CCCT 2012 - May22 to





Al, Shirley & Holly



Cross Canada Cycling Tour - Tues, May 22nd

We were up at 6 AM. I had to go out to the garage and put my cycling shoes and inserts outside to try and get them to dry off. I should have done this yesterday evening when we arrived but got distracted with getting re-acquainted with Al and Shirley whom I hadn't seen since the mid 90s. Al had prepared scrambled eggs and enough pancakes to feed the 5,000 for breakfast. We had Maple syrup and homemade zuchinni jam to put on our pancakes. It was very delicious.

There was no way we could cycle up the steep hill from the house to the main street so we loaded all our gear in Al's trunk and back seat and walked/pushed our bikes up the hill while Al went before us to lead the way. Once we reached the top of the hill we loaded our bikes for a "photo op" in front of the lake. Al then drove on ahead of us into town where he dropped off Shirley at the local super market where they would spend some time doing some volunteer work filling out grocery orders for shut-ins. Al continued to show us the way to the Mill Bay Ferry landing and prayed that we would be safe and have a great ride across Canada.

We boarded the ferry for Brentwood at 9 AM and sailed at 9:15. It only took 15 minutes to make the crossing. It was a sunny, calm day. The ferry cost $7.50 each and $2.00 each for our bikes.

Once we reached Brentwood we met a group of 20 or more CCCTS cyclist getting on the ferry. We didn't have much time to exchange pleasantries as bikes and pedestrians are loaded on the ferry first. We were faced with cycling up a rather steep hill. We asked a local out exercising her dog for directions. She suggested we turn right at the first side street which would eventually get us to the main road leading directly south to where Bob Alexander lived in Esquimalt. It was a very pleasant day and a nice easy ride with little or no traffic all the way into town. Made a few stops so Bev could make wardrobe changes as it went from cool to hot to cool to hot, etc.

We arrived in Esquimalt at 12:00 and pulled into a shopping mall so Bev could make a pit stop. We also had lunch which consisted of ham and cheese sandwiches and cranberry loaf for dessert which Shirley had so kindly packed for us prior to our departure from Cobble Hill. Hmm Hmm good!!! I called Bob and got his voice mail and left a message saying we would be arriving in half an hour. When we arrived at Bob's trailer we found a note on the door saying he was out doing some shopping and would be back shortly. We didn't have long to wait. A good thing as it started raining but only lightly thank goodness.

I was still having problems with my chain coming off, so after a quick beer for me and a cup of tea for Bev, Bob agreed to take us to a nearby bike shop. We loaded my bike in the back of his pickup truck and drove to a the bike shop. In spite of being quite busy they agreed to adjust my derailleurs. While waiting we went to a local coffee shop for coffee and carrot cake for me. We returned to the bike shop to collect my bike only to find out that I had no rear brakes and needed new brake pads. I also needed to get the rear derailleur straightened out and the cable needed to be replaced. The mechanic agreed to do the brakes but didn't have time to do the derailleur repairs. It would have to do for the time being. We drove back to Bob's trailer and called my friends, Terry and Annie Mildare, whom I had met while on posting in Yaounde in the early 70s. They agreed to meet us for dinner at Christie's Roadhouse Inn at 7:00 PM.

Since we had some time to kill I got my Notebook out and tried to get on Bob's Wi-Fi. It took a while to get the "Security Code" sorted out but once that was done we were able to check our e-mail, etc. The bike shop called to say my bike was ready. Bob and I drove out to the shop and what initially was to be a $19.99 tune-up turned out to be a bill for $106.00. Oh well - at least now I knew I could count on my brakes. By the time we got back to the trailer it was soon time to freshen up and go out for dinner.

We arrived at Christie's at a little after 7:00 PM and found Terry and Annie waiting for us. It was great to see them and swap stories and catch up on old times. As we were leaving Bob pointed out that John Marsden, a former colleague from External Affairs, was at the bar having a beer. I went over and said hello. I only wish now that I had thought to get a photo of John to send to the O' FARTS back home.

We returned to Bob's trailer and decided to have an early night. Bob agreed to drive us to the ferry at Swartz Bay and to stop off at Mile 0 for a photo op on the way. We decided not to rush off and aim for the 11:00 AM ferry to Tsawwassen.
To be continued . . . .

