Cycle Canada: Prologue

In the Spring of 2005, Doug Bird phoned me from St. John's and said something like. "I'll be out in Port Coquitlam this fall. Why don't you come out and we can ride our bikes back to Calgary and visit Rob?"

He meant ride our Bicycles!

Doug and I had gone to high school together in Port Coquitlam, B. C., graduating in 1976. After high school we shared an apartment, drank together, rode motorcycles together, and shared many of the same friends.

Time and careers found Doug in St. John's, Newfoundland and me in Edmonton, Alberta, but we stayed in touch. I knew that Doug had bought a bike about 6 years earlier and had been riding hard ever since. I knew that I hadn't ridden a bicycle more than 5 times in the previous 12 years. I told him. "Let me think about it."

Pride wouldn't let me tell Doug that I couldn't make this insanely long trip with him "because I can't do it." I decided to haul the old ten-speed out of the basement and ride it until I could tell Doug, "I could do this trip, but I choose not to."

That became my goal, to say "No," from a position of strength.

I told myself that if I could ride 100 Km's in a day then riding 1,000 Km's in 9 or 10 days would just be a choice. A matter of scale. I hopped on the 10-speed and headed for the local Canadian Tire store. When I completed the 4 Km round trip my heart was pounding, my lungs burned and my legs shook so much that I almost couldn't climb the stairs (three) to my front door. How much worse could it get? After 4 Km's I hadn't ridden enough to know about bicycle seats.....

I set myself a schedule of rides and targets for distances and speeds each week. Six weeks later I did my first 100 Km ride.....well 96 really, but close enough. Good thing the next day was Sunday, I was toast.

More riding through the Summer and two more (honest) 100 Km rides had me feeling pretty confident. When Doug called to firm-up plans for his proposed ride I could say, "No" with pride.

When Doug called to firm-up plans for his proposed ride it didn't go according to script: He said that his plans had changed slightly and he would be in B.C. too late in the season to risk riding through the Rockies. Too much chance of snow and too cold in any case.

Woohoo! An open door to an exit. But I have to sound disappointed. "Too bad. I was really looking forward to it. You know I've been training. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to call it an unfulfilled dream.'

"Did you really want to go?"

"Yeah. Too Bad. I bought a new bike and everything. We should still get together though. Maybe go fishing."

"How about this then, why don't we ride across Canada next year?"

"............?"

"Well you really wanted to go right? You've been training. You bought a new bike and everything. And I know you can get the time off work."

"Let me think about it."

In early 2006 travel, work and cold, wet weather prevented me from doing as much training as I perhaps should have. By May 5th, when our journey started, my Spring training totalled 25 kilometres. I hooked the BOB trailer to the bike for the second time ever and packed for my very first over-night bike ride.