Winnipeg to Thunder Bay

Winnipeg to West Hawk Lake

Once again my cage is rattled that my watch is deleted files. I am currently updating these blogs from Thunder Bay and I thought all the files were good to go...guess not..ohwell

We were up early, had a perfect breakfast prepared by the family, then we were on our way to West Hawk Lake. The wind started off in my face, but it switched to my tail as a storm moved in, so I picked up speed as the rain towered over. Fortunately, I was able to cycle ahead of the storm and it didn’t downpour until we were already checked into The Keystone Resort. Big thanks to the owners for donating a room to us! Check out them out if you are ever going through as it was a great place. http://www.keystoneresort.mb.ca/About_Us.html

 

West hawk lake to Souix Narrows :

I pressed the wrong buttons on my gps watch a few times while biking and had to restart the gps tracker but here are the stats for the day:

https://www.polarpersonaltrainer.com/user/calendar/item/analyze.ftl?id=157765441&r

https://www.polarpersonaltrainer.com/user/calendar/item/analyze.ftl?id=157765494&r

https://www.polarpersonaltrainer.com/user/calendar/item/analyze.ftl?id=157765504&r

The first three quarters of today were zero fun…I experienced a difficult head wind, weather that was very difficult to dress for, and a stop in Kenora to buy a new rain jacket….apparently my Columbia rain jacket decided to die out on me during one of the rainiest days I have ever had to cycle in. One positive note was that at least the cars were giving me ample space, and I was close to a city where I could purchase a replacement rain jacket.

It is incredible biking through areas that are so desolate. The roads I am travelling are absolutely beautiful, but I couldn’t image the mayhem that would occur if something should go wrong. I remember wanting to cycle across Canada by myself, but I couldn’t imagine how miserable that would be….possible, yes….miserable, most likely….thankfully that is not the case and I know I am relatively safe.

Anyways, we arrived in Souix Narrows around five in the afternoon, and I called the provincial park to verify that is where we were staying the night. The lady said she would meet us at the front gate in 10-15 minutes, but we decided to leave after waiting for almost an hour.

I tried calling the lady to see what was going on, but I was unable to get in touch with her, so Elyse and I drove around Souix Narrows looking for a place to camp….HUNGRY, TIRED, & OUT OF LUCK we decided to settle for sleeping amongst our smelly clothes in the van.

I felt the two safest spots were either the cop station or the church parking lot. I chose the church parking lot, because I assumed the cops wouldn’t allow us to sleep there haha. We didn’t set up our tent on the church parking lot, because I figured a midnight wakeup call from an officer telling us to move on may happen.  Elyse is flexible and was able to find herself a comfy hole, but I had a terrible time finding a spot to please me. It seemed I would either wake up to an incredible pain, due to the lack of circulation in some part of my body or the buzz of a bloodthirsty mosquito using the blinding darkness to its advantage. Elyse did a lot of complaining that we had to sleep in the van, but I told her to suck it up and it would be fine….the truth is, I wasn’t pumped but I knew it was our best option…one I hope we don’t resort to often.

Souix Narrows to Emo:

Trip stats: https://www.polarpersonaltrainer.com/user/calendar/item/analyze.ftl?id=157765508&r

Cycling to Emo today was awesome...I had sunshine to warm me and a breeze to keep me cool. A tail wind kept me moving at a good pace and I ended up cycling 40km or so beyond Emo. I could have cycled for many more hours, and I could have covered counteless km's; however, we had been invited to stay in Emo by the Leek family, so I wanted to be able to drive back to their house just in time for supper!!!

Elyse and I sat down with the Leek family and swapped stories, but I was super interested in learning more about the center of attention in Emo: The Emo Speedway is basically in the Leek’s backyard and the family is very involved the racing. Elyse and I were given a tour of the town and the inside scoop about the racetrack…I wish we were able to catch the race the next day, but I knew we needed to be 180km’s east in Quetico Provincial Park if I had any hopes of Salmon fishing with my buddy Derek Jennings.

Check out the website for the Emo Speedway as there is quite a history of dirt track racing there and the collection of videos is incredible:  http://www.borderlandracing.com/

Emo to Quetico Provincial Park:

It is getting late and I need to be up in several hours to begin a new week of biking, so I am just going to give you the trip stats for today: The wind was in my favour and the ride was awesome...there were quite a few rolling hills, but I was able to build speed coming down that helped me climb the uphills.

We stayed in the park and it was awesome! I need to revisit Quetico with a canoe and fishing rod in hand. Probably my favorite park of the stay was hearing the loons as the sunset! 

  https://www.polarpersonaltrainer.com/user/calendar/item/analyze.ftl?id=157765510&r

Quetico to Thunder Bay was about 165km's again but the wind had my back even more today and I was very motivated to get to Thunder Bay ahead of schedule, so I could catch up on laundry, clean the van, and most importantly GO FISHIN'!!!! I wasn't able to charge the GPS so I don't have the trip stays for today; however, the day was basically identical to the previous day, other than there were a few more climbs mixed in.

