Day 12: ??? To K-camp

I was a speed demon today if you ask my sister haha. I guess day 12 was pretty good! We biked 110 km from our random point on the road where we quit yesterday into K-camp as planned. The morning went surprisingly quickly except for the fact we started a little later than normal due to the drive from our site...this meant that we didn't have lunch until 1 and my sister was starving by that point!

Back to the speed demon comment. My sister thinks I was running on speedy sub power...apparently my turkey sub was speedy and my sister's subway melt wasn't haha. She also claims I was going 34 km/h after we ate lunch...it was closer to 30-31 in reality:)

Also at lunch, Dad talked to the Robertsville tourist information ladies and they were extremely helpful. He received a full history of the town, the location of the best bakery in town for pies (Mr. Tomato) and a donation for Love on Wheels!

We tried the pie as soon as we finished our ride and it was delightful. Dad beat us all in our post dinner scrabble game and Mom was awarded the world champion hat for having a productive rest day (she stayed at the site while Dad drove around as our support vehicle) that included some organizing of the trailer, cleaning the propane stove, drinking tea, biking 10 km, a quick dip in the cold ocean water and a nap to rejuvinate.

Tonight Pete gets picked up at the airport in Moncton and then he'll be with us for the rest of this adventure. Simon also arrives tomorrow for a couple days, so the LOW team is growing!

4 day left...I think I can, I think I can, I know I can!! Haha:)

Sarah

PS - My sister and I have spent enough time together that we're starting to do and say things at the same time. This happened again while riding today and she told me to stop doing the same things as her at the same time. My reply was okay, I'll just stop pedaling then! :) Unfortunately that didn't/couldn't last too long haha
Sent from my Blackberry.

Day 11: Plaster Rock to ??

We just biked 126 km, and we're now sitting in Pizza Delite waiting for dinner to arrive. We're all starving.

Today was supposed to be 110 km from Plaster Rock to McGraw Brook - generally uphill for the first 55 k, and generally downhill for the second 55 k.

The uphill was surprisingly ok, and we went from 150 to 550 meters above sea level without too much fuss. We had lunch by the side of the road, and then cruised through the afternoon. I think at one point I went 5 k without pedaling or braking.

This stretch of road was by far the most remote we'll encounter. There were no towns or even houses for the entire day, just some logging roads.

People warned us that we may encounter bears, so Sarah and I amused ourselves by yelling random things to so that we wouldn't surprise any. Things like "My boyfriend doesn't like coconut milk" and "My sister stole her boyfriend's cooler". I think we may have invented a new form of therapy. Lol

The day's complication? Apparently McGraw Brook Campground has been closed for years.

So, a new plan: Sarah and I were feeling great, and tomorrow was supposed to be a long day, so we decided to bike another 20 k or so, and then drive to Kouchibouguac National Park (where we were supposed to spend tomorrow night). In the morning we'll drive back to where we stopped today, and bike back to K-camp. We figured it would be easier to do the extra driving and stay in the same place for 2 nights than bike to another campground.

We were talking today about how we're actually living an old t-shirt slogan: "Eat, Sleep, Cycle". In reality, though, our days have been more like this:

Wake up (7 am)
Eat
Cycle
Eat
Cycle
Shower
Eat
Game/read?
Blog
Hand out world champion hat
Eat
Sleep (by 10 pm)

That's all for now. A note that if our blog posts seem a little off the wall, just think about how loopy you'd be after biking 1057 k over 11 days with only your family to talk to. :)

Liz

PS. I haven't actually awarded the World Champion hat tonight, but it's going to go to Dad for cooking breakfast yet again before he had even his first coffee. He always sends us off well-fed!

Day 10: La Republique to Plaster Rock

Today was the hardest day so far. Not only was it our longest day yet at 110 km, it was also pretty hilly and quite hot/sunny. We decided to bike 73 km before stopping for lunch in Grand Falls at the grand falls haha

When I went to the van to change to sandals, I noticed a large bag of potatoes, so I commented to Mom that she bought a lot! Apparently Mom and Dad saw a roadside sign at a house selling potatoes. They stopped, went up the house and to their surprise, the lady took them to her garden where she started digging out potatoes! We had some with dinner tonight and we'll be eating some as part of breakfast and lunch tomorrow!

