Hello all those who are still following.
There have been some people asking about where they can go to donate to the bike trip. It is now over and we actually have made it. But what better time to donate than now? There's no chance of us throwing in the towel.
The donations can be made through the L'Arche Foundation website at
larchefoundation.ca.
There should be a picture of us two in our safety vests in all of our glory along with a write up right on the front page. If you click on the picture it will take you to the donation page. Make sure you change the donation to group 2 - 'Ryan and Skye'. When you change it, an attention window will check that it's for us and not the other bikers on their amazing bike trip!
Thanks again all,
Skye and Ryan
Monday, September 7, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Three Months on the Nose: Its Officially Over
Well it's officially over. Three months on the nose. Im not sure exactly how that worked out. When people initially asked how long the trip would take we would always respond with a ball park of "three months". Somehow, with absolutely no planning, or aleast as little as we could manage, we nailed our anticipated end date. Stellar! But we can't take all the credit for the success of this trip. Over the past three months we've had the help of countless friends and the endless support of our families. But in between visits with these friends and families, we were lucky enough to bump into many new friends along the way. In each province we rolled into, we would consistantly run into people who would help keep the trip running smoothly, filling in the holes we happened to miss. Time and again, from the first day until the last, we met people who would go out of their way to help two confused and spandexed young guys.
L'Arche as an organization, as well as a community, was fantastic in supporting our trip. They were amped about our trip from the get go. The houses along the way were amazing and very welcoming. They would not hesitate to bring us into their home and offer us a place to stay, food to eat, and a warm shower. The people we met in the houses always seemed excited to have guests and were amazing hosts. Each house had a different flavour and different history, but all were similar in their warmth and hospitality. We are hoping to do a little more fundraising in the Victoria area to make up for the difficulties of fundraising on the road.
The final leg of our trip was up and down. I mean that in the most literal manner. The mountains were the final obstacle we were faced with, but I think we may have finally caught a bit of a break going from East to West. As we headed out from a wicked stay in Calgary with the Pittmans and the rest of the Calgary crew, we had a somewhat windy day (surprise surprise), but in typical trip fashion, the second half of the day was a breeze (or a lack there of). We pedalled into Banff in time for Skye's buddy Neil's rugby game. Banff is a beautiful town and the rugby pitch was surrounded by mountains and even had about 12 elk in attendence. Neil's team ran over the oppostion and so post game spirits were high. We headed back to Neil's for the evening and then toured about the town. We checked out some local spots and even met up with some of our new biking friends Joanna and Kyle. We caught up on trip festivities and then made our way back to Neil's apartment. One thing led to another and we were forced to enter the apartment from through the second story window. Who needs keys anyways? We woke up the next day and grabbed a little breakfast and then spent the day relaxing in the sun, finally out of the miserable weather we'd been experiencing in central Canada. After a midday nap we met up with our friend Mary for a feast of Chicken Nachos and some other delicious snacks. After a nice visit we decided to walk back across town to Neil's place. But, for the second straight night we were forced to use the second story window enterence. Buuut, due to our previous enterences, the window was incapable of being entered. So, we turned directly around and ended up crashing on Mary's couch/floor. After our "relaxing" staying in Banff we decided we needed to shape up and ship out or else we may just get trapped in that crazy little town. So, we took off the next day and made our way to Golden. Our good buddy and roommate Archie (Jeremey Archibald) hooked us up with his cousin Dave's contact. Dave and his girlfriend Sharma put us up for the night and were wicked folks. They were huge into the extreme sports world and Sharma even designs custom long boards for her own company, Slow Motion Longboards. Coolio. Despite the pull to stay in such a gnarly place, we decided to push on into the mountains.
As we made our way into the mountains and through Roger's pass, the landscape began to change. The mountains were smaller and totally different. Around Salmon Arm we noticed the haze and smoke of forest fires, but were easily able to pass through. The landscape began to take a desert like face. There was plenty of sand like soil and it became apparent why the area is so susceptible to forest fires. We arrived in Kamloops in the evening and stopped for a nice gourmet meal of hamburger helper. After being offered to sell crack for some local fellow we kindly declined and decided to try and make our way out of town in search of a good camping spot. Much to our dismay we realized that Kamloops is built on a huge, huge hill. Good for views, terrible news for bikes. As we struggled up and over this massive hill, I must have looked particularily shabby because a passing truck inquired if we were looking for a place to camp. Gasping, we both shouted "Yes!". The folks in the truck turned out to be new friends Allan and Jenny Eastwood. Allan and Jenny offered us a spot in their house and were kind enough to feed and shower us, even sacrificing some of their Okanagan Valley peaches to our weary selves. Allan and his son had traveled across Canada and were sympathetic to the bike touring cause. We spent the night chatting about the outdoors and the wonderful activities that come with. They were super friendly and its always nice to run into people who understand how crappy biking up a huge hill at night is. Their daughter Lindsay was kind enough to make us breakfast in the morning, setting us up for a good day of biking. We parted ways and began what we believed would be a decent day. Turns out, the first 6 mins were all down hill. And how thankful were we! From there on the day was hellish. The first half was seemingly all up hill. I struggled particuarily hard and was clearly slowing Skye down. We rolled into Merrit and were wiped. We had a chessey pork melange and our signature bag of Jalepeno Cheddar chips and then decided to hit the road and attack atleast a piece of the upcoming Coquihalla pass. A tidbit from a passerby let us in on a better route for atleast a piece of the journey. We took his advice and headed onto the road, and into the dark, down Cold River Rd. We had about 30kms to travel until we met back up with the highway, but we spent it all in the pitch black down an old side road. It was definitely scary. And I don't care who you are. That had to have scared you. It was honestly pitch black outside. And Im pretty sure its not where the deer or the buffalo roam. More like where the Grizzly Bear and the Cougar roam. But, lucky for us we came upon a camp set up for the forest fire fighters and they let us camp next to their camp sites right by the river. It was nice to see people and civilization after two hours biking through the dark wilderness. We camped out close to the river and I nearly knocked myself out trying to tie our food up and away from the bears. But, I just barely avoided it. Lucky for me.
In the morning we enjoyed a light beakfast of beans and a bun and headed out. We started the day with the beginning of the pass. It was about 6 kms of uphill climb and then it leveled out. We biked for a while longer and were waiting for the rest of the climb. We stopped for a break, scrounged our change, and bought a little snack. Chatting with a fellow and his daughter they told us some of the most fantastic news. Apparently it was all down hill for the rest of the trip. Barely believing him we still got stoked about the possibility. Shortly after, we found out he was right. We began a decent of almost 20kms. And it kept going. Right into Hope. The day was a breeze. We flew into Hope for grub and then continued flying through town. We hoped to get 40kms after dinner and lucked into 60kms thanks to some light tail winds and some sweet downhills. We rolled into Chilliwack as it was growing dark and searched for a place to camp. It was nearly a concrete jungle where we were searching but we figured that if the crackheads behind WalMart would leave us alone we would be fine. While we were setting up shop on a patch of grass behind the bargain giant a security guard came up and asked us how we were doing. We were slightly worried because, after almost three months on the road camping illegally we had never been kicked out and we figured, "crap, not on the last night!". But luckily for us, our new security friend AJ was really nice and was stoked to hear about our trip. He told us we were more than welcome to crash for the night and even radioed the rest of the guards and let them know not to bother us. He offered us washroom facilities and told us to hollar if we needed anything. Its funny how you can be worried about one thing, and then the total opposite happens.
The morning was a mix and mash of people from all over the place. We met some folks who were traveling back to the west coast after a long trip hitch hiking and rail hoping. We thought the rails were a dead, but atleast some people are still using them. Bahzing! We left Chilliwack and thought we had it all worked out. A nice and easy 100km day right into the ferry to meet our buddy Taylor Kipp at the ferry. Turns out that Vancouver is like every other city and insists we take an alternate route into town. Well, just like every other town, we do not know which the fastest, best, or even workable route is. So, as we searched for an alternate route we were lucky to have bumped into Barry and Wendy, two other bikers from Chilliwack. Noticing we were lost (somehow, must have been the perplexed looks on our faces and the fact we were standing on an overpass staring at the highway we weren't allowed onto) they offered up directions and then decided to join us for a pedal and lead us in the right direction. After a nice ride, we exchanged contact information and they pointed us in the right direction. But, par for the course, we shortly forgot the directions and were forced to ask more people and try to navigate the roads with our "trusty" blackberry. Regardless, we ran into highways that insisted bikes were not allowed on highways and that we must reroute ourselves. After some tricky road choices Skye had has pointed in the right direction and we cruised the final leg of our journey.
The feeling as we neared the water was exhilerating. Despite the 120km day, filled with confusion and route changes, the closer we got to the water, the larger our smiles got. It was tough holding in the excitement when we finally saw the water. It's an interesting feeling when you wait for something that long and then it is finally realized. Arriving was glorifying, but not in an extrinsic way, but in an intrinsic way. There wasn't a big parade, or fireworks, but what was there were the same things that were there all along. Friends and family were all behind us, from the first day until the last. Our famlies were both happy to hear we were safe and sound and proud that we had accomplished what we sought out to. Our friends were excited to see us, as we were them, and despite not seeing each other for a while, nothing had changed. Our buddy Kipp was waiting for us, ready to catch up on news of the summer.
And so I think those were the most rewarding and reassuring things about the trip. Our families were always behind us, supporting our desicions and helping us realize them. Our friends were always waiting with open arms to take us in, feed us until we'd burst, and catch up on missed stories and halerious situations that happened while we were gone. And new friends were always coming around the corner. We never knew who they were, where or how we'd meet them, but we always found ourselves at the end of the day saying how awesome it was that things worked out the way they did on that specific day. Most times you couldn't have planned the lucky situations we found ourselves in and the people we would meet. But, everything fell in place just so that we could enjoy three months on the road, exploring Canada. Though each hill had its ups and the wind enjoyed its time in our face, looking back, its clear that the trip was amazing, unforgetable, and definitely once in a life time.
Thanks to everyone who helped out. Honestly, we have the hugest Pay It Forward debt around. Were going to have to be nice forever to keep up with all the nice gestures people have shared. To everyone who donated, whether it was time, money, space, food, shelter or anything else, you're all gems. If you didn't get a chance to help us out, feel free to help out the next person you see. Believe it or not everyone can use a little help from a friend. Anytime. Any place. I think that may be infringement on the Beatles song, but Im sure they wont mind. We are so thankful for everyones help and hope you all had a wicked summer.
Cheers
L'Arche as an organization, as well as a community, was fantastic in supporting our trip. They were amped about our trip from the get go. The houses along the way were amazing and very welcoming. They would not hesitate to bring us into their home and offer us a place to stay, food to eat, and a warm shower. The people we met in the houses always seemed excited to have guests and were amazing hosts. Each house had a different flavour and different history, but all were similar in their warmth and hospitality. We are hoping to do a little more fundraising in the Victoria area to make up for the difficulties of fundraising on the road.
The final leg of our trip was up and down. I mean that in the most literal manner. The mountains were the final obstacle we were faced with, but I think we may have finally caught a bit of a break going from East to West. As we headed out from a wicked stay in Calgary with the Pittmans and the rest of the Calgary crew, we had a somewhat windy day (surprise surprise), but in typical trip fashion, the second half of the day was a breeze (or a lack there of). We pedalled into Banff in time for Skye's buddy Neil's rugby game. Banff is a beautiful town and the rugby pitch was surrounded by mountains and even had about 12 elk in attendence. Neil's team ran over the oppostion and so post game spirits were high. We headed back to Neil's for the evening and then toured about the town. We checked out some local spots and even met up with some of our new biking friends Joanna and Kyle. We caught up on trip festivities and then made our way back to Neil's apartment. One thing led to another and we were forced to enter the apartment from through the second story window. Who needs keys anyways? We woke up the next day and grabbed a little breakfast and then spent the day relaxing in the sun, finally out of the miserable weather we'd been experiencing in central Canada. After a midday nap we met up with our friend Mary for a feast of Chicken Nachos and some other delicious snacks. After a nice visit we decided to walk back across town to Neil's place. But, for the second straight night we were forced to use the second story window enterence. Buuut, due to our previous enterences, the window was incapable of being entered. So, we turned directly around and ended up crashing on Mary's couch/floor. After our "relaxing" staying in Banff we decided we needed to shape up and ship out or else we may just get trapped in that crazy little town. So, we took off the next day and made our way to Golden. Our good buddy and roommate Archie (Jeremey Archibald) hooked us up with his cousin Dave's contact. Dave and his girlfriend Sharma put us up for the night and were wicked folks. They were huge into the extreme sports world and Sharma even designs custom long boards for her own company, Slow Motion Longboards. Coolio. Despite the pull to stay in such a gnarly place, we decided to push on into the mountains.
