The Long Ride East

Someone mounted a video camera on their seatpost and put together a fantastic video that really gives a great feel for what the Bike Rally is like. Astute observers will see me on the Lachine Canal just a few km from the end at 5:57 in. Are you ready to ride next year? Registration for the 14th annual Friends for Life Bike Rally is already underway at bikerally.org.

After what seemed like a really long 126 km, we finally made it to camp where I quickly set up camp and had dinner only to find myself waiting in line for a shower for what seemed like forever while becoming food for mosquitoes. But the long, tiring days have one excellent effect. They make me sleep like nothing else can. On this night, I went to bed at about 10:00 and opened my eyes what felt like 15 minutes later to the sound of rain pattering on the tent. Not AGAIN! But this time it wasn’t 1:30AM, it was almost 6, and it wasn’t pouring, it was sprinkling and ended as soon as I woke up. I broke down my tent and got ready for the day.

Day three, the 51 km ride to Kingston, is traditionally “Red Dress Day” which some take to mean “Wear red” while others have taken to the next level as “Wear a red dress!” As a fundraising stunt I agreed to wear a red dress and take photos of the occasion if I was able to raise a minimum of $500 in 24 hours. The demand was incredible, though, and in 24 hours I topped $800 raised – a fundraising scheme more than 4x as effective as any other I tried. The dress was a rather sparkly, short number – a size 12 if you’re wondering. Some of my teammates thought I wasn’t accessorizing properly and so they helped out by providing a plastic tiara that I was able to mount on my helmet easily. I suspect many of my teammates were as surprised that I was wearing one as my coworkers who sponsored me were that I *would* wear one.

After breakfast and coffee the trucks were packed, and we were off – hundreds of red clad cyclists – easily 1/4 of those in red dresses including one team who decided to all go out as a cheerleading squad.

The ride was one of the best yet. After 2 days of riding a bike that was over 40 lbs, I was starting to get used to it. The wind and weather were finally cooperating as well and I was able to make excellent time to Kingston.

As usual, the arrival in Kingston meant a few things: first off a hot lunch – all you can eat pizza, pasta, sandwiches, burgers, fries, salads, and so forth. It also means laundry day and then sleeping in a real bed after a long hot shower. Even after two days on the road all of these things felt like tremendous luxuries. Further luxurious was the fact that instead of spending time in a laundry room this year our team sent our laundry out to be cleaned. It cost a bit more but freed us up to do other things.

Sadly for me, one of those things was going to the drug store to get diaper rash cream. After being rained on on Day 2 and then riding for another 80 km or so, I was rather uncomfortable. And looking at the stock of Penaten at the Shopper’s Drug Mart, I know I was far from alone. I took the last container off the shelf. Sorry to those who followed me in similar shape!

I ended my night in Kingston with a team dinner at The Keg. One of the great things about being on a ride in which you usually ride 100 km or more every day is that you end up burning lots of calories. So that steak with bacon *and* bleu cheese on top? And the Caesar salad beforehand? Not a problem. It’ll be metabolized by lunchtime tomorrow. Not unlike the alcohol that many others consume on their nights in Kingston.

Sadly for me another year went by where I missed the Miss Conception show. I always have great intentions of making it and then after a huge dinner, 9:00 PM seems *so* late. And so it seemed all I could do to trudge back up to my dorm room at Queens University and fall into bed. A real bed, in an air conditioned room. After 286 km on the road I was going to get as much sleep in that bed as I possibly could.

Day 2 of the Bike Rally began at 1:30 AM with a bang – a clap of thunder to be precise. A large thunderstorm rolled in bringing high winds and torrential rainfall. Some peoples’ tents were completely drenched, others got very wet or were annoyed by the loud storm that continued for hours. I was lucky on all counts, though. My tent stayed dry and the noise didn’t bother me. I slept well until about 5:30.

When I woke at 5:30, the rain had stopped. I couldn’t sleep any longer and it was a good thing I didn’t. I set right in to breaking camp, drying off the tent fly as best I could and putting everything back into my rubbermaid bins. Soon everything was put away and it was time to head over to breakfast. Breakfast was my usual Bike Rally breakfast. Oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar, baked beans, and if I’m extra hungry a scone or bagel. And of course, coffee. And by the time breakfast was over the storm was back. This time with a vengeance. Before long, everyone huddled in the large cafeteria tent while the rain poured down and thunder boomed. The departure time that was scheduled came and went, and soon an announcement came that we wouldn’t be leaving until 30 min after the last thunder. Because this day’s ride is the Bike Rally’s longest at 126 km, we need to get on the road promptly so that those who ride a bit more slowly have time to get in to camp in time to get settled in before dark. At this time contingency plans were being made. The best case is that we’d leave shortly once the lightning stopped. The worst case was that they’d use trucks to get our bins and bikes to the next camp and bus us over – an idea nobody liked. Not even me who despises riding in the rain.

