Aaaaaawwaaagh!

I raced upstairs. Charlie, his sleep splintered, stood by the side of the bed. “I can’t make it stop!! What should I do?” Charlie was having a severe Charlie Horse, something that seems to take over both of us at times. I dropped to my knees and attempted to knead his knotted flesh. Eventually it appeared to ease on its own. Yes, we will stretch, we promised ourselves and each other before we left. We’ll certainly do it before we ride and for sure at the end of the day. Maybe if we stop or something too. Ha! So much easier not to. So we haven’t been and maybe this is the price we’re paying. I get them too and find the only way to get rid of them is to immediately stand up.

The bed we have tonight has memory foam! It’s so comfortable!   I ended up getting it to myself because it has a headboard and a footboard and Charlie can’t stretch his 6’4″ frame all the way out. He briefly considered lying across the bed but I figure that if you can’t stop growing when you’ve reached a reasonable rate already……. then too bad for you! Charlie ended up on the floor and was comfortable there too. I got the bed! We slept. And slept. Way past the 4:30 we’ve been getting up at these days. Then around 9am I read a bit of “The Girl on the Train” on my iPad. Charlie had an appointment for a blood test and had slipped out earlier.

The rest of the household awoke as they saw fit and we had another few hours before we were expected are another Warm Showers so we basically sat around drinking coffee and talking. There are so many cool things to see in Moose Jaw and we saw none of them and both of us were just fine with that. We needed the rest. When Charlie returned, we finished packing up and said goodbyes. Melanie, Danielle and JF were awesome to us!!!

We rode to the bike shop and Charlie had his front wheel replaced and I bought myself a new saddle. Oh Happy Day! Oh Happy bum!

Glenda James, our next host had dinner ready when we got there. (We felt a bit guilty as we had had a rest day). Glenda is the executive director of the Brain Injury Association of Canada .   She seems to really enjoy her job and she has other interests as well. She loves cats and has 6 that have the run of the house, plus many more outside. She is also attending as many concerts and music festivals as possible. Not a cyclist herself, she registered as a host several years back in order to be able to help out a specific TransCanada cyclist. Well, it was a bad year, weather-wise and he never showed up. Glenda forgot to remove herself from the hosting loop. She started getting calls and shes never stopped opening her door to anyone, whoever and however they got there. We had a nice pasta dinner, tea and strawberry rhubard crisp (wow, I’ve been craving strawberry rhubarb!!!!!) and that was it for me. My lights went out before I hit the pillow!

Ahhhh…… so nice to sleep in to the leisurely hour of 6am! By the time we had everything ready to roll, it was 7:40. The sky was opaqued by clouds and there was a light wind from the ESE. Away we went. I was feeling ready to take anything on as we has less  than 100km ahead of us. We felt refreshed by all the TLC and the great sleep we had experienced at the home of Melanie and Ross of Chaplin. We planned on taking the next day off to explore or rest in Moose Jaw. Melanie was insistent that we spend Monday night at the townhouse shared by her son, Jean Francois and her daughter, Danielle. She said that she had a room in the house that we could use and that she was going to be there too. What an offer!! We said that we would gratefully accept provided that it was OK with her kids and if we could make them all dinner. Deal!

Lots of rolling hills. Who ever decided that the prairies were flat? It was like riding the humps of the Loche Ness Monster. Panoramically, the colours were subtle with many variations of green! No wonder the Roughriders chose that as their signature colour! The Trans Canada Highway has been surprisingly less travelled than we expected. It is busy near the larger cities, like Vancouver, Kamloops and Calgary and there areas where the shoulders have been poor but overall we have been satisfied with our chosen route. Through the prairies the trucks and other vehicles come along 2, 3, 5 at a time and then often, there are many minutes where nothing passes us and the roads are quiet. It gives us the opportunity to hear the many birds that inhabit this part of the country. I especially want to sit by one of the many marshes. They are LOUD with birdsong! Maybe tomorrow. There are plenty of marshes between here and the Cambrian Schield.

A sign announced the village(?), hamlet(?) of Parkbeg, population 11. On one side, our left, was a gnarly looking abandoned home,   on the other, directly across, a small eclectic and run-down gas station turned cafe.  There were washrooms accessible from the outside, which Charlie took the liberty to utilize. I waited outside, still astride my bike when a small woman with curly hair opened the cafe door and beckoned me in. “Com on in. I’ll put the coffee on.” Her name was Leta and for some reason she had left Ontario some years back and was now helping maintain the town(?)’s population in the double digits. She was trying to make a go of it with this cafe but was also working at a military base in Moose Jaw. She wanted to talk and on and on she went. She was still talking when we finally said our goodbyes and rode off.

