Today we would move from cycling on trails to cycling on roads. This meant having less interaction with people. Road was busy with traffic and at times much narrower. Wind was blowing against us and it seemed like we were going uphill a lot more than down hill. This made for a much you ride.

Having priceless views of the ocean was a highlight. The evening drew nigh as we rolled into Port Renfrew, we were wasted, hungry and had no plans in place for night.

Everything seemed to be closed. Asked at a hikers cabin place if they had room, no luck. Had to keep going and finally saw a take out place open. Asked if she had any suggestions for us for night. After a few ideas she just said why don’t you sleep on my property. We were very grateful for that and she made us supper as we set up our tent. One never knows what will happen when the sun is setting and your very tired. We were so happy to be offered this place.

We got to see what this island is made of: Both, beauty of nature and hospitality of its people. These are a few highlights of the people we saw on this day.

There are the people who remained nameless who offered advice and a helping hand. There was a person at Tim’s who was very positive and said you can do it. (Cycle to Port Hardy). He talked of his son who cycles and visits his home in Victoria. He didn’t feel safe cycling so he took the bus for the first time to Langford for only $9.

We met Raymond who grew up in Winnipeg. He talked of delivering the Free Press in the River Heights region. Had a brother who lived on Borebank very close to where we live. He talked of owning a car at Kelvin high school, only 2 other students had cars at that time. He had lots of friends in high school because he allowed them to smoke in his car. When we told him we were cycling to Port Hardy. He says: “Your what, no way, you will never make it”. We parted laughing.

As we were looking at a road sign we met Pelle Gustavo. He offered to cycle with us so we knew where to go. For at least 25 km’s we cycled together as he explained historical facts about the area. It was such a pleasure cycling with this very kind young man.

This is Saturday July 29th, this post could not get done last night due to no cell service. We will once again be out of cell service range tonight and for much of Sunday.

I am trying to understand what it means to take a day off from a vacation. You are already on vacation, so why take a day off from it.

I googled taking a day off from a vacation, but there was no useful information. So next I googled, what does taking a day off mean. The answer: to stop one’s activity for the day or for the present; quit temporarily.

That describes us for the day, we stayed in Victoria to enjoy what it has to offer. For the second night we are staying in the same Airbnb.

We still needed to get around the city so our bodies were the means of transportation. Our walking totalled 15,532 steps and we cycled 23 km’s.

Tomorrow we are back on vacation and plan to be in the Sooke area for night.

A note to family members to not worry about lack of contact for the next couple of days. We could be in and out of cell phone range for much of the time. This includes not being able to update the blog. It’s an unknown until we are actually out there.

I think the joy of traveling by bicycle is best expressed by writing a love poem. The poem is not the greatest, but hopefully you will feel the love.

The two wheeled bicycle sat in the van for days.

Crying out, “Oh, where is my rider?”

Today everything changes; the rider and bicycle meet again.

It is pure love and joy for the first 8 km’s.

“It’s time for a break,” the rider says.

“This email must be sent before 12 noon.”

Rider and bicycle continue on, still very much in love.

They cycle past water, flowers and trees.

Rider says, “It’s time for some food.”

“Food while cycling tastes the best!”

On the outskirts of the city of Victoria the rider starts to get lost.

But being lost is wonderful with a bicycle.

Once in the city, finding the Airbnb is like oil on a chain.

It is time now to rest the body and find a place for supper.

The end of the poem, but only the beginning of our lovely journey.

For supper Cheryl and I ate at a restaurant called “The Oaks Restaurant”. Building was built in 1912 and originally housed a grocery store. It changed to an antique shop in the 70’s. This later changed to a tea shop in 1975. Using their name Parsons it originally was known as “The Parson’s Blethering Place”

According to Oxford, “Blethering” is Scottish for… “voluble senseless talking”!

That was our first day of riding bike.

Just like this post, it was a day of blethering.

Paul and Adele served a wonderful breakfast to start the day. Left Vancouver at noon to catch the 2 pm ferry to the island.

Hosted by Cheryl’s cousin Marion and her husband Gerald on Vancouver Island. This is where we will park the van and start cycling on Wednesday morning.

