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Well, we are offering you another huge apology. It has been awhile since our last update but the deal was that we would tell you about the trip if you were patient with us. Besides this may be the last update we will have to provide you with. I will not hold you in suspense until the end of the update although that would probably be more fun. We made it!! For those of you that had your doubts, and I know youre out there, we proved to you that we could do it; more than that though, we proved to ourselves that we could do it. This trip has changed us both in many ways, which one can expect from an adventure such as this. We left you last at Rys place in Almonte and so that is from where the update will continue. I hope to provide our audience with more pictures and perhaps some entries from the journal I kept on the trip so be sure to e-mail me with your e-mail address so I can let you know when these things are on the web (koot@upath.com). While at Rys place we were treated like kings once more. Swimming, food, good company and rest were all factors during this stress-free visit with the Egan family. We were able, during the visit, to take time out of our busy schedule of relaxing to call the ferry to Nfld. and change our departure date to the 30th of July rather than the 24th as it was previously scheduled for. Planning to leave the Egans on the 8th, Ry was not feeling well and so we had to endure another pain-staking day in the pool. On the 9th we were off though and looking forward to trying out our French as we crossed another border; into Quebec we go. We avoided the major highways going through Quebec, mostly because we were not allowed on them but also because they are extremely hectic and dangerous. Highway 148 took us to Montreal, which we were able to by-pass. Switching here onto highway 158 we went on to Trois-Rivieres. Once in the city we sat down to supper and took this time to contact Simon (the biker from Quebec City that we met on the road in Northern Ontario) and let him know that we would have time to visit him when we got to Quebec City. He was going to be out that weekend so we would not see him as we passed through the city. I did get the low-down (sort of) on what happened to himhe got a ride home from Marathon. Travelling on to Quebec City we had an easy ride into the city on the day of arrival followed by touring the Old Quebec, the purchase of some new brakes, tubes, etc., and sitting on the boardwalk below the Plains of Abraham fixing the bikes. On our way to the bridge to cross to the south side of the St. Lawrence, it began to rain. Now this was not just one of those typical get you a bit wet rains, it was a soak you to the bone in two seconds kind of rain. The water was literally free flowing down the sides of the streets within two minutes of the start of the down poor. With no apparent end in sight we got back on the bikes and battled through it. On our way up a steep hill before the bridge, with the rain still coming down in sheets, Rys back tire went flat. Now, in this situation many people may get absolutely furious but we took it to the next level of insanity and began to laugh hysterically. We were not sure if this is normal but we figured it was a more appropriate way to handle the situation. This way nothing else breaks from us throwing it down the hill, or worse yet, off the bridge. We stayed in a campground that night so as to give ourselves the chance to get off to a fresh start in the morning. At the campground we met a couple (Rob and Wendy) who are taking two years to cross Canada on their bikes. The catch is that she is pregnant right now and they are doing the trip while pulling their two-year-old son, Cole, in a trailer behind the bike. It was fun sharing some stories with them over breakfast. Passing through Rivieres-du-Loup we were confronted by the friendliest people of perhaps the entire trip. One after another, people would pass and help us with directions or offer some suggestions of where to stay or offer to get water for us, this went on and on. We must say that for Quebec people having a reputation of being rude or mean or both, we certainly did not meet up with any of those people. Through the entire province of Quebec the people were nothing but friendly and hospitable. We have dubbed Quebec the friendliest province of our trip.
New Brunswickthe time it took you to say that is about how much time we spent in the province. With Koots house only a couple of days from the Quebec border, we had our sites set. We had a wonderful visit at the Koot residence and took the time once again to give both ourselves and the bikes a break. This break didnt quite do it though, on the expected date of departure, Trevor had to go into Moncton with his father to get the gearing on his bike completely replaced. This made for a later than expected departure. With the advantage of a huge tailwind, the delay did not affect the travel time too significantly. We were in Charlottetown the next day where we had made arrangements with a former business partner of Rys Dad to leave our bikes at his place and perhaps set up the tent on their back porch if possible. We did just that after a wonderful evening of chatting with Jim and Marg and touring around the city. We were invited into Jim and Margs place the next morning for a wonderful breakfast before getting back on the road. Entering Nova Scotia we pushed through to Cape Breton where the scenery was wonderful and the camping spots we chose at random were excellent. It was one night after another of gorgeous sunsets followed by a sunrise that Im sure was just as beautiful (I was busy sleeping). Getting to North Sydney, where the ferry to Nfld. leaves from two days early, we changed the departure date again to the next day. In Nfld. we had to wonder why we thought that it was so important to bike across the entire province. This really hit home when we were leaving Porte Aux Basque, where the ferry had landed, and we saw a sign 890 km to St. Johns. Travelling across Nfld. was one night after another of perfect camping spots. The scenery was wonderful but at the same time the anxiety of finishing the trip was building. This anxiety was mixed with feelings of glad to be off the bikes, excited about starting new jobs, going to be nice to take a shower, excited to see the parents, at the same time though, we did not want to take away from the trip, especially the ending, by being too excited for what happens after it. With that, I guess the question would be what ending would be suitable? To answer this question, I am going to write my journal entry from the last day because I feel it gives a decent summary of the process we went through to end the trip.
