As it happened, I was unable to bike back to Kimberley. For important logistical reasons I ended up shipping the biking gear to Kimberley and myself to Calgary where I retrieved essentials such as my computer, wallet and undies. I was only there for 30 hrs ad then bussed back to Kimberley. I should have frequent rider points with Greyhound!!

I'm now starting the epic and scary process of getting my life together: BC license, insurance, health coverage, Teaching Certificate, intros to local schools and starting to look at houses here.

I've started running again, but it has been very painful. Especially after the big hills of the last trip, my legs are very unused to the relative pounding of running trails. Cardio feels good though and I am confident I'll be in shape to do an ultra-marathon in Sept. I should also get in some great climbing in the next two months, both rock and alpine, starting with some rock in Penticton over the long weekend.

I've already started to doing some basic planning for a next major undertaking, but I'll keep it to myself for now.

Have a great summer. This page will see a few updates over the summer and
then will hopefully be completely revamped in the fall.

I have decided not to pursue the record ride this summer.

There is not one single factor that has brought this about but rather the contribution of many small and not so small ones. Significantly, with time, I have come to realize that the Diabetic Awareness component meant a lot more to me than chasing after a number for its own sake. Given the rushed
nature of my attempts to work on this, I feel that it would be better to 'cut my losses' and move on to other pressing personal matters in the short term, and rebuild this project around another attempt or another noteworthy activity down the road.

Many thanks to Bow Cycle and especially Chris George for his work on this site. Thanks to all of those who have provided support and encouragement and to those that have followed this bit of misadventure. Another special thanks to the great folks of Glenboro, MB as well.

Again I would like to publicly acknowledge Erik Straarup for his amazing ride in 1999 and wish him all the best on his next trip, around Australia. The Race Across America is in the news again, but what he accomplished, though less publicized, is at least as impressive if not more so.

I have no regrets for having put into this what I have up to now. It has been quite humbling at times, but has also provided some valuable lessons and neat experiences. For what it is worth, not withstanding saddle sore issues, I finished this last training trip feeling very confident in my physical ability to have a serious shot at it.

I do hope to keep this page active and continue to build it into an interesting and valuable resource. This is not the end of big undertakings by any stretch. Among other projects on the list, skiing to and climbing Mt. Logan (Canada's highest peak) next spring is a real possibility. I am not writing off the idea of trying to break this record at a future time either.

In the near term I may bike part of the way back to Kimberley, BC (at a more casual pace), testing the new tent I have from Black Diamond (only 2.5 lbs!). I have a LOT in my personal life to sort out, but I am also very keen to get back into long distance trail running and climbing.

Thanks again to everyone.

The last three days provided some very tough riding conditions, harder than anything I would get on the record route, actually. Steep long climbs and descents. After Grand Forks I climbed most of the way to the pass for a 220km, 9:15 day.

Left in rain the next morning and made my way across rolling terrain to the
major descent to Osoyoos, where I passed an RV! The rain stopped, but in the next valley over I had headwinds winding up towards Keremeos. Very scenic and I had the occasion to talk with several other bikers. One man from Sault. Ste Marie had retired Friday and started biking from Vancouver on Monday, doing his first ever tour and heading all the way to the East Coast. Cool.

The bizzarro prize went to an older French speaking dude with a wild billy-goat beard who was headed east to Osoyoos with a monstrous load on a home made trailer. There were bags hanging off everything and he didn't even have proper water bottles. The whole thing had to way over 100lbs. It had taken him 14 days to cover the approx. 350kms from Vancouver.

I made it to Princeton in a long day, maybe about 9hrs and 210kms. My bike computer crapped out on me due to moisture. I splurged on a pay site and enjoyed a long, hot shower. I took my time in the morning, realizing I would not make it all the way to Vancouver, especially with strong westerlies forecast. The ride up to Manning Provincial Park was cold and tough, with rough narrow roads in places. I had to throw out my new rear tire that morning due to a large crack/hole in it that produced 2 flats the day before. Luckily I had brought an extra folding one along.

