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Oct 8, 2017
Day 161: Vancouver, I’m Sorry
Considering this my last regular log entry for the bicycle expedition. I’ll post an update/reflection from the airport but in terms of the numbered days, here I am. Vancouver. Actually,...
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Oct 6, 2017
Day 159: Nearly There
Well, I food poisoned myself. So the last couple days have been pretty tough. I’m as grateful as you could imagine for the fact that I’m sick while with some...
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Oct 4, 2017
Day 157: Lake Salish
I started the day about 30 km north of Nanaimo. Stopped in Chemainus for lunch and an exploration of the town’s history through its murals. Ended up talking to a...
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Oct 2, 2017
Day 155: Warm Sun, Cold Ocean
Again not a whole lot to report. Spent a portion of the day looking after a baby (our favourite thing was me lying on the floor holding him standing on...
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Sep 30, 2017
Day 153: Pacific Rain
I camped along the abandoned railway east of Cameron Lake and stopped in Cathedral Grove. It was a nice spot for breakfast with shelter from the rain under the trees,...
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Sep 28, 2017
Day 151: Recovery
Not a lot to report from today. I spent the morning at the Museum at Campbell River and spent the afternoon at the local library. Learning about local history, catching...
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Sep 26, 2017
Day 149: Summit
I’m not going to go into too much detail about today because I expect I’ll be writing about it on Exposure once I get a chance to process some more...
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Sep 24, 2017
Day 147: Long Descents
Northern Vancouver Island is pretty deserted. Resource extraction camps here and there for forestry and mining, but for the most part empty highway. Glistening creeks and blue mountains in the...
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Sep 22, 2017
Day 145: Inside Passage
The ferry from Haida Gwaii to Prince Rupert was 12:30 to 7 AM. I knew several people on the ferry, having met them on the first crossing, crossed paths with...
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Sep 20, 2017
Day 143: Kids Like Sea Lions
I put off going to the north shore in order to stay in cell reception in case any of the people whom I’d tried to get in contact with got...
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Sep 18, 2017
Day 141: On Island
The ferry arrived on Haida Gwaii at 6 AM. In previous travel, getting somewhere early in the morning usually hasn’t been an issue—either I’ve had a vehicle or been in...
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Sep 16, 2017
Day 139: Painted Walls
I’ve been feeling down the last few days, you know, ready to get home and get away from the road for a while. So it took a lot of willpower...
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Sep 14, 2017
Day 137: On the Coast
The last 100 kilometres towards the mouth of the Skeena River were flat, downriver and full of sunshine. The highway for the most part fits in between the river and...
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Sep 12, 2017
Day 135: Beneath Cedars
Hung around with my hosts in Terrace (whom I regrettably did not photograph) in the morning while the boys got ready for school and the parents got ready for work....
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Sep 10, 2017
Day 133: Strangers’ Kindness
As I was falling asleep in the tent I could hear a wolf howling in the distance. Maybe four times in the span of fifteen or twenty minutes. Then, hours...
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Sep 8, 2017
Day 131: Tears Like Glaciers
The first bear we saw we figured was worth stopping for. She had a cub and they were busy eating clovers and being hard to photograph. The third bear was...
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Sep 6, 2017
Day 129: Familiar Territory
When we came back south on the Dempster, there were a few moments where it was like all of a sudden we could see a great viewpoint that had been...
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Sep 4, 2017
Day 127: Two Flat Tires
We left Inuvik today. I left the campground in the morning to interview a local before leaving town, then we pumped up some gas and headed back onto the gravel...
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Sep 2, 2017
Day 125: Way Up North
This was our second day in Inuvik. I could be wrong about this but it’s the sort of size of town that once you’ve walked or cycled around a few...
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Aug 31, 2017
Days 119-123: Cycling to the Arctic
I didn’t keep a daily log during the Dempster Highway, but I did write the adventure into a full story on Exposure with photos and stories from each day of...