Finally, though, we did get moving – albeit about 2 hours later than we’d expected. Before long the sun was shining and it was a gorgeous day. But by the time we got to the first break things weren’t looking so good. Behind us was another wave of pitch black clouds. I ate my snacks as quickly as I can – which wasn’t easy as I was ravenous as we’d had to wait a long time between the end of breakfast and our first break 30 km in. Finally, though, we got on the road.

As expected, the rain came. There was little warning – one minute it was dry and the next it was torrential rainfall. As I was wet within a minute, I saw no point to taking shelter and kept going. My most vivid memories of that hour or so in the rain are sensory – the feeling of my feet squishing in my shoes – it almost felt to me like they were in a washing machine, and the sting of the raindrops as I rode quickly down some hills. Traffic wasn’t too bad so I felt pretty safe despite the bad weather. Sadly for some, the rain seemed to have another effect – so many people were stopped with flat tires. More than I’d ever seen on a ride.

Finally, though, it did clear up. And before long I was at the lunch stop. This day’s lunch stop is a special one as it happens at a B&B with friendly owners who give us homemade ice cream when we’re there.

This ride seemed as long as it sounds and by the time we got to the third break at the 100 km mark, many were exhausted, they’d left late, suffered flat tires, and it was getting late. Fortunately for them the Bike Rally delivered. At the rest stop there was a bus waiting for riders who had had enough, and a truck on which they riders could put their bikes. I was given the option to go on if I wanted and I *really* didn’t want to have to say “I rode all the way to Quebec – well except for 20 km in Picton.” And so I continued down through Picton to the dreaded Glenora hill. While not as big as some of the hills on the training rides that took us up the Niagara Escarpment, after over 100km this hill is a challenge – and for me it would be even more challenging as this time instead of a 27 lb bike, I was riding a 42 lb bike. Still, I pushed and pushed and was doing pretty well. I did even better after a busload of riders went by cheering me on. Finally we got to the Glenora Ferry which took us to the other side where we rode 2 km to the second day’s camp site.

It had been a long day but after managing not only 126 km of riding but a big hill at the end, I was confident in my ability to make it all the way with the heavier bike.

Well, you’d think after having done this once before I’d have managed to be something of an old hand at this whole Bike Rally thing. But if you thought that you’d be completely wrong.

On Friday night, after spending way too much time and money at MEC, I went home to pack. And after going around in circles for a couple of hours trying to make sure I had everything I needed I finally…gave up.

The next morning after a good night’s sleep, I had it all packed in about an hour, and in another 10 minutes, it was all loaded on the Xtracycle. It fit beautifully and rode pretty well despite having a tent, sleeping bag, mattress pad, all my clothes, dishes, cups, and everything else I needed. I suspect it weighed between 60-70 lbs. I rode the bike across town to the packing location and put everything in my two rubbermaid bins that I’d be living out of for the next week.

The next morning seemed to come quickly. It didn’t help that the excitement kept me up late and woke me up early. The feeling was not unlike Christmas morning. Finally it was time to ride down to Queen’s Park

Once there I got to see many friends I hadn’t seen in quite some time and other teammates I hadn’t met yet. After a few announcements we were off, first down Wellesley and then down Yonge – with a police escort all the way down to the lake. That ride’s one of my favorites. It’s fun to watch folks sending us off, and with the police escort it feels not unlike a Critical Mass – riders can take the entire southbound section of the street and chat as they go.

In many ways for me the first day doesn’t seem that real. It’s more like a training ride, really. We’re close to home, we haven’t really met each other yet, and we haven’t had to camp yet. The only difference from a training ride is that we have stops every 30 km or so for food – something I really appreciate.

The ride itself was good, though it was my first ride on the Xtracycle. While I didn’t complain about it, I did find it quite a bit slower and more difficult to pedal than the bike used to be. Still, I managed to keep up well with the group. And finally after 109 km, we arrived at the farm where we’d spend the night camping in a field. And not a moment too soon as I was *tired*.

