Freedom.

What is freedom? It’s the right to choose, it’s the right to refuse, the right to do anything or even the right to do nothing. Maybe freedom can be as simple as becoming unencumbered. To steal a metaphor from the most American of pastimes, baseball - this is what today was. On my bike tour it was like I was swinging two bats in the on-deck circle, today I dropped one and swung for the fences.

Calgary is an awesome place to ride a bike through. Once upon a time the powers that be decided to crosshatch the city with paved bike paths facilitating commuting and riding throughout the city without ever crossing a city street. This morning I left my parent’s house in the far northwest of the city and headed downtown. Within 5 minutes of leaving the house I was on the pathway system and headed south. Mid-week, mid-morning the path was all mine. Gone was the rack loaded with gear. Gone was the handlebar bag, the flag, the florescent vest, the GPS, the expectation of miles, the wonder of where I might sleep tonight. The bike felt light as a feather, like an overpowered muscle car just begging to go faster.

The perfect pavement urged me faster and faster. Like an un-caged animal I let loose, standing up on the peddles, giving it all I got. Paralleling the freeway I felt like I was gaining on the semi-trucks. Where once they used to clip at my heels, today I was making my own way, on my own road. Soon enough I was downtown. I played and danced among the traffic, trackstanding at the red lights and running the yellows when the coast was clear. Hopscotching uptown I weaved up the one-ways and down the side streets. Bump onto the sidewalk, skip to the front of the traffic line and beat them across the intersection. mashing on the pedals, music raging in my earphones. Sunkist pavement, lunchtime pedestrians fill the street, I weave through them like a game of mouse and cat.

After a day of play it was time to head home. Back onto the bike path and hammer the pedals all the way home. 55km for the day and it feels like child’s play. Seems appropriate – the freedom to play.

While I was in town I picked up this t-shirt – never more an appropriate find.

shirt detail

The Final Recap

Distance - 2000km
Location – Burlington, Ontario – Winnipeg, Manitoba
Accommodation – hotel 90% of the time, camping 10%
Weight before ride – 175lbs
Weight after ride – 165lbs
Thigh circumference before ride – 19.5”
Thigh circumference after ride – 23”
Days riding – 14
Average distance per day – 143km
Rest days – 3
Number of days with significant hills – 13
Number of days with rain – 4
Furthest day – 216km
Number of days over 160km (100miles) – 5
Number of flat tires - 2
Song of the trip – Alive – Pearl Jam

I'm in there somewhere, on the right about half way to the stage.

Beard status – there is was… gone

Photo of the trip – The Road

The List

It seemed to be a common denominator, whoever I met as I was on my bike ride would always say, “wow, you don’t have a lot of stuff!” it’s true I went mega-light, but I did have all that I needed. So I thought I’d show you what I took and point out some stuff that was in the ‘must have’ category.

L to R top to bottom

1 – Marmot ultralight rain jacket
2 – Mountain Equipment Co-Op Drifter +15 sleeping bag
3 – Thermarest Z-Lite sleeping pad
4 – Patagonia zip-off trousers
5 – Mountain Hardware fleece shirt
6 – Specialized Cycling shoes
7 – Pearl Izumi Cycling jersey
8 – shower cap from hotel (used to cover handlebar bag in rain)
9 – toothbrush (with handle cut off)
10 – Integral Designs SilTarp
11 – water bottles (x2)
12 – Canon HD Video Camera
13 – tensor bandage
14 – Patagonia Capaline boxer shorts
15 – zip-ties
16 – MEC arm warmers
17 – Seal Line 20L Drybag
18 – Giro bike helmet
19 – Icebreaker Superfine wool t-shirt
20 – Ibuprophen
21 – Solio Solar charger (charges iPod, Cell phone, GPS, etc.)
22 – camera case
23 – passport
24 – extra tape for video camera
25 – extra battery for video camera
26 – sun glasses
27 – 8GB USB stick
28 – Petzl Headlamp
29 – Canada flag
30 – maps
31 – micro bike lock
32 – 10m of cord
33 – camera battery charger
34 – tent pegs (x4)
35 – solar charger cables
36 – cell phone charger
37 – iPod Charger
38 – Garmen Etrex Legend CX GPS
39 – cell phone
40 – iPod
41 – handlebar bag
42 – Pearl Izumi bike shorts
43 – sunscreen
44 – Pearl Izumi Bike gloves
45 – Icebreaker running socks
46 – MEC mini dry bag
47 – cycle computer
48 – bike lights
49 – Leatherman
50 – hand sanitizer
51 – extra screws
52 – tire levers
53 – spare break pads
54 – eye glasses
55 – reflective vest
56 – energy bars
57 – Buff headscarf
Not pictured – Canon G9 digital camera, Gary Fisher Wingra touring bike, ASUS Eee PC 8.9" netbook laptop compter and case, flipflops, Chafe ease cream, bike tool, extra tube, patch kit.

