Cycling for Clean Air ~ Messages from the Road

Ontario down! Quebec and the rest to go? maybe?

2006-08-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

Ontario was big, long, difficult, and taxing on all the riders. From one end (Kenora) to the other (Ottawa) it was nearly 20 days of hard cycling. Big hills, lousy roads, humid weather, and cycling apathy set in as we trekked across the Canadian Shield. In short, Ontario is beautiful; cycling through Ontario was pretty damn tough.

Ontario started off well, getting from Kenora to Thunder Bay we traveled through Trans Can Hwy #17 to Dryden, Ignace, Upsala, and then T-Bay. The ride was hilly but not too difficult, the weather was overcast most days so it was alright. Many of the towns you see on the map in that area of Ontario have actually dissappeared in recent years. I remember one day we were going to meet for lunch at Martin (a city on the map) only to get there and find 1-2 buildings almost completely abandoned. Then we went through English River (I think) and everything was closed or borded up. It was interesting to see and a little bit sad as well. Upsala is kind of a spooky town. Aside from the Giant Man-Eating Mosquito at the Can-Op in Upsala, there isn't much to see in the entire stretch from Kenora to T-Bay, well aside from the trees, rivers, lakes, hills and whatnot.

After arriving in Thunder Bay we took a well deserved break in the city. Stocked up on rest and essential things like BBQ burgers, we set off for our next day-off destination Sault Ste Marie. The T-Bay to the Soo stretch of the trip was probably the hilliest most mountanous rides we had had since B.C. some of those hills were killer, the downhills were always sweet after the climb, but funny thing about downhills is they last only a fraction of the time you spent climbing the hill in the first place. Anyway, we finally arrived in Sault Ste Marie after a quick stop in Pancake Bay, which has a few wicked shops that need to be checked out if you are in the area.

After a day in the Soo, we headed East in the direction of North Bay and beyond it, Ottawa. The rides were pretty good. good weather throughout, although the spirits of some group members were starting to sag. It's hard to be in good spirits when there are 'personality conflicts' going on all around you. It was bound to happen nearly two months of close quarters and camping everyday with little to no rest or respite from one another, people were not getting along. Additionally some members did not make as much money as they had wished prior to embarking on the trip (ah yes the uncertainty of treeplanting), and wished to quit the tour in Montreal. So as cut to the quick and avoid the mumbo jumbo and all that, Mike and Raluca went their separate way in Ottawa, with Me (Dom) Kristen and Vanessa to continue the tour on Bike to Montreal.

So that is where we are right now, myself and Kristen are relaxing with my family in Montreal and Vanessa is resting with hers. Both Kristen and Vanessa will be going home to the 'Loo in the next few days while I try to figure out the logistics of continuing to NFLD alone on my bike. Its too bad the trip had to be cut short for some, but what happens happens, and you just have to continue onward. If I can get out East and back in a reasonable amount of time, I'll update this again shortly. Until then, uhh, wait or something. It's been an awesome experience and I had a blast with everyone right to the end.

Take it easy
Dominic

Time for a change ~ Mike + Raluca

2006-08-20T08:22:00.000-07:00

Over the past month things have begun to change in the trip. We are all realizing how much this trip is actually going to be costing us and for some that means too much. Personalities were also beginning to clash more and more each day. Just a few though, not the whole group. Other little things were also beginning to surface and it was becoming a little negative to the whole team.

To spare you all the mumbo jumbo the trip has had to split. It was my mission to see both coast of Canada since the moment I graduated from University and when word was being thrown around that the trip could go no further then Montreal I had to act. Myself and Raluca have rented a car and will be continuing the trip on our own still representing the goal and message behind this campaign! Remember, I said split not leave. S

ame goal just 2 and maybe even 3 different paths if another goes past Quebec. This trip has truly been amazing and has been one of the best times of both myself and Raluca's life. We would not have given this up for anything! Thanks guys. Hopefully we will still get another update in on this page once we reach the coast. Good luck guys in your trip too!

Mike + Raluca

Mike v.s. Manitoba. Yay! Ontario!

