Here’s an interesting twist to the journey. I’m back where I was 15 days ago, in the Northwest Territories, taking in the spectacular sights, sounds, and people of Yellowknife. Even stranger, is that I’m here without my bicycle! I did mention before in an earlier post that I somehow forgot to make it to the Legislative Building to do a head stand in the Caucus room, so I came back. Also, there is a festival happening in its 30th year known as Folk on the Rocks, and an airshow in the upcoming weeks. That’s what I’m telling myself, but I’ll cut the bullshit. I met someone who’s company I rather enjoyed the last time I was here, and decided to come back for another 2 weeks. Saying yes to things I normally wouldn’t, keeping things interesting is what this journey is about, and I’ll make it to my destination when I get there. A few friends of mine are pretty dead set on the fact that I’m not gonna make it out of the city, but honest, I’m heading east!

It does however throw some urgency on making it across Canada to beat the weather. I have made plans based on 100km days (rounding to the next 100) that will see me across Canada before mid November. It’s going to be cold, and the weather is surely going to not go well in my favor, but at this stage it seems right.

So, for those looking to meet, come riding, or hang out

• Fly back to Edmonton August 3rd
• Regina by August 15th
• Winnipeg sees me on August 22nd
• Toronto September 16
• Ottawa shortly after on the 23rd
• Montreal on the 27th of September
• Quebec city on the 2nd of October
• Fredericton on October 10th
• Finally, North Sydney, Nova Scotia will be a late October 18th
• After that – I’ll cut over to Newfoundland, and then circle back and hit Halifax and PEI simply to beat some of the harsher far east weather.

It’s all possible, with rest breaks dispersed in between those dates, and some stays in the above cities for at least a day, some much more. I’ve got to really sort out the rain issue, and some increasingly problematic moisture problems with my Hilleberg Nallo GT 2 tent, and plan on spending this next two weeks in Yellowknife researching, ordering new parts and creating multiple what-if scenarios.

I flew from Edmonton, making it there by Friday July 16th as planned, but not without major issues. Glad I took another rest day in Jasper, it was spent discussing long distance cycling with my host Jahan, the fellow I met who was riding Jasper -> Lake Louise in one go a couple of days earlier. I told him about the BC5000, an insane 380+km a day bike ride all around BC, and about the randoneurs, and helping him plan a goal on crossing the entire province of Saskatchewan in one go. Jahan had also run into a cyclist I met while staying in Banff, who has toured off and on since 1983 with a staggering 930,000km toured, surely one of the longest tourers on this earth, well ahead of Heinz Stucke, who I previously wrote about . His story was a bit like mine, he was stressed, had some injuries in his life and decided to take up riding a bike, eventually being accompanied by his wife for 450,000km until she passed away unexpectedly. He took this as a sign to keep going, and showed me his route from New York to Banff in a little over a month, with plans to make it all the way up to Alaska, and then back down through BC before his 3 month visa expired. At 63 years old, this born in Italy but residing in Germany man mystified me with his courage, strength and determination. He’s not computer savvy, so asked me to email his son and let him know that his Dad was alright. Done and Done. The day with Jahan, and the other encounters gave me  the oomph nd fire to move forward, so I left Jasper early in the morning Tuesday with only minor threats of rain throughout the day, ready to ride 125km where I knew a rest stop would be a great stopping point. 3 km in I was on the side of the road, as my rear shifting cable and housing exploded turning me around having to get emergency repairs done from the friendly folk at Freewheel Cycle. The diagnosis, not good. My derailleur is bent, due to my flat tire issue a few days before, and my shifter is on its last legs. They sorted me out, and said “you’ll make it to Edmonton”. I lost 14 of my gears, but I was able to pedal away 4 hours later than expected.

The first half of the ride was mostly downhill, the weather cooperating and I knew there was a good source for food in Hinton 75km away. I made it there in a little less than 3 hours beaming that I had my speed and power back, something that has been sapped away from me from the mountainous climbs. Stopping for food I came up with the idea that perhaps I should try to do 160km that day, and make my last day into Edmonton a bit easier, where a good friend was waiting for me. I ran the idea past a friend via text messaging, and went for it – somehow along the way further altering my goal to break my long distance record in one day before of 203km. A bit insane, but I felt it was easily attainable, ending the day with 211.47km in a small rural area known as Carrot Creek. I found a little cubbyhole off the side of the road at 10:30pm and setup my tent, soaked from the past 3 days of moisture, and tried to get a good sleep. I was exhausted and didn’t get much dinner in me, other than a few nibbles, and drank the unopened beer I found on the side of the road.

A few hours later, I heard a rumbling of a truck, tried to ignore it, but heard its reverse beeper going, coming closer. Scared, I scrambled out of my tent to see a big food truck being backed into the spot where I was camping! I quickly grabbed my bike, and threw it aside, and ran out to get the drivers attention, bare foot, naked and all. The poor man was a bit shocked to see a big hairy Sasquatch waving his appendages everywhere telling him to stop and I saved myself from being squished. This upset my sleep dearly and I lied awake for a few hours afterwords, hearing sounds jolting me up from a light slumber.

Ready to get back on the road the next day at 8;30am, I noticed I had a flat tire, in the rear again. Cursing that I had to deal with flat repair at the start of the day, I came to the stark realization that I didn’t have any patches OR a spare tube to get me fixed up. Even worse, I had thrown my bike haphazardly in the earlier nights scare and did further damage to my derailleur, and noticed that I had cracked my rear hub assembly, with grease pouring out, already contaminated from the unrelentless thunder showers coming and going throughout the night. With 155km to make it to Edmonton, I put on my game face and rode forward, tire unable to keep solid pressure for more than 10km, frequently deflating to about 15psi. With adjusted arrival plans that I was going to make it to Edmonton a day early, my host prepared a gathering for me expecting me in late afternoon based on the previous days performance. 4 hours later I was only 47km in, dodging thunderstorms, muscles aching, and unable to eat food. So I had a bright idea, drink an energy drink! Better yet, have another one! You know what happens next.

Accelerated mind, with aching body, riding down the busy Highway 16 with little to no water, a stomach ache, average speed of 11km an hou with a soft back tire that felt like it was going to slide out from underneath me caused a bit of insanity in my head wanting to meet my goal, forcing myself to do things I wasn’t physically capable of doing. One spoke broke with a twang, and 3 others followed shortly there after. Worse, I had to go to the bathroom,and I was out of toilet paper, and eventually got creative by emptying out porridge packages and using that! I then proceeded to try to hitch a ride into the city, only 60km away – No one stopped. Even trying multiple times. It’s not like there isn’t a shortage of trucks in the area either – 8 out of 10 are big gas guzzling diesel suckers. The rest of the day was ugly, slow going, and resulted in me collapsing on the side of the road, eventually throwing up from the poisons running through my body, throwing in the towel 30km away from Edmonton stealth camping behind a church in the town of Stony Plain. Thunderstorms still coming and going, I was exhausted, miserable, and being pestered by bugs making my twilight dinner unimpressive. Sad that I wasn’t going to make a grand entrance to see my friend on Thursday night, I lied awake from the amphetamine rush until 4:30am and waged a battle through busy West Edmonton traffic, stopping along the way at Costco to look at laptops, MEC for some replacement parts and a few other errands, finally arriving at my friend Sarah Jane’s house at 3:30pm.

