Final few thoughts...

As I sit here on the plane I think back to the amazing journey I’ve been on – from the mountains and steep passes of British Columbia, the ‘tunnel days’ when giant logger trucks revved their powerful engines as they passed just precious centimeters away from us in the tunnels, gorgeous Lake Louise, the crazy storms of the Prairies, the friendly locals in Manitoba, the steep sweaty climbs and heat of Southwestern Ontario, and the rolling hills and fantastic wide shoulders and smooth roads of Quebec, the mosquitoes of New Brunswick, the rain and golf-course-esque landscape in PEI… and finally the absolutely stunning scenery and steep climbs of Nova Scotia. It has truly been a fantastic, 72-day, completely ‘vintage Canadian’ experience....

"Everywhere Man..." - an epilogue of sorts...

Composed and sung by the 74 Day Tour du Canada 2000*

The origin of that version on the web can be found on the Cycle Canada website: http://www.cyclecanada.com/Wevebeeneverywhereman.html

Stompin' Tom - Cross Canada (CA-NA-DA)

CA-NA-DA, Have you ever heard a maple creek?
CA-NA-DA, Betcha never seen a mountain peak?
CA-NA-DA, In the land of the big snowball!
In CANADA, we get to see 'em all.
CA-NA-DA, Have you ever seen a magnetic hill?
CA-NA-DA, Or a lady on a dollar bill?
CA-NA-DA, Betcha never seen the autumn fall
In CANADA, we get to see 'em all.
...I say in Canada, we get to see 'em all.

- Stompin Tom - "Cross Canada"

(Song dedicated to Ian, Brendan and Andrew)

Day 70: Argentia, NS - Halifax, NS - Toronto, ON

Great Big Sea - "Ordinary Day" - Day 69: Dingwal – Big Bras d’Or

It's a beautiful day, but there's always some sorrow
It's a double edged knife, but there's always tomorrow
It's up to you now if you sink or swim,
Keep the faith and your ship will come in.

Great Big Sea – “Ordinary Day”

Garth Brooks - "Two Pina Coladas" - Saint Louis de Kent - REST DAY

Now I’ve got a smile
That goes on for miles
With no inclination to roam

I’ve gotta say
That I think I’ve gotta stay
‘Cause this is feelin’ more and more like home

So bring me two pina coladas
One for each hand
Let’s set sail with Captin Morgan
And never leave dry land...
- Garth Brooks – Two Pina Coladas

Sam Cooke - "Chain Gang" - Petit Rocher – Saint Louis de Kent – Day 62

All day long they work so hard
Till the sun is goin' down
Working on the highways and byways
And wearing, wearing a frown
You hear them moanin' their lives away
Then you hear somebody sa-ay

That's the sound of the men working on the chain ga-a-ang
That's the sound of the men working on the chain gang

- Sam Cooke - "Chain Gang"

The Eagles - "Take it Easy" - Atholville to Petit Rocher – Day 61

Well I'm running down the road trying to loosen
my load, got a world of trouble on my mind
lookin' for a lover who won't blow my
cover, she's so hard to find
Take it easy, take it easy
Don't let the sound of your own
Wheels make you crazy...

- The Eagles - "Take it Easy"

Tina Turner - "Proud Mary (Rollin on the River)" - St. Damase to Atholville – Day 60

I left a good job in the city
Working for the man every night and day
And I never lost one minute of sleeping
Worrying 'bout the way things might have been

Big wheel keep on turning
Oh the proud mary keep on burning
And we’re rolling, rolling
Rolling on the river

- Tina Turner - "Proud Mary"

Opus - "Live is Life" -Trois Pistoles to St-Damase – Day 59

When we all give the power
We all give the best
Every minute of an hour
Don't think about the rest
And you all get the power
You all get the best
When everyone gets everything
And every song everybody sings

And it's life (nanananana)
Life is life (nanananana)
Life is life (nanananana)

- Opus - "Life is Life"

The Scorpions - "Winds of Change" - Riviere Ouelle to Trois Pistoles – Day 58

I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change
An August summer night
Soldiers passing by
Listening to the wind of change...

- The Scorpions - "Winds of Change"

Sheryl Crow - "Soak up the Sun" - Quebec City – Riviere Ouelle

I'm gonna soak up the sun
Got my 45 on
So I can rock on...