The first night’s stop is in a farmer’s field and as you might expect there are no showers. Some will bathe in Lake Ontario, while I and others take a schoolbus over to the community centre where we can get a hot shower – welcome and refreshing after a hot ride in which all of the road grime sticks to your sweat and sunscreen covered body. I don’t even think I appreciated a shower so much when I lived in the yurt and only had running water when visiting friends.

With the tent set up it was back to the campsite where I finished setting up my camp before heading down to get a big carb-filled dinner of lasagna along with a bit of potato salad.

There was a bit of socialization, but so many of us were so tired, it wasn’t long before we all went to bed. Sadly for some, it would be a very short night.

There’s only one week left before I leave and believe it or not, most of the details have been completely worked out. The details I agonized over for almost the past year have been figured out. So here are the final details:

Fundraising
Fundraising went extremely well. While I did not meet my goal of $6,000 which would’ve meant my riding all the way to Halifax, NS, I made it to nearly $4,000. And as promised, I’ll be going to Quebec City after the official Toronto to Montreal ride. However, fundraising officially continues until the day I arrive in Montreal: July 29th. And so, if I reach the $5,000 or $6,000 level, I will honour my commitment to ride further. Unfortunately my work schedule won’t allow for my doing it this year. So reaching $6,000 in the next two weeks will mean I’m riding again next summer – all the way to Halifax. If you’re interested in making that happen, you can sponsor me here.

The Route and Schedule
One of the more common routes between Montreal and Quebec City is to go directly along the St. Lawrence river via Trois Rivieres – approximately 300 km, or 3 days’ ride. I didn’t want to see my trip end that quickly and so I’ve mapped out another route. This route will go along Route Verte #1. This route, consisting in great part of off-road trails, goes a bit southeast toward Farnham and Sherbrooke, Quebec before turning almost due north to Quebec City.

I’ll be arriving in Montreal at about 4PM on Friday the 29th, at which point I’ll be biking over to where the crew has parked our gear-filled trucks. I’ll then load all the gear I intend to bring on my bike, sending anything I don’t back home on the truck. (Usually we carry our gear back on the train and the bike rides home on the truck). I’ll then head east for Longueuil, a suburb or Montreal where I’ll be staying with a member of Couchsurfing.org who is generously letting me stay with her for two nights when I can rest a bit, do some laundry and gear up for the next leg of the journey.

Sunday morning the 31st, I’ll be heading about 100 km east to the village Farnham where I have found another couchsurfing host who has offered their land as a place to pitch my tent for the night (unless the weather’s bad in which case I’ll stay inside).

Monday morning I’ll continue another 100 km or so to Sherbrooke – a medium-sized city in what looks to be a relatively hilly part of the province. There I’ll be staying with a local storyteller and his partner before heading north on Tuesday.

Tuesday night could be interesting. I haven’t got any lodging lined up. There are hotels and campgrounds so I’m sure something will come up by the time I get tired somewhere around Victoriaville.

Wednesday will be my final day on the road and that day, if all goes as planned I’ll be arriving in Quebec City. Again I haven’t settled on any plan for lodging, leaving things open for me to either find a couchsurfer in the next few days to host me, find a campground somewhere, or if all else fails, stay in a hotel. I’m not averse to the idea of staying at a hotel but it seems to be the least interesting option of all at this point.

Communications
I’ll be bringing along an iPod (a new touch with a built-in camera and bluetooth keyboard so I intend to keep you all updated here as I go whenever I can find a wireless connection (hopefully at least once every day or two). And as some of my more concerned friends have asked, yes, I will be bringing a cell phone along as well in case of emergency.

Gear
I agonized over this one for quite some time. Would I be getting a trailer, front panniers, or maybe just never camp anywhere and pack extremely light. In the end, I decided to convert my bike to an Xtracycle. This will give me a great deal more space in the back with lots more flexibility as to what I’ll be bringing. And as my bike is a folding bike it should be easy to transport back at the end. With this, I’ll be bringing a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and inflatable pillow. Other than that I’ll be bringing clothes and a pair of shoes without cleats. I’m not so sure about my ability to cook along the way so in that sense I’ll be relying on food I buy along the way, whether at restaurants or grocery stores, delis, or (hopefully in many cases) farm stands.

Getting Home
I’ll be staying an extra day in Quebec City to get my fill of the lovely city, find myself a bowl of cafe au lait and a croque monsieur at Chez Temporel if nothing else. At the end of my stay I’ll be biking my way up to the airport where the adventure will end. I’ve reserved a rental car for a one way trip to Toronto. I’ll fold the bike in half and toss it in the trunk along with all of my gear and, in about 9 hours I’ll make the return journey that took 10 days to make by bike.