The following are the notes I took for the group journal. They may not make sense to most people, but we get all the references. Yes, there are typos. Deal widdit.
May 1 103 km Vancouver to Garibaldi Lake Nat drove. Some problems with leaving (John's bike)--left at 10am. 8% grade for 3km--painful but fun. Lots of fun with downward stretches. Got to Squamish around 2:30pm. Left 3:30 (Ben drove), got to Garibaldi Lake about 7? Problems with Garibaldi: is it a city?! Dhananjai cramped. Ben very tired in first half. Pitched camp, drove to get water (uduh) had funny group meeting. Nice forest. I was warm, anyway! May 2 85km Garibaldi Lake to middle of icky uphill Left at 10am. John drove. We went slowly to Pemberton, (first casualty! Dave's bike chain broke) got there around 2:00? Lunch, onwards to Lilooet. I took pills for arthritis ni the am. Morn was great fro downhills and flat stretches, but oh my god was the afternoon painful! 15% for 5k, 11% for 4 more. Set up camp on side of road (cold!!!) Nat and I played guitar. May 3 80km uphill to Lilooet Left at 9am. I drove. Finished 13k uphill section! 11% grade for 3k in snowy/hail conditions, incredible scenery as a result. Long downhill slopes and gentle rolls after that. I took quick wash in river, drove to get water from Lilooet (we were completely out) (No services on that road for 93k). Lunch at base of hills towards Lilooet. Phil drove after lunch. Awesome ride up and down scenic area to town. Stopped at park, played football, soccer, showered (ya!) ~$35 for three tents. May 4 166km Lilooet to Kamloops Cycled 9:30am-8:30pm. Morning was ok cycling, but uphills made it bothersome. We felt slow but made pretty good time. Lucnh at some lake place (David did luandry, yay!) Natlalie took over driving for aft. Stopped at Cache Creek, all cocky from smooth 11k on Hwy 97. Decided to go full way to Kamloops. DUMB!!! Conditions not as smooth as we assumed: cold and headwinds and uphills (plus promise of downhill around corner..) Painful last 20k, all of us tired and cracnky. Cycled into PetroCanada restaurant. All you can eat hotcakes!! John puked and a couple of us were slurring our speech (early symptom of hypothermia?) found Alpine Motel to rest ($70 for night for all 7 of us, really nice room). May 5 rest day Kamloops Got to Jen's (John's frined) at 11am after checkout. Lunch at chinese buffet, Nat off to fix brakes, find bag. We shopped at the mall, watched Simpson's all day. Subway subs for dinner, crashed on floor to sleep. May 6 130k Kamloops to Clearwater Left at 10:30am. Except for v. strong headwind for 1st 8k out of Kamloops (killed the downhill) the wind wasn't too bad. Made good progress until 12:15, John's bike got flat. Car also had to be serviced by Ben (leaking brake fluid) so didn't set off again until ~3pm. Then Phil's knee had problems 14k out of Barriere. I stopped with him with Nat, Ben drove back, exchanged with Phil, we all cycled to National park about 70k further along. Tuna and broccoli fettucine for dinner. Slightly rainy night, early sleep, woke up to somewhat leaky tents next am. Nat fell twice. May 7 114km Clearwater to Blue River Cycled 10:30 - 5:45pm. Light rain as we left. Phil drove full day. Strong wind at our backs, slightly uphill. 20 fricking pushups I have to do (who comes up with these rules, anyway?!! Cheaters.) Stopped at Log Inn, german restaurant after lunch (hummingbirds are pretty). Break at Avola. Met Gary Phillips (mountain man) and "Wes." They were very drunk, and they drove their truck on the same highway we were on (yay). I had a big energy slump, got pretty crabby and biked ahead. Got to Blue River, motel $70, ate at Sandman Inn, dessert from Husky's, watched some bad movie before sleeping. May 8 109km Blue River to Tete Jaune Cache Cycled 10:30 to 3:30. John drove. Easy riding today, I drove 2nd half because I was cold and Dhananjai nicely agreed to switch. Deer and moosehead sightings plus me with my pants down. Good dinner, everyone thanked