And the embers never fade, In your city by the lake

Hi Folks, Lucas here again.  Hope all is well out there.

I have lots to tell and a few pictures to share. 

When we last left you I believe we had made it to beautiful Keremeos.

We have been blessed lately with amazing and abnormal weather for this time of year, and the last few days have been no different. 

We left Keremeos with an appreciated tailwind blowing us up the slight incline along the river up to Princeton.  We stayed at the Princeton Pentecostal Tabernacle, where pastor Tony Essex kindly and trustingly gave us a key to the church, and let us set up for the night.  Viera and I had a chance to take a quick walk around town and enjoyed the quaint feel of the alpine town. 

On Thursday we left for the park.  It was yet again another beautiful day, with blue sky and warm sun.  We headed towards Manning Park, and put our heads down and sweated hard. 

We ended up climbing and climbing.  It ended up being the most challenging day of the trip yet, despite only going 50 kilometres.  Despite all the hard work we got to witness some beautiful scenery.

We got to the gas station before the park in the early evening.  There was really nothing between there and Hope, BC, which was about 90 more kms.  Garrett’s dad had kindly donated some emergency money for if we ever needed a place to stay.  We were going to stay at the hotel in the park, when we noticed a sign for a B&B.  Garrett and I ended up riding up the hill to ask the people about rates.  They ended up being incredibly kind to us.  Their names where Kristina and Brittanie,  they ended up putting us in a cabin, (which would more adequately be called a house).  They also let us come up and have a soak in there hot tub, which to a sore cyclist seems like about the greatest thing on the planet.  We had a spaghetti dinner in our cabin, with a nice fire going in the fireplace and classical music playing from the speakers of the sound system.  How Romantic!  Despite the love in the air we all gathered around the fire and watched Space Odyssey: 2001 and eating a whole load of popcorn.

  We slept great and in the morning were thankful we had a warm place to cuddle up.  The temperature had dropped to about -10C overnight and our bikes outside were thoroughly frosted. 

We took off into the park, with the knowledge that the next 90kms to Hope were actually somewhat easy, and that we had done all the hard part the night before.  As cyclists we were naturally sceptical of the reconnaissance, but our intel turned out to be correct.

We reached the Allison Pass Summit at a little after lunch time, at 1324 metres above sea level if I recall correctly.  We knew Hope was pretty close to sea level so we were happy to think of the descent we would have.

Honestly I could not have imagined how amazing it would have been.  Talking to my father in the morning he had suggested to fix my breaks.  Well sorry dad but I didn’t heed the advice.  Justin and I were riding together, and when we crested the summit we stopped to bundle up, then plummeted down the amazing valleys.

We have found that our bikes naturally hold us bck to about 60-70 km/h.  To us that is pretty much the perfect speed.  Other than a slight cold rain in the eyes, I was in near perfect bliss.  We raced down the mountains, and as we kept thinking we couldn’t get any lower, another valley would appear.  It is quite literally mountains on top of mountains on top of mountains here.

At one point I believe I experienced my soul try to escape, and I found myself shouting guttural yelps of joy and delight like a young puppy caught up in a game of fetch.  We were on top of the world as we dropped from the top of the world.  It’s funny how our bodies are capable of understanding so much joy from experiencing the rare combination of thrill absolute and beauty absolute.  And sometimes your only response is to hoot and holler at the giant cedars passing you by at 70 kilometres an hour.

I was so impressed by those trees, they covered every mountain from tip to toe, unlike most mountains you see with patches here and there of grass and field, and the mix of different deciduous and coniferous trees.  These were completely green, like the deep pits of a glacial run off.  We thundered down through the deep canyons for literally hours (how often in your life can you change elevation for the long).  As you can probably tell I would like to ramble on all night about that ride, but my words cant do it justice anyways (Neither can these pictures but hopefully they help a little bit [my camera ended up dying half way through the ride).

We made it to Hope at dusk, and a kind lady named Gail brought us to an Anglican church here to stay the night.  I guess it is Halloweens Eve, and probably a fun party night for many of our adult readers, but we are sitting here quietly in our church basement.  I bought a bag of candy at the store tonight to give to kids tomorrow, but have yet to devise a way to give the candy to kids without coming off as a weirdo.  The kids may have to settle for taking candy from a weird guy on a bike, or we may just end up eating the leftovers on Monday.

As for the next few days:

We head to Chilliwack tomorrow, then an eco village near there the next day.

Then we will probably head to Vancouver the next day, where we will most likely finally meet up  with Steve, the newest member of our group, who has been patiently waiting for us for a few days now, since he got in from Ontario.

