E-mail Updates Sent During the Trip

Subject: Update #1: Shaun's Side of the Story

Hello Everyone,

Well we and our bikes and gear arrived in Halifax without problem. We had a great time setting up the bikes after all night on the plane and no sleep.

Sarah has done well biking. We've done 72km, 44km, 97km, 60km on the last four days in that order. The 92km was because we missed our camp site and the camp book didn't tell us to turn where we needed to. Then we biked until sundown to reach the next town. That day was not fun. We also had a head wind most of the day.

We've met a few really nice people and have generally found people to be more helpful when asked. We even had a lady ask us if we needed help when we pulled out our map.

We've covered Nova Scotia in 4 days with 1.5 days of rain (fun setting up camp in the rain) and tempatures from 3 to 15 Celcius. We are now in Saint John, New Burnswick taking a day off to rest our legs before heading to Fredricton (via Highway 7) and then up Highway 2 to Quebec.

The trip is good minus the cold wind or the wet rain.

For my family: If you need to reach us tonight, we are in a Motel called Nikul Motel Ltd. (from the reciept). Balmoral Motels was what the sign out front says. Address: 1284 Manawagonish Rd. Saint John, New Burnswick, E2M 3X9.

Take care all... I'm not really sure Sarah and I knew what we got our selves into... ;-)

--------------------------------------
Sarah & Shaun
- safe and sound biking the country.
--------------------------------------

Well, we are now 30km west of Fredericton, got about another 20-30km to bike today! After a day off in Saint John, we headed north, camped just south of Fredericton. We had thought that that would be our easy day, thinking that we would back country camp at some point when we got tired, however, the maps and people we asked for directions neglected to mention that the largest military training camp in the commonwealth countries is what the highway runs through, with big signs warning you not to leave the highway! So instead, we took yesterday easy, and camped at Fredericton. We met this great retired couple from California who have done a ton of biking and had us over for hot chocolate in their motor home, last night! Great weather, temperatures up to 27 celceius and clear skys!

This is what we were looking forward too!

-------------------------------------- Sarah & Shaun - safe and sound biking the country. --------------------------------------

Subject: Update #3 across Canada

 We thought we had been sending emails, but it
seems that we had a bit of difficulty, so
somehow only some people recieved our past two
updates.  We'll resend them when I can get a
copy of them.

 So to summarize, we flew to Halifax,
no problems, bikes arrived fine, and set out
across Nova Scotia.  
   Nova Scotia was hilly, cold and wet, and
windy but no snow!  Everyone was very
friendly.  We took a ferry from Digby NS to
Saint John NB.  Where we took a day off and
enjoyed the warmer weather and sun.
  New Brunswick has been lovely, again very
friendly people, not as hilly as NS and much
warmer with lots of sunshine.  We got to see
the world's longest covered bridge, the largest
axe and the largest falls east of Niagra.  
   We are doing well, no major catastrophes,
and our bikes are still in one piece.  
 Hope everyone is having a good Summer!

--------------------------------------
Sarah & Shaun
  - safe and sound biking the country.
--------------------------------------

Subject: Update #4: From Quebec

Hello All, We're having problems with the e-mail stuff. If you received our first or second e-mail, please send it back to us (so we can send it to everyone, thanx).

So we are in Quebec City enjoying the old part of the city. We just biked our first 1000 kms. yesterday coming into the city. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were very nice to ride through and we enjoyed our time there.

We decided to follow the advice of a motorcyclist we met in NS, and take the ferry from River=E9 du Loup across the Saint Lawerence River to ST. Simeone. He said that it was very beautiful and less traffic. However, he forgot to mention the mountains!! The first day across, it was not so beautiful, due to the fog and the worst rain of the trip (we hope). The second day was nicer, but very windy, I think this would have been when the big wind storm hit Ontario. And the hills were huge! 10 to 18 percent grades! Very lovely views, not worth the hills! The third day, we climbed up by a ski mountain and hit freezing rain (and maybe a bit of snow!) but after lunch that day, it was mostly down hill to Quebec City!

So far on our tours of the city, we have visited the Citadel, the museum of Civilization, the Notre Dame, lots of little shops and enjoyed the old city. Back to the pavement tommorrow!