John for his good work. Natalie fell 3 times. Fixed the bikes after camping in the field, chatted for a while. Dhananjai's intestinal system working well today (sigh). Nat and I did some music. May 9 107km Tete Jaune Cache to Jasper Cycled 9:30 to 3:30. Dhananjai drove am, Dave pm. Cold, up and downhills, nice scenic cycle, some mental exhaustion. Lunch at Moose Lake. Very nice shoulders on Alberta side. Decided to stay in motel at Jaspar--hot tub yay! I fell today (Nat's not the only one) Ben and Nat did laundry. May 10 55km half-day Jaspar to Sunwapta Lots of climbing, some headwind. Phil drove. Stopped at Athabasca Falls, aited fro him. Short day, stopped at Sunwapta, got discount on room at resort (John and Dhan can't make fun of me!!) down 120 bucks to 80 for all of us. Hiked to falls, view unspectacular. Good solo time, tho. fun walking on stones. Back at hotel, Dave shaved his head, I went for cheesecake with Phil, Nat, and John (discussed God's existence, faith in science, and goals) after pasta and tuna salad and spaghetti dinner. Hockey was on (sigh). May 11 120km Sunwapta to Lake Waterfowl My birthday!! John and Dhan still couldn't make fun of me!!! The bastards made up for it by "complimenting" me instead. John sick in morning, so he drove. Hard uphills in am as we reached Columbia Icefields (yay for the $1.85 hot chocolate!!) Cold, and the final 1k into the icefields centre was one of the longest I've ever biked. Long lunch, on to Saskatchewan Crossing (fantastic scenery--I love mountains). Nat drove. 2nd flat by John, Ben's back spoke snapped. All you can eat buffet. Ug. All of us except Dave ate waaaay too much. Camped in a closed park 20km after dinner (that was a fun ride. No really. Yes, I think I've learned my lesson). All in all, a fun b-day for me. Had an awesome discussion with Nat in the morn--THAT'S the type of stuff I'm here for. After dinner ride was fun despite the queasy stomach: at first I felt kinda green, but then the echoing call of birds, whisper of trees, and the incredible light at dusk sent me spiralling into abstract pathways of the mind. May 12 130km Final stretch of Icefields Parkway to Banff Ben drove. I finally did my 20 pushups in the morn. Got to Lake Louise for lunch (Dave cycled ahead). Pretty easy cycling after 1st 17k uphill. Took Bow Valley Parkway (mostly) to Banff (gorgeous!!) I fell on TransCan, mushed bike. John switched with me, I drove on to Johnston's Canyon, met carpenter dudes. We hiked (gorgeous!!!) the canyon. I drove on to Banff: camped at village 1, $34 for all of us. Hot water and flush toilets (ahhh, luxury!!!) Nat not happy with stupid shower faucet. May 13 140km Banff to Calgary I drove until last 30km, then switched with Nat, rode her bike. Slight headwind, rainy and cold, headwinds picked up on TransCan. Went until Canmore, took 1A, changed back after Stoney Plain Indian reserve gas station (some mix-up as I wanted to redirect cyclists to hwy 1, but they went on 1A earlier than I expected. Had food all set out and cut up and everything!! Finally found the rest at the gas station, left food, went to find John). Next meeting at jct for hwy 22 and 1. Cycled in to calgary, dinner at food court in Northhill mall, crashed at Trevor's (John's friend)'s place, out to pub that night. John passed out, and had some pretty good advice in the middle of the night: "use the tents! we have 10, 20, 30, 40..." Uhuh. I slept like a baby through the whole thing. May 14 Rest day Calgary Breakfast at Humpty's. Off to Internet cafe, then split up for day: John to library and shopping, Nat, Dave and I to fix bike and talk in cafe, rest watched movie and shopped. Just hung out for night. May 15 145km Calgary to Bassano Cold, very strong crosswinds, flat roads, some rain. I was not happy to go the first 30 or so km: in town, cars were too close and the highway had no shoulder, but the TransCan had a decent shoulder once we left the city limits. Yay adrenaline rushes from fear!! Stuck to TransCan