I think there is a sense of excitement within the group to see the Ocean and the Coast.  It will be a very big psychological victory for the group.  Everyone has been riding hard for what will be 4 months on Wednesday.  Garrett informed me tonight that we have reached 1/3 of our total distance (5327 of about 16,000 kilometres).

I am proud of this group.  There has definitely challenges along the way, and there will definitely be challenges over the next 8 months, but I really believe in this group of youth, and we all feel lucky to be a part of this amazing journey.

Thank You all for reading, Lucas and the PEDAL team.

And if you have time to read a little more, I would like to share possibly my favourite lyrics.  I find myself thinking about these words when contemplating the distance of a journey, or the bittersweet changes of our lives.

Time is never time at all
You can never ever leave without leaving a piece of youth
And our lives are forever changed
We will never be the same
The more you change the less you feel
Believe, believe in me, believe
That life can change, that you're not stuck in vain
We're not the same, we're different tonight
Tonight, so bright
Tonight
And you know you're never sure
But you're sure you could be right
If you held yourself up to the light
And the embers never fade in your city by the lake
The place where you were born
Believe, believe in me, believe
In the resolute urgency of now
And if you believe there's not a chance tonight
Tonight, so bright
Tonight
We'll crucify the insincere tonight
We'll make things right, we'll feel it all tonight
We'll find a way to offer up the night tonight
The indescribable moments of your life tonight
The impossible is possible tonight
Believe in me as I believe in you, tonight 

Viera and Justin from Golden to Rossland

Here is the story of Viera and Justin, before Rossland.

On our way out from Golden, Viera and Justin lost track of Kristi and Garrett, and finally reunited in Warfield just a few km before Rossland.

We had an alternate experience, staying in various churches, a roadside diner yard in Wasa, couchsurfing in Creston, the Yasodhara Ashram on Kootenay Lake and then a friendly woman in Nelson.

The first night away from Golden, Viera and I were looking for an indoor place, so in Brisco we stopped to ask at a general store about space. We were invited to stay in the old wooden United Church across the street. We ate raisin bread that Kristi baked and items that were donated by the church from the general store. It was a warm place for the night.

The next day, riding through the beautiful Columbia Valley with misty mountains to our left and right we made our way to Fairmont Hot Springs for the night. On the road we left chalk messages on the pavement for Kristi and Garrett. My relatives in Golden talked about a free hot spring just down the hill from the newer resort in town. Viera and I went to search for it after climbing a long hill upwards from the town. Asking along the way, we were getting comments that the old springs have been fenced off for liability issues. At the top we were without luck trying to find the springs, instead we were lucky with good radio reception to call Garrett. They were in Invermere about 10 km behind us and because it was getting dark they looked for a place to stay there. We also managed to call  Lucas using Google's phone call option! He was happy to hear from us and informed us about the potluck planned for our arrival in Rossland!

The next evening we had difficulty finding groceries in Wasa (after another day of beautiful riding) so we ended up stopping to have food at a small diner that was closing soon for the night. We ended up being offered space in the backyard. While hanging out inside to enjoy the warmth before sleeping in the tent out side we were also offered to share a pizza with them, then as a dessert we helped finish some end of the season ice cream.

After a cold night we packed up and set sails for Cranbrook, hopefully going to meet up with Kristi and Garrett, as we had discussed. We attempted to organize a couchsurf, but with little luck we decided to phone some churches as a backup. With some contacts on the Lutheran Church answering machine we were able to connect with a clergy man, and the best way to meet him was to join the evening's bible study. The bible study wsa interesting and was also an opportunity to meet a women who offered us warm showers, beds and meals. We met her husband and were given left over Thanksgiving dinner and toast. We left them with the last Batik painting from HELP International and gave them the ukulele. They had been looking for a Uke for a while since traveling to Hawaii, so it seemed like a good opportunity to lighten the load.

From Cranbrook we rode to Creston. Around Yahk we found a house to ask for water refills. We met a friendly women who offered to drive us in her truck over the next major hill, due to the time we had left of daylight. We loaded our hefty bikes into her truck and then made our way over the large hill. About 3/4 of the way to Creston, we found a place to continue the ride when I realised all my water bottles were missing. After some discussion, our driver decided it was best to drive back to get the bottles. We also went to eat spagetti and play with Thai, her grandson. We then drove back, and because it was getting too dark, she drove us all the way to Creston, where we had yet to figure out our accomodation. With luck we contacted a couchsurfer, Kristen, who drove to meet us downtown and we walked back together to her house. We made diner and talked about Katimavik and Canada trivia. In the morning on the way out we enjoyed concord grapes growing on a vine outsied her back door. My first time eating sweet grapes off the vine, organic too!!

