Vancouver and beyond

After leaving the Island last week, we were greeted by more western hospitality in Vancouver by our engineering friend from school, Liz, and her boyfriend, Adam. We met Liz on Monday and were able to stay with her for Monday night. We went for sushi with Liz and met up with Cody (another friend from engineering in Guelph) and Connor (Jeff’s friend from Calgary – on vacation now in Vancouver) and Connor’s friend, Derek. It was some great food and we had a chance to see Vancouver downtown as well. It’s a wicked place. It reminded us of Toronto downtown but a little more relaxed and free-spirited, plus it’s very clean. We topped the night off with Cody and Liz touring us along the beach to Granville Island and some great cheesecake for dessert (thanks Cody), and a nightcap at Liz’s place where Jeff fell asleep sitting up and listening to The Band on vinyl. What a great way to spend the evening.

Following a spectacular breakfast provided by Ms. Liz, we headed out on a tour of downtown with Adam who generously gave us his spare time to show us the sights. It’s difficult to see everything in one morning but Adam did a pretty good job. One note to make is that there are Starbucks everywhere out there! Just nuts. It’s the Tim Hortons of the west to be honest. If there isn’t a Starbucks on the corner, it looks out of place. We’d like to thank Adam and Liz for putting us up for a night and the awesome touring that they did for us. Thanks!

We met Connor for all you can eat sushi – and it was a lot of sushi. We kind of wish we were able to enjoy the all you can eat aspect when we were biking, but we still packed it away. Connor estimated that the bill would have been about $160 in a regular sushi place – $13.50 each is what we paid. What a deal. We then headed to Stanley Park where we walked around enjoying the view of the ocean and throwing the disc around for a couple hours.

It was then time for the Frasers. Brent met us at Stanley Park and took us to the Fraser place in Surrey where we would be spending the remainder of our time in the Vancouver area. We had a great meal in Steveston (a fishing village) with Trevor’s Uncle David and Brent and had a chance to see the filming of a movie (or show maybe?). It’s a different experience watching the making of film for sure – it truly shows you the work that is required for a simple 30 second clip.

Wednesday morning was spent with Trevor’s cousin Brent who took us to see his art studio in Langley. He paints out of a two-storey silo on land rented out to artisans and film-makers. It was such a cool place! Unfortunately no photos are attached to do it justice, but Brent has done a spectacular job and we can understand with a locale like that how he’s able to produce such amazing work. There was also a western set on the land used for movies and shows that was pretty cool – complete with a saloon and brothel.

Following the tour, Jeff and Trevor split for the first time in 5 weeks (holy @#$%!). Yes, it happened. Trevor spent the afternoon with his Uncle David touring around Vancouver and Gastown and had a great meal of Sockeye Salmon (and maybe a few beers – Uncle David even had a cognac). Jeff met up with our friend Cody from school to do some fishing on the Capilano River and camping (see photos).

Thursday was an absolutely amazing day. Uncle David took both Jeff and Trevor to see some amazing sites around the Vancouver area. We saw the Capilano River and fish hatchery (complete with fish ladder for you water resources kids out there), the Cleveland Dam and reservoir, the Lynn Valley Suspension Bridge (we wanted to jump on this bridge but it was frowned upon by a few other tourists), Shannon Falls, Brandywine Falls, and we topped all that off with Whistler and Blackcomb. All of these places were spectacular. The water in BC is flowing SO fast and is SO blue – man, we wish it looked like that everywhere! Also, the Peak to Peak ride from Whistler to Blackcomb (see photos) was absolutely breath-taking. We headed back to Surrey where we had dinner in town – thanks again, Uncle David. A great day in general.

Friday was our last day of the trip. Uncle David took us out to White Rock to see the ocean and the Washington coastline and we enjoyed ice cream by the water. We met up with Trevor’s cousin Laurie and had coffee at Starbucks (big surprise there) to cap off the afternoon. Brent made a great pasta dinner and we ate with the Fraser family before heading out with David to the airport. Photos were taken just prior to leaving of the Fraser clan.

Uncle David took us as far as we could go – thanks for that, particularly with the issues we had with our bikes – and then we were gone to gate B12 and the end of our trip. *Sigh*.

