Get Smart. Get Active. Tour 2008

I made it; I have arrived in our nations capital in good shape and ready for the rest of my trip. My arrival marks the 4,660 km mark on my trip, which puts me a mere 2,895 km away from my goal. Under a month of ridding stands between me and dipping my tire in the Atlantic.

Before I can think about that though I must get across my exciting ride into Ottawa today. The day started with a presentation at the Nick Smith Center in Arnprior this morning. I would like to congratulate them on such a wonderful facility. The students that came out were a great crowd and had a lot of good questions for me.

There is an answer to one question that continues to worry me. When asked if they are active for an hour per day, most of the students I talk to across the country put up their hand and assure me that they are more than active enough. Only when I actually talk to them one on one and get them to describe their day to be do I discover the truth. Whether it is a lack of understanding, or a lack of proper instruction on what it means to be active, the many of the students I have met have badly distorted views. This only serves to strengthen the need for proper physical education programs.

Arnprior is making a valiant effort to bring in more youth programs. The Nick Smith Center has taken on a full time youth coordinator, and simply having people like me in to talk show their commitment to healthy children. They cannot do it on their own though; they, like everyone else trying to organize these programs, need the support of their major and town councils as well as their communities.

After the presentation it was off to Ottawa, home of CAHPERD. The ride was great, the sun was shining and the wind was blowing from the west. One of my first tail winds of the trip brought me into the capital at over 40 km per hour. I made only one mistake in not realizing that the highway into Ottawa is a no biking freeway. The local OPP was more than happy to steer my right though, in no time at all I had a new course and I was on my way again. The new path wasn’t quite as direct so I spent the next hour on a biking tour of the outskirts of Ottawa, stopping every once in a while to check my map.

I arrived at the CAHPERD office at just after one and spent the rest of the afternoon meeting everyone that has helped to make this trip possible, together with everyone from CAHPERD that are in town for the AGM. We have a get-together tonight and then the event on the hill tomorrow!

Anybody in Ottawa tomorrow, come on out to Parliament hill around 1:00pm and join in the festivities.

Activity tip: If you find yourself feeling tired during the day or always needing naps, try swapping out a nap for a bit of exercise. You may find that after a while you have more energy throughout the day and are able to get more out of your days.

Sincerely,

Tyler

In the last three days I have officially rode 419 km, and I am beat! Actually I lie, I cheated little and I drove about 30 km, but my overwhelming desire not to fall asleep on my bike and ride into the ditch overpowered my drive to ride the entire distance. As much as I tell myself that I am superhuman, there are times when I must admit my mortality.

As it is I think it was the simple drawing desire to reach Ottawa that kept me going as long as I did. Sometimes I don’t know what keeps me going, because every part of my being will be telling me to stop and yet my legs just don’t seem to stop. Part of the daily drive is the sense of accomplishment that comes at the top of every hill and the end of a long day. As I come into my final stop I get a smile across my face, throw my head back, take a big breath, and all the pains of the day just wash away.

We had our closest thing to a disaster yesterday, it wasn’t actually anything bad but it did cause a lot of worry. My mom and I had got our wires crossed on where we were meeting for lunch and missed her as I passed, so she didn’t know where I was. Then to complicate matters, when she drove ahead to see if I had passed her she didn’t go far enough to catch up with me. So, being a mother she pictured the worst and immediately rushed to the Police to see if they had any reports of bikers being run down by crazed truck drivers. Long-story-short, I ended up riding for three and a half hours straight, and there is now a Police report under my name, asking The OPP to keep their eyes out for me. Everything worked out fine though, and my mom found me sitting quite comfortably on the side of the road, waiting for her to catch up.

I guess the last thing of great importance to report its that we have finally hit the bugs! The great benefit to the cold weather was that the bugs have not been as big an issue as I thought they would be, but that has all changed as of yesterday. They still don’t bother me very much when I am biking; most of them blow by in the wind and I don’t even notice the couple that manage to latch on. They only become a big issue at night; we stopped in a park last night that was in dense forest, and I think there was actually a solid wall of bugs when we went outside. They seem to be attracted to my mom and the back of her neck is just on big bite at this point.

I have been having trouble posting my pictures that last little while, so I apologize for the lack of photo proof of my journey. I will try again today, so keep looking the pictures are coming (I hope!).

Activity tip: Talk to you boss. More and more businesses are recognizing the benefits of having an active staff and are offering exercise benefits. If your workplace is behind the times then point out some of the benefits to having a happier, more productive workforce.