- Sheryl Crow - "Soak up the sun"

The Arcade Fire - "Where no cars go" - Day 53 -- Hudson - Mont St-Hilaire (Montreal!)

We know a place where no planes go
We know a place where no ships go
Hey!
No cars go
Hey!
No cars go
Where we know...

The Arcade Fire – “Where No Cars Go”

Daniel Powter - "Bad Day" - Ottawa to Hudson - Day 52

Where is the moment we needed the most
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
They tell me your blue skies fade to grey
They tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carryin' on

You stand in the line just to hit a new low
You're faking a smile with the coffee to go
You tell me your life's been way off line
You're falling to pieces everytime
And I don't need no carryin' on

Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day

- Daniel Powter - "Bad Day"

Kid Rock - 'All Summer Long' - Ottawa - Rest Day

Splashing through the sand bar
Talking by the campfire
It's the simple things in life, like when and where
We didn't have no internet
But man I never will forget
The way the moonlight shined upon her hair

[Chorus:]
And we were trying different things
We were smoking funny things
Making love out by the lake to our favorite song
Sipping whiskey out the bottle, not thinking 'bout tomorrow
Singing Sweet home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet home Alabama all summer long...........

- Kid Rock – All Summer Long

Katie Melua - "Nine Million Bicycles" - Ivy Lea - Ottawa - Day 50

"There are nine million bicycles in Beijing...."
- Katie Melua

The Beatles - "Here Comes the Sun" - Carrying Place - Ivy Lea - Day 49

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
and I say it's all right

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
and I say it's all right

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
and I say it's all right

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
-The Beatles - "Here Comes the Sun"

Otis Redding - "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" - Darlington - Carrying Place - Day 48

Sittin' in the mornin' sun
I'll be sittin' when the evenin' come
Watching the ships roll in
And then I watch 'em roll away again, yeah

I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooo, I'm just sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time

- Otis Redding - "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay"

Bruce Springsteen - "Darlington County" - Alliston to Darlington

Driving in to Darlington City
Got a union connection with an uncle of Wayne's
We drove eight hundred miles without seeing a cop
We got rock and roll music blasting off the T-top singing.
- Bruce Springsteen - "Darlington County"

Spike Jones - "Hello Mother, Hello Father"

Hello mother, hello father,
Here I am at Camp Grenada.
Camp is very entertaining,
And they say we'll have some fun if it stops raining!

Spike Jones – “Hello Mother, Hello Father”

Day 46: Alliston – REST DAY
4775kms biked out of total of 7650 kms

It was so nice to wake up in a hotel room rather than a tent this morning..! Having said that, I didn’t sleep particularly well but I think that it was because I had such a full agenda for the day which definitely had to include eating, cleaning my bike, getting caught up on posting my blog, checking out Alliston and showing my Dad a bit of our routine back at the campground. Mom had to go into Toronto so Dad and I made the most of the hotel’s ‘All You Can Eat’ breakfast buffet. Once again, I’m astounded how much I can eat and still be hungry. I think that my Dad was also pretty surprised when I went back for my 3rd helping of pancakes and crunchy bacon and my 3rd glass of orange juice topped off with a giant bowl of fresh fruit… and 3 cups of coffee.

It was a gorgeous clear-blue sky day so we walked from the hotel back to the campground which was about a 5 minute walk – so convenient..! Andrew and Peter and ‘set up’ just outside of the pavilion and were ‘knee deep’ in bike cleaning. Surrounded by oily rags, chain lube, pumps, patches, hoses and brushes they scrubbed furiously and adjusted wheels and chains and rings. I looked on as my bike stood under a tree, still caked with dirt and grease and decided that this would be a perfect time to impress Dad by showing him how much I’d learned so far about bicycle maintenance. Unfortunately Andrew enlightened my Dad with the fact that he pumps up my tires in the morning, reads the map every day, tells me to clean my bike etc. etc. My cover was blown..! I decided to try to salvage what I could of my reputation and wheeled my bike over and started to clean the chain… and then the derailer… and then I took off the squeaky pedal which had been squeeking for the past 3,500 kms… It was actually quite an enjoyable way to spend the morning and my Dad even pulled up his shirt sleeves and helped out..! My bike got a fantastic wash, tune up and was in tip top condition by the time we hung up the rags at around 1pm.