Tims…. where is there a Tims in Moose Jaw? Eventually we went to another (inferior) coffee shop which offered free (inaccessible) wifi. Charlie and I quite enjoy spending an hour or so after a long ride, just sitting around, reading, blogging, staring into space or contemplating Harikari. It was good. We shared a DQ Buster Bar, which, if you didn’t know, is the best thing on the DQ menu. There was just enough time to get to the grocery store and buy what we needed to get for our pork tenderloin stir fry and to find a strawberry rhubarb pie. 

Melanie’s kids were very receptive to hosting us. We arrived and took over their kitchen. Danielle, the daughter, 24, is a pharm tech and Jean Francois, the son, 31, is a blackjack dealer at the casino. Melanie was there too and after dinner and pie, ( not strawberry rhubarb, alas), we sat for quite some time talking. JF excused himself to play video games downstairs and Charlie, cross-eyed with fatigue, disappeared upstairs. We women sat in the diminishing light talking and laughing, telling stories and connecting the way women do. Suddenly we heard it! AAAhhhh!  AWWAAAGHHH! AAAWWAAAGGGHHHHHhhhh! Loud and urgent, it broke our quiet time.

3:50 am. It’s still dark outside and I’m awake. Charlie, beside me, says softly, “Are you awake? He knows I am. You learn the pattern of each other’s breathing, each other’s movements when you’ve slept beside someone for years.  Still, I remain silent, pretending to sleep, wanting more than I’ve had, postponing getting out of my warm sleeping bag until the last possible moment. The alarm is set for 4:30. A ridiculous hour  when you’re on holiday, really, but this is not a holiday. We have places to go and the earlier the better. Prairie winds appear to be stronger later in the day and if you are cycling against them, there’s a whole lot of going nowhere. Today though, the wind is predicted to go with us.

Damp. It hadn’t rained in the night but we could feel the moisture in the air. We packed everything up, no small endeaver. The Thermarest pads have to be deflated and flattened, rolled up and placed inside our waterproof bag. They are joined, after a tussle, by our sleeping bags, made tight and small in their compression sacs. Collapse the tent, shake it out and pack it away. Everything goes on the bike. Bungee cording the sleeping bag securely to the back rack takes a lot of energy. Clothing goes in separate panniers; you want to know where to look when you need something. And we did. On went our rain gear. Thar she pours! Breakfast was once again eaten in the bathroom. Wash up, brush your teeth and hit the road.

All this fresh air and exercise, clean living…..and I have a cold! For the past 2 days it’s mainly been in my head, but now it’s moved down to my throat and chest. I cough and with each exertion I feel spent. As I pounded along I found myself fantasizing about things like, a bed with fresh sheets, strawberry-rhubarb pie, A&W bacon and eggs with hash browns, toast with jam and coffee! Oh yeah! I caught up to Charlie and told him I’d buy him a second breakfast at A&W in Swift Current. It was 85km from Tompkins and we got there at 10:55. They advertise all-day breakfast but when my turn to order came up at about 11:03, I was told that, no, we couldn’t get bacon and eggs. Breakfast was over but we could still order a breakfast sandwich. Nooooo! Not the same! Well, I bought Charlie 2 breakfast sandwiches and I had a teen burger, (they have never asked me for ID or proof of being a teenager. I used to be nervous ordering them when I was a preteen.) We shared fries then jumped back on our bikes headed east. 

I can fly! The wind was strong and with us. It felt effortless! Suddenly I got my energy back and we rode! We wanted to take every advantage of the wind power. I wish I could ride hands off so that I could sit up, spread my MEC windbreaker and soar! We weren’t sure how far we could get; Charlie was concerned for me as he knew I wasn’t well, but we passed Herbert and stopped for food in Morse. When we left the store a motorcycle man held the door open for me. You just never know, eh? There’s more to this story…..