As we made our way into the mountains and through Roger's pass, the landscape began to change. The mountains were smaller and totally different. Around Salmon Arm we noticed the haze and smoke of forest fires, but were easily able to pass through. The landscape began to take a desert like face. There was plenty of sand like soil and it became apparent why the area is so susceptible to forest fires. We arrived in Kamloops in the evening and stopped for a nice gourmet meal of hamburger helper. After being offered to sell crack for some local fellow we kindly declined and decided to try and make our way out of town in search of a good camping spot. Much to our dismay we realized that Kamloops is built on a huge, huge hill. Good for views, terrible news for bikes. As we struggled up and over this massive hill, I must have looked particularily shabby because a passing truck inquired if we were looking for a place to camp. Gasping, we both shouted "Yes!". The folks in the truck turned out to be new friends Allan and Jenny Eastwood. Allan and Jenny offered us a spot in their house and were kind enough to feed and shower us, even sacrificing some of their Okanagan Valley peaches to our weary selves. Allan and his son had traveled across Canada and were sympathetic to the bike touring cause. We spent the night chatting about the outdoors and the wonderful activities that come with. They were super friendly and its always nice to run into people who understand how crappy biking up a huge hill at night is. Their daughter Lindsay was kind enough to make us breakfast in the morning, setting us up for a good day of biking. We parted ways and began what we believed would be a decent day. Turns out, the first 6 mins were all down hill. And how thankful were we! From there on the day was hellish. The first half was seemingly all up hill. I struggled particuarily hard and was clearly slowing Skye down. We rolled into Merrit and were wiped. We had a chessey pork melange and our signature bag of Jalepeno Cheddar chips and then decided to hit the road and attack atleast a piece of the upcoming Coquihalla pass. A tidbit from a passerby let us in on a better route for atleast a piece of the journey. We took his advice and headed onto the road, and into the dark, down Cold River Rd. We had about 30kms to travel until we met back up with the highway, but we spent it all in the pitch black down an old side road. It was definitely scary. And I don't care who you are. That had to have scared you. It was honestly pitch black outside. And Im pretty sure its not where the deer or the buffalo roam. More like where the Grizzly Bear and the Cougar roam. But, lucky for us we came upon a camp set up for the forest fire fighters and they let us camp next to their camp sites right by the river. It was nice to see people and civilization after two hours biking through the dark wilderness. We camped out close to the river and I nearly knocked myself out trying to tie our food up and away from the bears. But, I just barely avoided it. Lucky for me.
In the morning we enjoyed a light beakfast of beans and a bun and headed out. We started the day with the beginning of the pass. It was about 6 kms of uphill climb and then it leveled out. We biked for a while longer and were waiting for the rest of the climb. We stopped for a break, scrounged our change, and bought a little snack. Chatting with a fellow and his daughter they told us some of the most fantastic news. Apparently it was all down hill for the rest of the trip. Barely believing him we still got stoked about the possibility. Shortly after, we found out he was right. We began a decent of almost 20kms. And it kept going. Right into Hope. The day was a breeze. We flew into Hope for grub and then continued flying through town. We hoped to get 40kms after dinner and lucked into 60kms thanks to some light tail winds and some sweet downhills. We rolled into Chilliwack as it was growing dark and searched for a place to camp. It was nearly a concrete jungle where we were searching but we figured that if the crackheads behind WalMart would leave us alone we would be fine. While we were setting up shop on a patch of grass behind the bargain giant a security guard came up and asked us how we were doing. We were slightly worried because, after almost three months on the road camping illegally we had never been kicked out and we figured, "crap, not on the last night!". But luckily for us, our new security friend AJ was really nice and was stoked to hear about our trip. He told us we were more than welcome to crash for the night and even radioed the rest of the guards and let them know not to bother us. He offered us washroom facilities and told us to hollar if we needed anything. Its funny how you can be worried about one thing, and then the total opposite happens.
The morning was a mix and mash of people from all over the place. We met some folks who were traveling back to the west coast after a long trip hitch hiking and rail hoping. We thought the rails were a dead, but atleast some people are still using them. Bahzing! We left Chilliwack and thought we had it all worked out. A nice and easy 100km day right into the ferry to meet our buddy Taylor Kipp at the ferry. Turns out that Vancouver is like every other city and insists we take an alternate route into town. Well, just like every other town, we do not know which the fastest, best, or even workable route is. So, as we searched for an alternate route we were lucky to have bumped into Barry and Wendy, two other bikers from Chilliwack. Noticing we were lost (somehow, must have been the perplexed looks on our faces and the fact we were standing on an overpass staring at the highway we weren't allowed onto) they offered up directions and then decided to join us for a pedal and lead us in the right direction. After a nice ride, we exchanged contact information and they pointed us in the right direction. But, par for the course, we shortly forgot the directions and were forced to ask more people and try to navigate the roads with our "trusty" blackberry. Regardless, we ran into highways that insisted bikes were not allowed on highways and that we must reroute ourselves. After some tricky road choices Skye had has pointed in the right direction and we cruised the final leg of our journey.
The feeling as we neared the water was exhilerating. Despite the 120km day, filled with confusion and route changes, the closer we got to the water, the larger our smiles got. It was tough holding in the excitement when we finally saw the water. It's an interesting feeling when you wait for something that long and then it is finally realized. Arriving was glorifying, but not in an extrinsic way, but in an intrinsic way. There wasn't a big parade, or fireworks, but what was there were the same things that were there all along. Friends and family were all behind us, from the first day until the last. Our famlies were both happy to hear we were safe and sound and proud that we had accomplished what we sought out to. Our friends were excited to see us, as we were them, and despite not seeing each other for a while, nothing had changed. Our buddy Kipp was waiting for us, ready to catch up on news of the summer.
And so I think those were the most rewarding and reassuring things about the trip. Our families were always behind us, supporting our desicions and helping us realize them. Our friends were always waiting with open arms to take us in, feed us until we'd burst, and catch up on missed stories and halerious situations that happened while we were gone. And new friends were always coming around the corner. We never knew who they were, where or how we'd meet them, but we always found ourselves at the end of the day saying how awesome it was that things worked out the way they did on that specific day. Most times you couldn't have planned the lucky situations we found ourselves in and the people we would meet. But, everything fell in place just so that we could enjoy three months on the road, exploring Canada. Though each hill had its ups and the wind enjoyed its time in our face, looking back, its clear that the trip was amazing, unforgetable, and definitely once in a life time.
Thanks to everyone who helped out. Honestly, we have the hugest Pay It Forward debt around. Were going to have to be nice forever to keep up with all the nice gestures people have shared. To everyone who donated, whether it was time, money, space, food, shelter or anything else, you're all gems. If you didn't get a chance to help us out, feel free to help out the next person you see. Believe it or not everyone can use a little help from a friend. Anytime. Any place. I think that may be infringement on the Beatles song, but Im sure they wont mind. We are so thankful for everyones help and hope you all had a wicked summer.
Cheers
Monday, August 24, 2009
Calgary, Cars, and Public Transportation...
After getting picked up by Marika outside the city, we were excited to see what this town had to offer. On the way home we picked up some grub for dinner and headed back to the Pittman residence for a delicious dinner. We spent most of the night relaxing at their place enjoying some great company and a few glasses of wine. As the night grew later we rallied a crew of mostly X graduates and headed to a bar to catch up and share some stories of our summers. Its funny when you travel all the way to the west side of Canada and spend the night hanging out with East Coasters. We had a fun night and coincidentally Skye was able to meet up with an old family friend Luke Theriault, whom he grew up with. Luke was working at the bar and so it was a good pick for the night. The next morning we were acquainted with the C-Train and the Calgary Bus system. Apparently Calgary isn't the smallest city in Canada. The trip back across town was long and arduous, but Im sure it didn't help that we indulged in one too many pops the night before. When we finally arrived back in the North West we headed over to Luke's house and prepared to head to Virgin Fest. Marika was kind enough to hook us up with tickets to the Saturday shows which included Wintersleep, K-OS, and Pearl Jam. Our buddy Tony from X was also playing on the main stage, but we didn't realize this until after his show had already happened. We felt stupid for missing it but proud of him for playing such a huge show! The shows were awesome, with Pearl Jam easily taking the cake. Again, we bumped into some other X folks, Liam and Graham, as well as spotted Ewan Thompson from a far with his X rugby shirt on. Again, so many East Coast connections in the West. The night concluded with a hilarious serenade by some random folks on the side of the road on our walk home.
The next day we met up with our buddy Andrew Bullied from X and went out to the Ship and Anchor. We met a couple of his buddies and shared some more travel stories, then made our way over to our friend Nicole's place. We indulged ourselves in her hot tub and treated our weary legs. We spent the night there and took the C-Train back to the North West end of town. Luke's Mom Lily treated us to a fantastic meal and a decadent dessert, and even indulged us with a treat from the ice cream man. If you didn't know, Calgary still has ice cream trucks that drive around and play those hilarious songs that must drive the driver insane.
We spent the next day cruising around the Tallesman Center courtesy of our buddy Dave Swinden and enjoyed a few games of basketball and a sweet diving board session in their dive tank. After our little playdate we headed over to Luke's house for another delicious dinner. We were stoked when JP Thompson and Marika showed up after dinner. JP was visiting from Jasper and was in town to meet his girlfriend Sally who was flying in that night. We went out to a little Sheesha bar and then made our way out to the airport to pick up Sally. We spent the night catching up and decided that the Zoo was a perfect option for the next day. We woke up and made it to the Zoo in decent time and got to see some pretty cool animals. It was funny because the whole day we were constantly thinking how cool the Zoo was but also how weird it is to have all those animals in such confined spaces. After the Zoo we made our way back over to Marika's where we had a big BBQ which conveniently was attended by another crew of X grads. A fun night was had by all.
The following day was the Kings of Leon concert. JP woke up Sally with a surprise set of tickets. She was excited to say the least. Skye lucked into a ticket thanks to our buddy Andrew, and so the three of them headed out to Andrew's place to have a few pops before the show began. Marika and I stayed home and had dinner with the Pittman crew. As the concert was underway we assumed all were having a good time watching some good music. Buuuut, this was not all true. Skye was the only person out of the trio that actually made it in to the show. Sally preindulged herself and was incapacitated before the show began. She got close to the doors, but didn't get in, and had to turn herself around. JP being the gem that he is stayed with her as they tried to walk it off. This was unsuccessful and JP called Marika to see if she could come pick them up downtown. So Marika and I headed down, cutting our dinner a little short. We met JP and lugged Sally into the car. Luckily for us Sally was 100% dead weight by the time we got home and so we tossed her in bed. JP stuck around while Marika and I headed out again. We swung to a train station and picked Skye up after the show and then headed to Loco Lou's to have a few beer. Apparently the show was a good time as Skye was pretty amped about it.
The next day we loaded up Marika's car and headed towards Jasper for the weekend. We stopped in Banff to pick up Mary Moore, another X grad, and headed for a local gem of a spot, this giant swing on a mountain. Luckily for me, this swing was able to help with my under the weather disposition. For some reason I didn't learn from Sally's display and also overindulged myself. The swing was a major rush and set the tone for the weekend. We cruised up to Jasper and I was blown away by the mountains. We swung by Lake Louise and some other touristy places on the way up. When we arrived in jasper we picked up a bunch of grub and prepared for a relaxing night. The next morning we ate a big breakfast and then met up with Mary and her boyfriend Ryan Davies for a hike. Unbenounced to me, this hike was no small task. It was almost four hours to the top, with no switch backs. Straight up the mountain we trekked to the top and enjoyed a snack and a break. Old Man Mountain has the profile of a face at the peak and so we had lunch on his nose. The decent was way quicker, and we were lucky enough to get really close to a Great Horned Sheep. By the end of the hike most of us were exhausted and ready for some rest. But, par for the course, rest takes the back seat to fun. So we followed up the hike with a delicious meal of greek cuisine and a hilarious host Achilles. After dinner we walked over to the Brew Pub and decided that instead of rest, we would start a dance party in the relatively un-danceparty-esque scene. A hilarious night in all, but it did nothing for our legs. The next day was spent moving very slowly around JP's apartment. After a nice relaxing day, we woke up and headed back to the city. We dropped Mary back off in Banff and returned to Calgary. When we got home we set our bikes back up and prepared to leave the next morning. The morning, which was supposed to see our departure, didn't. Instead we justified another day in Calgary because of our aching legs. There's no point in leaving more sore than how we arrived. So we traveled out to Cocharane and jumped off a bride into some chilly water. Sally had a slight hiccup at the final jump, but a little coaxing from Marika got the job done.
That night we dropped Sally off at the airport despite her inclination to stay out west and potentially join our bike trip and become a West Coast bum like Skye and I.
The next day we finally hit the road for Banff. It was a fairly enjoyable ride and was our first into the mountains. It turns out that the riding gets harder. Banff was an interesting little town. It seems no one is actually from there. We spent an extra rest day in Banff, jumping between Skye's buddy Neil's and Mary's place. There are tons of people from all over the world and everyone is enjoying the beautiful scenery the mountains have to offer. We left Banff and made our way to Golden to spend the night with our buddy Jeremy Archibald's cousin Dave and his girlfriend Sharma. They had a wicked spot and are huge into the activities the mountains have to offer.
We're still a few days from Vancouver, but the trip is winding down. Its bittersweet to be done, but we're both excited to see what it's like on the West Coast. Thanks to everyone who's helped us out along the way. It means the world to us and we definitely couldn't have done it without the kindness of all those along the way.
