Sea to Sea 2017, Cycling to Alleviate Poverty

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...

Woo-hoo! In semiconcious preparation I took the morning easy. My group went faster than I and i enjoyed the sights at a comfortable place with plenty of sitting up. With the wind at our backs we all made decent time. The first rest stop at 24km was hosted by Our Father's House in Rimouski. They had renovated the inside of a cathedral to be a modern social area and cafe. It's a non-denominational space for groups and the general public to incorporate Christianity into their day. While we were there a small group was having Bible study.   The second rest stop was at 5 2km where I caught up to my group and then stuck with them. We stopped within a few kilometres (56km maybe) at the last Tim Hortons before camp. Caleb treated me to a tall iced cappuccino and a donut. This iced cap, being the only liquid I had drank thus far on the ride, picked me right up. Caleb and I remained with our group only through the first hill before we took off. For the next 30km or so we must've a...

It's Sunday, it's rest day. Breakfast was pushed back extra long so that we could make it brunch and skip lunch. I was glad to be sleeping in Ben's tent. Rain held out till around 9:40am, cleared up for breakfast, and stayed clear for our in camp church service. The sun came out around noon and started to dry out camp. I got around to blogging and doing my laundry so it would dry. It's been wet/damp the last few days. I caught a later shuttle into Rimouski for something to do. William was with me and two others. Back in camp we had hot chili soup for dinner. The chili was very good and I dipped the crust of the leftover pizza in it for a nummy combo. It's a lot to comprehend that 8weeks of cycling are behind me with only a week and two days left. After this tour I transition straight into college. At our evening meeting we got tour and details. My emotions mix as I don't know what to feel. I don't exactly want the tour to end, the mission surely won't....

Yesterday was a day to slow down. I appreciated the extra hour of sleep as we started an hour late. In good coincidence the rain stopped before the most of us got out of our tents. We didn't have to pack up in the rain! I had slept under the truck anyways though. Everyone seemed more relaxed at breakfast and leaving from camp. We weren't supposed to arrive early into camp that afternoon because campground check-in wouldn't let the trucks be in early. My group decided to hang abck with me. We stopped twice for food. First in Rivière-Trois-Pistoles for breakfast and second in Saint-Fabien for a snacky lunch of fries and poutine. I simply had coffee in Rivière-Trois-Pistoles but had plenty of fries and poutine in Saint-Fabien. Camp was calm. The national park offers few attractions besides hiking so most riders sat around talking or playing card games. There is a more communal atmosphere here as the riders look to eachother for entertainment. We had a wonderful supper of Q...

So. Windy. I left late due to food truck loading. Ed Witvoet, the tour manager was also leaving late to get on part of the ride. I latched onto him for the first 30km into the first rest stop. At the first rest stop I saw my regular group but they continued on as I talked to a local runner about what Sea to Sea is. From that rest stop I started on my own. I was out in a good mood by talking about Sea to Sea but slowly lost motivation to ride quickly without a riding partner. While climbing a hill a group came up and I latched onto them. They were great to ride with for the next rest stop and a half. I drafted Jim Haveman, a tall farm man, for the next rest stop section. Jim rides fast which burnt me out. I took a longer rest stop the fourth stop which let the group who caught up with me earlier to catch up. I then rode with the. So much for all these people I rode with, but I needed them today. Today was a day of strong head and crosswind. The noise gave me a headache ontop of the ext...

Today became long but there are parts to appreciate. I was very glad to get back under the truck for sleeping last night. I feel back to a simple living. I eat breakfast simply out of my mug with a spoon or make a sandwich of sorts to eat with my hands. Excess is back to bugging me despite the basic nature of this trip. I felt a lack of motivation in riding today. I fell behind my group very quickly and didn't catch up with them till Quebec City. Once their I joined with a man named Gary Bomhof to find my group. We met them at Starbucks and then went out for lunch. We explored old town Quebec City which was neat but to me just another touristy area. Plenty of things to buy, but nothing I feel like spending money on. I held onto a good mood while we adventured but was somber there after. I was also slow for the second half of our day so I fell behind and rode alone.  By the time I got into town William and crew had stopped for ice cream and then caught up to me. I somehow didn...

I've had another great day. I left camp with William and Ben ahead of Caleb and Frank. We made quick time to the first and second rest stop, the second being where we took a major break. The second rest stop near 54km into the route was in the city of Trois Rivierre. We had a second breakfast at Timmy's, then got candy at Dollarama. William needed bicycle tubes and cash so we went to a nearby mall. These stops made for a lull in my day and getting behind other riders. We made up for this until near 100km when we stopped for a late lunch. We got stuffed on pizza, riding towards camp feeling almost overfull. Caleb stayed back with me as the others went ahead.  Call tonight is a pleasant campground with many seasonal campers of whom own golf carts to ride around in. Many golf carts drove slowly by to check out what all our tents were ahout. I didn't happen to eat much for supper except some kraft dinner (mac-n-cheese) because I was yet so full on pizza. After pelaton (our ev...