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Aug 25, 2017
Day 117: Hitchhiked
We had a cold rain yesterday that reminded me of nothing more than the late-spring rains on the highways of Newfoundland. In talking about the logistics of getting to the...
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Aug 23, 2017
Day 115: From Sun to Sun
Overnight there was a hard rainstorm. It didn’t start until after we’d settled into bed, and it was raining so hard I had a strong feeling it wouldn’t last until...
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Aug 21, 2017
Day 113: Hills Towards the Yukon
Left Liard after sleeping in for a bit because of the lingering rain. Then came the hills northwest towards the Yukon border. The road follows the Liard River for the...
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Aug 19, 2017
Day 111: Mountain Pass
Got a free cinnamon bun (yum), perused a pictoral history of the building of the Alaska Highway (wow) and got the news that my climb over Steamboat yesterday (tiring) was...
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Aug 17, 2017
Day 109: Catch-up in Fort Nelson
Writing about the rodeo took most of the day. Met a French couple hitchhiking south who had bicycled up from Vancouver, then canoed the Peace and Slave Rivers over the...
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Aug 15, 2017
Day 107: Mountains on the Horizon
More highway life northwest of Fort St John. I met the first bicyclists I’ve seen since Manitoba(!), which was a really great few minutes. I felt reluctant to leave them,...
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Aug 13, 2017
Day 105: My First Rodeo
Today was a very, very cool day. I woke up early, not realizing that Dawson Creek goes along with Pacific Standard Time, and wandered around the deserted early-morning post-Saturday-night fairgrounds...
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Aug 11, 2017
Day 103: View of the Valley
I started the day with about 60 km to Valleyview. I wasn’t sure if I would have enough water so was thrilled to find a little motel (which wasn’t even...
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Aug 9, 2017
Day 101: Back on the Road
Made it back on the road today, with a lift out of Edmonton from my gracious hosts. Getting back on the bike felt a lot better than I expected; I...
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Aug 7, 2017
Day 099: Board Games
I played three board games today, which I think may be a record and I also think is indicative of the good company I am in with my hosts in...
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Aug 5, 2017
Day 097: Heritage Fest
This weekend in Edmonton is the Heritage Festival, a three-day celebration of diversity with dance, arts and foods represented from over 100 different countries. It’s the largest multicultural festival in...
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Aug 3, 2017
Day 095: Greyhound
Today we grabbed a Greyhound bus from Saskatoon to Edmonton in order to make it to the city in time for Asad’s flight back to Toronto for a wedding. I...
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Aug 1, 2017
Day 093: Perfect Weather For All of August
Writing from a kids’ fort in the backyard of a rural Saskatchewan farmer. Today was perfect weather; after a really hot day and a really windy today, someone sent us...
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Jul 30, 2017
Day 091: Give My Apologies to Manitoba
This day felt bizarrely long. We had a beautiful breakfast on the farm we stayed at in between Bagot and MacGregor. Then hit the road as the sun was starting...
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Jul 28, 2017
Day 089: Provincial Archives
Spent most of the morning working on some overdue written and audio pieces, most notably Energy East from North Bay, an interview that I’ve been working on for a while....
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Jul 26, 2017
Day 087: Hello, Manitoba
It’s almost 1:30 AM in Winnipeg after around 150 km at this point so I’m going to keep this brief. Bicycle maintenance kept us in Kenora. It was the farmers’...
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Jul 24, 2017
Day 085: The Return of Sunshine
Today felt pretty uneventful when I looked back on it. There wasn’t a lot of wind. There was a lot of sunshine. I think highlight was meeting Andy, a cyclist...
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Jul 22, 2017
Day 083: Westward
We left Thunder Bay with a tailwind and a very fond farewell to our hosts, the guys of Community Spokes. Definitely the kind of place and the kind of people...
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Jul 20, 2017
Day 081: Painting in the Rain
This is going to be a slightly strange log entry because all of the photos are Asad’s and all the stories are unrelated. We spent most of the day in...
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Jul 18, 2017
Day 079: First Flat Tire
Another cool morning. I kept my rain pants on although it started getting warm, especially on the uphill sections, because I knew a thunderstorm was rolling towards us. Eventually it...