2006-08-04T06:10:00.000-07:00

Just hit the good ole Ontariariario! Well maybe not JUST just but a few days ago. Just sitting in the thunderbay right now and I really am happy to be back in Ontario. So far it has been just as I had expected. HILLY!! The first days were pretty bad... We wanted to call the place "Uphill-headwintario"! But it has gotten better in both was and now the trip is getting better again. Still hot as hellio here. In fact, it's so muggy and hot that the bugs are becoming idiots! Wes man, you would be laughing so hard. A hornet would fly into me hit the ground, be on its back twitching and trying to fly, finally get to its feet, fly in a 360 and then hit the ground again on its back and rock out again! So funny! Well here is the deal with Manitoba... IT SUCKED!!! MAAAAAAN!!! I heard the roads would be bad but not like this! The road sometimes looked like it was exploding on us or even like it had gone through a massive 8.0 earthquake! And to top it all off it for about 1/3 the time we had no shoulder to ride on! Try biking on the trans Canada doing 25km/h trying not to spin out on the gravel while convoys of truckers are racing by taking of your arm hair! YEAH!! NOT COOL!! Not only that but I have never felt more like an outsider in my own county then here! With the exception of Winnipeg, everyone gave us a hard time and constantly looked down or slightly cockeyed at us. It was so freaky! And to top it all off, Manitoba has the aura about it that causes things to break! My bike broke 2 spokes, the car blew a tire, dom busted his ankle, vanessa's arms started going numb, and my knee is doing something funky. But would I do it again? Sure! It's experience. Earlier in the trip I was wondering what it means when people say the line "It builds character" when something is hard. I found out why. It builts character because it takes alot to get through what you just did and in the end you realize that you can get through more then you ever thought you could. And you begin to realize that all those little things the you stress over don't mean...well you know! I don't care who you are we all stress over something small at one time or another. I have next to no stress but after all of this I know there were some things just not worth it. Anyway, thats my rant. Really nothing to see, just a big stone to climb. There was one good thing though, it was flat. Yeah, you say Sask is the flattest place in Canada, Your wrong! Its the toba! Its really a shame it didn't have good roads or we would have been through that so quick... Meh. what can ya do eh? It's funny, each province we go through, we wish we had something from the one before. Even in Ontario we will want Manitoba's flatness. Take it easy all Mike

Vanessa's optimistic!

2006-08-04T06:04:00.000-07:00

Before we set out on this trip, we held a discussion about which province was the forgotten one, we all agreed it was Manitoba. And why not? Our itinerary gave us 4 days to complete it. Funny enough, none of us will ever forget our Manitoban experience cause it was a nightmare. Many things went wrong (exploding car tire, broken bikes, broken bodies, terrible road conditions, rude locals, expensive camp costs, inconvenient locations of camp sites). We don't like to discriminate between provinces but the general concensus between all team members is we're glad to be home and out of Manitoba.

I had to purchase new grips and bar tape for my bike. I installed them myself and it couldn't look more homemade. I call it my "Playschool" bike. It's once mute colour scheme is now speckled with sporadic patches of colour. Another tip for second-hand bike owners: Invest in new materials, don't be cheap. Some things just have to be replaced otherwise it can lead to problems down the line.

The riders are injured in some way or form. Mike & I have diaper rash, Dom's heels & Mike's knees are in bad shape, my arm's are numb from the long hours, I have severe sunburn on my shoulders and I haven't had a good night's sleep in 2 weeks cause our campsites have been conveniently located next to trains that run at night. I can't tell you how glad I am to be halfway done this tour. I miss my bed, my family, an income...4 consecutive months of camping is a little much.

Speaking of sunburn, I tried to pop the balls of sweat that had bubbled beneath my skin in a gift shop the other day. Unbeknownst to me, a man was peering from behind a sales rack. He was clearly disgusted with what I was doing but couldn't turn away at the same time. Usually, I would do this in a bathroom but the lighting conditions weren't favourable. What I'm trying to say is: Sunscreen is very important and don't forget the shoulders.