I so needed the day with the long distance and good weather, as I have been carrying a big string of bad riding days with me it seems ever since I made it back to Cranbrook, and glad I was able to have a boost of positivity before the ensuing breakdowns. I’m not sure I would be able to form proper sentences, or without adding explecitives every 2 words when I was speaking. The short stay in Edmonton was therapeutic, meeting a whole crew of solid people, and I look forward to revisiting them shortly in 2 weeks. I will head over to one of the Bicycle Co-Ops and do some well needed maintenance on my bike, and hire a professional to try to straighten out my derailleur. I also took the opportunity to order some Schwalbe Marathon XR tires from Wiggle in the United Kingdom, at the amazing price of $45 each, and they should be waiting for me upon my return. The tires have been discontinued for over a year and are regarded as the be all end all touring tire, impervious to glass, thorns, and other road junk. They’re over $90 a piece in Canada so it’s worth the wait.

I’ve had it with crappy parts, and do plan on doing some replacements with my gear, moving to a butterfly handlebar system, and biting the bullet and buying a Click – Stand, talked about in a previous Wishlist post. The damage that I’ve caused to components NOT having one is 10x the amount of a simple stand, and it’s absurd for me to continue putting unneccessary stresses on the bike.

Out of it all, I’ve learned a few things, and need to commit to them in the future for success:

• No more energy drinks. It masks what my body is trying to tell me
• Stop cheaping out on mandatory parts, it’ll result in disasters like I went through
• Sort out my rain gear issue once and for all – Soggy tent and sleeping pads are terrible to sleep on
• Quit being a macho asshole and trying to set records – the damage afterwords is tough to shake

I’m only human, but writing some of this down grounds me a bit and I can let the world know what I’m doing so that I they can wave their finger at me and remind me if my head gets stuck up my ass again in the future. I knew all this stuff already, but sometimes get caught in the loop.

I do plan on writing a lot in the next 2 weeks, however it is unlikely they will be published till well after I start riding again. I plan on writing an article on Food (the whats good the whats bad), Equipment Reviews (Since I’ve hit 10,000km and over 100 days with my gear it’s enough time for me to know the goods and bads of what I’m carrying) of the Hilleberg Nallo GT 2, MSR Cookware, Exped Synmat mattress, MSR Dragonfly stove, and the Surly Long Haul trucker. But first, I need to catch up some sleep, see ya!

Distance Chart

A few weeks ago when I was in Yellowknife, NWT I had the opportunity to blab into a microphone and camera for 25 minutes for YKOnline.ca – a smaller local news portal for the city residents. I chose this method as opposed to the local paper, or the bigger news stations for overall creativity (meaning, that the majority of the interview doesn’t get cut from me going left field!), and the fact I like to support smaller operations. The interview came out pretty good, and you can see the original article here.

I’m sure most of us, at one point or another, get tired of our jobs. We don’t enjoy it anymore, it makes us miserable, it is too easy or we just get too comfortable. Well that is exactly what happened to 32-year-old Dave Conroy when he turned 30.

He was living in Vancouver working in the Information Technology industry and worked from home. His commute in the morning was a mere 15 steps. He said when he turned 30 he needed a change. In his words he needed to press the reset button. That’s when he took up biking. With minimal research he said he got a bike and one thing led to another and soon enough he was biking across Canada, then possibly the world.

It didn’t just happen over night though. For a little more than a year and a half a lot of planning and prep was put in place. While sentimental items might have been put in to storage, most of it was sold. Eventually the bed and house were sold as well. That is when Dave knew it was real.

Dave first came on my radar back when he first left on his journey in April, from Vancouver. He had mentioned Yellowknife as a possible destination, which came up in a Google Alert. I looked through his website, TireofIT.ca, which has a lot of his stats, reviews, video and blog posts. It was interesting, but no date was mention as to when he might me in town, so gradually I moved on. That was until, I got an email from Dave, and I jumped at the chance to hear about his journey of a life time.

We got together one afternoon and created the videos below. The one thing that I think will interest a lot of people is Dave’s take on bicycling to Yellowknife. I often think Yellowknife is missed on tours of all kinds, just because we are the end of the road and so far away from anything.  Bicycling to Yellowknife presents several risks, due to the lack of services and people and places. It is also a real downer to think you have to travel back the same road you came on. That being said, I got the impression that Dave was glad he came. He said “the reward at the end of the road was greater than expected”. Mentioning that within only being in town for a day or two he had found a place to sleep and was invited to a traditional fish fry. To top that, Yellowknife made such an impression on Dave, he will be flying back for a visit in the coming weeks.

Watch both video below to get a full idea of what it is Dave is doing and why (If you can’t at work, bookmark for later). Make sure you follow Dave on his website, Twitter and on Facebook.

Part 1:

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Part 2:

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Thanks Kyle @ YKonline for capturing this!

Its coming up on 6pm and I’m throwing in the towel for even getting started for the day. It’s been non stop rain in the town of Jasper, Alberta nestled in the Rocky Mountains, with temperatures hovering at 4 degrees today. My tent is soaked, my sleeping bag is moist, and mattress pad is making some squishing noises – so rather than pack it all up to get all gross, I’m going to spend one more night in someones backyard where the weather will be much better come morning. So help me god.

I suppose its safe to say I’m done all the difficult climbs of the Cross Canada tour so far, BC and western Alberta have treacherous climbs involving 1000 metres of ascent over short distances, grades of 14% not uncommon. I’m ecstatic that I made it through these areas, and not in the typical straight line fashion. Sure, it’s worn me out, but I’ve seen some amazing sights, managed to meet a whole group of solid people along the way, and the weather has been cooperative almost the whole time. That is until yesterday, when I descending from the Columbia Icefields when it started SNOWING. I’d heard that the weather could be unpredictable but never thought in my wildest dreams I’d get caught in a blizzard in July. It went over about as well as one would think it would go, clouding the past few days for me mentally.

Leaving Banff after a 3 day rest however was a wonderful experience, not only to get away from the droves of las-vegas-esque tourists, but to see what the Canadian Rockies had to offer. I took Highway 1A – a side road with many windy climbs and very minimal traffic before making it to Lake Louise, 52km away. The Lake Louise Village if we were to compare Banff to Las Vegas, would be something similar to Detroit. I didn’t stay long before heading north to Jasper. It was cloudy, and I had good stores of energy left from relaxing the days prior to and I started making my way up to one of the highest passes of the tour so far, The Bow Summit. With a daily goal of 100km, I stopped 4km from the top and found a wonderful place to camp in a not so camp friendly picnic area before it got dark, as I was getting cold from the 2000 metre elevation. I’ve been stressing about these climbs for about 3 months, and they actually turned out to be not bad. Certainly manageable, and I can remember worse climbs in the start of the tour heading to Port Renfrew.

