Day 1. May 26th - On the road...

Vancouver to Whistler, BC (129km; 1,872m up). After tire dipping in the Pacific, a bagpipe send-off by Tom, two blown tires and lots of climbing, we rolled into Whistler late in the day, tired but exhilerated to be on the road.

 

Day 2. May 27th

to Duffey Lake (Roger's Creek), BC (91 km; 1,330m up) As Coco put it: scenic torture, 15km climb up to Duffey Lake with an average 15% gradient!

 

Day 3. May 28th

to Marble Canyon Provincial Park, Pavilion BC (101 km; 1,240m up but 1,547m down) Very hot day, change in climate as we entered Lilloet and the interior. Lots of climbing, very hard day! Saved by Tom who ran into the tiny town of Pavilion to get more water when everyone was running out. Also, cudos to Tom for capturing on video Claire being followed by galloping horses for a ½ km!

 

Day 4. May 29th

rest day at Marble Canyon with much needed break of swimming, hiking, playing hearts, reading, lots of eating and sleeping! Special thanks to Jan and John from Newfoundland for storing our packs overnight in their car (so we didn't have to hang our food on a bear-line off a tree), and for leaving a surprise donation in the morning (they left camp before we got up). You confirm how great humanity can be!

 

Day 5. May 30th

to Steelhead Provincial Park, Savona BC (76km; 446m up) mostly a nice cruise downhill (922m down). Oli’s knee is giving him problems. Thanks to fellow campers who gave us great food and drinks. The grace and generousity of strangers (again)!

 

Day 6. May 31st - trouble in camp…

to Kamloops (48km; up 910m) Oli’s knee bummed out on him  – hops a ride into Kamloops (shout out to Brian!) to see a doctor who diagnoses inflamed cartilage below the kneecap. The rest follow on bike for a short day and a lot of worry about what to do next. Big thanks to Tom’s aunt for letting us crash her place and a fun dance party in the backyard!

 

Day 7. June 1st

to North Thompson Provincial Park, nr Clearwater, BC (111 km, 384 m up) Oli waits in Kamloops for Heather (Tom's mum) to drive out from Vancouver to help act as a support vehicle. Claire, Tom and Coco continue riding, pack-free and without Oli. Everyone feeling pretty tired today but a long lunch in Barrier helps to break up the ride. Oli and Heather follow behind in the car.

 

Day 8. June 2nd - Already one week on the road!

to Blue River BC (107 km, 704 m) Fast ride! Some nice tail winds help us to beat the rain and arrive into Blue River to meet Oli and Heather at the Blue River Motel (a nice break from camping!). 

 

Day 9. June 3rd

to Tête Jeune, BC (110 km, 425m up) Another fast ride. Tom, Claire and Coco meet up with Oli and Heather in Valemont at the local brewery to try a flight of their locally-brewed beer before biking the last 20km to Tête Jeune. 

 

Day 10. June 4th - Goodbye BC. Hello Alberta!

to Jasper, AB (105 km, up 768 m). One province down, 7 more to go (plus 3 states). Yeehaa!!

 

Day 11. June 5th

rest day in Jasper AB – stiff necks, sore butts. Ready for a break. Coco’s mom (Leslie) joins us for the ride to Banff! Oli’s knee feeling better and hoping to get back on the bike for the ride into Calgary.

 

Day 12. June 6th

to HI-Beauty Creek AB (86 km, 731 m up) Joined by Leslie, beautiful ride! Nice lunch at Athabasca falls. Staying in a cute hostel tonight. Jonah (our UBC friend who lives in Edmonton) drives out with his dad to meet us and spend the night.

 

Day 13. June 7th - past the first 1000km milestone...

to HI-Rampart Creek AB (55 km, 777 m up) 6 riders today: Claire, Tom, Coco, Heather, Leslie and Jonah! Great ride. Oli running support in the car. One really good (read: big) climb. Very cool biking through the Icefields Parkway National Park. Then a big downhill: Claire and Tom hit 76km/h on their bikes!  Rampart Creek is a great hostel with a really cool sauna.  (Saunas are good)

 

Day 14. June 8th

to Lake Louise AB (91 km, 875 m up) One significant climb with a grizzly bear spotting at the top. Very hot day! Fun ride. Leslie joined the group again! Excited to be in Lake Louise! The biggest mountains of the trip are behind us!!! We could have taken a more direct route from Kamloops to here (via Revelstoke), but the extra 235km was well worth it. We're stoked.

 

Day 15. June 9th - start of week 2...

to Banff AB (58km; 112 m up; 272m down) Such a beautiful day cruising mostly downhill along the Bow Valley Parkway. Saw another grizzly (up close!), mountain goats and deer. Riding a short day today in anticipation of a long day into Calgary tomorrow. Nice to walk around Banff in the afternoon. Looks like Oli may be back on his bike tomorrow. Heather and Leslie heading back to Vancouver (thanks SOOOOOO much, Heather, for your support through the Rockies).

 

Day 16. June 10th

to Calgary AB (138km; 397m up, 749m down) The Prairies!!! Or, at least we can see them now. We've now ridden just over 1300km which puts us basically halfway to Minnesota! Long, mostly downhill but a hard ride due to head winds and being back on the Trans Canada wasn't fun - lots of construction and semis. When we got into Banff yesterday, we bumped into Katrine (a girl from Copenhagen who we met at the Beauty Creek hostel, Day 12). She was headed to Canmore next on our trip so we lent her our extra bike to come along (only about 40 minutes but all on bike trails) and she was stoked to ride with us. Happy to have a nice bed to sleep in tonight at Claire's Aunt Lisa's house.