This trip has made me realise the importance of team work. Especially in a group as small as ours. Every problem gets magnetised and crucially scrutinised. If the team doesn't work well together, there will be problems. If not now then later. So if you're thinking of jumping into a similar project, meet your group members beforehand and make sure you're a good fit.

Apparently, the ride from Thunder Bay to Sault St-Marie will be the toughest yet. Dom and Mike have ranted and raved about the difficulty of this stretch since we were in BC. I'm skeptical cause in my mind, nothing can top the rockies. Simultaneously, I'm terrified cause they might be right.

2 scoops of cheer from me

Vanessa

Raluca's Manitoban thoughts

2006-08-04T06:02:00.000-07:00

Hey you guys!! So we made it through Saskatchewan in about 4 days and not much to report there. Except it is retardedly HOT in the Sask! Like 40 degrees hot. I biked from Moose Jaw to Regina (75 km yeah!!!!) and I thought I was gonna melt. Couln't make it into the city though, biking through highway traffic is not fun! Well anyways Regina was kinda boring, it seemed like nothing was going on there at all. Or we just missed it, like the wakeboarding championship. But we did find a sweet pool in Grenfell that we spend 4 hours at! So then off to Manitoba...and I must say I HATE THIS PROVINCE! The roads are shit and nothing is labeled. I biked from Sidney to Portage la Prairie and about 10 km from Portage there were no more paved shoulders. So I had to ride on the road and it was scary! Is it that hard to just switch a lane when you see a biker!!! Don't be so lazy! ARRGGGH!!! Oh and I got passed by a huge 18 wheeler truck too...missed me by a foot! Getting into Winnipeg wasn't any easier, one ways, construction everywhere, rush hour, and NO SIGNS! Why would anyone put the visitor's center in the middle of town instead of on the outskirts before you enter the city? Sucky. I can't wait to get back to Ontario. Til then. Raluca ..and Sask pics should be up on Yahoo Photos (check link below)

Mike's Bloooooggg

2006-08-04T06:01:00.000-07:00

So Sask for about the first 2 days was anything but flat.
It was full of rolling hills and crappy roads! It looked like someone had a war on the highway! Chunks of pavement everywhere and pothole the size of little kids. It was kinda brutal.
But then once we left those bad roads we got ourselves onto the 1 highway again. This would be a good thing, and in a way it was. We were able to hit speeds we've never hit before. I averaged 30km/h one day and ended up going 177 km's! BOOYEAH!! I'm a tank! But of course, i said there was a bad side to it too. The heat! It got so damn hot! You would sleep one article away from nakedness and by 7am it was already 26*c! The heat just kept weighing down on you constantly and would suck the life right out. No shade, hot air, and warm tealike water...
Not only that but it became a mental game. You knew you could do the distance but it was everything else. Even off the bike times were a little trying. In all honesty, I'm happy to be out of the sask. Not because of the place but just because of what we went through.
I got to see my golden fields though! That was fun. But thats about it.
Oh yeah! My bike broke a spoke! Yeah all the weight was taking its toll on my bike and a spoke just blow right out. Had to wait a day to get my bike fixed but it will be all good now!
New phone rocks and everything is getting better by the minute. We even got some rain last night in the form of a Thunder Storm! SOOO COOOL!

The Saskatchewan gophers have spoken...

2006-07-27T11:22:00.000-07:00

And they have left me with 3 bits of wisdom. First, despite what anyone says, Saskatchewan isn't all that flat. Most of the terrain is rolling, but the roads are good (along the #1, country roads need lots of work). The second thing the gophers told me was to seek shelter wherever I could, because there is absolutely no shade in Sa

skatchewan. The gas stations were like an oasis in the middle of the desert. The brutal 35-40 C weather was rough on the cyclists, we rode into camp covered in salt from the day's ride. The final words of wisdome the gophers left me with was simply this: crossing the road is a bad idea. O.K. the living gophers didn't tell me that last one, but the 30+ roadkill gophers I rode by conveyed the message all the same.

