July 28- Bike to the Drake's in Ignace

We woke from our campsite located about 40 km west of Dryden. The night before we have been awaken a few times by the trains. The train track was located a few hundred meters from our tent.

The weather was sunny with a slight tail wind. Nice biking weather. We left shortly after 9 am from the campsite.

Roadside: Difficulty

We're waiting out a severe thunderstorm warning under a ledge in Kakabeka, ON. So here's another roadside blog, subject: Difficulty.

Many people told us that the hardest week would be the first.  We believed this to be true, and the first two days were particularly challenging, with the weight, routine, and length being unfamiliar.  But after day four--when Lindsay came to visit us in Ottawa--we only half-jokingly noted that "if this is the hardest it is going to get, then this is going to be an easy trip."  We laughed.

Days 39 & 40 - More to Discover

This blog takes us from Winnipeg to... our home province of Ontario!  Setting: the bumpy roads of Winnipeg, MB.  

We woke up in Winnipeg on Wednesday determined to make the most of our last day with the Schmidts.  The morning dragged along as we took care of some chores: some banking during banking hours, a Tim's breakfast (for those keeping score at home, that is 10 for Tim's, 9 for McD's, and 4 for Subway), and fixing a rack.  It turns out that without the weight the day before, a screw of Tyler's rack has joined the collection of tires, screws, and other shrapnel on the shoulders Manitoba highways.  Canadian Tire helped us find a replacement screw--we took five.  Meanwhile, our support crew picked us up some backup-backup tubes from Olympia in Winnipeg, which we were glad to see carries the Marin brand.

Guest Blog: July 22-25

Sans panniers, making excellent time.  Kyle has the repair kit.

by Carly Schmidt

The faithful readers of this blog and followers of this incredible journey may recognize my name as Jordan’s older sister, and my wedding the cause of the unique Ontario-east, west-Ontario direction of the Bikes for Bricks trip. Before I recap our incredible 3 days with the bikers, I’d just like to say how grateful I am to all three for seamlessly accommodating my marriage into their rigourous schedule, and especially to my brother Jordan for always making us a priority, despite all that he has taken on with this trip. I appreciate everything and I’m so proud of you. This will be a summer that we’ll never, ever forget!

Days 37 & 38 - The Schmidts

Kyle's family was incredible in Ottawa and BC, carting our bags up the Rockies, and providing us with every amenity imaginable, and then some.  I don't know where we would be without them.  Same goes for Tyler's family network in our off-day cities: Quebec, Vancouver and Calgary.  Can't say enough.  They wrote about those days in these blog posts, and now it's my turn to gush about my own family!

As you would remember from yesterday's blog post, we are expecting support again on Monday for the next three days.  New characters to the cast include my mother Julie and my littlest brother Keenan, and you already know my sister Carly, the beautiful bride, fresh from Panama (wedding pic is now up at the blog, here).  Unfortunately, the rest of the clan couldn't join, but we're thrilled that we got three, who I will uncreatively call the "Dream Team."  For a complete understanding of just how sweet this is, let me explain a little bit about my family.

We're talking about TBs of media.

Quick on the draw, running or cycling.

She's managed the food op for years.

Chris couldn't get off work :(

As you might remember from one of Kyle's blogs on the trip, my dad and whole family operates the Waterloo Running Series, which organizes nonprofit running events all year in Waterloo Region.  One such event, the ENDURrun, is a week-long, labour-intensive, care-intensive, food-intensive event, where participants run 160kms over 8 days.  In this week, there is a 2:1 runner:volunteer relationship, and all lengths are gone to for excellence in athlete support.  This includes great logistical and practical effort to get cold water and Gatorade to remote places and specific times, and large but specific meals to be prepared for intense athletes.  There is also a large photo/video component.  I could go to lengths to describe these chores, but basically, if there are three people that you want to support you while you cycle from Regina to Winnipeg, it is Keenan, Carly and Julie Schmidt.  They've got nine years of specifically relevant experience, and we got all three!

Anyway, that's how excited we are.  Delayed by WestJet, they had to spend a night in their rental car, but they caught up with us quickly in the morning, high in spirits.  Into a 10km/hr headwind, we do 22km/hr for the first two hours before we are intercepted by the crew.  After a brilliant lunch, we are able to do 26s for a few hours, and ultimately up to 30s by the last several hours of the day.  No panniers is a luxury to which we won't say no.  Compared with our low 20s speeds coming into Regina, and our 30s speeds leaving Regina, on this day we are able to counteract the reversed wind with the support.  That's remarkable.

The crew in action.  Keenan is glad he's not biking.

And of course, the support goes so far beyond portering our luggage.  Carly is so quick with food which is far superior to what we have become accustomed to: bun, sliced meat, slice of cheese, and mustard.  Now, we've got vegetables (!), mayo, variety, snacks, and the list goes on and on.  It's great.  Keenan: you stop and in three seconds, your water bottle and Gatorade bottle are replaced with ice-cold substitutes.  Wow!  And mom, well in addition to the food, we feel like professionals with our own camera crew all along the Trans Canada.  The certainly know how to spoil us.

At the 100th meridian, where the great plains ...end.

We crossed into Manitoba, which brings us to 9 or 10 for the trip, depending on how you count Ontario.  This is exciting for Tyler and I, because it marks the final province feather in our travel caps.  Kyle has done volunteer work in this province previously.  We stop to get a quick pic of the sign, but right back on the bikes. 

But the real story of the day is the distance.  We set a new trip-high at 226.3kms, pushing 40kms past our scheduled stop in Brandon.  The reason why we didn't tweet our facebook about that accomplishment yet is because we wanted to make the context clear - we weren't doing that distance in that headwind without the support.  It is a total extended team effort and result.  But we're absolutely thrilled!  The previous trip high was that first sunny day in New Brunswick, 219kms into Fredericton.  Exhausted, we sleep indoors in the Schmidt's motel, where I fall asleep after typing out yesterday's blog.

