Tuesday, 27 March 2018
Friday, 23 March 2018
"WHY?" you may ask!
Nancy and Dave headed north last Friday. Nancy had to get back to work. Their two months in Barradice were up and I heard one of them say that "the time went by so fast!". They were home for a few days, not even unpacking their bikes and then off to Maui for a week with friends to do some volcano riding. Nice! Hopefully they will have some pictures to post soon.
Nancy, Dave, Greg and I were able to spend some time finishing up our route and going over the logistics of the trip....food, shopping, diners, clean up, packing up, daily starting time....etc etc. Lots to think about...and lists were made! A few changes were thought of and incorporated into the "plan". We even had time to design a biking kit which is now ready for ordering. (This was not easy)
We also enjoyed a very chill day off of riding out at Chantli Mare in Boca de Iguana at the far end of La Manzanilla beach. We had drinks, lunch, more drinks, a couple of rounds of boogie boarding and then finished up with dinner before we headed home just at dusk. A very relaxing day!
So...we have been asked..."Why are you riding across Canada?". My story is: A few years ago, after Dave Nancy and I completed our 1st or 2nd Full Ironman Whistler, I was looking for my next adventure! Our friend Shelagh from La Manz/Victoria, had her friend Denise down for a Mexican visit. Denise was heading home to start her "epic" journey of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mexican border to the Canadian border. Talking with Denise about her plans and her trip, her excitement was contagious.
Greg and I spent some time discussing a few options of what we could do for our next EPIC adventure...and then my Brother in Law, Bernie was talking about riding across Canada. (He still plans on doing it, but this year is not his time) He gave me a couple of books to read from a fellow who road across Canada as well as biked Africa from top to bottom. Well, that got me thinking, but the logistics of doing a trip like that on your own was a little daunting.
After a 2016 spring ride with Nancy and Dave, over coffee, I brought up the subject of the book I had read and the idea of riding across Canada. Nancy quickly replied, "We're in!" Well I couldn't believe my ears and I went home I mentioned it to Greg. He said....wait a couple of days and ask them again. On our next ride...I brought it up again...and I think by this time they had had time to talk about it and Dave said yes!!! And that is how easy it was!
The four of us started thinking and talking about how this trip was going to work. Last winter Greg started looking at trailers and RV parks along the cross Canada route. Last Jan/Feb 2017 while Nancy and Dave were in Mexico, and after talking to a few people and gathering ideas/options for routes, we were able to spend some time and put together a rough draft of a plan.
The summer of 2017 was an off time from planning the trip as we were traveling to Yukon/Alaska/ Disneyland and Dave and Nancy were busy with golf, family and another European Cycling Trip.
In August and September 2017, Greg and I got busy, (mostly Greg) looking for a trailer that would suit 4 adults. After a few tries, we found one in Prince George...which meant driving back up to Northern BC...but hey...it was a beautiful time of year for a drive. We were able to secure the trailer and hooked up and headed back home to Nanoose with our 32 foot trailer.
Dave and Nancy decided to come to Mexico for a two month "training camp" from mid January to mid March. As you saw in the previous post and above, we had a good time with quite a bit of riding, a few margaritas, wine, a lot of great dinners and Sticks! (A card game)
I was back to riding/coffee last weekend with Sue, another friend from La Manz/Alaska, and will ride as much as I can over the next week or so. I will miss the drafting practices and coffee with Nancy and Dave...but we will be on our bikes together in about 4 weeks or so when we are all back on the Island and as we count down to our start date.
Hopefully Nancy will be able to have access to this blog now, if her tablet has switched from Spanish back to English and we can await some updates from their Cycling trip in Maui.
All for Now! Heidi
Nancy, Dave, Greg and I were able to spend some time finishing up our route and going over the logistics of the trip....food, shopping, diners, clean up, packing up, daily starting time....etc etc. Lots to think about...and lists were made! A few changes were thought of and incorporated into the "plan". We even had time to design a biking kit which is now ready for ordering. (This was not easy)
We also enjoyed a very chill day off of riding out at Chantli Mare in Boca de Iguana at the far end of La Manzanilla beach. We had drinks, lunch, more drinks, a couple of rounds of boogie boarding and then finished up with dinner before we headed home just at dusk. A very relaxing day!So...we have been asked..."Why are you riding across Canada?". My story is: A few years ago, after Dave Nancy and I completed our 1st or 2nd Full Ironman Whistler, I was looking for my next adventure! Our friend Shelagh from La Manz/Victoria, had her friend Denise down for a Mexican visit. Denise was heading home to start her "epic" journey of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mexican border to the Canadian border. Talking with Denise about her plans and her trip, her excitement was contagious.
