiths from Kincardine. They were on their way to Chapleau to a family cottage. Small world! Beautiful sunny day in Spanish with a breeze coming off the North Channel. My sister-in-law Jean and her husband Harold, from Elliot Lake, took us out for supper in a nearby village. They headed up to Sudbury after dinner and Holly had a surprise visit from Annie and Ron from Massey. Annie's sister Helen and her husband Tom live in Kincardine. Our ride tomorrow is to Manitowaning on Manitoulin Island.

Spanish to Manitowaning

Our ride today marks Day 42 and it took us along very busy #17. The weather started our very cool and the dew was very heavy. We decided to stay on the highway as it was a very good ride as opposed to the secondary road offered. We stopped at the intersection of #6 and #17 as there was a Tim's there. That is one major intersection, trucks, tourists and locals pretty much have to pass this intersection to get anywhere. While waiting in line we discovered that another Tim's in Espanola was only 5k away so we headed for that. We learned very quickly what Espanola has for its industry. The sulpher smell was very evident as we arrived in town. We enjoyed a break with a few others from our group and we were advised we had missed some great scenery by staying on Highway #17.

After our break we headed for Little Current with some very challenging climbs on the way. The weather was beautiful and a good temperature for cycling. Our stop in Little current before turning south to Manitowaning was a must as Three Cows and a Cone ice cream shop can be found there. Our ice cream specialist, Stephanie was treated to a Farquahar's Ice Cream and she agreed it was the best she had had on the trip.

If any of you have biked on the island you will know the roads are in pitiful shape. The ride to the campsite was rough but the scenery at Ten Mile Point made up for some of this discomfort. Holly had done the hill during the first summer of her riding the recumbent and she was very pleased to see she had gotten so much stronger that it was not near the challenge it had been in 2007. It is probably the only hill we have climbed that had no descent on the other side.

Our camp for the night is at the Manitoulin Resort on Lake Manitou where there was a beautiful sunset. Holly's husband Mike biked from South Baymouth to spend the night and go over on the ferry in the morning. Mike brought some wonderful RED apples, something we had not seen this summer as well as several packages of YUM, Oreo cookies. He couldn't believe how quickly the cookies dissappeared.
We waterproofed our tents to get us to the finish line in St. John's.

We all had an early night as we needed to be on the road at 6am in order to catch the first ferry at 9:10 am.
It will be a cold breakfast in the morning. Our ride today was 135 km.

Manitowaning to Tobermory

Our ride today, Day 42 took us from Manitowaning to Tobermory which was only a 42 km ride, 36 km to the ferry at South Baymouth and 6 km from the ferry to our camp site on #6 Highway. Thus we left camp at 6:00 am to give us lots of time to be there to board. We had a cold breakfast in camp and some had a hot breakfast in South Baymouth or on the ferry. The crossing was for 9:10. Some of us had to have a Farquahar's ice cream before we left the island (it is only sold on Manitoulin) but only after we had had our health breakfast.

Some of the cyclists took advantage of the glass bottomed boat ride in Tobermory before heading to camp. What would be a day though without rain showers which we did get later in the day. Being in the are sure made us feel like we were home. My husband Don, came up for the evening and to spend the night. He also brought treats for the group, fresh peaches and grapes. He replaced my back tire which I had noticed as being fairly bald the day before.

Holly and I had a special treat today. As we were the first into camp (after Patrick) and before the truck we were there to actually unload all the bags today. That will never happen again as it is the first ones there who get that job. Holly and I road right to camp as we knew Mike and Don would be there and we were going back into Tobermory for the evening. Although it is not a payback for all the other times our bags were unloaded by someone else it felt good to be able to help, a bit.

As I stayed in a B&B for the night, I was not there to participate in the campfire and sing along but Holly said it was good fun, lots of good voices in the group and Steve had brought his guitar on the trip.

Tobermory to Owen Sound

Today's ride, day 43 and August 8th took us from Tobermory to the KOA campground in Owen Sound, 136 km. Leaving camp we had heavy fog and then rain, heavy at times, what the heck, we had handled that problem before. Traffic not bad at that time of the morning but as those of you who have travelled this road, it is in pretty bad shape. We stopped in Ferndale for a hot cup of java and to dry off. By the time we finished our break the sun was coming out and the skies cleared. We headed east towards Lion's Head and then onto County Road 9 down through Colpoy's Bay and then into Wiarton. After a Tim's break we headed onto County Road #1 which took us through the cottage area of Wiarton with some spectacular views of the bay.
It was warm and muggy. Our trip took us up eight st. in Owen Sound, a steep climb and then past the hospital to 10th concession where there was a very nice KOA campground.

While we were in Ferndale Holly and I had called ahead to book a cabin, anticipating storms the rest of the day. My daughter Denise, granddaughter Layne, from Durham, and Ken Morrison from Durham and friends Ruth and Dick Verrips from Port Elgin came up to see me and we all went out for supper. It was great to see family and friends.

Holly's husband Mike and friend Kruz came up from Kincardine for a visit. Her friend Mary Ann from Mississauga also surprised her for a visit. Rob (our bike guy) and his wife came up and Rob gave our bikes a real going over. We each now have a whole new drive train, Holly has new brakes and we now feel confident about the rest of the trip, including the Cabot Trail. It was a very busy evening but fun. It was good we had booked the cabin as a couple of thunder storms dropped in with very heavy winds and rain. The cabin and porch gave Rob a great place to work on the bikes. Thanks Rob!!!

Owen Sound to Alliston

August 9th and say 44 of the trip took us from Owen Sound to Alliston where we will have a rest day. The camp for the night is at Nicholston Dam Park. According to the cue sheet, 166 km ride was a scenic and challenging one through Dufferin Highlands, the high point in Southern Ontario. It is where all the rivers start and th ski hills are. As well we were in drumlin territory where yo find piles of gravel left by the glaciers which means short and steeper hills. You will find such hills all over souther Ontario. After the long last climb I had a problem with my derailer. My chain was locked. After Holly called Rob, (our bike guy) we were able to take off the back tire, release the chain and then set it back up properly. What a team!

All day we had noticed this big black cloud followed us along and just before Creemore, the skies opened up and we had a very heavy downpour. We got into Creemore to a Bakery and Cafe and waited out the storm while we enjoyed our tea, coffee and pastries. Half and hour later we were dried out, back in the saddle and onto Alliston. Our ride from then on was sunny, warm, dry and very scenic. We did not get into camp though until almost seven. Just before the camp a couple from Kincardine.

We found out when we got to camp, the last ones in, that most of the cyclists took a short cut. A few had looked at a map and found a more direct route to travel. Others found the more direct route when the made a mistake on one of the many, many turns on the cue sheet.

Holly's husband Mike came from Kincardine and they are staying in a local hotel for a couple of nights. It is not long before Don and Mike head off in tandem to do the drive to St. John's. We will see them at the top of Signal Hill watching our last climb. It is within reach now!!!

Am I tired or is this a hill?

2009-08-04T12:09:00.000-07:00

The beach at our campground overlooking Agawa Bay. The Agawa Canyon where Via Rail does a fall colours tour is nearby. On of the cyclists tried to bike to it but the rain and terrain prevented him from seeing it.
The top of the hill into Montreal River. As it goes, Terry Fox wore a t-shirt the day hie climbed up this hill going west. The shirt said "Montreal River, I've got you beat". He was going west and as you know he was nearing the end of his trip. It was cut short in Thunder Bay where he died from cancer.
Montreal River.
The minute I saw this, I saw Bob Marley. Terri thought it looked like a cat. Maybe the trip is getting to us when we are seeing things in the rocks???
This plaque says it is the halfway mark (mileage wise) but we are told that the halfway mark is actually a bit farther west this was just a prettier spot for the plaque.
The Chippewa River looked good for white water rafting. This flows by where the plaque is located.
We napped a tourist to take this shot of us in front of the Chippewa River.
Goulais River, as calm as can be.

Agawa to Goulais River Day 38 and Rest day 39

I an sitting in the Steamy Bean Coffee Shop in Sault St. Marie where I am using wireless service. This is all I will see of this city, this and Tim's where we had lunch. I must say, I have become quite accomplished at tapping into the local wireless networks. I might have to start calling myself a techy?

I have spoken to a few others who had the same experience Terri and I had coming out of camp yesterday morning. We thought our legs were failing and wondered if we would even be able to do the day. The road looked relatively flat but our legs and speedometer were telling us different. We have agreed it was a hill, however subtle it was.

Our trip to Goulais River was the shortest of the 5 previous days and we were all ready for a rest day. Although it did not rain everyday these last 5 days, the rides were challenging with repeated hill climbing we hadn't experienced since the west coast. We all loved the descent into Montreal River. Terri clocked her fasted downhill at 67km/hr but don't tell Don. This is the hill (but going east and up) that appears in the Terry Fox movie. We had hoped to see a sign posted regarding this historic moment but we do know that it was a 7% grade, something that would have been a real challenge for him especially as we now know that he was close to the end of his trip and not well.

We had a wonderful lunch (yes it is all about the food) at the Voyageur Restaurant and as it had been raining steady throughout the morning, we were intrigued when some people at the other table mentioned our campground had a motel. We had the number so called ahead and decided to treat ourselves with two nights in one of their clean and spacious rooms. We are spending rest day doing laundry, cleaning the bikes and doing the blog. What else is new? Tonight we are being treated to a special dinner. One of the cyclists has a cousin who owns an Italian restaurant in the area. They are bringing a complementary dinner to the camp. Such a treat.