For those of you who are interested in how the fishing went, we caught 5 salmon and we had an awesome fresh fish lunch prepared by my buddy Derek today. After lunch we visited the kakabeka falls and most importantly the biggest inspiration of all...Terry Fox.

It is currently 10:30pm and I am going to call it a night so I can wake up and get ready to battle the ride along "the north shore" apparently beautiful but deadly steep climbs!!! I have enjoyed the recovery time we have spent in Tbay, but I think Elyse and I better let Allyson and Derek have their home back! Thanks for letting us crash at your pad for the last 3 nights guys!!!

Check these photos out!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.248186411951291.36886.162105320559401&type=3

Portage La Prairie to the Capital of Manitoba

From Portage La Prarie to Winnipeg we had solid tail winds and I made it in decent time…It was nice to get to Winnipeg early, because I wanted to get some work done on my bike, and I wasn’t really able to get that done until the bigger city! I stopped by an Olympia bike shop and got them to tune the bike up.  He decided to replace my left crank arm because it was loose and he also decided to replace my chain because I was around the halfway mark. Unfortantely, because I am writing this in retrospect I will tell you that I experienced some problems from Winnipeg to Thunderbay because he should have replaced my rear caset also. Live and learn! The joys of not being able to fix my own bike completely.

We ended up staying with Amanda Gill and her parents because Amanda works for the Parkinson Society in Manitoba and did an excellent job securing spots for us to stay. She couldn’t find a spot in Winnipeg, but I greatly appreciate that her family opened their doors to us!

We had a great dinner and then Amanda showed us a few key spots in Winnipeg. The Fringe festival was going on downtown, so we decided to hit that up for a bit.

Elyse and I were super tired so we called it an early night and decided we should get some sleep.

Brandon - Portage La Prairie

Here are the trip stats: https://www.polarpersonaltrainer.com/user/calendar/item/analyze.ftl?id=157452070&r

We woke up today and were on way to Portage La Praire. A few seconds outside of Brandon, I caught up to another cyclist biking across Canada. I am proud of this guy! Visit his website at  http://www.riding4mentors.com/ to see how he turned a very negative situation into a positive experience. Jamie reminded me of one of my best friends who got tangled up with the wrong crowd and made a few bad decisions that spiralled into a downward mess.

I can’t speak about addiction because I have no idea what it is like; however, I am super proud of Jamie and my buddy for being strong enough to one day wake up and realize this was not a life they wanted to live. They both use cycling to stay strong, stay straight, and keep positive, and I think we can all learn a little bit from them in one way or another. Good luck with your goals Jamie and thank you for pushing me to cycle beyond my comfort zone!

Anyways, Jamie and I ripped to Portage La Prairie and then I turned off the highway to meet up with Peggy and Bryan Mitchell (our hosts for the night). We met the Mitchells at the Portage Daily Graphic, where Angela Brown covered our story…Thank you Angela!!!!

http://www.portagedailygraphic.com/2012/07/23/cyclist-traveling-canada-for-parkinson-fundraiser


Bryan is by far the most avid collector of owl memorabilia I have ever met….I would be willing to throw it out there that he may be the most avid collector of Owl memorabilia in the world. Virtually everything in their home has an owl spin on it, and they also have a gigantic owl in their yard (probably will be the world’s biggest owl). I can’t remember how much metal went into constructing this owl but it was intense! http://www.roadsideattractions.ca/greyowl.htm

That evening the Mitchells invited a few folks from the local Parkinson’s support group over. We learned a ton about owls and a few things about Parkinson’s too! One person there had difficulty speaking and she carries Excel Gum with her because it specifically helps increase moisture to her throat which helps her with speaking…another big theme discussed was how difficult driving can become. One of the people gets her husband to do all the driving, but for the other people the thought not being able to drive was extremely difficult.


Two of the folks there had the deep brain stimulation surgery. I asked one of them how they felt about having an invasive surgery like that, and the reply was…I was basically at the point of not being able to do anything, so this surgery gave me the chance to get my life back for a few years at least….I wasn’t that scared going into it because I was already in a terrible place, and I couldn’t be more happy with the results now that I am able to drive again!


I don’t know what the success rate is like for the DBS surgery, but I was happy to hear that it was able to help this person live a better life!


Mrs. Mitchell was an incredible cook and she even claimed she loved to have the opportunity to cook for Elyse and I…the food was awesome and I got a great sleep for the short ride to Winnipeg. Night!

