Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Day 4

Things are going great but I miss Emm and Nelly Furtado. Stu and I taught Sean some swing and performed it for the whole rally!

posted by Kevin @ 10:08 PM   0 comments

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Day 2/3

Well, I tried to publish a post from my cell phone on Day 1, but it didn't work so well, so I just posted it now. As you can see, it was short since I was typing it on my cell phone. The rally has been going great. Day 2 was our longest day, but we kept up a really good pace despite both having sore knees. Today, Day 3, our ride was even faster, since it was shorter and we had tailwinds. I'll post full distances and times for the rides after I return home.

Last night at camp it was annual Aloha Bingo night. I was rather disappointed that Miss Conception didn't come to be our host, but Justine Touch filled in and was quite entertaining. I found her comment on the foot-operated sinks in porta-potties very insightful: "Hands free tap! Where's the fucking soap?"

We're at the library at Queen's University at the moment, which is quite nice and air-conditioned. We've been in Kingston since about 11:15 am this morning, so that has given us time to shower, do laundry, get massages, and swing by Starbucks for some frappacinos. Tonight we have a team dinner at a nice restaurant, and then a local LGBT club is hosting a half-way party for us. It should be fun. I plan to get mildly tipsy, but I'll be sure to drink lots of water so that I'm ready for tomorrow.

That's all for now... see you later.

posted by Kevin @ 4:54 PM   0 comments

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Day 1

Day 1 has been great! We avoided rain and got Mars bars. Everyone has a smile on their face. Camping is fun so far.

posted by Kevin @ 9:53 PM   0 comments

Saturday, July 22, 2006

One More Sleep

Today was "Packing Day", the day where we load all of our gear (except what we'll have on our person as we bike out tomorrow) into our two rubbermaid totes before passing them on to the "roadies", who will move everything along in the pre-assigned trucks.

In just 12 hours, Kevin and I will be on our bikes, heading south on Yonge Street to the lake, where we head East along the lakeshore, and out of Toronto along Kingston Road. It's amazing to think that all of the preparation we've done is over, and that the adventure starts after just one more sleep.

All being well, we'll have some short updates along the way, but I know it's not going to be easy to post much while we're on the road. With Montreal just 600km away, the next week is likely going to fly by faster than we're prepared for, but it's going to be an incredible journey. I'm still humbled by the support so many people have shown us - it's been fantastic! I'm also a little amazed that I've come this far. Kevin and I started talking about the Rally as an idle thought last year, then put it into action by signing on board in February. Though tomorrow might be the start of our ride, it's really the end of a long lead-up. I'm excited, and looking forward to the ride. I feel like a kid at Christmas.

I just hope I sleep well...

posted by Anonymous @ 9:18 PM   0 comments

Friday, July 21, 2006

Spokes!

Thanks to everyone who bought spokes! They now decorate my front wheel with a lovely rainbow pattern. I forgot to set the camera to the highest quality, but you can still make out the names.

Just 2 more sleeps until we leave for Montreal! My bag is packed... *grin*

posted by Kevin @ 9:40 PM   0 comments

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Cycling Prince Edward Island

While I was on PEI to visit my family, I rented a bike and rode from St. Ann's to East Point, a 140 km trip. I had borrowed Dave's camera, so I have some photos to share with you. First, here is a bird's eye view of the route.

This is the Norco bike I rented from MacQueen's bike shop. It was actually a brand new bike, but for some bizarre reason they let me rent it, without so much as taking down my phone number or address. I suppose they had my credit card number, but it didn't seem as though they would have refused a cash payment.

I left just after 6 am, and I thought my sister Jeanne's house looked pretty in the morning light. I also snapped a shot of the bike loaded up with Gatorade.

Now and then I stopped to take photos of road signs, I guess to prove that I actually did the ride!

I couldn't resist taking a photo of the mist rising off the Hunter River.

Around 10 am or so, I arrived at my sister Paulette's house to take a half hour break. My nephew Emery also came out to do some biking with me.

Naufrage Harbour

I snapped quite a few photos at North Lake Harbour.

It wasn't until just now that I noticed some of the interesting names on the fishing boats! Next I arrived in the community of East Point...

But it wasn't until about 1:30 pm that I arrived at the actual geographical feature called East Point, where I took this picture of the lighthouse there.

East Point was a bit disappointing, because the cliff is so high and steep that there is no way to get down below. So I took one picture looking west along the north shore and then one of the actual eastern tip of the Island from on top of the cape.

And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed the photos. I certainly enjoy sharing them.

posted by Kevin @ 11:05 PM   0 comments

Sunday, July 16, 2006

The Bluffs

Way back in the beginning of May, Dave and I rode out to the Scarborough Bluffs. We took some photos that I'd been meaning to post, and here I am finally getting around to it in July!

On that ride, I had one of my many flats of the season. We found a little grassy area off of Kingston Road and I set to work.

After replacing the busted tube, I began to pump...

And pump...

And voila!

After fixing the flat, we continued on and arrived just before sunset, making for some nice lighting for photos.

posted by Kevin @ 2:10 PM   0 comments

One week

It's been a while since the last post on the blog, other than the training blog posts for Kevin and myself. Last night I was dreaming of the bike rally, and this morning when I awoke I realized that I was still excited about the thought of having finished our last training ride before we head out. While there was one more organized ride today, I decided I don't need the ride, and I do need to take care of some other things to prepare for next weekend.

With just one week before the departure ceremonies next Sunday (July 23rd), I can't help but feel the excitement building. After all of the training, I know I'm feeling very ready for the ride. I've already travelled over 1,600 km to prepare! While the 600 km journey to Montreal will be more condensed, I know that I can do it, and I also know that I've got the support of many people behind me.

I'm looking forward to our arrival in Kingston on day 3, with the promise of a real bed, and some free time in the afternoon. Montreal though, on Friday July 28th, will certainly be the highlight! With our boyfriends making the trip from Toronto to Montreal by car that day, it's going to be amazing to arrive in Montreal to celebrate our journey and share our celebration with them. Right now I can only imagine what it will feel like when we get there, but I know it's going to be great!

posted by Anonymous @ 1:34 PM   0 comments