Quickly now, about Day 38 - the support continues, to great success.  Except this day, we face stronger headwinds, and our total average speed on the day is 23.3km/hr, significantly slower than the day before.  This is a major challenge, but in the last hour it lets up and we are able to stretch our legs, as for the first time we had an easy 20km.  This put us in Winnipeg - exactly one day (a 70km half day) ahead of schedule.  We're very pleased - we're going to need that time in the upcoming weeks for sure.  

The other most noteworthy story from the day belongs to Tyler.  Remember the last time he went over his handlebars, he shattered his collarbone (last fall)?  Well, his technique has improved significantly, because today he rubbed Kyle's tire, and did a full flip, and landed on his head in the paved shoulder.  As he was in the back, nobody saw it, but it was surely spectacular.  Tyler will tell the story much better than I, but the gist is that he is OK, with a sore thumb and more cuts on his thigh.  The other element to the Dream Team that I didn't tell you about - my mom is a RN.  They're only short one bike mechanic!

The day ends with a sit-down meal, a swim at the motel, and wifi access.  Now this blog is current until this exact moment, 1am on Tuesday, July 24th.  These were a great couple of days, and I hope you got that same impression! 

It is supposed to rain tomorrow, the Schmidts are flying home, and we are leaving civilization.  Bring it on!

Days 35 & 36 - Strategy

Moose Jaw supposedly has the world's largest moose.

One of the significant factors of the trip is our status as travelers, not tourists.  We don’t have time, transportation, and energy to do the things that we would normally do: examples of which include Hopewell Rocks, the last spike in the railroad, various museums, and even downtowns of cities.  In a way, these are all missed opportunities, but as I wrote last week, the real adventures and stories are in the challenges, the journey, and the people we meet along the way. 

So on to Day 35, where we cycle a half day into Regina.  It is into an unfavourable crosswind, so it takes over three hours to do the 70kms.  Regina is a good example of a city that I would have liked to spend some time discovering, but we don’t.  Exhausted, we use the afternoon to rest, nap, do laundry, grocery shop, and update the blog.  These all take priority over the possibility of having fun on a Saturday night in the city.  Kyle and I do take in a Jays game (blowout of the Red Sox) at a sports bar near the hostel.  This is the third HI hostel of the trip, after Fredericton and Charlottetown, and we take advantage of the facilities to make tacos!

This is a good time to get back to the title of the blog and introduce some major undercurrents of these last two weeks of the trip: support, infrastructure, schedule, and wind.  In reverse order:

One last living sunset.  Overall Saskatchewan sky rating: mediocre.

Wind is especially relevant here in the Prairies.  We do 21km/hr in head/crosswind, and 30+km/hr with tailwinds.  That is a crazy variance in our day, and we will absolutely need to optimize our use of the winds.  Next is schedule: we have no more scheduled off days, and only three half days.  Our plan for Northern Ontario is the most ambitious of the entire trip, and we recognize that given the terrain, it might not be possible.  For infrastructure, the Northern Ontario stretch could be the worst of the entire trip, and we can’t count on repair-free days like we’ve had lately.  Last is support: given our experience with Monica and Elaine in BC, having on-the-road support can speed us up by incredibly large margins, and we have some upcoming support that we can use to great advantage.  These are the most important decision-making criteria for the upcoming weeks. 

Now to Day 36, which is a scheduled half-day leaving Regina, which paired with the half day entering the city, gives us a 24-hour “off” day.  We run some errands in the morning and hit the Trans Canada by noon.  And this is where some big decisions are made. 

With a 15km/hr tailwind, we simply destroy the roads.  Ultimately, we would finish the day with our highest daily average speed, at 30.1km/hr.  Insane.  But also significantly, it is a nice but not hot day, so we don’t need to take many breaks (two total).  The road is smooth and for the first time in Saskatchewan, actually noticeably flat.  We want to take advantage of the tailwind while it exists, and so all of these factors lead us to go well past our 125km goal, finishing at 177.7km in Whitewood. From a 12:00pm start, that is quite unexpected.

Before we wrap up the day, a few more “very Prairie” level Saskatchewan stories.  First, this province hates chocolate milk.  A strong word for a strong correlation.  Having been persuaded by the chocolate milk lobby, we usually buy some several times per week.  We tried to order chocolate milk at a Tim’s in Moose Jaw, and they gave us a large milk and a large hot chocolate and told me to mix it.  Too much milk for one sitting?  Probably.  We also tried at an Esso and a Shell in the eastern part of the province, which had a combined total of one carton.  Not cool, Saskatchewan. 

The second story is more of a personal anecdote.  My only relative who lived in Canada pre-WWII is my paternal grandfather, who grew up in Melville, Saskatchewan, before moving to the still German community of KW after the war.  Although it is not along the Trans Canada, I did get the photo of me with the Melville exit sign.  When you’re flirting with the 30.0km/hr average, you usually don’t take chances stopping for menial photo ops.  But I’m glad I did! 

And so we end the day camping in Whitewood, 53km ahead of schedule.  [If you're keeping score, that's 1 fantastic shower and 0 flats.  Win.]  I hope the plan is well-explained - it is a large decision-making process, and I wrote this blog as fast as I possibly could.  But the other large factor that will influence this week is in the air as we fall asleep, after having been delayed four hours by WestJet.  If you follow us on Twitter, you know what I’m talking about.  Can’t wait for tomorrow........

Days 32-33+ - Very Prairie

Prairies at dusk

[Friday morning, Tyler is pumping a new 100psi tire, which gives me a chance to type this blog.  Both tedious, repetitive tasks, but at least this is more rewarding...]
 
Day 32 finds us in Brooks, 106km from the nearest bike shop, dangerously low on tubes/patches, and still repairing the damage from the night before.  By the time we replace Kyle's front and back tubes, it is already 11:00am.  Sigh.

Cycling on eggshells to Medicine Hat is made easier by no headwind.  We see this in a 28km/hr average speed, four higher than the day before.  The good news is that Kyle only gets one flat on the way to the city!  Big thanks to Greg from Ralston for the use of his air compressor - the little hand pump just isn't doing the job anymore.  Also, thanks for the help from Side Tracks diner, who tell us that we can't make Walsh that night.  We'll see.