Cheers!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
No Treeses, Only Breezes
After Manitoba proved to be overly friendly, we thanked our hosts and hostesses the Bleicherts and the Augusts, and aimed for Saskatchewan. Leaving Brandon, we were about 120kms from the border and despite the heavy head winds, we drudged slowly towards the hard to spell, easy to draw province of Saskatchewan. As evening approached we noticed the wind was dying down and our progress had picked up. The land was boringly flat, but our speed was quick for the first time all day, so we decided we would capitalize on the easy riding and committed to riding in the dark. We stopped at a gas station to grab a snack and set up our lights and such on the bikes. As we pulled into the spot we met a fellow whose car had broken down earlier in the day. He was trying to buy a used car from the sales lot across from the gas station. His car broke down on the way to a folk festival where he was supposed to be selling drums he makes by hand, Ear to the Ground drums. He seemed like a nice fellow but when we entered the gas station and were roaming around in search of some grub, the lady behind the counter asked us if we could stick around until the store closed because she was creeped out by this poor stranded guy. Trying to ease her worries we decided that we could use a bit of a rest and agreed to stick around. We had about 40 minutes to kill according to her so we grabbed a pack of hot dogs and prepared for a microwaved treat. We had a plethora of buns that we acquired from a grocery store earlier that day. (Apparently they throw out bags and bags of food at those grocery stores, but not on our watch!). So with all our fixings ready and a couple of ketchup packets to boot, we waited as the delicious aroma filled the store. As the store attendant caught a whiff of the dogs, she commented on how hungry she was. So we offered her a dog to which she willingly accepted. Unable to hold back her desire for the delicious dog, she opened the microwave, (that had just microblasted our dogs for about 5 minutes on high), and shoved one into her mouth. With that no holds barred attitude she had to have burned every inch of her mouth! Surprised by her antics, Skye and I had a quiet chuckle over her hasty consumption of the dog. All of a sudden, after asking us to keep her company, she decided it was time for us to leave. She seemed to get worried that someone might drive by and wonder why there was two bikers still in the store. So even though it wasn't quite closing time she asked us to leave. So, mildly confused, we left the store and finished our delicious dog treats.
It was now dark, but with our lights flashing, we decided to hit the wide shoulder that we had recently acquired and attempt to reach the Sask. border. As we were walking our bikes to the road we joked about how crappy it would be to get a flat out on the road in the dark. We hopped on our bikes and didn't get 30ft before we realized that Skye's tire was already flat! So, a quick repair was needed. Upon further inspection of the tire and quick pump up, it appeared the tire was holding air just fine. So we hit the road again. The biking wasn't the greatest as it was hard to see, but knowing the border wasn't too far off, the motivation to get to Sask was pretty high, so we trucked onward. As we peddled, we realized that the tire was slowly losing air. We stopped to repump it a couple of times but decided to call it quits at the edge of Manitoba, at their tourist bureau. Seeing all the other big rigs sleeping and campers resting, we decided a tent would be accepted. We set up shop in the dark and were excited to hit the hay and get to Sask the next day. Lucky for us, it rained all night. Our trusty tent was having some trust problems and decided to leak inwards. The last time we had leaks, Skye was the victim, but this time it was my turn. It was a wet sleep, but luckily it was plenty warm. Come morning, we headed into the bureau because of the continuing crappy weather and the friendly lady running the place let us eat breakfast inside. It was still raining, but we decided to tackle the crappy weather regardless. It was a horrible day, full of winds and rains, and it weathered us pretty rough. After a long, slow, wet, and cold day of biking, we decided to use one of our lifelines and grabbed a motel. It was a somewhat annoying ordeal, but a warm bed and a sauna made it worthwhile. We woke up at the Whitewood Inn and had full intentions of getting to Regina in two days, but once we hit the road we never thought we could make it. But then something amazing happened. The wind actually changed directions. After a terribly slow afternoon ride, we stopped for some lunch in a little town picnic area. After we ate we realized the wind had died down and was actually pushing us for once! With this new found support we blazed onward and started making some serious ground quickly. We passed town after town and realized that if we kept trucking we could actually make the 180km trip in one day instead of two! Luckily for us we cruised into Regina just in time to check into the hostel before it closed for the night at 11:00pm.
After a decent sleep in the hostel we swung down to the supermarket and grabbed a bunch of food for breakfast. With full bellies we hit the road again. We had a good day but as per usual the wind was crappy until the evening. We rocked into Moose Jaw for supper but didn't stay long. Called the "friendly city" Moose Jaw provided us with some of the most negative people of the trip. The fellows we chatted with had nothing but awful news to tell us, but like water off a ducks back, we didn't let it hold us down. As we were hitting the road again we spotted two other bikers stopping for supper but figured we'd bump into them later. Skye had another run in with glass but we continued on until a storm forced us to call it quits outside a town called Caronport. As we rolled up to a gas station we noticed a patch of grass that seemed suitable for tenting. Also we spotted another tent already set up and figured we'd be able to join them. Upon further inspection we realized we recognized the tent and the corresponding motorcycle beside it. Figuring it was too coincidental we decided we had to investigate who owned this tent and bike. Turns out it was our pal Frank whom we met earlier in the trip in northern Ontario in White River (the home of Winnie the Pooh). We bugged him out of his tent and surprised him then we chatted about how his trip out west had been. He had already been to Vancouver and was on his way back home. We chatted about our trips and then hit the hay. Frank was kind enough to buy us some breakfast in the morning and was really into the whole pay it forward idea. He was telling us about all the nice people who have helped him out along the way and figured he had to pass it along. So this means Skye and I are going to have a large pay it forward IOU by the end of this trip!
After breakfast we suited up and made our way to the highway when we bumped into the two bikers from the previous night. Joanna and Kyle, from the Toronto area, were sharing in our East-to-West, uphill, into the wind version of the cross canada bike trip. since they were just stopping for breakfast we exchanged numbers and parted ways planning to meet up in Swift Current for the night and camp together. It was 150kms away but it would put us in a good place to make it to Calgary for Friday. We biked hard despite a number of battles (with the hills in the prairies that they don't tell you about) but made it into Swift Current and found a nice location across from a Canadian Tire to camp. Our biking companions were behind us and rolled in late but were unable to find our dime of a camping find. We met up after breakfast the next morning and realized they had settled for a spot on the other side of the Canadian Tire. We swung by the local bike shop and got Skye and extra tire then headed out. We biked into Gull Lake and had some lunch and then moved out. Our new biking friends were biking with us when we had a couple of bike issues in a row. First Skye had a flat and then I had a weird front tire malfunction that we were able to frankenstein a quick fix for. These slowed us down and we were now behind schedule. It was getting dark and we were still no where near a suitable area to camp. If you've never been, the prairies have some places that have absolutely no trees around or any other shelter for that matter. So we trekked on into the dark. Lucky for us it started to rain and cooled us down to a numbing few degrees. We biked on and on and finally reached a little town near Maple Creek and were lucky enough to grab a motel. We shared the room with our new friends, had a couple of pops, munched on some chips, and then chatted about our trips while playing some crib and some memory. Because of our socializing we slept in mega late and were woken up by them kicking us out of the motel. We headed out quickly and had breakfast down the road. As we left for a day of biking we separated from our new friends, crossed the Saskatchewan border, and entered Alberta.
It was a good day for biking and we cruised up through Medicine Hat, which was beautiful, and stopped for supper at a Sobey's. We met some nice folks who happened to be into motocross type racing. They were into racing quads and both the husband and wife, as well as the kids, were all competing. We biked after dinner and made it up to Suffield and decided to call it quits for the night. We scoped out a spot behind a sketchy gas station but decided to set up the tent across the street by a radio tower. Noticing it was close to the tracks we decided we would deal with it, assuming that trains are a lost form of transportation. News flash: trains are not a dead form of transportation in the prairies. We woke up countless times at night fearing that the train was actually going to drive right through the tent. Needless to say Im never sleeping beside train tracks again.
240kms from Calgary, we realized we were still two days out of the city. We decided to try and tackle a bike day the first one to leave the second day more enjoyable. So with a little determination in us we set out. We had a decent day biking but were still amazed at how hilly (especially uphilly) it was towards Calgary. Not to mention boring. Between Medicine Hat and Calgary the coolest thing that happened was us becoming victim to a bird of prey. As we cycled by a field this hawk began swooping down at us. We decided that stopping to fight it would be a bad idea. It could go two ways. One: the hawk is so vicious that it attacks us successfully and we have our eyes gauged out. Or Two: we successfully disarm the falcon (probably witht he guitar) and get arrested for poaching. We opted for a new plan which consisted of speeding up and getting out of the bird's hair (or feathers). Other then that the scenery was not much to look at. We set up shop the first night at quite possibly the dirtiest gas station near Gleichen and Cluny. We tried to avoid the garbage but it was an overwhelming task as the place was littered with it (pun intended). We woke up and had a full litre of milk and an entire box of Nesquik cereal. Delicious. We cruised towards Calgary and desparatingly tried to contact some of our friends in Calgary to potentially meet us outside of the city. Our dear friend Marika was so nice that she came and picked us up way outside of town between Chestermere and Strathmore. Our somewhat travel challenged friends Greg and Jess were unable to fulfil the task, but we still love them. Those two are making up for their local travel challenges by heading to South Korea and continuing to broaden their international traveling experience. Enjoy it you crazy kids! And so, we're spending some time in Clagary resting our weery legs. Skye's achilles sounds like a creeky door. So we will spend about a week here in Calgary before tackling the mountains and then straight to Vancouver in hopes of catching our buddies Kipp, Tom, and Mary before they head back to school. For now, rest and relaxation.
It was now dark, but with our lights flashing, we decided to hit the wide shoulder that we had recently acquired and attempt to reach the Sask. border. As we were walking our bikes to the road we joked about how crappy it would be to get a flat out on the road in the dark. We hopped on our bikes and didn't get 30ft before we realized that Skye's tire was already flat! So, a quick repair was needed. Upon further inspection of the tire and quick pump up, it appeared the tire was holding air just fine. So we hit the road again. The biking wasn't the greatest as it was hard to see, but knowing the border wasn't too far off, the motivation to get to Sask was pretty high, so we trucked onward. As we peddled, we realized that the tire was slowly losing air. We stopped to repump it a couple of times but decided to call it quits at the edge of Manitoba, at their tourist bureau. Seeing all the other big rigs sleeping and campers resting, we decided a tent would be accepted. We set up shop in the dark and were excited to hit the hay and get to Sask the next day. Lucky for us, it rained all night. Our trusty tent was having some trust problems and decided to leak inwards. The last time we had leaks, Skye was the victim, but this time it was my turn. It was a wet sleep, but luckily it was plenty warm. Come morning, we headed into the bureau because of the continuing crappy weather and the friendly lady running the place let us eat breakfast inside. It was still raining, but we decided to tackle the crappy weather regardless. It was a horrible day, full of winds and rains, and it weathered us pretty rough. After a long, slow, wet, and cold day of biking, we decided to use one of our lifelines and grabbed a motel. It was a somewhat annoying ordeal, but a warm bed and a sauna made it worthwhile. We woke up at the Whitewood Inn and had full intentions of getting to Regina in two days, but once we hit the road we never thought we could make it. But then something amazing happened. The wind actually changed directions. After a terribly slow afternoon ride, we stopped for some lunch in a little town picnic area. After we ate we realized the wind had died down and was actually pushing us for once! With this new found support we blazed onward and started making some serious ground quickly. We passed town after town and realized that if we kept trucking we could actually make the 180km trip in one day instead of two! Luckily for us we cruised into Regina just in time to check into the hostel before it closed for the night at 11:00pm.
After a decent sleep in the hostel we swung down to the supermarket and grabbed a bunch of food for breakfast. With full bellies we hit the road again. We had a good day but as per usual the wind was crappy until the evening. We rocked into Moose Jaw for supper but didn't stay long. Called the "friendly city" Moose Jaw provided us with some of the most negative people of the trip. The fellows we chatted with had nothing but awful news to tell us, but like water off a ducks back, we didn't let it hold us down. As we were hitting the road again we spotted two other bikers stopping for supper but figured we'd bump into them later. Skye had another run in with glass but we continued on until a storm forced us to call it quits outside a town called Caronport. As we rolled up to a gas station we noticed a patch of grass that seemed suitable for tenting. Also we spotted another tent already set up and figured we'd be able to join them. Upon further inspection we realized we recognized the tent and the corresponding motorcycle beside it. Figuring it was too coincidental we decided we had to investigate who owned this tent and bike. Turns out it was our pal Frank whom we met earlier in the trip in northern Ontario in White River (the home of Winnie the Pooh). We bugged him out of his tent and surprised him then we chatted about how his trip out west had been. He had already been to Vancouver and was on his way back home. We chatted about our trips and then hit the hay. Frank was kind enough to buy us some breakfast in the morning and was really into the whole pay it forward idea. He was telling us about all the nice people who have helped him out along the way and figured he had to pass it along. So this means Skye and I are going to have a large pay it forward IOU by the end of this trip!
After breakfast we suited up and made our way to the highway when we bumped into the two bikers from the previous night. Joanna and Kyle, from the Toronto area, were sharing in our East-to-West, uphill, into the wind version of the cross canada bike trip. since they were just stopping for breakfast we exchanged numbers and parted ways planning to meet up in Swift Current for the night and camp together. It was 150kms away but it would put us in a good place to make it to Calgary for Friday. We biked hard despite a number of battles (with the hills in the prairies that they don't tell you about) but made it into Swift Current and found a nice location across from a Canadian Tire to camp. Our biking companions were behind us and rolled in late but were unable to find our dime of a camping find. We met up after breakfast the next morning and realized they had settled for a spot on the other side of the Canadian Tire. We swung by the local bike shop and got Skye and extra tire then headed out. We biked into Gull Lake and had some lunch and then moved out. Our new biking friends were biking with us when we had a couple of bike issues in a row. First Skye had a flat and then I had a weird front tire malfunction that we were able to frankenstein a quick fix for. These slowed us down and we were now behind schedule. It was getting dark and we were still no where near a suitable area to camp. If you've never been, the prairies have some places that have absolutely no trees around or any other shelter for that matter. So we trekked on into the dark. Lucky for us it started to rain and cooled us down to a numbing few degrees. We biked on and on and finally reached a little town near Maple Creek and were lucky enough to grab a motel. We shared the room with our new friends, had a couple of pops, munched on some chips, and then chatted about our trips while playing some crib and some memory. Because of our socializing we slept in mega late and were woken up by them kicking us out of the motel. We headed out quickly and had breakfast down the road. As we left for a day of biking we separated from our new friends, crossed the Saskatchewan border, and entered Alberta.