[Well, how on earth do you end the adventure of a lifetime? Let me take the time to enlighten youyou begin with one thing: an assumption. This assumption consists of, first, that getting to St. Johns is straight forward, then that Rawlins Cross is actually a cross, then we will all be able to find each other (parents and us), then there will be some (hopefully easy) way of getting to the water for pictures with the bikes and finally all of this will be done with such ease and grace one would sit back and think that we had planned the whole thing for hours; as it turns out we should have. So with this assumption in hand one then gets on the bikes after a nice breakfast full of conversation with both sets of parents and thoroughly enjoys a tailwind and majority of downhill into St. Johns. While entering St. Johns this biker on their last day of the aforementioned adventure of a lifetime takes a picture in all his glory of the welcome to St. Johns sign. After this, still clinging tightly to all of the assumptions, the biker heads to downtown St. Johns. Here, while running a few errands, the biker will happen upon some friendly folks who sit down to breakfast and discuss the current assumption situation with the biker. All assumptions were in order up to this point when the biker was sadly informed by the friendly folks who heard from a complete stranger that there was no appropriate place for pictures down in the St. Johns harborthere is however the more appropriate place to end the adventure of a lifetime at the most Easterly point in North America Cape Spear. Time to put on the thinking caps and concoct a new improved plan of action. The biker at this point thanks the friendly folks for the info. (and the breakfast) and heads toward Cape Spear while the friendly folks head to Rawlins Cross to gather up the cyclists parents and inform them of the improved plan. In heading back to Cape Spear, the biker conveniently goes against the huge tailwind he had taken advantage of minutes earlier (thus making it a huge headwind), misses the exit to Cape Spear, leaves the city which has been the overall destination for 3 months and 7954 km, gets completely lost, extremely frustrated, and ends up in God knows where. After this is done, the biker will wisely stop and ask directions. The first person to give directions will provide the important detail of how to get back to the highway (which is already very obvious) followed by a lengthy summary on how to get him back to Vancouver by the sounds of it. The second direction provider will add a couple more details and this goes on for a while until after person seven or eight the biker is well on his way up hills of percent grade that must be considered an engineering phenomenon in some areas of the world, all the while wondering how he is reaching the sea by climbing so much. During this arduous part of the journey, the biker will be leap-frogged continuously by two vehicles who continually inform the biker of the proper route because they themselves have already endured a little adventure of their own and do not wish at any point in this life or the next to repeat it. Reaching the Atlantic ocean the cyclist will enjoy the most wondrous of celebrations with family, friends, cigars, champagne, pictures, sun, sea, and memories. This entire process may seem pointless and not at all necessary, but to make the adventure of a lifetime end without let-down as was feared by some (also information received from a stranger) this ending is highly recommended.]

This has truly been the adventure of a lifetime and left us with many new friends and memories. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our families and friends for their love and support along the way. We also send out a big thank-you to all the people that fed us, put a roof over our heads and kept us company along the way. We do not want to thank everyone individually for fear that we will leave someone out, so THANK YOU EVERYONE!!

You can continue to get in contact with us through the web site and we sincerely hope everyone enjoys the remainder of the summer.

KOOT AND RY!!