instead of going to Drumheller directly. Stayed in motel ($60), watched Mission Impossible. AstroBoy hair on Ben--impressive! Dhananjai tries to court Ben into bed, but loses to David. Dhananjai drove, then Phil. May 16 Rest day Dinosaur museum visit Drove to Drumheller to visit Royal Tyrell museum. Sun shone bright and warm, and we spent 3 hrs wandering around ($6.50 entrance). Went to restaurant (Dinos' ) for lunch, then back to wander through the badlands (yay prairie dogs and crickets) before driving bakc in time for Simpsons. Decided to stick to TransCan for remainder fo Prairies. Slept, butts still feeling squished from 7-people-in-one-car sardine-a-thon. May 17 163km Bassano to Medicine hat Crazy headwind for morning, helmet checks, unfair noogying going on today. Dave drove, then Nat. Long day: started at 10am, went until 8pm (if you include the confusion at end). Phil hurt his knee, drove again. We were grumpy at the end because of difficulty finding campsite and fatigue. Camped in trailerpark. May 18 155km Medicine Hat to Tompkins Awesome tailwind. Shoulder mostly nice. Smooth sailing! 55k went by VERY fast. Ben drove, caught up with us after border. John drove in aft. Some rolling hills, kicked Nat's ass (literally!! Heeheehee) Got to Tompkins, it began raining. Stayed at small, well-kept campsite/trailerpark. May 19 221.5km Tompkins to Besant 80k in am, sunny day. John went ahead and cycled 330k to Regiona. Dhananjai drove am, me pm. Easy riding. Fun trip to buffet dinner in Besant (damn high G turns...) and general attitude was relaxed and fun. Spanking jokes. May 20 120 km Besant to Regina Grey, rainy day. Headwins/crosswinds. John found a motel that we went to. Phil drove in am, Dave in aft. Flat terrain, easy but lethargic cycling. Big moose in Moosejaw. In Regina, went to buffet for dinner (Phil climbed fence). Off to walk with Nat in Memorial Gardens. Discussions re: afterlife and death, suicide, rape. Back, chat with Dave re: politics of Russia, muslim women's situation in Kosovo. May 21 Rest day Regina Grey, rainy, and cold! Did laundry in am, visited Royal Sask Museum in aft with Dave, Dhan, and Nat (First Nations section moving, stirred things up a bit in me) Sat in Internet cafe for a while, and went to eat Chinese Dim Sum and talked as well. Definitions of who we wre, regrets, talk of models for management, philosophical versus circumstantial way of looking at world. Back at hotel, I slept on the floor and snored, apparently. I still think that's a big lie. May 22nd 121km Regina to Grenfell For the 1st 10km, we averaged 4km/hr. This was the Day of the Seven Flats. Not to mention 3 stops to reinflate slow leaks. Grey, windy and cold, headwind, but flat. Shoulder not very large. Nat drove in morn, Ben aft. Accident when Dave got a flat, I ran into him. I hurt my hand and got close to losing it, took off ahead. Someone got a flat in my absence. Stayed at Grenfell Park in picnic shelter thingy (yay dryness). May 23rd 167 km Grenfell to Virden I drove so I could go to get check up on hand. (Nice man with vicious dog opposite the health centre). Got splint, recommendation for x-ray in Brandon. Rainy and grey. Flat. Car window broke during lunch (yay), I got plexiglass window from Fred McDougall in Moosomin (very nice guy). Dhananjai and John decided to do rest days in Winnipeg and Kenora instead of Brandon, and so would cycle ahead of the rest. Burgers/subs for dinner. Nice motel. May 24th 75km half day Virden to Brandon Short day. Terrible shoulders! Sunny, but head winds and damn cracks in road made for not-so-pleasant ride. Slow going. Phil drove entire day. Very warm welcome from Brawns (Chris' folks, Angela and Gary). Yay homecooked dinner! Watched Amistad, walked to Brandon U, sat on lawnchairs and chatted re: suicide and funerals. Phil's bike stolen that night (people really shouldn't listen to me) but returned the next day once the thieves figured out what a piece of trash it is. May 25th Rest day Brandon