We make it to Cyclepath in Medicine Hat, which takes care of us quite well, even past closing.  Kyle's broken spoke is replaced, the wheel is trued, and we stock up on tubes.  One salesman comments, "I've never seen anyone buy that many tubes."  We take this seriously.  In addition, we also make the decision to replace each of our rear tires, two of which are only two days old.  We are determined not to repeat Kyle's yesterday.  These tires are much thicker, slightly less efficient, and are also 100psi.  We will buy a new pump too...it just keeps adding up.

[The irony of the situation is that right now, we are sitting at a gas station in Swift Current (later Friday morning), using an air compressor to fill Tyler's flat fully.  Kyle points out that the hand-pump is the most time-consuming part of the experience.]

Saskatchewan farms the median of the Trans Canada

But we get fixed, hit no more flats, and make it to Walsh, just on the border, by 10:00pm.  It's not pitch-dark yet; Prairies, edge of time zone.  A miracle campsite with warm showers saves the day.  Good sleep!
 
Thursday is Day 33, which begins with a border crossing - first time in Saskatchewan for all of us!  There is also some minor confusion as we cross into Central Standard Time, which is not different from Mountain Daylight Time.  Also, and officially, Tyler did not go flat in Alberta.  But as I can insert my insights from the future into the writing of this post, guess who flats first in Saskatchewan...

We rolled through SK on Thursday, happy with the wind we were given.  As I try to recap this day, it hints at the title of the blog...very Prairie.  Kind of flat, but not really; not much to see, but nothing to block your view; just not much to write about...  Small example - there really isn't much shade along the Trans Canada in Saskatchewan.  For our second lunch break, towards the end of the day, Kyle spots some trees in the distance to target as a stop.  8.5km later, we arrive.  


The most notable factor of the ride is the shift in winds.  After a slight tailwind all day, the last two hours are marked by a significant crossheadwind, which slows our pace of 30km/hr for the first two hours to about 21km/hr for the last two, for a daily total of 27km/hr.  Tough.  I watch the numbers all day on the Garmin, and I believe the wind to be a much bigger factor than mountains.  

What a feast!

The day gets interesting once we get to our destination, Swift Current.  We stay at Trail Campground, which compensates our site fee (and showers)!  There we meet Laura, proprietor of Nature's Nook in town.  And what can we say about Laura - thanks so much!  She takes us to Safeway, just in the nick of closing time, and then back to our camspite - no additional biking!  She also stopped at her store to pick us up some electrolyte mixes for the upcoming days.  Furthermore, she brought a leafy salad, garden vegetables and all kinds of seeds to our dinner, which she stayed for - spaghetti and spicy hotdogs.  It was the most elaborate meal we have enjoyed on the road so far!  To top it off, she also snuck some granola bars from the grocery store that we passed on because they were too expensive, and she took care of a Purolator errand for us.  These are all the acts of such a kind and generous stranger, which made our night in Swift Current easy and enjoyable.  Thanks Laura!


So that was day 32 and 33, but for some bonus coverage.  The blogs took long enough to write that now you get Day 34, too!  As you know, the day started with Tyler's first flat since New Brunswick.  This leaves the flat standings at 5 for Tyler, 6 for Jordan, and 17 for Kyle.  Poor Kyle.  


That flat and corresponding pumping delayed our start by almost two hours, which is not what we wanted for the fourth of four consecutive long days.  Moreover, a strong headwind put our first two hours at an average speed of 20.9km/hr...slow.  By the time we stopped for a buffet lunch, the day was looking looooong...


But as you might expect by now, things would change.  A complete random stranger stopped Kyle on the side of the road and gave Kyle a cold litre of PowerAde.  We also went through Chaplin, which is the location of the second-largest saltwater lake in Canada.  [These are the kind of stories that Tyler is talking about when he says "very Prairie."]  But the real turn of events is the the wind.  It really died down, which would let us do our 24-27km/hr for the balance of the day, and we arrive in Moose Jaw at 9:00: ahead of earlier expectations, but late by any measure.  We continued our long-day-fast-food tradition at DQ and then camped for the fourth consecutive night.  All in all, a good day, a good week, and at this point, we can look towards a short day to Regina tomorrow!

Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.

Day 31 - Cousins

Most days, a good title for the blog has been written long before the story of the day is complete. Usually, an editorial decision overrules the earlier title, but not today!

The first story is this: our cousins really bailed us out today. I know you've already met our cousins - thanks again Monica!! - but you've done enough, it's Rory's and Taylor's turns. It seems that even though our bikes are good as "new," we have left our repair kit at Cactus. Cactus opens at 9:00, but we need to be pedaling by 6:30 because we're scheduled to go 190+kms on Tuesday. Pickle...

Rory with Tyler and Kyle in Strathmore

Enter Rory. Not only does he wake up stupid early to drive us from Bragg Creek to where we suspended our journey at the McHenry's, but he also will stop by and pick up the repair kit and bring it to us on the road, somewhere on the 1, hopefully way beyond Calgary, too!

But we still have at least three hours until then, meaning, no flats? Enter Taylor. Taylor is a UC student and superstar speedskater, and cyclist too. It turns out that she cycled Canmore-Field the same day we did Golden-Canmore, faster and of course up the mountain! Anyway, as we had arranged the day before, she meets us also too early in the morning to cycle with us - our first planned guest cyclist!

Taylor and Jordan in Strathmore

Before moving on to the rest of the story, I would just like to point out that this is Taylor's rest week, and she came out on a soggy morning with us for 55km of downhill, meaning she did at least double that for the day. And, she had to get back to Calgary for afternoon practice! And we could hardly keep up. Blame it on the panniers...

And so it is Taylor's patch kit that saves the morning, when Kyle strikes a flat early in the day. He is able to barely patch what turns out to be multiple slow leaks (which we wouldn't find until WAY later), and make it to Strathmore, where Rory can meet us with the full repair kit.

What is this, flat number six?