 

Day 17. June 11th

rest day in Calgary AB - ready for a break, and happy to be able to crash with Claire's aunt. What's with Alberta in June? It's cold!

 

Day 18. June 12th

a 2nd rest day in Calgary AB - We woke up this morning intended to head east, started the ride in freezing cold, pouring rain and pulled a U-turn back to Lisa's place. We'll make up the time with some long days across the Prairies...

 

Day 19. June 13th

to Cluny AB (130km; 96m up, 277m down) A fantastic tail wind today, and we were flying. Unfortunately, we did a few (useless) zigzags to try to stay off the Trans Canada that led to gravel side roads. That explains the slightly longer mileage than the bee-line route. Anyway, great weather and some good mileage. If we didn't explain this clearly before, Tom's parents have very generously left us with a car so that Oli can stay with us on the journey. When his knee is fully recovered, we'll park the car along the route and recuperate it later. Or, if Oli's knee doesn't fully recover, we've decided that we're going to stick together as a team, take turns driving when Oli can ride a bit, and have a support vehicle for the entire journey. Any way it turns out, we can't thank Tom's parents enough for their generosity.   AND, the bonus is that we can use the car at the end of the day for side trips to places slightly off our bike route. Tonight, we drove up to Drumheller to check out the dinosaurs - Coco and Oli had never been there before and it was a welcome detour that would have been a shame to miss. It also makes beer and grocery runs a lot easier. :-)

 

Day 20. June 14th

to Medicine Hat AB (190km; 185m up, 385m down) Our longest day so far. And Oli was back on the bike to test out his knee. He put in the first 30km while Claire drove, then switched over. Coco and Tom went the distance while Claire clocked in with 160km. Another day of tail winds and nice weather, but it was still long... Tom is leading the way, breaking the wind (not breaking wind, thank God). Coco was quasi-delirious by the end (to the point that she didn't realize she climbed a big hill coming into Medicine Hat). Did we mention the scenery is flat..  The beer tasted good tonight!

 

Day 21. June 15th - Goodbye Alberta. Hello Saskatchewan!

to Maple Creek SK (98km; 261m up, 163m down) Oli put in another hour and a half of riding while Coco followed in the car before they switched over. He's gradually getting there! But the big news is... we are in SASKATCHEWAN!! Two provinces down, 6 to go (plus 3, maybe 4, States). Good campsite tonight. Weather good. Usual aches and pains, but all's good otherwise.

 

Day 22. June 16th

to Swift Current SK (137km; 294m up, 311m down) Claire's back and neck are numb and painful again (she'd seen a doctor about it in Jasper but it continues to bug her) so she put in only 60km, mostly riding no hands. Oli came and picked Claire up while Tom and Coco continued on riding. The longer distances are pretty manageable these days though. Weather still good. Just another day at the office...

 

Day 23. June 17th - 2000km behind us and counting...

to Caron SK (147km; 181m up, 345m down) Claire's driving today for more back relief while Tom, Coco and Oli are riding. A long day today, gradually downhill, and we're sticking to the Trans Canada. Since the nasty stretch before Calgary, the Trans Canada has been better riding - less traffic than before and a good shoulder. After tomorrow, we'll start bending our route south closer to the U.S. border and will bid it goodbye until we reach Ontario. And just before rolling into our camp for tonight, we cracked the 2000 km mark. Kinda of explains why we're all a bit sore!

 

Day 24, June 18th

to Rouleau (and Gray) SK (113km; 72m up, 75m down) It's flat out here! Apart from going down into and back up out of the Moose Jaw River Valley, it's flat. Just after Moose Jaw, we veered right and south of Regina to Rouleau on Hwy 39 south of Regina. Our objective has been to stay overnight in Gray, a small farming community about 50km further west of Rouleau where Ginny and Chris Carpenter and their family have offered us a bed tonight and (so generously) a layover to rest for as long as we like! Because Gray is separated from Rouleau by a lot of gravel roads, we hopped into the car at the end of the day and will return back to Rouleau when start riding again. The Carpenters are super nice and greeted us with a big family meal and beds in their guest quarters. A big shout out to Sue Sambrook, our mutual friend in Montreal, who connected us with Ginny - thanks!

 

Day 25. June 19th

rest day in Gray SK Got up late, made breakfast for Ginny and Chris, toured around the farm and, of course, got to drive some of the farm implements! (The farm's big: over 1000 acres.) The Carpenters have three daughters, all excellent hockey players - Jenna who studies at UBC, Lilla and Jyllelle. Fun hanging out with them, another great dinner, and much needed time resting up.

 

Day 26, June 20th

to Stoughton (from Rouleau) SK (158km; 64m up, 15m down) Almost a pure climbing day... 64m up! Wow!! We got up early with Ginny's gang and went to Riceton, the next town over, for a community pancake breakfast before heading back to Rouleau to start our ride. Tom's turn to drive support, but he switched with Claire after about 37km 'cause her back's still in a fair amount of pain. Oli's riding again today and put in 115km. Tom rode the remaining 121km after switching with Claire, and Coco rode the whole distance - you go girl! Another full day with a nice tail wind. Oh yeah: and how nice are the Carpenters? While we were doing the morning ride, Chris, Jenna and Jyllelle made up lunch and drove to Yellow Grass (50km south of their place) to deliver it to us en route! But it doesn't end there!! There are few camping options over the next couple of days so Chris put us in touch with their friends, Brad and Kelly, who are letting us pitch our tents in their back yard tonight and fed us a great pizza dinner. Thank you all SO much!! The generosity of people never fails to amaze us.

