Reverse Gear Blog

Day 13 – Thursday, June 18, 2009
Boys decided to cycle the 140 km on the TCH to Calgary AB to get the kilometres covered early. It was raining all night but weather cleared once they were on the road. While they were out, I sent 50 media releases out by email. Then after lunch, I tried to cycle to town again. I was discouraged by the construction on the road at the exit   – so I rode around the park for 4.5 km in 31:41 min and took photos of mountains and groundhogs. Then I returned to email more media releases with a G&T and peanuts. When the boys returned they had cycled to Cochrane and done two interviews (good results from releases). Later Don, Len and I went to Banff Arts Centre to a Music for a Summer Evening, an outstanding performance primarily of percussion that included: Mudra, featuring Bob Becker (from Nexus); StraightJacket, a world premiere by Mark Appelbaum; Linea by Luciano Berio; and after intermission a wonderful performance of Music for Strings, Percussion and Celestaby Bela Bartok, conducted by Steven Schick. I alo bought two CDs asd memories of the trip: Don Thompson’s Banff Jazz All Stars and Dave Douglas’ Bow River Falls.

Day 14 – Friday, June 19, 2009
While everyone was packing up camp and driving to Canmore AB, I pedalled: 24.07 km in 1hr 14 min at an avg of 16.90 and a top speed of 46kmh. When I got to town I cycled another 3.6 km but it brought my avg speed down so it will not be recorded. In the afternoon there was a reception for Richard. In the evening we all went to the Grizzly Pawto imbibe in local brews and enjoy pub food, including a great pizza with chorizo. While there I discovered a book signing/launch around the corner for Never Bug a Bearby local author Carol Mactavish and illustrator Linden Wentzloff. I can hardly wait to share this great book with my grandchildren when I return.

Day 15 – Saturday, June 20, 2009
While everybody else explored Canmore, I rode solo to Kanaskis Country- a distance of 77.61 km in 5hr 38min at an avg of 13.70 and a top speed of 52km. I discovered that the highway to Kanaskis was all uphill and my legs were really tired so at 1 pm I headed for home. Highlight was the Dairy Queen ice-cream cone at end of a tiring cycle. Dinner was complements of Denise and Grant – bbq steaks, salad and great local red wine from Lake Breeze Meritage  (a very nice drop)!

Day 10 – Monday, June 15, 2009
The boys started to ride to Lake Louise but a major storm cut the ride short. So they drove to Lake Louise to check the roads. In the meantime, Anna and Aaron took the truck to Golden BC to get the “funny noise” checked and I enjoyed a day of R&R at the trailer. The truck is OK for now but may need some future work. We stayed in Golden BC for another night and enjoyed a meal of bbq pork, Italian salad and noodles.

Day 11 – Tuesday, June 16, 2009
We drove to Lake Louise AB. After visiting the Lake for the customary photos and lunch, we cycled the Bow Valley Parkway to Banff AB. Aaron and Richard left on the tandem. Len and I followed behind on the single trikes. Judi’s computer says she did: 60.75km in 3hr 45 min at an avg of 16.21kmh and a top speed of 55kmh (highest to date). I think this will go down as my “best ride of my life” – between scenery, speed and challenge. It was mostly rolling along the river and rail tracks but rolling always means some “up” as well as “down” to challenge the legs. For Len it could be the worst ride of the trip as his foot slipped on a Texas Gate as he pulled the trike across (we could not ride across because of short wheel-base) and bruised his leg from ankle to knee. I rewarded us both with the first ice-cream of the trip at COWS. By the time we arrived at Tunnel Mtn campground, Anna had a great stir-fry, rice and salad waiting.