According to my odometer and our manual addition, we have completed 3,997 to date. We are close to home over the next leg of the ride and will see our family and friends soon. We still have lots of miles to cover so the visits will keep us going till the end.

Pray for dry.

Halfway!!

2009-08-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

The tree that fell during the night after having been hi by lightening the previous afternoon made a good bike stand and seat for the cyclists to enjoy their breakfast. Some of you know that Mike and I lost the big tree in our front yard about a week after I left for the trip. The tree was about 15 years old and I am sure it will take some getting used to seeing the bare front yard.
The big Canada Goose in downtown Wawa, the significance of this is lost to us. Something we will have to find out about.
Looking over Old Woman Cove from the top of the hill.
On the shore of Old Woman Cover at our Halfway Lunch stop.
Someone was trying to crash our lunch. We have to continually get these guys out of the truck when we are in camp. They have been known to chew through water bottles and sandwich containers. So far though, no bears have been spotted in our sites.The beach at Katherine Cove.

Another beautiful cove along the ride today.

Obatanga o Agawa Day Day 37

Our late arrival in camp meant a short night for me. I was on cooking duty for the morning and had missed the evening meal the night before which I was supposed to help with. I was kind of out of the loop for information and the end of breakfast we had to boil water for the truck to carry. This set us back a bit and we set off later from camp than we had hoped to.

While the weather started out as questionable we were pleasantly surprised to not get the rain that was forecasted. Our trip this day took us through Wawa and a stop at Tim's, something we had been missing.

The Tour du Canada truck was stopped at Old Woman Bay where they supplied a "Halfway Lunch", this day being the halfway mark of our trip, not in mileage but in days. From the hill just before Old Woman Bay and right on until we got to camp, he scenery was a spectacular as a couple days before. We thought this would be what we might see while cycling Cabot Trail. Lots of steep climbs with a beautiful vista at the top. Some of the scenes were those you might see in a movie, the beaches were welcoming. There were lots of little coves where kids were playing in the water despite how cold it was. Katherine Cove was beautiful and typical of other coves we rode by. Looking out over the water had a soothing affect, something you likely would never tire of.

Our camp was situated along Lake Superior and the waves once again lulled me to sleep. The sunset was beautiful and reminded me of those we see off Station Beach in Kincardine. The next day was to be a shorter day and we were looking forward to a rest day after 5 days of challenging rides and weather.

Rain, rain go away!!!!

2009-08-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

How many cyclists can you fit in the Tour du Canada truck.
Sam and Joanne brought sunshine into our miserable morning. A chance meeting??? Terri and I were going to stop at the Petro Canada 3km earlier but opted for this stop.

Ney's to Obatanga Day 36

The fact there are few pictures is a testimony to the kind of day we had despite the fact that we rode 161km this day. As you saw from the picture "how many Tour du Canada cyclists can you fit in the truck?", the morning started off bad and got worse. From the previous day of splendid sunshine and beautiful scenery we went to a day that started out wet and got wetter. In addition, we were on a very busy road and had lots of hills to climb. This was one of those days you had to dig deep within to get to the end. We can now appreciate where the phsycological element of the trip takes over. Raingear is not really waterproof when you get the heavy downpour over 120km.

We stopped 30km out of camp to get out of the weather and hoped the motel would let us use their dryer while we ate. No luck so we spread our clothes (yes we kept a few on) and let them dry as much as we could. What a surprise we got when Joanne (from Lucknow) came over to our table with her daugher Sam. I had to admit that I might not have recognized her. I had met Joanne outside Armstrong's bakery on one of my training rides. She and a few young people came over to talk to me about my bike. Joanne and I chatted about Terri and I going on the tour and I gave her the link to the blog. She and Sam were vacationing in the area (they had stayed at the campground we had the night before) and were heading home. Sam is now enjoying biking and they had theirs bike son the roof. Sam has now completed an 80km trip. Way to go Sam!! Meeting the two put some sunshine back into our morning.

Farther along the road this day I passed three young cyclists that I had met on another training ride to Port Elgin. They left London on Father's day weekend and were to be in Vancouver on Sept. 6th, the day we arrive in St. John's. We passed at what would have been about the half way mark for both of us. I had been keeping my eyes open hoping to see them and it was a pleasant surprise when I did.

By 5pm Terri and I were more than soaked to the bone and very cold. We took advantage of a laundromat at a Husky Station and dried our clothes bits at a time. We shared the dryer with a couple other cyclists and it was what made it possible for us to continue to camp. That and the soup, coffee and donuts. When we left the laundromat it was like a different day, the sun was out, we were dry but we had 40 km left to ride. An error on our part was not calling ahead to say we were safe. We forgot about the protocol as we knew we were together and safe. We got to camp with just enough daylight to set up our tents, shower and get to bed.

Part of our day was spent in a thunder storm which the camp experienced as well. A tree near the truck had been struck by lightening and bowed over only to fall completely to the ground in the middle of the night. Nothing was hit and no damages and fortunately a couple of tents had moved expecting the worse.

The laundromat was in White River which is the home of the bear that inspired the Winnie the Pooh story.
Needless to say we did not visit the gift shop or even stop to take pictures.

The Beauty of Lake Superior

2009-08-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

A calm day on Lake Superior
A good slogan for any coffee shop. This was posted by the till at the coffee shop in Gravel.
Can you imagine the dynamite needed to make this road.
Rossport was a very quaint spot off the busy Trans Canada, we were glad we took the time to drop in.
We have just finished our lunch of homemade soup and turrtle cheesecake. Serendipity Gardens is a place we would love to see in all the small towns we visit.
A nice little island for a cottage wouldn't you say?
We were up so high that we almost went through the clouds.The rich colours of the water was breathtaking. There were many little islands popped up everywhere.

Nipigon to Ney's Campground Day 35

We were rewarded with good weather coming out of camp in Nipigon and we had risen to dry tents, not even dew. After a yummy breakfast of oatmeal and very good buttermilk pancakes (Terri was cooking) we set out on a long day, said to be 163km but ended up being 171km. The weather followed us all the way to camp and despite it being cool, we enjoyed the clear skies. Such relief after having such wicked weather the day before. Some of us are wondering if the tan we have will be all we get this summer.

The scenery today was spectacular magnified by the beautiful weather we had. When people say Lake Superior is beautiful, you can believe them. The water was beautiful shades of aqua and what added so much to the ride was the fact that you could almost reach out and touch the Canadian Shield. As you saw in one of the pictures, the highway was built by blasting away a substantial amount of rock. Picture the openings as solid rock and you can appreciate the work that went into building the Trans Canada. The pictures capture some of the magnificent views we had. We had a hard time staying on the bikes as there were so many opportunities for beautiful memories. We realize that our long days and busy rest days don't allow us to do some of the touristy things we could do in the car but we feel the scenery and the riding are
plenty for us to take home with us.

We stopped in Gravel at a gas bar for a coffee and spent time outside with a few other cyclists enjoying a break. There was a good sized hill getting to Gravel but the real climbing started after our coffee break.
We enjoyed our lunch at a hamlet called Rossport at a quaint spot called Serendipity Gardens. The food was all made from scratch and the turtle cheesecake we shared took us over the edge of full. We thought we should vary our food from cinnamon buns once in awhile.

The terrain was challenging today. Five of the climbs were more than 2km each, one was 3.2km. The grade was about 7%, something we hadn't seen since the Rockies. Although the downhills were fast and furious, they were hardly a payback for the climbing. Our day was long and the miles we have behind us are not necessarily making us that much faster but we have the stamina to put in the long days. Dinner was delayed from 6 pm to 7pm due to the length of the ride and we arrived at 7:45 just as the rest were finishing their main course.

We were camped on the shores of Lake Superior and the waves lapping against the shore lulled me to sleep. Coming back from the shower in the dark, with my miners light, I went down to the shore to witness the beautiful stream of moonlight across the water. It would have been nice to spend more time on the beach. Terri told me the next day she was witness to Mike (from Kingston) dipping in the cold water of Lake Superior. Sorry we didn't get it on film.

Thunder Bay to Nipigon Day 34

2009-07-30T17:32:00.000-07:00

This was a special day to be at this statue. If you remember we have a picture of us at Mile 0 in Victoria where there is a statue commemorating where Terry would have completed the trip. We are not sure what there will be in Saint John's but we think we will find it especially meaningfull as we will have completed our odyssey at that point.
These are 2 tour vets that have joined us for a leg of this 2009 trip. John, on the left, has been assigned to my galley crew. James is in training for a 2010 Ironman.
We had to leave our mark on the Courage Highway. We feel very courageous tackling this challenge.
Part of the highway from the statue to just west of Nipigon is called Courage Highway.

Quite the talent in these murals on the Esso station at Dorion. We now have a better idea of what to look for when we are scouting for moose.
This mural is exceptionally detailed.
The gang staying out of the storm.
We travelled through Red Rock. The pavement is actually red in colour in sections.
We noticed the cliff areas looking a lot like the Niagara escarpment.
I think we pass construction very day. The other day was 10 km of wet gravel. From what we were told a few cyclists got flats on that gravel road.
We are assigned a shelf in the truck and have two black bins to store our things. The ones with the white covers are my bins. I also have a tent bag that gets stored on the floor of the truck during the day. This who get to camp first get to unload. I have never done that as Terri and I end up usually close to the last ones in. We have however assisted in loading the truck when it is our trun to cook breakfast. Some of those tent bags weigh a ton.
This is the beautiful bubbling water we are camped beside tonight.