 

Day 27. June 21st - Summer solstice: Goodbye Saskatchewan. Hello Manitoba!

to Manitoba border, near Sinclair MB (132 km; up 61m, down 181m). Three provinces down, 5 more to go (plus 3, maybe 4, states). Yoop , Yoop!!! Another long gradual (overall) downhill day. Claire's father is encouraging us to dip into North Dakota before Minnesota (how many chances in life do you get to go to North Dakota, afterall?) We'll see... None of us have cell plans that work in Manitoba and the States so updates may become more sporadic for the next little while. We're hoping to make it to Sault Ste-Marie by July 1. Keep the faith!

 

Day 28. June 22nd - Goodbye Manitoba. Hello America (ND)!

to the International Peace Garden, US-Canada border, near St-John ND (156 km; up 344m, down 152m). Another beautiful, blue sky, sunny day with a strong tail wind. Tom rode the distance - a machine. Coco drove for the first 60km until Oli's knee starting feeling sore again then swapped the steering wheel for her handlebars. Claire's back held out until lunch at Melita MB (70km). Melita has the world's largest banana ("Sunny the Banana": very odd. Ok, we get the Sunny part, but no banana plantations anywhere in sight, so go figure...) It DID make for a good picnic stop. We then decided to dip down into the US for the end of the day, heading to the International Peace Garden, located just across the North Dakota border off of Hwy 10 (Basically, it's part of Turtle Mountain Provincial Park). But there was nothing peaceful about the Peace Garden! It should be called the International Mosquito Garden. It was insane! Still, we're all stoked about being States-side with the border of Minnesota now in our sights for tomorrow night.

 

Day 29. June 23rd

to Langdon ND (152 km; up 158m, down 362m). Another beautiful day with the wind at our backs/sides. Oli and Claire put in the full day of riding (yeah!) with Coco and Tom worked support. The route directions were pretty simple today: ride 24km south to Dunseith, turn left on Hwy 5 and stay on Hwy 5 for 125km until you get to Langdon. Okay - we can do that. We didn't quite make Minnesota today, but was a good day of riding. Enjoying America. Enjoying the Americans. Not expensive. Camping tonight.

 

Day 30. June 24th - Goodbye North Dakota. Hello Minnesota!

to Lake Bronson State Park MN (135 km; up 110m, down 305m). First, a shout out to our Quebec friends and compatriots - Bonne fête de St-Jean Baptiste! Not a lot of celebrations going on around here... Still, there's cause for celebration: we've now covered 4 provinces and are into our 2nd U.S. state! Yoohoo!!!! Today, we crossed the state line (at the Red River) near Joliette and entered into MINNESOTA!
And while riding, we hatched a new plan for the next 3 days, wanting to catch up a bit of time and make it to Sault Ste-Marie in time for Canada Day. We've got roughly 1150km between us and there. Tomorrow at 6:30am, Coco and Claire will set out riding together for the first 120km while Oli and Tom bust down the tents, pack up camp then catch up to us with lunch. In the afternoon, we'll swap out so the boys can ride the next 120km while the girls go ahead to set up camp and get dinner ready. We're calling it the "Great American Sprint", and we hope to put in 720km in the next three days. Stay tuned...

 

Day 31. June 25th - A MASSIVE Milestone Day: 1 month riding + 3000km + 13,000m climbing!

to Bemidji MN (220 km; up 241m, down 114m). It's a big day for milestones. We've now ridden just over 3000km! We've climbed more than 13,000m in elevation. And we left Vancouver a month ago!!!

And... the Great American Sprint (GAS) has begun. Coco and Claire sprung out of "bed" (read: their tents) this morning at 5:30am and were on the road by 6:15, riding for the first kilometres through heavy fog with their lights on. Another pretty straightforward day of directions: straight down Hwy 59 to Brooks (120km) with a brief smoothie break in Thief River Falls. Feeling great and we picked up the pace for the final 30km to about 33km/hr. By Brooks, Oli and Tom had caught up (having had a little sleep-in, broke camp and made lunch). The boys rode in the afternoon (100km) - another great day of weather and nice riding. We're out of the flatlands and starting to climb a bit more. End of day, we got to Mississippi Headwaters State Forest park in the heart of Paul Bunyon country! So far, the GAS is going good! Hoping to make Duluth and Lake Superior tomorrow.

 

Day 32. June 26th - Full-on G.A.S!

to Duluth MN (254 km; up 286m, down 501m). The Great American Sprint (G.A.S) continues, and today was our biggest day of riding so far. We put in 254km, the first 142km by Coco and Tom. Due to a slight screw up when Oli and Claire were looking for them on the wrong road, Coco and Tom went a little longer than planned (past Grand Rapids) and the switch of riders didn't happen until 3pm. So by the time we pulled into Duluth, it was 8:30pm and we were all tired puppies. After a quick dinner, we dashed for a campsite  and made it in just as they were closing the gate. Even luckier, the campground was supposed to be fully booked, and we had no reservation but one group of campers didn't show up so we were able to pitch our tents in their spot. Exhausted...

 

Day 33. June 27th - Three states in a day

to Ironwood MI (183 km; up 639m, down 501m). Was that Wisconsin we just passed? Heehee!