Greg and I spent some time discussing a few options of what we could do for our next EPIC adventure...and then my Brother in Law, Bernie was talking about riding across Canada. (He still plans on doing it, but this year is not his time) He gave me a couple of books to read from a fellow who road across Canada as well as biked Africa from top to bottom. Well, that got me thinking, but the logistics of doing a trip like that on your own was a little daunting.
After a 2016 spring ride with Nancy and Dave, over coffee, I brought up the subject of the book I had read and the idea of riding across Canada. Nancy quickly replied, "We're in!" Well I couldn't believe my ears and I went home I mentioned it to Greg. He said....wait a couple of days and ask them again. On our next ride...I brought it up again...and I think by this time they had had time to talk about it and Dave said yes!!! And that is how easy it was!
The four of us started thinking and talking about how this trip was going to work. Last winter Greg started looking at trailers and RV parks along the cross Canada route. Last Jan/Feb 2017 while Nancy and Dave were in Mexico, and after talking to a few people and gathering ideas/options for routes, we were able to spend some time and put together a rough draft of a plan.
The summer of 2017 was an off time from planning the trip as we were traveling to Yukon/Alaska/ Disneyland and Dave and Nancy were busy with golf, family and another European Cycling Trip.
In August and September 2017, Greg and I got busy, (mostly Greg) looking for a trailer that would suit 4 adults. After a few tries, we found one in Prince George...which meant driving back up to Northern BC...but hey...it was a beautiful time of year for a drive. We were able to secure the trailer and hooked up and headed back home to Nanoose with our 32 foot trailer.
Dave and Nancy decided to come to Mexico for a two month "training camp" from mid January to mid March. As you saw in the previous post and above, we had a good time with quite a bit of riding, a few margaritas, wine, a lot of great dinners and Sticks! (A card game)
I was back to riding/coffee last weekend with Sue, another friend from La Manz/Alaska, and will ride as much as I can over the next week or so. I will miss the drafting practices and coffee with Nancy and Dave...but we will be on our bikes together in about 4 weeks or so when we are all back on the Island and as we count down to our start date.
Hopefully Nancy will be able to have access to this blog now, if her tablet has switched from Spanish back to English and we can await some updates from their Cycling trip in Maui.
All for Now! Heidi
Friday, 9 March 2018
Training is Ramping Up
Our (not so) official start date on this journey is June 1st, 2018 . That is unless there is a B.C. Ferries sale for a day or two earlier than this.
As you all know....the more we save on ferries, the more we can spend on wine!
La Taza Negra and La Bruha have been getting lots of business.
We have had a good time training with good friends from this area and have done quite a bit of planning on routes but still a bit more to do for the east coast. Hopefully we will get this done in the next day or so before Nancy and Dave leave for the cooler NOB. Greg has been looking into camping along the way...and finding campgrounds that he can "drive through" where possible, as when your truck and trailer are over 50 feet long it would be much easier than backing in.
We were able to meet Peter Brand through mutual friends of Nancy and Dave's. He winters in Manzanillo and Peter has done the cross Canada cycle in parts over a few years....a few weeks at a time. He will be flying into Fredericton around the time we will be in that area, (mid August) to finish up his trip and dunk his toes into the Atlantic Ocean off of Newfoundland. Hopefully we will be able to get a couple of days riding with him on P.E.I.. He was very helpful with input into routes, clothing, support and other.
We have also been in touch with the Roy Sisters Duo who did the Cross Canada Cycle last summer. They are quite a bit younger so pushed harder than we think we can. But their information and routing has been wonderful input. I am sure we will have more questions for them as well before we head off on our journey.
I guess we can say we have a plan in place...but as the Roy Sisters and Peter both told us....be flexible. I think Nancy and I are both planners and sometimes I know I can over plan...so that is going to be our biggest obstacle.
Go with the flow!!!
We have also been designing our 100 K a Day biking kits and hopefully have them completed by next weekend and will be putting them "out" there to anyone who would like an original jersey. Just let us know if you are interested in purchasing one for yourself. Will post the costs and sizing site when we finish our design.
This is my first Blogging experience so hopefully I will be able to figure out how to share it with our friends and families.
Anyway....let us know if you are receiving the blog and any input or ideas on what we can do to make it better would be greatly appreciated.
I hope to post weekly for now...Unless something exciting happens to add to the post.
That is all for now. Heidi
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