I had hoped to maybe bumb a ride with Bruce and Christine from Hope to Vancouver, but crossed wires had me off by a day on their schedule. The timing and luck worked out well: I arrived just in time to catch a cheap Greyhound and was able to toss my bike in without taking it apart or using a box. I didn't feel there would be any value in riding along the busy and windy trans-Canada. This trip has served its purpose and I got to go out for Greek food with my cousin and her hubby this way!

My butt sores are still there and can be quite uncomfortable at times, but maybe I am just getting better at tuning them out. As for a decision?? I promised myself not to make one until I was off the road for a bit, for perspective. There were several times in the last few days where my mind was already on the bus back to Calgary, though. I realize now that I will need more than 2 days off in any event.

The good news is that I physically feel quite good. I never made the 10hr day, but I think the conditions more than made up for that. Also, I should probably mention more frequently that my diabetic numbers (glucose) have been good and that my disease is in NO WAY playing a role in my indecision as to how to proceed. As is often the case, it is more of a minor logistical irritant than a major issue.

I'll let you know what I've decided when I can figure it out.

I had a casual start out of Kimberley. Friends, beers, and huge meat meal were great. I decided I would have an 'easy' day to prepare for today, which I was hoping would be a 10hr one. Yesterday the weather was mostly agreeable and I made it 25kms past Creston (168kms) by 3:30 (Pacific, now). So I got lots of rest.

Woke at 4:30 and was riding by 5:30. I was pretty motivated to start the day and the skies looked OK. The climb over the Salmo-Creston Pass was grueling. From where I camped it was 1:25 of continuous climbing. The pat back was sweet, if a little scary: I hit 74kms/hr.

After Salmo came the next big pass, before Castlegar. Another grinder, but headwinds ment the ride down was slower. Out of Castlegar, it started raining, then pouring, then got colder as lightening crackled all about. After more than an hour of heavy rain I lucked upon a shelter at the 3B junction (Nancy Green park), where I hung out for a while, ate and contemplated life.

It eventually slowed almost to a drizzle and I headed out again for another 20 minutes of climbing. This pass also had some incredibly steep sections and I was flying, with lots of dirty water getting thrown up at me. At one point, a truck descending slowly had a line of traffic behind it and I had to wait my turn to fly by him at 60kms/hr. A unique experience.

For the animal people, I saw a bear in Kootenay, a moose today and more deer than I could count, many of them in twister-like poses at the side of the road.

My butt sores are not stopping me, but they can be pretty uncomfortable towards the end of the day. More importantly, as you can imagine, I have a ton of time to think during the day. Today was particularly dark. Not trying to be a drama queen, but simply being honest in saying that I am having really serious problems feeling motivated for this project these days. Frankly, negative thoughts have dogged me since Moose Jaw. The pysical issues have played into this for sure, but getting this done is at least 50% mental, if not more. (Erik, I have SO MUCH respect for what you have done!! and thanks for your comment. I started out using nothing and then the problems started.)

There are two aspects to this project: breaking the record (mostly for myself) and raising awareness about diabetes. As for the latter, my efforts have been totally rushed, amatuerish and no where near effective to this point. It would takes many months of planning, negotiations, etc. to get it done properly and I had less than one, effectively.

So that leaves the former. I would need to be in perfect physical shape and highly motivated to have any chance at this incredibly difficult stupid human trick. It just feels like I'm not there. At the shelter today, and the hour and a half leading up to it I had myself convinced I would throw in the towel. Many of you have said what I'm doing is "nuts" or "crazy". Maybe I'm just too slow and prideful to see that. In Sat. Globe the Airies horoscope said something to the effect that you have something heavy on your mind and are not willing to let it go due to pride. I don't put any value in these...usually.

I'm just over 8hrs of riding into the day (4:15pm). I hope to get a bit furhter, but another pass lumes and I don't want to spend the night too high for reason of being cold. 10hrs on the prairies would be a piece of cake compared to this, so I'm not that worried.

I need to think more and may consult with some friends. Sorry for the crappy outlook.

The Good: The forecast was mostly off and the ride wasn't too bad. Got to Canmore in good time and stopped to see about changing my large chain ring. The first two bike shops didn't have anything. At the third, the owner took a lot of time to talk it over with me and put the bike on the stand so we could go through the gearing. He convinced me to give it more time and get used to it. It is a big change from what I had and I was concerned about chain torque when it is out of alignment too much. Basically my flat terrain cruising speed range of 27-31 kms/hr falls between the two, so it feels like I would have to do a lot of bothersome shifting back and forth. 'Felt' better today. But still might need to deal with it in Calgary.