Bev and Roly at Mile Zero



Bev, Annie, Roly, Terry & Bob
Dinner at Christie's Roadhouse Inn



CCCT 2012 - May21

Cross Canada Cycling Tour May 21 to ...
Monday, May 21st. Got up at 6:30 and dressed for cold wet weather. It was raining and we planned to cycle from Nanaimo to Cobble Hill. After loading our panniers on our bikes we said goodbye to Dan, Jean and Pat and set off at 8:20. We had been told to take the Bike Trail at Hammond Bay Road and Hwy 19. We first of all had to negotiate a very long steep hill in order to get on the "Trail"./ Unfortunately the "Trail" turned out to be poorly marked and had a lot of very steep climbs, several of which we had to walk up. All in all it took us 2 hours and 40 minutes to get out of Nanaimo on onto the main highway heading south towards Ladysmith. Fortunately we stopped at a Tourist Information Centre (TIC) to get out of the cold and rain for awhile. The girls attending the TIC advised us to get off the "Trail" at the next light otherwise we would have to double back in order to get on the highway. They also offered us some delicious macaroons which we very gladly accepted. Also, as if the cold and wet weather wasn't enough to put a damper on our day, my chain kept coming off and jamming.
We arrived at the Timmy's in Ladysmith in time for lunch. A hot bowl of vegetable soup and hot chocolate and the fact that the rain had stopped helped to lift our spirits. I called Al Hardy in Cobble Hill to let him know that we were in Ladysmith and would probably arrive in Cobble Hill around 4-5 PM./ We set off again and were making fairly good progress when it started raining again. Bev got thoroughly soaked when an RV hit a puddle just as it was passing her. After passing through Duncan I managed to get a flat in my rear tire. There was nowhere to get off the highway. Had to make the repairs at the side of the road on the paved shoulder. Fortunately, Bev had her rear light flashing which helped to warn motorist that we were in difficulty and making a repair. This didn't seem to make any difference to them as they still passed us going well over the speed limit of 90 kph.
Eventually we arrived in Cobble Hill at 4:45. Once again I called Shirley to get direction as to where to get off the highway (I forgot I had printed/written the instructions on the reverse side of the instructions that Al had sent me for getting to their house). We stopped at the main gate and were given a map and instructions on how to find Al and Shirley's house. The guard also told us that it was all "down hill" and quipped have fun getting out. Little did we know that it was like "suicide hill". We had to have the binders on all the way down it was so steep. Bev thinks she now needs to get new brakes. We could smell the rubber burning.
After 90 kms of wet, cold, gritty highway cycling it was good to be safe and sound in Cobble Hill at last. We were able to store our filthy bikes in Al's garage along with his shiny BMW and his Golf Cart. In spite of wearing "booties" my cycling shoes and socks were soaking wet. We stripped off and showered and got dressed for dinner. We also took advantage of Shirley's state of the art laundry facilities to wash and dry our filthy cycling gear. Thank you very much Shirley.
Al had prepared a delicious dinner of his renowned meat balls with mashed potatoes and a superb home made wine. One of the finest home made wines I've ever had the pleasure of tasting.
We were very tired and because we wanted to get an early start were off to bed by 10:00 PM after Shirley counselled us against cycling across the Malahat and showed us an alternative route which would be more "biker" friendly by taking the ferry from Hill Bay

CCCT 2012 - May 14-20

 Monday, May14, we finally managed to get away at 10:50 AM and headed for Belwood, ON, a small town near Kitchener-Waterloo where we planned to spend an evening with Beverly's son, Clayton and family who live there as she wanted to leave her car with them for the summer. I had to unpack one of the bike boxes that we had packed most of our panniers in so that I could add my bike tools as they would be confiscated if I tried to carry them on to the plane. When we opened the trunk we discovered "Serbio" who had stowed away in one of the bike boxes. I found "Serbio" on the highway in Serbia while cycling across Europe last year and had rescued him. He accompanied me all the way to the Black Sea and returned home with me. He is now an honorary Canadian. Well what could we do! We couldn't send him back home or leave him behind! He would just have to come along with us for the rest of our Cross Canada Tour.

We had a lovely visit with Beverly's family and friends in Belwood and even found time to go into town where we bought ham, tomato, cheese, lettuce and mayo sandwiches at the local convenience store and found a lovely spot by the lake to have a picnic.