This is a rare treat to do a posting two days in a row. I thought I might as well take advantage of this connection in Nipigon as we have five days of continuous cycling ahead of us. We are camped at a small private site just west of Nipigon which we ride through tomorrow. We are situated by the side of a bubbling creek and just off the highway enough that the traffic will not bother us.

We left the University this morning and because we had a hill to climb we got to see some of the city that we missed on our rest day. We basically spent our rest day time drying things out and getting organized for the next leg of the trip. Bike cleaning also takes a fair chunk of time out of the day and we had some major grit and grime to clean. Our room was quite a piece from the truck so we had to make use of the trolley to get our stuff from point A to B. We did manage to get a cab to do some shopping at Walmart and we had a nice supper at Kelsey's. Our cab driver assured us we would have good weather for the next little while. We knew better but thanked her anyway. Who knows, she might have an in with somebody.

We had a special treat today. We had our first stop at the Terry Fox memorial. His statue sits high on a hill overlooking Thunder Bay area. You can't see him from the highway but you sure can see lots when you are up there. The weather cooperated for the photo shoots, one of which will be sent to our Terry Fox organizer, Susan as she will be getting busy for the run. Terri has done rides for the last several years and I joined her for the last three. We did an overnight trip to Tobermory last year, 342km. Together we raised over $4,000 for the fund. We will not be back in time to do it this year so we hope all our regular sponsors will pledge others or participate themselves. We will be back next year which is an anniversary year, 30, I think.

The highway from the statue to just before Nipigon is named Courage Highway after Terry's challenging trip across Canada. We had to leave our mark as well. We just hope the rain did not wash it away.

Our route today took us along Lake Superior and the road took us off the highway along cottage roads. Very nice vacationing here.

The weather really turned for the worse after our late morning coffee break. Fortunately we saw it coming and had our rain gear on but it came down so hard that we had to pull off the road, we could not see anything and at 35 km/hr the rain really hurts. We came into an Esso station when we could get going again and waited it out. Thunder and lightning went on for over an hour but we had good company as many other cyclists had taken shelter there as well. This made for a longer day and we had hoped with just 113km we would get in early. We did arrive safely though and that was what was important today. This is a busy highway and there were spots where the pavement was rough and sometimes the shoulder very narrow. Constantly checking your mirror was necessary and if someone looked like they would not give you room, well, we move over. The alternative is not pretty in that situation.

The Esso station was adorned with beautiful murals as you saw in the picture. More than one person told us today that we would have some major hills today to get us to Nipigon but we found them not too challenging. I think we are in for some bigger ones as we make our way around Lake Superior.

Till the next time I can get connected, take care, stay healthy and thank you all for your great comments and support sent to us through your emails. Everyday has its challenges.

Holly

2009-07-29T11:14:00.000-07:00

Kenora is on the shores of Lake of the Woods, a huge lake with many islands.
Renee Liese is watching over the cooking of the fish she and Sylvie caught on the way to Kenora.
Sylvie serving up the fish they caught. As it turned out it was a real fish story. They were in a restaurant having coffee and someone overheard them talking. The fellow told them he was a fisherman and he had lots of pickerel filets and gave them 5 lbs. They were generous enough to cook them up for us. Larry, in red, made french fries. It was a delicious meal.

Terri coming across the Sioux Narrows Bridge.
The view from the bridge. Lots of very nice cottages on the lake. This is also the area where there are a lot of houseboats.
One man working (Mike) and two supervisors, Terri and Terry. This was just after a very nice lunch break.
It seems every time we stop we are eating. Most days I would take a container of cereal and thermos of milk, as a change from peanut butter sandwiches.
Evidence of how tall some of the rock walls formed when they put the highway through.

We thought we might try rock climbing as our next new adventure. Terri has reached her height limit.

Can see the caption now. Cyclist save from the slippery slope because she was wearing her helmet.
Verging on the sunset at Caliper Lake.
More of the Lake of the Woods views from the road.
Had to stop at the Bear Country store. This is the closest we have come to the real thing.
They like murals on their buildings in Fort Frances, too.
Enjoying the evening at Taylor's Cove. One of the prettiest spots we have stayed at. It was a shame it was just for one night. The water, they said was very nice.

The view from across where our tents were.
The view from our tents.
Sunset at Taylor's Cove.
Try and pronounce this!!!
The Seine River which flows into Rainy Lake. Nothing like the Seine in Paris for sure but it was pretty neverheless.
Terry has just the right seat for a rest stop.
Just in case we come across a moose we will know what it looks like. We hate to think we will get all the way across Canada without seeing one. No one else has cited one either but they have seen lynx, timberwolf and Holly saw a huge buck.
After the storm in Kindersley and the mud that came with it, Holly decided to get a pair of old fashioned rubber boots. They have come in handy since then.
We had such a downpour and then 10k of gravel road (under construction), we didn't want the dirt to dry on our bikes.
When we got to our rest day in Thunder Bay, what didn't get off in this car wash got removed with a lot of elbow grease and toothbrush.
The elevation is actually 1660 ft.
More evidence of the blasting that was needed to put the Trans Canada through.

Everyone is in awe of the sunshine. We had just come through a lot of rain and unfortunately, it came down again, even worse.
Stephanie will have ice cream any time of the day and will cycle out of her way if she knows there is a good ice cream shop there.
One of the tasks we have on our rest days. Here we are doing our laundry in the dorm room at Thunder Bay.

Well, here begins another entry for Day 29 of the tour. Rest day in Kenora on July 24th is behind us and now, July 25th, we're off to Caliper Lake Provincial Park, which is south of Nestor Falls, cycling a distance of 127k, taking highway 17 out of Kenora and then south on highway 71. It was an overcast day with 60% chance of rain but we lucked out on the rain. We did have a great ride along this stretch of highway and very scenic as we are going through the Canadian Shield so you can imagine the beauty of the rock and forests, lakes and rivers we pass either around, through or over. Many of you reading this will know the Canadian Shield is a huge section of granite crust that is the oldest part of North America with the total area covering half of Canada and it is rich in minerals. That is why the rock is different colours in various areas we cycle through. The road condition is great but it is very windy and lots of climbing on the bikes. Shoulders were great for cycling. Kenora is on Lake of the Woods and this area draws fishermen from everywhere. Campground at Caliper Lake is quaint, nestled in the woods.

Day 30 and July 26 takes us on to Taylor's Cove which is 39k east of Fort Frances and 128k. Another great day of cycling and still heading south on #71. Terrain much as yesterday, with the road winding, twisting and turning around the rock, the lakes and rivers and through the forests but very scenic cycling!! There are a lot of Indian Reservations through here. We turned east on highway 11 and head toward Fort Frances. In Fort Frances, the U.S. border is four blocks south of the #11 highway. Another large lake we cycled along is Rainy Lake with, again, many resorts, camping grounds and lodges for vacationing. Again, Taylor's Cove is another quaint campground and it is located on Rainy Lake. Beautiful homes across the cove from the campsite. Good warm temperatures for cycling today.

Day 31 and July 27. Off to Dawson Trail Campground in Quetico Provincial Park and 154k. Beautiful morning with no dew and got away at 0700. The cycling terrain remains, again, as the past two days. Beautiful wilderness scenery and I never tire of "nature". Had a real down pour mid morning but not cold. The sun was out for the remainder of the day. But, unexpectedly, we came upon road construction and there was about 10k of dirt road to cycle through so you can imagine what our bikes looked like!! There were a few flat tires and one person got a gash in his tire. We took a 3k detour into a town called Atikokan, found a car wash to clean off our bikes, found a good burger restaurant for lunch then proceeded to continue our ride to camp. Just before supper was completed, we were surprised with another few minutes of a good downpour. Good way to get to bed early!!

Day 32 and July 28th. This day takes us to Thunder Bay and a distance of 167k. Dull morning with the chance of rain!! Roads are in great riding shape with shoulders. Light misty rain falling after leaving camp and increased to heavy misty rainfall for the fist 50k. Terrain not too difficult today with only a few climbs to tackle. Again, long distances between villages for getting water or something to eat. Every road, hamlet, river, etc, has an indian name. Took pictures at the Atlantic Watershed marker and then took a snackstop at Kashabowie. Sun was out nice and bright when we left but not long after, it started raining again and that was it for the remainder of the long ride. The road condition wasn't great for riding. Reminded me of riding on Highways 21 and 9 and the shoulders the same. By the time we got to the university, we were pretty cold and glad to get there. One good thing is that we did have a good tailwind to help us through the rain and distance. We missed the turnoff about 30 k remaining and ended up taking 11/17 into Thunder Bay. The traffic was very busy with a poor shoulder part of the time to ride on. One of our cyclists had a fall early into today's ride and ended up with a chipped bone in his elbow so he is out of the tour. That is # 4 so far that have had to leave the tour. We're staying at Lakehead Univesity dorms so it's great having a real mattress to sleep on for two nights!! The little things that please us???!! Rest day is July 29th. in Thunder Bay

Beausejour to Kenora

2009-07-24T13:56:00.001-07:00

We have just enjoyed a nice treat in this bakery/bed and breakfast. It was hard to believe they were out of bread but our appetites were satiated with cinnamon buns and date filled cookies.
Stephanie Yorke from Fredericton and Barry from Beamsville enjoying their treats on the veranda. Stephanie is an English major soon to set off the England on a Commonwealth Scholarship.
A very quaint little house but you would not believe the add-on the back where the full size industrial kitchen is located.
This is the guys Tour du Canada look. Tousled hair and a few days growth. He gets a makeover on rest days.
A neat sign. The waitress in the restaurant where we had our break could not think of anyone famous but she said her sister wanted to be a doctor and maybe she would be the one to make her town famous.
Rock hard evidence of the Canadian Sheild.
Terri and I entering Ontario at 4pm.
from left to right, Terri, Terry form Vancouver Island, me and Stephanie.
The view of the water at our campsite for our rest day. I don't think anyone went swimming. It rained on and off just about every hour on the hour for ten minutes today.