The next day Viera and I set off for Kootenay Lake for a 2 day stay at the Yasodhara Ashram. After a beautiful ride along the waters edge we found a ride to take us to the Ashram for the evening. Our ride shared stories of hitchhiking and local issues.  At the Yoga Ashram we gardened and learned about the sustainable projects happening on the property. www.postcarbonmeal.com and www.lightwaves.cc

After allowing some time for Kristi and Garrett to meet up, we headed to Nelson to see if we could the find them. The ferry across lake was beautiful and the ride along the road was also enjoyable, lined with artisans and creative looking properties. In Nelson, a woman and her guest saw me stopped for a few moments to wait up for Viera. She invited us over to make some calls to warmshowers hosts. With little luck, besides finding the host for Kristi and Garrett (who could only take 2 guest), we were offered to stay at her place in the studio. We enjoyed a warm meal and hospitality.

Finally after Nelson, we were now close to Rossland and made our way to Warfield so we could meet with eveyone and stay at Lucas's brother and family. It was sure good to see Lucas's face again and ready ourselves for the next adventure!

And as we head on down the road; The piper will lead us to reason

We departed from Midway on the nicest day we have had since leaving Rossland.  For the first day since then we were not rained or snowed on, and it helped keep morale high.  What an amazing ride it was.  The climb from Rock Creek to the Anarchist Summit was both challenging and breath taking.  Mix that with actual blue skies and we were happy as could be.  We still had a solid supply of pizza we made in Grand Forks.

 As it was getting later in the day we started our descent into Osoyoos.  Making my way down the steep, winding mountain I felt like a formula one racer at times.  I learned that I am in desperate need of some new brake pads by the end of it (but really only needed to break once as my adrenaline urged me on down the mountain.   The view was spectacular of the desert valley of Osoyoos.

  I enjoyed a great ride with Viera and we talked at length about various philosophical things as we rode towards a couchsurfers house named Gordon.  We got set up, and watched some planet earth on his tv,  while he gave us some cooking tips.  He has done much world travelling and is going on a bike trip (motorized kind) to Argentina within the next year. 

In the morning Kristi and Garrett went on ahead back into Osoyoos; Keremeos being the goal for the day.  Viera, Justin and I rode towards a wine town named Oliver on the hunch of a so called short cut.  Viera had gotten much ahead of Justin and I, as the two of us stopped for the pretentious task of trying a wine tasting at a fancy vineyard.  We both tried it (Justin the grapes and I a couple thimblefuls of wine) and then were on our way. 

As we left Oliver we got onto an old dirt road that seemed to climb and climb and climb.  I had wanted to never walk my bike up a single hill on the entire trip and until today I had kept that promise.  Unfortunately this logging road was way too steep so Justin and I ended up walking our bikes for the majority of two and a half hours.  We did have a great lunch though, stopping on the side of the road and snacking on the contents of our bags.  It is a rather fun game to open them up and see what food we have left over.  As negative thoughts were starting to brew in my head, a hunter drove up the road in front of us, so I waved him down and he informed us that we were indeed (and thankfully) at the summit. 

As we soared down the old road, any feelings of negativity instantly vanished.  We were riding down the valley of two mountains, down an arid region of tumbleweeds, old fences and cattle.  The dirt road wound like a beautiful snake down into the luscious valley below, and past that stood giant mountains with snow covering their peaks.  As we road down we watched the setting sun project shadows taller than our souls along the dirt road behind us. 

We arrived in Keremeos at a church called Elim tabernacle, to a friendly pastor named Jason and his amazing family.  He had bought us ingredients or dinner (all local and organic) as well as a couple steaks for the meat eaters.  He and his family showed us amazing hospitality and we are so thankful for their amazing kindness.  We will try for Princeton tomorrow then a night in Manning Park, possibly making it to Chilliwack the next day, so you may not hear from us for a while.

Thanks for reading and take care out there, Lucas and the PEDAL team.

The Incredible kindness of others

Hi folks, Lucas here again.  A quick update on our progress.  We are still making our way west, having left Rossland on Saturday.  We had a pretty good (though busy) time in Rossland.  We had a great and very successful pot luck dinner on Thursday night, where we had a chance to make some powerpoints and show some friends what we have been learning.  We also made a quick movie while we were in town about what our trip is all about.  We have posted it on the website www.youth4sustainability.com  so please check it out and vote on it ( we would forever be grateful).  We headed up a wet and cold pass when we left Rossland, and personally I was quite sad to leave my family, friends, and community behind.  Everyone in the group was really supportive and it helped me through the tough time. 