So what were the most valuable pieces of gear? The shower cap was invaluable, the iPod kept me sane, the GPS kept me on track, the good quality bike shorts were worth every cent.

What didn’t I use? Cell phone charger, USB stick, lights, spare break pads.

Total weight – 22lbs (not including bike)

That’s it and that’s all. Other then a few extra bits and pieces that I didn’t use, I was super happy with everything I brought. I wasn’t left wanting anything and wasn’t ready to ditch anything in the bush along the way.

The End

if you can't see this special video post - click HERE to go straight to the source.

Day 14

When I woke up I was tired and sore. Even though I’d just had a few days of rest I was still knackered. It was a deep seeded tiredness that just won’t go away until I actually stop and stop for a long while.

The headwinds were back and worse. It was always going to be a big day – I was planning on clocking up around 160km. trouble is, the town at 160km had no place to stay for the night. All there was to do was keep going. And keeping going meant going all the way to Winnipeg. By the time I got here, I’d clocked up 212km for the day. I was shattered. Beyond shattered.

It was a day filled with pain. The accumulated miles of the trip so far were really adding up. My whole body just ached – from the core out. The reality of the adventure was on my shoulders like a ton of bricks. It was decision time. I’d decided from the get-go that this trip was less about seeing the countryside and more about pushing my limits. I wanted to see how far I could push things – and that’s just what I did. Heavy thoughts as I drifted to sleep…

Recap:
Distance - 212km
Location – Winnipeg, Manitoba
Accommodation – hotel
Beard status – Randy “Macho-Man” Savage
Song of the day – Drop D - Betchadupa
Photo of the day – The Road

Day 13

Lucky 13. after a nice break it was time to hit the road again. My cousin Lori and my uncle Gord gave me a ride back to the highway. My first task of the day was to find a bike shop in Dryden to fix a broken spoke. While I was in Dryden I had the chance to catch up with an old friend and fellow blogger Chris Marchand. Chris is the author of the awesome blog Hinterlands – I’ve referenced it plenty of times in the past and it’s part of my daily read. Chris and I go way back, we were great friends back in the Fernie, BC days – circa 2001. We had a great catch up after nearly a decade apart – funny how good friends pick up where you leave off.

The inertia of the rest days, catching up with friends and chilling out was a tangible presence as I started to ride. It was 1pm by the time I was on the highway and heading west. The plan was to head to Kenora – 135km to the west. As soon as the highway swung to the west the wind turned up to full volume. I won’t wax lyrical about it too much, but the short answer was that it sucked. It sucked for a long, long time.

Near to dark I finally arrived in Kenora, tired and over it.

Recap:
Distance - 135km
Location – Kenora, Ontario
Accommodation – hotal
Beard status – “wow, you really do have a playoff beard.” – Chris
Song of the day – Alive – Pearl Jam
Photo of the day – Bigfoot

The art of the rest day

After a good long push around the Great Lakes – the arrivalk in Sioux Lookout for three days of rest was a welcome reprieve. With a gaggle of extended family in town it was a whirlwind of visits, catch-ups and relaxation. In my three days in town there were some real highlights that are best exemplified in these photo’s of the day. On Saturday we headed off to the dump to check out the bears (as you do…)

On Sunday I was part of a bocce ball tournament that was great fun. The action started at 8.30am which coincidently was the time that I had my first beer of the day. This pretty much set the tone for the day… in the end my team which consisted of me, my cousin Jamie, my cousin-in-law Kevin and friend Robbie didn’t exactly light it up. Dispite our passion for the game (trash talking), innate skill (luck) and focus (on drinking) we ended the day with the unenviable record of 0 and 4. ouch. Next year we decided to start drinking at about 5am so by the time the first game starts we’ll be ‘ready’.

On my final day in town I hung out with the family and had a great day seeing everyone. As I went to bed I looked out the window of the cabin and saw this amazing sight. The moon rising over the lake was as bright as day.

Day 12

There is an interesting psychological idea that the human body can only endure what it perceives that it can. Self imposed limits dictate the level of endurance that a person has. The best example of this is the idea of going for a 5km run – when you get to the end you are tired and glad the run wasn’t a km further. The same person could go for a 10km run and come to the same conclusion. So what happens when there is no preconceived end point to a run or a ride? What happens then with that mental barrier that says, I can go no further is removed? Today I found that answer.

After a great catch-up with Graeme last night I turned in early – I knew today was going to be big. My plan was to head west from Thunder Bay towards the town of English River, along Highway 17. I wasn’t planning on staying in English River – I have family in the small town of Sioux Lookout, about 90min north of there. Instead of the lengthy detour, deviating from my east/west route, my cousin Lori was going to meet me on the road and drive me to Sioux, where I’ll stay for the weekend and get ready for the push west.