Day 12 – Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Everyone slept late as we did not have to move the trailer today. First view of the day was mule deer outside the window. I finally resumed my weight-training regimen with Len, using those funny elastic bands. Best part was when the elastic snapped Len in the bottom. Then we worked on some BGB marketing materials until it stopped raining and we cycled into town. After a lunch of elk burger and elk lager at the Elk & Oarsmen, we did some shopping for “bear bells”.  I wanted to be well-protected in case they came after all the ‘power bars’ in her saddle bags. However the experts in Banff told us not to use them because the bears actually like them and are attracted by the noise. (Well maybe the grand-children will have fun with them.) Suddenly it was dinner time and the skies were black with ominous clouds so we cycled as fast as we could – 2.5km uphill – to Tunnel Mtn campsite to enjoy a beef burger and Greek Salad with Heineken beer. I only cycled 9.27 km in 51min at avg of 10.9kmh and a top speed of 41 kmh. I did not record my shopping time or speeds – but did have fun and bought some Jazz CDs from Banff Arts Centre, as well as a card that says: “The world is full of people who will go their whole lives and not actually live one day. She did not intend on being one of them. when faith in myself was so strong that I believed that I could move mountains.” I intend to frame it when I get home.

Lucinda tested REVERSE Gear in both Costa Rica and Martha’s Vineyard and has given it a “thumbs up” for cycling, kayaking and general sports. To see what she says about us,  go to:  http://www.guidedcycling.com/ and click on LINKS in the menu or read what she has to say here…

ReverseGear: Moisture wicking apparel that works with you, even in the jungles of Costa Rica! (Click this link for their website)
Designed as specialized cycling clothing for recumbent cyclists but also perfect for running and any other activities causing you to perspire such as running, kayaking, etc… Our company owner, Lucinda, personally tested a deep blush/black colored shorts [Corkwood] & top set [Sassafras Sleeveless]…not only on the Atlantic Ocean Island of Martha’s Vineyard but in the intense heat and rugged jungles of Costa Rica for several weeks.

Her comments about Reverse Gear products are as follows: For those that care about how they look (no matter how well the garment works) Reverse Gear has done a great job! I received so many compliments on my sports outfit (I wore while cycling, kayaking and even hiking in extreme heat) that I had been giving a test try (with a very open mind…as I own many brands of sports wear). And, it’s not just an attractive package with no substance! The quick drying material is very soft, comfortable and is geared toward keeping sweat from ruining your day. It keeps you dry, the material does not cause any irritation to my skin and does not seem to produce an odor while doing so as some other materials in sports wear do. With the top…I especially like the mesh-like panels that run down the sides which definitely helps to keep perspiration and excess build up of heat in the arm-pit area to a minimum. The placement of the zipper in the front is nice and flat and none of the seams cause any discomfort. Of course, the highlighted feature of the top for cyclists are the zippered pockets – so no more losing anything out of your pockets. The only thing that I would change would be the elastic at the bottom, which was not much of a bother but more my personal preference….and from what I understand they are redesigning without the elastic within the next year. As for the bottoms…it is a joy to find bottoms without the often added padding! They are also designed to make your rear end look as good as the material feels next to your skin! Many kudos to the folks at Reverse Gear for doing such a fantastic job with all the attention and design features they put into their apparel! I recommend you contact them today and place an order! Check out their website at: www.reversegearclothing.com

Friday, June 12, 2009
 Aaron and I drove to Naksup Hot Springsand set up the trailer. The boys cycled 45 km from the Monashee Summit to the Needles ferry on Arrow Lake. When everyone arrived we went to the hot springs. It was so relaxing.

Saturday, June 13, 2009
Aaron and I rode today. Len woke us at 6 am and took us up to the Monashee Summit so we could do the same  45 km  on the single trikes as they did yesterday on the tandem. It was a spectacular ride but we unfortunately had a fierce head-wind so we had to work to enjoy the thrills. We then packed up and drove to Golden BC. Dinner was BC Coho Salmon at the Golden Rim Inn where we watched the sun set behind the mountains. Highlight: the 50+ motorcyclists who were raising money for Kids with Cancer and delivering teddy bears to “Kids with Cancer”.

Sunday, June 14, 2009
Richard and Aaron rode 103 km to Radium Hot Springs.