We flew out of Waterloo Airport on Tuesday, May 15, with WestJet to Calgary/Vancouver. In addition to our airfare, $321 each, we also had to pay 3 x $50 per bike box and $50 for the overweight bike box that we had packed most of our panniers in plus $20 for the extra box  plus taxes for a total of $248.60. Had a bit of a scare going through pre boarding security as the X-ray machine picked up some strange looking metal objects in one of my front panniers which I had to carry on board with me as there wasn't enough room for them in the extra bike box. Turned out it was the tent pegs!!! They let me take them on board as I didn't seem to present a threat to on board security. Whew!!!

We arrived in Vancouver at 10:00 PM after leaving Waterloo at 7:00 PM including an hour's stopover in Calgary. So, after doing the math I figure it only took us 2 hours to fly from Waterloo to Vancouver??? Go figure. We deplaned and proceeded to "Oversize Luggage" to collect our bike boxes. After a short wait they were dropped off by the baggage handlers and were found to be all in good shape. Beverly's daughter, Brandy, soon arrived and helped us wheel our "luggage" out to the taxi stand. An airport security person got on her walkie-talkie and called for a "Disabled Person" van which arrived a few minutes later. We had a bit of a struggle getting all 3 boxes in the back of the van but by putting the middle rear seat down we were eventually able to get all our luggage on board. It was a half hour ride from the airport to Brandy's downtown apartment at Denman and Barclay which cost $40 plus a $5 tip for a very patient driver. It was now going on 2:00 AM Ottawa time and both Bev and I were quite exhausted as was Serbio for that matter. He made himself comfortable in Brandy's bed!!!

We spent 3 days in Vancouver and during that time we had a picnic at English Bay which is a short 2 block walk from Brandy's apartment. We also unpacked and put our bikes back together. We had had to take the rear fenders off both bikes; the front racks off Bev's bike; remove the pedals; loosen the handlebars and remove them. After removing the wheels and deflating the tires they were ready to be packed. On Thursday, May 17, we decided to go for a bike ride around "The Sea Wall" which is also a couple of blocks away from Brandy's apartment but first we had to get the brakes on Bev's bike adjusted and rent a bike for Brandy. Fortunately there are several bike shops on Denman a short walk away from where Brandy lives. After getting the brakes adjusted and the tires pumped up on both our bikes and renting a bike for Brandy we were ready to go riding.

Friday, May 18, Bev's friend, Aprille, picked us up at 10:00 AM and drove us out to Whistler with stops at Shannon Falls and Brandywine Falls on the way. We saw a mother bear with her 2 cubs along the road. There are signs posted all along the road warning people not to stop to take photos or feed the bears. It was a very long day especially for me as I'm not used to doing so much walking. Aprille had packed several sorts of sandwiches, curry puffs, drinks, etc so we were able to enjoy a delicious picnic after visiting Shannon Falls.

 

Saturday, May 19, I was up quite early (6 AM) in order to load our panniers, etc on our bikes. We planned to take the bus to Horseshoe Bay and the ferry from there to Nanaimo. We were ready to go at 8:00 AM and made our way to Denman and W. Georgia to wait for the 257 Express bus to Horseshoe Bay. The first bus to come along was FULL so we weren't able to get on. The 2nd one was a slow bus and the driver told us another Express would be along in 6 minutes so we let it go. While we were waiting for the 3rd bus to come along 2 other bikers turned up. They decided to go to the previous stop to get on ahead of us. We were a little ticked off about their rudeness since by now we had been waiting almost an hour. Sure enough the next bus to come along was FULL and our 2 rude bikers had managed to get their bikes on the front racks. We waited for a 4th bus to come along and luckily the bike racks were unoccupied. When I tried to put my bike on I couldn't get the front wheel clamp to fit over my front rack so the driver wouldn't allow my bike on as it was not safe. He was worried my bike might fall off and damage the bus!!! While I was struggling to get my bike on the front rack the girls had loaded all our panniers on the bus. They all had to be unloaded!!! We were pretty frustrated by this time and so decided that we would be better off to cycle to Horseshoe Bay. We said goodbye to Brandy and set off for Horseshoe Bay at 10:30 AM. After crossing over the Capilano Bridge we arrived at Hwy 1 but weren't able to continue cycling as there was a "no bikes allowed" sign. I had learned my lesson in France so I wasn't about to take a chance here in Canada. While we were stopped at the side of the road trying to figure out which way to go a "good samaritan" pulled over and being a cyclist herself was able to point us in the right direction. Just around the corner there was a ramp to get on the bike path that would take us along the highway all the way out to Horseshoe Bay. I had dressed for riding on the bus and ferry so soon had to take off a layer of clothing as it was a lovely sunny day with no wind at all. We arrived at the ferry at 11:40 AM and were able to get on the 12:00 PM ferry sailing for Nanaimo after paying $14.95 each and $2.00 each for our bikes plus a "fuel surcharge" of $1.40 and port fee of .30 cents.