Sincerely,

Tyler

After a lovely week pretending I’m on vacation it was time to get back to the trip. We woke up at 5 o’clock this morning to drive the two hours back to Sudbury for my morning presentation. We were worried that we wouldn’t make it in time due to a slight miscalculation of our gas supply and it being to early for gas stations to be open. Luckily, as the needle touched the E we came across a station that boasted an early bird staff and we were saved from an embarrassing phone call.

We made it safely into Sudbury and found our way Saint Benedict Catholic School. Being only the second high school on my tour I was a little nervous as to how my presentation was going to be received (especially since I wasn’t actually very happy with how I cam across at the last one), unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to find out. Due to a last minute problem at the school we had to cancel the presentation, but I did get a chance to tour the facilities and I was once again impressed with the Catholic School system.

St. Benedict’s is home to a fantastic gym, a very impressive weight room, and great playing fields with plans for expansion. I was given the grand tour by a couple of very impressive students, including their athletic association president who sounds like she has a promising future playing basketball and studying education at Laurentian University. I wish her the best of luck, and may I recommend specializing in Phys ed., I’m a little biased, but I think you’ll find it very rewarding.

After leaving the school it was time to start my big four-day push to Ottawa. I have one more presentation to get to on Thursday, with a lot of ground to cover and not much time to do it. My mom was obsessing over the map at lunch today, counting out the distance and I was just sitting wishing she would stop and I could remain blissfully in denial.

On the up side the weather turned in my favor today. As we were driving in to Sudbury, I was almost crying as the rain came down in sheets that threatened to washout the road. But buy the time we had left the school the sun was coming through the clouds and the road had dried. What remained was a hot, humid day that felt like heaven to my road weary body. We are hoping that we might be blessed with on of Ontario’s famous thunderstorms, although I am hoping that it stays true to form and only lasts the night!

I am always amazed how much better I feel once I get back on the bike after a couple of days off. At this point it is more of a mental game than anything and it takes a bit of self convincing to climb back on the saddle every morning, especially when it means getting up at five in the morning and leaving a beautiful cabin on the lake. By the time I am back on my bike and I have a couple of km under my wheels I always find my grove again, and pretty soon there is a smile on my face and everything feels great.

The big excitement today was finding out that I might actually be building up a bit of momentum and public interest. Since my presentation at the school was cancelled at the last minute, the CTV News crew that was supposed to cover the event ended up arriving right after I left. Unperturbed, the crew was determined to get the story, so it was much to my surprises when a CTV truck pulled up beside me 30 km out of Sudbury and a very nice reporter leaned out the window and asks “are you Tyler? Do you mind doing an interview?” So it was with the first sweat of the day poring down my face and the lactic acid burning in my legs that I pulled over to do my first (and hopefully not last) roadside interview of the tour! I’ll try not to let my new found fame go to my head!

Activity Tip: When exercising in hot and humid environments overheating can be a serious problem. In high humidity you’re ability of cool off though sweating is drastically reduced, and the onset of dehydration and heat stroke can be quite rapid. If you find yourself feeling feint, developing a headache, or getting overly hot and red; stop working, get to somewhere cool, and drink lots of water.

Sincerely,

Tyler

I have not felt so good for the entire trip. For the last two days I have had nothing to do but read, eat, and help out with a couple of chores around the cabin! All my other rest days I have always had things to do, whether it was cleaning my bike, restocking the van, or doing presentations, I have always had something to do with the tour on my mind. This weekend I have just been able to relax and not worry about anything.

My friends cabin is in a wonderful park in Georgian Bay, right on the water. The weather has been great, sun and warm temperatures both days, with just a hint of a breeze coming off the lake. Being the first few weeks of summer, we have spent the weekend cleaning up and doing a few chores that need to be done each year after the winter.

Of course one of the best parts is that one of our friends loves to cook, so we have been treated to fantastic meals every day. Overall though it has just been wonderful to get out of the van for a couple of days and not think about the tour; just take a break from every thing!

Tomorrow we head back up to Sudbury for an early morning presentation and then it is back on the road to Ottawa. The big event in the capital is ready to go and only five days away, so if you haven’t booked your tickets get on to it or you’ll miss out!

Activity Tip: Progression is the only way to improve your fitness. Steadily increasing the intensity of your workouts challenges your body to adapt, but don’t push to hard. Only increase one thing at a time, whether it is the intensity, frequency, or duration, and increase in small steps.