Britle to Brandon MB

This morning we woke up and had breakfast with the Marshalls. Then Hartell (sorry if the spelling is wrong), led me out of Birtle on a bike of a little different style! He let me take the bike for a spin and it is actually so comfy!

Here are the trip stats for today....it was a beautiful day and Norm joined me a pretty good chunk of the ride!

https://www.polarpersonaltrainer.com/user/calendar/item/analyze.ftl?id=157452068&r


I have mentioned before that I am not the biggest fan of cycling; however, I do have to say it does make me feel very good when I’m finished, cycling seems to be a great outlet for frustration, and is a good way to get away from the world and think clearly for the short period of time I am on the road.


Norm LOVES to cycle…I met him for the first time today and you can tell he has been active throughout his life. He used to play a lot of competitive football and his strength is visibly incredible. Norm has Parkinson’s and cycling is his godsend because he said it keeps him from stiffening up…Norm mentioned that if he doesn’t cycle for a couple days, he really notices the negative side effects; therefore, he gets out as much as possible and it keeps him active and healthy!


Today was our rest day, so I took complete advantage of catching up on previous blogs and enjoying the Lowe’s company. Elyse and Linda spent most of their time with the many family pets in this home. Elyse and I both have dogs and cats back home, so we appreciated having animals around!


Linda is an awesome cook and hooked us up with many great meals, but the most memorable will simply be the kindness of both these individuals. I like animals…but these two LOVE them and the many pets they have had throughout their time together, are very, very lucky!



Norms Bike is wild…it is so light and fast…he said he has been up to as fast as 50mph!!!!! it was a little frustrating to know my bike would not go that fast; however, my bike is a beast and I haven’t even had a flat yet!!!!! This is probably pretty decent advertising for Cervelo, and I should probably ask for a bike from them too!!!!

Esterhazy SK to Birtle MB

So I woke up at 4am because there was a fight that broke out in the campground...A few guys had a little too much to drink and decided they were going to make everyone else’s lives almost as miserable as theirs were. Elyse was lucky enough to snooze through this commotion, so I let her sleep in peace until 6AM and we were off to Birtle MB.



Crossing into Manitoba we lost another hour, and I knew we had to be in Birtle by 2pm because the town knew we were coming and I feel awful when I am not on time. I missed ONE small sign that I had been warned about and ended up biking probably 30km the wrong way on a gravel road; however, we used a compass to get back on track and we eventually made it to Birtle.



I was greeted at the top of a hill by Bob Marshall, before entering the town of Birtle, and he told me there were several children who were waiting to bike into town with me!!!! It was awesome to meet up with the kids and cruise into the middle of town.

The town had organized a greeting for Parkinson’s Cycle of Hope and the Mayor (Dwight Stewart welcomed us to the town). Birtle may be small, but it is beautiful and the folks really came together to support Parkinson`s research and make us feel very special. Having the children join me on the ride was incredible!!! A big thank you goes out to Karen and Bob Marshall for not only hosting us for the night, but also spreading awareness in their town ahead of time!

Crossroads this week even printed an article about us arriving into town, without us even having to contact them!!!



After the gathering, Elyse and I followed Karen and Bob Marshall to their home and Karen hooked us up with unreal sandwiches…we chatted for a bit, aired our wet camping gear out, and then went for Chinese food at the local hot spot!  I have talked over and over again about how many people with Parkinson`s have mentioned exercise is very important to them, but one cool way to keep active, that I never thought about, was to use Nintendo Wii games. The Wii system allows the person to interact in a physical way that actually gets the person up and moving and can vary in intensity, depending on one’s ability….Give it a whirl!!!



Everything was fantastic and Elyse and I were both very tired. It didn`t take long after dinner before I couldn`t keep my eyes open….off to bed I went.

Here are the trip stats for the day: https://www.polarpersonaltrainer.com/user/calendar/item/analyze.ftl?id=157452061&r

Make sure to click on this link for some very special pictures from visiting Birtle! The last couple pictures are from Brandon MB

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.245915942178338.36279.162105320559401&type=3

A little update!

Just wanted to inform everyone that I'm currently 130 km's east of Winnipeg Manitoba, and I think I have found my groove...my legs feel awesome, and I know what I need to do in order to cover big km's.

I will be entering my home province (Ontario) tomorrow, and I am planning on trying to cover extra km's to get ahead of schedule, because we don't have anyone to stay with from here to Thunder Bay, ON.

Unfortunately, I have stories and information I would like to be sharing with everyone, but I am paying for internet connection as I write this and the expense is going to force those blogs to wait. Please keep an eye on the Parkinson's Cycle of Hope Facebook Page & stay in touch through twitter: @CoryWelsh9

I will basically be cycling/living in the sticks, and I am thinking the phone/internet service will be sub-par at best; however, I will try to take any advantage I can to update these blogs.

