Day 11: No place like home

Of course, unlike Dorothy... I didn't have the option of simply banging my heels together 3 times. We last left you after spending a wonderful evening with Joanne and Genvieve at the Towler residence in Virden. This morning, Bev was still sleeping after working an exhausting late shift and Garth had to drive into Winnipeg. Fortunately, I might as well be their son, so I was left to man the house. I made breakfast and got the girls on the road, and then had the luxury of sitting around for a while. It was fantastic to travel with a couple of kindred spirits, and I hope they have a safe ride all the way home to New Brunswick.

Bev and I spent the morning catching up, and I did a small interview with the local Virden paper. Around 1:30, I decided that I should eventually get on the road, and head back to my little slice of heaven. If you're thinking for even a second that this was going to be a fairy-tale story, think again.

The wonderful tail-winds which had pushed me so far the previous two days had switched directions and I spent one of the most grueling days on the road yet. Although it was a mere 65km to the farm, I still felt worse after this day than I did after the 200km day with a wind at my back. It's rather amazing how much of a difference a little wind can make. I read somewhere that a cyclist could feel as much as 50% of the effect of a wind (meaning that even a 20km/h wind could slow my speed by 10km/hr) and today was a reminder of that effect.

Still, not even brimstone from the sky was going to slow me down today. Though the wind was merciless and the roads were rough (I took some backroads to get home) I knew the prize that waited at the end of the day. Though it may seem like nothing to you, this was the most glorious sight I could have asked for:

I hadn't been home since Christmas 2007. The last time I saw my dog, she was at least 15lbs lighter. The yard has new trees in it that I don't recognize, and old trees which I planted as a child which are bigger than I ever though possible (I sound like an old parent recalling when a kid was THIS big). Most of the farm equipment is gone after my family's farm auction in April. My dad had moved a shed from the bins over to the garden, since his retirement has got him focused more on the garden than the fields. The office doesn't have the same crappy desk I used to spend hours on end sitting at. They re-tiled the bathroom. My parents were even talking about remodeling my room.

And yet it felt like nothing... not a single bit had changed. This place was, is, and always will be... home. I must admit, things might get a bit awkward after my parents sell the place and I try to sleep in my old bed... but I'm sure the new family will be understanding.

Dad and I spent the afternoon catching up over a couple cold ones and mom arrived around 7pm with my Grandma from Dauphin. I was told that we have a BBQ planned for Saturday night which will involve more family than the Italian mob, and I can't wait to see everyone again.

So here I sit and type; one-third finished, met some of the most incredible people of my life, seen the prairies in a way I've never before and completely aware that my journey has really only just begun.

I couldn't be happier to be home, but I can't wait to hit the road again.

Ok... after my butt has a few days off.

http://www.prairiepedal.com/

Day 10: Friends in flat places

Well finally, after nearly 2 weeks on the road, I met some other cyclists. Sitting down for breakfast in Whitewood I stumbled upon two wonderful New Brunswickers named Joanne and Genvieve. They had been almost as unlucky as I meeting people on the road so we decided to join forces and head east together. We had a gorgeous day with a nice tail wind and a rare thing for me, pleasant conversation.

The day of course got that much better when I saw this sign:

Don't tell mom & dad but the insanity continued and I put in around another 170km day. I'm now in Virden staying with what might as well be my second family: the Towlers. Garth and Bev have been nice enough to put the 3 of us up for the night and after a great meal, we're sitting around catching up. I'll wake up tomorrow and enjoy my morning before a brief 75km jaunt down to the farm. As always, my personality was much more condusive to working hard today to relax tomorrow. Instead of 2 days off on the farm, I'll now have 3 days to enjoy family, food, and my old town Souris.

Joanne and Genvieve were a joy to travel with but tomorrow morning they'll be moving on toward Winnipeg and the rest of their journey. I on the other hand will be biking my sore butt straight to my own bed.

Oh, and no Mom & Dad, Garth did not come out and pick me up in the middle of the night... though I must say the offer was intriguing.