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Jul 16, 2017
Day 077: Feels Later Than July
We were on the road by 8:30 AM but it wasn’t until after 11 that I really felt warm. I kept telling myself I should put on a layer but...
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Jul 14, 2017
Day 075: The Day I Met a Trucker
Headed north after a lovely breakfast with André and Andrea into the hills of the Lake Superior coast. The clouds broke up and the sun came out. The warmth felt...
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Jul 12, 2017
Days 073: Goodbye Sunshine
More writing today. The rain poured down all morning and I thought to myself that one of these rainy days I really ought to find myself a hot chocolate. Among...
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Jul 10, 2017
Day 071: Warm Sky, Cold Water
Spent the day working on pieces about Shaylynn from Beausoleil First Nation and Ruth from Arviat on the coast of Hudson Bay, as well as editing and uploading photos for...
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Jul 8, 2017
Day 069: Sagamok Pow Wow
The first thing we did this morning was pedal south to Sagamok First Nation, where we interviewed two Ojibwe Elders, Dolores and Harvey. They talked about residential schooling and the...
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Jul 6, 2017
Day 067: Power in the Blood
We left North Bay late, but thanks to our amazing host Liz who gave us a boost, still made it to Sudbury on time. Plus we stopped at Duchesnay Falls...
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Jul 4, 2017
Day 065: Midnight Curry
I biked up to a gas station in the morning in order to refill my water, and was surprised to find that the tap water was untested and therefore undrinkable....
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Jul 2, 2017
Day 063: Headed West
In the morning, there was blue sky littered with cumulus clouds. After a while it clouded over, looked like it was going to rain, then cleared up again. We packed...
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Jun 30, 2017
Day 061: Home on Native Land
We were at the Faith in Canada 150 Millennial Summit all morning, but I left a bit early to join the Indigenous reoccupation on Parliament Hill. I’m writing this on...
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Jun 28, 2017
Day 059: Ottawa Plans
Not much to report for today. Spent the day doing historical research and interviewed someone at Canadian Blood Services. Made myself grilled cheese at lunch, which was nice, and enjoyed...
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Jun 26, 2017
Day 057: The End of an Era
We made it to Ottawa, which has been our de facto destination for the last several weeks, if not months. From here we recalibrate, re-plan, and set out across inland...
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Jun 24, 2017
Day 055: The Taste of Summer
Years ago, I lost the cap off the mode dial of my Canon 6D. It never posed a problem and I figured it was a cosmetic issue, until I ran...
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Jun 22, 2017
Day 053: Unexpected Catch-Up
Hung around for a bit in the morning because we had a live interview on SiriusXM radio, then headed out into the sunshine with an expectedly brief stop at a...
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Jun 20, 2017
Day 051: Thunderous
Whirlwind of a day. Started out being chased away from our campsite by blackflies. Despite doing our best to hide from them by not showering in…forever, feels like. In Saint-Siméon,...
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Jun 18, 2017
Day 049: Back Into the Woods
Today was arguably the flattest day on the trip so far. Back beside the Chic-Choc Mountains northwest of Gaspé was pretty flat, with high cliffs rising behind the ocean-level highway,...
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Jun 16, 2017
Day 047: Out of the Woods
This morning was all hills, and I was grateful that we’d started as early in the morning as we had because the air was cool and still. Still, I ran...
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Jun 14, 2017
Day 045: Windy Coast
Asad was up with our farmer host, George, in order to help bottlefeed an orphan calf, say good morning to the barn cats, and grind some fresh coffee beans. The...
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Jun 12, 2017
Day 043: Time to Practice Speaking French
Biked from the country’s only bilingual province into the country’s only French province. “When you get to the other side,” said a local in Campbellton, “you’re in Québec.” I’m not...
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Jun 10, 2017
Day 041: Make a Day, Lose a Day
Spent the day at our beautiful spot in Charlo watching the white-capped waves roll towards the east and working on a few pieces. I wrote about wind energy and forced...
