Black Eyed Peas - "Let's Get it Started"

And the base keep runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and
runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and runnin' , runnin', and runnin' runnin', and...
C'mon y'all, lets get woohoo!
Lets get woohoo! (in here), Lets get woohoo! Lets get woohoo! (in here)
Lets get woohoo! Lets get woohoo! (in here) Ow, ow, ow!
Ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya...

-Black Eyed Peas - "Let's Get it Started"

Today was Orientation Day and I was feeling fairly ok apart from the general, ‘what the hell have I gotten myself into’ sort of nerves. It was nice to finally meet the other participants and also meet Bud, the founder of Tour du Canada. We had a fantastic breakfast of cinnamon buns, yogourt, fruit and muslix so I was right at home – best breakfast ever. Apparently this is the ‘basic’ breakfast that will be the morning ballast for our journey across Canada.

Throughout the morning I quickly confirmed my suspicions that bikers – particularly those doing this trip – are of a certain breed… eg. hardcore with loads of cycling experience. I guess you’d have to be either hard core or just a bit mental. I think that I fall into the latter category as I am certainly not hardcore – particularly given that on my Tanzania biking trip I accidentally wore my bicycle shorts backwards and did most of the 12-day biking trip in the wrong gear….

There are 38 people in the group including myself and the age gap ranges from about mid-20s through to about 60(ish?). Everyone is sooo nice and everyone has a story to tell. It’s hard to remember the names and I find myself introducing and reintroducing myself to quite a few people. I've narrowed it down to 'tall man', 'man with large calves', 'man with padding in his cycle shorts', 'hardcore man' etc..

We were divided up into ‘Galley Crews’ which are crews that will cook and clean up on a rota basis – there are 7 groups so it means that each group will be on Galley Duty about 7 times. Being on Galley Duty is actually much more complicated than it sounds – particularly because you’re responsible for cooking and cleaning up after 38 very hungry people..!! It’s quite a sophisticated operation but good as it ensures that when the system works properly, everyone will pull their weight.

Some of the key take aways from the day included:

- learning that when food sits around a camp, squirrels are just as vicious as bears
- how to use the coffee machine
- survey of who snores, who doesn’t (mental note, keep tent away from snorers..)
- the true definition of ‘snake bite’, ‘tire boot’, 'bonking' (unfortunately no sex involved)
- how to run to the front of the queue for food
- how to use the Cue Sheets (very important as this is how we find the Tim Hortons).
- how to fit as many of your belongings as possible into a small black basket
- policy on the beer kitty (very important)
- how wearing a reflective triangle can save your life (if tight, reveals all lycra hasn't already scared everything / one away)

The orientation lasted most of the day… I must admit it was all a bit overwhelming so as soon as it was over Brendan and I escaped to indulge in a beer back at the pub while the crew for the evening made dinner. Again, the Guinesses did not disappoint..! It felt good to get away from all the bike-talk and back into more neutral surroundings… (eg. beer in hand, football and rugby on tv!).

On the menu was a true favourite – spaghetti… never disappoints. Yum. Fortunately someone learned how to use the kitchen.

After dinner a small group of us went to ‘Wrek’ beach which offers fantastic views over the Pacific. Ironically, this is also a nudist beach (we didn’t realize this until we got down to the beach!!) and because it was also the Summer Solstice it was also a reason for a large portion of Vancouvers hippies (or perhaps just the nutters) to walk the beaches naked whilst smoking large quantities of pot. And man, were they ever naked… The atmosphere was totally chilled out and so different from anything that I’ve ever seen in other parts of the country or even the world for that matter..! It is hard to make a generalization about the Vancouverites but judging from those I’ve met and those I saw along the beach they are much more ‘chilled out’ and ‘laid back’ than the rest of Canada. Also much more 'naked'.

We walked a bit further down the beach and came upon what was 3 large ‘stages’ built out of cedar and into the clay cliffs. We stood admiring the work of art when a slightly dodgy looking, slender man with slightly glazed over eyes and weather-beaten skin bounded down toward us and offered us a bag of grapes and invited us to check out his ‘work of art’ - a series of three stages built out of cedar into the clay cliff face and framed by huge trees.

We stood chatting to Jack for about 20 minutes and, if everything that he told us was true, he was a true gem of a Canadian and lived one hell of a global life…. He was one of 12 children born in Montreal but moved to Vancouver as soon as he could as he hated the cold. Somewhere along the way he met a wealthy gentleman who offered him a scholarship to study anywhere in the world that he pleased… so off he went to University du Caire where he studied Islam and then traveled to Morocco, to Casablanca, to set up a womens clothing line – made by women, for women… A very progressive business venture. Unfortunately it never happened as just before they were about to launch a bomb exploded in Casablanca killing 12 people, throwing the city into political and cultural chaos… Jack decided to leave. We never really established what Jack did between then and now but I suspect that it involved a significant amount of cannabis and poetry readings, not to mention the construction of his cedar stages. He would have been happy to sit and talk with us for hours (he was not short on words or opinions..!) but the tide was coming in so we made our scenic way back to the camp.

