So, I am back in Moncton!
Today I flew from Vancouver to Moncton, the rest of the boys flew into Toronto on a different flight.
Flying back into Moncton was kind of weird- just over 2 months ago I needed crutches to get around in that small airport...and going back was quite odd. But, it was also a good feeling, knowing that I can finally get this done with.
Truthfully, I'm not SUPER SUPER pumped for this part of the trip- but I do think it will be a neat experience. I have 10 days of alone time- guess I should have my life worked out pretty well when this is all done!
Right now I am at the C'mon Inn (get it?) hostel in Moncton. Its really nice here, kinda feels like I'm staying in a REALLY REALLY nice student house in Ottawa. Tomorrow I will walk my bike to the nearest bike shop (2km), because I forgot to grab the good pump from Rainer before I took off, and I can't pump my tires up totally with the back up pump we had. Oh well.
From there, my goal is to be in Ottawa by August 4th. Brad is meeting up with me in Montreal, and we are going to bike into Ottawa together. So that'll be sweet.
And oh yeah- my mustache is gone. It just wouldn't have been the same being a lone mustached man, so i shaved it off yesterday. haha.
cheers!
Mikey
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
CELEBRATORY MUSTACHES!
People ask us- now that you have biked across the country, what will you do next?
The answer- MUSTACHES!
The answer- MUSTACHES!
Photos
the group shot in Vancouver!
Dipping the Tire!
Our tents outside of Meritt.
View of the mountains
Me and Brad in the Tent.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
VANcity Today
So here we are.
30km away from the end of our trip!
The road from Calgary to here (my aunt's house in Port Coquitlam, BC) has been an incredible one. We have seen the mountains. We have camped in some beautiful places. We have met even more giving and incredible people.
Truthfully, I cannot remember each and everyone of our stops form Calgary to here at the moment- I will have to take a look at my journal and enter those in the next entry. But I will however, touch on some highlights.
1) Rogers's Pass
This was supposed to be the largest challenge of our trip- the steepest and longest climb in the mountains. Once we hit the pass, and I looked up the road which winded up and around the first portion of the mountain, I knew it would be a challenge. I would have to say that the hardest part was the heat- sweat poured off of my body the whole time. Luckily I was able to cool off a bit at creek of glacial water about half way up teh pass. Overall, it was a great feeling to conquor such a challenge- and my lunch of a burger and fries at the top tasted better than it should have for sure.
2) The Biker's Tan
After getting used to wearing my small biking shorts without anything over top, and after some shirtless days above 30 degrees, I have developed a sweet biker's tan. Basically, my back is crazy dark, along with the tops of my legs. Its a sight.
3) The Beauty of BC
After spending some time at my aunt's in Invermere, and after biking through places like Banff, Lake Lousie, Roger's Pass, Hope and many others...I think I have to give the prize to BC as Canada's most beautiful province. The mountains are incredible, the forests thick, and the lakes are amazing- especially if they are glacial fed.
4) "The Coq"
This pass was supposed to be the #2 to Rogers. People warned us of this gradual, but long uphill ride often. But we actually rode over the coquihalla without really knowing it- we had expected a larger challenge I guess.
But the best part was the downhill of the coquihalla. This was nuts, let me tell you. AND- we reached our highest of all speeds going down (mom, you probably don't want to know)...74km/h on our bikes. It was nuts, almost surreal. We were passing trucks in crazy videogame-like tunnels. That was definately a highlight.
5) Being "Done" the trip!
Eventhough I will bike the portion I missed during my knee injury, it is pretty amazing to be so close to done the trip. To think that we have covered over 6200km as a team is unbeliveable. But I think the most unbelievealbe part of it is how natural it all seemed to us. While there were some definate low points, the highs were just constant. For us, biking across the country has been nothing sort of a pleasure and a privilege. It is a trip I would recommend to anyone, and one I will never forget. What a journey.
30km away from the end of our trip!
The road from Calgary to here (my aunt's house in Port Coquitlam, BC) has been an incredible one. We have seen the mountains. We have camped in some beautiful places. We have met even more giving and incredible people.
Truthfully, I cannot remember each and everyone of our stops form Calgary to here at the moment- I will have to take a look at my journal and enter those in the next entry. But I will however, touch on some highlights.
1) Rogers's Pass
This was supposed to be the largest challenge of our trip- the steepest and longest climb in the mountains. Once we hit the pass, and I looked up the road which winded up and around the first portion of the mountain, I knew it would be a challenge. I would have to say that the hardest part was the heat- sweat poured off of my body the whole time. Luckily I was able to cool off a bit at creek of glacial water about half way up teh pass. Overall, it was a great feeling to conquor such a challenge- and my lunch of a burger and fries at the top tasted better than it should have for sure.