Len and I rode the single trikes to Yoho National Park. I stopped to take too many photos so it was 2:30 when we arrived. The cycle back was more downhill than uphill so we arrived back in Golden at 4:15 pm. The 6km downhill at Kicking Horse was terrifying. My fastest speed was 49 km as I was afraid to go much faster on the twisty windy roads. The highlight was the Bighorn sheep. The watermelon Anna had waiting for all of us was sweet. Dinner of spinach salad, bbq chicken and herbed potatoes were equally welcome. Highlight: the Bighorn sheep and meeting another cross-country cycle tour raising money for Kids with Cancer.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009
While the boys did a 100 km ride from Summerland to Osoyoos (which I understand was un-eventful), I did my first solo long-distance ride of 76 km from Summerland to Okanagan Falls and back to Penticton on Lake Okanagan. The last uphill was to Le Frenz winery owned by an Australian vintner for a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc for dinner and a bottle of great Muscat for after-dinner. The scenery was spectacular. The ride was exhilarating. And – I met some interesting people: the young cyclists from www.otesha.cawho were cycling from Calgary to Vancouver and doing plays on sustainability at schools as they go; the drifter who was taking his leather jacket to the flea market so he could sell it for $20 to buy a pedal boat;and the young fellow at the park who was enjoying a bottle of wine at the bottom of the lake and asked if I could put some of my sun-screen on his back and and give him some money for a hoagie because someone stole his back-pack last night. This may be the only time I had to pay to give someone else a massage. Coming home I missed the exit to the service road so decided to ride through about 2-3 feet of ditch off the highway. Wrong ditch! Rode like a “bat outta hell” to get to the campsite and watch all three tires deflate. I picked up spiky thorns and Len had to put three new tubes and tires on my trike after a dinner of pasta with ground turkey, sliced fresh cucumbers with local merlot vinegar and calabrese salad (bocconcini cheese and fresh tomatoes with a local Italian dressing) – with the Le Frenz Sauvignon Blanc of course.

Thursday, June 11, 2009
Every day has provided an “event” – broken converter, flat tires, etc. But today’s “event” brought the trip to a halt until it could be solved. The support vehicle would not start. The BCAA came out and took the vehicle to Summerland (where the fuel pump was replaced) and the boys headed out on the road.  Their adventure for the day was riding on the trike on the back of a pick-up truck for 7 km through a construction area. The view was wonderful and they didn’t even have to pedal. All arrived safely in Kelowna for lunch. After a few mechanical adjustments to the gears, the boys cycled all the way to Vernon BC. We camped at Swan Lake. The boys deserved the beer they drank on arrival – a local called Pils. Len also enjoyed his dark called Okanangan Spring – Pale Ale. Dinner was fresh snapper, basmati rice, garden salad and Sonora Ranch Sauvignon Blanc.Post dinner was carrot cake and Masala Chai tea beside Swan Lake – after the mosquitoes abated.

Day 8 – June 7, 2009

Rose at 5 am to get ferry to Victoria BC. Started at Mile 0 on Trans Canada Highway beside the Terry Fox statue with local TV cameras rolling. Humorous moment: Len lost a screw in his SPD sandal so we couldn’t start the ride because his sandal was stuck in the pedal. Three people struggled to get it off. The boys finally got going to cheers from the team and a few tourists and cycled 30 km to ferry.

Day 9 – June 8, 2009

The boys left early to cycle 88 km from Abbotsford to Hope BC. After getting the electrical problem in the trailer solved (temporarily) we settled in a beautiful campground between  Mt Hope and the Fraser River. Met the boys in Hope. Dinner was bbq pork, rice and Greek Salad. Everybody slept well, especially the “boys”. Highlights: the local strawberry lady who donated a pint of the best strawberries the boys have ever ate (riding euphoria); the bald eagle, and the big yellow butterflies.