In Canmore I met a tourer heading east who is a fellow retired (Brit) C-130 Hercules Navigator. We chatted for quite a while and I passed on some route opinions. He is giving himself three months for Vancouver to St. John's.

Camped 55 kms NE of Radium in Kootenay National Park after just over 200kms of riding. There was actually a fair bit of sunshine and the winds were decent. Today was almost 190kms, with some good tailwinds at times, and again some sunny stretches.

Today had a good chat with a New Jersey couple who are riding from Montana to Alaska. I'm a little jealous of their pace and ammenities. Very nice folks.

The Bad: It did rain this morning and I had to break camp in a drizzle. Not the end of the world, but I did get damp riding. Just before Radium there is a big pass and a steep descent. I had a shell on, but 15 minutes of speeds over 45kms/hr and cool temps made me VERY cold. In Radium I went into the Husky, had four coffees over 45 minutes and was still shivering! Fortunately it got a bit sunny after this and I had good tailwinds to help warm up too.

The Ugly: Despite very little riding for over a week, two new pairs of shorts, using anti-bacterial wipes mid and end-day and gooping on Vaseline and Lanoline, I have started to redevelop at least one sore. This is exceptionally disappointing, to say the least. I will press on to Vancouver, but if I can't deal with this over the next four days then 27 days is a lost cause.

One last challenge I will need to try is doing at least one 10+ hr day in the next few. I could well need to do many on the record attempt and my longest ride so far was only 9:15. Again, if one of these days takes too much out of me, it would be hard to contemplate stringing a lot of them together. Barring saddle sore problems, I think this will be OK, though.

Apparently I'm not quite due for that turn of good luck, yet. My head is still congested. I saw a doctor yesterday and he did not believe it was a bacterial infection; in fact he said I might as well continue my biking. I took the rest of yesterday off, but today spent 2.5 hours training fully loaded and more than another hour riding around to do errands.

The new gearing needs some getting used to . It is better for going up hills and has better top end speed, but in the middle of those, around my 30km/hr cruising speed, it is not ideal. Bow Cycle didn't have any chain rings on hand that would reduce the number of teeth on the big one, so I will go with it and if need be change it in Vancouver or back here in Calgary after the mountains.

It is too early to tell if the new bib shorts ($170!!!) are any better than what I had. I also bought a pair of regular shorts as well. We shall see...

I intend to leave tomorrow morning despite a depressingly wet and cold forecast for the next four days. The show must go on. If things go well I'll spend tomorrow night not too far into Kootenay National Park (BC). The next day I should arrive at my friends Bruce and Christine's place in Kimberley (hot tub, yah) and then I hope to finish the trip to Vancouver along hwy #3 in four more days.

So, if all goes well, a start date for the big ride will still likely be June 18.

A big thanks to my Aunt Janice who has been my latest couch surfing victim and has spoiled me yet again.

I'll update from Kimberley. Cheers

Got in OK yesterday afternoon and even managed to escape a WestJet bicycle fee. The bike is in the shop and will have the drive train replaced and a general tune-up done today. I'll also be buying new supplies, such as tubes and more important items such as two new pairs of shorts. It looks as though I might have a Black Diamond proto-type solo tent to use for the record ride out of Vancouver. I'm told it is very light.

Very frustratingly, I'm still dealing with a sinus/head cold. I had hoped to do a local test ride tomorrow and then start riding to Vancouver Friday, but I think I really need to be sure I'm over this before I start more big days, so my departure date is up in the air.

Despite the many set backs, I am looking forward to this last training ride and then setting out from Vancouver a day or two later. Again, I have to believe my luck is due for a good turn.

You'll soon be able to follow the progress with a map system on this site. I'll continue the updates on the training ride and my goal is to have daily updates on the record ride. Many of these may be done as transcribed phone messages since the pace may make it more difficult to take the time to find libraries, etc. Again, many thanks to Chris George and the team at Base Corp for their work on the site.

Stay tuned.