The First Big Bike!

The beginning of the Easter long weekend also marked the first real test for the Bike for Bricks team. We took advantage of the holiday and instead of relaxing in the springtime sunshine we decided to jump on our bikes and make the 121km trip from my house in Waterloo to my grandparents house in Grand Bend. It is probably the single biggest step we have taken towards attaining our cross country goal and one of the biggest mental hurdles of our trip training. We managed to complete the day trip in just over 7hrs including breaks with about 5.75hrs of butt numbing time on the bicycles. Despite the chilly temperatures and the wind hitting our faces coming off Lake Huron for the final 30kms of our trip we exercised our mental toughness declined my parents offer for a ride as they drove past us a mere 13kms from our final destination. We pressed on and arrived to a very warm reception from my family that made this small trip feel very worth it. We passed the rest of the night eating and talking before hitching a much appreciated ride back to the tri-cities with my family with Jordan and Kyle asleep in the back.
Lessons Learned:
1) Dress appropriately - I elected shorts and a long sleeved t-shirt for the trip. A mistake when the daily high is less than 10degrees.
2) A clear destination provides a lot of incentive to press on - especially when you want to pack it in.
3) Consuming food is really important. After Arriving in Grand Bend we had an Easter feast and that will be hard to find when biking across Canada
4) Wind sucks.

Next Step - Overnight camping trip on bicycles.

Thanks to Nanny and Grandpa for the destination and the fantastic meal waiting at their house, to mom and dad for driving us home, and Jordan and Kyle for good company and the PB&J Sandwich.