It was a good day for biking and we cruised up through Medicine Hat, which was beautiful, and stopped for supper at a Sobey's. We met some nice folks who happened to be into motocross type racing. They were into racing quads and both the husband and wife, as well as the kids, were all competing. We biked after dinner and made it up to Suffield and decided to call it quits for the night. We scoped out a spot behind a sketchy gas station but decided to set up the tent across the street by a radio tower. Noticing it was close to the tracks we decided we would deal with it, assuming that trains are a lost form of transportation. News flash: trains are not a dead form of transportation in the prairies. We woke up countless times at night fearing that the train was actually going to drive right through the tent. Needless to say Im never sleeping beside train tracks again.
240kms from Calgary, we realized we were still two days out of the city. We decided to try and tackle a bike day the first one to leave the second day more enjoyable. So with a little determination in us we set out. We had a decent day biking but were still amazed at how hilly (especially uphilly) it was towards Calgary. Not to mention boring. Between Medicine Hat and Calgary the coolest thing that happened was us becoming victim to a bird of prey. As we cycled by a field this hawk began swooping down at us. We decided that stopping to fight it would be a bad idea. It could go two ways. One: the hawk is so vicious that it attacks us successfully and we have our eyes gauged out. Or Two: we successfully disarm the falcon (probably witht he guitar) and get arrested for poaching. We opted for a new plan which consisted of speeding up and getting out of the bird's hair (or feathers). Other then that the scenery was not much to look at. We set up shop the first night at quite possibly the dirtiest gas station near Gleichen and Cluny. We tried to avoid the garbage but it was an overwhelming task as the place was littered with it (pun intended). We woke up and had a full litre of milk and an entire box of Nesquik cereal. Delicious. We cruised towards Calgary and desparatingly tried to contact some of our friends in Calgary to potentially meet us outside of the city. Our dear friend Marika was so nice that she came and picked us up way outside of town between Chestermere and Strathmore. Our somewhat travel challenged friends Greg and Jess were unable to fulfil the task, but we still love them. Those two are making up for their local travel challenges by heading to South Korea and continuing to broaden their international traveling experience. Enjoy it you crazy kids! And so, we're spending some time in Clagary resting our weery legs. Skye's achilles sounds like a creeky door. So we will spend about a week here in Calgary before tackling the mountains and then straight to Vancouver in hopes of catching our buddies Kipp, Tom, and Mary before they head back to school. For now, rest and relaxation.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
No Pain..... No Grain!!
After a great stay with Thom and Cheryl (Apologies for the spelling if it's wrong) We biked our way out of Kenora. After a few hiccups, a blown tire, and a tire that was rubbing on a piece of the bike we decided was irrelevant, we got out of Ontario. Coming into Manitoba, we stopped at the tourist bureau, got some advice, read about others adventures in the bike log and ventured into the prairie province. After the highway became four lanes and we were scared by some eager trucks we decided to take a more scenic route into Winnipeg. I briefly saw the first bear of the trip, which was a young one, but we ventured past cautiously keeping an eye out for Mama. In our true style we stayed that night on the edge of Whiteshell Provincial Park in a picnic park not 100ft. from an actual camp ground that would have been more than happy to take our money. Supper that night was of our own creation and included the remainder of our minute rice, and a can of chili beans, chick peas and tuna each. Packed with protein but lacking flavour we saoked it all in Tabasco Sauce and ate quickly before bed.
The next day we kept on the trail and were over 100km from Winnipeg. About 40 km in we were off of the Canadian Shield and onto the flat lands. The roads were straight as an arrow all the way into town. In Alma we stopped and ordered up some gas station fried chicken while we tried to make arrangements for the night. We ended up getting a hold of a couple people. The first were Daniel and Michelle Bahuaud. They were more than willing to have us even though it was both their anniversary and their young children were away for the evening. However, our old friends the Bleicherts called back soon after we got a hold of the Bahuauds and we decided that they'd probably rather have a nice anniversary on their own than to house, feed, and entertain our filthy selves. Al Bleichert came out and met us in his trusty van to escort us to his house which would have been difficult to get to without his help. That night we enjoyed some soup, homemade bread, and rhubarb dessert with Al, his wife Frances and also met their daughter Sarah.
The next day we were able to get a hold of L'Arche Winnipeg and organize going to a house to meet them for dinner. After wandering around the downtown, buying some necessary items from MEC and Dollarama, and getting lost, we made our way to the L'Arche house. They welcomed us with open arms and we met Anthony, Renato, Lorenne, Russell, Michael and Jimmy who lived in the house together. Luckily for us we came to L'Arche on their vacation week and we stayed until late in the evening and met many more fantastic people involved with L'Arche in one way or another.
The next day we got up and got out of Winnipeg, again with the help of Al, leaving with a few more items than we showed up with. Sarah had a old beater guitar that we were lucky enough to steal and Al had a camel pack that we swore he didn't use. So again we took that off of his hands.
The accommodations in Winnipeg met and exceeded all that we deserved and we left with a nice bag of Francis' cookies to help us along out way.
Just as we had been warned over and over the wind was fierce and unforgiving. We stopped in Portage La Prairie for food at their friendly Sobey's where we were able to convince the worker in the bakery to donate some things that were headed for the garbage to us instead. Apparently we've begun talking a little weird as well because one of the cashiers there asked us and I quote " So what kind of accent am i hearing there, Australian or English." I assured her that it was simply a Nova Scotian accent with whatever alterations that may have been picked up through tenting in the woods. We moseyed on for a few more kilometers before we rested behind a gas staion for the evening.
The next morning we were pleasantly awaken by some nice people whippersnipping and lawn mowing the grass we were sleeping on which I swear our 7'x6' tent covered more than half of. We got up and again suffered the strong prairie winds and pushed through some surprising hills until we made it to Brandon. Here we had another contact Donna and Dave August who I'd met when Donna was managing the NDP campaign in Truro, NS before we took off. We ate like kings, drank some of Dave's fine chokecherry wine and met Donna's brothers Jerry and Ken, as well as Ken's wife Bev, before hitting the hay with our bellies full.
Today we're about to take off with intentions of making it to Saskatchewan. We just helped Ken and Bev move into their new spot and they gave us a generous donation for our trip. Again Manitoba lived up to it's "Friendly Manitoba" name and we were treated all too well.
Saskatchewan is in the sights and from what we've heard the wind apparently isn't going to improve when we get there so it should be a difficult ride for the duration.
You know what they say though . . "No Pain, no Grain"
See ya guys and gals,
Skye and Ryan
The next day we kept on the trail and were over 100km from Winnipeg. About 40 km in we were off of the Canadian Shield and onto the flat lands. The roads were straight as an arrow all the way into town. In Alma we stopped and ordered up some gas station fried chicken while we tried to make arrangements for the night. We ended up getting a hold of a couple people. The first were Daniel and Michelle Bahuaud. They were more than willing to have us even though it was both their anniversary and their young children were away for the evening. However, our old friends the Bleicherts called back soon after we got a hold of the Bahuauds and we decided that they'd probably rather have a nice anniversary on their own than to house, feed, and entertain our filthy selves. Al Bleichert came out and met us in his trusty van to escort us to his house which would have been difficult to get to without his help. That night we enjoyed some soup, homemade bread, and rhubarb dessert with Al, his wife Frances and also met their daughter Sarah.
The next day we were able to get a hold of L'Arche Winnipeg and organize going to a house to meet them for dinner. After wandering around the downtown, buying some necessary items from MEC and Dollarama, and getting lost, we made our way to the L'Arche house. They welcomed us with open arms and we met Anthony, Renato, Lorenne, Russell, Michael and Jimmy who lived in the house together. Luckily for us we came to L'Arche on their vacation week and we stayed until late in the evening and met many more fantastic people involved with L'Arche in one way or another.
The next day we got up and got out of Winnipeg, again with the help of Al, leaving with a few more items than we showed up with. Sarah had a old beater guitar that we were lucky enough to steal and Al had a camel pack that we swore he didn't use. So again we took that off of his hands.
The accommodations in Winnipeg met and exceeded all that we deserved and we left with a nice bag of Francis' cookies to help us along out way.
Just as we had been warned over and over the wind was fierce and unforgiving. We stopped in Portage La Prairie for food at their friendly Sobey's where we were able to convince the worker in the bakery to donate some things that were headed for the garbage to us instead. Apparently we've begun talking a little weird as well because one of the cashiers there asked us and I quote " So what kind of accent am i hearing there, Australian or English." I assured her that it was simply a Nova Scotian accent with whatever alterations that may have been picked up through tenting in the woods. We moseyed on for a few more kilometers before we rested behind a gas staion for the evening.
The next morning we were pleasantly awaken by some nice people whippersnipping and lawn mowing the grass we were sleeping on which I swear our 7'x6' tent covered more than half of. We got up and again suffered the strong prairie winds and pushed through some surprising hills until we made it to Brandon. Here we had another contact Donna and Dave August who I'd met when Donna was managing the NDP campaign in Truro, NS before we took off. We ate like kings, drank some of Dave's fine chokecherry wine and met Donna's brothers Jerry and Ken, as well as Ken's wife Bev, before hitting the hay with our bellies full.
Today we're about to take off with intentions of making it to Saskatchewan. We just helped Ken and Bev move into their new spot and they gave us a generous donation for our trip. Again Manitoba lived up to it's "Friendly Manitoba" name and we were treated all too well.
Saskatchewan is in the sights and from what we've heard the wind apparently isn't going to improve when we get there so it should be a difficult ride for the duration.
You know what they say though . . "No Pain, no Grain"
See ya guys and gals,
Skye and Ryan
Saturday, July 25, 2009
The End (of Ontario) is Nigh
Alllright!!
So I think it's safe to say I've never been more excited to leave a place than I am to leave Ontario right now!! The people have been fantastic, the biking has been more or less great, and we've escaped this province without too many hiccups or set backs. That being said, we're both ready to get out of this rocky woodsy lakey land.
We ended up not leaving Thunder Bay until around 3 in the pm. Logan had returned from his second meeting with Jordan Staal and we as usual took our sweet time getting ready and on the road. We were kindly escorted out of the neighboorhood and down to the grocery store by Logan and his friend Thomas. We were then on our way after picking up some stuff to ensure that we would not be without food. A few kilometers down the 102 out of the Bay we were lucky enough to stumble upon a box of mini boxes of cereal which of course we picked up and brought along with us for the journey.
We stopped for the evening 110km in at a Gas station in Lac des Mille Lacs and asked if they'd kindly let us put up our tent, which they agreed to. We hung out with Sare who was the cook for the restaurant and also did some wood chopping. He warned us of the numerous bears in the area so we were "careful" not to keep food in the tent with us. After hanging up our food we agreed that anything left had to be eaten before sleeping. After polishing a bag of chips, we stumbled upon 4 granola bars which we ate without too much trouble. Next on the menu we figured out that there was the remnants of a bag of trail mix that we struggled to polish off. Long story short we fell asleep with full bellies, crumbs all over the tent, that box of mini cereal boxes convenietly just outside of the tent, and a nice box of jelly beans hiddin in the depths of Babs's bag. No night visitors though!!! Except for the millions of mosquitos who also went to bed with full bellies inside of our tent.
We got up in the morning and had a breakfast at the diner and got on the road. We made great time due to the lack of wind and the land becoming much more flat. The rain came in flashes and there was the threat of a lightning attack but we kept on because the biking was easy. The rain cleared up for our lunch in English River and then we continued on. Final destination for the evening was Ignace, about 130km of biking for the day. We stopped and had a nice treat of minute rice, creamed corn and tuna and topped it up with a burger from a very busy burger spot before making our way to West Beach where we had a very pleasent sleep and were lucky enough to witness a couple bush planes come flying into the lake in the morning.
We indulged in those great cereals before taking off in the morning. About 110 kilometers from Dryden, we thought it would be a suitable destination for the day. We stopped at a nice little picnic spot for lunch and a quick nap before hitting the road again. Again it rained throughout the day at various times. We got to Dryden and remembered our friend Jenn from Thunder Bay had mentioned she had a contact there. After calling her and having a snack at the grocery store we got the contact info, considered our options, and since it was still early and the rain looked to be letting up, we took off to put some more kilometers under us.
We thought there would be a picnic area within the vicinity of the town but were mistaken and ended up biking another 40 kilometers before hitting up a camp site. As we would find a trend the camp ground didn't accept interact and we didn't have cash so we asked the old guy in the office if he might let us mail him money later. This wasn't going to work for him so we took off, dreading having to bike many more kilometers. Lucky for us the old guy told us we could get to the highway by continuing on the dirt road. We couldn't be more than 100 ft down the road when we ran into a beach with nice cooking pits and a great spot to camp so it worked out again for the best and we indulged in hamburger helper before hitting the hay and listening to the thunder and lightning overhead. It was a record breaking day for us at just under 150km and it set us up nicely to reach Kenora the next day!!!!!
The day biking into Kenora was one of those days. The wind was howling and it rained on and off all day. Such a day that makes 90km harder and more challenging that the 150 we did the day before. The only escape from the deafening sound of the wind was to throw in the headphones and put the music on full blast which is perhaps not the safest tactic but kept us from going insane. We stopped at a restaurant just 30km in to the day to give the legs a break and had to use Babs's moms credit card # because again interact had not been discovered in these remote locales. It might as well have been 1909, let alone 2009. The rest of the day was a nightmare but we made it to Kenora. We were able to track down a contact from Colin Mcleod and are presently at his Aunt and Uncles getting ready to hit the road for the day and . . . .GET OUT OF THIS PROVINCE!!!!!!