Kristi, Garrett and I started getting quite cold as we got to the summit of the first pass.  We stopped in at the cabin at Nancy Greene Provincial Park to make a quick tea and warm up.  Then we headed out again (Justin and Viera left earlier in the morning and had gotten ahead).  We were stopped on the side of the highway on the second pass when a car stopped and told us a cougar had run across the road ust ahead of us.  I think I had just told Kristi and Garrett a little earlier that they had nothing to fear about bears, it was cougars that make us locals a little nervous, in hoping to comfort them.  I thought the majestic cat would be long gone, but a minute or two later we looked up the road to see the cat running across the highway back onto our side of the road.  Suddenly my tough lumberjack/woodsman meme didn’t quite feel so reassuring.  We rode on for a couple nervous minutes, right by the side of the road were he ran by we saw his tracks, and he was a fair sized guy.  We watched the deep brush beside the road pretty quickly as we rode by.  It sure was neat to see such an amazing creature though,  I have only been lucky enough to see them a handful of times in the woods, and the first time for Kristi and Garrett, unfortunately we had no time to snap a picture as we only saw it for a few brief moments and our minds were quite focused on more important matters.

We ended up staying with an amazing couple who were the grandparents of a good friend of mine in Christina Lake, John and Jean.  They were so generous and so understanding, it was really great to spend the night with them.  Meanwhile Justin and Viera stayed in Grand Forks with a pastor and his wife, Brett and Diana.

The next morning Justin and Viera went to church with Brett, Diana and there amazing two kids, while Kristi, Garrett and I caught up.  John rode behind us as a chase car for a good amount of time in the morning and provided us with a good amount of security.

When we caught up to Justin and Viera they were at Brett and Diana’s house.  The first thing Brett did when we were introduced was offer me a big bowl of soup with I gladly accepted.  As a group we decided that it was too far to the next town especially with the weather as horrible as it has been, and the days getting shorter.

Brett and Diana were quick to offer up their home to us, and we were happy to be able to stay with them.  That night we all made a whole bunch of pizzas in the church as Brett practiced for a play, and we had a great pizza feast (though we went a little overboard, making about 12 pizzas).  That night we stayed up late playing a board game with Brett and talking about things way too deep for human beings to understand.

In the morning we rode off towards Midway after a great breakfast courtesy of Brett and Diana. 

One of the big events of the day was the group finally getting snowed on,  we were very cold and very wet, so a stop at the bakery in Greenwood was very much needed, where we met a man named Jonathan; a man whose life goal is to give a blanket to those who need a lift up in life.  He is travelling through Canada right now and it is possible we will meet him again in Portland Oregon.  We were wet, cold, and in need of a life, but of course we couldn’t take a blanket on our bikes; room is far too precious as it is.  So instead he told us to close our eyes and gave us M&M’s telling us we made the world colourful just like these little chocolate candies.  He was yet another interesting character.

We got into Midway in the afternoon, and  by chance ran into a lady named Amanda who was just locking up a church.  She had her two boys with her,  and after talking with her a few minutes she let us stay in the church.  It turns out it is no longer a church but a place where people can come to find free things: clothes, furniture, toys, or a good meal.

She stayed for dinner and we really enjoyed her company as well as the company of her new boys.  The church has a wood stove which is helping dry our soggy clothes.

What I really wanted to write this blog about, and what can’t really come across just in the surface stories of the people we meet, is the true kindness that people have shown for us.  When we are warm, or cold, or just need a lift, people have consistently shown us the amazing and heart warming gift of kindness.  It gives me an amazing feeling inside to see people take complete strangers into their homes and help them in a time of need.  I (and everyone in this group) cannot wait to pay it forward in whatever way I can.  I would hope to encourage you to help someone, anyone, around you.  It is an amazing feeling.  To those that have helped, and I am speaking all across our journey, and before it,  Thank you so so much for your generosity.  When you receive as much as we have, you know that words can never be enough to show how much we appreciate what you have done.  Please know that probably greater than any thanks we can give is the heartfelt desire we have to give on to others when we can.  Please feel happy and content in that, and once again, thank you so much for everything you have done,

Lucas and the PEDAL team.