After 2369.5 km’s of driving we can finally start cycling. No more yawning at the wheel as I drive. Now we can slow down and enjoy the views at 20 km/h.

Note: This post was originally written on July 25th. Due to some technical issues it only got posted 24 hours later.

Left Medicine Hat well rested with our stomachs full. Quickly learned to drive as fast as everyone else.

Some 700 km’s later we arrived in Sicamous, BC. Stayed with Cheryl’s High school friend Trina and her husband Mark. They were so nice to us and showed around the area.

Monday mid afternoon we got to Vancouver, after stopping in Abbotsford to see the bike shop that is a part of Harv Bergens life. Staying the night at Paul and Adele in Vancouver.

Tomorrow we make our way to the island and start cycling on Wednesday.

Highlights from our first day on the road heading to Vancouver Island.

Saw a cyclist who was loaded down and was pulling a trailer with a dog. We stopped and wanted to hear his story. But he had no time for us and kept going.

Got to 37 degrees today. A very good day to be sitting in a cool van and not cycling.

We are thankful for a safe day of driving. Days Inn provided us a bed and Montana’s the meal. Medicine Hat is our stop for night.

We have moved into the third R of the “ride, rest, reflect” triad of alliteration.

Quote of the weekend: “Touring by bicycle can be a metaphor for life. Each day comes with highs, lows and there are always struggles that need to be overcome…

OK, it sounded better in my head…” Gerald (after ordering food and before a nap)

Why interviews? Well, CTV news never got back to us and we had things we wanted to say! Also, Amelia thought it would be fun, (until she had to type up everything that was said…).

Amelia interviews Gerald:

A: How did this trip compare to other tours that you’ve done? (What was the same/different?)

G: Cycling is such a unique way to travel because the pace is so different. Cycling really causes you to slow down. All tours (for me) come with the struggle of sleeping and eating properly. There is the unknown of where you’re going to sleep and the importance of refuelling often. I find I need to fill my tank fully with regular meals. Food is interesting. I’ve learned over time what the right foods are for me to have as snacks along a ride (example: ice cream is a no, no while cycling). 

A big difference between this trip and others was that I was completing it with another person. On top of that, you have never done this before. I found there was a different lead up in that I needed to do my due diligence to ensure you were prepared. At the same time, I had a strong desire to care for you as my daughter. On the trip, I recognized the need to listen to one another without judgement before honouring the other persons needs. It helps to have the same mindset and build a relationship of respect with the other person.

A: What surprised you about cycling with me?

G: I was surprised by your endurance and your willingness to do more. I was not expecting to bike all the way to Kenora, because the end is usually the end, so 5 stars to you! I was also surprised by your flexibility and how well you adapted to unknown conditions. For example, on our second day when the forecast was calling for rain and thunderstorms you weren’t worried! But I was feeling protective and paternal, so that was interesting. Lastly, it was fun to recognize how similar we are when we are hungry. We had an idea of how to relate to each other (what to say and what NOT to say) when the other was in need of food.

A: What was the most challenging part of this trip?

G: The challenging part of any cycling trip is that there are so many unknowns. There are unknowns in regards to sleeping location and physical energy levels, as well as variables beyond your control such as wind direction and speed. This trip had the added challenge of maintaining cleanliness, which was not planned!

A: What comments do you have about the places we slept for night on this trip?

G: Sleeping in different places wasn’t really all that new for me. Although, I have never experienced going into a building unauthorized before! I find it helpful to have an idea of places to set up the tent in mind. What matters most to me is that I feel safe.

A: Would you ever go on another cycling trip with me?

G: I would love to! I would love to do another cycling trip with anyone (especially family), but we would have to have an agreed upon style. 

A: What are you planning for your next cycling trip?

G: Tip, to tip, to tip—a tour of Vancouver Island— a trip that almost occurred this summer with Cheryl until you interjected. (A: I was more serious when I first expressed interest in going across Manitoba then was originally understood. To summarize: plans changed!)

A: What other thoughts do you want to share?