We headed to Chaplin, which is about 85km west of Moose Jaw. We planned on staying at one of the two hotels we’d read were available there. We had our delicious meal with us. Pitas, Campbell’s Chicken Pot Pie Soup in cans, Cliff bars, a staple. I won’t be able to look at one once this trip is done. Chaplin was about 183 km from where we’d started that day and enough was enough. Time to get to our hotel and rest. Except…. both hotels were closed. No wonder no one had answered the phone when we’d tried to call. Now what? We’re there any B&B’s in town?   It was quiet. No one was about as we drove through the streets. Charlie spotted an open garage door and rode up to speak with the person inside to ask them about accommodation in town. Two men, Ross and his boss, Colin, were sitting in the back of the garage drinking beer, and yes, they were the motorcycle men who had spotted us before at the grocery store in Morse and on the highway. Within minutes of talking with them, Ross’s wife came out to talk with me and next thing we know, she’s showing me downstairs to a spare room, handing me a towel for a shower and making us dinner! And what a dinner! Steak and chicken, baked potatoes with sour cream, peas, salad, buns, wine and beer.  Unbelievable and totally unexpected blessing! (We did leave them some money to cover what we’d consumed, but we were very surprised and grateful for their generosity.) Thank you Melanie and Ross. We will gladly host you next time you’re in Calgary!

People are so good. How can I express my appreciation?

This is going to post out of order, but I wrote it and saved it as draft, so here goes anyway.

Our own bed! Who doesn’t sleep better in their own bed?! Still, the routine of the road woke us both up at around 5:30. There was lots to do. Laundry, re-evaluate the things we’d brought. Like, do I really need these clunky, heavy Keene sandals or can I get away with flip-flops?               (I made the terrible mistake of referring to my flip-flops as thongs one time when I was talking to my son. The look of pure horror on Fraser’s face was priceless. He said “Why would you tell me you wear those?” Ha ha ha. It still makes me laugh! The flip-flops won although I’m sure that at least one point along the way I will wish I brought the Keeners.

For the first time in 16 days, I got to look like a girl! (Yeah, ok, an old girl, but still, a girl!!!!) I did my hair, put some makeup on, wore a dress, even the tiniest bit of fragrance…..  it felt so good!

I wanted to see a few people too so I dropped into the office to say hello to Dr Curtis Rytz, and my work siblings, Monica, Monique, Diane, Tammy and Elizabeth, who has awesomely replaced me for the summer. It was nice to see them all. Then I went for a massage. Oh, I feel this one was well deserved! I felt so good afterwards. We had more stuff to do at home and then we met Fraser and Christie and a few of our friends for dinner at “The Winking Owl” on Bow Bottom. It was so great for them to come out and spend some time with us! I will miss Fraser and Christie and all our friends while we’re away. The good thing is that it’s so easy to keep in touch these days.

If you want a good burger, try the “Hoot” burger at the Winking Owl,  and get the sledge fries instead of the regular ones. Darn good burger!

“No, I don’t know the wifi code. I only work here.” 

Charlie and I are at Woody’s Tavern in Tompkins, Saskatchewan. We came in, hot and dry, hoping to have a little R&R with a cold beer and catch-up on our emails and blogs. There is wifi there, except that nobody knows the password. Even the owner doesn’t know, “My wife knows though. I’m not into that techy stuff.”

We have done over 1700km, 154 of them today. Woody’s is a local watering hole and we are meeting some of the local characters out on a Saturday night. It’s a class act spot and exactly what we’re looking for tonight. There’s a stagette happening a bit later but I’ve had 2 beer and some French fries and I’m pretty well done. Charlie is still hamming it up with the local guys and really enjoying himself. They’re talking about a sign at the edge of town about some guy who bites into pigspleems and then predicts the weather for the next 6 months. The cowboy beside me, who has just bought us another round, gafaws, “Proof that bullshit goes all around the world.” Soon we will leave and set up camp at the campsite close by.

We left our “Warmshowers” host’s home at about 6:15 this morning. It was a bit cool but the wind was at our backs all day and that made a huge difference! We set a personal best record of 154 kms. We discussed pushing through another 25km to get to what we’ve heard is a really nice camp spot at Gull Lake. I could do it but I think it’s better to rest a bit since this is day to-day riding and I don’t want to burn out.

Great day, really. We were excited to cross the border into Saskatchewan. Two down, eight to go! Saw 2 coyotes, an antelope with two babies, (anties?, lopettes?) and a nest with baby birds of prey and a very observant parent . . We were later told that they were hawks. The prairies are full of gophers too and they dance and cavort across the roads. So cute! But I know that the farmers hate them and I do understand why. There are many gophers strewn  in tragic death poses and we  manouver our ways around them. I like to talk to cows. They perk up when you talk to them. At one point I got a whole herd to run alongside us as we sped beside their fence line. They are quite beautiful and I wish they didn’t taste so good. I wonder how many cows I’ve eaten in my life?….