The riding is good, albeit hot and sticky; don't let anyone tell you that the dry heat of the praries is any less hot then the humidity experienced in other provinces, it's a load of garbage. Hot is hot. Sunscreen is a lifesaver i've never worn so much in my entire life as I have in the past 2 weeks.

Subway's (the restaurant) are lifesavers. Not for the sandwiches, which are delicious, but for the free ice you can shovel into your camelback or water bottles. Water gets disgustingly hot after a couple hours ride in the saddle, and the ice is quite posibly the most refreshing thing you can find during your gas station stop over.

Things are going well, we are in Winnipeg as I write this. We are still 2 days behind schedule, but overall the flow of the trip, the daily distances etc have never been smoother. A few notes to end this quick update:

- Wireless Internet access is impossible to find, the Calgary, Regina, and Winnipeg central libraries do not have it, but for some reason Kamloops back in B.C. did. It's kind of odd that the capitals of two provinces are behind a mid sized town like Kamloops when it comes to technology.

- Eastern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Western Manitoba need to combine into one large province dubbed Alsaskatchatoba, because there is nothing to see and aside from a few regional variations, its all the same.

- Manitoba is flat flat flat, with reallllly bad roads. no shoulders mean travelling with the big trucks on the trans-canada hwy, which means lots of honking and near collisions. Manitoba, its time to fix the roads buddy.

- I found out that my dog, Sparky, died on July 23rd. He was 12 years old and I've had him since I was 12. I regret that I hadn't seen him for the last 3 months of his life, and I'll miss him a lot. Our family of 4 is back down to 3. He was a good dog.

- When life gives you a swift kick to the rear, you gotta keep running, or it'll kick you again.

- Almost back to Ontario, then its time to feel the pain as we struggle through the granite hills between T-bay and Ste-St Marie, probably the most difficult riding of the whole trip, including the Rockies.

Next update will likely come from T-bay, stay tuned

Dom

Vanessa's thoughts

2006-07-25T10:29:00.000-07:00

- We crossed the Sask-Man border in the foulest of moods (difficult headwinds and rocky road conditions, couldn't muster the energy to pose for the http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/Afrogrape/bike.jpg

- I race Dom & Mike on a daily basis without telling them in the off-chance I might win.

- Who decided to let the cat tag-along? Not me.

- Kristen & Raluca are doing an amazing job running camp, they're the souls of this tour

- I'm never camping/swimming/driving/going to the movies and dining with a group of couples by myself every again. I feel like a perpetual 5th wheel

- I got kissed on the lips by a butterfly (READ: it slammed onto my lips cause I didn't have the energy to dodge it)

- Biking through Saskatchewan felt like skin cancer. I must've emptied out most of my sunscreen

- I finally changed my shirt after a month of wearing the same one everyday (yes, I washed it in between)

- Biked through the smallest town, Mantario. Population was 27

- Showers make the difference between a good day and a bad day

- My bowel movements are regular (this piece of information is directed more towards my mom than you)

- I miss my family

2 scoops of cheer from me,
Vanessa

We're too cool for words

2006-07-21T09:54:00.000-07:00

Kristen's Numero Twono

2006-07-21T09:40:00.000-07:00

Hey There, Well we finally passed into Saskatchewan a couple of days ago, the so-called flat land of opportunities is very incorrect! The beginning of the province was fairly flat, at least for the first 69 km. The other 300 km has been hilly; the road looks like a bomb hit it for a least 100 or more km, and there are absolutely no trees for shade anywhere...lol. I don't know how the team biking extremely hot days does it...all I have to say is way to go!

What I find the most interesting about Saskatchewan, especially the prairies, is the people. I've never met more friendlier people. Small town folk are always interested in talking, asking us about our trip, and sharing their own stories. Great company. Just as a side comment. We took the 44 for the past couple of days. Along this road we passed through a town called Mantario, population of less than 100; and also a town I forget the name of, with a population of 24! You want to see a live ghost town, drive along the 44 until you hit this place. Words from Vanessa, "I think the whole population were all men, because as I rode by, they all stared at me."