Today was also the most we've interacted with others while cycling. We had a girl about our age drive past us in her SUV pull over, get out of her car and wave us down. She was hoping we were locals and was a little disappointed to find out we're from Ontario. I guess there aren't a lot of female riders in St. Leonard NB and she was hoping to make some new riding friends!

We (and that means Liz and her phone) also helped out a pair of gentlemen who are doing a cross-Canada trip. They weren't exactly sure what road to take in Grand Falls to best get to Fredericton, so Liz pointed them in the right direction:) They think we're good New Democrats for raising money for the Stephen Lewis Foundation haha

Finally, we'd like to send out a loud, thunderous CONGRATULATIONS to Uncle Bruce and his new wife Ruth who were married today. We're looking forward to the celebrating with them in person when we get back!!

Sarah

Rest Day 2: Edmundston

Our day of rest at Parc de la Republique in New Brunswick was perfect.

The park is a jewel with a beautiful pool, a botanical garden and a butterfly conservatory.

The gardens have characters made of plants growing on a 3D metal frame and a wonderful array of flowers - actually the best ones Charles and I have ever visited. Do not miss this park on your journey east.

If you want a soft ice cream, just outside the park toward Edmundston is Bellavance Kwik Way, and for $2 you get the choice of 6 flavours - yum.

The girls scoped out a new pair of stylish shorts for me at Joe Fresh, and now I feel very chique at the campsite.

We had a bold little red squirrel which started toward Elizabeth as she was reading. It darted across her foot and she jerked her foot and the squirrel flew across the campsite, landed on its feet and scurried away. Now THAT'S what you call a flying squirrel!

Marius's trailer is holding up beautifully.

Our rib steak supper was delish, and Sarah's sweet potato mash was to die for.

Cobie

Day 9: Riviere-du-Loup to St. Jacques

Au revoir Quebec, hello New Brunswick!

That pretty much sums up our accomplishment for today as we did in 90 of the hilliest kilometers so far! Liz set a new top speed record for herself getting to 64.8 km/h on one descent!!!

We also ran into 5 km of construction at one point, but as Mom and Dad were ahead of us, they scoped out the roads, determined it wouldn't be safe to ride through and set up a pick up point. They delivered us safely to the end of the construction where we continued our ride...thanks!

As I look back at the last 10 days, my memories include:
1. The multitude of bar laitiers and casse croutes
2. The fromageries (which includes their associated fermes and their associated stenches...delightful haha)
3. Paying in quarters for every shower of varying lengths from 2 to 5 minutes
4. The ease with which Dad was picking up the language
5. Smoked salmon
And most importantly:
6. Sweet turkey wheat!!

Bring it on New Brunswick!

Sarah
Sent from my Blackberry.

Day 8: Riviere Ouelle to Riviere du Loup

We weighed our options last night, and decided we'd try our luck with the Hwy 185 (the TransCanada) rather than the 189 to get to Edmuston area. We figured that although the TransCanada would definitely have more traffic than the secondary hwy, it would hopefully also have a paved shoulder, and the pavement itself is probably in better shape. As a result, we had a shorter day today - just 77 k from Riviere Ouelle to Riviere du Loup.

It was a stunningly beautiful morning. I took the shot below as we left the campground, looking across the St. Lawrence at the misty Laurentians. What a way to start the day.


Today was our fastest day in a while, and Sarah and I each had a couple of nice stretches at the front going around 30 km/h. The riding felt good.

We had lunch in Riviere du Loup, at Parc des Cascades, complete with waterfall. Mom and Dad found a tiny little place advertising smoked fish, and picked up some amazing smoked salmon for lunch. We ate it with cream cheese and green onion on rye bread. Sooo good!

With the end of today, we're over half way with our riding days, although we're not half way in terms of distance yet. We've also spent out last day on the Route Verte, which has made life so much easier. If you're ever cycling in Quebec, check out www.routeverte.com. The route is well-signed, and the map book that you can buy has been our constant companion throughout the province. My only complaint is that they spiral bound it so that you can't take out individual pages to bring with you as you ride (we just tore them out instead).

The campsite beside us is occupied by a different sort of "bike" tourers. They're actually pulling an ulta-mini tent trailer behind their Harley. Kind of cool, although I'd much rather be doing it our way.