July 6th, 2001
Well everybody hold on to your collective hats....this is gonna be a long one! Sorry we have not written in such a long time...but Northern Ontario is somewhat desolate. You may also notice that our English is a little more sophisticated...this is because we cannot use short forms...the apostrophie button is doing è....that! Lastly (in our little preface) we are not going to go day by day...we will just hit the big ones!! We left Rylans Aunte Natalies on June 10th. Once again a HUGE thank you for all that they have done for us including lots of hospitality and LOTS of food (we had to repack our B.O.B trailers to accomidate all the packed food!!) Also a big thanks to Pat and Ernie Gawaziuk who gave us a place to stay in Neepawa, Manitoba. We made the 170km trip to their place the day that we left Boris and Natalies. They did not know us but extended their arms, food and home to us like we were family. Getting used to the wonderful hospitality in Manitoba we made a valient attempt to make a home the next day as well. This home was that of the Kembel family. Niel, Leslie and Erin all greated us warmly. The Kembels are old family friends of Rylans parents...and increasingly good friends of Koot and Ry!!! Erin was good enough to take time off work (which is easy as she is the boss....she owns her own fashion line called Emk....we encourage people to check her hand bags out at the Bay!!!)and show us the wonders of Winnipeg. This included padio hopping, meeting Erins friends (aka crazy man) and cruising with the top down. All in all we had great fun and enjoyed a warm summer day. Neil and Less showed us a wonderfull time as well and gave us a great break from biking. We were treated to THE BEST whirlpool in the entire world (WOW!!!!!!), a steak dinner, GREAT conversation (including funny stories about Rylans parents and a birthday cake for Trev.) and Niel even gave Ry a fishing rod to break the monotony of some bicycle evenings. Needless to say a BIG thank you goes out to Niel, Leslie and Erin...Steve if you are reading this we will do our best to catch up with ya next time. We were sad to leave the Kembels mostly because of the fun we had but the East wind and rain played a part in that as well. We left on June 13th, the same day Trev. turned 23......happy birthday to Trev. The next couple of days the weather was not in our favour and with all the pampering we had been recieving we found it easy to justify our next moves! With very few kilometers under our belt after Winnipeg we chose to stop early at a campground-mini resort which included a hot tub and huge water slide etc. The next day was as eventfull and productive as the day before. With the rain picking up we decided to make it an easy day as well. For Koots birthday I purchased a motel for the evening. We both appreciated the warm bed and shower, for the last time in what would be quite a long time. The next night we made Kanora, Ontario. The day was cold and rainy so once again we were fairly anxious to set up our tent! We decided to set it up in an area that was relatively close to down-town yet in a place that we thought was secluded. It turned out that our disguise was not as good as we had thought and Saturday evenings in Kanora can get fairly wild. In short the evening consisted of dealing with individuals throwing rocks at the tent and yelling from the highway. It turned out to be a decidedly unpleasant evening with very little sleep. We also managed to stop at the Blue Heron gift shop where Erin had proposed to sell her merchandise. Picture this a big bald Trevor walks into this quaint little shop and asks in a deep gruff voice 'Do you have any Emk handbags'. I am not sure if the lady thought we were nuts or not....either way I don't think that our ploy had the desired promotional effect; sorry Erin, we tried. The next significant stop would have to be English River where after talking with a lady at a hotel/campground and finding out that the price for a piece of grass was $20, we went next door and chatted with Ron. Ron was an older gentleman that lived in a log house he had built with his own hands and had a separate showerhouse for the small campground he maintained and charged us $5 to use. We went for our first swim in Northern Ontario and it proved to be much colder than we had expected so it ended up being relatively short. The hills at this point are getting larger because of the approach to Lake Superior. The nice thing about these hills that makes them so much different from the mountains is that they are constructed with the truckers in mind. They are never long and staight up; they may be one or the other, but not both. En route to Upsala we met up with Al, a fellow biker doing the Cross-Canada tour. We exchanged some stories with the gentleman and continued on our way. Arriving in Upsala we stopped for a bite to eat and about thirty minutes later Al pulled up and joined us. We shared more stories and exchanged website addresses and continued on our way...we haven't seen him since. The bikes up to this point have continued to give us trouble. The problems have spread from the gearing, to the tires (two have blown on us), to the spokes. All in all, the actual biking itself had become very difficult up to that point. Ry made arrangements through his father and sister, who then got in touch with Greg (owner of the Bike Doctor in Saskatoon-Thanks again Greg), who then got in touch with a Norco rep, who then reached the owner of Fresh Air Experience in Thunder Bay, who was expecting us and willing to fix whatever needed to be fixed for no charge. We arrived after a quick visit to Kekabecka (sp?) Falls just west of Thunder Bay and got new rims, new tires, the gearing fixed, and smiles on our faces. Heading out of Thunder Bay we made a stop that Koot had been looking forward to for quite sometime. We stopped to see the Terry Fox Memorial. This had a lot of significance because first of all we are both raising money for Cancer but mostly it really put into perspective for us how easy this trip is in comparison; it really makes us stop and appreciate life. We stayed at