I want to leave you with a quote I enjoy:

"To dream anything you want to dream, that is the beauty of the human mind. To do anything you 


want to do, that is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits, that is the 


courage to succeed."


Bernard Edmonds

I'm excited my cycling is getting stronger, and I am eager to test my limits to see if I can get to Thunder Bay a day or two ahead of schedule. As Larry Abbott would say, "Keep Smiling"!

Balcarres to Esterhazy (120km)

Trip Stats:

https://www.polarpersonaltrainer.com/user/calendar/item/analyze.ftl?id=157163100&r

I don't have much to say for today's ride....it was just biking as normal and the scenery was great!
I should emphasize that I cycled through Abernethy SK today, which is the home of The Bray family and Len Thomspon. For those of you who don't know who Len Thomspon is, he designed some pretty slick fishing lures back in his day! I was given some sweet shirts and Ruffrider Thompson fishing spoons from Mr. Bray! I will have to post those pictures soon!

Here are the links to the FB photos Elyse took over the last couple days: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.245771108859488.36246.162105320559401&type=3

We met up with Jaime from the Miner-Journal and she interviewed us for an article in Esterhazy! Thank you Jaime!!! 

Regina to Balcarres (86km)

Trip Stats

https://www.polarpersonaltrainer.com/user/calendar/item/analyze.ftl?id=157163099&r


We woke up to crepes, eggs, and a fabulous variety of fruit! Brenda and Rick hooked us up with a mean amount of food for lunch and we were on our way to Balcarres!

The trip to Balcarres is VERY nice...you get off the plain old Trans Can and start heading into some nice scenery; however, the roads are bumpy and don't have a very great shoulder to ride on.

Anyways, everything was golden as I cycled to Balcarres and I was happy to find out it was actually a shorter bike ride than expected!

We arrived at the doorstep of Don and Judy Herschmiller and we were fortunate enough to be welcomed into their home to celebrate their 42nd (I believe) anniversary! They had their family over and it was awesome to be a part of it.  

Judy said she had no clue what we would want to eat, but she did a great job guessing! We had a roast, mash potatoes, and trifle for dessert! After dinner, the family surprised us by presenting a cheque for $920 that was money raised from a soup and sandwhich fundraiser they put on! I told Mr. Herschmiller he must be a great guy if the residents of Balcarres all came out to show their support for him.

The entire Herschmiller familiy seemed to be blessed with artistic talents, and Mr. Herschmiller was a fantastic woodworker! His Parkinson's softened his speech, and has affected his walking; however, he doesn't have tremours and is able to continue creating magnificent works of art! I asked him about his difficulty walking, and he said, "It is like I have to stop and think about taking that first step, or I will fall....after that first step, I could probably run a marathon"! We were talking about different things we have heard that helped people with the freezing of gait. I believe I may have previously mentioned some people carry lazer pointers, someone may simply nudge their foot, music therapy, and several other things that seem to get them through the freezing motion. I am not trying to tell people what to do or how they should do it...simply swapping stories!

We only spent a night in Balcarres but the vibe there was wonderful. It reminded me of the song by Tim McGraw-Where the green grass grows...except I would probably replace corn with canola!

     Here is the video for that song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aENJoceTXA

This town was very small but the people make it a very special place. They even told us a story about a bunch of farmers leaving their own farms and coming together to finish the combining for Tim while he was busy with funeral arrangements. It is always nice to hear the stories about people lending a helping hand!

Anyways, the Herschmiller's son Keith is an incredible photography so we were able to talk him into snapping a few shots and one of them was of Eyse, Don, and me!

Probably the cutest thing of all was seeing this little lady show her support for the Ruffriders!!! Those Saskatchewan Ruffriders sure have devoted fans!

Chaplin to Regina (144km)

Trip Stats:

https://www.polarpersonaltrainer.com/user/calendar/item/analyze.ftl?id=157163084&r

We packed up our camping gear, stirred our powdered milk into liquid and choked down some Cheerios before heading to Regina. 

All I have ever heard about Saskatchewan was that is was SO flat and you can see for miles. I would tend to disagree and I believe you will never find any cyclists say it is flat. The roads are straight and you can see pretty far but there are nice moraines and rolling hills everywhere and it is incredible to see all the different varieties of green in the fields. Saskatchewan farmers must be pretty pumped to have all this rain.

Elyse contacted all the papers in Regina, but we didn't have any luck with getting someone to spread awareness for us, until Brenda called me to say Global TV was going to meet me on the highway to cover our story. I was jacked she was able to get through to Global and really appreciate Global letting me mumble and stumble on TV! I can't find the article on the internet to share with you, but we were able to catch it on the ten O'clock news that night!

