PEDAL Team Drying Out West of Dryden

Posted by Ken Mahy - 11 August 2010

After camping in heavy rain last night and riding through a constant drizzle all day Wednesday, the intrepid (but extremely damp) PEDALers caught a welcome break tonight!  They are staying in a warm, cozy farmhouse at Oxdrift - just west of Dryden.  Their host is Bob Wall, a friend of a friend of Justin Pape.  Those of us picturing our heroes camping in a downpour and riding through the raindrops all day are probably almost as grateful to Bob for his hospitality as the bikers themselves!

The route to Bob's farm took them off the TransCanada Highway for an hour of peaceful riding through rolling green countryside this afternoon - then up a dirt road to a warm (and dry) welcome.

The scenery the past few days has included vast bogs, thick spruce forests and enormous grasslands mixed in with rocky rolling stretches - definitely different from their earlier experiences and very interesting in its own way.  The 125 km route from Dryden to Kenora which lies ahead promises to be somewhat hillier again after the more level terrain the group has just traversed.  Those interested in getting an idea of the terrain they'll be cycling can do so at the TransCanada Highway website.  Estimated timeline for crossing the Manitoba border is Sunday August 15th if all goes smoothly the next few days.

In addition to drying out after a soggy 36 hours, the night spent indoors at Oxdrift will also provide our courageous adventurers with some blessed relief from the swarms of mosquitoes that have been the bain of their past few evenings.  Bugs don't bug you during the day when you're breezing along the asphalt at 10 - 25 kmh - but they come out in force at nightfall - which is typically when the team drops anchor for the night to set up camp and cook/eat their evening meal.  Acquisition of some eco-friendly insect repellant and a lightweight "bug shelter" is definitely on the agenda!

PEDAL Crew Breaks Through to the Central Time Zone!

Posted by Ken Mahy - 8 August 2010

As Lucas and Justin indicated in their joint blog entry from Thunder Bay, access to the Internet is often difficult to find along the TransCanada Highway in Northern Ontario.  The PEDAL team has, therefore, authorized me to periodically post information on their behalf gleaned from telephone conversations with parents and friends.

Topping the recent news: PEDAL Across the Americas has broken through into the Central Time zone!  Phone calls received Saturday evening were from a campground about 20 km east of Upsala (or 115 km northwest of Thunder Bay).  Or as Paul Gauthier put it into broader perspective - "more than 1/3 of the way to Victoria BC".

For the "time zone challenged", this means that the PEDALers are now an hour behind most of Ontario and 2 hours ahead of British Columbia.  In other words, if it's 3 PM in "PEDAL Time", that's 4 PM in Ontario and 1 PM on the west coast.

Speaking of Thunder Bay, the PEDAL adventure made big news there as the group was interviewed by both the local CBC Radio station and the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal (click to see the article).  Triple thanks Lin, whose farm they stayed at just outside Thunder Bay and Rosslyn Village, as she got them the interviews through her local connections and also drove them back into Thunder Bay to be interviewed!

And more good news, this time from Toronto.  The Tooker Gomberg Greenspiration Fund has announced the following:  "A $500 grant was given to P.E.D.A.L., a 16,000 km bicycle tour and environmental education and media project documenting sustainable living models."

One final thought-provoking perspective for those of us cheering the PEDAL team from the sidelines.  Apparently the group are finding the more level riding northwest of Thunder Bay a bit dull compared to the more hilly terrain they traversed earlier.  They miss the challenge of the uphill climbs followed by the exhiliration of the vistas seen as they reached the top - and the restful glides on the downhill side!