I'd like to give a shout out to the people from Youngstown for their great hospitality and sweet campground. Thanks guys. I'd also like to say hi to my parents and whoever else reads this. I'm looking forward to seeing Moose Jaw and entering into Manitoba.

Cheerio, Kristen

Mike sez Saskachewannadome

2006-07-20T16:59:00.000-07:00

yup that's right, I've hit the mighty sask! I'm sitting in a city called swiftcurrent and have been in sask for abooooout 2 days including this one. Let me tell you this, THE PRAIRIES AREN'T FLAT!!! But that is for another tale when i get to MANitoba Alberta was glorious! I think the best decision we made was to take the Icefields parkway and go through both banff and jasper national parks. The mountains were tall, snow tipped and all encompassing! Some said that it made you feel so small, but to me, it made me feel big, empowered. You feel so at home and one with nature there. To me, the mountains aren't bigger then me, cause i am the mountains. There were some scary signs that popped quite frequently reminding us that we were in BEAR COUNTRY. But of course we already knew all the little things to do to protect ourselves. i even have a can of bear spray. thats right, BEAR SPRAY!!! 4x the power of police mace!

Anyway.... Jasper was a great little city with some nice sites and all that but sadly it came in 4th place of coolness for the parks. As we traveled south we were able to hit some awesome lakes, some great waterfalls and see some amazing stone carving. The best of all being A GLACIER!! Yup, I walked on it! It was so cool (no pun wanted). Even took a little drink and the run off. The next spot was Lake Louise. Now that place was really beautiful. It really had everything you wanted. An over extravagent building, a cyan lake, forest hugging you and mountains tipped with snow and glacier. Just breath taking. And then we hit my two favourite cities so far. Banff and Canmore. Small, green and full of life. You just had to love them. We then made our way to Calgary. as we biked we were actually able to see the last mountain that we'd see in the rockies. It was kind of a weird moment. Happy cause we had come so far, sad that we would never see sights like that for the rest of the trip. It was a good ride to Calgary and we were able to spend 2 nights there in a house. Thanks Florin! We were actually able to see the last day of the Calgary Stampede!!! It was cool, but kinda like a country themed Toronto EX. AND THE TREWS PLAYED A FREE SHOW TOO!!!(just wish we coulda seen them... Guess i couldn't cause Jordan you weren't there)

But anyway, it was nice, good city. After that it started to get more Prairie like and we hit the dinosaur capital of Canada of Drumheller. Saw the worlds biggest dinosaur and walked through a museum of great evolutionary knowledge. More biking on rolling hills and I think I may have seen some Cariboo! OHYEAH!! I also stared a cow stampede... I looked at them and said "Ladies, lookin' gooooood!" and they started to run! It was awesome! Some small towners bought us drinks, we biked in insane heat and then we finally hit the border. Good times. GREAT TIMES! We are all getting closer together as a team now and it helping us every step of the way. Talk to all of you again in a few days once we hit the mighty TOBA!

Raluca's update from Saskatchewan + more pictures

2006-07-20T16:57:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Yesterday we crossed the border to Saskatchewan! Alberta was really nice, on the west with beautiful mountains and crystal clear waters and on the east rolling prairie hills with blue skies. On the Sask. licence plate it says "Saskatchewan: Land of Living Skies" and they sure are right! All you can see for miles is sky! The eastern side of Alberta is the same. We stayed in a little town called Youngstown (pop. 187) the last night in Alberta and small town folk sure know how to show us a good time! We went to the local bar and got free beers and engaged in great conversations with the locals...it was so much fun! I biked my second day too right before hitting the Sask. border. Only did 55 km this time because I was in a much higher gear and was speeding like a maniac on the straight aways...those small inclines kill me though. My legs didn't hurt as much as my neck, back and elbow joints and of course my butt! Hopefully I'll do more biking after Regina, which we'll be in tomorrow. We took a little detour to the Drumheller dinosaur museum so we are 2 days behind schedule (check www.cycling4cleanair.ca for itenirary) but it was well worth it. That section of Alberta is called the Canadian Badlands because it looks like the Wild West. Check out pics on my Yahoo Page (link below). Last night was out first motel experience because we couldn't find any camping in town (all full!). It was cheap but it had a shower (YAY) TV, fridge and stove and various little creepy crawly bugs. Well seeing as my time is almost up at the Swift Current public library computers I'll be making my leave. Check out www.cycling4cleanair.ca soon for other updates and to donate for the ride! Check out the link below for pics http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/rpopescu_1984/my_photos Hope you all are having a great summer! Raluca

