Quebec
June 27 - We returned to the bike shop
this morning and the proprietor was an awesome fellow. He gave us the tool we needed to fix the spokes. Then we
just rode for the day for 6 hrs and 30 min doing 188 km. We were trying to find a campground and were sent to an RV
park by a kind stranger, but were turned away as it was a private site. We backtracked 18 km to find a churchyard near
Berthieville and crashed for the night.
June 28 - A little slower going today.
We biked for about an hour and a half at a time and just took in the sites.
And of course we had to fix some spokes.
The roads at this end of the country are the worst we've seen - even worse than Saskatchewan! But they do have
good bike lanes We are getting to be pretty efficient at fixing spokes now, especially with the proper tools and parts.
We are staying at Campground Panoramic (said with a french accent - of course) which is near Portneuf. Tenting
is a mere $23 dollars and the showers are expensive too - but at least there are showers. We are greatful. At
quiet time, someone gets on the loudspeakers to announce it and anything else they think the campers should be aware of.
We made 115 km today in 5 hrs and 20 mins
June 29 - We went through
Quebec City today over a huge bridge which was pretty awesome. The rain started coming down about midday so we waited
out the storm at a gas station. Since it was lunch time, we made and ate our lunch there too. We made 115 km in
5 1/2 hrs and are staying in a campground about 20 km west of Montmagny.
June 30 - It's beautiful
riding along this highway beside the St. Lawrence. These are places we have only heard about or seen on maps.
We had a great riding day today with no breakdowns. Erik took a spill but had no major injuries - just a few scratches.
Now we've all had a turn. We met with a couple at a road side stop who are from Windsor Ontario. They are an awesome couple
on their way to their summer home on Prince Edward Island and gave us a donation. We are camping tonight at Campground
Le Passant near Riviere Du-Loup. Today we logged 140 km in 5 hrs and 40 min of riding.
New Brunswick
July 1 - Happy Canada Day everyone.
We have had a difficult day of riding today with a head wind all afternoon and huge hills again. We are in pretty good
shape for riding but now we are looking forward to being done and getting back to our families. We are looking forward
to a rest day when we get to Halifax. One of our roommates for next year, Lauren Lindsay lives there, and her family
has a cottage by the ocean so we feel it would be a great place to rest up before the final burst. We are just SE of
Edmundston at a great campground. We have all just finished our showers and are getting ready to have supper.
143 km in 6 hrs and 15 min today.
Sorry for the delay - the 'webmistress' has had a computer virus and it has
delayed the entries. We are better now !
July 2 - It rained all day today. We just put
our heads down and rode through it. We did 145 km in 7 1/2 hours and stopped at Hartland, New Brunswick for the night.
We are camping at a golf course RV park and it's still raining like crazy so we are actually shacked up in the shower building
for the night. It's quite large and lots of room to open up all the wet gear and dry it before morning.
July 3 - We were hoping to wake up to sunshine, but
such was not the case Mike broke a spoke and blew a tire so we are held together with duct tape and shoe strings. - It's not
that bad, really, we have become quite inventive. We arrived St. John New Brunswick and stopped at the visitor info
center to find somewhere to camp and a grocery store. The lady there was very kind as gave us the directions we needed so
we headed off to buy food for our supper and breakfast. While we were shopping, she found us there, and insisted we stay in
her basement out of the rain. We were very grateful and took her up on her offer. We have to get up early in the
morning to catch the ferry to Nova Scotia. We did an amazing 225 km today in 9 hrs and 25 min. Our biggest day
yet.
July 4 - We got on the ferry at 9:00 and slept for the 3 hour
crossing. We arrived in Nova Scotia early afternoon and faced huge hills for the first 60 km. Straight up and
straight down. Mike had another flat and put on the good, old one. Kind of like wearing your cleanest, dirtiest
clothes from the hamper. We are looking forward to getting to Halifax to replace some tires. We are in Middletown,
Nova Scotia and are staying in a campground and soaking in a Hot Tub. Life can be good. We biked 88 km today.