After getting off the Ferry we cycled up several rolling hills to 5112 Hammond Bay where we are presently spending a couple days visiting Beverly's childhood friends. Total distance cycled was 31.47 kms in 2 hrs 36 mins at and average speed of 12.09 kph. Some of the hills were quite challenging especially since our bikes were fully loaded. Tomorrow we set off for Cobble Hill near Duncan to visit with Al and Shirley Hardy.

Bev and Roly

Cross Canada Cycling Tour 2012

Only one more week before we (Beverly and I) leave to begin our CCCT. Preparations are well under way. We leave Ottawa on May 14th and drive to Belwood where Beverly plans to leave her car with family. We then fly out to Vancouver from Kitchener-Waterloo on WestJet the following day. We plan to spend a few days with Beverly's daughter, who lives in Vancouver, and finalize our preparations for our tour i.e. buying fuel for our camping stoves, instant meals, peanut butter, etc. On the 19th we will take the bus/ferry to Namaino to visit Beverly's old school day friends  and on the 21st we will begin cycling from Nanaimo to Victoria stopping in Cobble Hill near Duncan to visit with former DFAIT colleague Al Hardy and his wife Shirley. While in Victoria we will be staying with Bob Alexander, also a former DFAIT colleague, and his friend Gayle. We hope to touch base with Terry Mildare and his wife Annie, two people I met while on posting in Yaounde, Cameroon, in the early 70s. We have kept in contact over the years via snail mail and now by e-mail.
Well that's all for now. Will try and post some pre-departure photos later.
Roly

Diabetes and/or MS Research

Beverly and I appreciate your support for:

Diabetes research
or
Multiple Sclerosis

https://ocp.diabetes.ca/OD/csCustomerDonation.asp

https://mssociety.donorportal.ca/Donation/DonationDetails.aspx?L=en-CA&G=20&F=541&T=GENER

Thankyou

UGRR Tour Day 3

Little Miami Trail beginning in Milford, Ohio

Day 3 Thursday, April 12, 2012

The people in the room above ours finally settled down for the night at 11:30. They kept pacing around, going back and forth to the bathroom, which caused the floor above us to squeak. This didn't seem to bother Ed, my room mate, who lay down at 10:00 and promptly fell asleep.
After some tossing and turning I was finally able to drop off and managed to get a half decent night's sleep.

We got up at 7:00 and walked over to a nearby McDs for breakfast. It was sunny but quite cold. I think the temp was around 0 C or 32 F as there was still some frost on the grass and plants. I brought my laptop along with me so we could check the local weather forecast and see if there were any recent e-mails from home. Before leaving for breakfast I checked with Jim and Jack, who were in the room next to ours, to see if they were ready to go to breakfast. They had already been and were now waiting to call tech support at 8:00 AM to see if they could get the problem with one of the cell phones we purchased at WalMart sorted out. It keeps going automatically to the "Inbox". Two hours later and a change of number on the offending cell phone and the problem still hadn't been resolved. So it was decided we would stop at Xenia, OH, where there was a WalMart and see if they could resolve the "Inbox" problem and/or replace the offending phone.

It was my turn to be the DD (Designated Driver) so I went on ahead with the Jetta and after driving around for 10-15 minutes and asking for directions I finally managed to find Xenia Station where I planned to meet up with Jim, Jack and Ed who were cycling from Waynesville. Eventually they arrived at 11:30. Apparently Jim was having trouble with his saddle which was a bit loose. When he stopped and tried to tighten the bolt is sheared off. Fortunately he had a spare and was able to make the necessary repair. Ed volunteered to stay with the bikes while the three of us went off to WalMart to get the cellphone sorted out. It was a 3 mile hike to the nearest WalMart on the outskirts of town. I was thinking, gee it would have been great to have a support vehicle while I was touring on my own across France, England and Europe!!!