We took it a bit easier today given the mileage we covered yesterday. Getting out of Duluth was a bit of a nightmare due to construction that pushed Tom and Claire from the planned route onto a section of the I-35 interstate freeway. Then a nail punctured Tom's tire. Anyway, our ride today started on the Minnesota-Wisconcin border and finished just over the Michigan-Wisconsin border. So bye-bye Minnesota; bye-bye Wisconsin; hello Michigan!!  That makes 4 CDN provinces and now 4 US states! Yoop yoop!! We're on track to make Sault Ste-Marie for Canada Day and on track for Montreal by July 13th (with a couple of rest days in between). A funny-weird thing happened in Ashland, WI (while Coco and Oli were riding the afternoon shift). We ran into a guy we've seen a couple of times who's riding from Vancouver to Niagara Falls (go figure!) via the US. He'd blown a tire too but because he's got specialized tubeless tires, he needed a lift to a bike shop. In Ashland, we found a very laid-back café (always a safe bet for directions to the closest bike shop) and the guy offered to buy us a couple of ice lattes as thanks. But, as we were getting into the car to drop him at the shop, Tom put the coffees on the roof and the next thing we saw was ice and coffee exploding on the road behind us. What gratitude! And when we went back to the café for replacement coffees and lunch, they looked at us like were were deranged caffine addicts.

Good day overall. Rolling countryside. Hot weather.

 

Day 34. June 28th

to nr. Three Lakes MI (171 km; up 473m, down 511m). Uggh! This morning, Tom and Oli took to their bikes at 7am in pouring rain (we've been really lucky so far to have only a couple of rain days) and put in 120km. After lunch, the rain and wind picked up, the temperature was freezing, and Coco and Claire managed to get in only 50km after 3hours of riding before the visibility became so poor and the conditions so dangerous that we packed it in early.  We're still on track for the Soo before Tuesday night, but we'll just get in a little later in the day.

 

Day 35. June 29th - Halfway to Newfoundland!

to Seney MI (195 km; up 314m, down 584m). So we figure that our entire journey to Newfoundland will be 7,300-7,400km and, as such, today we passed the midpoint in our journey when we arrived in Marquette, Michigan by lunchtime! Wow!!! Feels great... After Marquette, we skirted along the southern shores of Superior for about 70km until Munising then got into another detour due to road construction that took us zigging and zagging along some busy stretches before making Seney. Instead of camping there, we went 25 miles up to Grand Marais to a great campsite on the shores of Superior. We've decided to celebrate every festival holiday in the calendar year during our ride (these are the kind of crazy ideas that come into your minds when you pedal long distances!) and tonight was Thanksgiving. Amazingly, we found all of the necessary ingredients in the local grocery store - turkey sandwiches with cranberry, pumpkin tarts, etc. Afterwards, we all took turns giving thanks for one great thing that's happened since the start of the trip, then we finished the celebrations with a late-night, moonlit dip in Superior! Now you've got the full skinny on our day (heehee)!

 

Day 36. June 30th - The Soo! Yoohoo!!

to Sault Ste-Marie ON (141 km; up 381m, down 339m). Goodbye Michigan and the U.S.A. Hello Ontario!!! We're back in Canada and the G.A.S. is complete! So since we crossed into the U.S. 8 days ago in North Dakota, we covered 1,450km or an average of 181km per day! And we made it to the Sault one day ahead of schedule!! Our total is now 4 U.S. states and 5 Cdn provinces with 5 to go.

The last few days have been the first with serious rain since the start of our trip. With only a relatively short distance to cover today, we decided to sleep in this morning when we looked outside early to find pouring rain again. The boyz rode the first 65km then the girlz took over for the last stretch to the border, arriving around 7:30pm.

The Sault Ste-Marie International Bridge is not exactly designed for bikes (but it's the only way across the river to Ontario) so we decided to load up the bikes to drive across the span. But not before loading up at duty free with "provisions" for the next few days! The car was a complete disaster with wet clothes stinking from the last few rainy days, but the border guards basically only asked us what we were doing and wished us a Happy Canada Day! So nice, especially compared with the fairly intimidating inspection we got at the Manitoba-ND border. Better still, we were greeted by a nice dinner and beds to sleep in tonight at the house of John and Heather Bailey's mom, Ann. The Bailey's are friends of Oli from Montreal. Thank you so much! July 1st and Canada Day celebrations are tomorrow!

 

Day 37. July 1st - Canada Day / rest day

rest day in Sault Ste-Marie ON After such an intense stretch of riding (the G.A.S.), we're all in need of a rest day. Spending most of the day in town chilling out, drying out, cleaning up, and checking in with family via FaceTime and phone. And spending another night with Ann in her great home.

Hey, we just found out that we made the Sault-Ste-Marie news: Sootoday.com! Their photographer, Jeff Klassen, snapped us at the Canada Day celebrations and posted a link to this page! Welcome to all Soo-ites (Soo-ians? Soo-ers?) if you've come here to check out our journey!

 

Day 38. July 2nd - 4000km behind us and counting...

to Massey ON (216 km; up 549m, down 537m). Another milestone passed today! We've now covered over 4,000km, and it was nice to spend a day back on the road without rain! Also, very BIG thanks to Ann and the Bailey's for giving us a place to crash during the past two nights. Oli and Claire put in 110km before switching out with Tom and Coco who finished the distance today. Riding along the TransCanada (Hwy 17) all day on a fairly narrow shoulder so there was no side-by-side chit-chatting - just straight on focus. Camping at Chutes Provincial Park tonight in Massey.  All pretty tired by the end of the day.