Literally, exit Rory and Taylor from the same Sobey's parking lot, our two heroes for the day. Now we're on our own, to fight battles we haven't even begun to anticipate. Where to start?

First, with the lethargy. After a day off and two gigantic meals, I think we're all a bit sluggish this morning of a long cycle. Next, the wind. We faced a decent headwind before and after Quebec City, but this was crazy. Writing this a few days later, I can see the 10km/hr difference that wind makes. Last, how about, um, Kyle's SIX flats. What? No joke - Kyle single-handedly sets a new daily trip high with six in one day. Apparently, someone emptied their stapler on the side of the road, and these tiny little devices would haunt us for the rest of the day. He ultimately took a few-kilometres hitchhike (thanks Mike from MH) to meet up with us at one point. This would also almost completely exhaust our supply of patches and tubes. And the next bicycle shop is in Medicine Hat. Nervous times, but mostly frustrating.

Prairie sunset near Brooks AB

A new tradition develops of fast food motivation for days excruciatingly lengthened by repairs (think A&W, Merritt, Coquihalla). We do reach our destination of Brooks (195km for the day), where Wendy's awaits. Of course, the tire has gone flat by the end of the meal, and Kyle has to walk his bike to the campsite. A miracle shower later, and it's waayyy to late to change his tire. We can leave it for the morning...

So, lousy day, generous help, but we sleep well and are on schedule.


Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.

Roadside: Focus

This post focuses on two types of advice we have received again and again, both before the trip and during.  Thanks to everyone who has shared insights with us - you know who you are!

I'll call the first group 'what to not focus on.'

Don't count the kilometres, or the progress, or the cities, in a way that distracts and depresses.  For example, we are reasonably sure that we passed the halfway point very recently, but we don't know for sure because we don't want to be overwhelmed by the reality of having to duplicate our efforts.  We do count days, but that's because we (I) have to be back for work.  Of course we have a schedule, which we stick to, but we don't let it create any unnecessary stress.  As you know, we actually got far enough ahead of schedule to go whitewater rafting last week.  Also, don't simply focus on the end destination...

Category 2: 'what to focus on.'

...enjoy the whole experience, and all of the stops, not just looking forward to St. John's and home.  Include all of the little things - the people, scenery, the food, and the challenges.  Take it day-by-day.  We often find ourselves taking it hill-by-hill!  Example: changing tires used to be a somber occasion, but lately we have been making the best of it - we joke around a lot on Twitter, check it out!  Another way of putting this, is "the trail is never long enough."  Sooner than we know, we will be back in our regular day-to-day work and lives.  Not that we're not eager or excited about coming home, but we only have three weeks left on the road, and we are likely to lament it's too-quick passing once it's done.  I guess the difference between this and a vacation is that because this is so much work, it can at times take a specific effort to ensure we are taking the right perspective. 

Kind of cliche, but we hear these comments everywhere we go.  Must be relevant!  And we stay focused. 

Calgary Off Day!

Hello Faithful Followers!

The blog is back to be up to date and continuing my contribution as the "off day blogger" I am sitting in my Uncle Gary and Aunt Barb's beautiful house overlooking the Kananaskis Mountains with a full stomach and a great feeling of contentment.

Like a Gordon Lightfoot song

The last few days for us have been fantastic, we have successfully crossed the Rockies and are looking forward to (hopefully) having a strong tailwind to blow us across the Prairies. I could take a full page to describe our excitment about the upcoming change in Canada's topography and speculating about the future; but instead I will focus on the last two days.

Sunday, July 15We wake up in Canmore and having forgotten to set alarms (again!) and enjoy a little sleep in. Upon waking up however, we get our butts into gear pack up our stuff into our panniers, eat our breakfast and for the first time in three days we begrudgingly put our saddlebags back onto our bikes! A rough moment that no one particulaly enjoyed after the luxury of having the Davie's Support, but we put on our stoic faces, jump on the bikes and push on and begin the day.

Tour 4 Kids

Before beginning we knew this was going to be an easy one. Only 100kms to Calgary area and options galore for places to crash. The bike ride really nice, the roads were hilly but more downhill than up, and the scenery was beautiful and the bags didn't hinder our progress as much as we feared. We hit some rain, but it wasn't debilitating or much of an issue except for the cold. But after what we went through in Quebec and New Brunswick this rain is barely worth mentioning. A little too cold perhaps, but with our new dishwashing gloves (great idea, thanks Phil and Alex!) and some long sleeve shirts on we were fine.
The ride was also marked by the Tour for Kids. A cool organization where hundreds of cyclists bike for a great cause, for us it was an opportunity to draft effectively and maintain some easy speeds and we flew towards Cochrane (until we eventually passed a group of them!). It was a fun testament to our improved bicycling skills and as we passed a group we'd been chatting with with cheers of "These guys are BEASTS!" as we pushed our bikes fast towards Calgary.

With our panniers back on the bikes we also got reintroduced to our long lost foe...the Flat Tire. Jordan had our first flat since the support crew joined us. A sad moment, especially since it was in the rain and chilly. But luckily for me I got didn't realize right away and eventually pulled into a gas station where I prepared sandwiches for the boys, drank hot chocolate and waited with a book. It was nice, until after 45minutes I watched incredulously as they sped right past the gas station and had to hastily pack up lunch and struggle to catch up. Eventually I did since they stopped where I shared the laugh about enjoying the inside comforts of a gas station and the quick pack up needed to keep from falling to far behind.

The day continued with one other note of interest. Coming into Calgary on the 1A we had a great tailwind, and it was mostly downhill and we FLEW! We covered the last 20+kms in about 30 or 40minutes and sped in and past the off ramps all the way to my Uncle John's house in Calgary. We weren't really ure what to expect having made some dodgy plans but the arrival was fantastic.