We thought we had our longest day earlier in the week but this topped it at 180 km. This was the sixth day of continuous riding and were were all more than ready for this rest day.

Our camp in Beausejour was infested with skitters when we got up so we ate our breakfast and were out of camp by 7:15. We saw the flat terrain give way to more rolling hills and we dealt with a light but steady rain for most of the day. The landscape reminded us of Manitoulin Island and we were treated to sights of the Canadian Shield. We crossed over into Ontario at about 4 pm and that we did not have rain after that. We have been warned about Highway 17 but the part we rode on yesterday was freshly paved with a nice shoulder. I am told this will disappear when we leave tomorrow and head to Thunder Bay with a few stops in between. I am also told the good weather may leave us.

We can feel ourselves getting stronger. To date we have now cycled 2804 km. so I guess that is to be expected.

During the day we came across a 21 year old Bristish fellow named Phillip who is doing basically the same ride we are, on his own. We had met him in Binscarth and others had met him in Kindersley. He joined us for supper and Patrick's birthday cake and he set off this morning (our rest day) to his next camp. His route is loosely planned as he goes along. Terri and I thought he was very brave and we decided we like knowing where we going each night. He said he had to camp beside the road on a couple of occasions.

I cleaned my bike in Beausejour and so just lad laundry to do on this rest day. I was thankful as the blog gave me more trouble today than I was counting on. I was so proud of myself for making notes on the computer at the end of each day. All I would have to do is cut and past. This I did this morning and added the pictures. After I had four days done I decided to post them and lo and behold the site would not accept the narrative and therefore would not publish the post. After much consulting with others more tech
oriented than I am my fears were confirmed. As I thought, the Blogspot site would not accept the characters I had cut and pasted. So....I had to redo it all including uploading the pictures again. At least now I know for next time. I am however getting more efficient and have been down loading my pictures from my camera each day and putting them into folders. Consequently it is not as smooth as it should be. As you will notice one of the postings is out of order. My apologies, did everything I knew how to correct it. Guess the learning curve on this blogging activity is still on the steep side.

Terri went downtown to the bike store and we plan to walk over to Walmart after I am done here. Supper will be found between here and there. I think that will include more of the chocolates Mike sent me.

Until the next rest day or the next internet access point, stay safe, be healthy.

Minnedosa to Portage la Prairie

2009-07-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

We met Chris and Tim in Craik. They were travelling from Halifax to Vancouver, where they live. Their mission was to raise funds for Ronald McDonald House which is affiliated with the Delta Chain of hotels. Where possible they stayed in these hotels but this night they camped in our campground. They couldn't believe how early we go to get going, even though we only had 130k to ride.
Ray on the far right was generous in treating us to the cinnamon buns. His wife Deb had made our dinner
in Regina. Enjoying the treat are Sylie, closest to the camera, Juanita on her left, then Terry from Vancouver Island.
This looks like a painting. It was a very quaint spot, fair trade coffee, everything made from scratch and very delicious.

The ride today was exceptional for a couple of reasons. We had the sun and the wind on our back for most of the day. It was one of those days that you are not constantly looking at the odometer to see how much farther you have to go. We found the landscape in Manitoba was what we had thought the prairies was all about. Flat, flat, flat. I relished the opportunity to ride in my bring ring. Miles and miles of canola fields. We were in Portage at 2:15, where I got a much needed haircut while Terri and Edith scouted out the nearby bike shop. We ended the trip with an ice cream cone at Dairy Queen.

At the 33 km of the ride today we were treated to those cinnamon buns promised the night before. Ray from my galley crew knows the owner and just works down the street in Neepawa as the school superintendent. The family moved their business from Winnipeg to Neepawa. It was the prettiest little town we had seen thus far. It is known as the Lily capital of the world and is home to author Margaret Laurence. Also Terri's brother-in-law Harold was born in Neepawa and raised in Minnedosa, where we had stayed the night before.
I had stopped a lady on the corner to ask where the nearest mailbox was and she offered to take my postcards and mail them.

It was also just outside the town of Neepawa that a husband and wife team had a spill. They were riding in close enough proximity to each other that when he went down, she rode over top of him and also went off her bike. He was dazed but still able to ride after he was checked out by the doctor. His helmet was cracked in four places. She injured her shoulder, needed meds and a sling and was not able to ride. She took a bus out of town the next morning and was to stay with family until the group got to Kenora. She would then decide if she was able to continue the ride. Anything can happen in a split second.

We are enjoying a nice evening near crescent lake in the fairgrounds at Portage. We have been spoiled the last few days with the wind on our back and good weather. We know to enjoy it for there will be times we won;t be so lucky.

Binscarth to Minnedosa

2009-07-24T12:49:00.001-07:00

The cows and horse posed for the picture when I blew my air horn.
The Holy Cow Restaurant, likely a thing of the past.

We rode with Edith Troupe today and we found out that she is friends with the couple, Patty and Doug who run Bike Face bike store in Owen Sound. She knew them when she was living in Prince Edward Island. They moved their store from PEI to Durham in Ontario and then to Owen Sound. We have been in their store many times and plan to see them when we get to Owen Sound. Small world.
By Minnedosa Lake, a nice peaceful evening.

After our long ride to Binscarth yesterday we were looking forward to the ride to Minnedosa, 136 km. There was a time when this would have seemed endless. We were fortunate to have a fairly level terrain with the wind in our favour. We actually had the ride more than half done by the time we got to our lunch stop. We got into camp at 3:15 and the wind had picked up enough that we opted to stay in camp, wash our cycling clothes by hand and dry them on the line.

The terrain for the day reminded us of travelling in Bruce County and I had to remind myself where I was. We stopped in Birtle for coffee and The Holy Cow Restaurant was there. I had read about it on someone else's journal from a prior year and I was anxious to try it out. Unfortunately the side of the building had caved in and it was closed. We are finding the many small towns we go through have seen better days. We were told there were excellent cinnamon buns at the halfway point but we were dissappointed when we got there only to find the place had been out of business for a few years.

We camped on the shores of Lake Minnedosa for the night and it was very peaceful. The wind died down, the sunset was great and I sat at the picnic table doing my notes and downloading pictures. At stops like this it is a shame to have only a few hours to enjoy it.

There is usually something to look forward to the next day. It usually has to do with weather, terrain or food. In this case we were advised to stop in Neepawa at the bakery for a treat of cinnamon buns and coffee, courtesy of one of the riders,

Neudorf to Binscarth

2009-07-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

Crooked Lake meandered its way throughout the valley.
The hills through the valley looked as though someone had moulded.
Such beautiful countryside throughout the valley.
These hills looked as though someone had lobbed off the tops of them.
Terri taking a peanut butter sandwich break as we finished the trip through the valley and before turned up the hill to what would be a 2 km climb.
Another province under our belts. Here I am at the Manitoba border.
Postash Pete or Smelly Pete depending on who you talk to. He is from Esterhazy, the home of two potash mines.
The sky at Binscarth before the storm.

The sky after the storm.

How Terri and I felt after we finished the ride.

Being the brave souls we are, Terri and I opted to take the route as it was written on the cue sheet. We wanted to do the scenic route which would be 174 km. It took us through the Qu' Appelle Valley and took 12 hours for the ride including our stops.

The landscape was very different, sculptured hills as you can see from the pictures. There was a very interesting lake known as Crooked Lake. It meandered its way through the valley for several kilometres. There were beautiful cottages all along the lake and we both decided that it would be a great place for a summer home. The downside of the ride was the incredible wind we encountered for the whole morning. It made it difficult to get up any speed and we knew that given distance we had we would be pretty bushed by the time we would get to camp. To end the ride through the valley we had a 2 km climb out. The good news was we had a tail wind for that and the next 20 km and next to no wind the rest of the trip.

The road took us through Esterhazy, the home to two potash mines. The product is mostly shipped overseas to India and China where it is used for fertilizer.

We crossed into Manitoba on this day and this meant a time change which put us into camp about 8pm instead of 7pm. We also had boil water advisory (the second so far) which put an immense strain on the galley crew(the same one that got it the last time) as water had to be boiled for everything including the next days drinking water. The camp store and local gas station had no bottled water for purchase. We also had a very short thunderstorm but fortunately we had our tents up before it hit.