 

Day 39. July 3rd

to Grundy Lake Provincial Park, nr French River ON (175km; up 690m, down 682m). It was nice this morning to get a break from the TransCanada by taking backroads out of Massey (Lee Valley Road) to Espanola and Lorne before getting back on the TransCanada. But overall, it was probably the most trafficked, stressful day of riding of the trip so far. The highways were brutal. It turns out that it's illegal to ride on any road in Ontario with a speed limit of over 100km, which makes riding past Sudbury and south toward Toronto virtually impossible. Coco and Oli rode in the morning for about 100km until Sudbury where we met up for lunch at Tim Hortons (welcome back to Canada!) Their stretch of highway #17 was busy with a very narrow shoulder. Then Claire and Tom rode out of Sudbury on Hwy 69 and were soon stopped by the police for being on a restricted highway (despite the fact that the shoulder was initially really wide and great for riding on). Fortunately, the cop felt badly for us and agreed that the law was silly. And he told us about another route to follow that would take us out of his section of the highway after which we could probably sneak back onto the main road. We did and rode onto French River/Grundy Lake without any problems, but the shoulder was small again and there was lots of construction. Combined with the constant worry about being stopped again by the police, it was a stressful day.

Anyway, we all listened to podcasts for most of the ride (we know, should cyclists be listening to earbuds?) so no real talking along the way. Just heads down riding. And now we're looking forward to tomorrow, when we'll arrive in Mactier / 12-Mile Bay and the cottage of Claire's friends - Peter and Jane Dobell - for a couple of days on Georgian Bay: swimming, sunbathing, chilling! Can't wait...

(P.S. from Day 37... Hey, we just found out that we made the Sault-Ste-Marie news: Sootoday.com! Their photographer, Jeff Klassen, snapped us at the Canada Day celebrations and posted a link to this page! Welcome to all Soo-ites (Soo-ians? Soo-ers?) if you've come here to check out our journey!)

 

Day 40. July 4th

to Parry Sound, ON (93km; up 201m, down 195m). Claire has friends (the Dobells) with a cottage on Georgian Bay just sound of Parry Sound (close to Mactier actually) where she and her family have spent a couple of weeks every summer for many years. She's told us about how amazing it is for a long time, and she's been looking forward to showing us for weeks. We're here now, and it is every bit as spectacular as she described.

The ride today was relatively short with Oli taking a rest day due to his knee, and Coco, Claire and Tom on their bikes. Again, the same problem of trying to find alternatives to the very busy Hwy 400/69 (which we still had to ride for short stretches where there was no choice). The road network along the eastern shores of Georgian Bay are not really cyclist-friendly. But after a long stretch on Shebeshekong Road (and others), we made it to Parry Sound.

We're now going to take two days off at the Dobell's cottage (thank you so much!!) to relax, then drive down to Toronto for a couple of nights (Coco and Tom have never been there, and we can crash at Zoë's place - thanks!) then come back to Parry Sound to resume our ride. In the meanwhile, we were able to store our bikes securely with a friend (Robin Taylor) at her grocery store in Mactier (The Best of Ontario Market - shameless commercial plug here!). Thank you to all for your generousity! Tonight, Oli spent 15 minutes on the phone with Claire's family pleading to always ask him to Georgian Bay every summer for the rest of their lives. (Follow how that works out on our other blog "The Rest of our Lives with Oli at Georgian Bay").

 

Day 41-44. July 5th-8th

rest days on Georgian Bay (nr Twelve Mile Bay) and a couple of nights in Toronto.

You won't hear from us for a couple of days. We'll be too busy relaxing, kayaking, swimming, sailing, cliff jumping, and canoeing. Then we're taking a side trip down to Toronto so Coco and Tom can check it out. But we'll be back on the road by the 9th, starting where we left off in Parry Sound, and ready to make a push for Montreal around the 13th.

 

Day 45. July 9th

Parry Sound - Huntsville ON (74km; up 406m, down 329m)

Woke up late and packed up quickly. Said a quick thanks and goodbye to Zoe (Claire's sister) for her generousity in hosting us in Toronto. Drove back up to MacTier to pick up the bikes from Toby and Robin's shop (thanks so much for storing them for us!) Then headed back up to Parry Sound to pick up from where we left off. Brenna our good friend from UBC  who lives in Toronto graciously has offered to act as our support vehicle driver for the next few days until Montreal; so for the first time since Oli first got injured in Kamloops, the four of us had the opportunity to ride together!! We all rode until Rosseau where we met Brenna and the car (Dakota) for an ice cream and then Oli, Coco and Tom continued riding onto Huntsville. Claire hoped into the car with Brenna because she was having some bad back problems. After reaching Huntsville, we drove down to Lake of Bays to stay at Claire's aunt (Sarah) cabin for the night on their private island. Had a lovely swim and dinner on the water. Happy and sitting beside a fire. 

 

Day 46. July 10th

to Oxtongue River Provincial Park at the border of Algonquin Park ON (34.6km; up 282m, down 156m)

A very late start today (5pm... oops) so a very short day. Camping again basically near the western entrance to Algonquin Park.

 

Day 47. July 11th

to South March Highlands Conservation area, nr. Ottawa ON (285km; up 1647m, down 1332m)

Making up today for some short days and some extra rest days. Coco and Claire rode the first 125km to Barry's Bay then Oli and Tom rode the rest into Kanata, just on the west side of Ottawa. A long day and boiling hot weather (and humid). Claire's dad is celebrating his birthday tomorrow and he thinks we're not arriving until the 13th. But the plan is to make another big push to get to Montreal by tomorrow night to be with them.