the KOA just west of Thunder Bay where we met up with another two people that were biking across Canada. These two girls told us that they would come to the campsite and visit with us later that night...they didn't and we haven't seen them since either. A couple of days after leaving Thunder Bay we ran (biked) into Simone, a guy from Quebec City that was, you guessed it, biking across Canada as well. With the language barrier we had to act out our discussions. Spending two night5s with Simon, both in ditches, we learned a lot of new camping ideas and tricks (cleaning pots with dirt!). On the third day Simon mentioned to us how he was not feeling very well, we said not to worry about it and we would wait for him in Marathon. Arriving in Marathon we were approached by a lady who told us that Simon was in "A Ditch" (and he wasn't camping). We headed back to find him and were met by Simon, who had been picked up by a gentleman with a truck. He had passed out and was going to call it a day. We exchanged addresses and he headed into Marathon to visit the Hospital....and we haven't seen him since!!! Visiting the tourist bureau in Marathon, we were told about three girls who were one day ahead of us. They were camping at White Lake provincial park. As with any average 23 year old male this sparked our intrest :-)!! That evening we camped at White Lake provincial park, and it just happened that we ran into these three young ladies. We introduced ourselves to Elaine, Tracy and Darcy and spent the evening sharing stories about our eventures. The following day we pulled out of the campground much later then them but caught up with them again in White River. We had some lunch together and decided to 'ride together' for a little while. The day was quite hot and we all agreed that the next lake we found should be used as a cooling station. Pulling up to a small lake off the side of the road it took no time at all for our shoes to be off and we were in the water. Ry and Koot were excited about the idea of just going for a 'a quick dip'. They did not realize that they were going to have to engage themselves in a triathalon. As soon as we hit the water we realized that Tracy was part fish. She began to swim towards the middle of the lake. Not being terribly intelligent the boys began to follow. We did not stop until we reached the other side of the lake. Although it was quite a swim we all enjoyed chatting and getting to know eachother better while enjoying the sun (we also enjoyed Darcy's diving demonstration :-) That evening we stayed at another provincial park...however it was easily justified when the cost was divided by five rather than two. We enjoyed a nice evening with lots of chatting, laughing and fishing (sorry Niel but all those fishing tips are lost on me....all I have been able to catch is salad!!) The next day brought some very large hills as we were entering lake superior provincial park. It also showed some significant courage from Elaine who was biking with a bicycle that did not function correctly! After an exciting ride down a huge hill that gave a magnificent view of lake superior, we noticed a beautiful beach named 'Old Woman Bay'. Ry managed to get into the water first and Koot, Darcy and Tracy all plotted to run in together. Koot and Darcy flung themselves into the water while Tracy thought better of it (we cannot blame her to much as the water was VERY cold). After a few significant hills we managed to get to Rabbit Blanket provincial park. We set up our tent and enjoyed some tinfoil/bonfire cuisine (see pictures!!) Once again we enjoyed eachothers company. In the morning we expected to be charged for the evening but were lucky enough to be spared. For days now we had been warned about the hill at Montreal River. This hill was in our favour so we had also been looking forward to it. With a 7% grade and a 90 degree corner at the end we gained some significant speed down the hill and the turn made it look as though we would be swimming in lake Superior! It was as long and as fun as we had been hoping for!!! Later that afternoon we started to look for somewhere appropriate to pull off the road and camp with the idea that we would like to end up sleeping on the beach of lake Superior. Koot took it upon himself to pick a random side road that was not maintained and head towards the lake. After 2.5km of 'off roading' we arrived at a beautiful uninhabited stone washed beach. Getting there was not the hard part it was getting the bikes onto the beach over a 10ft cliff that was a challange. With that done, and supper finished, we sat by a large bonfire and sang campfire songs and latter fell asleep on the beach under the stars (Sans tent!!) The next morning we were happy to find a staircase back up the cliff....making our job of carrying the bikes much easier!! It rained for much of the day....but by later in the afternoon the sun came out. This day we also managed to get to the 'halfway plaque' which illustrated the halfway point of the trans Canada highway. As we biked along that evening we were all feeling pretty good and planned on biking for a while longer....when we were stopped by a vehical on the side of the road and the driver offered us his lawn which was right on Lake Superior. We had no problem in excepting the offer due to the fact that it was so humid and we could use a quick swim! Pulling into the driveway Kevin Yeaman (from Mannatech Nutritional Suppliments) met us and once again offered his lawn for our tents. In no time we were in the water and Kevin took the opportunity to pull out the water ski's and fire up the boat! After each of us took a turn on the Ski's it was getting close to supper time. Kevin suggested that we may want to try a restaurant across the bay from his house. He even offered to take us there in his boat....once again we jumped on the offer. This all happened after Kevin changed his mind and told us we should sleep in the basement and not in our tents. Once again excepting the offer we unpacked our bikes and headed to the restaurant in the boat! At the restaurant Koot and Ry were offered a challange by the restaurant