Saturday 21 June 2014

Not Just Another Trans Canada Cyclist

On our last day into Thunder Bay we were passed by Clara Hughes who is an Olympian and pretty famous in Canada.  She is on a 100 day 12,000 km cycle across Canada to raise awareness of mental health issues.  Google her name and just see all what she has achieved. Impressive. 

Susan and I crested a hill to see one of her support vehicles a few hundred yards parked on the road shoulder ahead of us. Note: our only support vehicle is the trailer we haul along behind us.  

They might want to interview us I thought, maybe on TV.   Thinking fast as we cycled up to them I asked Susan the important question - 'do I have any breakfast still on my face'. 'No' she replied.  Good, thank goodness I didn't have any tomato sauce then.  'But you do look unshaven' she said (two days camping).  'That's okay' I replied, 'unshaven is a popular look'.  'Not for you, you just look like an old man who can't look after himself anymore'! 

Kelly from the support team didn't seem to mind my appearance and we all had a good chat about really interesting cycling stuff as well as bananas and mosquitos.  Unfortunately, the camera crew wasn't there. Then Clara arrived and cycled past.


'Where's our tailwind' she shouted.  Exactly what we were thinking Clara! 

I thought about cycling and catching up but by the time we got on the bike I couldn't see that far ahead.  So Susan and I settled down to our own personal battle against the hills and the wind.  
Posted by at

5 comments:

  1. Craig Coid21 June 2014 at 08:51

    Great storiesCliff Really enjoying your trip in a vicarious kind of way! any mechanicals on the bike yet?
    Cant believe you are at the halfway point if not further - on a map anyway!!
    Keep smiling on the hills....
    Craig

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Clif and Susan21 June 2014 at 11:47

      Glad you are enjoying the blog and thanks for keeping in touch. I'm crossing my fingers as I write this cause I don't want to tempt fate by saying that the bike has been fine. The two long chains need regular maintenance to keep them running smoothly and I have had to replace a couple of links. Apart from that just the usual tightening up of bolts and lubrication. Went through the tyres pretty quickly but it's a heavy load so I'm not surprised. Oh we do smile on the hills but at the top :)

      Delete
  2. Rob Black24 June 2014 at 12:10

    Hi Clif and Susan, Good to read that you are still making fab progress. Lots of great photos, Clif - keep up the snapping. You're almost half-way across, no? I hope you suitably celebrated the milestone. A glut of pancakes and maple syrup, perhaps.

    One question: in your pics, you always have your cycle helmets on. Have these been surgically attached, and do you even sleep with them on?

    All OK here. Summer's arrived, it was 23 degC here last week, and England are out of the World Cup after just two games - a typical World Cup summer. Craig's also been spotted cutting your front lawn. All the best - and keep pedalling, RMFCM @ 58 HVT.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Clif and Susan25 June 2014 at 02:51

      Yes we are more than half way now but we don't know where half way actually was. It will depend on the route we take after Toronto. Our cycle helmets are never really off during the day. One advantage is that they we cover them in bug repellent which is useful when much of Canada is water and trees. Also if I were to ask Susan to take off her cycle helmet for a picture she would take ages to brush out her helmet hair! Whilst I waited the bugs would descend. See the problem :)

      Delete
    2. Clif and Susan25 June 2014 at 02:53

      Ps thanks for the update on the grass. Susan was worried that the postman might not be able to see the front door!

      Delete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)