G: This trip was a rare opportunity. I am glad that we were able to do this together. We were actually able to do it. And we had so much fun! I feel proud and fulfilled. 

A: I learned a lot from you on this trip—the importance of having cash when travelling and criteria for night lodging being just a few examples. You made this trip memorable and I feel so blessed that we did this together. For you, I would pick out all the corn nuts from the snack mix so you would be more willing to eat it. Thank you for your planning and then for allowing all the plans to change as we turned a trek across Manitoba into an adventure.

*We want to extend a huge thank you to YOU! It was so fun to write for an audience. Each of your comments and thoughts meant so much to us and we are so grateful for your support and prayers over the blessedly sunny past two weeks. 

Your support has far exceeded our expectations. To date, we have raised $8155 to support MCC’s work in the Ukraine! Thank you!!

Our donation page will remain open for another month, so you can still share our fundraising efforts with others. (And while you’re sharing, you may as well pass on a link to this blog!)*

Rested, reflected and (now) retired, 

Gerald and Amelia

The bike wheels are idle. Helmets dangle from handlebars and the bike chains threaten to grease anything that gets too close. We sit, not on the saddles, but within the comfortable confines of bucket seats within the Grand Caravan. We’re going home. 

Cheryl (graciously) came to pick us up. She joined in our final adventures in Kenora and listened to our stories (many of which she had already read on this blog). 

Today, Amelia went shopping with her Mom while Gerald found the “Man’s bench” or hoovered by the door and attempted to sleep standing up. We ate ice cream, enjoyed a beach and got lost, found and lost again on a hike. (In the end we completed a portion of three different trails and managed to find our way back to the entrance relatively unscathed.) 

For dinner, we revisited the Nite Hawk Cafe in West Hawk Lake (our lunch spot on day 11). Satisfied and sleepy, we are now on our way home. After cycling for 10 days, this trip with take only 2.5 hours. 

Due to the sleepy state of these writers, the interview with Gerald will be posted tomorrow.

Looking forward to sleeping in our own beds tonight,

Gerald and Amelia

After cycling 983 kms over the past 11 days, we exercised our walking legs today by exploring stores around Kenora. We ended the day with a tour on the M.S. Kenora—an informative tour and scenic cruise rolled into one.

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When you’re writing a daily blog documenting a cycling trip, having a day when you’re not cycling appears problematic. When we first decided to take a day off, we also discussed what we would share for that day’s blog. Amelia came up with the idea of interviewing one another. Surprisingly, enough happened on our day off (see Day 8) that we never shared our interviews of one another with you. Now that we have completed the trip we were documenting and sharing on this blog, we will take time to share our interviews. Today will feature Amelia’s answers to Gerald’s questions.

Gerald interviewing Amelia:

*These questions were asked and answered on day 8 of our travels. At that point we were about 2/3 of the way through our trip.*

G: In preparing for this trip, I suggested that it was just as important to be mentally prepared as it is to be physically prepared. Having travelled well over 600 kms now, what are your thoughts on this statement?

A: I agree that there needs to be a balance between physical and mental preparation. Mental preparation involves developing an open mindset, which allows for acceptance of whatever may come each day. Motivation and perseverance are required for long distance riding and both can be developed through mental preparation. I think it is also important to do some physical training and that one needs to make time before a trip to do so. 

G: Can you name something about cycling with me that surprised you (good or bad)?

A: Observing a laid back attitude towards time and hearing the words, “it doesn’t matter, take your time.” This was something I did not expect and it took some getting used to, especially after consistently being told to “hurry up” as a teen. 

G: What has been the hardest thing you have had to deal with on this trip?

A: Bugs. Especially ants, flies and mosquitoes. 

G: We have slept in some interesting places. What are your thoughts regarding how a sleeping place is chosen?

A: When travelling by bike it seems we didn’t chose the sleeping place so much as it chose us… I learned that it’s important to explore all your options and not to leave any unlocked doors closed. 

G: If given the opportunity, would you go on another cycling trip with me?

A: If circumstances allow for it, definitely!

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Living in comfort at the Comfort Inn,

Gerald and Amelia