The walk back to the beach where we started from was incredible – the sun was setting into the Pacific Ocean casting a golden glow over the sand and its hippy inhabitants. The waves crashed steadily onto the shore. One of the nudists were walking around with bagpipes (it was hard not to get an X-rated picture!!), and it was a really ‘calming’ sort of atmosphere – totally appropriate as my stomach was doing flip flops with nerves. It was an ‘Oxford Street’ moment – one of those moments where you take total ‘city chaos’ and juxtaposition it in your mind next to the serene, calm yet slightly surreal surroundings. It was a very, very cool evening to end quite a day.

CCR - The Long Road Home - "Travelin' Band"

Seven Thirty Seven coming out of the sky.
Oh! Won't you
take me down to Memphis on a midnight ride,
I wanna
move.

CHORUS:
Playing in a Traveling Band.Yeah!
Well, I'm
flying 'cross the land, try'ing to get a hand,
Playing in a Traveling
Band.

Take me to the hotel, Baggage gone, oh, well.
Come on,
come on, won't you get me to my room,
I wanna move.

- Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Travelin' Band" - The Long Road Home

Saturday, June 22, 2008

Yesterday I arrived in Vancouver after a nervous good bye to my parents and a big pep-talk about ‘living the dream’ – which in many ways is true... It seems that the ‘cycle bug’ has woken from its dormancy and instilled in my parents a romantic notion of biking along the nice flat Dutch countryside… so peaceful, so green, so flat and so carefree… My fear however is that in reality the image will be slightly less romantic and significantly more sweaty… an image of me lugging my body and my bike up a steep mountain pass here in the Canadian Rockies. What my Mom meant about living the dream however was the fact that back in 1992 she cut an article about the Tour du Canada from the London Free Press and, strangely, found it just last week whilst cleaning out an old desk. Fate…?! Perhaps -- I'll let you know if I survive this journey..!

My bike arrived safe and sound off of the Vancouver Airport oversize baggage belt without any problems and I hopped into a cab which took me to the leafy green UBC campus. I checked in and met up with Brendan. Brendan, better known as ‘BC’, is a good friend of mine and the Canadian / London connection who originally got me interested in the Tour du Canada after he signed up just over a month ago. It was so nice to catch up and see a familiar face in the midst of all the ‘unknowns’ and have the opportunity to share some of my sense of excitement, nervousness… and also goals and ambitions for the journey ahead..!

Brendan and I, picking up from where we left off from the UK immediately headed out to the local Irish pub for

1. beer and
2. burgers

(we have our priorities straight..!). Brendan had cleverly already scoped out the campus and found the best place to get a Guinness. Nice one BC.

One thing that I love about Canada is the ‘terrace’ or ‘patio’ culture – most pubs have outdoor patios sheltered by a leafy veranda with heavy wooden oversized patio furniture and smiley waitresses… This was one of those pubs that had just that… topped off with some fantastic food and, according to Brendan (a Guinness conaisseur..!) the best Guinness he has had on this side of the Atlantic..! That is one for the guide books..!!

I awoke bright and early on Saturday morning at 5am in my little dorm bed on my side staring at my bike and wondering how on earth its two wheels were going to transport me (comfortably?!) 7500 kilometers across the country….

Ohman..

Queen - Jazz (1978) "Bicycle Race"

Bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle bicycle
bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to
ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like…."

- Queen - Jazz (1978); 'Bicycle Race'

Tomorrow I fly out to Vancouver to start my ‘TdC summer adventure’ from June 21 – August 31st. The total distance covered is 7,480kms (4,620 miles); the longest day is 176 kms (109 miles) over the course of 71 days…. Sitting here in the comfort of the house and overlooking the fields of SW Ontario makes it all seem rather daunting…! Fortunately the TdC is unlike the Queen song - it is not a race but rather a journey.

I am really looking forward to the routine of getting on my new bike, finding my ‘groove’ and finally meeting the other participants on the ride. We will start in Vancouver on Saturday with an orientation day at UBC where we will make initial introductions, go through safety-related details and also learn how to use the amenities of the five-tonne truck in which we will store our gear and also use as the kitchen for the coming 2.5 months (yes, I am ALSO going to learn how to cook…). Kraft Dinner for 30 people... Anyone…. Anyone...?