Stampede Fireworks

There was a party, it was the last day of the stampede and there were 15people having a good time, eating dinner, and drinking. And we eagerly joined in! Kyle took a good 10minute break when he fell asleep on a couch in the middle of the festivities but other than that small moment we held up valiantly. We enjoyed the luxury of great food, great company, and FIREWORKS! As part of the conclusion of the 100th Calgary Stampede there were 4 simultaneous sets of fireworks going on all over the city, so after a game of Dixit 6 of us headed out to the top of Nose Hill that overlooks the city and the display of bright explosions. We braved the bugs and eventually made our way back to John's house to conclude the night with (even more) drinks and bed.

Monday, July 16Miraculously, I don't have a hangover, but we do sleep in...again. Till almost 10! At which point we get our stuff together and head out to take on the day. Jordan and I go to the prearranged bike shop in Calgary and drop them off and head to the city centre to meet Jordan's friend Nasra. We share some stories and a fast food lunch before parting ways and making our way to visit Jordan's cousin Taylor. We enjoy her company in her ridiculously swanky apartment and arrange to potentially have her join us in the morning for te Calgary departure.

Oh, Kyle at this point is doing our laundry back at John's house! Haha, sorry Kyle.

John and Mark

Anyway, the day continues and we make our way using the easy public transit of Calgary back to John's house where we get a ride back to the bike shop to check out our familiar bikes with all new casings, sprockets, shift cables, overall tune-up, brake pads and lots of other stuff. A big thank-you to Cactus Cycle and its Owner Steve for the discount and essentially neglecting store priority and getting three bikes ready to go in 6hrs; and the bikes actually look a little healthier! Needless to say, we're excited to test out the bikes after their beautiful hollywood makeovers.

To finish the day my cousin Rory picked us up from the bike shop and drove te three of us to Bragg Creek to visit my Aunt and Uncle. Two notes, the food was fantastic and the company great. As I sit at their kitchen table it's really easy to imagine myself sleeping in tomorrow and staying here for the coming days and feeling as good as I now. However, the road is calling and there will be time to rest again at the end of the trip.

Big thanks (once again) to Monica and Elaine for making the Rockies a little easier.
Uncle John, Mark, and Sean for taking care of us, shuttling us around the city and making our little Stampede experience great

And Aunt Barb for waiting for us on Highway 1 (even though we weren't on it) to help us out should we need it, uncle Gary for opening his house and the tasty steak and Rory for driving us around and giving me a hard time for my lack of phone communication skills.


Time to get back on the bikes. Here we come Prairies.

Support Vehicle in the Rockies- Chase to Canmore

Thursday, July 12

We woke up in Chase, BC and left around 7:15 am. The plan was to bike 50 km to Salmon Arm to get to the bike shop- Skookum Cycle & Ski- before it opened at 9 am. Jordan's bike rack was broken. My bike rack was also close to breaking.   Since Monica & Elaine were carrying our stuff, Jordan was able to bike with a broken rack.

I should back up a bit and give you some background info on Monica & Elaine. Elaine is my aunt (oldest sister on my dad's side of the family).  Monica is the oldest of Elaine's three children and is my cousin. There is an age gap between Monica and I so her three boys are about my age. 

Bike for Bricks team with support crew- Elaine and Monica

Monica and Elaine live in Kaslo, BC. They had invited us to come through Kaslo and stay there, but we had chosen a route that wouldn't take us through Kaslo. Monica and Elaine then offered to support us for three days when we were in BC. This meant Monica driving 5 to 6 hours with her Toyota Rav4 to meet us on Wednesday in Chase. Then following us for three days and then driving home 6 to 7 hours back to Kaslo. Lots of driving.

Ok back to the biking. The bike ride to Salmon Arm was quick. For the first time on our trip we didn't have to carry our heavy panniers thanks to Monica and Elaine carrying our stuff. All we had to carry on our bikes were water and Gatorade.  We estimate the weight we were carrying on the back of our bikes ranged from 50 to 70 lbs.

Vehicle Doug & Lindsay drove.

We arrived at Skookum Cycle & Ski just before 9 am. We decided to go with new racks for all three of our bikes since Jordan and I both had problems with the racks breaking. While we waited for the bike racks to be installed, Monica and Elaine treated us for breakfast at a sit down restaurant. Normally we had been just eating at fast food places so this was a treat. After breakfast we went to Salmon Arm's water front area and had a photo shoot with Doug and Lindsay. Doug and Lindsay also followed us on our bike ride to Revelstoke taking pictures of us.

Once the photo shoot was done we went back to the bike shop to pick up the bikes. My bike's front tire was found to be flat tire so the tube was replaced. We then left Salmon Arm and continued our bike along Highway 1 to Revelstoke. The distance was about 100 km.

Along the way we enjoyed the benefits of being supported by Monica & Elaine. In the back of the Rav4, Monica had bought a large cooler filled with Gatorade, water, power bars and ice. Every 10 km's, Monica would find a place to pull over at the side of the road. Sometimes we would bike on by and other times we would stop and fill up our water bottles and Gatorade. Jordan developed a system of replacing a warm water bottle that he was carrying on his bike with a cool water bottle that was stored in the cooler. On this day, the temperature was hot so we were drinking lots of water and Gatorade. Monica also had wash clothes that were cooled with ice water and she put them on the backs of our necks when we stopped to help cool us down.

At lunch time Monica & Elaine bought us Tim Horton's sandwiches so we could continue biking while they were at Tim's. Once the sandwiches were bought they stopped ahead of us and we stopped to eat the sandwiches on the lawn of a house just off the highway. The whole process saved us lots of time. Normally we have to spend time finding a place to eat or buying groceries for lunch. Also, water and Gatorade were being supplied to us all day so we didn't have to spend time trying to find places to fill up our water.

In the afternoon we continued our bike to Revelstoke. We arrived in Revelstoke around 5 PM. There groceries were bought and it was decided that we would bike an additional 35 to 40 km to get to a campsite. Monica and Elaine would then drive back to Revelstoke to stay in a hotel.

Just after heading out from Revelstoke, I realized my crank shaft- connects your bike pedal to the bike frame- was loose. Tyler and Jordan were with me so Jordan was able to phone Monica to get her to comeback. Monica came back and with a multi-tool Tyler was able to tighten the crank shaft bolt. We continued to bike to the campsite, but my crank shaft continued to not stay tight. This problem would continue the next day.