The day started warm and clear – mist on the lake and a few clouds in the sky. By 11am I had already clocked 100km and felt great. By early afternoon storm clouds were brewing to the west and by 1pm it was raining with the ferocity I have not seen since being caught up in Hurricane Olga in the Caribbean a couple of years ago. It was like the end of the Matrix. Chubby rain fell with such volume that it flooded the ditches and reduced visibility to feet. It was almost too heavy to ride in – almost.

The plan was for Lori to leave Sioux Lookout at 3pm and head east on the highway – likely running into me at around 5pm. By 3pm my speedo was reading 150km for the day. It suddenly dawned on me that I could really be in for an all-time day. I geared up and went for it. For cyclists there are certain benchmark distances that resonate – 100km, 150km, 160km (this equates to 100miles or a century as it’s often referred to) and 200km. I had within my grasps the ever elusive 200km mark for the day. I’d never ridden that far and the fact that I was feeling strong – despite the rain, only encouraged me on.

At 4.30pm I crested 200km for the day. It was raining so hard I didn’t dare get my camera out to snap a photo of the speedometer. I assumed that Lori would be along shortly and decided to keep pedaling – it was keeping me warm in the driving rain and there wasn’t much else to do.

At 5pm I was at 210km and no sign of Lori. I was starting to get a little worried – even though she wasn’t late I was starting to think about a million and one variables. What if her car breaks down? What if in the sheet rain she doesn’t see me? The idea of riding and riding and riding all night was a nagging noise in the back of my head. Unsure of what to do beyond pedaling for however long it took, I just kept going.

At 5.15pm Lori pulled up beside me, rolled down the window and asked if I wanted a ride. I most definitely did! I’d ridden 216km for the day – far and away a new distance record for me – adding 26km to my previous PB only two days ago.

So could I have ridden further? Definitely. Did the fact that I didn’t actually know when the end was help with that? Definitely. Interesting stuff.

So now it’s time to chill out for a few days, catch up with my extended family and leave my bike well enough alone until Tuesday when I continue westward.


Recap:
Distance - 216km (new PB)
Location – Sioux Lookout, Ontario
Accommodation – cabin by the lake
Beard status – “nice playoff beard.” – Lori
Song of the day – The Depression Suite – The Tragically Hip
Photo of the day – Storm Clouds

Day 11

Today was supposed to be easy, supposed to be flat, supposed to be a pre-lunch cruise. As they say the path to hell is paved with good intentions. When I started I was already tired – the excessive mileage from yesterday was already taking its toll.

Up and down again – less then the days previous, but hilly none the less. With only 25km to go before Thunder Bay I was climbing a steady hill when a bug flew right into one of the air vents in my helmet. I wasn’t sure what sort of insect it was until the wasp stung my forehead. By the time I stopped and managed to get my helmet off it had stung me a second time. I screamed obscenities into the wilderness – the trees said nothing in return but the yell seemed to be somehow cathartic.

There was nothing to do but keep going.

I rolled into Thunder Bay around mid day and headed to one of the older hotels in the heart of the city. I parked my bike out front and walked into the lobby – sitting at a computer checking his email was my old friend from my African ride, Graeme.

We had a great day catching up on old times, telling stories of bygone adventures, friends in far away places and plans for the future. We ate and talked for much of the

day. Tomorrow Graeme will head east on his way to St. Johns and I will continue west.

Recap:
Distance - 100km
Location – Thunder Bay, Ontario
Accommodation – hotel
Beard status – “Dude, what’s with the beard?” – Graeme
Song of the day – The Good in Everyone - Sloan
Photo of the day – Scott and Graeme

Day 10

After a relatively easy day yesterday I decided to push it out a bit further today. The morning was chilly with light rain. Much to my annoyance I had to climb the 4km hill from town back up to the main highway. Once I hit the highway things improved quickly – within 15minutes I passed a large black bear hanging out on the opposite side of the highway. It’s fair to say that we surprised each other about equally. I stuck to my side and she stayed on hers. We gave each other a good look as I passed by and I went on my way.

Hill after hill the day melded into the previous few. Steady grind up, fly down the opposite side. The k’s added up and the clouds cleared to make for a warm sunny day.

In the end I rode a new personal best of 190km. I was knackered but pleased. I stopped for the night in the micro town of Nipigon. Far from an aesthetic place the most redeeming feature was the snicker factor of the fact that I stayed in the very dodgy feeling Beaver Hotel.

Recap:
Distance - 190km (PB)
Location – Nipigon, Ontario
Accommodation – hotel
Beard status – Vote for Pedro
Song of the day – Beautiful Day – U2
Photo of the day – The Beaver Hotel