staff to eat a pound and a half of hamburger, a whole lot of fries and a big bowl of coleslaw (Sans fork!). After finishing the meal we wondered what was for desert....needless to say the meal was free since we finished it! The following day we got away early because we had fifty km to Sault ste Marie and Elaine needed to get her bicycle fixed. Just before we reached the city we were met by 'one mile hill' which we had been warned about for quite some time! After getting to the top with no problem we coasted into the city where we found the bicycle shop that Kevin had set us up with the previous evening. Spending the day at the mall we developed pictures and decided that we would part ways with the girls the next day. Because of this we decided to spend our last evening at a hotel and so we went across the road to do some price compairing. Koot went to the Day's Inn and asked how much a room was...the response was $135 an evening. Koot mentioned that we were doing it for cancer and the reservationist was VERY receptive. She retrieved the manager who let us put our bicycles in the banquet hall and gave us the room for $65. We took the opportunity of having somewhere to put our bike to go out for the evening. We went to a movie.. "Evolution"...Trev. like it but it didn't really blow 'Ry's' mind!! The next day we went for breakfast and parted ways with the girls resulting in a late start of 2:00pm. If any of the girls read this update we would like to say that we both enjoyed your company and that you enhanced our trip!!! The next four days consisted of us biking our tails off...averaging 200km a day with a goal of reaching Ry's house. Ariving in Almonte we were met by Ry's parents (Pete and Daria), lots of food..a hot tub...a swimming pool...R&R and because of this it ended up being a five day stay. We have enjoyed our stay here immensely and would like to thank Pete and Daria for taking care of us so well. That is all for now (I wonder how many of you just said 'thank god')... we look forward to updating you in the future!!

Koot and Ry
June 9, 2001
Well we thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Saskatoon. Since it was a little bit prolonged, we will try to just hit the highlights. Rylan had two personal highlights. The first involved two pretty girls, four drunk guys and a hot tub (Sounds pretty crazy but it was just a really nice time with some friends :-). The second personal highlight was my trip to Gravelbourg to meet with the Stringer family. A mutual friend (Dave Sando....) drove himself and me down to Gravelbourg and we were welcomed with open arms (unfortunately they were Reg's arms and he had been stuckoing all day (SP?)) Well the combination of hitting the local bars, the local lake and even a few golf balls into a baseball dimond made for a very enjoyable trip. I would like once again to thank the Stringer family for their hospitality and wish them luck on their travels. As for Trev. he is now a full fledged graduate. Fortunately for both Trev. and Ry, Joe and Joanne (Koots mom and dad) were able to share the occasion with us (not to mention put us up in a hotel :-) ~ thanks once again to the Koot family. Trev. also managed a trip to Regina and some quality time with Jill. On June 4th we departed with high spirits, a good sleep and one heck of a strong head wind. If anybody out there has ever swam against a current (or biked against the wind for that matter) you will know the havoc it caused. The first day we made it as far as Colonsay, a small town about 60k East of Saskatoon. We ventured into the local pub where we met Brandy & Brandy's mom,'Fat Boy', and Jim. Between them we were provided with great stories, a camp fire, a little razzing and lawn to sleep on. All of which were much appreciated and provided for an excellent nights sleep. The next day the wind was going in the same direction and once again little progress was made. This time we cycled as far as Lanigan where we found ourselves a baseball diamond to sleep at. I am sure the nice citizens who were playing baseball were wondering about us and our tent....but they didn't seem to mind and we had a great evening. On the road again the next day, and once again against the wind, we only made it 60k once again. This time our destination was Wynyard and once again we found the local baseball diamond. However, the clouds on this night were looming and we just had the tent set up in time to escape a booming thunderstorm. Once again the night passed without incident and we were up and ready to go again. The only difference was the next day the wind had changed direction. For the first time in four days it was going towards the East (not hard, but East just the same). The wind change lifted our spirits as well as our average distance. Reaching Yorkton in time for supper, we stopped at Bonanza, ate a well deserved meal (for covering 150k), and were on our way again. We had told ourselves that once we got a strong tailwind we were going to go until dark. The new destination became the Manitoba border and we arrived there at nine pm after a hard day's bikeride (218k!! A new record). We camped at the border, and I mean right on the border. Trevor slept in Manitoba and Ry in Saskatchewan. With the time change, Koot was ready to go in the morning long before Ry even got out of bed!! Pushing ourselves quite hard, we were able to reach Gilbert Plains and the home of Ry's relatives (Irene (Baba), Walter (Dido), Uncle Boris, Aunt Natalie, Uncle Harry, Aunt Stella, Carla, Megan and Adam (Cousins)). When we arrived Harry took us for a spin in his Power Parachute (picture this, a go-cart, a parachute, and a big fan). We also received the big bar-b-q and a bonfire. Today consisted of intense chores (where we observed Boris do the work), a back breaking fishing trip (where we watched Boris do all the work), and a meal that blew our minds (where we watched Natalie do all the work). We have definitely had a great time on the farm and would like to thank all of the Talpash's. Tomorrow we are off to the metropolis of Nepawa where Natalie has hooked us up with accomodations. Good-night.