2) The Biker's Tan
After getting used to wearing my small biking shorts without anything over top, and after some shirtless days above 30 degrees, I have developed a sweet biker's tan. Basically, my back is crazy dark, along with the tops of my legs. Its a sight.
3) The Beauty of BC
After spending some time at my aunt's in Invermere, and after biking through places like Banff, Lake Lousie, Roger's Pass, Hope and many others...I think I have to give the prize to BC as Canada's most beautiful province. The mountains are incredible, the forests thick, and the lakes are amazing- especially if they are glacial fed.
4) "The Coq"
This pass was supposed to be the #2 to Rogers. People warned us of this gradual, but long uphill ride often. But we actually rode over the coquihalla without really knowing it- we had expected a larger challenge I guess.
But the best part was the downhill of the coquihalla. This was nuts, let me tell you. AND- we reached our highest of all speeds going down (mom, you probably don't want to know)...74km/h on our bikes. It was nuts, almost surreal. We were passing trucks in crazy videogame-like tunnels. That was definately a highlight.
5) Being "Done" the trip!
Eventhough I will bike the portion I missed during my knee injury, it is pretty amazing to be so close to done the trip. To think that we have covered over 6200km as a team is unbeliveable. But I think the most unbelievealbe part of it is how natural it all seemed to us. While there were some definate low points, the highs were just constant. For us, biking across the country has been nothing sort of a pleasure and a privilege. It is a trip I would recommend to anyone, and one I will never forget. What a journey.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Calgary!!!!!!!!!!
A sunset outside our tent
Welcome to Alberta where the players play.
Us with Jess- we will be seeing her again in VanCity!
Here we are with the Regina crew- minus Ben. They were a ton of fun.
CALGARY!
Here we are in Calgary after 5 TOUGH days of riding. Since leaving Regina, we have have encountered nothing but heat, head-wind and a slight (but very constant) uphill to deal with in the Praries.
We had a hard time leaving Regina- after Jess drove us to 3 different bike shops in the morning, we made a HUGE pasta lunch, packed, and THEN we were on our way (LATE). We rode 104 km that day to Basant SK, not a bad showing considering the time we left. That night we camped in a nice provincial park just outside of Moose Jaw.
Day 2, we had brutal headwind all day, but we still managed to get 176km under our belts, which landed us in the sprawling metropolis of Webb, SK. In Webb, we slept in a farmer's field, which had a wonderfully comfortable ground (really).
Day 3 we traveled to Walsh, AB which was just over the provincial border. A rider we ran into earlier that day told us that there was a great campground there. Turns out he was wrong. The camp ground was right beside the TransCanada, the bathrooms were dirty... but we did get a lot and a shower for $5 each. And what a shower it was. After days of being covered in sunblock, bug spray, sweat, and road grime, it was worth every cent.
Day 4 we rode to Brooks, AB. This day was a burner- over 40 degrees! On top of all that, we were riding through the DRYEST part of Canada- the southern Alberta bad lands. It was desolate- no trees, no green plants...it was just brown for hours and hours. And boy was it HOT. Like REALLY REALLY hot. But, we stayed nice and hydrated, and saved a good portion of our biking for the evening when it was cooler. We rode until it was dark...ate dinner at a Tim Hortons, and then camped on the back grass of the VICTORY CHURCH in Brooks. We found the name pretty funny.
Day 5 was an interesting one. In the morning we knew we would have a problem, as the rim on Brad's back wheel was cracked. This meant that his wheel could brake at any moment, and it needed to be fixed. Unfortunately, there we no bike shops in Brooks- so we had to ride on and hope for the best.
About 45km later, we stopped for lunch, and Brad's back rim bit the dust. It was pretty incredible actually...just as we realized that Brad couldn't bike anylonger- a man came up to check and make sure everything was ok.
After Brad explained his situation, the man (named Mike) immediately offered Brad a ride into Calgary- again showing us how amazing and selfless people can be. 5 minutes after we realized we had a serious issue, it was resolved.
So, with that we were back on the road- with a ton of kilometres to cover, and very little time. The 3 of us rode really quick, trying to get into Calgary befor the sun went down. We switched our lead every 10 minutes (usually we do 15min shifts), and boy were we fast.
I had two killer shifts in a row just before we finished the day- never going below 30km/h, even uphill. It was a wicked feeling- my legs were strong, and I found a perfect rhythm. I was amazed to find that I had that much power left in my legs after 5 days of intense biking into the wind. I guess this whole biking across the country thing really does get you into shape! haha.