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Jun 8, 2017
Day 039: The Bug War Continues
Summer arrived with a vengeance. Today was the hottest weather I’ve experienced since the Utah desert last September. Hard to believe that two days ago I was wearing mittens. My...
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Jun 6, 2017
Day 037: 90 Kilometres Before Lunch
Going to keep this short because I’m going to try to finish a write-up of an interview from Lennox Island tonight and it’s already 11 PM. Got up early and...
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Jun 4, 2017
Day 035: Alders
With this trip it’s become necessary to pick and choose our route, our detours and stops and our through-cycles, and it’s always a challenge but we do our best to...
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Jun 2, 2017
Day 033: Salt and Waves
Going to (yet again) keep it brief so I can head to bed before it’s too late. We have a long ride back to mainland Canada before us and lost...
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May 31, 2017
Day 031: Raindrops Like Salt Water
We spent the day in Lennox Island First Nation, and the day was full of people and stories. Interviewed the community planner and leader of the local drumming group, met...
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May 29, 2017
Day 029: Cracked Asphalt
Left a delicious breakfast on the east coast of the island to let the sun lead us west. Stopped in the local post office, crossed Murray River and then followed...
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May 27, 2017
Day 027: Bread and Honey
Final day at the farm on the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. The lilacs are in bloom. I spent the morning finishing up some more content from Cape Breton....
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May 25, 2017
Day 025: Tu es si belle*
A day full of cycling. I’ve mentioned this a couple times already but I think my brain doesn’t fully pay attention to the uphill parts, and then is fully aware...
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May 23, 2017
Day 023: Off Cape Breton
Today we crossed the Strait of Canso on the southwest coast of Cape Breton, which meant a couple hours of fighting a fierce wind that was coming straight across the...
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May 21, 2017
Day 021: Wind on the Coast
It’s hard to imagine a house more filled with laughter than the one in which we stayed in Chéticamp. We started the day with coffee and a huge breakfast as...
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May 19, 2017
Day 019: Back on the Road
Left Sydney in the morning for a divided highway and tailwind that took us back to North Sydney and across the east side of Cape Breton to Baddeck, where the...
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May 17, 2017
Day 017: Farewell to Newfoundland
Woke up to more rain and the painstaking process of putting on slightly damp layers from yesterday. I hadn’t been able to find my gloves last night, and they turned...
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May 15, 2017
Day 015: Just Raindrops
Dropped by CBC Radio for an interview and then the local centre for cycling culture, Cycle Solutions, for a tune-up. That, combined with bicycling all the way to the top...
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May 13, 2017
Day 013: Birch and Spruce
We aimed to do 125 km of cycling today; from our campsite last night we had 250 km to Corner Brook. Only made 114, for two main reasons. The first...
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May 11, 2017
Day 011: Foggy Island
“It’s a shame,” Steph said while driving two days ago, “that you aren’t staying another day, because you really should see the islands.” Ever since I successfully avoided being killed...
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May 9, 2017
Day 009: First Rain
Last night clouds rolled in before the sun went down and while I was warm overnight we awoke to a cold drizzle. Packed up quick and breathed in the wet...
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May 7, 2017
Day 007: The Farthest I've Ever Biked in a Day
Today marked the farthest I’ve ever gone on a bicycle in a single day. Deep Bight to Glovertown is 97 km, with more than a few hills in between. We...
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May 5, 2017
Day 005: The Windy Province
Woke for the sunrise above yesterday’s dirt bike track. Packed and were on our bikes within half an hour, which was pretty impressive for our first time taking down camp—but...
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May 3, 2017
Day 003: Final Preparations
We pulled another late night last night. Were at a local art gallery doing a couple photoshoots until close to midnight and then spent some time planning and processing. Slept...
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May 1, 2017
Day 001: My Heart and Soul Are With You
Newfoundland is blue sky and generosity. The sun rose as we were picked up from the airport by a friend of a friend of a friend, then the 24-hour Tim...
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