The rest of the afternoon was spent running errands which included stocking up on snacks for Happy Hour and picking up my clean, dry tent (courtesty of Melanie and John!!). At around 4pm during our shopping spree for food a the grocery store the heavens opened and it began to POUR down. I was so happy to have a warm, dry hotel bed to look forward to that evening rather than the wet campsite..! We did pop by the camp so I could introduce Melanie to everyone and by that point it had stopped raining (well, it had stopped TORRENTIALLY raining). There were huge puddles in the campground and some tents had been flooded as they'd unfortunately been set up next to the storm drains. I am certain that there is a Chinese proverb about tents and storm drains somewhere but unfortunately no one told Erik..!

"He who sets up tent next to storm drain will get wet".

That night Mom, Dad, Melanie and I went out for a lovely meal at a 'German / Italian' restaurant to end the rest day in Alliston. I devoured a huge chunk of lasagne and a black forest cake. It certainly felt wierd to be eating with my family and sat around a restaurant table knowing that I'd see them again in a few weeks time. Part of me wanted to return to 'normal life' and the other part of me longed to continue with the journey. It's been a long time since I've really thought about 'home' and post-biking and can certainly imagine that 'real life' will take some getting used to again.

Tom Petty - "Climb that Hill"

You got to get up and climb that hill.
Get up and climb that hill.
You got to get up and climb that hill again.

- Tom Petty – “Climb that Hill”

Day 45: Owen Sound – Alliston
168 kms / 102 miles (circ. 122 hills)

The first thing I did this morning is stretch my arms and my legs in my sleeping bag to ensure that they were still working after yesterday’s shock to the system. I’m pretty sure that my body spent the entire evening recovering and asking itself, ‘what the hell just happened’. After 45 days of developing cycling muscles the swimming muscles have become significantly weaker. Fortunately everything still worked but the ride to Alliston was not an easy one. I was SUPER excited this morning though as today was the day I would meet my parents in Alliston!! AND, we would be staying in a nice hotel adjacent to the campground!

The cue sheets read some worrying words, ‘A challenging but scenic day as you ride through the Dufferin Highlands…’ ‘Challenging’ and ‘Highlands’ are two words that when used together are not exactly what you want to hear the day after a triathalon. It was also due to be a hot and sunny day which would also make the climbing even more difficult. In spite of efforts for an early start we didn’t hit the road until about 7:30am and almost immediately entered the highlands. The views from the top of the hills over the rolling green terrain was spectacular – absolutely gorgeous. We were in ‘Cottage Country’ and everything was so green.

We passed through a lot of small towns such as Walters Falls, Gorning, Bowles Hill (great winding downhill!), and climbed out of Beaver Valley but many of the restaurants were closed because it was a Holiday Monday. It was incredibly hot and water was in short supply. As we climbed a very sweaty and steep climb out of Beaver Valley I prayed to the ‘Gods of Liquid Refreshments’ that a well stocked gas station would be the view at the top of the hill. Fortunately my prayers were answered and I indulged in two giant bottles of iced tea and a peanut butter sandwich and a healthy packet of Sunchips.

The rolling terrain continued throughout the afternoon which made for a very challenging but scenic day. It felt good to be on more ‘familiar’ turf surrounded by corn, wheat and soybeans rather than steep granite cliffs. It was also great to see Collingwoods rolling hills off in the distance even though this did mean that there were more ups and downs ahead. The weather stayed beautiful and some clouds which passed over at around 2pm provided some much needed shade. As we neared Alliston the towns began to look more ‘Victorian’ in style with lots more red brick homes and it was clear that many of the towns had undergone some sort of ‘heritage preservation’ programme as all of the frontages were done in similar ‘Victorian’ themed styles. The homes also got much bigger the closer we got to Alliston.
Breandan was on turbo mode so he headed off to Alliston to meet his parents so Andrew and I stopped for a drink and a ‘snack’ in beautiful Creemore – famous for the Creemore brewery. The bakery / coffee shop where we stopped was lovely – it had a HUGE selection of coffees, teas, and plenty of homemade treats. I indulged in a mint chocolate chip ice-cream sandwich which was wonderful..! It was difficult to decide between that and a homemade blueberry pie – the pie would have been difficult to carry back to the campground on my bike though..! The shop was beautifully decorated with a giant window overlooking the main street and was pretty busy when we first arrived. I think that there are a lot of families which travel up to Creemore or use the area as ‘cottage country’. Unfortunately we didn’t have time for a tour of the Creemore brewery (which is just off the main street) but it’s such a lovely town I’m keen to return and explore it at my leisure..!