Sarah won the world champion hat today for the triple accomplishments of figuring out wifi at the campground, reorganizing the van to get rid of the chaos, and managing to get the fire started. All very good things.

Liz

Day 7: St. Vallier to Riviere-Ouelle

We apologize for the delayed blog post. When we got to the campsite yesterday, we quickly set up camp as rain was threatening, ate dinner (a delicious stir-fry ala Mom) and got into a game of Settlers. I'm told this game usually takes around an hour to complete, but we started at 7:15 and didn't end until almost 9:45!! We promptly went to bed upon the game's conclusion:)

Yesterday's ride was really nice though. We were expecting rain pretty much all day, but not a single drop fell! We enjoyed the scenery of the passing mountains and the Saint Lawrence river. Pretty awesome. And with being on a bike, we had plenty of time to take in the surroundings!!


Dad was the world champion yesterday for finally spotting and stopping at a boulangerie to pick up some fresh bread and for learning how to play Settlers. Dad and new games don't happen too often anymore, but he did great:)

Be sure to check out the link in the previous post if you wish to view more pictures from our trip so far!!

Sarah

Photos After 8 Days of Cycling

We found a campground that has free wifi, so I've uploaded an assortment of pictures from the trip so far. To view the pictures, go to:

http://picasaweb.google.ca/sarah.gwen.love/LoveOnWheels2010Round1After8DaysOfCycling#

There are no comments, but if you've been following the blog this far, you may recognize some pictures!

Sarah

Day 6: Portneuf to St. Vallier

This morning we started out in Portneuf after our very restful day off. We ventured...can you guess what direction...yep you got it right, east! Through Quebec City and on to Saint-Vallier. Getting through Quebec was much more enjoyable than Montreal. The Green Route was straight forward and not once did I want to be voted off an island haha

When we met up with Mom and Dad for lunch, the idea arose for Mom to bike the next part of the route with us. After consulting with the map, we figured out a location for Dad to meet us at down the way and off the three of us went! For the next 14 km, all I heard Mom say was "I can go faster" and "Pass these people!" Even on her mountain bike with only one working gear, Mom managed to ride the whole way averaging more than 20 km/hr! She's an all star:)

Dad and Liz went off to another fromagerie once we had our campsite set up, so we tried out the cheese from yesterday and the one they just found...both were awesome. I'm sure we'll be eating more cheese tomorrow haha

Today's champion hat was shared between my sister and I for helping our Mom through the 14 km. We have a great picture of the three of us on the route with the Chateau Frontenac (or whatever the big castle in old Quebec is called) but it's on my camera not the phone so it can't be displayed yet. Maybe one day!

Now off to sleep to the lovely sound of a fountain, noisy frogs and the occasion train haha It'll be an interesting night!!

Sarah

Rest Day 1: Portneuf

It's been lovely not having to drive 2 hours with Dad's "little lady" (aka his GPS).

We found out today that all the signs advertising "ble d'inde sucre" were actually advertising corn, not sweet turkey wheat.

We had lunch at Casse-croute a King, which was decorated with Elvis and 50s memorabilia. The first poutine of the trip.

I asked for directions to the grocery store all in French and she answered in French too. I felt pretty good about that.

We went to Fromagerie Grondin and got some goat/cow combo cheese. We haven't tried it yet, but we are looking for another fromagerie tomorrow or the next day to compare it to.

We are finding everyone extremely helpful.

C'est tout.

Cobie

One more photo from Day 5

Day 5: Trois Rivieres to Portneuf

Hi all,

I got wrapped up with a game of Scrabble last night and ran out of time to post about yesterday's ride, so here goes.

We rode 88 k yesterday from Trois Rivieres to Portneuf. We rode south from the campsite on a path that took us right into Trois Rivieres. The path was so beautifully paved and through such a nice forest that we decided to try to take photos with both of us on our bikes - and promptly experienced our first crash, although at 4 km/h with no cars around I think we got off pretty easy. My body took the worst of the fall (with a nasty bruise on my quad) and Sarah's bike ended up with handle bars pointing one way and the bike in another. So we made our second bike repair in a park (the first to change a flat) and continued on our way. Ultimately no harm done, and we did get one good photo before we crashed. Lol

The rest of the ride was smooth sailing and I had my first biking on autopilot experience as a rambled on to Sarah about Stella - when I was done talking we were 20 k further up the road and I'm not sure how we got there. I guess I'm getting more comfortable on the bike??