Not sure if we've passed this on yet but we're officially on the L'Arche Foundation Website larchefoundation.ca, we're right on the main page group #2 and there's a picture of us. Go there if you want to donate!! Tell your rich uncles, and not so rich grandparents! It should be self explanatory I think. Follow the links and the tax receipt will pop up right from the site!!
Peace and Love everyone,
Skye and Ryan
So I think it's safe to say I've never been more excited to leave a place than I am to leave Ontario right now!! The people have been fantastic, the biking has been more or less great, and we've escaped this province without too many hiccups or set backs. That being said, we're both ready to get out of this rocky woodsy lakey land.
We ended up not leaving Thunder Bay until around 3 in the pm. Logan had returned from his second meeting with Jordan Staal and we as usual took our sweet time getting ready and on the road. We were kindly escorted out of the neighboorhood and down to the grocery store by Logan and his friend Thomas. We were then on our way after picking up some stuff to ensure that we would not be without food. A few kilometers down the 102 out of the Bay we were lucky enough to stumble upon a box of mini boxes of cereal which of course we picked up and brought along with us for the journey.
We stopped for the evening 110km in at a Gas station in Lac des Mille Lacs and asked if they'd kindly let us put up our tent, which they agreed to. We hung out with Sare who was the cook for the restaurant and also did some wood chopping. He warned us of the numerous bears in the area so we were "careful" not to keep food in the tent with us. After hanging up our food we agreed that anything left had to be eaten before sleeping. After polishing a bag of chips, we stumbled upon 4 granola bars which we ate without too much trouble. Next on the menu we figured out that there was the remnants of a bag of trail mix that we struggled to polish off. Long story short we fell asleep with full bellies, crumbs all over the tent, that box of mini cereal boxes convenietly just outside of the tent, and a nice box of jelly beans hiddin in the depths of Babs's bag. No night visitors though!!! Except for the millions of mosquitos who also went to bed with full bellies inside of our tent.
We got up in the morning and had a breakfast at the diner and got on the road. We made great time due to the lack of wind and the land becoming much more flat. The rain came in flashes and there was the threat of a lightning attack but we kept on because the biking was easy. The rain cleared up for our lunch in English River and then we continued on. Final destination for the evening was Ignace, about 130km of biking for the day. We stopped and had a nice treat of minute rice, creamed corn and tuna and topped it up with a burger from a very busy burger spot before making our way to West Beach where we had a very pleasent sleep and were lucky enough to witness a couple bush planes come flying into the lake in the morning.
We indulged in those great cereals before taking off in the morning. About 110 kilometers from Dryden, we thought it would be a suitable destination for the day. We stopped at a nice little picnic spot for lunch and a quick nap before hitting the road again. Again it rained throughout the day at various times. We got to Dryden and remembered our friend Jenn from Thunder Bay had mentioned she had a contact there. After calling her and having a snack at the grocery store we got the contact info, considered our options, and since it was still early and the rain looked to be letting up, we took off to put some more kilometers under us.
We thought there would be a picnic area within the vicinity of the town but were mistaken and ended up biking another 40 kilometers before hitting up a camp site. As we would find a trend the camp ground didn't accept interact and we didn't have cash so we asked the old guy in the office if he might let us mail him money later. This wasn't going to work for him so we took off, dreading having to bike many more kilometers. Lucky for us the old guy told us we could get to the highway by continuing on the dirt road. We couldn't be more than 100 ft down the road when we ran into a beach with nice cooking pits and a great spot to camp so it worked out again for the best and we indulged in hamburger helper before hitting the hay and listening to the thunder and lightning overhead. It was a record breaking day for us at just under 150km and it set us up nicely to reach Kenora the next day!!!!!
The day biking into Kenora was one of those days. The wind was howling and it rained on and off all day. Such a day that makes 90km harder and more challenging that the 150 we did the day before. The only escape from the deafening sound of the wind was to throw in the headphones and put the music on full blast which is perhaps not the safest tactic but kept us from going insane. We stopped at a restaurant just 30km in to the day to give the legs a break and had to use Babs's moms credit card # because again interact had not been discovered in these remote locales. It might as well have been 1909, let alone 2009. The rest of the day was a nightmare but we made it to Kenora. We were able to track down a contact from Colin Mcleod and are presently at his Aunt and Uncles getting ready to hit the road for the day and . . . .GET OUT OF THIS PROVINCE!!!!!!
Not sure if we've passed this on yet but we're officially on the L'Arche Foundation Website larchefoundation.ca, we're right on the main page group #2 and there's a picture of us. Go there if you want to donate!! Tell your rich uncles, and not so rich grandparents! It should be self explanatory I think. Follow the links and the tax receipt will pop up right from the site!!
Peace and Love everyone,
Skye and Ryan
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The Marathon from Marathon to Thunderbay
Soo after warming up, and chowing down in Marathon and coincidentally meeting up with a couple of people Babs knew from Cornwall we decided to continue on our way. We didn't get a few kilometers down the road when we reconsidered our decision. In the travel lodge we noticed that everyone was comming in off the road and trying to stay put for the night because of the foggy conditions. We had two views on this situation. If the cars can't see, then they probably can't see us and thats no good, buuut if everyone is getting off the road due to the fog then that means less traffic and that's great as far as we're concerned. We went with the former state of mind and didn't get more than a few kilometers down the road before we ran into another motel and decided to shutter down. Later we found out that we actually had offers of places to stay in that very town or Marathon but our fantastic coverage from Rogers Wireless had then been gone for almost a week and we didn't find out this fact until we got here to Thunder Bay. Soo instead we spent our precious money and stayed in a motel. It was a good night though and we had some nice long hot showers and watched Jumanji.
The next day the fog had cleared and we were on our way after a tasty canned ham bagel. We stopped about 30 kilometers in at a little rest stop for some bananna dominated trail mix. We met a friendly German family who were also travelling across Canada and chatted about our trips. After they showed us some photos of a bear they saw a few kilometers back we decided to hit the road again. The day was hilly but provided some beautiful views. We continued towards Terrace Bay and stopped at Drifters Roadhouse for a fantastic plate of pork chops and mashed potatoes. While waiting for our food we met some ladies who were enjoying an episode of the Magic School Bus. Hardly able to hold back our quips, we zinged the girls for thier choice of entertainment. We chatted for a few minutes then they headed out. After a delicious bite we continued on through the hilly, windy, wet, foggy mess of a day through Schrieber and onwards to Ross Port. As the legs tired we decided to check into some camping. The camp site we popped into was asking for $27.50. So, despite the good looking camp host, we politely declined and instead settled on a fantastic picnic spot a few kilometers down the road. We were cold and wet but the spot gave us a beautiful view of Lake Superior and we decided it was right up our alley. We headed down to the beach and decided that a fire would make this the ideal camp location. So we rummaged through some garbage containers to gather some dry paper and marched through the bushy areas to rally some "dry" wood. Though soaked, the wood was dead and relatively dry on the inside. So we headed back to the beach to try our luck. Contrary to our fire starting abilities in Petawawa, this fire started up slowly but surely and despite the rain we had ourselves a nice fire glowing in no time. As we stood around the fire warming our cold and blue toes, we had the pleasure of meeting some fantastic folks, even if only for a minute. A Torontonian returning from Manitoba was gracious enough to collect a huge bundle of wood for us from the bush while his parents stopped for a pee break. Thanks Christian! An older lady from Germany asked if we could snap a phot of her and her mother, and we kindly obliged. She thanked us and then headed out. Before she departed she returned with a full camping propane tank and offered it to us. She insisted she had two other full ones and so we were greatful to accept her gift and replace our dwindling supply. After stoking the fire we decided to have a quick dip in the cold water. It was refreshing and took our breath away. We re-warmed our cold selves by our against-the-odds fire and looked out onto the glass like Superior. We thought that it'd be a fantastic time to be kayaking. Moments later a van pulled up and was ready to do just that. Toby and Chris, from Thunder Bay, were about to enjoy the water. On our way up to gather more fire wood, we introduced ourselves and chatted a bit about our trip. Soon after they decided to hit the water while it was still a bit light out. We returned to the fire and settled in for a bite of dinner: a can of beans and some bagels. As we ate, Toby and Chris returned and had to "apologize". We were slightly confused since he hadn't done anything to wrong us. Before we could figure it out, he was brandishing two beers for us lucky bikers, but was apologizing for the warmness of the beers. They joined us around the fire and we chatted about our trip and other aspects of life. As the fire dwindled, they returned to their van in which they had a mattress and we headed to bed in our beach side tent. We went to bed smiling, super content with the kindness of strangers and happy with the way things have been working out.
The next day the hills were long and arduous but we tackled them with some grunting and slight complaining and headed towards Nipigon. It was still early, so we enjoyed a couple of slices of pizza and stocked up on some Faxe 10 and Grand 9.5 for our post bike refreshments. We caught a tail wind out of Nipigon that lasted for a few minutes but we had to sit out 15 minutes to change a tire thanks to someones broken window all over the road. After a record time tire change on Skye's back tire we caught the tail wind again and ripped off another 40kms. We decided to call it quits at about 8:30 at a little picnic area beside an Esso convenient store in Dorion. The lady assured us we could throw up our tent and we grabbed a few snacks before they closed at 9:00. We set up shop and enjoyed our top of the line refreshments and hit the hay. We woke early thanks to the tent being slapped into our faces by the heavy wind, but used it to our advantage to zip into Thunder Bay. After a delicious bite at the Lakeview Inn and a nice chat with the owners daughter, who was interested to hear about our trip, we continued on. Despite riding on the stretch of Highway 17 dedicatd to Terry Fox's cross Canada Marathon of Hope we were informed by a police officer that we were actually NOT allowed to bike or run on that stretch of highway. That's interesting considering its dedicated to a man that ran himself along that very path. But, we obliged and hit an alternate route into town. We met up with Jenn Jocko, a medschool friend of Skye's sister Ceilidh, and she welcomed us into her beautiful home. She treated us to a fantastic feed of BBQ'd ribs, chicken, and corn on the cob, but insisted her husband Brad was the cook of the house. He was currently out of the house driving the kids all around Ontario attending hockey camps and camping camps while stopping in to visit some of their family. They arrived home the next day and we met Brad and the kids Logan and Selena. We had the oppertunity to "bump into" Jordan Stall at the Thunder Bay airport as he was picking up the Stanley Cup. Logan, an avid fan, was over the moon being able to catch some autographs and see one of his NHL heros. We came back and Brad treated us to a fabulous fish fry, all caught at their camp by Logan. We ate until we could eat no more. They have been treating us like kings and have made us feel super comfortable, allowing us to use their house and car as our own. The kids kept us busy with games of hide and go seek. After doing a couple of loads of laundry and learning some new bike maintenance skills in Brad's shop we're ready to hit the road again. Hopefully we'll be out of Ontario in a few days and can start flying through the western provinces. Calgary will be our next big rest area and we're looking forward to seeing many friends when we get there.
Cheers for now
The next day the fog had cleared and we were on our way after a tasty canned ham bagel. We stopped about 30 kilometers in at a little rest stop for some bananna dominated trail mix. We met a friendly German family who were also travelling across Canada and chatted about our trips. After they showed us some photos of a bear they saw a few kilometers back we decided to hit the road again. The day was hilly but provided some beautiful views. We continued towards Terrace Bay and stopped at Drifters Roadhouse for a fantastic plate of pork chops and mashed potatoes. While waiting for our food we met some ladies who were enjoying an episode of the Magic School Bus. Hardly able to hold back our quips, we zinged the girls for thier choice of entertainment. We chatted for a few minutes then they headed out. After a delicious bite we continued on through the hilly, windy, wet, foggy mess of a day through Schrieber and onwards to Ross Port. As the legs tired we decided to check into some camping. The camp site we popped into was asking for $27.50. So, despite the good looking camp host, we politely declined and instead settled on a fantastic picnic spot a few kilometers down the road. We were cold and wet but the spot gave us a beautiful view of Lake Superior and we decided it was right up our alley. We headed down to the beach and decided that a fire would make this the ideal camp location. So we rummaged through some garbage containers to gather some dry paper and marched through the bushy areas to rally some "dry" wood. Though soaked, the wood was dead and relatively dry on the inside. So we headed back to the beach to try our luck. Contrary to our fire starting abilities in Petawawa, this fire started up slowly but surely and despite the rain we had ourselves a nice fire glowing in no time. As we stood around the fire warming our cold and blue toes, we had the pleasure of meeting some fantastic folks, even if only for a minute. A Torontonian returning from Manitoba was gracious enough to collect a huge bundle of wood for us from the bush while his parents stopped for a pee break. Thanks Christian! An older lady from Germany asked if we could snap a phot of her and her mother, and we kindly obliged. She thanked us and then headed out. Before she departed she returned with a full camping propane tank and offered it to us. She insisted she had two other full ones and so we were greatful to accept her gift and replace our dwindling supply. After stoking the fire we decided to have a quick dip in the cold water. It was refreshing and took our breath away. We re-warmed our cold selves by our against-the-odds fire and looked out onto the glass like Superior. We thought that it'd be a fantastic time to be kayaking. Moments later a van pulled up and was ready to do just that. Toby and Chris, from Thunder Bay, were about to enjoy the water. On our way up to gather more fire wood, we introduced ourselves and chatted a bit about our trip. Soon after they decided to hit the water while it was still a bit light out. We returned to the fire and settled in for a bite of dinner: a can of beans and some bagels. As we ate, Toby and Chris returned and had to "apologize". We were slightly confused since he hadn't done anything to wrong us. Before we could figure it out, he was brandishing two beers for us lucky bikers, but was apologizing for the warmness of the beers. They joined us around the fire and we chatted about our trip and other aspects of life. As the fire dwindled, they returned to their van in which they had a mattress and we headed to bed in our beach side tent. We went to bed smiling, super content with the kindness of strangers and happy with the way things have been working out.
