After the Fact: Some Thoughts

Several rainy days after our safe arrival back in Wolfville I have yet to go out for a casual bike ride. It is odd I suppose, for the biking was pleasurable and so much a part of daily existence for the better part of eight weeks. And it is not just ‘the weather’. For that was ‘then’, this is ’now’, and the return to ‘normal times’ presents its own demands. Certainly cycling will continue to be a favoured recreational pursuit.

There are many to whom I wish to express thanks: Claudia, for her love, support, patience and understanding; other family members and friends who embraced this latest – remember the Fall of ’07 and several months at sea – indulgence; Gary for his comradeship and steady presence during our 54-day biking ‘marriage’; and the many ‘ordinary’ Canadians who’came our way’ throughout the Vancouver-Wolfville journey. As common place as it may sound, I am much impressed and reassured for having ‘taken the pulse’ of our wonderful country this way, and finding it recession frayed but populated by individuals of good intent, common values and spirited individuality.

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Some ‘awards’ are in order. I have bouquets and bricks on offer. The province of Quebec, for their substantial and ongoing investment in dedicated biking trails and bike routes. Bravo!

The owners of undisciplined dogs, the latter bringing at best a discordant dimension to cycling enjoyment, at worst presenting an added danger associated with canine avoidance in a traffic setting. Boo! (To the horror of my friends who are dog indulgers I would tartly suggest a suitable penalty for ‘pets’ who sully the cycling experience: steralization, of the owners.)

The natural wonders of this land, with special mention going to BC’s mountains, the Prairie wetlands, Superior’s majesty, the St Lawrence lowlands, and the Saint John River valley. My, what a country!

The many who, in conversation, added their stories to ours, who gave advice and directions, who served up date squares, who provided ‘guest passes’ to ‘community’ as a natural part of their daily activities. Thank you.

The litterers. I will spare the readers the disgust a review of specific items would call forth. Out of sight these items may be – from the ‘tossers’ point of view, but the ‘collective’ as viewed from a bike is unsettling. I present a (biodegradable) litter bag.

The truckers (with the exception of a sub-group of pig slaughter carriers – whose membership one could smell coming), who gave us plenty of notice of their arrival in our space, who took professional care in sparing us their ‘wind wash’, who – well - ‘get it’. Thank you, and may your example be noted by other drivers, especially those who unnecessarily crowd us out by their seeming inability to venture over the yellow middle line while overtaking.

Home Stretch... July 17th

Dad/Tug/Papa/Maurice called from the road this a.m. - just this side of the Nova Scotia border. They plan to be home Sunday!

A few pictures from their Riverview departure this morning:

Deflation and Elation (July 7th)

We are staying with good friends tonight in Ottawa (Orleans actually), having been with another great couple last evening in Kanata. This made today's biking a real treat, despite the light rain, as we used the Ottawa bike path system to accomplish the journey, with a stop for lunch at the Byward Market and a look at the Parliament buildings. Tomorrow we will be into our seventh week and on the home stretch.

As you know, we camp when we can, we "dry out" and "clean up" at motels, and we "camp" with friends and family. Which brings me to the point of this little story. A while back, going around Lake Superior, we left Rabbit Blanket camp ground in the mosquitoes and rain, continuing our trek south. I had called a sister of a new Wolfville acquaintance of mine (Barbara MacKay - the sister is Ruth Fletcher, her partner Ward Conway) a couple of days earlier, who lives (conveniently) on the shores of Superior between Wawa and Sault Ste Marie, to acquaint her of our arrival in the area. She was not home so I left a message. A day later I called again, this time leaving my cell number. Rabbit Blanket was outside of cell phone coverage area.

By 10:00 AM we had had three flat tires between us, in the rain. But we carry extra tubes and soldiered on. However, it was not fun. Still, the weather gradually improved over the morning and the scenery was stunning. Coming down a long hill onto the flat I was in the lead and noticed in the near distance a hand-crafted 'sign' attached to a mailbox post on the right side of the road. Drawing nearer I could see it said "Maurice Tugwell"?! Ruth had also written my name in the gravel by the road side. The day was turned around in a moment. Ruth and Ward welcomed us as they would old friends. They gave us good food, shelter, conversation - fellowship on the shores of Superior!