Koot and Ry


May 17, 2001
We have made it 1/3 of the way across the country and all is well so far. We have managed to enjoy the mountains/praires in May as well as we can. A big thanks to Mr. Gord Harris who was paramount in seeing us through the mountains and giving us advice on how to safely travel. By contacting motels, arranging shuttles and convincing us not to attempt travel accross Vancouver Island (it just wasn't feasible)he has made the trip a lot easier. But the moral of the story is that on the 15th we pulled into Saskatoon, with a big smile and a tailwind to boot. After a leaving the Kirschner's we were off like a herd of turtles, for about 30km. At which point Koot's back tire promptly leaked all its air. We stopped and figured that we would have to fix his tire (20min max) and we would be on our way. Well we did just that, the only problem is that we did it 5 times before we discover WHAT was causing the leaks. It turns out that a piece of metal about 1mm long and as thin as a hair was causing us all our problems. Well eventually 3hrs later we had the tire fixed and we were off again. Since evening was closing in we decided to stay in Elk Island P.P. Well after discovering that the campsite was 13km away and would cost $20 we decided against it. Instead we decided to pull off on a side road and beg for a lawn. Koot very cautiously approached Mrs. Joyce Milton and her boys (Wyatt and Ty) to ask her (as to try and avoid startling her). To both of our amazement she wasn't startled at all and was more than willing to lend us a piece of her lawn. That evening her husband Brett came home and was good enough to come visit us on the road (we were cooking) and invite us in for coffee. Well we did just that and after a great conversation enjoyed a nice sleep in their wind sheltered lawn! The next day the wind was in our face and it was an uphill battle. But it was one we fought with vigor cycling our 100km average within a 5hr period. We were able to stop at the world's largest Ukranian Easter Egg and take some pictures. We made it to Innisfree where we decided to have dinner at the Petro-Canada truck stop. Dinner was great and on a whim I decided to ask if we could sleep on the lawn outside the truck stop. The waitress informed me that the manager was not there, but she figured it would not be a problem. Well it sure wasn't and once again we had a great sleep and helped ourselves to an excellent dinner and breakfast at the truck stop. The next day was certainly a better day!!! The wind was gusting at our backs and we were really off to the races. We made Lloydminster by 12:00pm and subsequently passed over the Alberta/Saskatchewan border! We decided to make use of the tail wind and we were off again peddling like mad. About 160km in beautifull Maidstone we decided to stop and have some icecream. While we were stopped we met Tyler and after inquiring about our trip he agreed to donate $10, we thanked him and he was off. Much to our supprise within 3 minutes he was back again, and since he thought it was such a good cause he decided to donate another $20. We would like to thank Tyler and all other sponsors who have helped us along the way! We took off again from Maidstone with our minds set on making Paynton before dark (another 20km away). Well we did make it just before dark and just before it started to rain. We decided to set up our tent in a communtity field beside some baseball diamonds. Marlene a very nice lady who lived beside the fields offered us her lawn (she actually approached us) and once again we enjoyed a great evening. The cuisine was a little bit to be desired as we could not cook in the rain (cold chili out of the can) but we survived just fine:-) The next day as the pattern would follow the wind was gusting in our face once again. We maintained a speed that averaged 15km/h and we only biked 90km. We made it through the Battlefords and all the way to Maymont. After enjoying some 'corner store food' we sat down and had a wonderfull chat with the proprietor. She once again was good enough to offer a back lot that she had vacant for the evening. We took it with vigor and once again enjoyed the evening. We were 92km from Saskatoon and secretely praying for the wind to be blowing in the right direction. Well our prayer's were answered and when I put our windgage flag on the road in bent right over (in the right direction). That day it only took us 2.25hrs to bike the distance into Saskatoon with at average speed of 35km/h. When we got into the city we visited Jill (Trev's girlfriend)who was very excited to see 'us'/him! :-) She was good enough to give us the keys to the house so we could shower and do laundry. Wouldn't you know it her roomate is Eric (you guessed it) Kirschner, without the Kirschners/Jill we would certainly be a lot less happy and a lot more smelly. Well we are neither cold nor smelly now and in fact we are happily scanning pictures, updating you, and enjoying our friends' company. We will be in Saskatoon for 2.5 weeks while we wait for Trev. to convocate/graduate from Kinesiology/gym! Well after our break we will be off again down the Yellowhead with stops in Dauphin and Winnipeg. We will update you once again from one of these centers!

