Here go the Stehouwers on a drive over 2300 miles to the start of Sea to Sea from Vancouver BC. We'll be taking the week to drive and do some sight seeing.
So so cold! It's scary how cold it gets here along the ocean and bays. I slept not so well in the hammock overnight but I did stay warm enough. Being in one of the shelters, I did not experience the hard cold wind. I rode with Kara and Erick Schuringa to the Confederation Bridge and then split. Across the bridge I rode quite tiresome and slow till about 50km where I had breakfast with my crew. Frank decided to pick up the tab so I went with a full breakfast. A cheese omlete, potatoes, and toast. I loaded my toast with jams and jelly's, not even spreading them! I felt much better after breakfast, even well enough to ride with my crew. We stopped within 10km of breakfast at a church thrift store. I got a denim button up and a corderoy button up, and then convinced Caleb to buy a tux. This night was the Sea to Sea celebration dinner and we planned to look fancy. Later we bought matching vests and tyes. Caleb looked like the groom while the rest of us looked like his groomsmen....
It's our second to last day. It's wild to think about. I did feel better this morning after plenty of rest. I headed out with my group and stuck with them untill I struck up conversations with the riders we passed. old Jim Beezhold especially. I dropped back to talk with him, this day being the second to last of seeing him (at least on a bicycle). I talked to him about the end of the tour and myself moving onto college. At the first rest stop I caught back up with my group and headed out with them. We "send it" to the ferry, averaging in the upper twenties. Once at the ferry terminal we talked to other tourists around us about what we are up to. On the ferry Sea to Sea full distance riders got a group picture and then we all took it easy. Caleb and I went to explore the boat, resulting in ice cream cones. Off the ferry I stuck a decent place with my group but also savoured the sights around us. We rode on a local two lane road paralleling a more major highway to Tru...
A day to savour. Riders are more relaxed now that your days are winding down and the ride distances are shortening even by just a few kilometres. It's strange how 20km less per day, about an hour of riding lessons per day, makes us feel like the day's are so much shorter. My group stayed ahead of me all day which was quite alright as I took it easy. The morning fog made for a cool by special morning. I rode primarily with no hands for the first 45km so I could sit up and take it easy. The parrelling of the Saumon River ensured a pleasant sight and a slight downhill over the day. In camp tonight we are at the foot of a ski hill. Sugarloaf Provincial Park sounds awesome as it has camping, skiing, mountain biking, hiking, snow shoeing, cross country skiing, tennis, and day use areas. It's truly a year round park and the staff I have met are friendly. We entered New Brunswick today and it's a radically quick change to see mostly English once again. It almost feels too ba...
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