The first person to contact me about Parkinson's Cycle of Hope was Brenda Kilarski and she has been in contact with my mom and I for quite some time now! Brenda and her husband Rick made it very clear that their house was our house and that we were to do all the laundry we needed to do etc.-I think that may have been a hint that I was dirty and smelled bad. Elyse and I left June 20th and did laundry in Vernon BC, Canmore AB, and now here!

Brenda and Rick sure know how to entertain!!! They had bruschetta baking, and we enjoyed a fantastic main course of chicken, ribs, and asiago cheese macaroni....BUT, the best part of all was sharing stories while we picked away at a Peanut Buster Blowup or Bomb or something....I'm not positive what it was called, but I don't think I have ever tasted a better piece of peanut butter paradise...haha I LOVE peanut butter....don't tell Shaylin from Sarnia In-Motion though....I am supposed to be limiting my peanut butter! 

We were given I love Regina shirts and we gave them Parkinson's Cycle of Hope shirts!

  

Brenda mentioned she had a very difficult time deciding how to tell her family she had Parkinson's. 

I remember my dad and mom calling my sisters and I down to the basement for a family meeting. These meetings were usually organized because one of us was in trouble, but I remember not knowing how to react when my dad said he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's. I am the oldest sibling, and I am not one to want to show emotional weakness, but the truth is I knew there was just a lot I needed to learn. My sisters were very upset, but I have found it harder to deal with as I see my old man's symptoms starting to progress. 

I think the point of this is to bring up the idea that being diagnosed with Parkinson's can be very difficult on the person being diagnosed, as well as the family, and each person deals with the news differently. Each person will deal with it differently, but I would love to hear stories about how you decided to tell your family. Maybe I can include your story in my blog to help someone who is going through a similar situation as you.

Gull Lake to Chaplin (142km)

Gull Lake to Chaplin (142km) trip stats

https://www.polarpersonaltrainer.com/user/calendar/item/analyze.ftl?id=156966407&r


We headed towards Chaplin today and the ride was good. The weather cooperated and the scenery was like nothing else I have seen yet. There are sloughs, waterfowl, and shorebirds everywhere and there is always something to look at.

We stayed arrived in Chaplin and stopped at the Chaplin Nature Center to see what it was all about. We had noticed it looks like there is salt everywhere and their welcoming sign talks about salt....turns out Chaplin is home to one of the most Saline bodies of water in the world and an incredible amount of birds come to Chaplin. We had a tour of the nature center and the guide mentioned they have a type of pelican that has its young there, but they fly 60 miles each day to a different body of water to catch fish that they bring back to feed their young....that is one ambitious bird doing what it has to do!

I forget how rare these albino coyotes are but they are extremely rare!

We saw the real thing, but this model helped describe how the mine and saline body of water actually thrive off each other...it was pretty nice to think this mine wasn't destroying the world.

We asked for directions to the campground and Bev from Gull Lake had called  Geri Ball in Chaplin to organize our stay for the night and she was able to get the city to allow us to camp for free.

This campground was strange because it is right in a town park, but we enjoyed our stay and met a very interesting man named "Presty". Presty was pulling a huge Airstream trailer with an F450 truck and he noticed I was working on my bike. He mentioned that he was a mechanic for the movie industry in Vancouver and had some stuff that would help me remove the grease....I was pretty skeptical at first because I only have one bike and I have had lots of people who think they know how to help....BUT, Presty was awesome...he cleaned my bike up, donated to our ride, and offered to have us join him for a movie. Presty gave us tons of craft dinner, a space heater, and a folding pylon for Elyse to put behind her when she stops on the road. We even woke up to boiled eggs from Presty for the ride...He entertained us with some incredible stories and made out night!

Medicine Hat to Gull Lake (121km)

Here are the trip stats for today.

https://www.polarpersonaltrainer.com/user/calendar/item/analyze.ftl?id=156966351&r

Today was the worst day of the ride. We were crossing from Alberta into Saskatchewan and looking forward to the strong prevailing west winds.....BUT...NOPE...huge east winds upwards of 25km/hour just killed my desire to ride. I was absolutely exhausted before I even started this ride and from Medicine Hat, AB to Gull Lake, SK is around 160km. I was so rattled about strong east winds on the longest day I have, but I kept on givin'er. It was also raining all day but that doesn't bother me.

I saw this video called, "Sh*t Cyclist Say" several months ago and I never really thought it was that funny until now....endurance activities are such a mental game and it is incredible how many things affect how efficiently I am able to ride my bike.... nutrition, sleep, and wind are the most important things to me....I'm still trying to find my groove because I am having a ton of trouble right now with keeping solids and liquids down and I am pooched, but I have to keep cycling. 