Minutes before, I ran into a fellow from Jasper who had some tunes going in a backpack and was riding a road bike with no other gear. He mentioned he had started at Jasper at 7am and was looking forward to a hot shower in Lake Louse. I called him a madman, putting himself through huge climbs over a 233km daily distance, and was off on my way, eventually running into him later a few days later comparing stories, soreness over a few beers.

I ran into many cyclists (pedal and motor) along the way, stopping to chat, and share some laughs obviously needing some human interaction. I haven’t seen so many cyclists since I rode the Pacific Coast down to Mexico in 2009. I’ve ridden with a cowboy hat to draw some attention and absurdity to the situation, with mixed results from passer-by’s. At least they are noticing, as I’m always a bit leery riding on a busy route with RV’s and trailers, considering you do not need any additional driving training or classes to operate a big motor vehicle like some of the mobile palaces I am encountering.

The Icefields parkway from Jasper to Lake Louise is set up for tourists, and money – lots of it. Lodges along the way every 70-80km overcharge for refreshments (coffee 2.95, can of pop = $3.50), lodging (starting at the low price of $220), and meals well into the double digits. It’s only like this because people are paying for it, and I felt pretty disgusted along the ride, while I attempt to meet my $30 a day budget. I think I fared pretty good, caving when I needed a warm coffee at a lodge, soaked, covered in traces of snow and ice, unable to form sentences. I did hear a good acronym for Jasper, Just another Special Place Exploiting Revenue. However not nearly as much as Banff.

Road wise, I was disappointed. Every 10 – 15 feet was a break in the concrete due to freezing, poor road construction, and a disregard for repairs making it for a very bumpy ride, causing some soreness in my body trying to stay rigid. The bumps sometimes were so bad that the bike caught air, and panniers went a flyin’. I can understand how the cold weather would cause some issues, but I found that the roads could have been kept in much better condition, or at the very least, advising us of what to expect. As a matter of fact, when I took a side road about 32km from Jasper – (93a) it clearly said I would be riding through rough conditions, and I had a great time, knowing that it was coming, seeing some of the sights off the beaten track, not crowded by endless tourists. The one thing however was the surprise 100metre climb at the end. Out of it all, there are some truly beautiful areas to stop off and rest, camp, and sight see. The roads, the traffic and the weather dampened my experience, and I’m not sure if it was worth the added cost, and time to head north, when I could have easily cut east into Red Deer, taking a lesser traveled route, and reported back to cyclists reading this web page on the conditions. I’ll need a few days to sleep on it. More than likely I’m just pissy from the rain.

I’m about ready to swap out the back Koga tire I recently put on. 2 Flats in 2 days is about enough, however I’ll have to wait until Edmonton, and hope that the roads will be in better condition. I knew this tire wouldn’t last and keep up to the constant heavy weight, and crappy conditions, so it’s no surprise it is falling apart at 1200km in. I’m looking forward as well to stopping in Edmonton to repair a derailleur issue, and fix my front rack. Oh, I should probably mention my front brakes need adjusting to – They’ve been giving me issues since I went into Kootenay National Park, so stopping has been a bit of a crapshoot.

I’m also at the point in time where I need to continue figuring out the wet/rain issue with my gear. I still remain cold during the storms, and this can be solved by more layers. My fingers are still cold, yet I haven’t had the opportunityto measure my hand in order to buy some Sealskinz Waterproof Cycling Gloves. A neoprene face mask also will assist when the rain pelts against my face at 20+ km/h. Clear goggles also hold appeal.. Most of all however is I need to sort out some issues with my tent. I’m noticing moisture problems, raining or not impacting how the tent gets stored during the day. It can’t be good for the seals, yet I have no solution to dry out the fly/inner tent before packing. Sometimes the sun just isn’t there, and it creates a very soggy sleeping environment for me. I have been only setting up the tent with 4 pegs, instead of the 10 pegs they recommend, so will try this out in the future to see if it actually is the problem, of inside tent touching outside. Time will tell. I do love the tent, but will look elsewhere if this continues.

Clothing is starting to rip, I stuck my thumb through one of my Icebreaker merino wool sweaters and creates a huge hole, and I’m too poor to go about replacing them, so will have to deal with a sew up job.I’ve almost worn the shirts for an entire year, but still want to get as much usage as I can before putting them aside. I’ll be posting a merino wool entry in the near future, as I firmly believe its a wonder fabric.

When I leave Jasper, it will signal the end of the mountainous territories I’ve been so accustomed to over the past 2-3 months, and put me into countrysides, traveling through the small towns of Hinton, Edison, Stony Creek. I have no idea what to expect, and I still struggle with seeing Alberta license plates having to remind myself that I am here. I have a deadline to be 375km away from here by Friday, July 16th, and it will be easily attainable should the weather cooperate. I sort of feel bad for not toughing it out today, but I guess I’m too much of a whiner Here’s to good weather for the remaining few days before my next rest stop.

What a tiring week. I’ve been back on the bike everyday after taking a 14 day breather to reassess some of my goals, fix some bike issues that have crept up, and take in my surroundings. With that, came a lack of sleep which didn’t fare well for the mountainous terrain I’ve put myself into. I flew out of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories early in the morning the day after Canada Day, and flew into Cranbrook, a city I visited a couple of weeks earlier before heading into the north. I’ve had it planned out for quite some time that my entrance would occur at the exact moment that a family reunion would be going in nearby. My main goal was to surprise my Dad, as he had made mentions of earlier reunions, and how it would be nice to see me there one of these times. Well, 2010 seems to be the year for a lot of new experiences, so I went for it. I suppose you could call a startled yell, nearly pushing me over onto the ground from a hearty hug, and random appearances of tears for a good 15 minutes there after a welcome surprise.

I stayed the weekend in Kragmont, BC – in between Fernie and Cranbrook. My family has significant history in the area, once owning the entire town before selling it off to Albertan’s looking to have a weekend getaway. The site was riverfront property, that rises and falls throughout the year due to the fact that it was man-made, and controlled by the Libby Dam in the USA. In fact, family members could recall when there was only a stream there, and an abandoned town named Waldo – It was a ghost town, and the residents up and left, even leaving sheets on their beds, guest registers accessible in the hotels, and tools in the Blacksmith building. You can find more information about this ghost town here.

