2 pics to tide you over

Until we all get back together and merge pics from our cams.

We made it!

We finally have made it across the country! We're sorry for not updating more frequently in the past month. Not posting in awhile has made the idea of doing a picture upload or large post daunting. So we will be doing a large post when we get back into Calgary, instead of here on this little netbook.

 St. John's has been pretty amazing so far. We have met some fantastic people and been shown a great time. We definitely have some good stories to tell people when we get home.

Sitting outside the maritimes

Having breakfast with my two favorite travel companions. Okay, my only two travel companions. Looking out the window at our 7th province to conquer, New Brunswick! 6 provinces in 4 months. The last 4 in 2 weeks. No Problem. We took refuge in a motel last night to gain the strength for our last leg of the trip. Really I would call it a sprint. With no more days off till we hit Newfoundland we could be there by the end of the month. With the finish line almost so close I can taste it, about 1000 km's left, my wary legs have new vitality. The hills look less hilly, the road not quite as long and the air sweetened with the smell of the Atlantic.

One final advantage, crossing the bridge to N.B. also means we will once again be able to understand those around us. As well as, gain a little more information from the picture books, also known as "news papers", as English will once again become the dominant language.

With a look to the sky and hope for blue sky's and a tail wind, we ride.

Joe

The boys have made it to Montreal. The land of the flowing poutine, the smoked meat sandwhichs, where the consumption of beer in parcs is normal, and everywhere one looks...there are foxy foxy ladies....and of course me, the lil Jess! Yep these boys sure do smell. I wouldnt have it any other way. Being on the road for monthsssssss and stinking up my house with their stench..ya i get it. they are allowed to be smelly.  I strive to provide Joe with a smile on his face at all times, and following this i hope cody and bobby laughed lots too!  I hope this short wee visit has refreshed them and to give them that lil extra uuump to get back on the road and head east east east!   Now get the fuck outta here or as joe would say...gtfo.  

love ya guys thanks for the visit that was clearly waaaay too long and yous overstayed your visit....

 and for peoples who know me(Jess) and joe...there will be a fight to our deaths in 2 years. Joe has challenged me...and i will prevail and eat his heart....please stay tuned!

oh and mali says.....i woooooveeeeee wOOooOooOOOooooOos

To where we go and how we get there.

Your three intrepid heroes; C-Dog, B Money, and I, Joe Fresh, have planned our escape from Toronto. With a Patriotic eye cast at our nations capital, we set our tires for go. An apparent yellow brick road is yet again laid at our feet. The sand trails of the TCT keep echoing in my mind. Water Front Trail to La Route Verte is rumored to be a cyclists dream. With such a great ride behind us. Starting at Velorution, a unique bike shop with an emphasis on community, we sailed to TO. The rest of the almost 4000 km left in our journey East look quite promising. Crossing a province every few days will also be a great moral boost.

Once again, people continue to surprise us. After rolling in to Espanola far to late, we were stuck for a place to sleep and appealed to the local EMS unit for a spot in their back lot. Not a moment hesitation on their part and a gracious offer of water and toilet, really made our night. Thanks again Zach and Nick!

And a final, and huge, thank you to our host in " The Big Smoke", Bobbi Dedman! We feel recharged and ready to hit some more hills. 



Joe

Pics of Ontario so far

 

More Here , Here and Here

Currently in Sault Ste. Marie at an awesome place called Velorucion. Will post about it soon

Tunder Bay [sic]

We have been traveling in Ontario ( ie the center of the universe), for the past week. We have seen more and had more challenges than all of the prairies. With a hill every twenty feet, narrow shoulders seemingly at random and construction behind every turn, it has been exciting. After a much needed day off in Thunder Bay, we are preparing for bigger challenges to come. Evidently, all the hills we have been hitting haven't been big enough ( I think they have been). After hitting the half way mark across Canada, it has been easier to see the finish line. With such foresight we are able to re-think our gear. Leaving the uncertainty of B.C., and the bleakness of the plains, we can now discard most of the non essentials. A glorious day to be sure. Less weight also means less broken spokes, which I have busted two of already.
We start heading east again after our day off. I think I am going to enjoy cruising by the Lakes for the next while. Who knows, I might even get cell service again.

Joe

Half Way Or Bust...

We have passed the half way across Canada mark! Only a few.. thousand... kilometers left. On the bright side, cruising through the prairies has put us back on schedule. We are maybe an hour away from the Manitoba and Ontario border, and couldn't be happier. The plains, though flat, were quite boring. With that boredom came a few records for our trip. We passed the 150 km traveled in one day mark. Also, we reached 55 km/hr on flat ground (with a "slight" wind at our backs). As well as, most amount of water lost from extreme heat.
We would like to thank Simone, our lovely host in Winnipeg, who put us up for a couple of days so we could rest and get a few things fixed up. And with that a thank you to Christine for for putting us in contact with Simone and swinging by on her way to Ontario.
We are looking forward to Ontario. More hilsl, yes, but there will also be more scenery!

Joe

Some Pics and Milestones

Myra Canyon

The TCT messing with us

Pool in Osoyoos(we knew someone ;P)

Above Christina Lake on the TCT

Trail on the way to Castlegar

BC...finito!

Alberta Foothills

Joe+Alcohol+McDonald's

Enjoying the scenery in Saskatchewan

Stayed on some amazing people's property in Mortlach(read Bobby's earlier post)

Some pics and milestones from the last couple weeks. Might re size them later. We did a pic dump of Cody's and Bobby's camera. You can see them by clicking the links below

PICS(Cody)

 PICS(Bobby)

Confirmation That Love Is All Around

Over past couple of months there has been one recurring theme to me as myself and two close friends travel across this amazing country of ours. To me this theme is the inherent goodness of man (or woman if you want to get PC about it). I have personally never done much traveling outside of my Albertan bubble and had never really wanted to for that matter, not because I was ignorant to the rest of the world's existence but because I perceived myself to be happy enough in my day to day life that travel wasn't really necessary to look for something I hadn't realized I lost. After a lot of thinking time on this topic however (you have nothing but time to think when you ride a bicycle for 8 hours a day) I realized I had lost something in the dull routine of my particular day to day. I had lost my passion for exploration, my energy flow as it were, or as a very interesting group of people we met just the other day had put it, I had lost my synchronicity. Where for no reason at all a chain of events that may appear completely random as they are happening, are all conspiring together to lead you in a certain direction at just the appropriate time to meet a certain person or take you to a certain destination where your mind and heart start to expand to ingest this information and energy as it were to bring us to the realization of LOVE. This may sound cheesy and corny but there is not any other way I can describe the utter elation I feel when meeting these incredible people, listening to there stories of life and experience and sharing our own. Being in the moment and truly listening to what these people have to say, and almost feeling (even though you had just met this person) like you have known them all your life. Like catching up with an old friend you hadn't seen in years.