Here is the video about cycling if anyone wants to check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMCkuqL9IcM

I also had to make a modification to my bike today....my hands are bruised and feel like the bones are going to fracture of something haha, so I wanted to soften the grips up and the only thing I could use were socks and tape!

Basically I wake up every morning hoping to find a west wind, because your day becomes sooooo much harder the minute you have wind blowing in your face. So, needless to say today was a huge mental and physical struggle, but I realized something important....my mind is stronger than my body and my stubbornness would put me in the hospital before giving up, but that kind of stubbornness is pure stupidity. 


Because I have planned my ride to be able to stay with people who have Parkinson's, I have a set date and time I need to arrive somewhere each day....unfortunately, I can't control the weather and I am just going to have to accept that there are going to be a few days throughout these 72 days where I am not going to be able to cycle the entire distance.


 Thankfully, I have a wonderful support system driving a support vehicle near me...she is my commonsense and starts piping up when she can see I am pushing myself beyond safe limits. Today was the first day I had to make the wise decision and call 121km, against a strong east wind, a day...I was wobbling like mad and having to stop just as much as I was cycling....I probably could have made it to Gull Lake, but I most likely would have done some damage to my body that one day's rest would not heal.

Posting individuals pictures is not practical, so providing a link to all the pictures Elyse is taking will not only allow you to see more pictures, but make my life a little easier. Here is the link for the pictures from Med. Hat to Gull Lake, SK http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.245768725526393.36244.162105320559401&type=3

We drove the remainder of the km's to Gull Lake and checked into the Lazy Dee Motel for two nights (compliments of the town!!!! Thank you). Next, Elyse and I drove around the town to look for somewhere to eat and decided to eat at the Horse Shoe Corner Diner....We sat down beside two other cyclists who also said the wind was killer....they bikes 50 km's and called it quits....I was starving so I ordered two meals and the waitress laughed at me....I have ordered two meals at plenty of restaurants before because one sometimes doesn't fill me up. I found out I am using around 500-550 calories/ hour and some days cycling for several hours....I soon found out why the waitress was laughing. The Horse Shoe Corner Diner is not a normal diner...they have the biggest portions I have ever seen, and prices that can't be beat....it actually doesn't make any sense to me, but I was happy that we ate there!

I sort of stick out like a sore thumb in these little towns, because I am not a familiar face and I always wearing the brightest/dirtiest clothing. In today's case that worked to my advantage, because Peggy lives in Gull Lake and had heard about us coming to town. She asked if we had anywhere to stay and then apologized for not offering her home because she was scared we may be two sketchy transient travelers. I completely understand where she is coming from because today I have passed one of the meanest looking people for the third time....I don't know how the guy gets picked up, because I always make sure to cycle as far away from him as possible....his stare and snarl is terrifying to say the least. 

Peggy brought Elyse and I a case of water and some money from her and a few seniors she knows!!! We also got an invite to her backyard potluck for the following night and the local minister Bev. bought us groceries for the day. We have some money and I am not the kind of person who is good at accepting handouts like this, but they ensured us this is what they wanted to help us with...so I want to thank them for taking care of us and showing us a good time in Gull Lake!

Taber to Medicine Hat (113km)

Well, I finally have the training files under control again! Here is the link: 

https://www.polarpersonaltrainer.com/user/calendar/item/analyze.ftl?id=156966314&r

Today's ride was HOT! I had trouble last night staying hydrated and then woke up without an appetite....forced myself to eat food all day because I knew I needed it for energy; however, I started throwing up and having a terrible time towards the last 25km's. Eventually I filled my hydra-pack with Gatorade powder and literally drank it continuously for the last two hours....it was a painful trek but I got it done! 

Cool fact: Medicine Hat receives 2 512 hours of sunlight per year, making it the sunniest spot in Canada!

We arrived in Medicine Hat and called my mom to find out if we had anywhere to stay...we found out we were staying at the Comfort Inn, and when we arrived we were welcomed by these great folks!!!! Can't explain how great it is to meet people who have Parkinson's and hear their stories! I apologize for being so sweaty!!! 

 I also want to thank Stacey Lee for writing this article to share with Medicine Hat!!! http://www.medicinehatnews.com/local-news/ontario-native-biking-across-canada-for-parkinsons-07122012.html

Granum to Taber (112km)

Today started off a bit rough when Elyse heard something go flying off the van. I chalked it up as loose dirt spinning off from the tires, but I actually left her keys on the roof and they ended up being shattered by the trucks behind us. I thought I had learned my lesson when I left my cellphone on the roof in North Vanvouver...unfortunately, my cellphone made it and the keys did not.