Cheers
Koot and Ry!

May 9, 2001
Well, here we sit in Edmonton Alberta which means two milestones of the trip have been established. One, we have gotten through the rockies alive; and two, that is one province down with only nine to go. We are sitting in the beautiful home of Ron and Elaine Kirschner, the parents of a friend who have so graciously taken us in, fed us, and let us use their laundry facilities. We apologize for the delay in the update but the planned stop in Jasper only three days ago was cancelled when we heard news of a storm pushing in. We would like everyone to check the site regularly from this point on because when we arrive in Saskatoon (in about five days) we will have the chance to do a full update including pictures!! Anyway, we will continue the update from where we left off the last time. The second night in Kamloops was not as eventful as the first. We had planned on staying in a campground but after doing our laundry at the local laundromat and showering at the local YMCA, we could not justify spending $20 for a piece of grass. After a tip from a local, we found a secluded little park where we pitched the tent and were not disturbed for the rest of the night. May 2nd proved to be the best biking day weather-wise we had had yet and we took advantage of that by making it to Clearwater. We figured since asking for a piece of grass in Kamloops worked so well we would do the same here. The first house we asked at we got rejected because the guy there was, "not into that sort of thing" as he put it. The second house we asked at, the home of Matt and Betty Shultze was much more inviting and they were more than happy to help us out. Another night of Beef Ravioli and I am starting to feel like if I see Mr. Boyardee one more time I am going to puke. Ry on the other hand does not seem to be affected by the overdose of pasta in a can! Left Clearwater in some not-so-pleasant weather but felt we needed to put some kilometers behind us. The plan was to make it to Blue River by the end of the day. However, wind, rain and mountains all conspired to alter our aspirations. By the time we made Avola, the rain had picked up and we could not bring ourselves to make the forty kilometer trek to Blue River. Our first concern was to obtain food, which we did at the appropriately named, "food store". As we entered the store we were rapidly approached by a larger gentleman bestowing the virtues of his freshly made subs. We informed him we had just eaten and his dislike for us and his disappointment were evident. He then informed us how easy and quick the forty kilometer bike-ride (in the rain) would be. He liked us even less when I offered the services of my bike for him to do it. Anyway, since the accomodations on the lawns of the locals were not overly inviting so we decided on a motel. The following day (May 4) mother nature decided that diversity in weather would be too difficult so once again it was raining. However, she did take the time to add one heck of a cold snap. Needless to say, there is nothing appropriate to put on a website to describe the bike-ride that day. By the time we were twenty three kilometers out of Valemount, with probable frostbite we could not pass up the Bed and Breakfast sign. The proprieters of The Summit River Lodge were willing to put us up for the evening (which included breakfast and dinner). The price was very reasonable and we would readily recommend it to anybody who is in the area. Finally, the next day, the rain came to an end. This day we also connected with the Yellowhead highway (#16) which took us into Mount Robson. We were able to sneak into a closed Provincial Park in the beautiful valley below the towering peaks of Mount Robson. We were able to make Jasper the next day with an easy eighty kilometer ride. Two milestones were reached this day: 1) We crossed into Alberta; 2) The sun actually came out for more than ten minutes. Jasper is a beautiful town and with our bikes getting fixed we were given the chance to look around briefly before finding a campsite. Ry even let me get some fudge to keep me quiet for just a little bit longer!! Staying at Whistler's Campground just a couple of kilometers south of Jasper we had the chance to enjoy a quiet evening by the campfire with our neighbours in the site next to us. After a short night of laughs and conversation, we called it a night not knowing yet whether we were going to bike the next day or not. As it turned out we ended up back on the bikes due to the storm warnings I mentioned earlier. We left Jasper late (1:00 pm) the following day. The idea was to make a short day of it and bike the eighty kilometers to Hinton. However, due to a strong tailwind and the joy of being out of the mountains, we pressed on until Edson. This at the time was our best day yet at 170 km and an average speed of 30 km/hr. As we had done in Kamloops a few days earlier, we got some good advice from the locals and found an out-of-the-way park where we would not be disturbed nor would we disturb anyone. The goal for the following day was Entwistle, Alba. about 80 km east. Although in the morning we fought a strong headwind, by 1:00 pm the wind had shifted to our backs. After lunch in Entwistle we decided to press on and did not stop until Stony Plain, just 30 km west of Edmonton (another 170 km day). As with the night before due to good local advice we found a park where we would not be disturbed. That brings us to today. We spent two hours outside a Stony Plain restaurant fixing a tire which Koot had blown the night before. Further, an uneven bout between two fat kids and a misbehaving rear brake led to Koot biking into Edmonton carefully. After some help from a local bike shop we were on our way again, this time to a warm bed at the Kirschner's. That is all for now and as I mentioned the next update should be picture-loaded so be sure to keep checking!!!