A very brief overview of the route:

Start in Vancouver, go through the Coast Mountains, Kamloops, Rogers Pass…then over Kicking Horse Pass (not looking forward to the pull out of Golden!), on to the loooong flat prairies, the Qu’Appelle Valley and through to the Yellowhead Highway to the outskirts of Portage la Prairie, through the Peg (wahoo!), and then on to join the TransCanada to Kenora, Lake of the Woods, Thunder Bay and Lake Superior. The half-way point on the trip is about at the Terry Fox monument east of Thunder Bay.

Past the Lakehead we get into the granite formations of the Canadian Shield where we will be met by long rolling hills which are rumored to be the toughest part of the trip – hopefully by that stage my legs will have become strong and my backside a bit more accustomed to the saddle..! A nice ‘break’ will be provided on a cross to Manitoulan Island and the ferry to Tobermory. From there we cycle through to Lake Simcoe, Toronto, the Ottawa Valley, and then Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in our nations capital, Ottawa..! From the Ottawa we follow river networks to the sea through to Montreal and along the St. Lawrence, then upon reaching the Gaspe Peninsula, we climb overland to the Matapedia Valley, one of the world’s great salmon rivers.

Finally, the Acadian Coast – the maritime provinces..! We will follow the Acadian Coast of New Brunswick through fishing villages until we reach Prince Edward Island via the Confederation Bridge. We leave the island on a ferry that goes to Nova Scotia at Pictou and then on to Port Hawkesbury and onto Cape Breton Island. Our final destination will be North Sydney (yes, we have one in Canada too!) where ferries leave for Newfoundland. Taking the ferry along the open water we will reach the 10th and final province in the journey – Newfoundland..! In Newfoundland we will ride across the Avalon Peninsula to reach St John’s where we will reach the final hill on the Tour – the climb to the lighthouse on Signal Hill..!

(reference: The CycleCanada Guide to Bycycle Touring, by Bud Jorgensen)

Bike & Gear – a very, very steep learning curve..!

I have added a new addition to my bike family – the Trek 5000. I bought it in London (Ont.) at Reynolds Cycle where I test drove a number of different bicycles (both road bikes and hybrids). When I found the one I liked, I was weighed and measured to the frame. A great light carbon fiber frame with mid-range components – perfect for a ‘not-especially hard core biker doing an especially hard core trip’. Whilst I adore my mountain bike (photo of 'Bike' [Trek 8000] and I below taken in Tanzania in September 2007), I must confess I am enjoying the sense of ‘freedom’ and speed that the road bike offers.

I was also sure to invest in a super padded saddle as well as some very gel-filled lycra shorts. Not especially attractive but at this stage, I am going for the comfort factor over fashion..! I also managed to find a fantastic Marmot 2-person tent which will be my home for the coming months…

I am starting to wonder if I hit my mid-life crisis at 32 with the purchase of my ‘new wheels’ and my ‘new house’…!

L&L approach

Format

Through this blog I’ll do my best to share my thoughts as often and as ‘unsweetened’ as I can. Armed with a fully loaded ipod for inspiration I (ambitiously) aim to start each entry with the title of a song which best describes the day, an event, an experience or my general mood.

Through each entry I will try to provide an overview of the day (eg. logistics, fitness, general mood) followed by a brief description of the landscape and terrain and, where possible, a bit of the ‘history’ of the country (yes, I plan on doing some studying..!). Finally I’m keen to also include a bit about the people that we meet along the way – what they do, where they live, how they speak, how they form part of the Canadian mosaic. By the end of the journey I hope to be able to differentiate, for example, between a farmer in the Prairies and a farmer in South Western Ontario. Is the John Deere cap iconic of all Canadian farmers or simply an Ontario farmer fashion phenomena…? Do all Canadians end their sentences with ‘eh’..? and is the passion for Tim Hortons deep fried dough glazed with sugar the common thread which, like the Trans-Canada, binds the country together..?

(For the non-Canadians reading this, the Tim Hortons is an object of veneration that will put any small town on a map. If Canada adopted the British tradition of knighthood then this 1980s toothless hockey player who started the chain and after which it was named would be among the top five contenders up for the title [closely followed by Wayne Gretzky, Bryan Adams, Neil Young and the Tragically Hip…] Sadly, Tim Horton was never able to experience the legacy which bears his name as he died in a car crash. ‘Tim Bits’, meanwhile refers not to some sort of macabre religious communion with the ‘Body of the Departed Tim’ and a healthy chalice of dark-roast coffee. No. Tim Bits are simply the holes from donuts sold separately in Canada. It’s about as creative (and logical) as the naming of the Canadian one-dollar coin a ‘loonie’ because it depicts typical Canadian waterfowl - a loon on one side and the Queen on the other. Aptly, the Toonie is the two dollar coin.)

So, that is my initial introduction. I suspect that it’s a rather ambitious introduction but hope that it will be one that shares some of my thinking as I embark on what I feel will be the start of both an incredible opportunity in life, at the start of an incredible summer and one hell of a journey...