 

Day 48. July 12th - Goodbye Ontario; Hello Québec!!!

to Montreal, QC (222km; up 233m, down 254m)

This morning, Claire and Oli cover the first 95km to Curran after making a pit stop at Claire's favourite restaurant in Ottawa (Sconwich) to pick up scones. Yum. Another boiling hot day (feels like 38C) and really humid. But we're excited about getting to Montreal - home for Oli and Claire. Coco and Tom ride along the Ottawa River and cross onto the Island of Montreal at Ste-Anne de Bellevue where all four of us join up for the ride along the Lakeshore and Lachine Canal bike path into the city. For Claire and Oli, they've ridden this route dozens of times and they enjoy every little turn and twist. At the end of another long day, we make it to the Smale's house just as Peter, Nancy and Zoë (down from Toronto) are getting organized for Peter's birthday dinner. A great look of total surprise on his face.

And it was another day of big milestones:

- we've now biked in 6 Cdn provinces and 4 US states with only 4 provinces left!

- somewhere close to the Quebec border, we broke the 5000km barrier!!

- we now have less than 1800km to our destination: St-John's NF!!!

 

Day 49-51. July 13-15th

a 3-day layover in Montreal QC

Another long pause for Tom and Coco to discover Montreal, and for Oli and Claire to enjoy at break at home. Lots of late nights, too much rich food (excessive cheese binge at Atwater Market) and a fair amount of drinking, including a great beer tasting at St-Amboise brewery on the canal. Tom is going to bust his craft beer app. Caught up on laundry; said goodbye to Brenna (thanks!); and have planned out the final weeks of our trip including ferry reservations from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland, and back yard camping arrangements with friends along the way. Time to hit the road again. We can't believe it will be over so soon.

 

I. AM. THE. REAL. BLOG. MASTER!!!!

Okay, before the daily blog continues, let's admit that this journal has been "blog-mastered" by Claire's father. And he's been away on vacation for two weeks. So we/he apologizes for the radio silence. Especially to Tom's Grandmother! There... you have it. A shout-out to Tom's grandmother, and a confessional-exposure from the Real Blog Master (tip 'o the hat to the Italian Job for this reference). Now, back to the ride...

 

Day 52. July 16th

Montreal to Louiseville QC (105km; up 25m, down 56m)

The day started off with a bit of a saga... a wallet went missing, then someone didn't tell someone that they'd left the keys in the car before someone locked the keys in the car. Meanwhile, a riding buddy of Claire's dad - Greg Dunning - was waiting to ride with us off the island of Montreal. Thanks for your patience! Finally, we headed east, taking Montreal's great bike paths all the way to Rivière-des-Prairies/Repentigny. Poutine for lunch (of course) and Claire driving (to give a bit more time en famille). Dinner was Montreal bagels and smoked salmon at a nice campsite by the St-Lawrence.

 

Day 53. July 17th

to Pontneuf QC (108km; up 58m, down 61m)

Riding along the north shore of the St-Laurent river today. Coco driving. Parking ticket in Trois Rivière (hostie!). Lunch at a chip wagon (roulette à frites). Average ride today (parcour moyen aujourd'hui). Watched a movie in Dakota at the end of the day (fête de cinema chez Dakota à la fin du jour).

 

Day 54. July 18th

to Quebec City QC (57km; up 364m, down 333m)

A short day, thankfully, because it was raining. Another example of the generousity of friends/strangers! Michel Gingras (a friend of Claire's dad who he studied architecture with) gave us the code to his beautiful house, just across the Pont du Québec in Levis (across the river from Quebec City) while he headed off to his country house for the weekend. Amazing! Had never met us; he gave us full run of the house, and we enjoyed amazing showers/baths. Oli made a delicious dinner. Went into Quebec City to show Tom and Coco the sites, enjoyed a beer and brought groceries. Thanks again, SOOOO much, Michel!

 

Day 55. July 19th

to Beaumont QC (27km; up 174m, down 156m)

A VERY short day. Woke up to more rain so made a delicious feast of eggs, hash [ed note: hash browns], French toast then drove into Quebec City for coffee and ice cream (yes, a strange combo). Checked out the old town and ate lunch by the canon [ed note: there are many canons, but they are all located in picturesque locations]. Saw the Plains of Abraham. Headed back to our bikes, with Oli driving. Short but beautiful bike path along the river to get out of the city, though we faced a strong (east) headwind. Beers and bed.

 

Day 56. July 20th

to Riviere Ouelle QC (111km; up 119m, down 169m)

Overcast but a nice ride today, though cold and windy. Claire drove. Roadside lunch and Christmas shopping. Campsite was nice. Yummy dinner - our Easter celebration tonight (see earlier blogs for Thanksgiving in Wisconcin, etc). We're going to do a bit of a sprint tomorrow so early to bed. 

 

Day 57. July 21st

to St Flavie QC (203km; up 586m, down 542m)

Oli and Coco woke up at 5:30am to an intensely thick fog but still managed to see a deer and some foxes. Brief rain at the end of their ride before Tom and Claire switched with them on the bikes after lunch. Then Claire and Tom got drenched during the afternoon, only made better by the hot chocolate supplied by Coco and Oli to keep them warm. The ride all day was along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence through Rivière-du-Loup, Trois Pistoles and Rimouski. St-Flavie is just west of Métis-sur-Mer, a longstanding summer vacation spot for Montreal families (i.e. old Montreal anglo families), which is also known for its iconic lighthouse. We'll traverse the Gaspé peninsula from St-Flavie/Mont Joli tomorrow, so we all hopped into Dakota for a short ride to the Madon's summer cottage and a fantastic dinner with copious wine (thanks Sophie and James, friend's of Claire's family). Hot showers and beds were especially appreciated tonight (as well as the wine... did we mention the wine?)