At the campsite Monica and Elaine warned us about the dangers of bears. We were in bear country and had seen billboards advertising this on our bike ride. Monica and Elaine told us to put in the Rav4 any food we would not eat. We did this, but after they left we realized that we had forgot to give them our granola bars and trail mix. We followed proper bear avoidance protocol by tying the food in a bag on a sign 5 meters in the air and 50 meters from our tent.

We biked on the day about 190 km.

Friday, July 13

Monica and Elaine arrived at 7:30 am from Revelstoke to find us clothed and mostly ready to go. They provide Tim's breakfast sandwiches for breakfast.

About 10 km after leaving the campsite was my crank shaft completely fell off. In the 10 km of biking I did I had tightened the crankshaft bolt a few times only for it to loosen right away. With my crank shaft completely off I realized the bolt was damaged and would not tighten any more. I needed a bike shop. The closest one was back 35 km in Revelstoke. Without support this would mean hitch hiking back to Revelstoke, however, Monica could now drive my bike back to Revelstoke.

Tyler biking in a snow shed along Highway 1.

Monica and I were able to tie my bike with bungee cords to the top of the Rav4.  Monica got bike grease on her shirt for her efforts. Then Monica drove me back to Revelstoke to get my bike fixed. Jordan and Tyler continued on. At this point they were climbing up Rogers Pass. I decided I didn't want to waste time starting from where I had my crank shaft fall off and said I would meet them where ever they happened to be when I returned with my crank shaft fixed.  My bike was fixed at Flowt Bikes and Skis. 

They replaced my one crank shaft. The problem with the crank shaft bolt was when I realized it was loose it already was too late. I was told to tighten all bolts on the bikes every few days. Also, the bike pads were adjusted on the bike. The bike repair took about 30 minutes. In all I missed out on an hour and a half of biking, but I really didn't "miss" biking up Rogers pass. I also enjoyed the time I had riding to and from Revelstoke talking to Monica and Elaine. Good family time. I don't see my relatives on the West Coast all that often.

I met back up with Jordan and Tyler at the summit of Rogers Pass. They had just finished their climb when I arrived. At this point we were 80 km from Golden. Monica had suggested to us that we go whitewater rafting in Golden. We were making good time so we decided to tie up our bikes at the top of Rogers Pass and have Monica drive us to Golden for Whitewater rafting. The problem was along the 80 km drive to Golden there was an hour time change and we would lost an hour. The boat was suppose to leave at 12:30 PM MT and it was 11:45 AM MT when we left. Jordan with his blackberry thought it would take us an hour to get to Golden. Thankfully Tyler was able to get cell phone reception- an issue in the mountains- and was able to call "Wet N Wild Adventures" to let them know we were coming. We arrived about 15 minutes late, but they waited for us.

Whitewater rafting was fun. It was Tyler's first time. Jordan and I had done it before, but not at rapids like the ones at Kicking Horse Pass. The water levels were high from all the rain and the river was moving fast. On a scale of 6, the rapids ranged from a 3 to 4. If you go higher than a 4 you're almost guaranteed to have you're boat flipped. Having a boat flip is a big pain because the river is moving fast and it's tough to collect all the people that fall out of the boats. The water temperatures were cold since the river came from glacier water. That meant we wore sweaters underneath our wet suits to keep warm. It was warm that day so I didn't feel cold out on the boat.

While we were rafting Monica and Elaine did our laundry. We love our support team!

Once rafting was done we stopped at McDonalds then Monica drove us the 80 km back to Rogers Pass. We then biked the 80 km to Golden arriving between 7 and 8 PM. Monica and Elaine booked us rooms in Golden, but we still had a few hours of daylight left. We decided to bike on pass Golden and tie up our bikes where ever decided to stop and have Monica drive us back to Golden.

Just as we started from Golden, we made a wrong turn and Jordan drove his bike over a texas gate. A texas gate is built to keep animals off the highway, but it is bad for bikes. Jordan ended up having to made some adjustments to his bike, but after 15 minutes we were off again. The bike from Golden was steep as were were beginning the ascent of Kicking Horse Pass. We biked for about 20 km before tying up our bikes and heading back to Golden. Back at Golden, Elaine had bought us Chinese food for us to eat. Also, the motel room we were staying in- paid for by Elaine- had three individual beds for us. No sharing beds. We love our support team!!

Distance biked on the day was about 140 km for Tyler and Jordan. 115 km for me.

Saturday, July 14

We woke at 6 am and hit snooze a few times before getting up. Elaine and Monica arrived at 7 am with a McDonalds breakfast that I inhaled.

Stretching near the summit of Kicking Horse Pass.

Monica drove us back to the bikes. We then continued our bike up Kicking Horsepass. The temperature was cooler than the previous days and there was a threat of rain. On our climb up Kicking Horse Pass it only rained a few minutes.

The summit of Kicking Horse Pass and border of Alberta are very close together. We were unable to get a picture of us at either of these locations due to construction and there being no signs as a result.

At Lake Louse

Once in Alberta we were very close to Lake Louise. Lake Louise is actually at a higher elevation than the summit of Kicking Horse Pass. The result was a hard 4 km climb up to Lake Louise, but the lake looked beautiful. We also ate lunch there.

After Lake Louise we took the Highway 1A to Banff. The road was beautiful to bike on with little traffic, trees on both sides of the road and mountains all around you. Tyler and Jordan biked ahead of me and were able to see an elk. Later after stopping for a break to talk to some bikers we saw a black bear near the road. We noticed the bear as a bunch of vehicles had stopped and people were out taking pictures. We stayed across the road to take the pictures, but some people were crossing the road to get a closer look a the black bear. A bit too close if you ask me.

We stopped in Banff at a Boston Pizza and the meal was paid by Monica. We love our support team! Lindsay from Grimsby, Ontario served us and helped us get free drinks and some other discounts for the food. Thanks Lindsay and Boston Pizza!