Regina to Neudorf

2009-07-24T11:26:00.000-07:00

Dawn(from Fredericton) Terri and I setting our for the day with our Tour du Canada look. Our white faces might look funny but we know we are well protected from the sun.
Beautiful canola fields and the their sweet smell accompanies us on our ride today.
Beautiful flax fields that from a distance look like a lake.
A texas gate not unlike the one I fell off my bike on when we were coming out of Lake Louise. Fortunately the bike fell on me and between me and the panniers, my bike came out of it with no damage.
Stephanie from Fredericton and John from Toronto took part in the face painting at the Motherwell Homestead.
I am on the upper porch of the Motherwell home.
Terri is relaxing on the veranda. Somehow the clothes and the hat don't match.
Mike (hidden by the branch), Terri, Terry (from Vancouver Island) and Dawn are strolling down lovers' lane.
Dawn, Terri and I on the porch. I couldn't figure out how to rotate the picture. Mike?? any ideas??
The French Connection, Renee Liese from Montreal and Sylvie from Quebec City met on this tour and ave become good friends in a short period of time.
Maybe when I get older I will have to switch to this bike.
Having dinner at the casino with Juanita from London and Renee Liese and Sylvie.

Our rest day in Regina was not unlike others. We did laundry, cleaned our bikes, got organized for the next series of rides. As I was on breakfast duty the next morning, I got the potatoes for hash browns ready and filled all the supplies for cereal, sugar etc. We also worked on the blog and it has been great to have access to the internet on our rest days.

After we got our work done we took the free shuttle to the casino. After spending a mere $10 on the machines we went to a bike store in the area and then had dinner in the casino. They had a great buffet. The shuttle took us back to camp with a stop at the drugstore.

Our next days ride was to Neudorf. You can see us with our Tour du Canada look. There is a special sunscreen with zinc that protects you more from skin cancer. It goes on white and really blocks everything. It makes it hard to wash your face at the end of the day but if it protects, then it is worth it.

It was a gorgeous sunny day and not too hot as we had a gentle breeze. The colors of the day were gorgeous, the canola fields, the flax fields as well as the many other grains we saw. Very little climbing today and I was glad to be able to get some speed. We enjoyed our break at Dairy Queen. You could tell it was Saturday as people travelled the secondary route we were on in a hurry to get to their cottage. It was the rudest traffic we have had thus far. We did appreciate the sweet smell of the canola fields. We were told it smells sweet in the field but when it is harvested it is a very unpleasant pungent odour.

We took a recommended side trip to the Motherwell Homesead, a recreation of the pioneer days in the prairies. As it was Saturday, there were lots of activities going on for the children. We opted for tea and a tour of the Motherwell home. He was born in Perth, Ontario and came to Saskatchewan as a young child. He was instrumental in organizing the farmers and he himself became Agriculture Minister.

The group dynamics are interesting to watch on a trip like this. You get to know people fairly quickly when you are put in close contact and with the contraints and demands placed on us each day. You learn habits and can usually predict who will be in camp first. There is some stress in the morning as the galley crew feeds the troups and most of the riders now want to be on the road earlier but the two staff have up till 8 am to get their breakfast. It makes it difficult for the galley crew especially if it is a long day. We are finding ways to be efficient in the packup to ward off some of that stress. Most of us agree the most stressful part of the tour is the galley duty. Coming in to camp at the end of the long day only to have to cook is not the greatest. The menu is fixed for us and sometimes changes are made that make it very trying. Also to get up extra early to start the porridge and whatever else is makes for a stressful start to the day. The crews work well together to put on the best meal they can.

Our camp for this night was in a small town that I am not sure will be there in ten years. There appeared to be very little activity on what seemed to be the only main street in town. Shops appeared closed for good. The arena we stayed at was very dated and I did not see anyone in the town except for who was on our trip.
The nice part was we got to use the showers and the kitchen for cleaning of our dishes.

Portage la Prairie to Beausejour

2009-07-24T10:39:00.000-07:00

The Canada Geese were prevalent in the is park at Portage.
Renee Liese enjoying the easy ride this day.
St. Andrew's Dam which helps control the Red River. These gates swivel to let the ice go through.
Bill Nicolak, from Tiverton chose this for his clothes line in Beausejour.

Our trip from Portage la Prairie to Beausejour (164 km) provided us with the flattest terrain for the whole trip. It was especially nice as we had a tail wind for most of the trip and so the kilometres clicked by quickly.The trip was going so well we had half of our trip done by the time we had our lunch in Stonwall at a small diner. We opted to not go through Winnipeg as we felt we didn't have the time to do the city justice. We thought perhaps our chances of seeing anything new was gone as the landscape was pretty much the same. Due to the length of the day we also decided not to dee Lower Fort Garry but we were pleasantly surprised to see St. Andrew's Dam where the waters of the Red River are controlled as are the ice flows in winter. As you can see from the picture there are a series of gates that open and close. We also saw Duffy's Ditch (named after Premier Duffy)which is acts as a spillway for the Red River.

As we rode into camp Terri told the other cyclists she could smell Ontario in the air.

Our camp for the night was a mosquito haven and so we ate quickly and went to bed early. There was a fellow from the local paper taking photos. Our next day was to be over 170k so we needed the extra sleep.
A nice treat at the end of a long day was the box of chocolates that Mike sent me. Terri and I are making plans with Mike and Don to meet them on Manitoulin or Tobermory.

Land of the Living Skies

2009-07-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

Ray and his wife Deb provided us with a great meal. Save Holly and her crew lot of time cooking.
Abandoned farms are plentiful in this area of Saskatchewan
Beautiful canola fields we saw along the way to Regina.
Old School House from 1906-1942 Smileyville
This dog came out of his yard while we were stopped for a sandwich. He was very friendly and ran beside us for almost 2k before he turned to go back.
Not many people pictures today. This is me enjoying the ride with the wind on my back.

The mud hole we had when we got to our stop in Kindersley. You can appreciate why we went to a hotel for the night. We were lucky to find a bed, we shared with another couple. The pipeline contractors have taken up most of the hotel room in Kindersley and area.
This was the sky, not at his worst, when we came into Kindersley.We thought it was going to go around us but it was treacherous for many riders who got stuck the hail and rain and wind.
We had good weather here, hard to believe that the skies got so scary.
Sunset in Youngstown, where we were treated to a nice dinner by the community. However, we had no showers. This was difficult to deal with this as we had ridden in such horrendous winds we needed a shower. Sponge bath in sink was the best we could do.
The landscape in and around Drumheller.
Terri and a local from Drumheller.

( I apologize the pictures are in the reverse order of our rides over the last few days)

July 12th and Day 16 of the tour took us out of Drumheller on Route 9 towards Youngstown. Lots of cannola and wheat fields the first part of the ride but then the land became pretty barren and dry. Odd herd of cattle could be seen in the distance as well as lots of little old deserted farm buildings. Headwind picked up after our lunch stop in Hanna and we still had another 45k to go. Just west of Hanna, we are in our northern most point of the tour. Few places to stop and get extra food or water today. The little community of Youngstown provided supper for us and will be doing the same when the second group of the tour arrives tomorrow. It was a delicious pot-luck meal with lots of choices. Today's distance was 140k.

July 13th and Day 17 takes us on to Kindersley and a distance of 149k. We started out with a great ride, with the weather being sunny and warm but could see storm clouds forming in the distance. We crossed into Saskatchewan around 1 pm and called home from the sign. Landscape continues to be mainly barren and dry. The winds began picking up and cycling was becoming difficult with the strong headwinds and the temperatures began quickly dropping. Storm clouds seem to turn around and come in behind us so we sure picked up our pace to get into camp before the skies opened up. Thus was the case for Holly and myself but a few weren't so fortunate and didn't have their raingear with them. We just got to the shelter at the park and the downpour began for a solid hour with tremendous high gusty winds and hail. The park became one huge mudhole. A few of the early arrivals to the park had their tents set up and fortunately, they survived the elements and a couple of the guys slept through the night rain and wind. Some of the cyclists got motel rooms and we were fortunate to get in a room with Sandra and Terry since they had a second double bed that was available for anyone who would like it. We did laundry and went to Tim Horton's for coffee and bagel. To bed late but felt great to be in an actual bed.

July 14th and Day 18 takes us on to Outlook and a distance of 154k. Well, the rain kept up most of the night but stopped but 0700 but the winds were still strong. About 10 of the cyclists took advantage of an offer from one of the locals to get shuttled to out next campsite in Outlook. The rest of us braved the strong crosswinds and made it to Outlook. Holly had taken the ferring off her recumbent bike for easier and safer riding. Lots of transport trucks passing as we struggled along this stretch. The first half of the ride was tough but after out turn at Rosetown, where we had lunch at A and W, the crosswinds decreased and the ride was enjoyable with canola and wheat fields. We came across an elk farm and had a chat with the farmer who had just fed them and then a little further down the road, we saw a herd of bison grazing. The land was becoming flatter the closer we came to Outlook. We had a long climb across a bridge over the South Saskatchewan River and up into Outlook. Again, there were very few places to stop and fill water bottles of get snacks along this stretch. Holly and I and one other female cyclists were the only women who rode this day. We are glad we did as so far we can say we rode EFI (Every F...king Inch) You will hear this term again.

July15th and to Craik with the distance of 119k. It was quite cool at 0600 but warmed up a bit later and just right for cycling. Today was a great ride with a trailwind most of the ride. Beautiful big fluffy clouds in the sky. Slightly rolling to flat farmland. Had our second bacon and cheese burger in two days at A&W in Davidson on route 11 and the terrific tailwind carried us to Craik. Went to the village to find a bank and drugstore. Lot of the little towns out west seem to be built around grain elevators and there was one smack in the middle of the town. The royal bank had no ATM machine!! Nice to get into camp early for a change. We had been followed for over two k by a big, friendly black lab? on this ride but he eventually got tired of the running.