 

Day 58. July 22nd

to Causpscal QC (94km; up 522m, down 403m)

Slept in a little (did we mention the wine last night?) and enjoyed a big breakfast. Oli drove; Coco, Tom and Claire rode in the morning until lunch. Oli made yummy tuna roadside sandwiches beside an elk farm. Claire's back was bothering her again so she joined Oli at lunch in the car (Oli was taking a rest day for his knee). We're crossing up and over the Gaspé on our way to New Brunswick today. Beers at a micro brewery in Amqui then a very spicy dinner and bed.

 

Day 59. July 23rd - Au Revoir Québec; Hello New Brunswick/Bonjour Nouvelle Brunswick!

to Charlo NB (117km; up 546m, down 682m)

So we're starting to feel emotional that the trip is coming to an end. We have now been in 7 Cdn Provinces and 4 US states, and we've covered almost 5900km. And the Atlantic Ocean is closer... we're now on the Baie de Chaleur so the salt air is strong! After a relaxing breakfast, the ride was really lovely. Unfortunately, Claire doesn't think she can ride until she sees someone about her back so she's driving again today. More rain at the end of ride but Claire had set up camp and made dinner. Played Hearts and ate popcorn. Hoping for better weather... though I guess this is what to expect in Eastern Canada.

 

Day 60. July 24th - Two months on the road!

to Bathurst NB (76km; up 189m, down 211m)

Woke up to rain again, had breakfast then got decked out in rain gear. Crazy day of on and off rain/humidity and cold. Strong headwind. We called it a day just outside Bathurst. Got fresh pretzels; had a picnic dinner on a beautiful park by the Gulf/ocean. Oli rigged up Tom's tablet to the ceiling of the tent and we watched a movie before bed. Christmas celebration tomorrow!

 

Day 61. July 25th - Christmas celebrations and 6000km!

to Miramichi NB (105km; up 402, down 384m)

Christmas morning!!!!!!!! We opened Christmas surprises and made French toast for breakfast while listening to Christmas music! Watched our campsite Christmas parade before heading off for a nice ride in morning in quasi-sunshine. Then it got cloudy again, but we passed the 6000km milestone en route.... Claire still driving due to her bad back and Oli also was in the car to give his knee a day off. Enjoyed a lovely christmas dinner, made mulled wine, tofurky and cranberry sandwiches and mashed sweet potatoes with green beans. Hung out by the campfire.

 

Day 62. July 26th

to Bouctouche NB (104km; up 229m, down 239m)

Started our ride in cloudy weather once more. Claire drove ahead and set up camp Kouchibouguac (which is only about halfway along today's route, but where there is a beautiful national park) and had sandwiches for everyone for another roadside lunch. End of day at Bouchtouche, then we drove back up to the camp at Kouchibouguac with enough time to explore the park and the beautiful beach. Sprinkles of rain during dinner.  

 

Day 63. July 27th - Hello P.E.I!

to Cape Jourmaine NB/the Confederation Bridge PEI (116km; up 210m, down 222m)

Only two provinces to go! Today we reached #8!

Cloudy once more; picked up the ride in Bouchtouche and it was a long ride but we're stoked to make it to the Confederation Bridge and Prince Edward Island. You can't ride across the bridge, so we drove over and into Charlottetown to stay with a very dear and long-time friend of Claire's family, Catherine Hennessey. Catherine - an amazing dynamo who we all fell in love with - was a best friend of Claire's grandmother. Great dinner in town with live music then visited a few breweries to fulfill Tom's mission to taste as many Canadian craft beers as possible. Then bed.

 

Day 64. July 28th

to Charlottetowm PEI (54km; up 367m, down 365)

Picked up ride from the Confederation bridge (PEI side) and rode into Charlottetown. Claire still driving but seeing someone tomorrow for help to fix her back (fingers crossed). Got some Cows ice cream! An amazing dinner in Victoria-by-the-sea (recommendation of Toby - thanks) at the Landmark Café - incredible! Coco and Claire wrote an update of everything that's happened since Montreal to the BlogMaster then went to bed.

 

Day 65-66. July 29-30th

rest days in P.E.I

Touring around Charlottetown, dressing up in period costumes (Oli is a scary looking cross-dresser), going to a play, visiting Anne of Green Gables' house, then up to the north shore. Thank you so much again, Catherine for hosting us and giving us an insiders' taste of the Island!

 

Day 67. July 31st - Hello Nova Scotia! (and a side trip to Halifax/the south shore)

to Wood Island PEI ferry then across to Nova Scotia  (55km; up 245m, down 250m)

Province #9! We decided to cut short our stay on PEI (though we loved it) so we could head down to Halifax and the south shore for a couple of more days of R&R. As it is, we're several days ahead of schedule (our ferry to Newfoundland is on August 7th) so we have time to detour. We rode from Charlottetown to the Wood Island then took the ferry across the Northumberland Straits to Caribou NS (where we'll start riding again in a couple of days). Then we all hopped into Dakota and we drove the 1-1/2hour distance into Halifax where Coco has friends to stay with. And we hooked up with other friends we know there who are at (or recently graduated from) Dalhousie. Fun night out in the town on a bit of a pub crawl.

 

Day 68. August 1st

rest day in Mahone Bay NS

Today, we get to meet more of the John Benitz family (Claire's relatives). Just to recap: we stayed with Lisa Benitz in Calgary, then Sara Benitz in Lake of Bays ON, saw Julia Hendra-Benitz in Toronto, and now are staying with grand patriarch/matriarch of the family, John Sr. and Sybille-Ann here in Mahone Bay. Fun night out at the local pub then a decision feast and their house. Nice to be able to play tourists for a couple of days.

 

Day 69. August 2nd

rest day in Marriotts Cove NS

One more rest day before making the final push to Newfoundland (we have only 4 more cycling days in total!)