We then continued on for another 40kms of rolling hills to Alliston. It was a great ride under a sky which had clouded over a bit which cooled things down nicely. I was keen to get to camp around 3:30 in time to meet my parents. It felt strange to think that I last saw them 46 days ago when I left home with the realisation that I’d have to bike a few thousand kilometres across the country before seeing them again. It’s amazing how quickly the time flies as it seemed like just yesterday I said goodbye to them but when I think back to everything I’ve seen and done over the past 46 days it’s overwhelming. I was worried that when seeing them I’d be keen for my ‘creature comforts’ again – particularly after a night out in a nice hotel and being taken out for dinner..! I must admit, I was super excited to see them.

We reached Alliston in record time and I felt pretty good considering we’d bike 166kms in 6 hours and 33 minutes…! Alliston itself was quite nice – lots of little shops and a bustling main street which was certainly worth exploring. Of course, Dairy Queen and Tim Hortons were enroute but we were in too much of a hurry to get to camp to stop. There were a few people who’d already arrived in camp and some tents were already up. The campground was nice – it had a pool and a huge pavilion that we could use for lounging and cooking under. I must admit however, it was a satisfying feeling that I would not have to put up my tent that night and the next. No sign of my parents though… I wondered if it was possible that they went to the wrong campground as I’d never really specified which campground in Alliston we were staying at AND the campground where we were staying was not actually in Alliston – it was in Nicolston Dam, just opposite the Nottawasaga Inn.

The French Connection pulled in around 5:30 where we learned that Yao had come off his bike in a patch of sand. His back wheel was completely bent and needed some serious tuning but fortunately he was ok apart from a few bruises. Graham had also come off and they were all a bit shaken up. It is always so scary to hear about a fall (even worse to be in one and/or witness one!) and I must admit, it is always such a relief when everyone does make it into camp each evening safe and sound. Thank goodness everyone made it to Alliston safely.

By 6pm my parents STILL hadn’t appeared so I decided to call and, sure enough, they’d been to the provincial park campground and had driven around there looking for us..! By this point they’d realised I was at the Nicolston campground and were enroute to pick me up by the time I’d called. When they finally DID arrive, it was so great to see my parents and show them around the truck and introduce everyone. The truck and routine which is now such an integral part of my life seems totally ‘normal’ to me but I can certainly understand how it’s quite a novelty to visitors. The smelly truck with all of our gear (shelves and shelves of wet shoes, tents, random plastic bags, plastic boxes…), the kitchen with its gigantic pots and pans, and tent city itself are all quite unique and appears slightly chaotic but we all seem to function in it with our own routines.

We went to my sister, Melanie’s house in Borden Base which is just outside of Alliston. It was also great to see Melanie and finally see where she lived! Another bonus was that she had a shower AND laundry so I dumped all of my belongings in her backyard and sorted through everything and completely reorganised my ‘stuff’. I have a huge bag of things which I’ve been carrying around for the past 45 days but haven’t used /worn so was more than happy to unload these with my parents to take back home for collection at the end of the trip..! Another bonus was that I had some of my Mom’s fantastic home cooking – homemade chilli which is absolutely delicious. It was great not to have dinner standing up and eating out of a giant plastic bowl and swatting random bugs for a change.

As I fell asleep that night at around 11pm in the comfort of the hotel room bed back in Alliston I was sooo glad not to be in a damp tent and sooo glad to be back with family. It felt weird though as I have gotten used to the ‘outside’ noises and the fresh air when falling asleep and in spite of the fact that I was in a comfy bed with a thick warm duvet, I had troubles falling asleep..! Too much excitement for one day ;-)