Sarah spotted the Liberal Express going the opposite way on Hwy 138 yesterday - who could have predicted such a brush with celebrity? Do you think he would have donated to Love on Wheels?

I won the world champion hat for taking the brunt of the crash, and coming back to win Scrabble that same night. I'm truly a wonder. Haha

Sarah just checked our fundraising and we've now raised $8300 for the Stephen Lewis Foundation thanks to the generosity of our family, friends and colleagues. That's a pretty good reason to get on the bike in the morning. Thank you all.

Liz

Day 4: St. Sulpice to Trois Rivieres

We've completed day 4 which ended up being 99 km from St. Sulpice to Trois-Rivieres. We had another relatively flat day with little wind. I managed to miss part of my leg with sunscreen so I have a slight burn...but if this is my biggest concern so far I think I'm doing pretty well!!

Liz and I just made our first fire sandwiches of the trip despite having a large dinner not too long ago...as Mom would say, we're eating like lumberjacks!

It's pretty exciting to have completed the first quarter of our riding days...4 down, 12 to go!

Today's World Champion hat went to Dad for his gourmet bacon and eggs breakfast which was the perfect pre-ride meal!

Sarah

Day 3: Oka to St. Sulpice

Woke early to pretty heavy rain in Oka National Park, and I did a good job confusing Sarah when I suggested we "ride it out" and start a bit later. Not the clearest choice of expression. We eventually got on the road around 10:30 with some light rain. First day riding in the rain.

We opted to stick mainly to the "Route Verte" cycling network, even though it would be longer and a lot less straightforeward because it meant more pathways and less roads. When we were on paths it was great, but we had to pay attention all the time because the route switched regularly from paths to roads and back again. We got a bit off track at one point and stopped to check the map, and when we stopped I heard a hissing sound and knew right away what it meant: our first flat. Changing the tire went remarkably well, but we struggled with the CO2 canister to refill it....eventually Sarah figured it out and nearly gave herself frostbite holding the metal canister as the CO2 was released.

We stopped for lunch shortly afterwards, needing a hot pick me up after changing the tire in the rain. Another first: first full conversation for me in French! (I honestly had no idea I knew how to say cauliflower in French!)

The sky cleared up after lunch, and aside from Sarah getting fed up with the trails on Montreal island (she was begging me to vote her off the island) we got the rest of the ride in without any implosions.

Camping tonight cost us $20 plus tax, by far the cheapest place we've stayed. We're on a treeless lot, but it's on the St. Laurence, and it's actually great.

Today's totals: 98 km, avg speed 22.5 km/h. I won the world champion hat for putting up with grumpypants when she wanted to be voted off the island.

Liz

Day 3: Holy rollers? Rounds of Oka cheese

Packed up and went to the Oka Monestary. Tasted canard sausage and wild boar. Bought wild boar sausage for dinner tomorrow. Bought 2 nearly identical types of Oka cheese, which we ate around the campfire. The grand finale was a box of handmade Oka chocolates under the stars. Pretty good day.

Charlie

Day 2: Papineauville to Oka

Greetings from Oka National Park! Today was day 2 of Love on Wheels
and we successfully completed 95 km in 3 hours 40 minutes.

The highlight of todays ride (apart from another mostly tail wind that allowed us to average 27 km/h) was that we witnessed a man mowing his lawn in none other than a black speedo! If only pictures were allowed in situations like that...haha!

Mom was awarded today's world champion hat for biking her first 4 km of Love on Wheels to meet us on the road and guide us to our lunch stop. Mom's fast! She reached 34 km/hr!

Today's photo shows part of the dirt road we ended up on...no flats so we're good!

Sarah

Day 1: Ottawa to Papineauville

Day 1:

Start: 3 pm from Parliament Hill
Finish: 5:50 in Papineauville
Total distance: 69 km

Today was by far the easiest 69 k I've ever biked - flat + tail wind = awesome.