Day 1 – May 31, 2009

Sunday was departure day and it took all day to get going…

Packing the vehicles took all morning. After lunch we headed to Chatham ON to pick up the trailer that would be home for the next 110 days. I left getting lessons on how to stabilize the jacks and wheels and empty the septic tank to the boys and spent the afternoon playing ball and hide and seek with the owner’s 3-year old daughter. Someone had to do it.  First stop was Port Huron MI across the border from Sarnia ON. We had a late dinner of chicken in a panini. And we all crashed for our first peaceful sleep in new beds.

Day 2 – June 1, 2009

In the morning we trundled over to the Cracker Barrel Restaurant for gigantic American breakfasts and all compared our aches and pains from sleeping on poor mattresses. Except Aaron. I guess at age 20 – nothing aches – yet.

The drive was going well until we noticed that we had lost a vent on the side of the trailer. The detour to a Camping World for parts and a trip to Walmart in the resort town of Houghton Lake took more time than expected. The day ended with Anna’s great bbq ribs and a bottle of red wine in a campground by Lake Michigan, just past St. Ignace MI.

Day 3 – June 2, 2009

Needed to make up some time, so we had a very long day of driving through some very pretty country along Hwy 2 on south side of Lake Michigan. Just past Deer River MI, and 15 km off Hwy 2, we found a 64 year old fishing lodge with an RV hook-up for the night. Dinner was leftover ribs and potato salad. We ate inside the trailer where we still had to fight off hundreds of mosquitoes. Unfortunately we didn’t get them all and at least one found Judi’s forehead so she looks like she ran into a rake handle (again).

Day 4 – June 3, 2009

Woke up to the sun shining which deceptively hid the fact that it was few degrees above freezing. Got one last glance at the very scenic Tamarack fishing lodge before we hit the road – which would be a long open flat boring drive across the USA prairies of Minnesota and North Dakota. This gave Judi time to load the Canada maps into the GPS before we start cycling. With several crashes and slow download speeds that took most of the day. Dinner was sandwiches on the shoulder of Hwy 52 because there was no place else to stop after Minot ND.

Crossed border at Portal ND. Judi got her bottle of Bombay Sapphire Gin for summer G&Ts. She expects to reward herself at the end of the tough hill-climbing days. Arrived in Estevan SK at about 11pm EDST (9 pm CST). The day ended with a beautiful prairie sunset. (It would appear that Saskatchewan does not move to DST.)

Day 5 – June 4, 2009

We went north from Estevan to Moose Jaw to pick up supplies and new walkie talkies so convoy could communicate better. After quick lunch at Smitty’s headed for the Trans Canada Highway. Highlight of day was seeing potash (or salt) blowing in the wind. It looked like clouds of smoke rising from the earth for miles. Dinner was snacks in car. Arrived at 11:30 pm and stayed in Campground overlooking Olympic Park in Calgary AB.

Day 6 – June 5. 2009

Had brunch in Canmore AB and drove to Kamloops BC. Beautiful mountain driving. Dinner was BBQ steak, baked potato and salad.

Day 7 – June 6, 2009

Arrived in Vancouver at about 3 pm and had lunch with Richard’s cousin. Camped in Delta BC and had snacks for dinner after the trailer developed an electrical problem and we ran out of gas so no cooking ability.

If any of you have ever felt the sting of nettles you know how uncomfortable it can be. So if you were out on a training ride, you probably wouldn’t ride into a thicket of nettles – right? Well I didn’t  intend to, but…

As I approached a very short steep hill in the wrong gear, I really didn’t think that was where I would end up. Wrong gear meant my legs wouldn’t take me up – so I rolled back to try again. You can do that on a trike. Then suddenly “ouch” – I had rolled off the path backwards – into the nettles.

The good news is that I didn’t sit in them (like the ant hill) and the sting went away before I finished the 94 km training ride .

It was a great ride with Mary and Louise (who are riding to Conquer Cancer in a few weeks time).  I cycled for 6 hrs 11 minutes and averaged15.15 kmph. I think that I have proven to myself that I can manage about 100 km a day in average terrain. Feeling confident that I can have some reasonable days on the cross-Canada tour.