It was raining once we were done at Boston Pizza. We waited 45 minutes before leaving at 6 PM. We knew at a minimum we wanted to get to Canmore. Canmore was about 25 km from Banff and there was a paved bike path beside the highway that we biked on. Along the way the rain stopped. Tyler and Jordan were feeling good and wanted to push past Canmore. I wasn't feeling as good biking wise, but I agreed we'd reevaluate our options in Canmore. Then shortly after that discussion, Tyler and Jordan had a crash. I didn't see the crash because I was well behind Tyler and Jordan when it happened.

Here's my understanding of how the crash happened. Tyler was in the lead with Jordan close behind him. They approached a sign that warned them to slow down as they approached an incline for which they could not see what was on the other side. They ignored this sign and went over the incline to realize they were facing a sharp turn and they needed to slow down. Tyler slammed on his brakes. The road was wet from the rain. Tyler skidded, lost his balance and fell over on his right side. Tyler skidded on his right side with the bike on top of him. Jordan unable to avoid Tyler drove over Tyler and his bike. Jordan was able to reduce his speed when this happened and was unhurt. Tyler had bruising on his right leg- the side he slide on. He also had a ripe in the shorts. However, he didn't break anything and was just sore.

After the crash and shock had wore off Tyler decided it would be a good idea to stop in Canmore to give his body a rest after the crash. We biked into Canmore and after stopping at three motels/hotels of which two were full we found a hostel to stay at. There we said our good bye to Monica and Elaine and gave our thanks. Without the support we received from them there is no way we would have made it to Canmore. I love my family.

We biked about 155 km on the day.

The Des(s)ert

Sandwiches a la Mont Tremblant

The next BC story takes us from Merritt up the 5A, the first 90km of which can be unscientifically be called a desert.  No potable water, no shade, not even any stores.  There were lakes, but they were unfortunately unswimmable.  The picture to the right of Tyler making Mont Tremblant sandwiches on that tiny outcrop of rock is some of the only shade we found for the entire morning.  We carried full capacity (12+L) of water, and ran it really low, but we were aware of Kamloops and timed it perfectly.

As we approached Kamloops in the heat of the day, there was another 10+km hill at 10+% grade, which was difficult, but a welcome challenge.  At the top that hill, we finally get satellite reception for the first time since Merritt (sorry for the lack of tweets that day!), which leads to another surprise.

What the guys know is that Holeshot is coming all the way from Guelph to shoot us for the next two days in the mountains.  What they don't know is that along with Doug, we are also getting a visit from Lindsay!  If you don't know Lindsay by now, she is our guardian angel in Waterloo.  She looks out for us from the office, making calls, arrangements, and managing our online profile (including this blog!).  We could do it without her, but it wouldn't be easy, and you probably wouldn't be reading this!  I kept the surprise on the down low for the past week, so as to preserve the surprise.  At the moment when Lindsay and I both have reception at the same time, Doug and Lindsay have been driving all morning from Vancouver, and I make hilltop arrangements to meet them at a Dairy Queen in east Kamloops.  Ice cream after desert?  Yes.

DQ surprise

And the day takes a sudden turn.  We FLY some serious downhill into Kamloops, meet with some friendly faces, and Doug buys us ice cream!  They take our panniers, and we are able to make excellent time back on the Trans Canada eastward.  It's great to be back on wide, paved shoulders, cycling with hopeful eastward winds, and looking at some impressive mountains.  We are able to ultimately make it to Chase, about 15km ahead of schedule.  This will help us prepare for the coming days, because we really don't know what to expect in the Rockies.

To end the day, we have another mixed bag of surprises.  First, the bad: we notice my rack has broken.  This will be a time-consuming fix, and without our support, we would have had to stop in Kamloops, already 40km behind schedule.  But with our incredible support team, we will be able to make it to Salmon Arm tomorrow without bags - more on that tomorrow.  The next, most incredible surprise of Baumanesque proportion, is Kyle's coworker Angela just drives by us on the highway.  She is in Kamloops visiting her son, as spots three cyclists wearing blue cycling about 55kms east of that city.  Crazy!  Thanks for saying hi, Angela!  (And please send the pic :p)

But the last and most important surprise is this: Kyle's aunt Elaine and cousin Monica meet up with us in Chase, in a decked-out support vehicle.  This story is deserving of it's own blog, so you will have to wait for that!

Day 24 - Coquihalla

To get your weekend started right, here's a whole series of blogs from our adventures so far in BC!

Coquihalla summit, looking west

The second day in BC is the hardest. That's the unanimous advice from cyclists, with fair warning from motorists and locals. And everyone asks the same question: "Are you taking the Coquihalla?"

There is really only one way from Hope to Merritt, the 5. It isn't the highest mountain we'll climb, nor is it the steepest grade (it's close, 8-13%). But it is a rude initiation to the mountain ranges we will tackle this week. I'm not sure which mountain range it belongs to - Coastal or Cascades - but we'll call it the foothills of the Rockies. And it went up, and up, and up...

Looking back up the Merritt valley highway.

We stuck together on narrow shoulders, up the steepest grades, and through the first snow-shed. Trucks were either whipping by us on the downhills, or passing us so slowly on the uphills that we wanted to reach out and grab hold. The snowshed was it's own adventure - dark, narrow shoulder, tremendously loud. Then it's the final ascent with the 13% grade, which we hammered out at 8km/hr out of the saddle in the lowest gear. But we made it - pic above.


The other story of the day can also be introduced with a question: what's so great about Madison, Wisconsin? What you need to know is that on this day, we have an insane amount of flats, and at super inconvenient and times. Kyle has to hitchhike a few kilometres at one point, and we fix three flats in the space of 100m coming down the Coquihalla. We only brought 6 tubes to Vancouver, and the bike shop we passed the day before was closed Mondays, and our patch kit has gone missing. We are hoping to make it to the next city, but given our seven flats over two days, it wouldn't have happened. Which brings us back to Madison - it's a top-5 city in the US in terms of bicycle friendliness. By this point, after having incorporated city cycling into our daily lives in training, we certainly appreciate. So in what can only be terms a best-case scenario, as Tyler and I are at a rest stop, trying to figure out what to do about Kyle's strandedness, Madison's cycling dynasty bails us out. Arthur and Jeanette, who are responsible for Madison's status, are at the very same rest stop, and they give us a tube, and more importantly a patch kit (as well as lettuce and tomatoes). It was nice meeting you - thanks SO much!