Sincerely,

Tyler

Ok don’t get too excited, I’m still going, I haven’t finished the entire trip yet. I have, however, finished one of the most grueling sections I have planned! In the last nine days I have ridden from Thunder Bay to Sudbury, a total of 1005 km, without resting. Needless to say I’m pretty tired!

Surprisingly I am not actually feeling all that bad after this experience. As predicted though the road has taken its toll; when I finally got off my bike today under the big nickel (Sudbury has a giant nickel, as in the coin) my rear tire was finished. The tread has worn down to nothing and I am actually surprised it didn’t go flat during the ride today.

Also, the tape on my handlebars that keeps my hands from feeling the pounding of the road has worn-out and was coming un-wrapped as I rode today. So, long story short, I was in dire need of a bike store.

Driving around aimlessly looking for a particular store in a bid city doesn’t always work out very well but today was the exception to the rule. I did manage to find a listing for a couple of stores in the phone book but we didn’t have a map to find the addresses with, leaving us pretty much back at square one. After a surprisingly short amount of time, though, we stumbled upon Pinnacle Sports, and Man am I glad I did. Not only were they very helpful in finding everything I needed but also, after hearing what I was doing they gave me a great discount. Once again I am pleasantly surprised by the kindness of strangers and the support I am getting! So, if you’re in need of bikes, skates, or boards in Sudbury do yourself a favor and check out Pinnacle Sports.

Replacement parts in hand it was time to head out of Sudbury and set our sights south for the weekend. One of the reasons I pushed so hard and actually skipped a day off was so I could make into Sudbury Friday night and have the entire weekend at a friends cabin on Georgian Bay. I leave you now and drive south for two wonderful days of BBQ and sun chairs; a much needed reprieve from two long months on the road!

Activity tip: Sports equipment can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be prohibitively so. Get informed about the equipment you need and buy the right gear first. You may find a much cheaper option that works just as well, or you’ll buy something that works the first time and save in the end.

Sincerely,

Tyler

I know that posting these two-day updates is a bit of a copout, but I have been having some trouble with my computer the last few days and I just don’t feel like dealing with it, so I am being a little lazy.

One the other side of things the last two days have been exciting in an interesting way. The storm that I just beat out coming into Sault Ste, Marie decided it didn’t like that I beat it, so it stuck around and hit me with a vengeance the next day!

I started out thinking that it wasn’t actually raining that hard and I shouldn’t have too much trouble, boy was I wrong. I was soaking wet with in the first thirty seconds with the wind driving the rain into my side. Although once I was as soaked as a human being can be and I had warmed up the water it actually wasn’t to bad, and drivers are so much nicer to you when you look as miserable as I did. Cars were going by shouting words of encouragement and truckers seemed to give me an extra bit of room.

Being soaked to the bone is also a good motivator for just keeping going! Once you have warmed up and have a good pace going you don’t really feel how wet you are. I know if I stop though I will realize how wet and cold I am and I wont want to move for the rest of the day. Long story, short, I went for three straight hours and finished my 100 km for the day without break.

I am pretty sure my mom thought I had gone slightly crazy when I actually put on my bike clothes in the morning and started off, and I don’t think I helped my case much when I just kept ridding by her. I made it in to the campground before 2 o’clock and spent the rest of the day drinking hot tea and soup while listening to the rain pelt the roof of the RV.

Overnight the storm passed and I woke to a cloudy but sunny sky and nice warm temperatures. Today’s ride carried me 110 km closer to my days off at my friends cabin and my much-needed rest. I have now been riding 8 days straight and I have covered 878 km since Thunder Bay. I estimate I have about two hundred km left in my current tires and that should be just enough to get me through to Sudbury and hopefully a bike shop. Surprisingly, despite having ridden every day for over a week I am still feeling quite good. Knock on wood, but most of my aches and pains have cleared up and I have found a very comfortable rhythm with the Ontario roads. As the title says though, I am starting to feel the miles in my legs and I am defiantly ready for so R&R on the lake!

Activity Tip: Blisters are a good way to put kink in even the most dedicated athletes stride. Make sure you wear good fitting shoes and change your socks often to help avoid unnecessary pain!