The next day the hills were long and arduous but we tackled them with some grunting and slight complaining and headed towards Nipigon. It was still early, so we enjoyed a couple of slices of pizza and stocked up on some Faxe 10 and Grand 9.5 for our post bike refreshments. We caught a tail wind out of Nipigon that lasted for a few minutes but we had to sit out 15 minutes to change a tire thanks to someones broken window all over the road. After a record time tire change on Skye's back tire we caught the tail wind again and ripped off another 40kms. We decided to call it quits at about 8:30 at a little picnic area beside an Esso convenient store in Dorion. The lady assured us we could throw up our tent and we grabbed a few snacks before they closed at 9:00. We set up shop and enjoyed our top of the line refreshments and hit the hay. We woke early thanks to the tent being slapped into our faces by the heavy wind, but used it to our advantage to zip into Thunder Bay. After a delicious bite at the Lakeview Inn and a nice chat with the owners daughter, who was interested to hear about our trip, we continued on. Despite riding on the stretch of Highway 17 dedicatd to Terry Fox's cross Canada Marathon of Hope we were informed by a police officer that we were actually NOT allowed to bike or run on that stretch of highway. That's interesting considering its dedicated to a man that ran himself along that very path. But, we obliged and hit an alternate route into town. We met up with Jenn Jocko, a medschool friend of Skye's sister Ceilidh, and she welcomed us into her beautiful home. She treated us to a fantastic feed of BBQ'd ribs, chicken, and corn on the cob, but insisted her husband Brad was the cook of the house. He was currently out of the house driving the kids all around Ontario attending hockey camps and camping camps while stopping in to visit some of their family. They arrived home the next day and we met Brad and the kids Logan and Selena. We had the oppertunity to "bump into" Jordan Stall at the Thunder Bay airport as he was picking up the Stanley Cup. Logan, an avid fan, was over the moon being able to catch some autographs and see one of his NHL heros. We came back and Brad treated us to a fabulous fish fry, all caught at their camp by Logan. We ate until we could eat no more. They have been treating us like kings and have made us feel super comfortable, allowing us to use their house and car as our own. The kids kept us busy with games of hide and go seek. After doing a couple of loads of laundry and learning some new bike maintenance skills in Brad's shop we're ready to hit the road again. Hopefully we'll be out of Ontario in a few days and can start flying through the western provinces. Calgary will be our next big rest area and we're looking forward to seeing many friends when we get there.
Cheers for now
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Up Sh**s creek without a signal!!
After being taken care of in Sudbury for a few days, sorting out some minor bicycle issues (thanks to "The Outside Store" in Sudbury" and overcomming an illness we were back on the road. In usual fashion we were late leaving and in usual fashion there was a strong head wind whistling down the Trans Canada Highway. The wind was in our faces so we had to stop and have an icecream at Lucky's on the way but we made it to our goal of Espanola the first night in time to figure out all the stores were closed. We settled on a feast of McDonald's, your basic recommended nutrition for two people biking all day.
That night we took in UFC 100 and were not dissapointed. As the night was winding down we were still in search of a spot of grass to camp on and the locals assured us that the cops in the town were all over people camping without permission so we were a little hesitant. Luckily Ryan McKee was curious as to what makes "us" cross canada bikers tick and engaged us in a conversation as well as offered an invitation to join him and a crew from the bar for a post fights beer. We asked him enthusiastically if he had a back yard suitable for a tent and recieved and emphatic "Yes!" on one condition, that he would be allowed to test drive the bicycle. I obliged so we joined him and the rest for the post bar party.
The next day we took off again and were again faced with a daunting head wind. It slowed us down quite a bit, our average speed dipped into the single digits and was quite a discouraging day. We decided to stop at about 7pm that day as we were exhausted and stumbled upon quite a nice picnic spot. We met some very nice Manitobians Al and Alana who were having a picnic on the rock when we arrived. We got to talking and found out they were headed west back to their home of Winnipeg. In a half serious manor we asked how much space they have in their big van to which they responded "lots" to which we said "Enough for our bikes?" to which they responded "Yes . .. seriously" to which we responded enthusiastically "Yes." So what was once a playful joke question turned into them piling our stuff in and transporting our discouraged and fatigued bodies along with them, on the short jaunt into Sault Ste. Marie. Having believed that we had a contact in the Sault I was furiously on the phone trying to contact my sister to help us out. She unfortunately told me that her friend had moved and that she no longer knew how to get a hold of her in the short time before we arrived. Luckily Al had previously offered to put us up in the hotel with himself and his daughter for the night. We were reluctant to accept such a generous offer but he assured us that it was a small gift, no strings attatched and we hesitantly and sheepishly obliged. And we slept like babies.
The next day we took off from the Sault along with Al and Alana just outside of the city where they dropped us off and continued on their journey. The day was full of great scenery and despite the cold wind blowing in off of Lake Superior we were able to stay warm by cycling up the many hills that we were faced with. We had a cup of tea with some ladies biking in the other direction, supplied generously by some friendly Californians in a motor home. Al and Alana arrived and wondered whether we'd hopped in with another driver but we assured them we hadn't. That night we were running short on food and water as Lake Superior Provincial Park had none of the above. We decided to settle down in Old Woman Bay where we met two fellows also heading in the opposite direction of us. We had a great fire and played some competitive games of crib (thanks to the Seale Grandparents for the board) and shared stories of our journey thus far.
The next day we took off and made our way into Wawa where we had a breakfast and stocked up on food in order to avoid the hunger we'd experienced the night before. The day was good and we fought our way for 120km before we settled in White River which is the proud birthplace of your childhood friend Winnie the Pooh!! Which was a huge thrill for me as he was hands down my favorite little cartoon character as a child. We camped behind the tourist bureau and met a morotcyclist named Frank and had a very pleasent sleep.
Right now we're in Marathon where we justr had supper and are going to continue through the fog for another couple hours before settling down for the night! Pics are on their way in Thunder Bay hopefully where again hopefullly our phone will work for the first time in a week!
Bye for now!!!
Skye and Ryan
That night we took in UFC 100 and were not dissapointed. As the night was winding down we were still in search of a spot of grass to camp on and the locals assured us that the cops in the town were all over people camping without permission so we were a little hesitant. Luckily Ryan McKee was curious as to what makes "us" cross canada bikers tick and engaged us in a conversation as well as offered an invitation to join him and a crew from the bar for a post fights beer. We asked him enthusiastically if he had a back yard suitable for a tent and recieved and emphatic "Yes!" on one condition, that he would be allowed to test drive the bicycle. I obliged so we joined him and the rest for the post bar party.
The next day we took off again and were again faced with a daunting head wind. It slowed us down quite a bit, our average speed dipped into the single digits and was quite a discouraging day. We decided to stop at about 7pm that day as we were exhausted and stumbled upon quite a nice picnic spot. We met some very nice Manitobians Al and Alana who were having a picnic on the rock when we arrived. We got to talking and found out they were headed west back to their home of Winnipeg. In a half serious manor we asked how much space they have in their big van to which they responded "lots" to which we said "Enough for our bikes?" to which they responded "Yes . .. seriously" to which we responded enthusiastically "Yes." So what was once a playful joke question turned into them piling our stuff in and transporting our discouraged and fatigued bodies along with them, on the short jaunt into Sault Ste. Marie. Having believed that we had a contact in the Sault I was furiously on the phone trying to contact my sister to help us out. She unfortunately told me that her friend had moved and that she no longer knew how to get a hold of her in the short time before we arrived. Luckily Al had previously offered to put us up in the hotel with himself and his daughter for the night. We were reluctant to accept such a generous offer but he assured us that it was a small gift, no strings attatched and we hesitantly and sheepishly obliged. And we slept like babies.
The next day we took off from the Sault along with Al and Alana just outside of the city where they dropped us off and continued on their journey. The day was full of great scenery and despite the cold wind blowing in off of Lake Superior we were able to stay warm by cycling up the many hills that we were faced with. We had a cup of tea with some ladies biking in the other direction, supplied generously by some friendly Californians in a motor home. Al and Alana arrived and wondered whether we'd hopped in with another driver but we assured them we hadn't. That night we were running short on food and water as Lake Superior Provincial Park had none of the above. We decided to settle down in Old Woman Bay where we met two fellows also heading in the opposite direction of us. We had a great fire and played some competitive games of crib (thanks to the Seale Grandparents for the board) and shared stories of our journey thus far.
The next day we took off and made our way into Wawa where we had a breakfast and stocked up on food in order to avoid the hunger we'd experienced the night before. The day was good and we fought our way for 120km before we settled in White River which is the proud birthplace of your childhood friend Winnie the Pooh!! Which was a huge thrill for me as he was hands down my favorite little cartoon character as a child. We camped behind the tourist bureau and met a morotcyclist named Frank and had a very pleasent sleep.
Right now we're in Marathon where we justr had supper and are going to continue through the fog for another couple hours before settling down for the night! Pics are on their way in Thunder Bay hopefully where again hopefullly our phone will work for the first time in a week!
Bye for now!!!
Skye and Ryan
Thursday, July 9, 2009
On the Road Again...I Just Can't Wait to get on the Road Again!
Goin' places that I've never been
Seein' things that I may never see again
And I can't wait to get on the road again...
or maybe I can. Or atleast it would seem that way. After a fantastic stay in eastern ontario between Cornwall and Ottawa it might have seemed like we were never going to hit the road again. Pre Canada Day saw Skye and I bike up to Ottawa. Our departure saw my younger sister home alone for the first time, beginning her new job as a park ranger. It's weird how quick she's growing up. But considering I felt relatively comfortable leaving her means she's obviously completely capable of being on her own now. You're a big kid now Franny! We left Cornwall in a thunderstorm, but it soon let up and we could enjoy the relatively flat trip to the nations capital. That is until my tire blew out, again. Some cursing insued but a trustly little back up tire made the rest of the trip possible and we rolled onward. We had a somewhat depressing chat with a fellow in Winchester, but nonetheless we kept our spirits up and pushed forward. Ceilidh picked us up on Bank St. when the traffic became too dangerous and we settled in for the night. We poked into the market and checked out an interesting pub that would have made Dracula proud. Canada Day was spent on Skye's brother Shay's terrace. Shay and his girlfriend Patty were great hosts and had a gathering that was making all the passer byers jealous. So much so that people joined in on the fun. But after the Canada day festivities wound down, it seemed appropriate to hit the road again and get some distance under our tires. I had a little bit of work done on my back tire and Kent from Phat Moose Cycles guaranteed me that it would be problem free for 500kms at the least. Well, since Im writing from Sudbury, you were true to your word. Now lets hope you under estimated! We left Ottawa and rode the bike path right out of town. We peddled into Arnprior to visit a L'Arche house for the night. They had dinner ready for us when we arrived and even had a place for us to stay. We woke up early to join them for a 7:00am breakfast, which most of you will know is about 5 hours earlier than we usually get up. I guess there is a first for everything. The early start helped us get to Pembroke in good time. We stopped at a grocery store for some supper and chatted with a friendly old war veteran. He shared some interesting stories and was glad to have some ears to listen. We on the other hand were glad to hear some of his fascinating stories. On that note, we gave the Petawawa Army Base a ring and inquired about possibly setting up our tent on their base. The officer on duty wasn't around so we continued onward, unsure as to whether we had a place to stay. A couple kilometers outside of Petawawa, we got a call back from the base letting us know they would be glad to arrange something. So we rolled onto the base and checked in at the front gate. They set us up with a camp site on the base. Little did I know the base was HUGE! It was a community in itself. It had its own campgrounds on the property. They set us up free of charge. So we made our way into the base and biked around, exploring this new setting. We stopped by a tank display and snapped a couple photos. When we got to the campgrounds we were taken back by the fantastic view and awesome scenery. We slipped on our swim trunks and ran down to the beach for a swim. We met a young fellow named Justin who was friendly as could be and interested in our trip. We chatted about bikes and what not and then Skye and I took a brief swim in the cool lake water. On our way back to our campsite Justin met us again and gave a donation to L'Arche. He was a nice guy and his family was too kind, hooking us up with some snacks, citronella candles, and fire wood. Thanks Guys! That night we had a run in with a trixy racoon. He was clever enough to unzip my bag and steal a nutrigrain bar from the pack. We scared him off, but he returned later to snag a bag of peanuts. And so we begin to tie up our food. Atleast it wasn't a bear. Leaving Petawawa was a task. It was pouring rain and the highway 17 was terrible, just as we were warned. Par for the course we kindly looked past advice and treked onwards. The shoulders were nil and the trucks were plentiful. This theme continued pretty much the entire way to sudbury and apparently will continue even further. This required us to adopt a new technique of getting way off the road anytime a transport is approaching. It slows the travels, but extends our living period. We had the chance to visit another L'Arche in North Bay and had a wonderful visit again. The residents were good humoured and helped us navigate our way around the kitchen. A task not as easy as it sounds in such a large kitchen. Without their help we would have been stuck for hours. The workers were great to provide us with sleeping arrangements and made us feel right at home. We took off the next morning, despite Skye feeling under the weather. Regardless he tackled the 130km without any major difficulty. We were lucky enough to meet up with the Ceilidh's boyfriend Ian's Loney-Price crew in Sudbury. They're treating us royally and feeding us like kings. Caribou sausage was on the menu last night, courtesy of Eric's shot and ribs are gracing the menu tonight. I'm hoping to be able to sneak a peek of Janice's trade, working in Public health with Harm Reduction strategies, as it is an interesting avenue that pertains to my recent schooling. We're enjoying the rest day and are glad to have a place that makes us feel at home away from home. We've still got a lot of Ontario left, but we're taking it one peddle at a time.