I had the opportunity to meet family members who I have only heard stories of, and a couple handfuls of ones that I never knew existed in the first place. All in all it was a jolly time, with laughing, a ceremony welcoming a groom into the family (complete with chanting, drums, and a lot of comical value throughout the procession). I even got to fire a gun, and did pretty good on my targets!Seeing my Dad and his girlfriend was a nice reminder of home, and we all parted ways with smiles on the Sunday morning. My destination that day – Cranbrook, for another reunion, but I’ll get to that. I obviously haven’t had enough of the gravel roads and torture, as I opted for a steep logging road to make my way back to the city, and I did it with no problems, even though I was worried I’d have some issues with some broken parts (I broke the head of a screw holding in my front rack and my front fender was in pieces). However it all worked out well and I had the chance to go and stay with a Warmshowers host who I stayed with a few months before. I’ve gotta say, they really went above and beyond from the typical offer laundry facilities and a place to sleep situation. They acted as a mail drop weeks before I originally met them, allowed me to leave a box of parts and equipment in storage while I trekked to the north, and helped me out when my stove was denied on an airplane, shipping it to Watson Lake, Yukon. I told them stories of my past experiences, showed a few videos, and learned about the husbands upcoming tour through the Yukon, taking the Dempster Highway. I’m anxious to cross that highway, but it is just not in the cards this year.

The other reunion that I had, was about 30 pounds of gear that I didn’t need for the trip up to the north. No, wait, I needed the majority of it, but left it not realizing that I’d really be in uncharted/no mans land survival conditions. There are alot of components that after not seeing them for a month I’m finding to be incredibly useless for future parts of the journey, and tomorrow I’ll be sending them either east for a fall pickup, or sending home to be stored indefinitely. The added weight is certainly noticeable, and there’s no reason to carry winter clothes, useless electronics (I’ve managed to lose the charger for the Nintendo DS game system, so its dead weight at this stage) and extra pots and pans as I’m perfectly happy rocking the one pot meal daily. Well, when I have a stove that is – I had to send my stove via Greyhound to Banff, not wanting a repeat of the last time I flew.

I’ve got a love and hate relationship with things – and right now there’s not a lot of love for Sweet and Salty granola bars, Medium Cheddar Cheese, and even the successor to sardines, smoked oysters are starting to become less and less appealing. I had to laugh when returning to Cranbrook and seeing the food that I had left there, bottom of the pannier type things. Even funnier, is that I left the exact same things up in Yellowknife. Maybe I’ll just not buy it next time?

Armed with a pannier full of bars, fruit and cheese I headed north, to cross the Rockies for the 3rd time. Let’s just say it doesn’t get any easier the more times you do it. I struggled with the wind coming from the north slowing me down terribly, passing through communities of Kimberley via the new Rails to Trails pathway and Canal Flats, where a few lesser known Hot Springs. Estimations of reaching my destination of Fairmont Hot Springs were skewed from clouds dumping rain off and on. I was about 12km away from my destination when I met a guy on the road in a Volkswagen Bug. It turned out, it was my Warmshowers host for the night, and wanted to know if I wouldn’t consider an offer for a ride to be insulting. I took it – thoroughly wiped. The experience was nothing short of legendary, again welcomed into a strangers house for dinner, a shower and one of the most comfortable beds I’ve slept on. The husband even assisted me after dinner to replace my broken pedal from Yellowknife, and floored me by pulling apart his own fender bolts and giving them to me, so that I could stay dry in the wet weather. I’ve been looking for the bolts for a long time and know they are not typical hardware store offerings – I have to keep thinking to myself ‘What have I done to deserve these great opportunities’ more often as the tour goes on.

After Fairmont Hot Springs was a nice ride into the town of Invermere via a side road that I’ve taken before, only in a different part of the province – Westside Road. Nice terrain, an offering of wildlife, and no traffic made for a good morning run before stopping for some lunch, and popping my head into the local newspaper office asking a few questions as there is some family history with the weekly printing. Certainly a tourist based town, the Valley swells from 18,000 winter residents to 55,000 in the warm months and for good reason – it’s beautiful! Hot Springs are just up the road, golfing, fishing, white water rafting, camping, you name it – best of all – little to no bugs!

Once you cross into Radium you have to pass a gate to enter the Kootenay National Park. I paid the $67 and bought an annual pass as I figure I’ll be spending more than 7 days in the parks for the rest of the journey. Yoho, Banff, Jasper are designated as a UNESCO Heritage site, which strives to ensure that what’s here today is available for future generations to enjoy. I’d be OK if the climb out of Radium was levelled off a bit, with a 12km gagger of varying grades. There are signs at the top that let you know what you went through, however I didn’t feel a sense of accomplishment, I just wanted to fall asleep. I saw another cycle tourist at the summit and stopped and talked – He had a Garmin 705 as well and was on his first day of his first tour ever. I gave him some free maps for his unit and gave him a few tips on food storage (back of the big bear garbage cans!) before yet another cyclist training for a triathlon showed up. He as well had a Garmin Edge 705. Party! I hung around just until it became cold and stopped 20km north in Crooks Meadow, a closed off group camping site that had running water, pit toilets, and no one to bother me but the deer. One came very close while I was in the tent, curious about the new green structure that appeared out of nowhere.

On my birthday I struggled, often stopping at the side of the road, resting on my back catching sun rays. I couldn’t muster up the energy to continue climbing the 1750 metre pass that took me to the Alberta border. The scenery was wonderful, and the conversations very thought-provoking, but I just dreaded going a kilometre further. Things got easier when I hit the top of the summit, stuck my foot in Alberta while leaving the other in BC, knowing that it was a downward trek into Banff, at an elevation of 1400 some odd metres. I made it just in time for Dinner at a local restaurant with a friend and some other cyclists who were heading up to Jasper and then back down to Radium – although supported with a van. It was the first time I’ve had steak in 90 days, and boy did it recharge me and lift my spirits. Another culinary treat, Sushi was a nice refreshing change to the Sardines I’ve been packing away making me miss some of the outings I had with friends talking nonsense over good meals and drinks.

Yellowknife, that little pocket in the north still ceases to amaze me. It seems everywhere I go it pops up in weird places. When I was having dinner yesterday, a tall woman approached me and asked me a few questions, specifically that If if she had seen me recently in the north. It turns out we have mutual friends, and the world just keeps getting smaller. I left the encounter a bit dazed from how these sequences of events keep occurring, but am certainly rolling with it. I do look forward to the day that I can see the landscape in that area again, hopefully sooner than later. But for now, I’ve got to think about a huge set of days ahead of me, crossing the Columbia Icefields parkway, on my way to Jasper. There are some significant climbs, and I’ll be honest – I’ve been dreading it since I first read the elevation chart over 3 months ago. Taking it slow, savouring the landscape and seeing what mother nature has to offer is priority one. So long BC, you’ve been great.

Life at 15km/h is pretty mindboggling. You get to capture so many moments in slow motion while riding a bicycle as opposed to driving in a car. Subtle changes in colours every few metres, different smells from vegetation and plants, and interactions with the wildlife are just some of the things we take for granted. If you haven’t ridden long distances on your bike, do so – it’s a different way to look at the world, an excellent opportunity to visit smaller towns and villages you’d normally pass by in a car, and be one with the outdoors. As mentioned in a previous post, word was going around about someone who was taking it one step further.