Sincerely,

Tyler

Well after traveling north up the western shore and east across the northern shore, there was only one thing left to do. My journey around Lake Superior has come to an end with the 228 km stretch of highway 17 south between Wawa and Sault Ste. Marie. I must specify here, I am still in Canada; I am in Sault Ste. Marie Ontario, not Sault Ste. Marie Michigan. I know it seems strange to me as well that they have two cities, with the same name, spelled the same way, separated only by a mere 20ish km and the all-important border.

The trip down south was uneventful but beautiful. The coastline of the lake is magnificent, and Lake Superior Provincial Park is simply breath taking. For 84 km I had the pleasure of ridding past wonderful lakes and hiking trails accented by rugged coastlines and picturesque beaches. Of course I was better able to appreciate it because the weather has once again decide to turn in my favor, for the time being at least.

On the first day I made it through the park and a little further for a total of 115 km. My goal for the day was to make it half way to Sault Ste. Marie and according to the map the halfway point was marked by Montreal River, a small town just outside the park. Things didn’t quite turn out as planned though. When we arrived in Montreal River there was no real town to speak of, the entire “town” consisted of an unmanned hydro station and a “Mad Moose” fishing lodge, which was closed for the season. All worked out in the end though because, just as I was getting ready to put the bike away and drive back to the park to find some where to camp for the night, we came across a wonderful little pull out onto a lovely beach that was available for overnight parking (and by this I mean that being out in the middle of nowhere no one was about to bother us). So, we spent the night sitting outside, overlooking Lake Superior, and thinking back over the last few days.

The second day, being today, was a bit of a mix for me. The weather started off clear and warm but progressively worsened as the day went on. I did manage to cover the final distance into Sault Ste. Marie before the rain started, but as I am writing this I am huddled away inside, hiding from the driving rain that is rocking the RV as it blows against the side. The highway traveled next to the lake for most of the day before turning inland to throw a couple of hills at me over the last 30 km. The wind coming off the lake was indicative of the impending storm so I pushed through the day as fast as I could to try and beat it. The dark black clouds forming over my head sent chills through my body, both figuratively and literally, as the wind got colder and colder.

The exciting thing is that I am coming into more heavily populated areas, where the distance between towns is measured in minutes rather than hours. Although this means that all the open plains, wonderful marshland, and stunning wilderness that I have been enjoying for the last few weeks may be behind me, I now will enjoy better roads and rapidly varying views to keep me occupied.

My arrival in Sault Ste. Marie marks the furthest south I will go and the resumption of my eastward trek. So far I have been ridding for six days straight and I am still felling good. The road is taking its toll though, as today, some time between the fist and second flat tire changes, I wore a hole though my last pair of shorts. Which means that every piece of clothing I have is now at some stage of disorder. All minor inconveniences when placed beside the faces of all the wonderful people I have met and the message I have been able to send!

Activity Tip: There is nothing like at trip into the outdoors to rejuvenate body and mind. Get out and enjoy the wonderful hiking trails and walking paths that we are so lucking to have scattered around Canada. Whether you go for a hour long walk or a week long trek, there is a whole wonderful world just waiting to be discovered!

Sincerely,

Tyler

Well at this point I have decided to accept my fate and just deal with what comes at me because I am feeling good and I have really been enjoying myself for the last few days. Having said that, the storms that came in yesterday lasted all night and when I awoke this morning it was to a blizzard and a howling wind. The clouds were hanging low in the sky and the wind chill put the temperature at around minus ten. I would love to say that is cleared up later in the day but that would be lying and that would be wrong!

Not to be discouraged, I broke out my winter clothing yet again and resumed my eastward journey. I was quickly soaked to the bone with water flowing off of me in torrents. You must realize that when you are riding a bike you’re not just getting wet from the rain/snow/hail/devil dumping water on your head just for the hell of it, you get wet from no less than four directions. First of course, the rain/snow… does it’s part, but that is just the beginning. The second and third sources of wonderful icy water are the byproducts of the rain, those being, passing vehicles spraying you with a fine mist able to penetrate even the best rain jacket and water from your own tires ensuring that your feet don’t feel left out. Finally, you are wearing so much clothing in a feeble attempt to ward of the weather; you are sweating so hard you might as well just jump in a bath.

Don’t get me wrong though, I had a wonderful day. The wind was strong and coming out of the west so I FINNALY got to feel the joy of a tail wind. Oh how long I have waited for this day!!! The simple joy of not fighting into a headwind made everything else just drift way, and actually once you are as wet as you’re going to get you stop noticing the rain.