Lisurely breakfast. Spoke with Dave (Mr. Uganda) at Marquis Project. Nice guy. Went to see Spirit Sands at Sprucewood National Park. Back for another great homecooked meal, B-day cake and present for Dave, really fantastic of the Brawns. Watched Smoke Signals (cute) and I stayed up to make card. Interesting seeing Chris from his parents' viewpoint. May 26 192km Brandon to Winnipeg Tail or crosswinds, depending. Nice pace of 28-33km avg. Blue sky, green all around, but spoiled by v bad shoulder. Nat dorve in am, got window fixed, Dave drove pm. I got dehydrated in am because I was a retard about my water supply--it's getting hot finally. Nice of Dave and Ben to share. Camped on outskirts of Winnipeg, waterfights, guys cooked dinner. Dave apparently can't operate a shower on his own. May 27 172km Winnipeg to Ont/Man border Ben drove am. Cycled through Winnipeg--lots of stopights. Beautiful day, nice wind, excellent riding but hot! Getting to summer temps all of a sudden. Met up with Dhananjai. I drove in pm until rest stop 50km in, then switched with Nat so she could work on car. Again, nice cycling. Argued over going off on own, have to have a group agreement on riding strategies soon. Beautiful campsite (Falcon Lake). Beginning to get lots of bugs. May 28 75km half-day Falcon Lake to Kenora Dhananjai drove whole day. Very hilly. Beautiful sun, nice shoulder for most part. Hit Cdn shield: big change in scenery! I didn't like hills. Played a bit of guitar, went to Brandy's (met Amber, Adena, Troy, and LInsay). Then off to Haps' for dancing (I forgot my ID, uduh). Good time. Had Chinese buffet for dinner. May 29 Rest day (12km to camp) The Harlands' camp Gorgeous day! Enjoyed ride. Met Morgan (John's cousin) went canoing (oh yeah, locked bikes 5k from cottage, had waterfight in car) and kayaking. Brandy and Amber dropped by. BBQ for dinner. Played chess and Scrabble. Fun figuring out chess as a perspective on life--layers of understanding go really deep. Barely slept because my head was in overdrive. Group decided on going north of Lake Superior rather than through States. May 30 125km Kenora to Dryden John drove. Cold, wet, windy, headwinds. Most miserable 30km of construction highway ever. Ben ran into Dave, accident. Discussion with Phil re: culture (1st Nations) and parents (encouragement, isolationism). Weird sitting in restaurant with our own food. Bastard Phil made unnecessary, very untrue comment about my bum. He will die. Natalie farted on Dhananjai. We're all very proud of her. Very hot tonight, Nat very bitter that XFiles episode really bad. May 31 110km Dryden to Ignace Cold, headwinds/crosswinds. Dhananjai drove in am. Me aft. Ok shoulder for most part in am, nonexistent in pm. Talked with Ben re: group bonding. Watched Firebirds and Days of Thunder in motel. June 1 110km Ignace to Upsala Phile drove in am, Dave pm. Camped at lake place. Many freaking mosquitoes. Headwinds, cloudy and cold. Nat wrestled with Dhananjai, but no fart this time (ah well). Phil's pedals broken. Ran into cross Canada cyclists with RV. Holy comfy set-up!! June 2 130km Upsala to Thunder Bay Phil drove whole day because of messed pedal. Tailwinds, beautiful day, nicely easy cycling. Checked out RV (luxury) of other cyclist dudes, and moseyed on to Thunder Bay. Stayed at Bryce's (John's friend Kevin's girlfriend's place). Very nice smelling house (candle business). I was in a weird mood at lunch, got noogied for my trouble (big jerks). Yay showers and laundry, John on BBQ duty for dinner. Went to see Star Wars (except Nat) after dinner, Dhan saw the Mummy. Funny getting kicked out by that attendant guy after the show. June 3 110km Thunder Bay to Nipigon Gorgeous day, easy cycling. Wind all over the place, but tail for last bit. Fatal accident on hwy, traffic stopped for a few hours. Chat with Nat re: family. Phil blew tire!!! So much for his "manly" mountainbike, sucka. Delay as we waited for Phil and Nat (who went back with the tools) at Petro Can dinner