Big Pond, Cape Breton is a tiny little town on Bras d’Or Lake (Biosphere Reserve UNESCO—largest saltwater lake in the world) where Rita McNeil spent time as she was growing up. We did it. Thank you Dr Curtis Rytz. And really, if someone did catch a glimpse, it’s okay; they’ll recover, lol.Â. They and their 4 kids had just gotten back from a camping trip. If I buy them I’m liable to make my jaw sore from eating them, one after the next, until they’re gone. Now what? God had his hand on us throughout the trip; of this I am sure. We thought he was waving at someone else. We expressed our gratitude and rode off. Watch! The time was being eaten up and it wasn’t long before we had to go back to the hills. // 2020 Tours. My blog posts from cycling in Canada. Around the bend were a group of young girls selling hot dogs, chips, pop and Gatorade for fundraising donations to help one of them , Kaitlin, go to Ontario to play interprovincial fast-ball. Chris joined Travel Nation as a round the world specialist in 2011 and is also one of our Business Class consultants. Yes, that would be great. So I don’t buy them……often. I don’t know if I’d ever do it again………and yet, it was the most amazing, the most incredible, summer I’ve ever had.”. You took us in to your homes and treated us like welcome family members.  He was still in touch with the two young guys, Chris and Matthew who kept inviting him to “wild camp “with them. Along the way, you’ll see the Rocky Mountains and a variety of wildlife – including a wolf sanctuary. This route passes through the heart of the Canadian Rockies with views that you have to see to believe. Cycle Canada, The Veloforce Corporation is a Canadian owned and operated company. His had been frustrating and confusing. We met another cyclist too; a tall, blonde, blue-eyed, muscular, tanned…..oh, I couldn’t describe him. Not in a derogatory manner, but in a kidding, lighthearted way. Do you want to just live vicariously through those who have? If you’re looking for a relatively flat biking route, then … “Oh yeah, there are some good singers around these parts”. We hung out with Dale a bit, then set up our tent. However, we were crazy enough to attempt this feat by bicycle and it sparked the beginning of one of the greatest adventures of our life. Thank you that I have a great job to go back to, as does Charlie. Today we were headed to Cape Breton Island. An hour or so before we were expected by our “Warm Showers ” hosts, we reluctantly peeled ourselves off the plastic seats and headed to the grocery store. Did you get a chance to cycle on the Trans-Canada Trail and is it a viable option for cyclists? One night she went to a party at Mark’s house, just as a friend, just as a friend, and who should open the door but her favourite customer, Mark’s dad. We were a bit early so we stopped at Tim’s. Since we have some leisure time banked, we decided to do just that.”Come on up to the house” Pat said, “and you can get settled in.”Â. Thank you Willy and Rebecca for your support during the coldest, soggiest part of the trip between Kenora and Thunder Bay. He really enjoys helping other families put together trips they’ll never forget. We are camping at the edge of an old tennis court on someone’s property. After dinner we walked up to the Templeton’s spacious, comfortable home. I added another layer of clothing before we headed off. As we were facing 80 km riding hills  the next day, we splurged for a cabin and I’m glad we did! We didn’t need rain gear but we hàd it at hand. The TDA Foundation has always been an integral part of TDA Global Cycling’s vision and is an important part of the company, one that remains close to the heart of all our team members. We were mutually delighted to see each other again as yesterday we had not even shared our names. Then last fall we started to think very seriously about it, realizing that if you don’t take hold of your dreams and make the effort to make them realities, they will remain as they are, dreams, vapours. We made and ate our breakfast on the stairs of the building beside the church and were ready to walk in at the top of the hour. Charlie was knocked off balance, tried to recover and failed, landing on his back. The bottom 3 or 4 floors are full of vehicles and there are more than 600 people on board. Hills again ahead. There were switchback hills leading up to it. Three emergency vehicles showed up, with a total of 7 people.  I will email her and ask her for her blog site; she couldn’t remember it off hand.Â. She can zoom in on that spot.                                                     