That is really one of the great upsides to biking; you are working so hard that you’re your own little furnace, so once you get going and get used to the wet or cold or what ever it may be it doesn’t really matter to much. Not to say I wouldn’t rather be riding in clear skies and twenty degree weather, I’m just saying I can handle a little bit of bad weather now and then. Just please no more headwinds!

The ride ended up being fast and fun. The road was interesting, with all kinds of little hill and sweeping turns to keep me occupied, and the scenery continues to impress. I did think I saw another moose today, but it ended up being a log. It might sound like a dull story but it was a really exciting three or four minutes. Hey, when you’re on your own riding three or four hours a day, the little things excite you.

Activity tip: If you are trying to get back into an active lifestyle after being away for a while, start slow. Realize that you may not be as fit as you once were, and listen to your body. Working up to your old habits will help avoid injury and a possibly long recovery.

Sincerely,

Tyler

After two weeks of traveling through the heart of moose country we have finaly seen them. Both my mom and I had separate moose sightings in totally different sections of the road. I was stopped dead in my tracks by a bull, his summer antlers coming in nicely, which had decided to cross the highway as I approached. Since I have very little interest in having a right-of-way dispute with a thousand pound animal I decided to stop and weight for him to make his way across. I wasn’t the only one of course, my friend was undisturbed by the lines of traffic building up on either side of the highway and stood staring at us curiously, right in the middle of the road, for a couple of minutes before deciding it was time to leave.

Other than that the ride today was pretty uneventful. We drove back to the highway from the camp we were in last night and I started off from where I had stopped yesterday. It had been raining all night and the sky was still looking angry so I wanted to get an early start to see if I could out run the worst of it. I ended up getting lucky, I only rode though a couple of light showers and then I was able to get under cover and wait out the worst of the storms. With the help of a light tail wind I was able to reach White River by the early afternoon, about a half hour before the real rain kicked in!

I had two possible destinations for today, the first being White River and the second being a small provincial park about 30 km further down the road. Taking the weather and my miraculous ability to stay ahead of schedule still, I decided to stop in White river despite it still being early.

We now find ourselves holed up in the RV waiting out the storm. I am hoping it will pass over in the night, but I am prepared for a wet day of riding tomorrow, and feeling vary good about the progress I am making!

Activity tip: Treat yourself once in a while. There is more to being healthy than just working out and eating right. Taking time to relax, whether you get a massage, go for a hot tub, relaxing the body and mind is an important part of staying healthy.

Sincerely,

Tyler

Unfortunately I have arrived in Marathon at the beginning of the May long weekend and I was not able to accommodate setting up an event because I have to push hard in order to make it to Ottawa on time. I have to accept that I can’t get to everyone, but I had made contact with a woman in Marathon who had very kindly offered to help, so it is especially disappointing that I could not make the time.

On the up side thought today was yet another wonderful day for ridding! I know two days of warm weather, I’ve got to be careful or I might get spoiled! On top of the great weather the terrain continues to offer fun and challenging ridding. The hills keep coming, keeping me on my toes and giving my muscles some much needed variety. The big bonuses from the hills are the stunning views I have at the top. An endless supply of picturesque scenery awaits me as I crest each climb. Stopping to take my surroundings has the duel purpose of resting for the next hill and continually rejuvenating my appreciation for this opportunity I have to see our country.

I have an ever-growing list of new hikes I want to do and new places I want to come back and visit. The most recent addition is the hiking trail from Terrace Bay back to Rossport. If the views are this good from the highway I can only imagine what they would be like from the trail. Not to mention the getting to camp on some of the beautiful beaches I have been seeing as I pass by.

Since I was unable to arrange anything in Marathon I decided to keep going a little ways past town and stop for the night a Pukaskwa National Park. We left the highway 10 km past Marathon and drove the 15 km to the park, and we are glad we did. A short distance from our campsite is Horseshoe Bay, with a beautiful sand beach looking out over Lake Superior. The Bay itself is quite nice, with tall cliffs on either side eroded away by the waves to form lovely carvings in the rocks. There are many hiking trails around the park and a number of other bays; it would be a wonderful place to spend a couple of days.

Activity Tip: Pay attention to what you are eating. Seemingly small things can pack a lot of calories. For example, a large muffin, or a deluxe coffee can represent a couple of hundred calories, and a bagel is equivalent to fore or five slices of bread.

Sincerely,

Tyler