Early One Morning on the Road Above Superior

A common cautionary road sign in northern Ontario is the picture of a moose and the caption "Night Danger". Early one morning, Gary and I were just outside of Terrace Bay, going east, into the sun, when we crested a hill and had this confused picture present itself. A semi-trailer also travelling east was pulled over on the side of the road ('our' space), another, travelling in the same direction, was stopped in the middle of the two-lane highway. The sun was just at road level, effectively blinding us (and anyone else travelling east) so we couldn't immediately figure out what was up. The sound of a vehicle approaching from the east could be heard coming upon us out of the sun. The driver of the second truck (the one on the road) was jumping around in the middle of the road, 25 metres ahead of the action. His antics were effective in stopping the 'new player's' advance.

The first truck had hit a good sized moose square on. The moose was dead in the centre of the road, effectively blocking vehicle traffic in both directions. The truck involved in the collision had lost its radiator, lights, and most everything else up front. With three vehicles (and two bicycles) now on the scene, the moose remnants were dragged to the side of the road. It was fortunate during these few minutes that no other easterly travelling (sun blinded) vehicle appeared on the scene. The driver's spouse sleeping in the compartment behind the driver's seat sustained some brusing from the altercation and an ambulance was called.

After a few minutes we continued with our pedalling and normal traffic flow resumed. A look back in my mirror showed the moose lying in state on the righhand highway shoulder.

A Miscellaneous Question: How (Where?) to Do This

Point one: Cyclists must drink lots of water as exercise and sun exposure all day are dehydrating

Point two: The Prairies especially are full of wide open spaces

Which leads to the problem of 'public' bathrooms for all this liquid throughput.

Solution: Lean back against the side of your bike facing away from the road, fein interest in a prairie dog or some such object of nature, and - well - answer the call. Windspeed and direction enter the calculation, a judiciously chosen break in the traffic is critical - especially important is the avoidance of such 'duties' during schoolbus pickup/dropoff/drive by times, and tour busses pose another hazard. So do good samaritans who chose to stop and enquire if they can be of assistance - little do they know

Supplementary: Female cyclists have an increased 'degree of difficulty' performing this manouver.

Terrace Bay, Ontario (June 22-ish)

Today is the first day of week five 'on the road', 3,400 km having been covered so far. The majesty of the BC mountains, the ranch and oil lands of Alberta, the croplands (to the horizon, in every direction) of Saskatchewan and to a lesser extent Manitoba, have given way to the rocks, forests and lakes of the Canadian Shield. And - if today is any judge - the 'hills' north of Superior are not far off the challenge set by BC's more astetically presented peaks.

But the real story is in the people we meet, and the stories/ opinions/ prejudices/ dreams they share. My hope is that I will have the occasion to share some of them, at a later day, with those who may find them of interest.

I could give you the weather (good, for the most part), the road conditions (again, good, for the most part), the distances covered (we are on schedule to make it home in about four weeks), the cities/towns/villages/hamlets passed through, the (occasional) aches and pains suffered... but I won't. It is a fine trip, I probably will be able to sit down in a normal fashion sometime in the future, and Gary and I are still friends!

Best,

Maurice/Tug/Papa

June 9th

Tonight finds us in Medicine Hat, about 40 km from the Saskatchewan border. We started out this morning at Taber, and had good conditions for most of the day, with thunderstorms here and there around us. Our luck ran out just after we left the Medicine Hat Welcome Centre and the skies opened! Luckily an A&W was located nearby and I nursed a root beer for an hour or so while the storm passed. (The 'kids'
working there let us bring our loaded bikes into the establishment, I plugged my cell-phone charger in a conveniently located wall outlet and used the table as a postcard writing surface. Now if only they did laundry!) The wet grounds have rendered our planned camping site more appropriate for kayaking so we have taken a motel again. (We had one last night in Taber because of frost conditions. The day before that in Pincher Creek there was snow. Of late the Old Testament has nothing
on Alberta weather!)

Two weeks into this adventure and I am in good spirits and no worse for the wear. We have covered 1450 km in 13 riding days and the Prairies will see our daily average go up.

Maurice/Tug/Papa