place. Set up camp at exorbitant Nipigon campground. Nat drove am, Ben pm. June 4th 103km Nipigon to Terrace Bay Cold, headwinds, rough conditions, but beautiful ride. I very much took my time, and enjoyed the trip very much. Talk with Phil at rest area. Nice lake views and low traffic. Stop in Pays Plat of 1st Nation, interesting view into another world. Got in very late to motel, South Park, Tom Green (Celery Generals episode). Scary just how similar those South Park characters are to the guys on the trip. Phil drove in am, John pm. June 5th 130km Terrace Bay to White Lake Cold, wet, but less windy today. Big fight over person to sleept with Phil. Cycled with Nat for aft. 30km of construction work. Rain and hot sun in aft. Talk with Nat re: safety pin, stripping people of their complexity, the fascination of glimpses into other people's worlds (oh to be a fly on the wall...). I drove am, Dhan pm. June 6 130km White Lake to Wawa Okay conditions for cycling. Chatted with Phil quite a bittoday. Arcade console, talking at different levels, swamp critters. I sat in forest and listened to birds for a while. We almost lost Ben for a while, but (drat it all) he found the group again (foiled again!). Pool at campsite, roasted marshmallows, talked around fire. Music running through my head (and unfortunately for the rest) spewing out of my mouth all day. Dave drove in am, Nat pm. June 7 110km Wawa to Montreal River Lake Superior Provincial Park (gorgeous!!) but 30km of miserable construction. Headwinds and hills, rain. Many beach sites. Thoughts on what getting back to 'Loo will be like. Also thoughts on letting go and how I would be more hands off on next wilderness jaunt. Relaxation of mind and spirit through lazing on beach (ah, the luxury of wasting time without worries!!) Seeing (honeymooning?) couple playing on beach--nice. Final descent (and we are talking descent here, baby) into Montreal River harbour gorgeous! Had to stop and yibber to myself for a bit. Misty lake with swirls of white rippling out dreamily...mmmm. Stayed in nice cabins, very cheap at Trail's End resort or some such. Yay poo particles on my head thanks to John and Dhananjai. I am like Quebec, dudes. I wanna be destinked, too. (sorry. groaner, I know.) Ben in am, John pm. June 8 120km Montreal R. to Sault Ste. Marie Cold and v. foggy in morn, nice rolly downhills. Beautiful aft. Big hill we kept getting warned about not a big deal at all. BBQ dinner, vegging in front of TV after we reached the place of Dhananjai's friend, Ali. Very nice, interesting family. Dhan drove in am, me aft, except for final few clicks, when John's tire blew. June 9 Rest day Sault Ste. Marie Lounged about (beautiful day). John, Susan, and Alicen very hospitable. Group split up--Phil and Ben working on europe trip, John and Dhananjai off to explore, Nat, Dave and I talked for a while. I went for a walk, sat on a rock and thought as world hummed in activity around me. Came back, chatted with family. Alicen is into "social change" but I don't see a willingness to be uncomfortable (the martyrdom syndrome) that I notice in hardcore activists. Mother works in Dr's office, knows way too much about people (STD tests, birthcontrol pills) and John did welfare then UI stuff, investigated in other people's bathroom closets legally, was allowed to ask all sorts of personal questions. Wild. June 10 120km Sault Ste. Marie to Blind River Uneventful am. Sat on rock in Carolyn Beach and thought about fundraising stuff. Dave drove back to tell me about IISD interview, I called them to schedule for the next morning (11th). Stopped at river to run through interview in my head (wish I had my notes on the org'n. I'll be toasted on the what do you know about us questions) Beautiful day, but headwinds. Rolling hills. Music running through my head again today. Phil drove am, Dave pm. [Stopped taking notes from Blind River to Waterloo. We reached Waterloo on the 14th. I don't think anything especially of note happened]