We stopped near the end of our ride to pick some cattails - when we were little, we used to pick them, let them dry out and then "smoke" them. (We were so cool back then...I have no idea what happened since then ;) ). I stuck the cattails between my seat bag and my seat, and rode with the brown parts sticking out behind my behind. (Take a second to picture it) Sarah nearly lost it laughing when I started to ride and one of the cattails started creeping out. Not the greatest image but funny.

We're camping a little off our route tonight so Mom and Dad picked us up in Papineauville and they'll drop us back off in the morning. The campsite (Camping St. Andre Avellin) is pretty good for a private campground, and the 50 cents I paid for a shower was the best 50 cents I've spent in a long time. :)

Sarah re-packed our stuff tonight, so the van is now a haven of organization rather than a den of chaos. Kudos to her for that.

Sarah's friend lent her a "world champion cycling hat", and we've decided to award it to one of us each day. I won it today for cattail poops. Good times.

Liz

Well Wishes from a Pro:)

Last night I met up with a member of the 7-11 cycling team who gave me her best wishes!


I was also very fortunate to be lent the power of a world champion cycling hat...


Thanks Sami and Billy for a great send off!!

Sarah

Tentative Schedule!!

Here's our tentative schedule. We'll see how closely we can stick to this plan:)

July 17 - Ottawa to Plaisance (58 km)
July 18 - Plaisance to Oka (100 km)
July 19 - Oka to St. Sulpice (110 km)
July 20 - St. Sulpice to Trois-Rivieres (105 km)
July 21 - Trois Rivieres to Portneuf (73 km)
July 22 - Break
July 23 - Portneuf to Saint Vallier (100 km)
July 24 - Saint Vallier to Riviere Ouelle (93 km)
July 25 - Riviere Ouelle to Pohenegamook (97 km)
July 26 - Pohenegamook to Les Jardins des Republique (108 km)
July 27 - Break
July 28 - Les Jardins to Plaster Rock (112 km)
July 29 - Plaster Rock to McGraw Brook (110 km)
July 30 - McGraw Brook to Kouchibouguac (128 km)
July 31 - Kouchiboubuac to Parlee Beach (95 km)
Aug 1 - Break
Aug 2 - Parlee Beach to PEI National PArk (130 km)
Aug 3 - PEI National Park to Caribou-Munroe (108 km)
Aug 4 - Caribou to Boylston (150 km)
Aug 5 - Enjoy Nova Scotia!
Aug 6-7 - Drive home :)

Last Major Training Ride...

Love on Wheels officially takes off in 6 more sleeps!!!!!!!

Yesterday was my last long ride in preparation. With the usual crew at the Brampton Club, we rode 98 km from Eldorado Park to Freelton. It was a great ride and a good one to end on:) Special thanks goes out to all the members of the Brampton Club who've helped me along these past 3.5 months. I've learned so much and it's been a tremendous help riding with the club. The encouragement I have received from everyone about our upcoming trip has also been awesome!!

Only final preparations remain. I'll take my bike in for a check over tomorrow, buy my last pair of shorts, make sure I have plenty of sunscreen and then pack! Saturday is going to arrive extremely fast:)

I'm looking forward to getting to Ottawa, putting my anxiety aside and heading out:)

Love on Wheels, here we come!!

Sarah

Yesterday's workout was the hardest I'd worked in ages, and my body felt it today. Still finished today's 95 k ride with the Ottawa Bicycle Club, though....Now I'm sitting on the bed, and it's 8:18 and I'm wondering whether I'll make it to 9 pm awake.

I started thinking about transferable skills on today's ride. I have been on my bike around half as much as Sarah leading into this tour, and I'm really banking on having some transferable skills to pull me through. There are the big ones:

From ultimate I have learned how how to eat properly to keep me going for a whole day of activity, and I know what my body craves to get it ready for the next day (i.e. pasta and meat sauce).

From climbing volcanoes, I know that I can keep going all day, as long as I eat properly and go at my own pace, but I will burn out quickly if I get sucked into going faster than I'm comfortable.

Less critical, but still important when you're getting dressed for a bike ride, from figure skating I know that I am comfortable in spandex. :)

Liz

PS. It's 9:18 and I'm still awake, thanks to a planning call with Sarah. It feels like some sort of victory....