Meet Pierre,he’s a 64 year old from Vancouver, BC (who recognized me from being in MEC all the time) who is currently walking to the Arctic Ocean. As I was leaving Watson Lake, Yukon I saw a dot in the distance that turned into a man with his shirt off, bandanna on head, and a sturdy 3 wheeled cart. Smiling, he told me his story, and I had the opportunity to ask some questions, dare I say the same questions that most ask him, looking back now, I should have spiced it up a bit, as I know how it feels to repeat yourself over, and over again.

He’s self contained, stove, tent, sleeping bag, rain gear, change of clothes in this rugged cart. He’s dealt with all sorts of wildlife, recently had to hide behind a few RV’s due to bear a few hours before I met him, and has stories to fill multiple books he says. I believe him. I never got a chance to dig in as to what was driving him to do it, but I did get that he is retired, and wants to do this before he goes down to the tip of South America with the same gear. All the power to you Pierre, and if you viewers ever see him walking down the street give him a thumbs up for following his dreams – it shows that there is always time to achieve your aspirations and dreams, you just have to put one foot forward and go with what comes next.

I’m rolling over the odometer in a few ways today. First, I turn 32, in the beautiful town of Banff Alberta, Second – I crossed over the 10,000 km mark today in one year of touring. I’m doing a little site reorganization and joining the previous tours all into one from here on in – a Fraser Valley run, a jaunt around the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island, down to the Tijuana, Mexico border, and the present shangri-la journey around the world, while still only making it one time zone ahead in also the 3 months that I’ve been on the road solid. I’ve collected a few thoughts along the way, and would like to share some of these nuggets of gold.

1) Bicycles were made for pavement, not the air

On September 28th, 2009 – While on tour on the Pacific Coast, I got a chance to see what would happen if you took a bike up in the air. Luckily I wasn’t on it when it went up, the unlucky part – is I was underneath it. Chain ring traveling through my face, I went on a high-speed trip on an ambulance, eventually receiving 16 stitches, and still 9 months later unable to feel certain parts of my mouth. You can read the post and see the video here if you feel like having a good laugh, as I’m surely chuckling about it now. The moral of the story is that you will have a much more satisfying experience with your wheels on the ground rather in the air. Unless of course you merge the two with a week-long cocktail of painkillers combining flying while doing the actual riding, but that’s a whole other story altogether.

2) Music helps me move

Traveling through countryside’s listening to the birds, wildlife, and hearing the odd tractor soothes the soul. It also can get a bit monotonous. I did some research a few months back and looked into a set of speakers to give a small amount of sound while riding. I can certainly hear the traffic approaching, and I can use the power of music to change my riding style, synchronizing my cadence to a usually high beats-per-minute (BPM) count to aid in making the distance per day seem much more attainable. It also gets a few funny looks from people as I zip by with an onboard boombox. Headphones block important sounds and are a danger to both you and the other people on the road so it’s generally a good idea to stay away from that. Check the speakers out here

3) People are awesome – its just as much as an experience to them as it is me

Before leaving on the trip, I had a dark cloud following me. City life causing unnecessary stress, not being able to have detailed conversations with passer-by’s due to their own imposed deadlines, and the incredible amount of waste being created for matter of convenience disgusted me. I set off on the journey hoping to restore the thought of good of all people, hoping that in a few years I’d come out of it with a different viewpoint. It didn’t take longer than 2 months for those thoughts to dissipate entirely from my stream of thought. Farmers, Passer-by’s, store owners, other travellers all have rolled out a sort of red carpet to make sure that I am comfortable, offering me food, stories, refreshments, and sometimes donations out of care, respect and thoughtfulness. Each person has a story, and are very interested to hear about my quest. Keeping a good attitude along the way will attract people to you, and the experience will become that much better. Humans are awesome, and I won’t associate with persons who are interested in clouding those thoughts.

4) Rest is important

I split my day into 3 phases – Rest, Sleep, and Riding. A typical day will be up to 10 hours of riding if the conditions are right, so it’s a must to take care of my body outside of those times. Stopping every 2 hours to snap a few photos, or going for a little hike around a pristine lake makes the muscles stop screaming for a short bit and prepares me for the next step of the day. Knowing when to stop, and forcing it if essential, as touring solo can have a part in playing funny tricks on you. Just 20km and I can stop, first runs through, and once you’ve hit your waypoint a trigger fires and tells you to push forward another 20 equating into a non stop day cycle, eventually burning you out. I’ve noticed little ways my mind tries to fool me along the way can be very detrimental – for example, knowing its hot out and I should apply sunscreen at first was dropped until it was far too late in the day for it to be applied turning into a frustrating evening nursing burns, not to mention cutting into one of the thirds – sleep. Resting allows for interaction with locals if you are in a town environment, giving one the opportunity to give inspiration, story telling and practicing forming sentences to someone else other than your head. A day off isn’t the end of the world, stopping when you notice the slightest issue will prevent injuries from pushing too hard. That being said, see the next one:

5) Deviate from the plan.

I set fairly rigid timelines through this tour and earlier tours, having to be in one spot at one stage of the trip, not giving adequate time for rest as noted above. This is physically, mentally and emotionally draining. If you’ve got the ability to deviate from your plan the experience becomes that much more profound. Being able to stop, and say yes to things that come at you from left field simply adds to the journey and removes the focus from the destination. I’m not saying throw away the planning part altogether, but utilize the rest part as mentioned above to stop, take in your surroundings, and create memories that you’d typically not have prepared for. A bit of chaos in the salad typically creates a flavourful result. It’s not the end of the world if you miss a ferry, don’t meet up with a contact that day, or skip a destination. The world is a vast expanse, you can’t take all of it in, so find the subtle nuances that are away from the originally scheduled goal and use memories to fill the previously allocated space for the original route. Expect the unexpected.

6) Animals won’t bother you, if you don’t bother them

Before I left for this phase of the trip, I was deathly afraid of wildlife. Within the first few days I lied awake wondering about the racket outside of my tent while in the woods, only to find out it was a small rodent. Encounters with Bear, Bison, Moose, Cougar have all been very positive, while scary in the moment, have been nothing short of positive. It makes for great photo opportunities, and there’s no need to be afraid when one stumbles across your path. Heck, talking to the bear have been some of my most memorable moments so far, being able to watch from a far how they make it through their day. I’ve since given up carrying deterrent partly due to weight, and from not putting myself in situations where it is necessary and keep an awareness of my surroundings to ensure safety. An animal is just as spooked to see you, and taking an offensive stance will be read to them as a threat, equating into a negative experience for you. Keep your food out of the area, make a pee-perimeter around your tent, and keep out of their path when cycling and it’ll be a positive memory. Besides, sweaty, stinky cyclists make for terrible meals.