July 16th and Day 20 with the distance of 124k to Regina. Another beautiful, sunny and enjoyable ride with lots of canola and wheat fields to admire and tailwind again today. This morning was even cooler than yesterday morning with John's thermometer reading 3 degrees!! but it did warm up quickly and we already had removed one layer of clothing before leaving camp. Had a good lunch at Subway in Lynden. Ray's wife, Deb, provided a delicious supper for the group. Great to have a rest day tomorrow since we will be riding for six days before our next rest day. According to the weather report last evening at the office, the Regina temperature was the lowest in the country with 2.4 degrees and broke the record which was set in 1906.

Until Kenora and provided we have internet access, stay safe and out of the wind.

Terri

Dino Says Hi

2009-07-11T15:48:00.000-07:00

This picture is a out of order. It is the parting of the waters where one stream goes to the Pacific and the other goes to the Atlantic. On the new Trans Canada you miss this but they have a new Continental Divide sign.
This picture is also out of order. It is a group of us having our lunch break at a cemetery on the highway into Drumheller. Probably the first time we have been such a big group together since we left Vancouver.
A quaint house in Field, B.C.
Stopping in lunch in Field
Probably the only time I will be up a hill before Terri.
A lunch stop.
Jim Large, he has had 6 flats so far on this trip. He is such a trooper, always helping to load and unload the truck each day.
The climb out of Golden.
Overlooking Golden on the climb out.
The Continental Divide
A rainy day at Lake Louise.
Spiral Mountain
We thought this might be an interesting bike to try.
Oliver and Company at the Holiday Inn, where hospitality is number 1.
A beautiful mountain view coming out of Banff in the am.

A beautiful canola field on the way to Drumheller.
A great lunch out with Ron, Dean, my brother-in-law Charlie (on my right), Dean's sister Laurie and her daughter Elizabeth
The Badlands of Drumheller
Charlie thinks this might be a good option for his next bike.

What a wonderful rest day here in Drumheller, Alberta. We have a lovely spot here, it is sunny and dry, nice showers, laundry and two nights in the same place. What can be better? It is amazing what satisfies you when you are on the road as we are.

The ride here took us through some very different terrain and weather. The rest day in Golden was a difficult one with the tents being quite a piece from the truck, no power etc but we had good weather leaving town. It was especially difficult to do the 18km climb because it was first thing in the morning without a real warmup. Our destination was Field, in Yoho National Park, and as we were ready for a nice cup of tea we took a little detour into this little hamlet before heading to the campsite. Good thing, we missed a real downpour while having lunch. Once we had our tent set up we decided to take the side trip to the Takakkaw Falls, the longest cascading waterfall in Canada. Terri and I originally thought we would avoid the ride as it was quite a climb but we decided to take the plunge when others had come back and said it was worth it. I was glad to have left the panniers at the campground as the switchbacks had to be taken one at a time with a short rest in between. The weather was not great, cold and rainy so our stay there was just long enough to take photos and put the extra layer on for the descent. Our campsite was at the base of Spiral Mountain, the one where you can see the front and rear of a train at the same time. Unfortunately we did not see a train but could see the portals when we climbed out of the campgound the next day.

For some reason the first 25km of the trip from Field to Banff was the slowest 25km of my life. We had a climb through Kicking Horse Pass and the old highway was covered in heaves of pavement and we couldn't get up any speed. It was great to be passing through the border of Alberta and BC (1 down 9 to go) and from the old highway you see Divide Creek where the water seperates and one stream flows to the Pacific and one stream flows to the Atlantic Ocean.

A side trip to Lake Louise took some time but was worth it despite the rain. The shot of Lake Louise does not due it justice given the rain. I found it actually stressfull to be around so many people. After an expensive lunch at the Chateau we headed out again. I found out what it was like to fall on a Texas Gate. There were two coming out of Lake Louise (keeps the animals out of the area). I did not see notice of it and was on it and off my bike before I knew what was happening. No damage to the bike, it fell on me and the panniers kept it off the rollers. I have a huge bruise on my right arm but nothing broken and bike it fine. Thank God.

The ride to Banff was cold and wet and it was too bad our rest day was not there. I could have used it after the day I had and our campsite was so far from town we could not get back in. It was also my cooking night. The guys on my crew are wonderful and had things underway by the time I arrived. Supper and breakfast the next day was a hit. We have lost two of our cooking crew today. One was a TDC vet that was only travelling part way. The other has had to suspend his trip due to a bad recurring knee issue.

We said goodbye to the mountains as we headed out of Banff to Airdrie via Canmore and Cochrane. I had a nice chat on the phone with Helen, a friend from my days living in Calgary. Our ride to Cochrane was great
through the Indian Reserve. We felt like we were riding in Bruce County actually. We had all the possible weather, sun, rain, thunder and lighting looming nearby and 10 minutes of solid hail. Our lunch in Cochrane at Tim's was well deserved.

The climbing into Airdrie caught us off guard and the head wind made it difficult to really benefit from the downhills. Our stay in the yard of the Scout Hall was, well what can I say, it was grass, showers and washrooms a long way away. We were fortunate to have the kindness of the Holiday Inn on our side. Oliver's hospitality in letting us use the laundry facilities was very much appreciated and we got to stay out of the rain for a couple of hours with some excellent company. He even made us coffee and shared the CD he and his band produced.

The ride from Airdrie to Drumheller started out cold and damp but ended up dry, sunny and hot. It was a great ride, nice rolling hills and long stretches of secondary roads. It took awhile to sink in just how beautiful a ride it was when I realized that we had no BC traffic to deal with. It was peaceful and beautiful. The canola fields went on forever as did the road. Some wondered if that would be what the prairies would be like. We were assured they were actually flatter.

Having lived in Alberta for 10 years, this area was not totally foreign to me but I did not remember the town itself. As you know it is known for the dinosaur history but neither Terri nor I ventured to the museum. Terri enjoyed her day at camp getting her to do list done and her postcards signed and mailed. I spent a wonderful visit with my brother-in-law who came down from Stoney Plain (near Edmonton) for a time of getting caught up on each others lives and families. He and his friend Dean are very interested in my bike and are considering a long trip like Tour du Canada when Charlie retires. We shared a meal at O'Sheas with Dean and his sister, Laurie, neice Elizabeth and another friend, Ron It was so good to see family.

Yesterday was mail day. Both Terri and I got parcels from our husbands, what a treat!!! Thanks Don for the cookies and Mike for the chocolates.

Tomorrow promises to be sunny and 27. Our evening dinner will be courtesy of the Youngstown community. They traditionally put on a meal for us.

To date we have travelled 1345 km. Thank you all for your support on the blog and on the Tour du Canada site. It is very encouraging and uplifting.

See you on the road!!!

Up and Up We Go

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

Crazy Creek Suspension Bridge

Terri's cooking crew, Renee-Lise, Graham, Larry and Terri, and we did supper on July 4th and breakfast the next morning.
Alex and Mike of Tour du Canada 2006, met us at the Kamloops by-pass with refreshments and snacks, July 2nd

Holly pounding in the Last Spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Good stretch needed after a long, slow climb!!

Taken outside the shop, Beryl's Books and Beans in Sorrento
On the edge of Nicola Lake.
Three Valley Gap Resort
Mount Revelstoke
Holly was finally able to get a picture of Terri at the top of a climb.
Taken inside a snow tunnel
Approaching the first snow tunnel after Roger's Pass
Holly enjoying a bowl of cereal at Roger's Pass Summit
What a sign!!
Three Sisters Mountains
Canadian Pacific Railway Train passing along Kicking Horse River in Golden, near our campsite on rest day, July 6th.
Well, here we are back on the road again! Day 6th and July 3rd. ( I think!) Beautiful scenic ride along highway 5N along Lake Nicola. Around every bend in the road there is another picture to take of the splendid mountains. The day was warm and we had a bit of a tail wind. The landscape became drier looking and less trees on the mountains as we approached Kamloops. There was a Kamloops by-pass and, to our surprise, there were two guys at the corner with a Tour du Canada sign waving the cyclists in. Their names were Alex and Mike and they had done the tour in 2006. One was from Vancouver and the other from Penticton. They had drinks and snacks for the riders as they came by. What a kind jesture! I think they said someone had done that for them the year they did the tour and they wanted to "pay back" the deed. Then we had a real long descend into Kamloops going, of course, to Tim Horton's for lunch. Met a lady, Joan, who had cycled across Canada last year with her husband, starting right after she had retired. They went across a a bit further north and only had one day of rain the whole three months away and only had one flat tire and that happened in Newfoundland. Back on Highway 1 and another 45k to camp in Pritchard. Landscape still mountainous but dry and trees also suffering with pine beetle infestation. Distance today was 147k. Well, now into day 7. Had a very long climb out of camp this morning. Enjoyed coffee in Sorrento at a shop called Beryl's Books and Beans. Great riding with rolling hills and, again, beautiful scenery but heavy traffic. Thank goodness for nice wide shoulder. I'd say they are at least 3-4 feet wide. Had a delicious ice-cream cone at a fruit market in Salmon Arm. It was hilly on either side of Salmon Arm but sceneryis amazing as we cycled along Shuswap River and Lake and other small lakes along the route. We stayed at Whispering Pines at Mara and rode 97k. Today, we had a long descend to highway 97B. I clocked in on my odometer at 68k/hr.!!! One or two others topped at 73k/hr. Beautiful sunny day and not as hot as yesterday. Spectacular mountain scenery the whole day. Just can't take enough pictures. A few good climbs. We cycled through the town of Craigellachie, the site of the last spike ceremony for the transcontinental railway. We cycled by Revelstoke National Park and took some photos of Mount Revelstoke. It is just so amazing the trees on the mountains are so cylindrical shaped and tall! We stayed at Canyon Hot Springs for the night. Distance today was127k. Now the last day before rest day. Onward to Golden. Roger's Pass was a long climb but we geared down and everyone reached the Summit. All the long climbs cause me to gear down to the lowest granny gear and between 8-10k/hr. Before the pass, we had to cycle through three snow tunnels and then five after the summit. Had a very steep descend after the summit. Once again, a few more long hills that were just as tough as the climb up Roger's Pass. All the cyclists felt this was the toughest day so far and were glad to see camp. We also had a headwind most of the day. At camp in Golden, there was no hydro till after 10pm. So took a quick dip in the Kicking Horse River just to cool off from the ride. Water was extremely cold and moving fairly rapidly. Everyone should have an opportunity to experience the spectacular beauty of our Great Rockies. Our rest day today, July 6th was rainy off and on with a heavy downpour mid-afternoon.

