An encouraging poll result about the attitudes of Canadians in general. Now, if only we can get the politicians to pay more attention!!!

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2007/08/10/aids-survey.html

Here's another story showing how the fight against AIDS demands all of our best efforts:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070811/aids_fight_070811/20070811?hub=Health

Chris went to Winnipeg; Ryan and Christine went all the way to Ottawa.

Thanks for the pictures, Christine!

All photos by Nicole Lamothe. Thanks Nicole!

Happy Belated Canada Day! It has been a long time since the last blog post, but that is just because there has been so much activity in the last little while. I made it back from Winnipeg on the 12th of June, and when I got to work I found out that my co-riders for the St. Catherine's to Ottawa trip, Megan Horrell and Nicole Lamothe, had planned a whole slate of activities for the two weeks prior to departure. We had 2 bbqs, one bake sale, and a sundae day!!! These events raised quite a bit of money, thanks largely to the generosity of friends and our co-workers at U of O Career Services and SASS. Thanks to everyone!

The St. Cat's to Ottawa trip was a lot of fun too. I rode with my sister Aline, who is 15, on a tandem bike, and Megan and Nicole travelled on conventional bikes. We saw so much in the nice weather, which was interrupted only briefly by downpours of rain and hail. Oh well, that's part of the adventure.

I will have a more thorough account of this trip, and lots of pictures from various Spokes rides so far, very shortly. For now, have a great start to the week!

Chris

It has been a long time since our last entry, because we have had bad luck finding libraries and internet cafes lately. We have covered quite a bit of distance though, as you can tell! We are now most of the way through Alberta, and will be heading into Saskatchewan later today.

In Nelson, we took an extra day off because we liked the town, and it was also quite rainy. On the recommendation of a hostel worker, I climbed up to Pulpit Rock, which overlooks the town. It didn't take long, but it provided an amazing bird's-eye view, which was worthwhile even though I got soaked!

Back at the hostel, I joined Christine and Ryan for a game of Trivial Pursuit, and then we went to play pool and meet some of the locals. This was fun, and we also spoke to some visitors from Idaho.

The next morning, we took off for the Balfour Ferry, about 35 km away. On board, it was so windy that I thought my glasses would blow off, and I had to hold them on as I looked at the snowy mountains and the wild whitecaps of Kootenay Lake. Once we reached the other side, we started down the quiet, tree-lined road that leads down the lake all the way to Creston. Stopping often to take pictures, we still made good progress, and reached that town, famous as the source of Kokanee beer, shortly after nightfall.

The next morning, Christine and Ryan made the obligatory tour of the brewery, from which I abstained, having seen it the year before. Because it was 9:30 in the morning, and there was no one else visiting the brewery, they were given a private tour! We then struck out for Creston along a highway stretch which, while it had its share of hills, seemed like a piece of cake after some of the days we'd had. 

The next day's trip from Cranbrook to Fernie was even easier, although we passed through much more spectacular scenery along the Elk River. As you travel highway 3 through that stretch, it always looks as though you will have to make a huge climb to traverse the looming hills, but, to our relief, the road always deviously wound its way through.

In Fernie, we stayed at the home of some friends whom I'd met on last year's trek. Fernie is a beautiful town with a rich and interesting history, and the natural beauty is unsurpassed. In these great surroundings, we enjoyed the comforts of home and the hospitality of our friends, and in the morning we felt energised once again, knowing that we were embarking on our last day of mountain riding.

It was very exciting to reach the Crowsnest Pass, and the Alberta border. Reading plaques by the roadside, we were reminded of the explorers who first blazed trails through passes such as this. It makes our whole journey seem so easy when it is compared to those travelers, who braved the uncharted wilds and swarms of mosquitoes as they found their way through.

We have been fortunate to receive some donations along the road, including 20 dollars from a woman in Lethbridge who has had two friends die of AIDS in that area. Once again, I am reminded that AIDS is not just a problem of faraway countries or large cities, but reaches everywhere.

For the past two days, we have been travelling on the seemingly endless ribbon of highway that stretches across the green, gently undulating landscape of southern Alberta. Because of the wide shoulder of the highway, we can relax and enjoy the sights, as well as look at the wide variety of cargo on the passing trucks: gigantic tires, spools of cable, farm equipment, and even other trucks!