7) Rough Roads lead to great rewards

I can think of three instances in touring that have been difficult to endure. Riding the last 40km over shards of rocks, sinking in to the mud toppling one over rewarded me with an end to a tour on a pristine beach, with a couple thousand like-minded people  dancing well into the morning at a music festival in Ucluelet, BC. Climbing a day long steep switchback filled mountain pass in Northern California brought a 30km descent with hairpin turns, wind rushing into your face and a near panoramic view of the land below before welcoming you to the mighty Pacific Ocean’s wonders. Finally, being pestered by thousands of bugs, a bumpy gravel road and no services led me into a mecca in the north meeting a wonderful group of people, experiencing the warm hospitality of the north. Each of these three moments were trying, draining of energy and brought out emotions where one had to fight to stay positive. At the end, the rewards were worth it, and it seemed like a cake walk to get to the destination. Being ready for what life may throw at you can only go so far, and the end result gives a great sense of accomplishment for the torturous conditions you signed up for. Plus, it makes for good story telling.



I suppose I did get some work done while I was gluing my ass to a chair in Yellowknife. I left Cranbrook BC with a list of 5 issues that needed to be sorted out. I’m happy to report I completed every single task on that list. While not perfect, it can be refined in the future.

1) Page load times have been reduced. I’m using 2 layers of caching, a form of storing frequently accessed data to send to you, so that it doesn’t tax the server each time you load the page. I’m using a couple plug ins for WordPress to do the majority of this. This is a big plus, and paves the way for another interface lift that should be coming down the road to support different mobile devices, as I make the switch to lighten my computing load.

2) Photo Information – I’ve implemented a feature for any photograph that I post on this website to show detailed information such as exposure (ISO), and F/Stop Data. It also allows you to see where the photograph was taken, within 3 ft accuracy of course Simply hover over a photo, and note the three new icons on the top left hand corner. Click away, the buttons should be self explanatory. It’ll also give you a chance to look at different sizes of the photo, which is hosted off site via Flickr. You may also notice that clicking on a smaller image will produce a pleasant effect showing a higher quality image without having to reload the page (impacting number 1 above, see the relation?)

3) Statistics. I’ve been keeping detailed information regarding each days travels. I’m tracking my distance ridden, amount spent (not to mention drilling down into seperate food, beer, camping epenses), the climbs in metres I did, and calories burned. I like data. This makes me smile. You can look at this information here. Bonus: You can look at a map that will plot my start and finish to the day and graph out the distance, elevation, speed and grade, while travelling. I’ll keep refining it to show some detailed totals, but for now, I can rest.

4) Page Cleanup. Things are getting a bit out of hand with the amount of content, so I’m compressing some of the content, and combining the phases of my journey into one. You’ll see more happen over time, but for now I’m focusing on usability.

If any of these don’t work for you, contact me – I’ve got a bit more time as I’m now on the road with a lighter daily distance schedule, and can fix things in short order. Spelling mistakes, Incorrect page urls, whatever. Thanks for reading!

First off, I must apologize for the lack of updates since arriving in Yellowknife. The fact of the matter is that I’ve been incredibly busy, if you can call sitting on a sun porch watching the endless sun from a far, safely protected by the mosquitoes, wasps, and brief amounts of rain ‘busy’. The beauty of the capital city of the Northwest Territories has impacted me in more ways than one, and I found myself quickly settling into a very comfortable spot in life. So far, this has been the pinnacle of the tour, and I liked it so much that I canceled my flight out of the city, and extended my stay for another week.

Yellowknife, population 18,000 is at the end of the road – In the summer. Concrete and gravel are the only ways during warm months to get around on wheels, where as the landscape opens up nicely in the winter, when the many lakes, rivers and bays freeze up, allowing for transport of goods to remote communities, creating makeshift driveways to park in front of your houseboat, and opening up a whole opportunity for new forms of recreation.

My stay, was a full on summer experience however. Meeting my target of arriving for Solstice was the best decision I made of all trip. Within minutes of arriving, I met new people in the Coffeeshop ‘Javaroma’ which had some of the fastest internet connectivity I had seen in months, which offered a wonderful opportunity to upload photos, video, and send another copy to another location for backup paranoia. On the first day, I ended up riding over to the campsite to grab a spot and caught a wave from someone out of the corner of my eye. It was Anne, one of the women I had met before at Chan Lake, who invited me over to her daughter and soon to be son-in-laws house. Highlight of the moment was being offered to have a sleep in the backyard shed – darkness for the first time in a month! I slept until the late morning before having a little chat, and headed over to the coffee shop again. It was raining for the entire afternoon, and the sun poked its head out until another set came down – rain coming down in sheets nearly sideways. I wasn’t moving.

I ran into a series of people, all interested in the hairy guy with a bike fully loaded down, some cyclists who had performed a long distance run down to Hay River a few weeks before, and some planning a longer excursion to Edmonton. 180km days were being planned, and I shuddered a bit thinking about it, definitely needing a rest. The shop closed and I was approached by a few cyclists, who asked if I wanted to go for a midnight solstice ride – but of course! It was a nice 80km route, and I was invited over to two of their houses afterwords for Brownies and Blueberry wine. They were nice enough to have me stay in their guest room and giving me the key to their house should I wish an extended stay. I took off the next morning dealing with some laundry and looking forward to checking out the celebrations on National Aboriginal Day, a territorial holiday.

When I arrived, a huge lineup was snaked down onto the street for those interested in getting a free meal served by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a fish fry complete with pop, bannock, and corn on the cob. I went back for seconds it was so savory. I stopped and watched some of the local bands while people were invited to dance jigs and then headed over to my bike to perform some maintenance, change my shirt (I change my shirt every 30 minutes to body dry the fabric as its all wool). In the process I managed to snap the tip off of my other knife – The SpyderCo Mini Manix that has a very nice grip, sharp blade and smooth operation. Frustrated, I packed it up, headed back over to the celebrations before getting a nudge in the ribs to a familiar face – The massage therapist I met on my first 10 minutes in town! We chatted for a bit, watched the celebration and made plans to go riding on down to Yellowknife River, where another celebration was going on. It was great! She hadn’t ridden much on her new bicycle and the 12km ride was good for her, with the end result in us watching another traditional fish fry, more bands, aboriginal handgames, jig dancing, and throat singing. The sun was shining, and we ended up going over to a showing of a movie titled ‘Reel Injun’ put on by a local film collective known as Cinema Politica. The movie was interesting, an hour and a half documentary on the travels of a film maker seeking to understand and showcase how Hollywood portrays aboriginal people. Informative, with a dash of hilarity the end of the movie brought out the director Neil Diamond for a lengthy question and answer session. Beaming, we headed off and had a few cocktails and had a meal afterwords – the midnight sun blazing.