Cheers for now...
Seein' things that I may never see again
And I can't wait to get on the road again...
or maybe I can. Or atleast it would seem that way. After a fantastic stay in eastern ontario between Cornwall and Ottawa it might have seemed like we were never going to hit the road again. Pre Canada Day saw Skye and I bike up to Ottawa. Our departure saw my younger sister home alone for the first time, beginning her new job as a park ranger. It's weird how quick she's growing up. But considering I felt relatively comfortable leaving her means she's obviously completely capable of being on her own now. You're a big kid now Franny! We left Cornwall in a thunderstorm, but it soon let up and we could enjoy the relatively flat trip to the nations capital. That is until my tire blew out, again. Some cursing insued but a trustly little back up tire made the rest of the trip possible and we rolled onward. We had a somewhat depressing chat with a fellow in Winchester, but nonetheless we kept our spirits up and pushed forward. Ceilidh picked us up on Bank St. when the traffic became too dangerous and we settled in for the night. We poked into the market and checked out an interesting pub that would have made Dracula proud. Canada Day was spent on Skye's brother Shay's terrace. Shay and his girlfriend Patty were great hosts and had a gathering that was making all the passer byers jealous. So much so that people joined in on the fun. But after the Canada day festivities wound down, it seemed appropriate to hit the road again and get some distance under our tires. I had a little bit of work done on my back tire and Kent from Phat Moose Cycles guaranteed me that it would be problem free for 500kms at the least. Well, since Im writing from Sudbury, you were true to your word. Now lets hope you under estimated! We left Ottawa and rode the bike path right out of town. We peddled into Arnprior to visit a L'Arche house for the night. They had dinner ready for us when we arrived and even had a place for us to stay. We woke up early to join them for a 7:00am breakfast, which most of you will know is about 5 hours earlier than we usually get up. I guess there is a first for everything. The early start helped us get to Pembroke in good time. We stopped at a grocery store for some supper and chatted with a friendly old war veteran. He shared some interesting stories and was glad to have some ears to listen. We on the other hand were glad to hear some of his fascinating stories. On that note, we gave the Petawawa Army Base a ring and inquired about possibly setting up our tent on their base. The officer on duty wasn't around so we continued onward, unsure as to whether we had a place to stay. A couple kilometers outside of Petawawa, we got a call back from the base letting us know they would be glad to arrange something. So we rolled onto the base and checked in at the front gate. They set us up with a camp site on the base. Little did I know the base was HUGE! It was a community in itself. It had its own campgrounds on the property. They set us up free of charge. So we made our way into the base and biked around, exploring this new setting. We stopped by a tank display and snapped a couple photos. When we got to the campgrounds we were taken back by the fantastic view and awesome scenery. We slipped on our swim trunks and ran down to the beach for a swim. We met a young fellow named Justin who was friendly as could be and interested in our trip. We chatted about bikes and what not and then Skye and I took a brief swim in the cool lake water. On our way back to our campsite Justin met us again and gave a donation to L'Arche. He was a nice guy and his family was too kind, hooking us up with some snacks, citronella candles, and fire wood. Thanks Guys! That night we had a run in with a trixy racoon. He was clever enough to unzip my bag and steal a nutrigrain bar from the pack. We scared him off, but he returned later to snag a bag of peanuts. And so we begin to tie up our food. Atleast it wasn't a bear. Leaving Petawawa was a task. It was pouring rain and the highway 17 was terrible, just as we were warned. Par for the course we kindly looked past advice and treked onwards. The shoulders were nil and the trucks were plentiful. This theme continued pretty much the entire way to sudbury and apparently will continue even further. This required us to adopt a new technique of getting way off the road anytime a transport is approaching. It slows the travels, but extends our living period. We had the chance to visit another L'Arche in North Bay and had a wonderful visit again. The residents were good humoured and helped us navigate our way around the kitchen. A task not as easy as it sounds in such a large kitchen. Without their help we would have been stuck for hours. The workers were great to provide us with sleeping arrangements and made us feel right at home. We took off the next morning, despite Skye feeling under the weather. Regardless he tackled the 130km without any major difficulty. We were lucky enough to meet up with the Ceilidh's boyfriend Ian's Loney-Price crew in Sudbury. They're treating us royally and feeding us like kings. Caribou sausage was on the menu last night, courtesy of Eric's shot and ribs are gracing the menu tonight. I'm hoping to be able to sneak a peek of Janice's trade, working in Public health with Harm Reduction strategies, as it is an interesting avenue that pertains to my recent schooling. We're enjoying the rest day and are glad to have a place that makes us feel at home away from home. We've still got a lot of Ontario left, but we're taking it one peddle at a time.
Cheers for now...
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Time for some Family, Friends, and Fundraising
Hello Again!
After arriving home a few days ago, Skye and I have been lucky enough to get some much needed family time in. Lately we've been spending some time catching up with friends and family and enjoying some rest and the perks of being home. These rest days have also been in our fundraising favour, as everyone has been super supportive and generous. Our new friend Sean Michael Paul was kind enough to organize an event for us at the Player's Club in Cornwall. The night was a success and the guys were kind enough to donate generously to our cause. Friends have been fantastic in their support and excited to hear how the trip is progressing. Skye has been able to catch up with his brother and sister in Ottawa. His sister just moved into a new spot and we had the pleasure of reassembling all her Ikea furniture, sans manuals. Despite the many screws, we were happy to help and I'm sure she was glad to be able to catch up with her brother. We were lucky enough to be able to meet with L'Arche Ottawa the other day for their Annual General Meeting. They had us over for supper before the meeting and then kindly introduced us to the crowd and let everyone know what we were doing. The meeting was light hearted and full of interesting activities: full of laughing, singing, and joking. We had a wonderful night meeting the many people involved in their community and look forward to meeting more people at the other houses along the way. As we prepare to set out across this vast province, I need to make an adjustment or two to my bike, then we should be ready to hit the road. As Im writing this I just saw my parents off as they headed to the aiport to drop my little sister off. She's heading out to the East Coast to watch my cousin MaryBeth get married to her soon to be husband Ian. My parent are heading out to the wedding tomorrow after they finish work. MaryBeth and Ian, I wish you guys all the best and Im sorry I'm missing the wedding. If I wasn't so lazy I'd bike back, but lets be honest, Im that lazy. So our departure is around the corner, but we hope to sneak in a little more vacation time as the weather is perfect and the company is superb.
I hope everyone is out enjoying the sweet heat and is using plenty of sunscreen,
Cheers
After arriving home a few days ago, Skye and I have been lucky enough to get some much needed family time in. Lately we've been spending some time catching up with friends and family and enjoying some rest and the perks of being home. These rest days have also been in our fundraising favour, as everyone has been super supportive and generous. Our new friend Sean Michael Paul was kind enough to organize an event for us at the Player's Club in Cornwall. The night was a success and the guys were kind enough to donate generously to our cause. Friends have been fantastic in their support and excited to hear how the trip is progressing. Skye has been able to catch up with his brother and sister in Ottawa. His sister just moved into a new spot and we had the pleasure of reassembling all her Ikea furniture, sans manuals. Despite the many screws, we were happy to help and I'm sure she was glad to be able to catch up with her brother. We were lucky enough to be able to meet with L'Arche Ottawa the other day for their Annual General Meeting. They had us over for supper before the meeting and then kindly introduced us to the crowd and let everyone know what we were doing. The meeting was light hearted and full of interesting activities: full of laughing, singing, and joking. We had a wonderful night meeting the many people involved in their community and look forward to meeting more people at the other houses along the way. As we prepare to set out across this vast province, I need to make an adjustment or two to my bike, then we should be ready to hit the road. As Im writing this I just saw my parents off as they headed to the aiport to drop my little sister off. She's heading out to the East Coast to watch my cousin MaryBeth get married to her soon to be husband Ian. My parent are heading out to the wedding tomorrow after they finish work. MaryBeth and Ian, I wish you guys all the best and Im sorry I'm missing the wedding. If I wasn't so lazy I'd bike back, but lets be honest, Im that lazy. So our departure is around the corner, but we hope to sneak in a little more vacation time as the weather is perfect and the company is superb.
I hope everyone is out enjoying the sweet heat and is using plenty of sunscreen,
Cheers
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Home Sweet Cornwall
Hey everybody,
Just rolled into Cornwall yesterday after a nice stay in the Montreal area. Travelling through that crazy city can be difficult on bikes especially when you have no idea where you're going. Regardless, Tammy and the Pelletier family were kind enough to put us up for a night on the west island and make the trip a lot easier. Gaston, a friendly fellow was kind enough to lead us out of the west island and set us straight on some fantastic bike trails that would leads us into Riviere Beaudette for a perfectly timed visit. We stopped at the depanneure and were lucky enough to meet a guy named James who was kind enough to donate to our cause. The nice lady who ran the dep was also supportive and gave us some sandwhiches on the house, some cold water, and a donation to boot. We then cruised into Cornwall and are hoping to get a few things going. On Friday June 19th (tomorrow) there is a show at the Players Club, which is now just a normal club, to help raise money for L'Arche. There will be some sharp local talent playing and some draws for some cool prizes. So come on out and have some fun for a good cause. Hopefully, we will be having a venue to catch up with everyone and fill them in on our journey soon. The details are not finalized yet but we'll keep you posted.
We're in town for a couple days and would love to see anyone who's in the area! Its been a while and I'm not sure when Ill be back in the area. Its nice to be home and see the family. My Grand Parents are celebrating their 57th wedding anniversary, so the timing could't be more perfect. I'm also hoping to swing down and catch the Fathom Ties show, and wish them all luck in their battle of the bands this weekend.
Hope this finds everyone enjoying some warm weather for once, though apparently its supposed to be rainy all weekend. Gotta love that crappy weekend weather.
Cheers
Just rolled into Cornwall yesterday after a nice stay in the Montreal area. Travelling through that crazy city can be difficult on bikes especially when you have no idea where you're going. Regardless, Tammy and the Pelletier family were kind enough to put us up for a night on the west island and make the trip a lot easier. Gaston, a friendly fellow was kind enough to lead us out of the west island and set us straight on some fantastic bike trails that would leads us into Riviere Beaudette for a perfectly timed visit. We stopped at the depanneure and were lucky enough to meet a guy named James who was kind enough to donate to our cause. The nice lady who ran the dep was also supportive and gave us some sandwhiches on the house, some cold water, and a donation to boot. We then cruised into Cornwall and are hoping to get a few things going. On Friday June 19th (tomorrow) there is a show at the Players Club, which is now just a normal club, to help raise money for L'Arche. There will be some sharp local talent playing and some draws for some cool prizes. So come on out and have some fun for a good cause. Hopefully, we will be having a venue to catch up with everyone and fill them in on our journey soon. The details are not finalized yet but we'll keep you posted.
We're in town for a couple days and would love to see anyone who's in the area! Its been a while and I'm not sure when Ill be back in the area. Its nice to be home and see the family. My Grand Parents are celebrating their 57th wedding anniversary, so the timing could't be more perfect. I'm also hoping to swing down and catch the Fathom Ties show, and wish them all luck in their battle of the bands this weekend.
Hope this finds everyone enjoying some warm weather for once, though apparently its supposed to be rainy all weekend. Gotta love that crappy weekend weather.
Cheers
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Vive La Quebec ( and the bike trip)
Hello all!
So we had a good stay in Quebec, tragedy averted, thanks Shawn and Kim! Actually they saved our lives.
We took Babs' bike into the shop on Saturday and they needed a few hours to do the reparations so although Shaun thought he was finally getting rid of us, he wasn't and allowed us to pile ourselves and our crap all back into the Jeep and he entertained us for a while longer. We went into Old Quebec, back out to Montmorency Falls and then to Costco to stock up on granola bars and trail mix before taking off. Finally we took off at 4:30 and were able to put a few kilometers under us before stopping. We had a family can of Chef Boyardee cold outside of a grocer and then stopped at a campground where we ended up paying for our first accommodations of the trip!
It was a surprising camp ground with a restaurant and pool and tennis courts and many other things. More of a community of motor homes than anything. Anyways we were able to take advantage of some fantastic accommodations and indulge in a great brunch the next morning.
We took off at around noon again and cruised our way down the 132 towards Montreal. We stopped in Nicolet for supper at the supermarket. With about 100 give or take kilometers to go to Montreal we shut it down in Pierreville, Quebec, on some town property behind a little water station. It was getting dark and it seemed like a good place. haha. Plus we'd be forced to leave early in the morning since tenting in the direct sunlight is not conducive to sleeping in.
We set a new record for early starts on Monday the 15th, getting all packed up and on the road for 9:30 in the AM!!!! Good thing because after having a great breakfast at "Eggsquis" we decended on the city of Montreal and a series of bike trails that we had absolutely no grasp on. Again we relied on the kindness of strangers and raced away from a looming thunder storm following some fellow bikers who offered to let us follow them till our paths veered. Montreal was in site early and was impossible to get to. Numerous bridges and the never ending St. Laurent grew tiresome but we made it to out friend Tammy's in Montreal for a cold beer some great food and some much needed sleep. Soon is Ryan's hometown in Cornwall, Ont. And to see my brother and hopefully sister in Ottawa where we may hang around for a few days and have "our summer vacation!"