When you’re biking for a long time you have time to think. About everything. Then suddenly, inexplicably, I’ll find myself counting.    ……57, 58, 59…… When did that begin? Did I start with number 1? I don’t recall. Another thing…… It seems that I don’t know the words to any whole song! I can only remember one little part and sing it ,whether it’s right or not, over and over again,

We met another  cyclist tonight. His name is Kingo , from Japan and he is biking to Quebec City. Turns out he left Vancouver the same day we left  Sooke and followed exactly the same route we did. Why is it that we only meet now? As we were preparing to turn into Tompkins, he was ready to do the 90 km to get to Swift Current. Maybe we’ll see him again,

We left the  bar around  9pm, just before the stagette ladies were due to arrive. The campsite was just around the corner. We had it totally to ourselves. There are a few RV’s there and Charlie joked that that’s where the guys who live 6 miles away go to “get away from it all.” We set up our tent. The poles are bent askew from the dilemma 2 nights before, but it went up well anyway. We’ll ask our friend Chic how to fix them when we get home. He knows everything!!!

Oh…. tired! And dirty and gross! We packed up as soon as we could, wringing as much water from our things as possible so as not to carry excess weight. We had our picnic breakfast in the potty room and said our prayers. Likely that’s the first time either of those activities have happened in there. We were on the road by 7:08, which, all things considered, was pretty good. The wind felt like it was against us until Charlie tried going the other way. Mostly it just blew constantly and forcefully  from the south-west. Charlie asked me if I prefer the mountains or the wind on the prairies. Mountains at least are predictable. You go up, you see the summit and pound towards it and then it’s very likely you’ll get to go down on the other side. You can’t count on the wind. It does what it wants for as long as it wants. Charlie buffeted the blowing forces for me much of the ride today. We are both tired. But we have a Warmshowers host in Red Cliff. We won’t get to meet them because they have gone to their place in Montana for a week. They have given us the code to get into their garage and have told us to use the home like it’s our own. Such trust! Amazing! Thank you Jim and Susan Vanderslute! 

When we pull into this home, I am awed by the beauty and comfort of this home. I am afraid to leave any indication that we’ve been there. We took our tent out and set it to dry in the garage, along with our sleeping bags. They, thankfully, aren’t wet. I scrubbed every bag and they are upside down in the garage as well. All our clothes went into the wash. I mean all. Charlie and I are sitting around wearing towels as we blog. His site is:

Charliesbikingbucketlist.com   

He says we should combine them at the end and call them “Facts and Feelings”. Hmmm….I wonder which mine would be…..?

Charlie and I slept in a cement porta-potty last night. And we were so grateful for it!

How did that happen? Well, we packed up early yesterday morning to head the 156 km towards Medicine Hat. It was beautiful out; warm and dry. Our tent just needed a little shaking before we packed it up. Off we went, fresh and strong. I knew that getting to Medicine Hat would be a big stretch but I was ready to get as close to it as we could. The wind picked up around 9am, and it was directly in our faces. There’s nothing to stop a prairie wind. No trees, no shade. Again I wondered about the concept of sailing across the prairies. Sounds great, but so far for us, it hasn’t happened. The sun has been relentless. Despite using sunscreen with an SPF of 60 or 50, I am getting a weird splotchy tan. Most disturbing to me though is my nose, or more specifically the right side of my nose. It’s a deep dark brown. I look like a cartoon character with a big brown nose!

Around 10 or so km from Brooks, I heard a little bell behind me. Looking back, I saw a man  laden with panniers as well as a YAK trailer. Meet Guy, from Gatineau, Quebec. We talked about our plans, our journeys so far and then I asked him how his ass was. Not a typical day-to-day topic of conversation for most, I know, but it seems appropriate amongst cyclists. He said that he, too, was having pain and so far had used 3 different saddles, mailing them home when he found something else he wanted to try. He showed me the foam cover he had on top of his current saddle. I  looked at it with great envy. When we got to Brooks we went to Tim’s. He suggested I call Canadian Tire and see if they had seat covers. They did!!!! And now I have a much happier, not esthatically happy, but a much happier bum!

We said our goodbyes. He had another 107km to do to get to Med Hat. We weren’t going so far, and planned on either going to a campground or camping alongside the highway, if absolutely necessary.