Dom's rambling update

2006-07-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

Hey so it's me again. I don't really know what to say that hasn't been said by the others in a million different ways but here goes...
The cycling has been both easier and harder then I expected. Easier in that I am confident that we can finish the distances each day, and harder in that when the wind decides to blow in your face for 3 hours there's really nothing you can do but swear. Overall though I find that its not my legs that get tired by the end of each day but my neck and my butt. the neck usually recovers enough for the next day, but the butt is a different matter altogether. Gradually near the end of our shift of cycling you dread getting on the saddle for how it makes the butt feel. Anyway...
Everyone has really pulled it together in the past week. Things are running more smoothly then I would have thought after the first week. Kristen has done a great job rallying the troops and making things work. She's like an entire crew of stagehands, while we three cyclists are out pedaling away, she is making sure everthing works behind the scenes, from groceries, schedules, camp setups and a million other little things that I'm sure I don't even know about. Her and Raluca do a lot of work and deserve all the praise I can muster for them.
It's been good riding these days. All through the national parks (5 days or so) it was cold, windy and rainy. A big disappointment but overall it was alright. Cycling with Mike and Vanessa is a kick. Mike and I bust out geek references all day long, while I joke with Vanessa about her endless appetite for sandwiches (Really, she eats a lot of them, like after every meal, sometimes 2-3 at a time). So yeah, the rides have been enjoyable, aside from a few minor things like GIANT HILLS (one huge one outside Cochrane, and the Rockies in general), the murderous Sun that supplied me with some quadruple degree burns on my shoulders, and jackass motorists throwing suntan lotion at us as we cycle by.
So what else is there to tell? We have a cat right now, an underweight 7-8 week old stray that we found on the 6th or 7th day of the trip. The little guy is black and i'm not quite sure what kind of luck he's bringing so far. I like the little guy but he makes my allergies go haywire and every morning I wake up with a runny nose, itchy eyes, a nagging cough, and a desire to get rid of little kitty. Well for now I'll just load up on Claratin or Reactin or something and deal with it. The cat is adorable despite being an allergic reaction inducing bag of bones.
The scenery in B.C. was wicked, Alberta too, up until we hit Calgary. Now its flat plains and no shade until Ontario! Woo! That is one of the things I am worried about as we move into the Prarie stretch. Hot sun + no shade + long distances = dead cyclists. Another worry is the mental toughness required to cycle for 7 hours in a straight line with nothing to see all around you. I think it's time to bust out the music. In any case, the next update from us all will tell you exactly whats been happening in that stretch so I'll stop speculating.
Well that's it for now, it'll be another stretch until we are able to update again, maybe a week, maybe more. So bye for now, but we'll be back.

Dominic

PS. if you are following the itenerary, we are 2 days behind due to impromptu days off in Kamloops and Calgary. Kamloops we were tired, and Calgary well... we wanted to see the stampede. the inner tourist took over. We'll make up the distance somehow.

Kristen's Update! YAY!