The ride itself was fairly decent until we got into Lethbridge, where I had to be very keen of what was happening around me. There were no bike lanes going through town and lots of merging lanes, but I kept a close eye on the cars zooming around me and managed to meet up with Caroline Zentner from the Lethbridge Herald. Elyse locked the keys in the car, so we had lots of time to speak with Caroline while we waited for CAA to come. 

Thanks for meeting with us Caroline!!

http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/local-news/coast-to-coast-for-parkinsons-71312.html

We met with Caroline at 1 and had to be in Taber (50km's away) at 3 to meet with Greg Price (who was absolutely fantastic-he wrote an article leading up to our arrival and a follow up article, as well as contacting other media sources around his area!) So, I hustled and made it work and then checked into the Heritage Inn  in Taber. Thank you for the complimentary stay Heritage Inn!!!!http://www.heritageinn.net/Home?session_location_start=9

When I entered Taber, I saw a sign saying there was a rodeo in town tonight, so Elyse and I checked it out....it was probably more entertaining than the Calgary Stampede, because the Bull Fighters were just bananas. The one bull fighter had a shattered sternum and the other one was standing on barrels and jumping over the bull etc. Crazy how close they got to those massive animals.

The sun was hot again today, so I asked Elyse if we could call it a day and head back to the hotel room to get ready for Medicine Hat tomorrow.  

Here is a link to a whack-load of photos Elyse took from Calgary to Taber.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.245760545527211.36242.162105320559401&type=3

Calgary to Granum (150km's) W/ special appearance from Josh Bressett

This morning I was joined by Josh Bresett, whom I played a lot of hockey with growing up. Josh grew up in Forest Ontario and goes by the nickname “Beast”. I was happy to have him cycle with me! He is working in Lloydminster, SK and made the trek down to visit his friend in Calgary and do a few clicks with me. It has been over four years since we saw each other, so we had lots of catching up to do!

We traveled down hwy 2 and Beast was getting a little sore. He cycled 100km but wasn't sure if he would make it to Granum, so Elyse switched spots with him and finished the remainder of the ride. Elyse has been wanting to cycle so badly because she is getting very bored waiting for me, so it was great to be able to give Josh a break and Elyse some exercise. 

We stopped outside a variety store in Claresholm AB, and Rob from Claresholm Local Press happened to see the van and stopped by to interview us! He knew a lot of people in Claresholm and surrounding area who had Parkinson's and we were pumped that he helped us out!

Josh grabbed 2 large Slushies for the road, and Elyse and I were off on two wheels. The weather was awesome and made for pleasant trip to the smallest town in Alberta. Granum, AB. 

We stayed at the Grandview Recreation Park in Granum and searched the park for some trees to shade us from the sun!

Canmore to Calgary (104 km)

So, I have allowed my blog to fall way behind, and I am currently updating my experience from Brandon MB. 

Unfortunately I lost ton of trip logs for a few days because I didn’t realize my watch only saves a few days of training files and then automatically deletes them…the gps situation is giving me nightmares and it is something I wish I was able to play with prior to the ride, so I would have all the bugs out. I enjoy being able to share the trip statistics with everyone, and I like the idea of being able to look back on the files one day. I didn’t realize my watch was deleting files until we got to Taber, so I apologize to those people that enjoy seeing how slow I am cycling and how high my heart rate flies when I am exhausted!

Anyways, my legs were just screaming today and every pedal stroke was a struggle. The sun decided to come out today and just drill me with heat, but that was okay because I will take heat over headwinds anytime!

I made it to Calgary and met up with a buddy to check out the Stampede. If you don’t know anything about the Calgary Stampede, Calgary residents are CRAZY about their cowboys. It is the centennial year of the Stampede and it is a pretty busy place….it was something to see the crazy cowboys riding the bulls, but the coolest part of the rodeo was by far the hula-hoop act. I am having trouble uploading the video but I will try to get it up for viewing ASAP.

After the stampede I met up with a huge gang from the Parkinson’s Alberta Society at the Holiday Inn we stayed at in Calgary. It was awesome to see everyone supporting Parkinson’s Cycle of Hope!

This link has a few pictures (Alberta style) compliments of Laurine Fillo's awesome photography skills!

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.245767538859845.36243.162105320559401&type=3

We had tickets to see the Grandstand Show at the Stampede that night, and Mr. & Mrs. Fillo invited Elyse and I to a neighbourhood BBQ at David’s father’s house to fill up on a home cooked meal before we toured down to that event.

