Sky's Cross Canada Blog

This morning we left Ottawa pretty early to be on time for the 200km journey we had ahead of us.   Tory’s friend Chris met us in the morning as he is joining us until Quebec City.  It’s nice to have someone to chat with on the road!

We took some great back roads and stopped for lunch in Hawkesbury.  We met some great guys at a kayak shop who bought us gelato for dessert before we carried on into Quebec!  The roads got even better on the other side of the river and then we found a bike path that took us in the direction that we were going.  It was nice to get off the roads for a while. 

We then got about 20km from our meeting spot with Tory when Chris stopped and exclaimed: “I physically cannot bike anymore!”  His longest ride to date was about 100km so this was really epic for him.  I was impressed that he made it this far.  He ended up stopping and I continued on to meet Tory and together we went back to pick him up and head in to Montreal!

We left Richmond Hill on Sunday morning and headed towards Tichborne, Ontario where our summer camp is located.  Camp Oconto holds a special place in our hearts as this is not only a place where we spent 7 summers soaking up the sun on the shores of Eagle Lake but also where Tory and I met. 

We arrived at camp right in time for dinner and were greeted but numerous excited camp friends who we hadn’t seen for years.  It was absolutely wonderful to catch up with old friends and spend some time at this familiar place. 

On Monday morning, I took Tory out sailing on the Hobie Cat, a personal favourite of mine.  It was epic.  We then visited until the early afternoon and then hit the road and headed towards Ottawa.  I stopped in Perth for directions to a back road and the lady at the Chamber of Commerce was so excited about the journey that she immediately got on the phone to the local newspaper and they were over within three minutes for an interview!

I then continued on towards Ottawa and about half an hour later dark black clouds started rolling in.  I met up with Tory and we decided to stay close to one another since it looked like a big storm was coming our way.   About half an hour later I rode past Tory in the van as she was parked in a lot on the side of the road.   I didn’t event get 500 metres up the road when all of a sudden it started raining.  Not just drizzling but a full on torrential downpour!

I got on the phone with Tory to tell her that I was up the road behind a parked blue SUV.  I decided to go under a tree to avoid getting wet.  Then all of a sudden I hear: “BANG! CRACK! BOOM!”  Thunder and lightening! I ran out from under the tree since the last thing I want is to be hit by lightening.  As I’m jumping out of my hiding spot I see Tory rolling past me in the van. 

Within ten seconds, I was completely drenched.  As I tried to protect my cell phone and ipod from termination, I called Tory to tell her to turn around as she had passed me.  When I finally dove into the van three minutes later, I was completely soaked!  I threw on some dry clothes and we drove the rest of the 30km to Ottawa.  The rain was coming down so hard that I declared it a hazard to be out on the road on a bike since we could barely see two feet in front of us!  

We arrived to Ottawa after having a delicious Dairy Queen Blizzard and Tory’s Dad, Jeremy, took us out for a massive feeding of burgers.  The burger joint offered the option of a portabella mushroom cap instead of a patty so I decided to try something different.  Well this was big enough to feed a rabbit.  So, I had to have some onion rings as well as a massive decadent chocolate milkshake. Believe it or not, this was the first milkshake of my life.  Let me tell you, I’m hooked!! Amazing! I then followed the milkshake with some more chocolate…mmmm…this biking is making me eat like a horse!

Today, while Tory slept in and enrolled for her fall classes, I walked downtown to meet a friend for coffee and then another for lunch.  It was great to catch up with them!  I then decided to go shopping.  After having spent the past two months in bike clothes I figured I needed to get some nice outfits.  I have no idea what I was thinking!  In a matter of thirty minutes I managed to spend two hundred dollars.  Wonderful! It was a good little spree.  Good thing Tory was coming to pick me up or I might have done some really serious damage to the Visa card. 

Tory and I then went out with both of her sets of grandparents and her dad for a delicious Italian dinner.  It was a great way to end our little stop-over in Ottawa.  Tomorrow we are off to Montreal!

The past week has been wonderful.  It was great to have a chance to spend some time with friends and family. 

On Monday night in Powassan we had a fundraiser that consisted of soup and sandwiches at the Legion followed by live music in the park.  It was lovely.  The local support was unreal.  I am so impressed how a small community really comes together.    The great people, tasty treats, wonderful music and good weather made for an unforgettable evening.  We successfully raised $2,300.  Thank you for everyone who helped to organize the event and also those who came out to support. 