2006-07-17T08:15:00.000-07:00

Well to start this puppy off, I must say that BC is by far, my most favourite province! I've never seen a scenery change so dramatically in a span of less than 300 km! You go from seeing beautifully large forested mountains, to dry, sandy looking hills. Amazing! I could definitely get used to being surrounded by the rockies. Camp life, I must say, has been a bit of a challenge; each person working out they're own routines. It was a little rocky in the beginning but I believe it will continue to get much better; however, extended periods of bush camping with the same people for 2 months and limited numbers of off days can get hairy...just kidding. The trip itself is amazing. I never thought I'd ever do something this mentally and physically challenging in my early twenties. You may ask yourself, "mentally and physically challenging?". Yes, even though I am the team gopher, I still am responsible for feeding, and managing four other people for a cross-country tour. And yes I do get the chance to cycle. Well, that's all I have for now. I'll definitely keep you posted. Cheerio, Kristen

Vanessa Update Numero Uno

2006-07-17T08:11:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Calgary AB!
Day 1 of the tour was spent biking up 45 km on the wrong tires and a flat....up the Rockies! We stopped off at a bike shop and I unwillingly spent 70 bucks on new tires (not too expensive but a cost I can't afford). Best 70 bucks I ever spent, very important tip. If you're going to bike great distances, invest in the right tires.
We crossed the BC/Alberta border a couple of days ago. It was epic. Rain, wind, trucks and hills! PLUS, it didn’t stop raining until we crossed the border. You could’ve made a movie out of that ride. We took lots of pictures, videotaped and made a big deal out of it.
Scenery is amazing. It's really something else to ride your bike versus riding a car. The smoothness of the road, it's width...etc become very important factors in your performance.
Biking with the 2 guys is pretty entertaining. Their conversations often gravitate towards 80s video games and quotes to movies I’ve never heard of. Mike is the biggest optimist I've ever met and Dom taunts me like a sister. We came upon a stray black cat in Vavenby. He digs little pits for his excrements.
There are times when I’m reminded about treeplanting. On days like today for instance where we go without showers for days. Forget dandruff flakes, I’ve got dandruff chunks that have welded themselves to my scalp. I’m wearing my shirts inside out, I’ve exhausted all of my clean laundry, my nails are never clean and I purge on junk food first thing when I get into town. It’s great!
Needless to say, it's been a challenge. The last time I biked was a year ago, the most I'd ever biked before this was 15 km on what I call a "Sunday road" (flat and straight). Regardless, everything is going swell. We’re beginning to improve in our biking distances and performance. The scenery is breathtaking and I often have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. I’m so happy to be here.
Thank you for your hospitality to the following individuals: Waino & Irene, Faith & Jim, Katherine, Ida and Florine
Two scoops of cheer from me
Vanessa

Raluca Update #2

2006-07-17T08:10:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! So we have made it to Calgary!! It was a pretty hard time through the rockies...because it rained pretty much the entire time we were there! But still pretty amazing. As soon as we got to Calgary the skies cleared and it was beautiful! The weather started to get better when we went into Banff and Lake Louise, which is great because those place are amazing! Beautiful views and lots of little cute stores to check out. In Banff I had the best fish and chips of my life at Johnny Ray's restaurant!! They were absolutely delicious! We got to go to the Calgary stampede too, just caught it on the last day. It was a lot of fun, saw lots of horses and cows and chickens and stuff. Oh yeah but on the road I saw black bears and elk and mountain goats! They were all so close too! It's really awesome! So I managed to get a few (hundred) pictures online for you all to check out. There's pics from Thunder Bay and Vancouver before the start of the bike trip and then the first and second weeks in BC. More to come as I find computers with high speed internet! And you can see pics of Aven our cat too! He's really cute and quite well trained too. Well that's all for now. Check out the pics at http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/rpopescu_1984/my_photos
Cheers Raluca

edit: if the link doesn't work just copy and paste it into the browser

Update from Raluca

2006-07-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! So we have finally crossed over into Alberta! YAY!! BC was really beautiful. We had great weather for the first couple of days and then the last few days we got rained on bad! Setting up tents in the rain is NOT FUN! It gets pretty cold out at night too and I'm all kinds of sick right now but it's all worth it! The sights are just amazing. There's thick forests and huge mountain peaks everywhere and lakes that are such a beautiful cyan in colour as well as waterfalls, pretty much all the best of nature in a nice little package. Wildlife's pretty awesome too, I've seen a bear cub and some deer and all sorts of tiny scurrying things. Oh and we found a cat on the side of the highway! He's this tiny little scrawny thing but so adorable, and he is now our mascot! His name is Aven (we found him near Vavenby). Oh and I also got to bike a couple of days ago. 60 km on my first day isn't too bad! But oh man it was hard...not very hilly but still pretty bad for me...I had to walk up 5 hills! So I've been taking lots of pictures, I've got about 400 already! Stay tuned for some pics from the road as well whenever I get another crack at a computer! Later! Raluca

Alberta Finally!