But we got a flat coming right out of that stop, which resulted in my cycling 5km back uphill. In a related story, Kyle now has the patch kit. Inexplicably frustrating, but the day improves. We will hit what is probably a new high speed of 67.5km/hr entering the Merrit Valley, and we use the promise of fast food to get us to the city. As it turns out, A&W is the first one we find. And so we camped in Merrit.

Another big thanks to some people on the home front. Lindsay for calling ahead and finding us water on the route! And my dad Lloyd for running an online tool to give us the anticipated elevation and summits. Can't do it without either!

Day 23 - The Calm

The race is on, again.

For Leg 1, we were all about getting to St. John's to catch a flight to get me to the wedding. Mission accomplished. Leg 2 has several watershed moments: the first is the first week.

We need to go 1,000kms in seven days to get our bikes serviced in Calgary. Our sponsors Marin, Royal Distributing and Drift are coming through HUGE to make sure we stay in top shape and function at this stage of the trip. Marin's shop in Calgary is so busy that we need to keep our schedule closely to take advantage of their help. 150kms per day isn't long, but the elevation is a new, unknown factor.

White Rock: The furthest West we went

So today, we set off on the first day of our second leg. And we rocked it. We overcame Monday sluggishness, THREE flat tires, a train, and the new GPS quirks to keep our goal of Hope (150kms). The day started on the beach in White Rock, the farthest west we would go - thanks Paul! We then tried the Trans Canada, but the bike lane ended quickly, so we were relegated to less direct back roads. We had some more McDonald's smoothies in Chilliwack. The biggest thanks of the day goes to David, a dairy farmer near Chilliwack. He helped us patch and pump tires when we got the third flat of the day. Can't thank enough!!

Setting up camp on the banks of the Fraser Rive in Hope, BC

Despite all of the adverse factors, we had a very successful day of biking in the Fraser River valley. Not much of a climb (600m), but we can see the mountains, and we know we're in for a big day tomorrow on way to Merritt!

Another interesting dynamic of the trip is our upcoming photo shoot with Holeshot. Tomorrow, Doug flying out to meet up with us in the Rockies on Wednesday. Furthermore, what the guys don't know is that Lindsay is coming too! She has been our MVP for the trip, and it will be a nice surprise for the guys. Can't wait!

 And so we're in a tent on the banks of the Fraser River in Hope, surrounded my majestic mountains. 

                                                            

Tomorrow, we climb.

Weekend Update (Days 20-22)

Well, we made it!  We went as east as we could go, and now we're heading all the way back across the country to resume the cycle in Vancouver.  But first, blog housekeeping...

48 hours apart!  

I'm going to leave adventures of Days 18 and 19 for now, because we know you want to know what we're up to NOW!  So I'm going to break the chronology to keep this blog more current, and here goes!

After spending three weeks in extremely close proximity, I finally got a break from the antics of Kyle and Tyler.  While I'm back in Ontario, they have been incredibly busy this weekend in Vancouver: first, finding a bicycle shop to get the bikes serviced, second, acquiring new and replacement parts (clips!), and also connecting with friends and family.  Big thanks to old friends Tyler and Kim, and also to Tyler's family in Vancouver for their hospitality.  But that's their story, and as I'm just about to hop on a plane and join them, here's my weekend story.

Stunning

In case you didn't already know the structure of our trip, we chose not to cycle "coast-to-coast" for a few reasons.  We thought it would be a cool, unique spin to the trip, and it was phenomenal having our friends and family send us off, and it will be again when we complete the trip in their presence.  But the most important reason is that my sister was married yesterday.  Obviously, this is the highlight and priority of my summer, and doing the Waterloo-east and west-Waterloo route would ensure that I could attend the wedding!

It was a whirwind in which I didn't get much a chance to do B4B stuff.  Friday I flew in from St. John's in the afternoon, and we rehearsed with family and old friends.  Saturday afternoon was the ceremony, and I MCed the reception later that night at Grey Silo.  Today we had a relaxing family brunch, and now they're off to Panama!  Jealous?  Hard to say.  Not exactly the rigor of the road, but I'm not well rested.  I doubt the guys in Vancouver are, either...

To paraphrase my talking points, Carly and Chris are an amazing couple who are incredible together, and Chris is such a coup for our family.  We're thrilled for their future and on behalf of all of the Schmidts, we couldn't be happier.  Chris was as handsome as ever, Carly looked divine, and I will get a photo up here as soon as I can!

I did manage to do the laundry and waterproof my rain gear.  I have added new equipment (Gatorade powder, gear for colder weather, and a solar panel from the happy couple - thanks!) to take with me up the Rockies.  Now I'm off to the airport to meet the guys in Vancouver.  It didn't feel like we burned three rest days, and we pedal off in about 18 hours...

Leg 1 Stats

I take a lot of photos while I cycle.  

If you're curious about our stats and maps, don't worry...I was too!  I look at the Garmin all day long, but this weekend I also finally got the opportunity to do an upload and look at the data.  I don't have a lot of time to do a complete analysis, but here goes:

Total distance: 2277km
Total elevation gain: 12.8km
Approximate progress (total trip): 35%
Average km pace: 19.7km/hr  (this is skewed because I started only recording at 5km/hr after day 4.  The first four days have a lot of rest time included.  I would estimate the true average to be closer to 21km/hr.)
Max Speed: 62.6km/hr (Cape Breton)
Average Cadence: 75rpm
Total Calories: 69,000

Here's the B4B Leg 1 Map.

Map: Click here for our exact route.  It doesn't include stop markers, that will have to wait for another day.  Also, I seem to have deleted the 155kms from Day 14 between Fredericton and Moncton.  The route is pretty simple, though.


Hope you enjoyed it!