July 5 - We limped into Halifax late in the day and arrived
at our friend Lauren Lindsay's house. We will be here for a day or two to get tires and rest up for the rest of the
trip. Erik is a little under the weather and we all need the break. We had supper at a friend of Ryan and Erik's
dad tonight and put in 160 km today.
July 6 - 9 - 4 days of rest, relaxation a a bit of media
and maintenence for bikes and boys. We spent some time at the ocean at Lauren's family cottage and made plans for the
last leg of the trip. We booked our ferry crossing tickets to NewFoundLand and then our plane tickets home. Home.
We can hardly wait now.
July 10 - We left Halifax this morning and rode through
mist all day. Quite cold with 100 % humidity and a hanging dampness. We are camped 25 km west of New Glascow after
riding 150 km in 6 hrs and 40 min.
July 11 - Sunday today and pretty good day of riding,
but eventful. We were heading down a hill near Merigomish at 40 km/hr and the road curved at the bottom to
cross a bridge. We were doing okay until we hit the wet metal mesh at the beginning of the bridge. Erik and Mike
did a slip and slide but hung on, but Ryan wasn't so lucky. He wiped out skidding along the pavement and his loaded
bike landed on his leg too. He lost a 'bit' of skin on his leg so we fixed him up the best we could with our first aid
kit. We had to stop after a bit to adjust his bandages and Ryan's scrapes were noticed by a man who took us into his
home so Ryan could be attended to by his wife who works with Home Care. They fed us lunch and sent us off with more
supplies for Ryan's leg. We didn't think this hospitality could be equalled until we were looking for a campground for
the night. We were in Port Hastings and eventually decided to knock on doors to see if we could camp in someone's yard.
The first door opened and before we could say a word, we had an invitation to camp wherever we liked. When we could
introduce ourselves, they mentioned that they had seen us on Halifax's breakfast TV show a few days ago. We set up tent
and they let us cook our meal in their kitchen, use their shower and visit with them and their 3 kids until we turned in for
the night. We biked 142 km in 6 hrs and 30 min today.
Thank you to the folks in the Maritimes for your hospitality you have shown since
we arrived..............
July 12 - We had an awesome day of riding today.
Sunny, hot, a light breeze. We are riding close to Bras d'Or Lake which is a huge inland sea. The scenery is breathtaking
- we just can't get enough. We arrived in North Sydney at 5:15 and met Nancy Young, who is a teacher that we met and
St. Vincent de Paul's elementary school in Toronto. She is here with her mom Sarah, for the summer and we had arranged
to meet before we took the ferry to NFL. We went for supper and they bought us some groceries for the next few days.
We had to be at the ferry terminal for the 10 pm departture and were there in good time. Once on board, we met a couple
from Collingwood, Ontario who left Vancouver May 3rd and are also heading for St. John's They have a web site http://maggeemann.kicks-ass.net that would be fun to check out. We are going to try and get some sleep as we won't be into Port
aux Basques until about 4 am.
July 13 - We arrived in Port at 4:30 and made our breakfast
in the ferry terminal. We followed the example of some others and slept in the terminal til about 9 am before we headed
out. We are now an extra 1/2 hour ahead and it's a bit harder trying to think of what time it is at home.
We had a great sunny day of biking today with awesome scenery still. Erik's rim is in bad shape with the spokes poking
through, but we are hoping it will hang in there a few more days. We are camped in the Barachois Pond Provincial
Park, fed, watered, and ready for bed at 9 pm. We biked 160 km in 6hrs and 55 min today.
July 14 - Hot day today but
we had a good bike ride and made great time. What an awesome place for such a journey - we highly recommend it!
Today was uneventful and we ended up about 40 km east of Deer Lake. There are no campgrounds but we did find a spot
to camp. We are set up behind a convenience store in the middle of nowhere that has been closed since May due to a fire.
The owners house is right next door and he gave us his blessing. He has no power or phone here and about an hour after
we set up he came out with his wrenches and fired up the diesel generators. Troopers that we are though, we fell asleep
without even finishing complaining about the noise! We biked 158 km today in 6 hrs and 9 min.