From Powassan, we ventured to Huntsville where I have some close friends.  Thank you to Huntsville’s Pool, Spa & Sauna for welcoming me and to Mary for organizing the event.   We were lucky to have met two wish families in Huntsville.  Clayton, a Burk’s Falls resident was granted his wish of a swimming pool and Chris, a resident of South River’s wish came true when he went out west to Banff with his family.  

Our next stop on the cross Canada journey was Richmond Hill. The ride from Huntsville to my hometown of Richmond Hill was unreal.  A colleague of mine, Mike, met me in Huntsville and together we found our way to Bradford on side roads as we wanted to avoid Hwy 11.  The road were beautiful.  In Bradford, we were greeted by the York Region Police who escorted us to Richmond Hill.  On the way, a lovely family cheered us on from the side of the road wish posters that the children had made and colourful balloons.  It was very touching. 

We arrived at the police station in Richmond Hill where we were greeted by friends, family and Honourable Bryon Wilfert, the local MP as well as Honourable Reza Moridi, the local MPP.  We had a lovely reception where met another wish family.  It felt great to be home. 

Yesterday, we had a fundraiser at a local pub called Fox and Fiddle.  It was a great success.  We raised quite a bit of money from the ticket sales, 50/50 draw and the silent auction.   It was so good to see friends and family from back home since I haven’t been home since the winter. 

Today we are going to be running errands and resting up as we have a 200km day ahead of us tomorrow!

On Wednesday morning we left Sault Ste. Marie and headed towards Sudbury.  Since it was a gorgeous day, we went further than we had planned and spent the night at The Chutes Provincial Park.  We make it about 230km which was a solid ride!

On Thursday, we met a cyclist named Harry in a place called Lively and he rode with me into Sudbury.  Guy, the president of the cycling group in Sudbury and Harry helped us to get around the city and get the bikes fixed up.  They were extremely helpful! Linda from the Children’s Wish worked with Giant Tiger to have a welcoming as we rode into the city.  It was great to meet a wish mom and have the media present.

On Friday, we made it to Powassan which is where my parents’ farm is.  I got to North Bay, about 30km north of Powassan, and was so excited to get to the farm that I made it there in 45 minutes with a cross wind…a record!  We have been really looking forward to spending time at the farm so it’s great to be here! We have enjoyed BBQs and some good relaxing with my parents!

What an epic few days! We made it from Thunder Bay to Sault Ste. Marie in 3 days.  Phew! That leg of the ride was supposed to take 5 days but we decided to put the pedal to the metal so we can get to my parents’ farm in Powassan, Ont. a few days early so we can have some additional R&R.  We can’t wait to get there on Friday!

Yesterday was a record ride: 260km.  It was so tough since the hills around here are out of control! It’s harder than the rockies!  But amazing scenery! I love it.  We stopped at a gorgeous beach today called Pancake Bay.  It was great to lay in the sun, even though it was only for a few minutes!

This morning the bike had a bit of a mechanical issue.  The front derailleur broke in half.  That’s right, just snap! Nothing happened, no crash, no smash just flop! Half of it on the side of the road! Luckily I heard the tink tink tink noise it made as it bounced along the concrete shoulder.  I retrieved the broken piece of derailleur and carried on. 

The chain was in the small ring and it can be shifted to the big ring.  However, once in the big ring, there is no way to get it back into the small ring with the shifters.  The only way to shift into the small ring it to unclip my foot from the pedal and use my toe to gently get it into the small ring.  Interesting tactic for sure. 

I hit up the local bike shop here in “The Soo” but they didn’t have a derailleur.  Should have this fixed by North Bay!  I have a back-up bike but unfortunately it is out of commission at the moment so foot shifting for three days it is!

Despite freezing cold weather and a torrential downpour, we made it to Thunder Bay on Friday night!  We are staying with some family friends here which has been great!  We have enjoyed the relaxation and of course, the delicious food. 

Going back a little, we left Kenora on Wednesday and headed to another town called Dryden.  We had nowhere to stay and since it was pouring rain we decided to get a hotel.  This was definitely a good idea since everything was soaking wet and we needed to get organized. 

From Dryden we continued on through Ignace and ended up in a small place called Upsala.  This town consists of a general store and two gas stations.  We had nowhere to stay so we decided to spend the night sleeping in the van.  We found a country road and parked the van on the side of the road, next to the bush. 

We go out to unload the stuff from the back and move it into the front seats and got swarmed by mosquitoes and black flies.  It was awful! We danced around trying not to get eaten alive and somehow we managed to move everything to the front.  We frantically dove into the back of the van and closed all of the doors.  It was too late, we had been invaded.  There were bugs EVERYWHERE!