It turns out we shared a few things in common, both had itchy feet for travel, and we shared stories and trip adventures well into the late night, and I had the opportunity of watching a presentation of the recent 5 month travel across parts of the USA, Canada, and Mexico and an impressive amount of different beds slept in – 53! Couchsurfing.com was a major part of the stay for her and I relayed my experiences with Warmshowers.org. It turns out her parents have been hosts in Prince Edward Island (and even wilder, for 11 years the longest I’ve seen anyone on the site) – so I made some notes to look them up when I make it over there.

The next couple of days went by quick. Bike Rides, meeting new people, coffee shop excursions, and dinner parties peppered the long days with warm weather. The community, with the average age of 32 was very welcoming, eco friendly, progressive and full of creativity. Yellowknife’s uniqueness stretches many different ways. For example, the dump is the equivalent to the Craigslist in local cities. One can find many gems in a seperated section away from the majority of the messy stuff. A glass recycling shop, which spends its time cutting wine bottles into drinking glasses also operates a bicycle repair/co-op facility. I quickly fell into a real solid group of individuals, eventually being asked to stay in Old Town, on a house elevated on the top of a rock. It seems everyone has their mitts in something, piano, guitar, painting and I was happy to take in an environment that had so much positive energy circulating.

A community of houseboats exist in one of the bays, where many people live year round. It’s a vessel without a motor, so one must canoe to them when the whatever is flowing and live on it property tax free while it is in ‘distress’. Some of the loopholes in the law are certainly being executed and at Government Wharf there is a barge currently being assembled in very short order for another couple to partake in this popular activity.

Dumpster Diving is alive and well in the city. Grocery stores, restaurants and stores refuse are routinely picked through, and some of the friendly folk I met routinely distributed this food to others in the city. I’ll just say that the potlucks and dinner parties were fantastic, diverse sets of food, and good times had all around. The cost of living is incredibly high in the area, Electricity costing 3x the amount I would have paid in Vancouver, food typically 2x the cost, and even water in some parts of the city requiring to be trucked in and out on a regular basis. Luckily, there is ample work for everyone, and the occurrence of minerals from Ore to Gold to Diamonds that are being routinely discovered ensure that one is able to keep finances in order.

I accepted an interview request from a local news website, talking for 25 minutes about some of my past experiences, in an attempt to inspire other viewers. I was known as ‘that guy’ who cycled in, some chuckling that I was a local celebrity. All was taken in good jest and I was able to exchange many contact details for later hangouts in the week, or to be used as a contact should I run into trouble. Another weird, but oh so necessary experience was when I was riding my bike around and noticed that a big truck was beside me, with a woman yelling at me asking what I was doing. “Riding my Bike” was the logical reply, and I was told that I needed to come for dinner at her house that evening. Sure – why not – I’m saying yes to things I normally wouldn’t on this trip and it just worked. I brought Lindsey, my friend along for the experience, which turned out to be one of the nicest, prolific encounters I’ve had while on the trip. The woman, who had never invited a stranger into her house was trying things new as well. A tumor was discovered and she had to deal with brain surgery years before, and she had one of the most positive attitudes of anyone I met. Sharing stories, handmade aboriginal gifts, and teaching us phrases in Denai, the language of the local aboriginal tribe made for a real heart warming experience. I took her address and will send over a few postcards along the way, with her stating that she’d make sure she beats it and lives another 5 years. It was because of that experience, and some other positive events that prompted me to change my flight, and continue to rest – not feeling complete from my experience in Yellowknife. The extra days would allow me to forge further relationships, and celebrate Canada Day, hoping to meet up with friends that I had met while on the road who would be in at the end of the month, not to mention the film crew, who of which I had heard were making their way slowly up, encountering a few issues, animal encounters, and welcomes that I shared on the very same roads.

A young city that only really exploded in population in the 1930s, the area of old town still has many of the old buildings standing, where as the newer downtown core up the hill on its main drag makes way for a few skyscrapers. A visit to the heritage museum offered a glimpse at northern life over the past 100 years, touched upon traditional cultures, aerospace, and mining. It’s a great place to spend an afternoon, and is right beside the Legislative Assembly building, an architectural marvel designed to allow as much light as possible into the building. It’s fairly new, 10 years old or so – Members of the parliament used to convene to discuss matters of the territory in Regina, Saskatchewan – something that confused me greatly. I got so excited in my trip, that I didn’t leave enough time to even visit the inside of the building, dulling my goal of checking out the caucus rooms of each Province and Territory. Not sure what to do about that one at this stage.

I’m entranced by the beauty of the area. NWT does a spectacular job of promoting themselves, and keeps a number of recreation sites available for those wishing to check out its beauty. I had the opportunity to head over to Prelude lake, for a late night camping trip, leaving at 6pm, arriving at 9 and camping on a huge rock overlooking a beautiful bay. Good company, good food, and minimal bugs allowed us to laugh, reading a children’s book aloud to each other (Gary Larson, one of my favourite cartoonists used his quirky humour to put together: There’s a hair in my Dirt!), listening to music, sharing stories, and later catching a movie in the tent. The campsite manager was excited to see a bunch of cyclists come in and even asked to ride my bike around! He was beaming, nearly took a tumble during mount but took it all in stride.

Canada Day, due to the loop of the sunlight, I missed the parade festivities but spent the time meeting up with the film crew, who arrived, visibly haggered, did a few video shoots with them, and went for a nice dinner, before sharing a bottle of champagne with some other friends. Sleep was minimal, as I wanted to take in the most experience I could of the city before departure. I’m now in the southern part of British Columbia (more later) and in a whole other world, dearly missing the warmth, hospitality and wonder of this Canadian Gem.

My next stage of the trip has me heading up north, through the rockies another time, into the small communities of Fairmont, and Invermere, where I’ll wave goodbye to British Columbia finally. It’s going to be good run to get to the other side of this continent before the weather turns sideways, and I’ll need to be diligent, focused, and in good health. 14 days of rest has been good, yet I do worry about how the next few weeks will be. I experienced a bit of body pain with my knees, and want to make sure I don’t harm myself any further. My Bicycle, is holding up well, but visibly showing wear. I managed to destroy my left pedal, and need to get something replaced in Edmonton. I also did a good job by snapping the head off a bolt which will impact how my front rack will hold up. Zip straps on hand for the ensuing carnage. My health is good, even though I’ve been known to have been smoking Djarum clove cigarettes over the past few weeks and I’ll nip that habit once riding, and may get a bit of weaving, hacking and short breath symptoms – solidifying my goal to not inhale those horrendous sticks of poison. A few posts back, I posed the question of what should I do with my hair – One person publicly commented, and I’m getting the gears from my friends on Facebook and other Social networking sites, that I am looking quite like a hippy. I do like the feeling of running my hands through it, and find I’m looking a little bit less intense, even though it does have a little itch factor associated with it. I’ve never grown my hair out like this, and it just seems fitting. New stage of life, so give it a whirl until I’m good and ready.

I’m now ready for the next step, even though the tearing away from one of the most enchanting environments is going to be tough – I’ll push forward. Thanks Yellowknife, the people, the creativity, and the magic – it’ won’t be forgotten. Hopefully you readers will undertake the journey up to this little goldmine, as rough roads reap large rewards.