July 15 - Hot and sunny again
today but a wicked headwind. Uphill both ways again too! Awesome day though. We pulled into Grand Falls
Windsor to a town full of people. Apparently we came to town during the Salmon Festival when the town triples in size.
Colin James and Bryan Adams are playing - tomorrow night - and we are more excited to keep going than stay and see them -
there'll be another time......... Anyway - we arrived late and tired and needed to find a store and a campground.
We stopped a lady during her walk to ask her and she actually offered us a place in her yard and her showers. We just
can't believe these people here. Amazing. Then she went off to the store to buy groceries and made us a big supper
after they let us use their phone to call our families under their long distance phone plan. Mike's mom got an email
from them and it follows:
Hi,
My name is Linda Tuck & my husbands name is Lester ... we live in Grand
Falls / Windsor Newfoundland. I crossed paths with your boys last night as I was having my daily walk and decided to
bring them home with me. You must be so proud of these guys ... so young yet so determined to make a difference.
My husband and I enjoyed our visit with them and listening to their stories
about their journey's.
We sent them to bed with full tummies and sent them off this morning to continue the last
leg of their journey with full tummies. I am so glad to have met these guys & helped in just a small way on their travels.
I pray God's continued protection on them as they continue and blessings on them as they
move on into what I am sure is a very bright future.
Hopefully our paths cross again some time.
Linda
July 16 - Lots of hills and headwinds again
today. Very hot too - we are pooped. No campsites again, but always ones to make do, we found a spot on a pull
off before a bridge on the side of the highway just east of Gambo. There are some folks fishing in the river and as
they are in hipwaders in the middle of the river, the current must not be too bad, so we may go for a dip. We made 142
km today in 6 hrs and 35 min. 2 more days!!!
July 17 - One more day to go!! We had a hot, hot day today
as we hear most of the country did. We also had an extremely harsh head wind and very hilly. The scenery is incredible.
Ryan's rim is falling apart, so we took it off his bike and put it on Mike's bike as he is lighter. Spoke's are breaking
but we don't care, we'll make it. We are near Tickle Harbour after 143 km in 7 1/2 hrs. No campsites again but
we found an awesome spot beside the highway and set the tent up on about a foot of moss. Sweet dreams tonight.
After the sweltering day, the fog rolled in tonight and it's very chilly. Tomorrow we arrive in St. John's. Yipee!!!
July 18 - WE DID IT !! We
arrived in St. John's NewFoundLand late this afternoon, tired but not even feeling it. We are very happy, overwhelmed,
excited and so much more. We biked over 7 hours today over hill, over dale, and it was still very hot. We had
a great sleep last night on our moss bed, and for the first time, we cooked ourselves some bacon while camping and ate 2 lbs
between us ! Don't worry, we had it all used up by mid morning. The troublesome rim is ready for the garbage but
it got us here. We rode around the harbour at mile 0 and took pictures that we'll post once we get home. We are
staying at friends of Ryan and Erik's family for a couple of days and then we fly to our respective homes on Wednesday July
21st. Mike will be in Saskatoon at 11:30 am leaving St. John's at 5:30 am but will end up being 8 hours of travel time.
Ryan and Erik leave at 5:15 am and are flying to Toronts so will be home even sooner. We are so excited and ready to
be preparing to go home. The trip has been a journey within a journey and is something we will never forget. The
fundraising total for the Cancer Society will be tallied and we'll post it when we know. Our total biking kilometers
was 7999 km in 340 hours of pedaling. Thank you to our great country of Canada for looking after us and to our families,
old friends and new friends who have supported us along the way. We will have a post journey page on the web site when
we are home with some info and tips on doing what we have done and there will be more pictures so keep posted. As to
the daily postings, this will be it for a while but check back to see some new stuff in a while. The site will be maintained
at least til the end of September. Thanks again -
Mike, Ryan and Erik......
