Day 0: Calm before the storm

I'm nervous, but like I've never been before. My stomach is full of steak, butterflies and anticipation. My head keeps thinking of 'little things I probably forgot' so that I don't have to think about the 'big thing which is impossible to ignore'. My heart's been beating faster all day as I try to hide my excitement. My muscles ache from the week of training behind me, but my thoughts know that it was nothing compared to the week ahead of me.

Or the week after that, or the week after that, or the week after that...you get the idea.

But I'm as ready as I'll ever be.

I had a fantastic dinner with my family tonight, and then loaded up the bike (who, in the past week has been dubbed with the name Gladys; even though I'm not touching trains and going nowhere near Georgia). I figured before I head out, I should probably take a rip around the neighbourhood.

I'm guessing the bags fully loaded likely added 20-30kg, but the only indicator I could really notice for the extra weight was the extra compression in my rear tire (pay attention, because I'm sure I'll curse this later with flat tire after flat tire). I was easily able to keep up my target speed (see right) on flat ground.

Of course, I'm never one to simply leave well enough alone. After keeping a steady 25km/h pace around the block I cranked 'er up and tried to see how fast I could get going on flat ground.

Let's just say if there were any police around, I could have been given a ticket. I'm still a touch afraid of what she'll do on a nice downslope.

So now, I write my final post before the cycle begins from the comfort of my sister's house in Calgary. It's hard to believe that just 12 days ago I was frantically packing my life up in Oxford, and that in the past week and a half I've been in 5 different cities, crossed an ocean, cycled over 400km in training and eaten enough beef to make a herd of cattle nervous.

The last thing I want to mention was a nice touch I had from Thursday and a great reminder of why I'm glad to be back in Canada. Anthony at Primal Screen was kind enough to print my cycling shirts in exchange for a small logo, but for him, apparently this wasn't a good enough deed. In addition to doing an amazing job on the cycling shirts I'll have for the trip, Anthony also printed me a fantastic hooded sweatshirt and gave me a really cool Primal Screen shirt. I realize that it may not have been much of an inconvenience to him, but I truly appreciated the extra effort and am very glad to have had a chance to work with Anthony. Thanks again!!

Now I lay me down to rest

I pray my bike be at it's best

If it shall hold for 6 weeks straight

I know my journey will be great

http://www.prairiepedal.com/

It's a Jungle out there

I had a fantastic lunch today with Carol Westberg and Jim Hunter. Carol is a member of the Southern Alberta Myeloma Support group and is currently organizing a 5/8km fundraiser for the group. Conveniently, this run is to occur on August 1st in Calgary, which coincides with the start of my ride. As such, my whole family will be out for the run and after running the course alongside many others out to help the fight against myeloma, I'll hop on my bike and be on my way.

If you're in the Calgary area on August 1st, please come out and join the Multiple Miles for Myeloma fundraiser and help see me off on my big journey!

Jim Hunter is a local athletic trainer, motivational speaker, and host of his own radio show on FAN960. Known to many as 'Jungle Jim', he was one of the original "Crazy Canucks" who won Canada an Olympic bronze in 1972 and spent most of the 70's as an amateur and professional downhill skier.

Jim, Carol and I met today to discuss my ride, the walk/run next weekend, multiple myeloma, and health in general. Jim was incredibly insightful and offered a number of very useful tips for me on the road. In addition, he has been very gracious in offering me a quick slot on his weekly show on the Fan960. Every Saturday morning from 9-11am (MDT), Jim hosts a program about young athletes training for the Olympics.

While I have no delusions that I'll ever be well trained enough to be an Olympian, I will be updating Jim on the progress of my ride each week from the road. Starting tomorrow (July 25) at 9am (MDT), tune into the Fan960 in Calgary to hear Jim and I talking about the Prairie Pedal and the adventures which lie ahead!

