It Begins!

It was a whirlwind 48 hours to get to Vancouver. Packing for the first time, then repacking a couple more times to make everything fit. A hellish sleep deprived road trip to Van city, yet still better then the Grey Hound, and a lovely visit with the elder Parks. We have arrived! A few meet and greets with friends, friends of friends, and strangers to get out of the way before we head to the Island. We have a couple of items to sort out today and tomorrow. Minor things like: What we are going to eat, a general plan for traversing the Island, and some adjustments to the bikes to make them perfect for riding a few thousand kilometers. All and all we are better set then expected, though tensions are increasing.

Next stop the race track to see if we can fund this adventure.

A huge THANK YOU!

The amount of support we have received so far has been amazing. At first we started off thinking that it would be cool to get a few donations but, we have already gone beyond anything we expected and we haven't even left yet. You guys are amazing. We honestly have to spend quite a bit of time updating our donation list. Something we didn't anticipate having to do. Our friends, family and coworkers(friends :P) are amazing people and it is a huge privilege to know you.

On a side note, we are almost completely set for the trip. There are a few odds and ends to grab and 3 days to get them. Shouldn't be too difficult, right?

Less than a week away. Freaking out starts now! All questions and second guessing are swirling around in my mind. Do i have everything? did i forget this? that? Am i prepared? The answer is i don't know. But it's exciting and terrifying and it is going to be an amazing journey and experience. The preverbial clock is ticking. Tick, tock, tick, tock.

My Very First Post

I guess I should start with something simple like hi, my name is Bobby. Now it's taken me a little longer to grasp the concept of this thing called a "blog", perhaps you have heard of it? I know I had heard of them but i didn't ever really see myself as the blogging type. I just wanted to ride bikes! Now I'm not very tech savvy, but I realize that there may be some people out there who are genuinely interested and sympathetic towards our cause and our goal to "ride bikes" all the way across our great land. It's thrilling, terrifying, and absolutely the craziest thing I have ever done! I cant wait, look forward to more posts from me much more frequently now that I have found the "on" button to this new fangled machine.

Each day is a new revolution

The bike ride to work each day keeps getting shorter. Or so it seems. When I get to my destination I want to keep going. I'm taking this as a good sign. Luckily there is a small cycling group that I team up with each morning. Some are leisurely and some are speed demons. A great mix. Today we cooked it. I got a good taste of how out of shape I am in. As we get closer to the end of work and closer to our leave date I find it harder and harder to stay focused on anything other than this trip.

A big thanks to Cody for covering the technical part of this website and getting us linked up with the Canadian Cancer Society. The site looks sweet and running smooooooth. Thank you to everyone who has given us donations and we look forward to seeing more come in. This adventure is getting more steam then I ever thought it could. If anyone would like more information please contact us at lifeonarim@gmail.com.


Joe

Reach For a Cure

We just changed our main method of gathering donations from CanadaHelps.org to Reach For a Cure. A program run by the Canadian Cancer Society. We also went ahead and got ourselves endorsed. This should add a lot more legitimacy to our fundraising efforts. If you wish to donate please click the Donate link at the top of the page.

14 days and counting!

We are 14 days out from our leave date for the west coast. Very exciting. Lots of support has been coming in and we are very appreciative for it. I just wanted to mention that we are also on Twitter. You can find us at lifeonarim. Also, I have signed up at warmshowers.org. I think this would be an amazing way to experience Canada, by learning from the locals, and cutting costs, especially in the bigger cities. So if there are any interested parties please drop us a line!

~Joe~~

A beginning

Donation have started coming in. Very exciting! We are looking into getting a counter up and running. It's funny what you don't think of till it's thrown in your face. Every new thing added makes this trip that much more of a reality for me.

I read a a quote today that really summarizes the mentality of this trip for me. " Life starts at the end of your comfort zone". With most of time spent on the road and just off in tents. We will definitely be out of our comfort zone. What better way to honor all the people we have lost and/or are now suffering with cancer then to attempt to live life to it's fullest. Though we haven't left yet, I am going to try and challenge myself in my daily routine.

The Challenge Begins!

~Joe~

Joyful Soreness

I have been biking to work regularly. In an attempt to break in my brooks saddle ( seat). I was surprised the first time I hopped on my new bike how comfortable the saddle actually is. A few klicks still have to be put on to get the seat sculpted to my butt. When it is though, I will be riding in luxury.

The Bikes!!!

We all had our bikes together so we decided to bring them out and snap a couple quick pics. Of course the urge to get on them kicked in and we went for a quick spin to get the feel for them. It was the first time Joe and Bobby had been out on their LHTs and the smile on their faces was awesome to see. It's amazing how a bike can instill that kind of feeling in people.

Their bikes are largely complete and trip ready, unfortunately I have a lot to do with my Masi CX. I crashed it awhile ago and it left the front wheel warped. It also broke my front brifter, so I have to get that dealt with. I'm thinking of switching over to bar end shifters and throwing a triple crankset on. Also, getting a Brooks saddle for good measure.

Anyways, figured we would give you an update, everything is coming along great. More Pics Here