2006-07-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

Sup ! I have made it through BC! Which we have nick named Bull Crap cause thats what the roads were like at times. Oh so beautiful but so windy, rainy and hilly! And not like up and down hilly, just uphilly!!!! But here is just a small rundown of all that has happened. The team is really good. We are all kinda different but it works. We have Myself, Raluca, Dom (A friend of mine since Gradeschool), Kristen (his girlfirend) and Vanessa (asian girl that worked with Dom and Kristen). The first few days were really hard on us. It was all uphill and not only that but we were totally not trained enough to do it. BUT WE DID!! The ocean is glorious! Like some sights from the cliffs are load blowing! And the air, oh man i cannot say enough about the air. So clean and refreshing. Once we got onto a highway called the 5 yellowhead it was smooth sailing. Nothing but flatland, mountains around us, and COWS!! yeah it was this area that was semi-arid and only got like 8 inches of rain a year! So it was really hot and a good guess to what the prairies would feel like. After that back into the hills, forests and rain! We got hit a few times. Finally on the last day of biking in BC something horrible happened! We got rained on hard! TWICE!!!! and then... then!!! MY CELL PHONE GOT FLOODED AND DIED!!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!! Yes the mighty cell phone from like 7-8years ago is finally dead... So i gotta get a new fancy colour one. Meh guess its time. All in all its been great! Seen even more wildlife and natural wonder then i ever had. Hope you all are doing great too. BTW RENATO, WES AND STEFFI!!! VIVA ITALIA!!!! I can't believe that they actually did it! Nice nice. Yeah thats about it for now. Talk to you all again come Saskatchuwan (gah?) OH!!! SaskatchEwan!! hahahaha

~Mike

Day off in Jasper

2006-07-12T13:18:00.000-07:00

So it's been nearly two weeks since we started and now we are in Jasper after crossing the B.C. border into Alberta. Since I have to pay for internet (at the library even) I'm just going to leave a few thoughts until we get to Calgary. B.C. was tough, lots of hills and mountains the first 4 days, once we got to the #5 it was a much nicer ride. B.C. is beautiful, as you will soon see when we can upload some pictures. Everyone is doing well. We even found a stray kitten along the way, we've named him Aven after the city we found him near Vavenby. More on all this once we get to Calg and can get on some free internet.

Dom

And so it begins...

2006-07-01T20:28:00.000-07:00

We leave tommorrow on our epic adventure. I'm excited, nervous, and terrified all at once in about a 3:2:1 ratio. Here is a picture of the crew. It was taken in Thunder Bay before we began the non-stop 35-40 hour drive to Maple Ridge B.C. Tommorrow we drive to Horseshoe Bay to dip our wheels in the Ocean and depart around 10:00 am-ish. The blog will be updated sporadically, or whenever we can get some internet and enough time to post. All members of the team will post every now and then so the blog doesn't get too stale with only my ramblings of the trip. Anyway wish us all luck and check back for updates.

Hey Hey!

2006-05-05T23:30:00.000-07:00

So the website has been updated with pictures of the participants, their various reasons for participating, and other information. I (Dominic, the webmaster/organizer) will be away for a while. Stay tuned to the blog for information from the road as the trip starts. The blog will be the place where road pictures will be posted and a basic journal of events will be kept. Look forward to more posts starting July 1st.

Big Update!

2006-03-11T12:32:00.000-08:00

Coming soon!

Welcome

2006-02-11T10:54:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the new weblog for Cycling for Clean Air 2006. This blog account has been created to allow us to post updates and photos from the road as we cycle across Canada during the summer of 06. Be sure to check back for future updates.