Biking in the mountains is very deceiving. The road seems to be flat or downhill but your gears and legs tell you you are climbing. We haven't figured out quite the reason why but we think it has something to do with looking up at the mountains. The other spectacular thing is that despite how steep the side of the mountain is, the trees are perfectly straight, reaching for the sun. It is an amazing sight.

We will be crossing Kicking Horse Pass in a day or two, that should be fun. Enjoy our blog and comments are appreciated.

Terri and Holly

Happy Canada Day from ClayBanks

2009-07-01T16:28:00.000-07:00

Spanish Banks Beach, Vancouver, Mile 0

Any place will do in a pinch.
Having a break at the Big E cafe on the way to Hope.
The old railway tunnels for the Kettle Valley Railway Line. A series of 5 tunnels through the mountains.
We are each assigned a crew to cook with. This was our first supper and the following morning we did breakfast. Terri,Ray and Tom are my crew. There is one member missing, Vic, he was in the shower.
The guys get to load the truck. That is my tent bag.
Going up the Coquihalla Highway
The snow sheds for vehicles. We went on the outside on a gravel trail.
We made it to the top.
Merritt is the Country Western Capital of Canada. They have a lot of buildings with murals of famous people.
A mural of Tim McGraw.
Our Campground for the rest day.

We are currently in Merritt, British Columbia, the Country Western Capital of Canada. We are on a rest day but for a rest day it has been very busy. Laundry and getting organized after a few days on the road can be quite time consuming. It is very hot 29 and they say we will have this weather for the next several days. At least biking creates a bit of a breeze. This town reminds us of an old western town and while we did not partake in any celebrations at Rotary Park, Terry and I donned our Canada Day hats when we went for breakfast and shopping.

To get into Merritt we had a very long climb up the Coquihalla Highway for about 15km at about a grade of 7 which isn't terribly steep but it was very long. The summit is 1200m. All of the group were able to make the climb and as far as we know no one had to walk it but we all took breaks on the way up to take some breath taking pictures.

Our first day out leaving Vancouver was full of excitement. Pictures at Mile zero (a different mile zero than Victoria) and everyone was keen to be on the road. The ride out of Vancouver went through residential streets and several steep hills. Once out of the city proper the scenery has been amazing. I forgot how beautiful the mountains were. And yes we can still see snow atop some of them. Terry and I have had no bike issues but one of the riders had her first flat.

The Tour Is Now A Reality

2009-06-27T22:53:00.000-07:00

Holly at Mile 0 in Victoria. Just down over the hill from where the Terry Fox statue is.
Having dinner at the Chinese restaurant after arriving in Victoria
Terry and I with John and John outside the hostel. The John on the far left is John McMillan. As it turns out he is 2 years younger than Holly and grew up two streets from where she did in Fredericton, New Brunswick. They knew some of the same people. The other John is John Lowe the fellow who lead us beautifully from and to UBC.
Holly and Terri and Terry Fox at Mile 0 in Victoria. This is where Terry Fox would have ended if he had completed the run. Countless others have done their run from here on Terry Fox day.
Peter Freeman (Tour du Canada 2008) and his wife Mary rode with us from Mile 0 to the ferry. They wished us well on our journey.

Wow!! What an amazing three days we've just come through. Thursday morning was cloudy so we all were dressed for a rainy ride but the sky cleared and we experienced a great ride through Vancouver to the George MasseyTunnel shuttle then rode to the ferry which took us over to Vancouver Island. Beautiful scenery along the shoreline as we crossed. Great ride along bike paths along, the roads and trails to our overnight stay at a hostel in downtown Victoria. One of the riders is from Vancouver and cycles over to Victoria two or three times a year so we designated him to be our guide. After our chinese supper, a few of us wandered downtown to see the Parliament Building, the Empress Hotel and just to view the centre of the city. Friday morning, breakfast and then off to Mile 0. Lots of pictures were taken. What a feeling we had to realize that so many months ago, we had decided to do this trip, then all winter and spring we were training and today the day is actually here!!! Peter Freeman and his wife, Mary, met us at Mile 0 to wish us well on the tour. Peter did the tour in 2008. He is a very interesting Australian fellow with lots of stories of his tour and also other trips he has done over the years. They road with us from there to the ferry. We all dipped our bikes in the Pacific Ocean at Mile 0, then began our journey back to Vancouver with our guide and fellow tour member leading us once again along a scenic route back to the ferry and then on to the university. From Victoria to the U of B.C. was actually 97k. We had a beautiful, sunny day. And today, June 27th, was a full day of orientation. Bryan de Bruyn, my nephew, met us and we went White Rock where he lives with is wife, Daniela and their son, Lucas and we had a nice visit with them. Back to the university and get ready for our first real ride of the tour tomorrow. Awesome experience so far. Till next time remember, LIFE IS GOOD!!! Terri (Theresa)

Greetings from Vancouver

2009-06-23T23:43:00.000-07:00

Stanley Park Totem Poles
One of our heros, Rob (The Bike Guy) from Home Hardware in Kincardine.
You met Patty and Doug on a previous posting.
You can almost understand the reluctance of the airlines to take
all of this on the plane. The fellow in this shot is our friend Bill
from Tiverton. As of tonight, Tuesday, he is likely wishing there were some
men to bike with.
We are at the London airport. The other lady in this photo is Juanita
from London. She saw Bill with Tour du Canada papers in his hand
and immediately qualified to be in our photo. She rode with us around
Vancouver today.

I am giving the thumbs up for Mike's benefit as he watches from the window.
It was my way of saying "it is on the plane!"

Terri can hardly hold her excitement.

This was one of two vans that brought us from the airport. Terri and I in this.
Bill and Juanita shared the other.

Having our morning brew before we headed out on our ride around the city
Tuesday morning.
Where my and Mike's recumbents were built.
The athletes village for the 2010 games.

Terri and I can hardly believe we are here but as the riders arrive a few at a time it is really sinking in what a task we have set out for ourselves. At least we now know what other crazy people look like. The truck that will be with us for the summer has arrived. When we meet a new rider, it doesn't take long to feel like we have known them longer than just a few minutes. Sharing training stories, strategies, nutrition tips and finding out who has the hairdryer are major topics of discussions. I feel like a kid on an exciting new adventure.

Our day yesterday, getting here that is, was long and somewhat stressful. It was a bit more expensive to bring the bikes than our agent lead us to believe and who knew they would want to open the bike boxes we had so carefully packed and taped (and taped, and taped) to see what dangerous materials we were transporting with us. Little did they know how restricted we were. Why would we waste space on explosives when all we wanted was a couple extra changes of underwear???

As you saw from the pictures we had quite the cargo with us. It was questionable as to whether they would even ship my bike. After multiple reassurances that we had contacted West Jet, it was confirmed when I was going through the gate that it did get on. Our taxi driver in Vancouver was very gracious and it did not stress him one bit that he had to fit "all that in there".

By mid evening we had our bikes roadworthy and were all quite thrilled and relieved as to how well the day had gone. There were tears at the airport in London for sure and Terri and I will miss Mike and Don a lot but we also know this will be a great summer.

Today(Tuesday) we headed out to what turned out to be a glorious day of riding along the busy Vancouver streets and through Stanley Park. Vancouver is a very bike friendly city and we found a great stretch of bike/outdoor stores. I even got to visit Cambie Cycles, the store that built my and Mike's recumbents. While we only did 54km today we saw a great deal we would not have seen in a vehicle. The housing is dens (and later forget)e all along the water(but tasteful) and lots of rooftop gardens. The city is clean, people are friendly and the food is great.

We will be assembling in a couple of days to head to Vancouver Island. This is a little side trip offered by Tour du Canada. We head over on Thursday, stay overnight in a hostel, dip our bikes in the Pacific and then come back on Friday. Saturday is a full orientation day where we find out all we need to know (only to later forget) about our life on the road this summer.

We want to say thank you for all your support and well wishes for this trip. A special thank you to Mike and Don for supporting "the summer the women went" and for Rob, Patty and Doug for getting our bikes ready for the road.

Holly

Times running out!!

2009-06-16T18:36:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Southampton was a wet one but we stayed dry and toasty. That was after Holly bought a new rain coat. You know you want one of our hats!!!!
One has to have at least one trip to the Holyrood Store for one of their huge ice cream cones. Except for a few residences, the store is the only thing there, and it has everything you could be looking for.
We couldn't resist checking out what was under this piper's kilt. This is at the Ripley Lion's Park where there are statues carved out of trees.