There are some possible events in those areas so listen in for the details!
Cheers,
Skye and Ryan
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Florenceville and Beyond!
Well its been a whirlwind trip since our last stay in Florenceville with the Stephensons. We made our way up and into the wind to Grand Falls. The trip was tricky but we lucked out with a fantastic camp site right beside the falls. The town proved to be somewhat quiet, closing early as per usual in New Brunswick, but we were able to catch a bite at the Burger King. Good eating for a cross country tour you can be sure. From Grand Falls we made our way up to Edmunston, which proved to be a friendly mixture of french and english. We had some grub at Spilly's, and were treated to some delicious greek cuisine and a free pitcher of beer on the house. The company was halerious and friendly and warmed us up for some french to come in Quebec. After camping on the side of the trans canada trail, we put a long day in and cruised 132kms into Riviere du Loup. We got caught in the rain for the first time and rolled in soaked and dying for some warmth. We set up shop quickly and were able to grab some food with the help of our Esso gas station buddies. We decided to stay the next day in Riviere du Loup as the weather was pour and hoped it would clear up. The day was dreary but we caught a good meal at the local Zellers, a trip which proved that Riviere du Loup was poorly set up for walking. Regardless we made our way back for a somewhat restful day. Though the weather didn't let up we made our way out of the town and bouggied to a town just outside of Montmagny. We set up camp on a seemingly perfect deck over looking the St. Lawrence. The view was great and the set up was dry, but the deck proved to be somewhat hard and we were greeted with some unwelcoming weather. Wind and rain kept us up but we tried to fight it off with an early start. The start was futile as the day, set to end in Quebec city with a viewing of Game 7 hoping Pittsburgh would beat Detroit, would not be as easy as expected. I was graced with the busting of all my spare tires and would require the help of multiple people throughout the day. First, a popped tire was easily fixed, though an early pop was unexpected and not easily explained. Soon after a second popped tire and some loose spokes was also unexpected. The kind words of a passer byer, though french, told us that he had an air compressor. We obliged and stepped into his garage. We chatted while filling the tire and he offered a cold beer to chat over. We shared stories though butchering each others language and were happy to have the company despite the pour tire conditions. Unlucky for us these tire disparities would not let up. As we left the kind company of Louis Michelle in St. Michelle and made our way for Quebec city and the big Game 7, the trip again was unsuccessful as I lost yet another tire. Luckily for us, our destination was a kind fellow from Glace Bay in Quebec City. As we were still about 30 minutes drive from Quebec, or about an hour and a half bike ride, we were in need of some major help. With no spare tires left, our new friend Shawn Smith did us a huge favour and came and picked us up in his jeep. We got a ride back into town and look forward to grabbing some much needed supplies in town tomorrow morning. Though the biking was poor today, the company was fantastic. And to boot, Pittsburgh won the cup! A tough day but our spirits are up. Happy Birthday Dad!!! I hope your bike ride went better then mine. Cheers and we'll drop a line next time we can. Cheers!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Freddy, Millville, and Florencevegas!
Thomas McArthur's was kind enough to treat us to all the benefits of the university lifestyle. He fed us some delicious grub and we sat around catching up. After our 100km day we had an invite to visit with an X rugby alum but a couple glasses of McArthur's own homemade wine and we couldn't do it. Soooooo ... we decided to stay another night. We met up with our old X rugby boy Malcom MacAfee as well as a couple of others who play on the Black Spruce. It was a great night of sharing a few stories and beers and the Fredricton Loyalists Rugby Football Club was generous enough to donate $100 to L'Arche and our bike trip. Special Thanks to Malcom and the boys from the club. The next day we took off for another day, we did about 65km on route to Millville, NB. We stopped at the corner store/ diner when we got there but the diner was closed so we bought some hamburger helper stuff and the owner was kind enough to point us to a nice little camping spot on a little stream. It was quite picturesque and we made food and met some local boys who ripped through the parking lot doing donuts and stopped to see what we were all about and have a beer. We had a good old sleep, woke up and took off on the way to Florenceville, NB. We are now there, enjoying a few beers and laughs with the Stephenson girls on the front porch while watching an impressive display of thunder and lightning. Let 'er come, the more it rains now, the less it will rain tomorrow!
Cheers for now,
The Boys
Cheers for now,
The Boys
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Hard Ride to Fredericton
After a pleasurable stay with the Furzes's in Moncton we got our wheels rolling and began our trek towards Fredericton. This leg of the trip showed us that the wind is truly our enemy as we make our way westward and constantly face the easternly winds. Despite everyone's suggestions to travel the other way, we continue on westward. This is proving to be a challenge, but we're doing our best to be as aerodynamic as possible and are considering losing some of our excess baggage. We worked hard into the wind and made it to Cole's Island, but not before enjoying some spaghetti courtesy of Mrs. Furze on the side of the road. Our Coleman burner worked fine and the mosquitos were kind enough to join us for dinner. We ended up traveling about 100kms and were about to make our way to a camp ground when we decided to settle on a random inlet just off of the road. So a thank you goes out to the anonymous people who owned that land. After a somewhat comfortable sleep we awoke and were able to make our earliest start of the trip: 9:30am. Though that may seem like a late start for the day to most of you, we made up for it with a long, hard day of biking into the wind, again. We stopped somewhere in Sheffield for lunch at Casey's Diner and enjoyed some fantastic grub. The last leg of the journey was a tough one as we traveled along the river the entire day, but besides the wind it was a beautiful day and we both got sunburns on our legs. Though the tight bike shorts are good for biking they do little for sun protection. We arrived in Fredricton and are currently staying with our good friend Thomas McArthur, who has been kind enough to lend us a place to stay, some food to eat, and some great company. Next stop Florenceville to visit our friend Michelle. Until next time...
Cheers
Monday, June 1, 2009
Day off in Moncton
Taking advantage of some superb accomodations available from our friends the Furze's in Moncton, we decided that it would be a good idea to stick around for a rest day and to try and make a little money. So we borrowed a guitar, played a plastic bucket as a drum and set up shop on Main St. in downtown Moncton. It was cold, cloudy and windy but the rain held off and we were able to gather some generous funds from the friendly Monctonians. Our first experience as street performers went over quite well and we're looking forward to spreading the love through music many more times across this ginormous country. Tomorrow it's onward and upward and Fredricton should be reached in the very near future.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Gotter' Going!!!
So the trip was finally able to begin on May 27th. After a minor delay on the 26th in front of a loyal cheering squad we returned home slightly dissapointed and anxious to get this trip rolling! At around noon, the 27th we departed from downtown halifax. We made our way across the bridge through dartmouth, and before we knew it we were 50 kilometres deep. My (Skye's) parents happened to be swinging through the elmsdale area and offered so kindly to deliver our heavy baggage, by car to our destination for the night which was Truro, Nova Scotia!! Although it was 50km further than we intended on going on the first day and the last 20 km were painful and hellish to say the least we surprised ourselves by making it there in approximately 5 hours of biking time. Grandma Purdy kindly offered us some food and a bed for the night and we slept like babies. We are currently in Masstown and are on our way to Spencer's Point for the night and then off to Amherst on friday! We're looking forward to having a small amount of rest today and then continuing on to New Brunswick to meet up with some good friends!! So far legs feel great, "everything else" is raw to say the least!!! Our seats are verrrry thin!!
We'll have some pics up as soon as we can.
Shout out to Pelletier for whatever he thinks he did for us!! ahaha
Thanks to everyone who helped us get the balls rolling again.
Until Next Time, Purd and Babs
We'll have some pics up as soon as we can.
Shout out to Pelletier for whatever he thinks he did for us!! ahaha
Thanks to everyone who helped us get the balls rolling again.
Until Next Time, Purd and Babs
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Departure Around the Corner
With graduation behind us the trip has officially become top priority, finally overtaking papers and exams respectively. The trip is set to begin at the end of May, from Halifax, NS. Loose ends are being wrapped up and plans are continuing to be tweaked. We now have a reasonable method of communication, finally entering the techno world with a fancy pants new Blackberry. Should you feel the need to drop a text or email, we can now officially communicate without the tedious mouth/tongue combo we were previously plagued by. Finally my short little thumbs can express the joys of sitting on a bike all day. So hit us with some hellos and we can keep you all posted on our journey. The number is:
(902) 872 - 2453 (which conveniently spells out BIKE. Now if that's not cool as hell then I don't know what is)
Also, we just recently opened up an account to save our funds along the way. Something about biking with bags of coins just didn't seem appealing. Donations can be made out to either Ryan Seale or Skye Purdy. The donations will be collected througout the trip and then given to L'Arche upon completion. Donations can be sent to our home address, where they will be deposited into our account. The addresses are:
Ryan Seale
11 Augustus St.
Cornwall, On
K6J 3V7
or
Skye Purdy
1681 Lower Sunken Lake Rd.
Wolfville, NS
B4P 2R2
If you'd rather donate directly to L'Arche, donations can be made on the L'Arche website http://www.larche.ca/. The recent bottle drives were a success and we're grateful to all of those who graciously offered up their hard earned bottles. Thanks for all the help. And for anyone who is wondering, we actually do have bikes, and we're almost ready to actually start riding. So, get your spare pillows out because you might have us knocking on your door for a place to get out of the rain.
(902) 872 - 2453 (which conveniently spells out BIKE. Now if that's not cool as hell then I don't know what is)
Also, we just recently opened up an account to save our funds along the way. Something about biking with bags of coins just didn't seem appealing. Donations can be made out to either Ryan Seale or Skye Purdy. The donations will be collected througout the trip and then given to L'Arche upon completion. Donations can be sent to our home address, where they will be deposited into our account. The addresses are:
Ryan Seale
11 Augustus St.
Cornwall, On
K6J 3V7
or
Skye Purdy
1681 Lower Sunken Lake Rd.
Wolfville, NS
B4P 2R2
If you'd rather donate directly to L'Arche, donations can be made on the L'Arche website http://www.larche.ca/. The recent bottle drives were a success and we're grateful to all of those who graciously offered up their hard earned bottles. Thanks for all the help. And for anyone who is wondering, we actually do have bikes, and we're almost ready to actually start riding. So, get your spare pillows out because you might have us knocking on your door for a place to get out of the rain.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Fundraisers
Fundraising efforts were kicked off this past weekend. The Inn's Customer Appreciation Night played host to the first fundraiser for the upcoming biking adventure this past Friday, April 3rd. Some intial BBQ malfunctions required the help of a neighbour's BBQ and the CP drive home van, and the dog grilling began shortly thereafter. Inn patrons were extremely generous in their donations and helped jump start the fundraising efforts. The hotdogs ran out quicker than expected, but many people were able to satisfy their hotdog cravings while supporting a worthwhile cause. My apologies to all vegetarians; Veggie dogs may make their way onto the future menu. We expect to host a few more BBQs in the near future, and are hoping to squeeze in a car wash or two if the weather permits. Thanks to all those who donated!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
L'Arche Canada
The L'Arche orgnization focuses on developing a strong sense of community spirit. Their goal isn't simply a polite acceptence of difference. The L'Arche communities across Canada and the world seek to meet those with differences, appreciate them, and create bonds of friendship with them. The organization is a unique vision of caregiving and community development that fosters inclusion, understanding, and belonging. In over 200 venues across Canada, volunteers dedicate themselves to those with developmental disabilities. They work to promote positive social values as well as attitudes and skills to enable healthy networks of belonging.
"When we let go of our usual categories and the productivity-oriented measuring systems so common in our culture, we can be surprised by the abilities that people with developmental disabilities often reveal - their keen sensitivity to interpersonal situations, the depth of their empathy, their willingness to overlook and to forgive, their faithfulness, their acceptance of difference, their originality, their capacity to be present and to cut through pretense, their resilience, the creativity of what they produce, and their gift for celebration."
-L'Arche Canada 2005
We look forward to helping develop and promote these ideas as we trek across Canada this summer.
"When we let go of our usual categories and the productivity-oriented measuring systems so common in our culture, we can be surprised by the abilities that people with developmental disabilities often reveal - their keen sensitivity to interpersonal situations, the depth of their empathy, their willingness to overlook and to forgive, their faithfulness, their acceptance of difference, their originality, their capacity to be present and to cut through pretense, their resilience, the creativity of what they produce, and their gift for celebration."
-L'Arche Canada 2005
We look forward to helping develop and promote these ideas as we trek across Canada this summer.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
PreTrip considerations
We've just graduated and are looking forward to exploring Canada on this exciting journey. After completing our undergrad schooling at St. FX, we hope to gain a fresh perspective of the Canadian Landscape. We look forward to the experience and hope that we can raise some money and support for the L'Arche community along the way.
As we gear up for this trip, we are confronted with the reality of our financially draining university experience. Though an unforgettable experience, these past four years have been a financial burden. In order to complete this journey, we will first need to organize ourselves financially and make sure we can complete this journey. Before we can direct our fundraising efforts to the L'Arche community, we will need to raise money to cover our base costs, including our bikes and supplies. From there, our fundraising efforts will be directed to the L'Arche community, in hopes of promoting their worldly vision of community and contribution.
As we gear up for this trip, we are confronted with the reality of our financially draining university experience. Though an unforgettable experience, these past four years have been a financial burden. In order to complete this journey, we will first need to organize ourselves financially and make sure we can complete this journey. Before we can direct our fundraising efforts to the L'Arche community, we will need to raise money to cover our base costs, including our bikes and supplies. From there, our fundraising efforts will be directed to the L'Arche community, in hopes of promoting their worldly vision of community and contribution.
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