We’d like to thank everyone for all the support and motivation you’ve provided over the past several weeks. We couldn’t have done it without you and your kind words and encouragement helped us get through the toughest parts of the trip. Canada is truly an amazing place and we recommend everyone getting out to see our extraordinary country at some point in your lives. While we have a limited scope on world peoples, we’d like to conclude that Canadians are the nicest and most hospitable people in the world. This trip isn’t done yet and please stay tuned for the ride from Calgary to Vancouver sometime in the next year or two. Thanks again.

Jeff and Trevor

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BC and island adventures

BC has been awesome. We know the last couple posts have not been about what we are up to, so we thought we could do an update on that front…

So, going back a few days, we spent Tuesday night in our rental car just south of Revelstoke at Mara Provincial Park before continuing into the Okanagan Valley (Vernon, Kelowna). Trevor finally allowed us to buy some fresh fruit as the cherries were up to his Niagara-region standards (and they were delicious…). Trevor got out on a great ride around Kelowna (minus panniers – wow what a difference!), 60 km and some fantastic views at the top of the hills (at this point we can call them mountains!). We continued the drive through the Rockies, taking the Okanagan connection over to the Fraser Valley pass. Every section of highway seems to have its own character. The Okanagan connection was super hilly, with a lot of lumber operations. We went through some amazing winding inclines and declines on the way to Spences Bridge, and past Lytton the Fraser River gave us some fantastic scenery. Naturally, we thought about these characteristics in terms of what it would be like to bike them…Its amazing how your brain just thinks like that now! Plus our water brains were guessing the flow rates and power in the river itself. We’re guessing streamflow measurements would be difficult.

We spent the night just outside of Hope. An early start had us into Surrey, BC to meet Trevor’s Uncle David who met us and took us out to lunch (thanks!). Trevor also got the chance to essentially meet his Aunt Debbie and cousin Laurie for the first time. We’re looking forward to spending some more time with the Frasers next week for the last few days of our trip.

We continued on to Vancouver airport and dropped off our rental car before hopping on the skytrain/Canada Line and Seabus to North Vancouver to meet Jeff’s cousins Joey, Matt, Gillian, and Aunt Boo. Gill and Aunt Boo had just completed a heck of a trek driving from London, Ontario to Vancouver but picked us up and kept on driving out to Vancouver Island and their cottage on Sproat Lake. The ferry from Vancouver to Nanaimo was amazing. The coast is absolutely gorgeous, mountains + oceans = wickedness.

Since then it has been nonstop cottage fun. Trevor got up waterskiing for the first time ever, we have been toured around the lake in motorboats and sea kayaks, and fed like royalty. All of this while Jeff’s Uncle Pete and Aunt Boo are hosting upwards of 15 people this weekend…For those of you who know the Vancouver Muirheads this will not come as a suprise. To quote Aunt Boo, “the more the merrier”. And, as Uncle Pete would appreciate us pointing out, it would clearly be a good venue for the annual Dippel Regatta…

Today (Saturday) we went to Pacific Rim National Park and Tofino with Gill, her fiance Mike, and their friends from Switzerland, Beat and Karin. Some great walks through the rainforest (see pictures) followed by some awesome fish and chips in Tofino and rousing bocce ball on Long Beach. Tofino is awesome – the surfing, the fishing, the open ocean – it’s a really neat place. To see beaches lined with pine trees is weird, but pretty cool (and Canadian!).

Heading back now for another gourmet dinner at the cottage, leave Uncle Pete in charge of the meat and it’s bound to be good. Big thanks goes out to Uncle Pete, Aunt Boo, Gill, Meg, Matt, Joey, and Mike for showing us a wicked time on Vancouver Island!

Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network. Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.

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The bucket (check)list

So, we had some things we wanted to accomplish on our trip. We didn’t get them all in, but we got most of them. As for the incomplete ones, well we are gonna have to deal with them when we come back to finish the Calgary – Vancouver leg…

CHECK!
Go fishing on Lake of the Woods (thanks Phinneys!)
Shore lunch/dinner with fresh fish (Caliper Lake PP)
Double century day – 200+ km (Maple Creek, SK to Brooks, AB)
Break a posted speed limit on the bike (55 km/hr in a 50 zone, just outside of Kenora, ON) Saw the ROCKIES!
Saw the Pacific Ocean
Go to the Stampede!
Stay in a hostel (Thunder Bay, ON)
Stay on a native reserve (Gleichen, AB)
Stay with locals (Ken and Lori
Go back in time (three times!)
See the Arctic watershed divide
See the Great Divide (Pacific Ocean watershed)

Next time…
Stand in the Pacific Ocean with our bikes
“Stealth” camp
See a (big) moose (with antlers!)
See a bear (once again, must be full size)
Break 70 km/hr on a bike

And the lists could go on and on. Everyday we remember more and more stories, it has been a trip of a lifetime!

Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network. Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.

Trip Cycling Stats!

Alrighty, so we biked from Waterloo to Calgary! We know there are those of you out there who enjoy reading about our biking stats, so here are some to summarize the cycling part of our journey(for this year…):

Total Distance: 3660 km

Overall Average Speed: 26.9 km/hr

Total Time on Bike (actual sitting and pedalling): 136 hours 15 minutes

Maximum Single Day Distance: 217 km (Maple Creek, SK to Brooks, AB)

Highest Single Day Average Speed: 32.7 km/hr (Maple Creek, SK to Brooks, AB)

Lowest Single Day Average Speed: 19.3 km/hr (Mortlach, SK to Swift Current, SK)

Longest Single Day Time on Bike: 7 hrs 30 minutes (Mortlach, SK to Swift Current, SK)

Maximum Speed Reached:
Jeff – 68.1 km/hr
Trevor – 67.5 km/hr

Biking Days in Ontario: 15
Biking Days in Manitoba: 4
Biking Days in Saskatchewan: 5
Biking Days in Alberta: 3

Total Combined Banana Count: 151
Total Combined Sardine Count: 42
Largest Box of Cereal Consumed (one sitting): 1.1 kg Jumbo Vector

Earliest Start Time: 6:30 am (Binscarth, MB)
Latest Arrival Time: 9:30 pm (Landmark, MB)

Days Riding: 27
Days Off: 1

Number of “This is rock bottom” Moments: more than we can remember

Number of “This is #*!@ing wicked!” Moments: too many to count

Thanks for following us on our “little bike ride”!

Stay tuned for a post on the flip side of the mountains…Driving through is wild, and we can’t wait to do it on the bike…We gots the itch!

Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network. Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.

Into the mountains we go

First of all we would like to thank everyone for all of the comments and support in light of our unfortunate change of plans. Its not an easy situation for us to be put in, and your kind words have helped us to try and enjoy the last part of our trip. We really appreciate all of the positive encouragement, like we have said the whole trip the support we get has helped us throughout every stage, including this one.

So as we said we wanted to still make it to Vancouver. Huge thanks goes out to Jeff’s Uncle Awni, who hooked us up with a deal on a car rental! We are now able to make our way through the Rockies and see some sights at our own pace. Thanks Uncle Awni, this wouldn’t have been possible without your help!

Also we want to thank Connor and his roommates Lindsay and Andrew for sharing their aparrtment with us for the last several days. We know our stay was longer than expected, and despite that you made sure we felt welcome.

So westward we went this morning, and met up first with Jeff’s friend Chantal just west of Calgary. Great visiting with Chantal, enjoyed some good food (thanks to Chantal’s Mom Susanne!) and got some good ideas for places to stop on our way to Vancouver. Good luck Chantal on your upcoming trip cycling he Cabot Trail!

On to Canmore we went to visit our friend Michelle from U of G. On the way we encountered some new wildlife (about time!) – three bighorn sheep hanging out on the Bow Valley Trail! See the pictures…pretty cool to see something we have never seen before!

Had a good visit with Michelle in Canmore at the Silvertip Golf Course where she is working for the summer. Its amazing to see greens and fairways with mountains in the background. Unfortunately, outside our budget at this point! Good to see an ol’ Guelph friend though!

Off we went and continued into Banff National Park. We both agree that Parks Canada really has it together, the parks are in great shape and well run ($$$ though…). Stopped at Lake Louise, which was absolutely amazing. No wonder that place is famous. The blue-green water and the mountains create a scene that words can’t describe (even in the rain!). After visiting the lake we went across the valley to meet up with Jeff’s friend Todd Wing who is working at the ski hill and had us go up on the gondola. Fantastic views of the mountains, Lake Louise, and the Bow River. Good call Todd, thanks! Check out the pictures of Trevor by the river flowing out of Lake Louise, and then three more at Lake Louise itself. There is also a picture of both of us at the top of the gondola lookout!