The weather has been in the high 20s or low 30s most of the time, but the breeze provides some relief. We have been laughing at the tattoo-like tan patterns that we have developped from our consistent exposure to the sun! Of course, we are being very generous with the sunscreen!

We made it to Nelson today, and are having a relaxing evening here before a longer ride to Creston tomorrow. After Midway, we went down into Washington State for a couple of hours to make our way around a mountain on the way to Grand Forks. It was a very pleasant road along the riverside, and provided us with some rest, because it was flat!

As soon as we got back to B.C., however, we climbed a hill, and this trend continued the next day: we had to climb to the Paulson Summit, at an elevation of 1535 metres. It took us most of the day, and we were ready for a good rest once we arrived at Castlegar. Although it was an exhausting ride up, we appreciated the magnificent views of the snow-capped mountains all around. Pictures really cannot convey the sight!

Good-bye for now!

Chris

We have had some interesting days of biking, including snow in the Coquihalla Canyon, which meant that we had to walk our bikes for several kilometres! However, our spirits remained high because we got to camp in some gorgeous locations along the trail in that area.

As we followed the trail through the snowy canyon, we noticed that there were many mountain lion tracks on the ground. They appeared to be a couple of days old, but we reassured ourselves by singing some songs and generally making lots of noise. 

Besides this evidence of wildlife, we have seen many other creatures, especially birds: bright red hummingbirds diving in their mating aerobatics, bluebirds speeding ahead of us, and eagles soaring high above the fields, looking for food!

We made stops in Princeton, Summerland, and Kelowna, where we spent the night at the hostel. We are now in Midway, which is mile 0 of the Kettle Valley Railway. We will travel through the U.S. for part of the day, in order to go around a hill, and we hope to reach Grand Forks by this evening!

Just a reminder: on June 27, a contingent of Speak With Spokes riders will leave St. Catherine's. We will reach Ottawa on Canada Day, hopefully with time to spare so that we can enjoy the festivities in the nation's capital! If you are interested in participating in this shorter ride, or a section of it, please e-mail chris@speakwithspokes.org.

Thanks again for all the support and donations we have received so far!

Hello! We have made it to Hope, after a couple of great days of biking. On the first day, we went out of Vancouver via Simon Fraser University. On the way down from the campus, on the aptly named Cardiac Hill, Christine took a tumble, but got back up very quickly, and, with a few bandages, got back on the bike. Then it was on through Port Moody, where we were impressed with the cycling infrastructure: crossing buttons placed out at the side of the road at intersections, excellent pedestrian and cycling bridges, and many dedicated bike lanes along road shoulders. 

After camping near Fort Langley, at Derby Reach, we set out for the Sumas Valley. Because the Matsqui Trail along the Fraser River was closed, due to work on the dykes to prevent flooding, we took mostly back roads. This was beneficial, because Ryan's back wheel was beginning to warp, and got worse as the day went on, despite our efforts with the truing wrench. We made it to Vedder Crossing, however, and found a bike shop, Jack's Cycle, where the wheel was replaced this morning. 

This morning, I also realised that my food pannier had been infiltrated by a rodent. I had stowed it away from our camp site to prevent bears from coming by in the night, but I sacrificed some bread in the process!

We decided to take a more direct route to Hope than originally planned: instead of taking the Chilliwack Highway to Chilliwack Lake, then following the trail across to Hope, as I did last year, we took Highway 1 to Hope directly. Though we were intimidated somewhat by our harrowing crossing of the highway the day before, we found that it was very good for riding, because of the wide shoulder. There were also many great views of the mountains. We will post some pictures soon! Tomorrow, we are starting on the old Kettle Valley Railroad route, through the Othello tunnels.

Thanks to all for the donations and support you have contributed so far!

-Chris

Well, it's time to go!!! May 15th is here already, and we are going to leave Vancouver, travel through Port Moody and Pitt Meadows, cross the Albion Ferry, and end up at Maple Ridge for the night. Christine and Ryan got here yesterday, but they have their bikes together and are ready for even more travelling. We are all very excited, and looking forward to a gorgeous, sunny day of cycling!

Talk to you later!

Chris



There are already blossoms everywhere in B.C.!