As we sad there pondering what to do next, an old pick-up truck pulled up next to the van and stopped beside us, blocking us into the side of the road.  Out came a scruffy old guy with missing teeth and rotten clothes.  Tory and I ducked away in the back of the van as he wandered around our vehicle checking things out. 

He got closer to the van and I frantically whispered to Tory: “Is he going to kill us and leave us for dead out here in the middle of nowhere?”  I then scrambled to lock the doors and reached for the bear spray so I’d have a weapon ready.  He continued roaming around the van and finally yelled: “Hello? Hello in there!”

We responded and he inquired about what we were doing in the van on the side of the road.  We said we were just looking for a place to park and potentially pitch our tent.  He told us that we could venture up the road about 100 yards and we’d find a perfect clearing for our tent.   We didn’t open the doors for the van and I guess he could tell that we weren’t to keen to chat with him.  He took off and left us to decide what to do next. 

We knew that we had to set up the tent since there were far too many bugs in the van to sleep.  We checked out the spot that he had recommended but we gave the situation a bit more thought and decided that it would be unsafe to set up camp in the middle of nowhere where this potential creeper would be the only person who would know we’re there.  Instead, we went back to the highway and found a little campsite on a lake.  We pitched our tent there for the night.

The following morning the alarm went off at 7:45 and the first thing I did was open the tent door to see if it was raining since they were calling for a torrential downpour.  To my surprise it wasn’t raining.  It was cloudy but nothing too terrible. 

Unfortunately, when I opened the tent door I let in a swarm of bugs and that got Tory squirming.  The first words out of her mouth were: “I had the worst sleep ever last night!”  She was all exasperated.  As she shuffled out of her sleeping bag she asked me to look at her eye since she felt that she had been bitten there by a bug. 

I took one look at her and couldn’t help but to burst out laughing.  She had definitely been bitten.  Her eyelid was so swollen that she could not open her eye.  It was terrible but hilarious all at once.  I got out the camera and took a picture of it so I could show Tory.  She took one look at it an freaked out! She decided we had to get out of the tent and the campsite at once.  I think we got on the road in record time this morning as it was a massive shuffle to leave the campground behind!

As I mentioned before, the ride on Friday into Thunder Bay was absolutely miserable as it was freezing and rainy.  The great week end made up for that though and tomorrow we are back on the road heading towards Marathon.  We will be back in the tent tomorrow night….!!!!

We had a great visit at the Rutherford farm just outside of Winnipeg.  The ride on Saturday with the Cops for Kids group was amazing.  I want to thank the cyclists, Nancy and Marie from the Children’s Wish Foundation as well as Mike from Trek for helping to organize that.  It was definitely a highlight of the trip so far. 

Sunday was a designated rest day but as usual, it turned into a day of mayhem.  We went into Winnipeg to go to the bike shop as well as return our defective electronics to future shop.  We thought we could accomplish these tasks in about an hour but it wasn’t until four hours later that we returned to the farm.

We then went to a nearby school to get an internet connection in order to check e-mails and update the website.  Of course, this took much longer than the hour that we had predicted.  Before we knew it the day was over and we were gearing up to hit the road on Monday morning. 

Unfortunately, we woke up to a massive rain storm.  We decided to use one of our flex days and take a real day off to mill around and really relax.  It was lovely.  I got to catch up on some administrative duties, pick strawberries from the garden and watch a movie.  It was definitely a well needed day of R&R. 

We woke up early this morning and were ready in record time as we had a long way to go to Kenora, Ontario.  We were packing up a few last things into the van when Tory said to me: “You know Sky, I don’t have your wallet.”  At that point, I realized that I had no idea where the wallet had gone. 

I began to search around the house for my wallet.  I looked on all of the table tops, in my bags, on the floor, really all over the place.  I couldn’t find it.  I then went into the van and tore things apart as I tried to locate the wallet.  No luck.  At this point, I was getting slightly concerned but I was still convinced that I would find it. 

I took another look around the house and then again in the van.  When I finally could not find it, I decided to call the places in Winnipeg that we had gone to on Sunday because that is when I last had it.  I spoke to someone at Future Shop who assured me that they did not have the wallet.  I also spoke to a friend who we had visited and he said he didn’t find it around his house. 

I couldn’t get through to the bike shop so I took down their number and figured I’d call them a bit later.   Now I was very worried about everything in my wallet.  Of course, I was concerned about the Visa card so I called and cancelled it.  In the meantime, I also chatted with my mum and needless to say, she was not impressed with the situation. 