Out of curiosity I googled weather for Med Hat and area. I really wanted to know what direction the wind would be blowing the next day. Severe thunderstorm watch! Oh wow; we were on severe thunderstorm watch.

We kept going and finally decided to stop at a road-side drive in bathroom. There was a winding road leading up the bathrooms and another area just for trucks. We had our makeshift dinner there, which was Stagg Chili, cold from the can, bagels and cut up peppers, tomato and cucumbers, We knew we would not be able to get much further, so we put up our tent, opting to place it on pavement as opposed to putting it over the prairie dog holes. In we went. It was stifling hot so we didn’t bother to unroll our sleeping bags, a very good decision as it turned out. Minutes after we went in, Charlie was asleep but I was just a tiny bit on edge. The tent was flapping around like crazy.

I was a bit nervous. The sky was black with long jagged streaks of lightening racing across  the sky, followed by resounding thunder. The wind picked up even more, the whole tent was being violently shaken and then the gusts threw Charlie up over and across me and we were both struggling to keep the tent and everything in it from disappearing into the night. We scrambled out, our clothing pulled and thrashed about our bodies. We grabbed what we could, and threw our bikes on top of our tent and everything else in the hopes that our things would be salvageable. Quickly we escaped to the bathroom, where we took turns sitting on the closed toilet lid as the storm continued its ravage. Eventually I sat between Charlies legs and he wrapped his arms around me. When things had settled just a bit Charlie braved the wilds and got our things. Note: Ortlieb bags are NOT waterproof. Every item we had, every stitch of clothing, everything was saturated! Fatigue eventually takes over and we ended up putting down our wet Thermarest pads  to try to sleep. It was gross, yeah, but we were both extremely grateful to find that cement toilet on that long stretch of highway. It was the only shelter available.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to go this far in a day. No, I’ll be honest; I did not want to go this far today. I can easily go from A to H. Going to I is a stretch for me. Charlie on the other hand, can easily go to M and would willingly stretch himself to O or P. So, we had a discussion. Or two….

Mornings are the best time to ride, especially very early because it’s cool, there’s less traffic and the winds haven’t picked up yet. We didn’t leave until about 8am. Ideally we would have left earlier. And it’s especially important now that we are on the prairies. The wind reputedly whistles by from west to east and we did have hopes of sailing, more or less effortlessly across the wide open flat roads, but no, there are multiple barely perceptible hills (when you’re in a car you don’t notice them but you sure do on a bike) and a headwind that oppressed us from about noon on. Compound that with the fact that I HATE my saddle and you would be correct to guess that I was not a happy camper. Charlie has repositioned my saddle with me several times and it is awful. The brand is “Body Geometry”. Obviously my body is doing algebra instead. There’s a bike shop in Medicine Hat and I want to check out saddles there. We’ve done almost 1500km so far and if neither my ass nor the saddle has given in, then obviously we’re never going to get along.

It was a beautiful morning as we left Calgary. As we got further east, there were fewer hills but they were still there. I feel that at this point I’ve done my share and I glare, with no effect, at even the slightest incline. Charlie, as usual, was a little yellow speck on the horizon, but he did, periodically, stop and wait for me to catch up. We rode through Gliechen, which is on First Nations land. There was a billboard that said: “Drug dealers, your way of living is our way of suffering.”

The other side said: “Think of What’s Ahead. Don’t Suicide.” I didn’t get a photo of that. Charlie stopped to talk with two individual men who were out collecting bottles. Neither wanted to say much to him.
On and on we went. By about 100km I was ready to call a cab. It was 32 degrees Celsius and the wind had been in our faces for hours. Still we rode. Finally we got into Bassano. We wanted wifi so we went into a restaurant to have a beer and 6 litres of water and I decided that we should eat there instead of buying groceries and making our own meal. It’s amazing how quickly we/I can perk up once I get a little food in me.  Everything was much better then. We camped in the campsite that’s right in town, had lovely hot showers and a great quiet nights sleep.

HOME!!!! That word is one of my favourites in the English language. In any language, really. That saying, “Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home” rings true in my heart. Home, to me is where, when you walk in the door, everyone there is on your side. It doesn’t matter what kind of a day you’ve had, when you get home, you can safely collapse in a heap and know that everything’s ok. Or will be.