Well, our training is winding down!! We experienced a rainy day ride to Southampton on June 8th but since the forecast was indicating an 80% chance of rain, we packed our raingear and 30k into the ride, we had to put it on. That ride was a 108k trip. Of course shopping was fitted into our ride at Thorncrest Outfitters in Southampton and Marten's Cycle and Tim Horton stops for coffee or tea and bagels. Two great stores. Anyways, the rides since then have been shorter with the last one this coming Thursday. Then we concentrate on packing our bikes, camping gear and clothes and head to London for overnight Sunday and catch our flight Monday morning at 1000 to Vancouver. The last two weeks have really flown by quickly! So, till you hear from us, remember, "Life is Good" Terri ( Theresa)

Kincardine-Owen Sound-Kincardine

2009-05-29T18:12:00.000-07:00

A popular store for cyclists in Bruce County.
Doug and Patty own Bike Face. We are glad they moved their store
from Durham to Owen Sound.
This is just a small amount of the bikes that lines the property line of the
Bike store in Scone.
The bike store in Scone is in an old mill and this waterfall is right
beside it.

Well the time to pack our bikes is getting close and the to-do list is the priority of the day. I personally have not spent more time getting ready for a trip than this one. It is especially difficult because you know that what you take is pretty much all you will have access to for the whole summer.

Mike assembled the box for my bike out of two regular bike boxes. It is 93" long to accommodate the long frame of the recumbent. Both Terri and I are learning how to break down the bike to fit the boxes and trying not to forget how to reverse everything. We will be there to help each other at the other end so that is very comforting. We considered taking a video we could replay once there. We are renting a van to take our bikes and gear to the airport in London (as well as that of a fellow from a nearby town who is going on the same trip). We will arrange for a wheelchair van at the other end in Vancouver to transport us to the University which will be our base until we leave on Saturday, June 28th.

We have been getting a lot of questions about the specifics of the trip and I thought it might be interesting for you to know what some of the challenges will be. Although we will have a truck carry our gear from campsite to campsite, we are restricted in the quantity we take. We are allowed a duffel bag of sorts that contains our tent, sleeping bag, pillow, air mattress(in my case an 4" air bed). In addition, our clothes etc. must all fit into two laundry baskets, like the black ones Knob Hills Farms used to use for their groceries. Whatever we carry on our bikes is added weight for the day so we want to limit that. However, we must have tools, rain gear, our food for the day, water, camera, cell phone, wallet etc. That can certainly add up and we have been training with all of that on our bikes so we get used to having them and so we can find out what we have missed.

Our most recent long training day was Monday, May 25th. We decided to go to Owen Sound and back. Terri and I met at 7:00 am. The trip there was 96km with strong winds the whole way. It was a bit slow but we felt strong. Once in Owen Sound we stopped by Bike Face to say hi to Patty and Doug(see picture). I picked up the visor I had ordered, we had lunch and set off again for home choosing to go home a different way.

Well...that way proved to be longer partly because we were not quite so familiar with the route. It did take longer and we did miss a turn. A farmer came across us looking at the map and asked if we were lost. We weren't really lost, just wanted to know how much gravel there was on the crossroad we wanted to take. He asked where we were headed and we said Kincardine. He said "TONIGHT"?

One stop we made for a break on the way back was a hamlet called Scone(just outside Chesley) We had heard about this neat bike store. Of course, it being a Monday, it was closed but we could not believe the bikes piled up along the property line(that is the picture above). The store is in an old mill and I guess the guy had to find a place for all the "trade-ins". The picture is just a small amount of what is there. It must go on for a hundred feet and it was taller than us.

Anyway, we set off again with his directions, called our husbands to say where we were and declined their invitation for a ride back. We said we could call if we had trouble. Needless to say the sun was setting as we neared Kincardine. Thank goodness for LED lights. I landed home at 9:45 and Terri just about the same time. Yes it was dark. We had ridden 210 km that day. That is longer than the longest day we will be riding this summer. That is provided we don't get lost. It was a good experience though and we learned a lot about food we need, stops we need and the time we can devote to breaks and site-seeing.

Some other facts for interest sake:
72 days on the road
11 rest days
7,644 km total
daily average 132 km
6 days 100km or less
21 days 101km-130km
22 days 131km-160km
9 days over 160 km
-food we will be eating most often: peanut butter
-calories burned each day 6,000 (jealous???)
-we are assigned a crew to cook with, one supper a week and one breakfast for the whole group(Terri and I will likely be on different crews and they are unlikely to put two experienced cooks together)
-thank goodness for prevailing westerly winds
-chance of rain at some point on the road, in the tent or while packing up...pretty good

Are we ready?

We aren't packed yet, but we both feel our training will serve us well. Having the confidence in our riding takes a lot of pressure off. We do know that we will still be challenged each and every day.

The next blog will likely be done just before we set off for the airport. Our rides between now and then will be around the 80 or 90 mark, to keeps our legs strong but not to tire us out. We just wish the wind off Lake Huron would die down for a little while.

Chow for now, thanks for reading and talk to you soon.

Holly
posted May 29, 2009

No flies on us

2009-05-09T15:02:00.000-07:00

Terri and I did some good riding this week. We went to Sauble Beach and Durham, both trips about 148 km return. Both were what we would consider great rides. When women get together there is usually shopping involved. In our case it is in bike shops and the trip to Sauble was no exception. We are frequently picking up this and that for our trip. Hard to believe how many little things have to be put in place for this ride.

Our trip to Durham was on roads neither of us had travelled and a 5k section through the Greenock Swamp was on packed gravel. Not our choice for a road bed but it was short so we managed, until we stopped to take a picture. In the picture of me you can see me trying to keep the hundreds of black flies at bay. We stopped in Dunkeld hoping to find the restaurant open for a break but we were 20 minutes early. We ate our peanut butter and jam sandwiches in the parking lot. We will be eating a lot of these on our trip this summer, they are fast, don't spoil and will give us the ready energy we need. Terri has well over 5,000 km under her belt and I have managed to clock roughly 4200. We feel very strong. We were encouraged by how good we felt after our long rides and how good we felt the next day. Soon we will try back to back centuries. This we did last fall on our fundraising ride for Terry Fox so we are confident.

We were famous this week. On a ride last weekend we were stopped by the local on-line paper for a picture for their web site. The local radio station gets some of their feeds from this on line newspaper (Kincardine Times). So, our venture was put on the radio. A few days later the local paper known as the Kincardine News called us for an interview. That should be in the next edition.

Mike and I are off to the Horseshoe Valley area for a week so I should get some good hill training in. That is provided it does not snow, if you can believe there is a possibility it will.

posted by Holly

2009-05-03T15:21:00.000-07:00

It's my turn to try and do a posting on our "blog". Some of you know me by Terri and others by Theresa. Another week has gone by with more training behind us. Sure wish the winds would settle down, though. For example, by cycling Thursday, Friday and Saturday, we averaged 80k each day having great rides out of Kincardine but our return rides were very challenging with strong headwinds. With the strong winds we are so consistently having on our rides and the rolling hills over which the country roads twist and turn, we do feel we are getting stronger for the 10 week adventure ahead of us beginning June28th. Nature seems to come to life in the spring with so many beautiful flowers blooming, the grass so green and the leaves budding on the trees. So, do take time to "smell the roses" and enjoy Mother Nature!! Happy cycling!!

Almost a Century

2009-04-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

Terri and I went out for a ride on April 25th. We were hoping to make it our first century (160km) but due to a miscalculation on our part we cycled 148. Still not a bad days work. The ride started at 8:30am with a major headwind for two hours. As we turned north we had a beautiful tailwind, for a while.

Our miscalculation had us in a small town called Paisley where by accident or fate we met up with other cyclists we knew. We ended up sharing their table and had a very nice break. We set out again after lunch and as we approached Port Elgin, the skies grew very threatening and we began to worry if we would make it to Tim's for our next scheduled pit stop. About 1km away we could not go on. The wind was so strong, the rain so hard and oh yes we had thunder too. The porch we saw off to our right looked dry so we headed for that. We announced ourselves to the owner and she invited us in. Well the storm went as fast as it came and we were on our way for hot tea.

The rest of the ride was cool and wet but we had battled such a storm we managed quite nicely. We will not be able to pick our weather this summer and we felt the ride was excellent training. We were glad however that we could go to home to a hot shower and a hot meal with our husbands. All our training up to then helped us deal with the day and we both felt good at the end and even on Sunday.

We plan to redo that ride and we have other century rides planned for the next several weeks. We will have to do a few in a row. Terri and I have ridden through other rain storms. In 2008 the Terry Fox ride took us to Tobermory (160km) where we stayed overnight and rode back the next day. It rained most of the way there. We knew that Terry himself went through some pretty rough weather and it helped us to our destination. The picture above is us leaving the hotel after a good nights rest.

posted by Holly McAdam

Training

2009-04-20T18:57:00.000-07:00

We have been training over the winter. Tour du Canada advised that we have 2000 km under our belt before we started the tour in June. Terri had the good fortune to spend three months in Hilton Head South Carolina and she was able to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air as she pedaled on the miles. Holly spent the winter training indoors at the local gym on a stationary bike as well as on her recumbent which was set up in the spare room on a trainer. We both feel we are strong starting out on our training around the Bruce Peninsula and soon we will be doing our first century ride of the season.