Despite the missing wallet, the ride had to go on.  Tory and I drove to the highway from the farm and were just about ready to get things going when my Dad called.  Evidently, he was also unimpressed by my carelessness with the wallet.  He insisted that I return to Future Shop and the bike shop and retrace my steps from Sunday and attempt to find the missing wallet. 

I was not keen to return into the city but I figured I’d give it a try.  The people at both retail locations had not seen the wallet.  We were about to leave the city for once and for all when I said that we should check the side of the road where we parked when we visited my friend.  We pulled up and I checked outside but unfortunately, the wallet wasn’t there.  

At this moment, I suddenly remembered entering the farmhouse and throwing the walled into my duffle bag.  I have no idea how I remembered this or why I thought of it at this particular time but I did.   I had checked for the wallet in the duffle bag before we left the farm but I just had to check again. 

I threw the duffle bag on my friend’s front lawn and began tearing out all of my clothes until there was barely anything left in the big bag.  I reached around the bottom of the bag and there it was! I had found the wallet! What a massive ordeal.   I was glad that I didn’t have to figure out how to replace my health card, benefits card, diver’s license and everything else but it was still a nuisance that wasted the entire morning. 

We didn’t get on the road until noon but the tail wind helped me to get to Kenora by seven in the evening.  This was record time!  The ride was amazing and I have never been so happy to see a hill! I loved the prairies but I am thrilled to be in some hilly terrain.  It is crazy to think that we are already in Ontario.  The trip is just flying by!

Yesterday was such a thrilling day!  There is a group of police officers from Winnipeg who organize a ride every two years in support of the Children’s Wish Foundation.    We ended up connecting a few weeks ago and they were keen to come out to ride a leg of my journey.   I was really looking forward to having people to ride with as the ipod is getting overplayed. 

So yesterday morning we met in a town called Portage la Prairie which is about 100km west of Winnipeg.  Right away, I knew this would be a great group of guys to ride with.  I had a wonderful time chatting with them, especially hearing about their wild adventures as police officers.   However, to my surprise, some of them get their excitement out of pens and paper.  

About half way through the ride we were greeted by one of the officer’s parents for a lunch.  It was delicious and made it rather difficult to get back on the bikes.   For the rest of the ride to the city limits, we battled quite a wind.  I now understand how these guys get themselves ready for hill climbing!

We reached the city limits and this is when the real fun began! Police officers really know how to do it up!  We connected with two officers on pedal bikes, two on motorcycles and an additional two cruisers.   We were then fully supported and escorted into the city.  I could not get enough of this! We did not have to stop for one red light!  If only all group rides were like this! I could not wipe the smile off my face.  This was definitely a highlight of the ride so far! I have a video of it and I will try to attach it here.  Hopefully it will work.  If not, I’ll figure out how to get it on you tube and then I’ll put the link up here.  

We got escorted to The Forks in Winnipeg where we chatted for a while.  I then got to have a visit with an old camp friend which was absolutely wonderful. 

We then ran into a bit of a roadblock. ( I knew that this day was too good to be true!)  I have this infection that I have been dealing with since the beginning of the ride.  I have been trying to get rid of it and have alrady seen two doctors about it.  Yesterday I had to go to the clinic yet again in hopes of getting rid of this for once and for all.   

Wendy, a family friend in Winnipeg, Tory and I then went to a walk in clinic in the city.  We really wanted to get in and out of there quickly as Trevor, one of the police officers, was hosting a BBQ that we wanted to get to asap so we did not have time to sit around the waiting room.  I was so excited to be able to spend some more time with the police officers at the BBQ.  In addition, there was a family that would be there who is going to be receiving a wish from the Children’s Wish Foundation and I was evidently keen to meet them.   

So when the receptionists at the clinic told us that they were no longer taking patients, I explained the situation to them.  I went into detail about the ride and that it was important that I see a doctor and that it would only take a few minutes.  The heartless ladies refused to allow me in.  I was really irritated.  The receptionist then referred us to another clinic down the road that would be open later.  I asked her to get me on the phone with them in order to find out the wait time. 

I was then connected to the receptionist at the other clinic.  I asked her how long the wait would be and she responded with: “We do not give out estimated wait times since out doctor is really fast. But we do have 12 patients currently waiting.”  Just wonderful.  So I re-explained the whole situation to her.  I told her about the ride, the BBQ, the wish family to meet and everything else.  I told her that I would not normally ask to go ahead of anyone else but this was a bit of a situation.  She said there was no way that she would let me see the doctor ahead of the line. 