Stopped on my way home to buy a new blue rack bag and new red panniers to match my red & blue trike. That should be all of the shopping for now. Both me and the trike will ‘look good’. Even if we don’t go FAST!

So I think I will be ready to go at the end of the week (May 30th).

I know that we are about to ride more than 8500 km and that I should be training to get my mind and body ready for the Blind Guy Biking.  But since I am not athletically-inclined, I can find a zillion reasons for not doing it – “it” being the dreaded “training” word. And here are some recent ones:

1. On Thursday, we were putting new bookcases in the office so I convinced myself that all of the heavy-lifting of boxes of files would qualify as weight training that day. (It does – right?)
2. On Friday, I took my trike in for a tune-up. Doing a long training ride right after to make sure it was well-tuned would have been a good idea. But I thought it was a better idea to go shopping for some new fuchsia gloves and socks to match my fuchsia and black REVERSE Gear warm weather outfit (jersey, camisole and shorts) and red gloves and socks to go with my new RG jersey. And so I convinced myself that the short, fast ride from Urbane Cycle to MEC was “sprint training”.
3. On Saturday, it was raining.  Len said that I will need to ride even if it is raining on the trip, so it is good for me to ”train” in the rain.  My response: “Exactly – so why would I subject myself to it now when I don’t have to”.  So I stayed inside and worked on the route and maps instead.
4. On Sunday, it was cold. Since I have previously been in the Rockies in early June and know it can snow there at that time of year, I felt that I should prepare myself for it, but…  then again maybe it won’t snow this year so I won’t need to train for “cold weather”.  Besides, I rode to the St. Lawrence Market all winter so I already know I can do “cold”!!!
5. On Monday, I had two excuses – my grand-daughter and my music.  I think taking my grand-daughter to the swimming pool is a good substitute for cycling.   I was using my legs as I flutter-boarded across the pool.  Tomorrow when I get around to really “training” those leg muscles, they should be nice and supple (I hope). 
6. This afternoon, I am loading my new iPod.  While it may not be training, it is an essential part of the preparationfor the trip.  I cannot imagine being out there for 3 months without all of my jazz and country favourites.  Not to mention my classical music to go to sleep to.   Hmm, maybe after pedaling for 5-7 hours a day I may not have much trouble falling asleep – just maybe?

Well stay posted to hear more about our “training”, I do intend to start sometime before we leave next week…

When I was younger, my mother used to say I had “ants in my pants” to describe my high level of energy and activity. But yesterday while doing a  training ride for the Blind Guy Biking tour – I actually did have “ants in my pants”.  And boy did they hurt. I do not know what made me ride home faster – the ant bites or the fact that it was “raining cats and dogs”.

So you are probably wondering – how did the ants get there?

Because it is not summer, many of the toilets in the parks along the bike trails are not yet open. Having drunk copious amounts of water, and being in need of relief, I raced back to one that I knew was open along the trail. Ooops, we missed the sign-posts and were now several minutes past it. I did not want to go back up the big hill so I decided the bush would just have to do. (Practice for the many times crossing Canada this summer where I will be between towns etc.)

As I walked back to the trike I felt a sharp prick. Thinking that I must have  picked up a twig in the soft fleece of my REVERSE Gear tights  I reached inside to remove it. What I pulled out was a big black ant. Suddenly – ouch – another prick on my hamstring.  And out came another. Two ants – but six big painfully itchy welts when I came home.

I could not wait to get into the whirlpool to soothe my cold, soggy, itchy body. Not surprising, I had done only 43 km rather than the 60 -80 that was my goal when I woke up in the morning.

Also not surprising, I decided that I would rather stay at the computer on Sunday and work on the route plans and the media kits for the cross-Canada ride than cycle in the chilling 6 -12 C that greeted us on this sunny Mother’s Day.

Greeting to all of the mothers out there, including my friends, sisters and daughters. Hope all of you had a wonderful Mother’s Day. I certainly had a productive one – at home! No ants – just me and a warm cuppa tea this afternoon.