Koot and Ry!!

May 1, 2001
Well here we sit in Kamloops B.C waiting for a rain storm to pass. We have had both good and bad luck along the way, two blown tires in the first day, as well as many gearing problems but these have been outweighed by positive experiences. People along the way have been extreamly approachable and friendly. Offering discounts and free merchandice. For instance we met a man named Don at the Van. Airoport who offered to extend free sun glasses from his company (of which he was president...Suntech Optics. On our first day we had the most mechanical issues however we managed to make it about 60km to Fort Langly, just at the foothills of the coastal mountains. This was a very nice town however as with all coastal regions....LOTS OF RAIN:-)!On the second day we got away after numerous attempts to repair gearing/tires/rims etc. We made our way up to Mission which is embeded within the coastal mountains, to visit with Aunt Sister Mary Joanne or as we affectionatly refer to her as A.S.M.J!!! After tea and cookies and an excellent chat we were back on the road and made it as far as Harrision Bay....where we met Less. Less was a very nice gentleman who runs a campground outside of Harrison Hot Springs. He was willing to lower his fee down to $5 since we look downtrotten. Further he extended us free soap and lots of good advice on how to get fresh spring water and get to have a sucessful journey. The third day was the toughest since we got stuck between Yale and Boston Bar without food and with our light fading. However, through persiverence we made it to Boston Bar and treated ourselves to a Motel as setting up camp in the rain at dark without a place to put our tent was not appealing. Day four was an excellent day....for the first day since we had started we didn't get wet....thats right it doesn't rain everyday in B.C. We made it about 80K and set up camp in Gold Pan Provincial Park. At this point we had no cash and as a result I was privy to a free ride to the local interact machine with the ranger (not to mention a scenic tour of the area and a stop at the local dump!)Day five was the most sucessful distance wise....we got up early with very little mechanical difficulties. We managed to make it 140km this day. Crazy Koot in fact decided he would rather be on a motor cycle and reached a max speed of 83km down a larger mountain (sorry Joe and Joanne but I have no control over this kid!!!). The wind was our friend this day and for the most part was at our back. However, there were a few tence moments with a foot worth of shoulder large transports on our left and a 100ft drop on our right. With wind gusting and blowing from either side we looked like we had been at the local pub the night before....moving side to side. Thinking we would only make Cache Creek we pulled into Kamloops 50km further at about 6:30pm. With no other choice we decided to start knocking on doors to beg for a place to stay. The first was Hills of Peace Lutheran Church where not only did the Pastor (Keith Peterson)and other volunteers give us a peice of lawn but they offered us leftovers from the banquet dinner they had just finished. As well we were entertained by the touring Athabasca choir later that evening. In the morning there were donuts and coffee waiting for us and the choir members to enjoy before we both departed. We were given a very nice good bye wave from the choire as they departed from the church. So to the choir but mostly the Hills of Peace Lutheran Church we would love to extend a GREAT BIG THANK YOU!!! Well that sums up where we are. Today (May 1st) we took the day off to shower, do laundry and correspond with you. But tomorrow we are off again down highway 5... then it's down 16 towards Jasper. We anticipate to write you when we get there. Till then lots of love....


KOOT AND RY!

Here is the only information we have about the trip so far. We will be back in Saskatoon on May 30th for Koot's convocation and will be departing this beautiful city on June 2nd, 2001.

One last drink with a friend before we head out on the trip. (Koot on the left, Rye in the middle and John Scott on the right)