At this point I was really irritated.  Wendy and Tory were equally annoyed.  I then decided that we should go to this other clinic and chat with them in person and see what we could work out.  On the drive over there, I was thinking more about these receptionists and getting increasingly irritated. 

We went into the clinic and I approached one of the receptionists.  I asked her if I had just spoken to her on the phone and she said no.  I then explained the whole thing to her to see if she could kindly let me in really quick to see the doctor for two minutes.  I told her all about the ride for Children’s Wish, the BBQ, the wish family, etc.  She said: “You know, everyone in this waiting room has a story and there is nothing I can do for you.” 

That was it.  I had had it.  I fully lost it.  In quite a tone, I said to her: “Now you listen to me, I have been on my bike for three thousand kilometres to raise money for the Children’s Wish Foundation.  In case you do not know what that is, it is an organization that grants wishes to children wish high-risk, life threatening illnesses.  (At this point, I start crying and getting all out of sorts.)  I have this infection that I need looked after and it will only take two minutes.   If you have a heart at all, you will let me into see the doctor RIGHT NOW. 

The waiting room went silent and all 20-30 people in there shockingly stared at me as I stood there, in my bike gear, covered in grease and salt, crying to this receptionist.  She finally caved and into the clinic we went.   I have no idea why I got so worked up but it made me really emotional to think that no one could have a little compassion and understand that this was a bit of a situation. 

Anyway, the meltdown was over and we saw the doctor, got the prescription, and finally carried on with the day. 

We headed to the BBQ which was absolutely amazing.  It was great to spend some more time with the riders and it was wonderful to meet the family who is in the process of receiving a wish.  It really makes the whole trip feel rewarding when a personal connection is established. 

The police officers then surprised me with a generous donation for the Children’s Wish Foundation and some other little goodies including a tub of my favourite recovery drink courtesy of a local bike shop called Alter Ego.   We enjoyed an evening of great company, wonderful food and brilliant hot weather. Thank you to everyone for such a special day in Winnipeg.

The past couple of days have been great.  We were sad to leave Moosomin since we met two wonderful ladies there who helped us out so much.  Thank you Cindy and Laurie for hosting us, feeding us, helping us to raise money and filling up the van (aka gas guzzler).   

From Moosomin, I rode to Brandon, Manitoba.    We stayed there last night with a friend of mine from work.  She is another sales rep at Cadbury.  We had a great BBQ and enjoyed the evening chillin out on the deck and catching up. 

This morning we headed to Portage la Prairie which was about 120km.  I made record time since the wind was howling from the west.  If only this was the case everyday!

Tory and I are sad to be missing the stampede in Calgary so hopefully all of you Calgarians are enjoying those festivities!!!  You’ll have to do a little two steppin’ for us!

Last night, Wanda, the lady who was hosting us in Regina, called a hotel in Moosomin to see if we could get a night’s stay so we wouldn’t have to sleep in the van.  It turns out that every hotel, motel and B&B in Moosomin were booked because of the construction crews in town working on the highway.  However, Laurie, the hotel manager told Wanda that we could stay at her friend’s place since she has an extra room and occasionally takes in overflow guests from the hotel. 

We were thrilled to have a place to sleep and shower.   We arrived in town and were excitedly greeted by Laurie and her friend Cindy who is hosting us here.  We had no idea but this afternoon they canvassed local businesses and managed to get us donations for dinner, breakfast, a tank of gas and close to $800.  All in 4 hours! What an amazing surprise.  The people of Moosomin really know how to make things happen.  They also organized to have the newspaper people greet us and we will be in Monday’s paper.

This was particularly lovely since today was a really long ride that seemed to go on forever! I don’t know what it was about today but it felt like the ride was going on and on and on and on.  It was about 230km and I must have seen 10 – 20 snakes on the side of the road.  They are everywhere!

When I met Tory in Whitewood, our last stop before Moosomin, Tory was in a real state.  I inquired about what was going on and she went off about our luck with electronics which has been really poor so far on the trip.  To date we have had the following electronic breakdowns (brand new electronics): ipod, power adaptor, another power adaptor, computer, computer plug and camera.  Then today the FM transmitter for the ipod that allows Tory to listen to her ipod in the van broke! Tory now has no way to listen to music and for a lot of the drive there are few to no radio stations.  She is really annoyed.  We are going to have to get a new one sooner than later!

Tomorrow morning we are going to have our breakfast which is being donated by a local restaurant and then head to Brandon, MB.   This is our last night is Saskatchewan!