And lastly, my chariot has arrived!! I need to give a huge thank you to Peter Vallance and everyone at Rocky Mountain Bicycles. They have graciously provided me with a Sherpa 10 at cost and helped me with one of the most essential parts of my journey! I've now got the week ahead to gather all the accessories I need and make sure I still remember how to ride!!

Say Uncle!!

A new era of inherent responsibility is now upon me (however thankfully, not that much) as I am crowned with the novel title of 'Uncle.' Elaina Zoe Schindel was born on July 10, 2009 to Morgan and Brie Schindel.

The whole family is heading out to Lethbridge as I type this (ok, maybe not RIGHT now, it's 2am back home) to shower the new one (and the exhausted mom) in love and servitude. As though I wasn't already itching enough to get home, here is one more massive motivating factor.

Welcome to the world, Elaina!! You're going to make it difficult for me to hop on a bike and ride away.

Turn and cough

I'd be a fool to attempt to cycle this distance without first consulting a medical professional (although, the doctor thought I was a fool for doing this). Given that it's been just over half a year since I broke my left ankle, I had some mild concerns about possibly having bitten off more than I could chew. As such, I took a trip down to the Summertown Health Clinic in Oxford today to get a checkup. It had been quite a while since my last and I had some important questions to ask:

-How would my ankle hold up to such stress?
-What kind of diet do I need to be keeping up with?
-How much water do I need to drink on the road?
-How can I trick my body into thinking this is a good thing?

I met with Dr. Becker for a while and she was a huge help. Once she had finished laughing after I explained what I was doing, she approached the situation logically and started to walk me through the concerns I would need to deal with. She was glad I asked the questions that I did; it proved that I had thought this through and knew what I was talking about.

The ankle is apparently healing quite nicely. It is still abnormally shaped, but can take a year or two before the bone has worn down to the right shape & size. However, the movement seems to be correct and I have nearly my full range of motion back. She said that while it has healed nicely, it would likely give me a bit of trouble on the road, simply because of the fact that it wouldn't be used to long periods of exertion. Her suggestions were a good supply of ibuprofen and ice packs for if it gets swollen, but otherwise, just to not overdo it.

Me... overdo it?

Her dietary information was perhaps the most useful thing I took away from our meeting. She confirmed the calculations I did which will have me eating around 6000 calories per day (compared to a usual 2500). I knew that a great deal of my diet had to be carbohydrates to keep my body energized, however she specified the importance of 'slow carbs' (whole wheat, oats) over 'fast carbs' (white bread, rice, etc) in keeping my body energized for long periods of time. Regarding water, given that I seemed prepared, her biggest conern was actually with OVER-hydration, not dehydration. I need to ensure that I keep my salt levels up, since I will be losing a great deal of salts through the amount I will sweat.

The nice part was that she agreed that no matter how hard I try, I'm almost guarunteed to lose 5-20kgs on this trip. It was pretty much my carte blanche to eat the most unhealthy, disgusting meals that I want while on this trip.

My last question to her, I said with as straight a face as possible, in hopes of getting an honest answer, as it was actually a serious question. "How crazy is this idea."

No matter how stern my resolve, she couldn't help but laugh and reply, "As long as you're smart about things, your body should be ok... but I wouldn't want to be your bottom for the next couple of months."

1 Month to go!!

First, Happy Canada Day!! I wish I were home right now to be able to revel in the festivities and run around proudly donning a flag on my back. Alas... I'm off to work.

Secondly, we're now just 1 month away from the start of this big journey! I have to send a huge thank you out to everyone who has been kind enough to donate so far; be sure to encourage your friends to come check out the website as well!

With one month to go, things have become incredibly busy, but it is all slowly coming together. We're in the process of securing some corporate sponsorship, which should provide a nice boost. In addition, I'm attempting to coordinate with people in the major cities on my route to get some local events going. It's proving tricky, however I am meeting some wonderful and helpful people who are very supportive of the campaign.

Only 1 month left!! All of your support is hugely appreciated, so let's keep this ball rolling!