Just a quick post, I’m being surrounded by the warmth of people in the diamond of the Canadian North, Yellowknife, but I felt this information was too good not to share. For those of you travelling, or who regularly use Skype they are offering Free Calls to USA, Mexico, and other countries for the month.

As posted on their website (follow the links):

Why not kick off your football conversations this summer with our exciting promotion?

To celebrate a season of football, we’re offering you free calls to qualifying countries for a month. Pick one of these great deals and talk football with your friends and family.

• 60 minutes free calls to landlines in Algeria for a month
• Unlimited free calls to landlines in Argentina for a month
• Unlimited free calls to landlines in Australia for a month
• 400 minutes free calls to landlines in Brazil for a month
• 60 minutes free calls to landlines in Cameroon for a month
• Unlimited free calls to landlines in Chile for a month
• Unlimited free calls to landlines in Denmark for a month
• Unlimited free calls to landlines in France for a month
• Unlimited free calls to landlines in Germany for a month
• 60 minutes free calls to landlines in Ghana for a month
• Unlimited free calls to landlines in Greece for a month
• 60 minutes free calls to landlines and mobiles in Honduras
• Unlimited free calls to landlines in Italy for a month
• 60 minutes free calls to landlines and mobiles in Japan for a month
• 120 minutes free calls to landlines in Mexico for a month
• Unlimited free calls to landlines in the Netherlands for a month
• Unlimited free calls to landlines in New Zealand for a month
• 120 minutes free calls to landlines in Nigeria for a month
• 60 minutes free calls to landlines in Paraguay for a month
• 60 minutes free calls to landlines in Serbia for a month
• Unlimited free calls to landlines in Portugal for a month
• Unlimited free calls to landlines in Slovakia for a month
• 120 minutes free calls to landlines in Slovenia for a month
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• Unlimited free calls to landlines in South Korea for a month
• Unlimited free calls to landlines in Spain for a month
• 120 minutes free calls to landlines in Switzerland for a month
• Unlimited free calls to landlines in the UK for a month
• 60 minutes free calls to landlines in Uruguay for a month
• Unlimited free calls to landlines and mobiles in the USA for a month

Note, they are going to charge you after the month, so make a note in your calendar to not get charged, but his is far too good of a deal to pass up. Get your Skype on!

I’m happy to report I made it into Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada by Bicycle safe and sound. Some of the most treacherous conditions I have ever experienced equated to a physical and mental test of the most extreme. The bugs, the road conditions and the lack of available resources and services, and threats from wildlife all combined together forced you to be very attentive and in tune with what was going on around you. One wrong move could equate to failure. It’s not about the destination, but the journey, however in this case, there isn’t much more of a journey to be had – I’m at the end of the road pretty much at the final destination.

Yellowknife, a city of 20,000 holds the majority of the population of this vast land expanse in the north. It’s original history is a gold mining town, and has since matured into a very progressive city, one that suffers through the struggles of limited availability of goods, access, and extreme temperatures. I haven’t had a chance to properly explore the city and its nooks and crannies and will hold off from writing too much about it until I’ve had a proper time to digest it. I’m here until June 26th, giving me a well deserved, week long rest, my first long break since Victoria, BC – which I took shortly after starting this tour in April. I’ve got to make this count, tie up loose ends, and get a solid amount of rest, as I am not forecasted for an extended break until early August, a month and a half away.

Since I left the Chan Lake territorial park, weather took a bit of a dive and I was met with rain for 5 hours of the first day. Looking forward to listening to music, I was forced to listen to the sounds of my rain pants rubbing against each other – again suffering through cold spells with my exposed fingers and wet hands. Gloves have now moved to an even higher priority – as shown on the post – Equipment – Wishlist. Once the rain settled down however, I had quite an enjoyable ride, heading into the North Arm territorial park, advertised on road signs as a picnic area, boat launch and camping. It looked under construction, and I didn’t find the washrooms until the next morning – and no sign of water spigots. This park is on the edge of the Great Slave lake, which supplies the water for the locals in the area. It’s incredibly clean, and the local water companies simply perform a safety step of chlorination before it hits the taps.

I arrived early, 6pm, one of the earliest ends to the day in recent weeks and spent time talking to a couple of girls with their dogs, finishing off a book I’ve been reading, and having a few more Rum & Cola’s. The community of Beochoko or what was known as the communities of Edzo and Fort Rae are listed as dry communities, however I kept it low key not to cause any problems. It obviously is fairly commonplace, as at 2:30pm I was awoken by a very loud truck playing country music, a bunch of hollering people, scaring me a bit inside my tent. I quickly put on my clothes, turned on my cameras for audio/video recording should something happen, and waited. They circled my tent by foot, looked at all my stuff and took one of my food bags, while I overheard one of them saying “Is there any alcohol in it”. I figured I was to get robbed, beaten up, or worse – but they left me alone, leaving after 15 minutes, again blaring a hideous country song. Sleep resumed without issue.

Morning brought a whole new set of energy, I was only 105km from Yellowknife! The sun was shining, there was pavement, and I had adequate water, a good breakfast and looked forward to the upcoming break put me on the road, not before talking to a jogger before bringing my average speed up to 18 km/h. I had planned to arrive at 5pm, however circumstances forced me to move a bit faster. In fact, I didn’t even stop for lunch, out of extreme fear that I was going to get eaten alive. Shortly after the 20km mark, the horseflies and hornets came out. In Swarms. Must have been 40 of them circling around me, slowly becoming smarter on each revolution darting at my face. They followed for 30km, without stopping while I was cycling at 40km/h at some points. This worked out great however, as I passed through the parts of the new highway where they have blown out rock pieces to keep the highway at a manageable grade, noticing the cabins on the side of the road, often with small flags alerting people where their homes are. Lots of blue tarps, and sometimes alot of household junk strewn all over the place.

The bugs let me be for the last 30km, as I passed Boundary Creek, but this time I was getting buzzed again – By a Bi-Plane! It was doing aerials and saw me from miles away, came closer and put on a little bit of a show. It was clear enough I could see the pilot and caught a few waves back and forth, putting a big grin on my face, what a northern welcome! As I stopped at the Yellowknife sign, I took a photo of me squirting my water bottle and ended up damaging my bicycle in the process – I bent the chainring, and bent a link of the chain, causing some hanger and pulley issues for a few days. I met a local cyclist named Seth who gave me the Cole’s notes rundown of where to find things in the city before he dropped me off at the Coffee Shop, Javaroma on the main drag, Franklin.

It wasn’t 10 minutes after sitting down before a cute girl came up to me, and gave me a card, massage therapist. I later found out that I was looking mighty rough, after the long stint in the woods.

I’m going to leave it at that, 2 days in to my visit to Yellowknife, and will post again after I’ve had a chance to breathe, relax, and take in some of the fun. I will say that I am having a wonderful time however so far