Day 9: I just forgot to stop

I started out today like most other days. After getting a fantastic sleep at Benton's house (thanks again!) I got on the road. I was even a bit later than usual starting since it was only 80km to regina. Somewhere along the way things apparently got confusing. I must have taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

I met up with a handful of people for lunch. Mona, who is trying to start a local support group organized a fantastic welcoming committee for me consisting of a couple of other patients: Ray, sharon and her husband David. In addition Karen, a patient from small town Ontario contacted me to let me know that her daughter was traveling out west and would likely cross paths with me. As such, her daughter Alison and her friends Cheryl, Sam and Jamie managed to join us for lunch.

The meal was a fantastic opportunity for us all to talk about everyone's treatments and how their lives had been with myeloma. I hope it was useful for Alison as well who's mother was just diagnosed a year ago. Personally, every story I hear gives me more and more confidence for my father to live a much longer, relatively healthy life. I no longer see myeloma as a disease which people are dying of; it is a disease which many must live with for the rest of their life.

After lunch, I was intending on staying with my friend Kari-Lyn in Regina. Unfortunately, she was out of town and not to be back until 10pm. This got me to thinking, which is always a dangerous thing. I had the wind at my back and a load of energy. I could take 4 days to get to my home town of Souris OR if I started pushing a bit harder, I could be in my own bed in 3 and have an extra day off.

You can figure out what my conclusion was but I'll put it this way: I've almost gone 200km today and I'm in Wolseley. It's nearly 7pm but I'm not quite done for the night.

I just keep forgetting to stop.

Day 8: Something I ate?

WeeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Above is the sound you might have heard while standing idly on the trans-Canada somewhere between Chaplin and Moose Jaw as I soared by. As you can see from the Trip Log I had a bit of energy today. I'm not sure if it was food, the nice day, a good sleep in the tent last night, or if I'm finally just getting into the zone, but I even surprised myself when I looked down to see that I had broken my bike's old speed record (60km/h!!).

The morning flew by, mostly because I was pedling like a madman and didn't focus on much else. I arrived into Moose Jaw around noon and was put in touch with Benton; a friend of Nathan's. I had a fantastic afternoon helping Benton and his friends haul their camper up to a nearby lake and setup. We got to enjoy some time under the hot sun and eventually, Benton and I drove back into Moose Jaw.

We made dinner and had a great conversation about traveling, and all the amazing places to see in the world. I thought I had some pretty incredible stories from my days of jetsetting, but Benton had suggestions of places to go to that I hadn't even thought existed.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Regina, where I'm hoping to meet with some members of the local support group. I don't think they realized how close I was to the city (I've been pedaling hard!) so I hope we have a chance to meet up! I was also contacted by the daughter of a patient in Ontario who is driving through and hoping to meet up on the road.

All I can say is that every person who sends me an email, honks on the trans-Canada or happens to meet me along the way makes my day that much better, so please, keep it coming!! The road is a beautiful thing and made that much better by the people you encounter along the journey.

www.prairiepedal.com

Day 7: So much salt

It seems that this is to be a trip of extremes. When times are bad, they're gonna really suck. However, when things are looking up, the world is my oyster. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and there was only a slight head wind, which was a change from the usual (seriously, I was under the impression that the wind blew east in this country). In fact, today went so well that I could have been found attempting to sing four part harmony to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsoedy. Boy did the truck drivers get a show today.

I traveled from Swift Current this morning to Chaplin: home of North Americas second largest salt lake. Chaplin however had much more to offer me other than simply salt. Upon arriving into this booming metropolis, i quickly learned that I would be privy to both a pool and an ice cream hut.
*insert appropriate dance here*

After spending the afternoon in the pool and treating myself to yet another skor blizzard, I took a seat near the local nature museum to write and reflect. I hadn't been there 5 minutes when suddenly Clint, a good friend of my brother in law, walked up and plunked down beside me. Initially I didn't even recognize him, partially because i hadn't seen him in ages and also partially because I was still in shock that someone I knew had coincidentally bumped into me on the road. He, his wife and their two kids were heading from Calgary out to visit family and friends in Winnipeg.

So, after a big greasy dinner, I write to you before setting up camp and dreaming of the gaping open mouth of a moose. Thanks again to Nathan and Michelle for putting me up in Swifty!! A warm bed and farmiliar faces always beats a cold tent and this guy Leonard, who I'm convinced is stalking me (kidding!).