Lipgloss and Lycra - Cycling across Canada with the Tour du Canada

Monday, June 16, 2008

I find myself sitting on an 8 hour charter flight from London heading back to Toronto with a duffle bag crammed full with shorts and spokes, helmets and headbands, tires and tiger balm, sunscreen and sleeping bag. Depending on how things progress over the next few days I will either be spending my summer in the South Western Ontario as a gel and lycra inspired fashionista or I will be spending my summer biking across Canada with an organization called, ‘Tour du Canada’ (http://www.tourducanada.com/).

Many people have said that the ‘Tour du Canada’ is a “journey and not a destination”. The coming 2.5 months will be a journey of many respects. It will be a physical journey as I and 37 other people of all ages and nationalities will climb on our bikes and over the course of 66 days migrate from west to east over 7,500 kilometers of Canada’s vast geographic expanse - from the Pacific to the Atlantic. It will also be an emotional and, dare I say it, ‘spiritual’ journey. A journey through which I hope to ‘discover’ Canada and better understand how I fit into the social and cultural geography of a country for which I proudly claim citizenship but hardly know.

The background of the story is that through a series of ‘unfortunate’ (sic) events, which involves more immigration-inspired bureaucracy than I care to elaborate on, I have found myself with a surprising summer ‘opportunity’ to do something ‘different’ before heading back to the hustle and bustle of corporate life in London, England where I will start with PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PwC). When ‘opportunities’ like this arise in life I often wonder how much can be put down to sheer timing (eg. right place, wrong time) or put down to fate and the sense that something much more is at play. In this particular case I feel that it is a nice, clean combination of both the former and the latter.

The daunting part of the story is that it’s all happened rather suddenly. Flying by the seat of my (gel) pants seems to be the theme in the decision making process associated with my preparation for this journey. Organisers of the TdC recommend that all participants prepare by biking at least 2,000kms that season. Given that I signed up for the TdC on Friday, fly back to Canada today, buy my new (and first) road bike tomorrow and fly out to Vancouver on Friday I feel quite confident in betting that I won’t be biking 500kms /day to make up the ‘bum on saddle’ quota.

Whilst my ‘bottom’ will certainly feel the wrath of a hard saddle I hope that my recent mountaineering adventures in Nepal, my ‘weight lifting’ training (eg. recent moving my life from Amsterdam to London) and absolute determination to succeed will put me in good stead. I also have a bit of ‘into the wild’ saddle-related experience thanks to a rather mad (but successful) 500km mountain bike trip through northern Tanzania in October 2007 which did have a happy ending but did not come without its fair share of dust, sweat and tears.

In a nutshell, I know that I am taking a huge risk, will be facing an even larger physical challenge and that the odds are not in my favor... Having said that, I remain optimistic and if anything, will have a story to tell… even if that does involve hitchhiking my gel and lycra clad body across the country, road bike in hand, Neil Young on the ipod and the wind at my back. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Am I scared? Hell yes and I’d be lying if I said that I have not had a thousand second thoughts. I don’t want to dwell on my biggest fears – many of these are obvious. The mountains and steep passes of British Columbia, the ‘tunnel days’ when giant logger trucks rev their engines as they pass just precious centimeters away from the bike, the storms of the prairies, the heat of SW Ontario and the rolling hills of Quebec, the longing for 400 thread-count sheets, Jimmy-Choo heels, warm showers and a great big feather bed. I am confident that I have completely underestimated the mental and physical challenges which lay ahead. Wrapping my head around the mental elements of the trip, coming to terms with the duration (eg. 66 days of biking) and the distance covered will also be a huge obstacle. But not an insurmountable one.

But that is what will make this trip a completely ‘vintage Canadian’ experience… because it’s the mountains, the logger trucks, the tunnels, climate that make up Canada and help define who we, as Canadians are. ‘Experiencing’ it by bike puts one on ‘ground level’ and allows one to feel the life and breath of the country firsthand. Whist I know the TdC journey is by far one the most difficult things I’ve ever tackled I also know that the sense of achievement upon completion of the journey will last longer than my fears and the after-effects of 150km days on a bicycle saddle..!

Whilst doing my ‘research’ before singing up for the TdC I spoke to a previous participant who provided some hugely inspirational insights. She recommended treating the trip as a ‘job’ and to take it one day at a time and at the ‘nitty-gritty’ level, one pedal stroke at a time – however easy or painful that might be. Setting small goals for your self each day, each hour, or 15-minute increment is key to getting through the really long and tough days. It’s also important to remember to stop for small rewards along the way to indulge in Canada’s haute cuisine – Tim Hortons for Tim Bits, Swiss Chalet for chicken, Dairy Queen for milkshakes and local greasy-spoons for burgers, strong coffee and insights into small-town, rural Canada.