Laurine is one of the youngest people I have met with PD, but it was refreshing to hear her optimism and positive outlook. Today we felt some negative vibes from people who said Parkinson’s Cycle of Hope isn’t really that important, and I should have never came through Calgary during the Stampede, but Laurine and David are super chill individuals and they shared some words to inspire me to stay positive and know  this bike ride is going to touch people in ways I will probably never even realize. I can’t let the naysayers bring me down and we quickly turned towards discussing the ways to improve living with Parkinson’s.

Laurine doesn’t have any tremors, but her body stiffens up on her quite a bit. One way Laurine manages her symptoms is working with music therapy. She has always been an active women, who loved to run, so every day she throws her iPod  on and walks to music that helps break the gait and allows her to walk more efficiently! I have read a lot about how gait affects some people who have PD, but Laurine was the first person to be living proof of the positive effects of using music therapy! Maybe give it a try!!!!

We enjoyed our time spent with the Fillo’s that Elyse and I decided to stick around a little later and just head back to the hotel instead of going to see the Grandstand Show. A couple individuals at the BBQ donated money towards our goal, and the Fillo family treated us like their children. I feel like Elyse or I could call Laurine or David and they would do anything they could to help us out. I don’t think they know how much we appreciate what they have done for us!

I was excited to head to the hotel and have a Epsom salt bath, because my legs were feeling pretty bad and my buddy told me it helps him after rugby games. I gave it a try and it seemed to help….if not actually, mentally!

Lake Louise to Canmore (83km)

Unfortunately I didn't upload the trip logs from today to the computer in time and the GPS File was deleted.

Today’s ride was nice because I keep hearing about the heatwave back home and I know it is heading my way, but today was 4C in the morning and slowly warmed up. I am finally getting past the big climbs but the scenery is still beautiful. We took highway 1A so we could tour through Banff National Park and it was a pretty, pretty ride.

We didn’t have anyone to stay with today, which we are always bummed about; however, we were given a complimentary stay at the Grand Rockies Resort. This place is beautiful, but even better it allowed us to get some laundry done. Check out the Grand Rockies if you are ever in Canmore…you won’t be disappointed!!! http://www.granderockies.com/

We met up with Dave Wifield from Rocky Mountain Outlook, and he interviewed Elyse and I to write an article for awareness…you can view the article at http://www.rmoutlook.com/article/20120712/RMO0801/307129991/-1/rmo0801/cyclist-crossing-country-for-parkinsons

Next, we toured around Canmore for a bit to see what it had to offer, but we spent the majority of the night just getting ready for the ride tomorrow.  

Day 10 Golden to Lake Louise (80km)

Trip Stats:

https://www.polarpersonaltrainer.com/shared/exercise.ftl?shareTag=a73950fe8d4cda80494fad7da558d2ac

Today is our last day in British Columbia and the climbs give us a break (at least that is what the locals are saying). I woke up today very sleepy, because we lost an hour due to changing into mountain-time yesterday. I maybe had five hours of sleep and it took me a little time to wake up, but I knew all I had to do was get to Lake Louise, and I would have a rest day.

 It is amazing to see The Great Divide as it seems to exist as a wallpaper of mountains in the sky. Pretty neat to think that this is the boundary that separates the Pacific and Atlantic watersheds. I saw the sign welcoming people into British Columbia but didn’t see the sign welcoming us into Alberta, so that is why we haven’t included that!

 Anyways, today’s ride was all good until I got past Yoho National Park and The Village of Field. I noticed a female cyclist was walking her bike down the steep hill ahead, so I crossed the road to see if I could lend a hand. I figured she may need a tube or a quick fix, but I was alarmed to see she had fallen and injured her leg badly. Iah was from Japan and visiting Lake Louise/surrounding area, but she rented a terrible bike from some awful company (wish I knew which one). She hit a bump and took a mean spill that left her clothes torn and a hole the size of a silver dollar just right of her kneecap. This was disgusting! I could see her ligaments and bone but it wasn’t bleeding. I knew Iah needed medical attention but Yoho’s visitor center was over 5 clicks away and Elyse was at least 9 clicks the other way, up the mountain. I told her to keep walking towards Yoho and try to flag down a car, while I cycled to get Elyse. You don’t get cellphone service in areas like this and a satellite radio should maybe be something one carries as a necessity item; however, I knew Elyse was up the mountain and I had to try to get to her quickly. I made it up the mountain and we raced back to Iah, so we could throw her in our van and drive her to the medical center in Lake Louise. Lake Louise was about 20km’s from where I stopped riding and we got Iah to the medical center for attention.

We checked into The Lake Louise Inn, where we will be staying tonight and tomorrow night. We can’t thank the folks at The Lake Louise Inn enough for putting us up in a beautiful room!!! Here is a link to their website and I totally recommend staying here if you visit Lake Louise!

http://www.lakelouiseinn.com/ 

Don’t blink…We are only in Alberta for six days. I hope they are a great six days.