P.E.D.A.L. Team Arrives In Rossland

Hi everyone, Lucas here, and happy to finally be back with the team again.

It has been an anxious wait of late as I have been anticipating the teams arrival here in Rossland.  Wednesday Night the weary travelers arrived in Warfield BC, where we all met up and shared a great meal courtesy of my mother and sister in law.  We all stayed the night with my brother and his wife and 3 young energy filled boys.  The team said they felt very welcome by the amazing hospitality and we are all very thankful for my mother and sister in laws amazing dinner.  In the morning I nervously did an interview with the radio station KBS, which I think went great.  Afterwards we made some mediocre at best pancake art for breakfast.

Then we saddled up the bikes and prepared for a big ride up a short distance.  We were making the big climb up to Rossland, which as the crow flies is not very far from Warfield, but quite the vertical descent.  We left in the morning with a special guest rider, my young nephew,  he took us on a "secret route" and it was quite the adventure riding with him.  It was a beautiful fall day, and we took advantage of the nice temperature and clear skies by riding up the old railroad tracks to Rossland.  It was an amazing ride out in the wilderness, especially with all the fall colours and the leaves falling.

Eventually the group made it to Rossland, where we rode down main street triumphantly to talk with Andrew from the Rossland News.  We met many helpful and kind people uptown, and the team was impressed by the Kootenay hospitality.  After a quick and well deserved late lunch, we hiked up Kootenay-Columbia to get a view of Rossland, Castlegar, and Trail and view the miles the team had just conquered as well as a breathtaking sunset over the mountains to the West.  We came home and enjoyed a great super of baked bean wraps,  then got down to work, as the group has a lot of catch up to do.

Today has been a major work day, and it feels like a big newspaper company right before press release; lots of hustle and chaos.  Tonight we are having a pot luck and talking with the Rossland Sustainability Commission about our trip and the projects they are working on in town here.
Viera and Justin went up town today and stopped in at The Nature's Den Health Food Store in Rossland where the generously donated many useful supplements.

Tomorrow we will hopefully have get some work done in the morning and then be able to enjoy a nice day around town.  Thanks to everyone for reading and all the support,  I hope to be updating this quite often again,  take care everyone and talk to you soon,  Lucas and the P.E.D.A.L. gang!

Rossland Bound!

Hi everyone, it's Kristi here, writing from Cranbrook at the south end of BC.

This is just a quick update... we stayed in Wasa last night, with our gracious host Murray. What an awesome person; he lent us a trailer to stay in and even signed Garrett's guitar. One day when he becomes a karaoke star, that guitar will be priceless!

The landscape is changing around here: it's more dry and grassy and the hills are softer and lower. Today we met an awesome three time Otesha tour member, who gave us advice on where to stay and also a grocery gift card. He must know about cycling to know the thing we enjoy most is food :) Give The Otesha Project a google if you aren't familiar. Their mission is very cool and similar to our own.

Now we're headed toward Rossland, hoping to arrive within the week and be reunited with the long lost Lucas Karn. We hear a potluck is planned for when we get there, which is so exciting!

We'll be back soon with more pictures and stories.

Kristi and Garrett
for the PEDAL Team

PEDAL Team Reaches Golden BC

Posted by Ken Mahy - 9 October 2010

The PEDAL Team has been "Kicking Ass Through Kicking Horse Pass" (if you will pardon the expression in the interests of a little poetic embellishment) and have reached Golden BC where they are visiting Justin's cousin.  They departed Canmore for Banff on Wednesday October 6th - travelling off-road along a dedicated bike path!  From Banff, they headed up towards Lake Louise where they spent a night camping and then headed up through Kicking Horse Pass to Field BC the following night.

Hopefully they'll get a chance to post some vivid descriptions and picturesque pictures shortly!

Three Milestones

Garrett here!

Today has been a landmark day!  Three milestones:

1.  We've entered the Rockies!  We were surprised to coast down into the mountains; we reached the top of an especially high foothill, where we were treated to the sight of those awesome peaks -- the sight of exhiliration and exertion, of elevation and elation.  From that foothill, we coasted down... way down... into a river valley, and we kept on coasting until we were surrounded by the mountains' conifer slopes and stoney peaks.

2.  Today marks the third month of the tour!  If our timeline is correct, that means we're fully one-quarter of our way to Costa Rica!

3.  Our timeline is indeed correct; today also saw us passing the 4000 km mark!  Once again, that signifies one-quarter of the tour's distance!

All in all, circumstances aligned exceptionally well today!  You can expect me to post again soon to gush about how mega-fantastic mountains are.