Xenia Station

It took a while but luckily we had a fairly knowledgeable sales assistant who was able to sort out the "Inbox" problem. It turned out it was set to "Do not allow Incoming Calls". It's a mystery as to how this came about. Nevertheless we were quite relieved that our cellphone problem had been resolved and that we didn't have to return the phone and exchange it for another one as this would have meant losing all our minutes which were non-refundable according to the sales assistant. So it was back to the Station where Ed was patiently waiting for our return. We went to a nearby Arby's for a quick lunch and the 3 cyclist continued their ride towards South Charleston where we planned to spend the night. I went on ahead to look for suitable lodgings.

I arrived in South Charleston around 2:00 PM. The only lodging available was a B&B with large king size beds in each room. No twin beds. And it was fairly expensive. I decided to go on to the next town which was London, OH, to see if I might have better luck. The UGRR guide listed two hotels. The hotel on Main St. had seen better days and looked more like a flop house than a hotel. The 2nd hotel turned out to be 5 miles outside of London near the I 70 along with a Motel 6. I chose the Motel 6 as we could park the car directly outside our rooms. This made it easier to load/unload our baggage, etc.

Just as I was about to start cycling back along the "trail" to meet up with the others I got a call from Jim asking me to come and pick them up as there had been an accident. Ed and Jack had taken a tumble and were not able to continue cycling. I put my bike in the motel room and drove back to South Charleston where Ed, Jim & Jack were waiting for me a mile or so on the outskirts of town at the side of the highway. Fortunately at this point the trail ran parallel to the highway. We loaded the 3 bikes on the rack and drove back to the Motel 6 outside of London.

Ed called his insurance company and after cleaning up we drove into London and dropped Ed off at the local hospital Emergency entrance. Jim, Jack and I went for dinner at a local pizza place. We got a call from a nurse saying that Ed would be quite a while at the hospital so we returned to the Motel 6 where I awaited a call from Ed to come and pick him up. We stopped at a pharmacy on the way back so Jack could buy a new pair of reading glasses and sun glasses as his bifocal/transition glasses had been broken in the crash. He also had a cut/nasty bruise below his left eye, abrassions on his upper wrist and lower leg.

Ed called at 10 PM. I drove to the hospital and picked him up. He had his arm in a sling. He had broken his clavical in the spill and it would take 5 - 6 weeks to mend. Ed had a couple Rxs to fill but both the pharmacy, along the main route, and at the WalMart were closed. He had some pain killers he could take and could wait until morning to get the Rxs filled.

Finally got to be at 11:30. It was Jack's turn to drive tomorrow. Prospects for cycling tomorrow didn't look to promising!!!

Ed's bruising from broken shoulder.

UGRR Tour

Day 1 and 2 Tuesday/Wednesday, April 10/11, 2012
Ed, Jim, Jack and myself set off for Milford, OH, at 8:00 AM on Tuesday morning after packing our bags, etc. in the trunk of my 2010 Jetta TDI and loading our 4 bikes on Jack's bike rack which fit on my new hitch very nicely.
After driving approx. 900 kms we arrived in Medina, OH, and decided to stop for the night at a Motel 6. Unfortunately, the wi-fi at the hotel was not working so after a late dinner at a nearby Pizza Hut we all decided to have an early night in order to get an early start the following morning. While we were having dinner at 8:00 PM it started snowing quite heavily. Guess what??? I had left my snow/ice scraper at home!!! After all this was 900 kms south of Ottawa and it wasn't supposed to be snowing down here anymore....
Wednesday, we woke up to a one inch thick coating of snow. I went out to the car and let it idle for about 10 minutes to melt the snow from the windows. After a quick breakfast at a nearby Denny's, we set off for Milford, OH, where we were to begin cycling along the Underground Railway Route (UGRR). We set off at 8:00 and arrived in Milford at noon. We found a nice little restaurant/bar for lunch and then proceeded to the UGRR starting point. After setting up our bikes, i.e. replacing pedals, straightening out handlebars, etc., three of us set off at 2:00 PM for Waynesville, OH, while the 4th guy drove the car to our destination. We ended up cycling 60 kms and arrived in Waynesville at 6:00 PM.
Jim, who had driven the car to Waynesville, was able to cycle back along the UGRR and meet up with us.
It is now getting rather late (10:00 PM) and since the hotel we are staying at again does not have wi-fi I am posting this from a nearby McDs.
Goodnight