So as we got up this morning and said our goodbyes to our awesome hosts, Nola and Paul (and we got to meet their other son, Jack), home was on my radar. I could hardly wait to get there. It loomed just ahead of me, like a carrot, or better yet, a carrot cake, motivating me to just keep going.

We’ve cycled Canmore to Calgary before, (and vice versa) but on the previous occasion we took the Ctrain as far to the north west as we could get. This time, in the spirit of riding EFI, we rode all the way home, setting a distance record for both of us of 130km. The route is not really too difficult. Oh yeah, there is Scott Lake Hill, but hey, we’ve just come through the Rockies! It just felt long.

I saw a bit of wildlife. A fox passed right in front of Charlie and disappeared into the brush to our right. Somehow Charlie missed it! I saw a heron, some very vigilant geese, a dead fawn with blackbirds picking at it (the only dead animal, other than a few birds that we saw anywhere on the highways!) and several mountain goats perched precariously on a rocky precipice. They stood there like super models as I took photos, but unfortunately, due to the angle of the sun, the pictures did not turn out well at all. (Notice how I use the excuse of the sun as opposed to the skill of the photographer?)

Charlie has had some fish tailing occurring, especially when going downhill, so we stopped at MEC, where the bike mechanics checked out his wheels, etc..  The verdict was that he was carrying too much weight on the back. I bought some lighter waterproof sacks for our sleeping bags. The ones we have now are heavy rubber and submersible. I have no plans to be submerged so these will do.

We got home finally, ordered delicious Indian food. I fell asleep right after and woke suddenly when my beer bottle clanked against my plate. Oh, to be home……!!!  Laundry! Our own shower! Our own bed! Fantastic!   ZZZZzzzzzzzzzz

“Take the 1A highway! It’s fantastic. All paved, nice wide shoulders, lots of ups and downs and curvy roads and best of all, no traffic! And it’s the place to be! You’ll see lots of wildlife!”

We took the TransCanada Highway. And I am happy to report, that there were no signs of wildlife in BC or so far, in Alberta.

We got up at a decent time and by the time we had our wet tent stowed away and our breakfast eaten and cleared, most of the surrounding campers had packed up and were heading home too. It was brisk and cloudy. Charlie and I both had on most of the clothing we’d brought. (Well, I did have along 3 pairs of underwear, but I thought that under the circumstances, one was probably still enough.) We headed out of our electrified enclosure and turned east towards Canmore. 

Today was an easy day. The TransCanada through Banff National Park has beautiful wide shoulders, is clear of bush alongside the highway and has high wire fences on both sides to prevent animals from venturing into danger. 

It is also a relatively even road and it generally slopes downhill.  Altogether a welcome break. 

We were almost at the turnoff for Sunshine when we met Henk, pronounced Hank,  a Dutch man from Holland who was cycling from Alaska to Argentina. He had come through Jasper and his bike was so laden, he even had an extra wheel so as to carry more load. He is retired so time has no bearing on his plans. We rode together until we got to Banff, whereupon he turned off in search of a campsite. He’d be tired! Such a huge heavy load  and his little legs never stopped! Charlie and I pushed on towards Canmore, which, riding the Legacy Trail, wasn’t really a push at all. Once we got to town, we bought a few grocery items and some wine and mixed nuts to take to our “Warmshowers” hosts. Nola and Paul Stoliker welcomed us into their home like family. They have 2 sons, one of whom, Carl, we met later in the evening.  They are avid cyclists and Charlie and I enjoyed hearing about their experiences. Paul had cycled from Houston to Florida to South Carolina this past February. He, too, stays with “Warm Showers” when he can, otherwise alternating between camping and staying in motels/hotels.  (“Warm Showers” should you wonder, is a website for cyclists based on reciprocal hospitality. It’s like “Couchsurfing” for cyclists. Charlie and I have hosted many couchsurfers but only a few cyclists so far. We have found that the experiences of both hosting and being hosted have been nothing short of amazing. When you get down to it, it’s the people we meet and the people in our lives that make everything worthwhile.) Nola and he have plan to travel from Canmore to PEI this summer, starting in July. Hoping to travel 200 km a day, they plan on taking their trailer and taking turns riding. Their gear will all go into the trailer, so they may be able to make very good time. We exchanged cell numbers. It would be crazy fun to meet them sometime further out on our ride. Thank you, Nola, Paul and Carl for your open-hearted hospitality! And thank you too for the recipes for olive tapenade and veggie loaf. We found both to be yummy!