In the morning, we went down the road to Lunenburg and checked on the Bluenose II. Then lunch and drove up the coast to Joan and Ted Cleather's beautiful house in Marriotts Cove (just south of Chester). They've lent us their guest house (that Claire's family has stayed in during past summers here) and tonight we'll have a big lobster feast with them. Thanks so much for great Down East hospitality from all while we've been here! Tomorrow, we're back on our bikes!!!

 

Day 70. August 3rd - back in the saddle

Caribou ferry landing to Arisaig Provincial Park NS (82km; up 447m, down 467m)

After a really nice three day break, we're back on the road. It's weird to think that we've got only two more days of riding on the "mainland" before we catch the ferry to Newfoundland and the last ride of the trip. On the shores of the Straits of Northumberland again tonight. Aiming to be in North Sydney by Thursday night so there's no risk of missing our ferry booking.

 

Day 71. August 4th - 6600+km behind us!!!

to Battery Provincial Park, St-Peter's, Cape Breton Island NS (129km; up 730m, down 737m)

A good day of riding, with lots of up and down, and now on Cape Breton Island. Along the route, we passed the 6,500km milestone (in fact, the 6,600km milestone too), and we're one day away from our final "Mainland" destination of the ferry terminal in North Sydney. Our reservation on the boat to Newfoundland is not until Friday night so we will have a leisurely ride tomorrow.

 

Day 72. August 5th 

to North Sydney Harbour, Cape Breton Island NS (96km; up 759m, down 764m)

[ed. note: this is a correction from a previous entry] The last day of riding on the Mainland of Canada. We rode all the way to North Sydney Harbour where we will catch the ferry to Newfoundland in two days. Our booking is for Friday evening which will put us into Argentia on Saturday morning (August 8th). After finishing the ride, we back-track in Dakota to the Mira River where Tom's father's business colleague has a cottage. They were celebrating their wedding anniversary and we doubt they expected to do so with 4 road weary guests. Thank you so much!

 

Day 73. August 6th 

rest day on the Mira River, Cape Breton Island NS

Just hanging out, enjoying swimming and boating. Took a short trip to the historic fortress at Louisbourg... impressive. Looking forward to seeing Oli and Claire's parents in Argentia who are celebrating the end of the voyage in Newfoundland.

 

Day 74. August 7th - Goodbye Nova Scotia... 

on the ferry to Newfoundland

Another relaxed start to the day before catching the ferry at North Sydney. A beautiful, blue-sky, sunny day but the wind is blowing. As we were getting ready to board, it occurred to us that it might be good to have a berth to sleep in for the 14 hour trip! Thank God that we got moved from the waitlist to a small, interior cabin (and thanks Irwin for helping us out)! Sunset from the deck of the ship and some funny encounters with a bunch of bikers (motocyclists) who bought us beers and couldn't believe we had ridden across the country. One big burly biker just keep looking down at the floor and shaking his head in disbelief.

 

Day 75. August 8th - ... and Hello Newfoundland! Our final day of riding!!!!

Argentia to St-John's NL (134km; 1248m up, 1250m down)

After a long night with rough seas and 3 hours of sleep (at least for Claire and Oli), we landed on the ferry at Argentia NL under grey skies and 13C temperatures. But there are the dock awaiting us were Silvia and Irwin (Oli's parents), Laura (Oli's girlfriend) and Nancy and Peter (Claire's parents).

 

Our last day of riding! But first, a short ride into Placentia for breakfast at Philip's Café and our first taste of Newfie cuisine - "rip and drip" toutons (pronounced tau-tons), dipped in molasses. And coffee! By the time we headed out (with Peter riding along with us), it was noon and we had a hilly, cold ride into a headwind! After 51km, we stopped for lunch (and another hilarious encounter with our Newfoundland waitress would couldn't believe the distance we'd covered) before starting the last 100km at 3pm. By now, we'd climbed into what's known as the Barrenlands and the temperature was down to 9C. Thank goodness, no rain! Unfortunately, most of the afternoon ride was along a very busy, divided freeway stretch of the TransCanada so a slightly stressful section combined with general fatigue. But by the time we turned off on the final stretch of Hwy 2 into downtown St-John's, the shoulder was better, the traffic was calmer and everybody's moods picked up as we anticipated the end of our ride. The final stretch down to St-John's harbour was brilliant, with the water and port with Signal Hill beyond revealing itself right at the end. Wow! Again, our expanded crew of Nancy, Silvia, Laura and Irwin met us with champagne at the Harbourside Park where we dipped our tires in the Atlantic.

 

So, with that, our journey and adventure is complete. 57 days of riding. 75 days on the road, most of it spent camping along the way, often without a hot shower to wash the sweat away. But the trip would have been harder without all of the friends, family and many strangers along the way who gave us encouragement, fed us and offered us drinks, beds for the night and much appreciated showers to luxuriate in. The list is long and we thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. And thanks for all of our followers who checked out our progress here, on our Facebook or Instagram pages, and who left us enthusiastic and encouraging comments! And an really special thank you to the Nichini's who let us take Dakota across the country with us... it made a huge difference to our enjoyment of the trip.

 

In total, we covered just under 6,900km and climbed nearly 26,500m - that's equivalent to three times the height of Mount Everest (or 7-1/2 times from Everest Base Camp to the summit)! We visited all 10 Canadian provinces plus 4 US states. But the countless laughs and experiences we had, and the hundreds of people we met along the way are really the numbers that matter.

 

We have literally thousands of photos that we'll share soon. In the meanwhile, we're heading back home - with Dakota - and look forward to seeing you soon.