The next stop was somewhat impromptu, in Yoho National Park (another fantastic park, highly recommend!). We saw a sign for Takakkaw Falls, just before Field, BC and decided to take the 13 km road to see it. Well worth it. This waterfall was unbelievable. We just kept taking pictures (we included a few), the amount of water coming from these mountains really is astounding. The waterfall turned into the Yoho and Kicking Horse River – the rivers here are literally flowing blue, its such a pretty sight you would swear its man made to look so amazing. Again words can’t describe, hopefully the pictures do some justice!

So now…the plan is to keep heading west, we are going to grab some sleep somewhere tonight then check out the Okanagan Valley/Kelowna tomorrow, and be in Vancouver by Thursday night. As disappointing as it is to not experience these things by bike as we had envisioned, it is amazing nonetheless.

Also, we have been meaning to say thank you to Trevor’s relative Donna Fraser in Saskatchewan for sending us some Saskatchewan memorabilia which arrived in Ontario last week!

Thanks for reading, and sorry for the novel – there is a lot to say when you travel several hundred kilometres in a day!

Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network. Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.

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Hang on everyone

While we may be down, we’re not out. We might not be biking any more but we’ll be doing blog posts still and will include some wicked awesome photos as well of our time in the Rockies. So keep on following….our adventures are not over yet.

With regret, to be continued

This is a pretty tough post for us to write. As you know, we have had some delays here in Calgary due to some leg issues that Jeff has been having. Originally the plan was to leave on Sunday (yesterday), but the severity of leg pains and seizing wouldn’t allow it, so we went to the hospital to have it checked out (on recommendation by a few people) instead, on Sunday morning.

After some tests, it was determined that Jeff’s CK (creatine kinase?) counts in his bloodstream were very high. Essentially what was happening was the muscle cells in Jeff’s legs had been exerted to a point where they became swollen and were bursting, which was the reason for the cramps/seizing/spasms as soon as the muscles were put to use. The doctors were concerned about kidney damage because when the cells burst they release things which are toxic to the kidneys. This whole condition is called rhabdomyolysis (“lysis” meaning “burst”), and happens when muscle cells are subject to an extreme amount of trauma (exercise or impact induced).

We went back today for more tests, so they could see which direction the CK counts were going, and to make sure that Jeff’s kidneys were still functioning properly. The good news is that the CK count went down from 8500 to 5000, and the kidneys were still doing their job. The bad news is that Jeff has to be a “slug” and not exercise until the counts come below 500 (normal range is below 190). The doctors estimated this would be 5 days from now. Once the counts come below 500, Jeff can start moderate exercise again, such as hiking. The doctors were very adamant that no biking take place until Jeff is back to normal, which could be weeks.

Like we said this is probably the most difficult post to write. Unfortunately we are not going to be finishing the last leg of the journey (Calgary to Vancouver) on our bikes. Jeff can’t cycle, and being the stand up guy and fantastic friend that he is, Trevor stubbornly refuses to leave Jeff and finish the trip on the bike even though he is completely capable of doing so (we can honestly say this has been the largest argument we have had this trip).

The reason this is such a hard post to write is not because of us – sure, its killing us to not be able to finish as we wanted. But we know just how many of you have been following along and rooting for us, and to not complete what we set out to do and what you have been supporting us in, is incredibly disappointing. We have said so many times that we draw so much strength from the encouragement we get from back home and from those along the way. To fall short like this is the worst feeling in the world. A million thanks goes out to everyone who is reading this now. We couldn’t have done what we have without you.

The plan now is still evolving. While we are not biking, we are going to continue on to Vancouver through the rocky mountains. Exactly how we are going to do this is still up in the air, many thanks to the friends and relatives who are helping us out trying to figure this out! Options include combinations of renting cars, hitching rides, taking buses…While it is not the way we had hoped to do the Rockies, we keep reminding ourselves that we are on vacation and we should enjoy it.

Mark our words though. We looked each other in the eye and shook on it. We WILL bike this last leg. Not now, but we are coming back to Calgary, and we are biking the Rockies, the journey will be completed, in our near futures.