Butt….what about you? August 11, 2017, Day 82, Holyrood to Signal Hill, St. John’s, Newfoundland. Thanks also to friends who kept in touch. Thanks to the host’s we never even had the opportunity to meet who still gave us shelter for the night in their homes. He told us about the new bed Sharon insisted they buy. Their daughter, Abbey, a redhead who inherited her flaming locks from both parents, is fluent in Japanese and is working as an OT in Halifax. Nice weather, this final day of cycling across Canada. Maura, our sister-in-law, married to Jol, drove up with two of her adult kids, Emily and Matthew. Allow a minimum of two weeks though really three to four weeks woul… Alex, Ian’s brother told us that when Ian was in his mid-twenties, living and working way up north as a researcher, he was in an aeroplane accident that claimed the life of the pilot and changed Ian’s life forever. This from our camping host, Dale, of “Chippin’ Dales” famous fish and chips. This list is an attempt to highlight some of the best blogs about bicycle touring that can be found on the web.   The inside, though, has been updated somewhat without jarring the ambience. There were hills to climb! The EMS checked Charlie out and he was, as we knew, fine. “Have we finished?” Willy, Charlie’s youngest brother called from work, “Were we done yet?” No, but soon. I barely noticed him, as you can tell. I’m hot……. Mark, one of Charlie’s brothers, (3rd brother), and Pauline, his wife met us there and drove us to Ian Cameron’s home.  These days are more leisurely as we have less than 100 km to do and 3 days to do them so we can putter a bit and certainly, we could sleep in for an extra hour. Ian Cameron’s house in Meadowville, Pictou County might be the exception. My water tastes weird. We anticipate 100 or more days in the saddle (ow) – roughly 80kms a day. A man and his grandson stopped by and the elder told us about his cross Canada biking trip two years ago. We just wanted it on record should a problem arise later in relation to this injury. I am grateful for everything they did and for every blessing and good wish sent our way. Resources for biking across Canada. We wanted to leave as soon as possible and cause no interruption to their routine. I’d biked throught the Rockies, across the prairies, through never-ending and challenging Ontario, hospitable Quebec  and the mainland Martimes, pretty PEI and now on this final ascent in Newfoundland, I’d be damned if I’d walk my bike up any part of this last formidable hill. It was as far as I could get. I risked losing Charlie to take a few pictures. Proudly I told her how we’d started May 22nd, and blah, blah, blah…. It’s just a tiny little place on the water’s edge with a long, long lineup.  ………Really?………. Quickly, we stripped the bed, dressed, packed, and carried our bags upstairs. I can’t remember whole songs, only bits of them, and those parts reverberated in my head over and over and over again.  They have never met us before and not only have they opened their home to us, now they’ve leant us their car. “Mind” and “blowing” are words that will come to mind along the 230-km … Our first week took us through Fraser Canyon, with quiet roads winding beside a stunning canyon created by the Fraser river. If you make a qualifying purchase through one of these links, I may receive a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you.  “Out you go”. He did all the work finding us “Warm Showers” hosts and figuring out the best way to get from point to point. Bill Baggs Bikes and Baggs // 2019 Tours. It doesn't seem to matter how often I wash and change them. We got there in plenty of time. I had tremendous help and support every step of the way!!!! Learn about the ride... La Randonnée Tour du Canada Thanks to Chantal and Aria, we were snug and comfy on the inside. That also includes people that have had other adventures, like hiking the West Coast Trail or something similar. Gone were our days of watching what we ate - we were ‘forced’ to choose the highest calorie snack on the shelf and how we loved it! Gulf Islands, BC biking – a fun way to explore the islands. BikeHacks 5. We planned, schemed, dreamed about it. Charlie and I discussed how unimpressed we’d be with a stop in Sydney if we were on a cruise. This post includes some affiliate links. Cycle America provides a variety of supported bicycle trips. In 3 months, we would cycle 7500km from Vancouver on the West coast to Halifax on the East across the second largest country in the world, a route chosen so that the prevailing winds would be behind us. We made our lunch and as we were waiting another cross Canada cyclist pulled up. The hospital was not far and when we got there, there was nobody in line up for blood work. 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