Day 6 is the beginning of a little rest here in Calgary. Today we are going to relax at Chris' place- we are excited for the bachee ball tournament that is going on tonight in the backyard! Tomorrow we will have a full day at the Stampede- and I'm sure I will have a great amount to write after that!
All is well- we are healthy and happy. Today marks the beginning of the finale of our trip- we are over 80% done, and excited for all that is ahead of us (yes, we are excited for the mountains).
Cheers!
Mike
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Show and Tell
Prairies!
Here we are with Ainsley, our server at the Toad in the Hole Pub in Winnipeg.
This is us with Mike Sweeny- our great host in Kenora Ontario.
Monday, July 2, 2007
600km in 3 days= A Great Rest Day
So, remember how I said we wouldn't be able to reach Regina for Canada Day?
Well, we decided we could.
About 20km into our first day after Winnipeg, me and the boys started talking about how "fast" we were on prairie ground. One thing led to another, and we then decided to reach Regina for Canada Day (which 3 and 600km days away).
Our first day was 169km- we had a slight tail wind, and the roads were really flat. So, despite starting out at noon- we managed to fit in a great day.
Day 2 was our biggest day ever. We had a good tail wind, which was very important. I believe we covered 226km, we biked until it was too dark to go any longer- and we then camped in a farmers field. We set up our tent beside a small, abandoned barn. The ground was bumpy and uncomfortable but we didn't care. We just needed a place to crash.
About 6 hours of sleep later, day 3 started. We biked uphill (yes, the prairies can have an uphill) into a head/cross wind for most of the day. But, we still covered W over 210 km (I don't know the exact measurement) to get into Regina- and biked straight to the place we were staying at.
Brad's old roommate Jess had told us we could stay with her sister Katie and her boyfriend Ben, and gave us their address and phone number. Despite calling all day, couldn't reach them- and with that...we showed up at their house without them home.
However, a helpful neighbour gave them a call, and they we home about an hour later. The best part- Jess was in town as well!
We went to a party the night of Canada day, to celebrate our 600km in 3 days. We had a great time, and slept a ton that night.
Today, we woke up to a great breakfast which Jess prepared for us, and we headed to Ben's cabin about an hour away.
The cabin was great. I tried wakeboarding for the first time (finally!), and did a decent job, and boy did I love it. I can definitely see myself on a wakeboard again very soon. We all gave it a try. Brad cut his cheek a little bit on his go, but all was good nonetheless.
Tomorrow we will start our trek to Calgary for our Stampede experience. Looks like we will have 5 days of an average of 140km. It should be no problem as long as the wind is nice to us for the majority of those days.
As always, things are amazing. Our experiences just keep getting richer, and the people more generous.
-Mike
Well, we decided we could.
About 20km into our first day after Winnipeg, me and the boys started talking about how "fast" we were on prairie ground. One thing led to another, and we then decided to reach Regina for Canada Day (which 3 and 600km days away).
Our first day was 169km- we had a slight tail wind, and the roads were really flat. So, despite starting out at noon- we managed to fit in a great day.
Day 2 was our biggest day ever. We had a good tail wind, which was very important. I believe we covered 226km, we biked until it was too dark to go any longer- and we then camped in a farmers field. We set up our tent beside a small, abandoned barn. The ground was bumpy and uncomfortable but we didn't care. We just needed a place to crash.
About 6 hours of sleep later, day 3 started. We biked uphill (yes, the prairies can have an uphill) into a head/cross wind for most of the day. But, we still covered W over 210 km (I don't know the exact measurement) to get into Regina- and biked straight to the place we were staying at.
Brad's old roommate Jess had told us we could stay with her sister Katie and her boyfriend Ben, and gave us their address and phone number. Despite calling all day, couldn't reach them- and with that...we showed up at their house without them home.
However, a helpful neighbour gave them a call, and they we home about an hour later. The best part- Jess was in town as well!
We went to a party the night of Canada day, to celebrate our 600km in 3 days. We had a great time, and slept a ton that night.
Today, we woke up to a great breakfast which Jess prepared for us, and we headed to Ben's cabin about an hour away.
The cabin was great. I tried wakeboarding for the first time (finally!), and did a decent job, and boy did I love it. I can definitely see myself on a wakeboard again very soon. We all gave it a try. Brad cut his cheek a little bit on his go, but all was good nonetheless.
Tomorrow we will start our trek to Calgary for our Stampede experience. Looks like we will have 5 days of an average of 140km. It should be no problem as long as the wind is nice to us for the majority of those days.
As always, things are amazing. Our experiences just keep getting richer, and the people more generous.
-Mike
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