Trip Update: Changes and Progress
Todd’s plans may have changed a little bit but one thing is certain: Big adventures will be coming starting December 1. Continue reading Trip Update: Changes and Progress
Tag: Bike touring
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Things People Drive (ride, pilot or captain)
In about 2010 we were all living closer to the centre of the city. The easiest way for me to get places was to take my bicycle. Unfortunately, though, that meant leaving my 9 year old son at home as … Continue reading Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Things People Drive (ride, pilot or captain)
Which Way Photo Challenge: Crossing Lake Champlain
The word that jumped out at me was “Ferry” this week. Perhaps because I didn’t do a long bike ride this summer, but I instantly thought of last summer’s bike trip from Montreal, down through New York state, across Vermont, and then back north to Quebec and across to Montreal. To get from Plattsburgh, New York to Vermont we had to cross Lake Champlain. This required that we use two ferries. Continue reading Which Way Photo Challenge: Crossing Lake Champlain
500 Kindnesses Ride Day 5: Passing Through Cottage Country
In 2012, Daegan and I embarked on our longest ever bicycle tour: 500 Kindnesses. This project was treated like a charity bicycle ride in that we asked for “sponsors” to support us. But instead of sending money to a charity … Continue reading 500 Kindnesses Ride Day 5: Passing Through Cottage Country
Summer 2017 Ride by the Numbers
We’re back in Montreal and so it’s time to look back on this trip in terms of numbers: Kilometres ridden: 550 (Approximately the distance from New York City to Pittsburgh) Shortest Riding Day: 47.9 km (Yesterday) Longest Riding Day: 162.1 km (Saturday) Tire Revolutions: 252294 Metres climbed: 4394 – about 8 CN Towers Number of flats: 0 Number of times our bikes needed a full washdown: 1 Overnight Stop Locations: 5 Times Google sent us on another sketchy route: 3 Number of International Border Crossings: 2 Number of US States visited: 2 Number of Canadian provinces visited 1 Number of potential … Continue reading Summer 2017 Ride by the Numbers
Ride Day 5 – or was it 5, 6, and 7?
The time had come, or maybe it was overdue for us to go back home to Canada. We started our day off with the hotel’s continental breakfast – pretty limited for fueling what would be the longest day of any tour I’d ever done. I had four slices of peanut butter toast and then a bagel with some more peanut butter besides and washed it down with lots of coffee. Fueled up, we got on our bikes and headed out in to one of the most perfect days for cycling we’d yet experienced. Moderate temperatures, light wind, and dazzlingly beautiful … Continue reading Ride Day 5 – or was it 5, 6, and 7?
Rest day and Day 4
With rain in the forecast, we decided to spend a rest day in Morrisville, a delightful little town. It would need to start with breakfast and coffee, of course and so off we went in search of some. Not far from where we were staying we found El Toro, one of two Mexican restaurants in this tiny town. I ordered one of my favourites from back when we lived in New Mexico: A breakfast burrito smothered in red chile. It was as good as I remember it: stuffed with eggs, home fries, and chorizo it was a little carbohydrate and … Continue reading Rest day and Day 4
Ride Day 3: The Climbing Begins
We woke up early Wednesday to find our host had already left (but left coffee on for us). The great news for us was that he had left to go pick up things for breakfast. And so Daegan and I loaded up on bagels, eggs, and bacon in preparation for our ride. We packed our bags (with freshly done laundry), oiled our chains (the previous day’s hose-down had removed much of the lubricant along with the mud) and loaded our panniers. Before long we were off with stunning weather to take us along. After a little bit of a ride, … Continue reading Ride Day 3: The Climbing Begins
Riding Day Two – Plattsburgh to Vermont
A few hours after we arrived in Plattsburgh, the rain joined us there and we spent most of the day relaxing and watching bad TV in the hotel room with a quick outing in the middle of the day to break things up. The next morning we woke up and wouldn’t you know it, it was still pouring. But our time was limited and really, the attractiveness of “Staying in a Holiday Inn in the suburbs next to the interstate” is extremely limited. And so we went down to have breakfast and resolved to get on the road by 9 … Continue reading Riding Day Two – Plattsburgh to Vermont
Terrific Tuesday – 500 Kindnesses Anniversary
I didn’t realize it until google photos reminded me but today was the 5th anniversary of the end of the 500 Kindnesses Ride. What was this? Daegan, then 13 and I did a ride together to promote the idea of doing random acts of kindness. We treated it like a fundraising ride but instead of asking people to give money, we asked them to do something nice for someone. We would ride from Toronto to New York City – both cities with reputations as cities filled with unkind and irritable people. It was pretty successful and changed my own attitude … Continue reading Terrific Tuesday – 500 Kindnesses Anniversary
Go Outside Today 