We found a great bike path to get into Quebec City and out of. The drivers here are quite biker unfriendly! But oh well, We will head onto route 138 out of the city and then onto Montreal!

Hope everyone is doing well!

PS: Please reply to bikecanadatrip@canoemail.com not this e-mail address. We will not receive it here.

Subject: Update # 5

Hello from Ottawa!
    We enjoyed two wonderful days in Quebec City.  I think this was a
real highlight of the trip.  The weather was cool, but sunny, and we 
found a really cheap place to stay right in the Old part of the
city.  
    We really enjoyed wandering the city, touring the Citadel, and it
turns out that Tuesdays(the day we decided to go see the museum of
civilization) are free for the museum.  So we spent a good 4 hours
there, wandering the exhibits.  Shaun was very unimpressed with the
exhibit about shoes, but otherwise it was very interesting.  
    After Quebec City, we decided to stay north of Montreal and head
right to Ottawa.  Shaun had already been to Montreal, and none of the
tourist books made it sound that exciting.  Also, both Shaun and I
wanted to spend lots of time in Ottawa, so here we are.  
    If anybody wants to plan an awesome 2 to 3 week bike trip, We
have a route for you.  Fly to Ottawa, spend a couple days as
tourists, bike to Montreal, enjoy the city,  and then bike up to
Quebec City, a few more days as a tourist, and then fly home.  There 
is a beautiful route that follows the St. Lawerence, very flat, nice
shoulders and great camping, or lots of B&Bs if that is more your
style (which I think we should have done... Shaun  ;)!  
    Well, we have been at this now for 3 weeks, and I finally feel 
fit!  It hit about two days ago, I could keep up with Shaun, didn't
need to stop every few km and 60 km no longer seems like an
eternity.  Unfortunately I shared this info with Shaun, and now I
seem to be carrying more gear and we have decided to increase our
average to 80 km a day.  Actually this is pretty doable, and then we 
will be able to have more half days, or days off when we want them.  
Also, just remeber that everyone wants bike tans, especially the
helmet tan!
    Hope eveyone is doing well!  

--------------------------------------
Sarah & Shaun
  - safe and sound biking the country.
--------------------------------------

Subject: Update #6: The big rainy town of Mattawa

Hello all, We are kinda stuck in Mattawa (well, hiding from the rain). It's been raining for the last 3 days and we woke to another day of rain. We decided to sleep in a bit and wait out the rain. Then we decided to hide here in Mattawa. We are just east of North Bay, population 3,000 here.<

Tomorrow we'll head to North Bay rain or shine but the forcast doesn't call for more rain (finally). Luckily the local library had internet access so we can spend some time and stay dry and warm for a bit.

We've done 1,800 kms and we expect to visit Brent in Thunder Bay the week of July 4th. That makes 70 kms a day for the next 18 or so days.

We passed a guy biking the opposite way yesterday. He left from Whistler and went north then across the country on bike. He figures he'll make the whole trip in 2 months. He said the worst hill he hit was just north of Pemberton by Duffy Lake (I know the hill he's talking about and can't believe he biked that).

Enough from me, here's my lovely (bug bitten) wife.

---
Hello! I don't know if we are hiding more from the bugs or the rain! Normally bugs don't bother me. I don't react too much to the bites, and they don't seem to like me very much. However, black flies seem to love me! They can sense me a mile a way, and seem to like to swarm me, totally ignoring Shaun. Shaun thinks it is because I shower too much! Probably, but when a hot shower is available, I won't turn it down. Anyways, we thoroughly enjoyed Ottawa, even with the huge rain pour and flooding streets. We spent a day touring the Parliament buildings, the National Art Gallery and the Royal Candadian Mint. The next day we went and stayed with our friend Jason's brother and sister in law. They are the nicest people and have an adorable 14 month old son. It was very nice and relaxing to spend a night there. And since they live in an eastern suburb of Ottawa, it was easy to head out the next day. Other than that, it has been - wake up, eat oatmeal, bike, snack, bike, lunch, bike, get to campsite, set up tent, cook dinner, eat, relax - fight off the bugs, and then sleep. Pretty much the same every day. The area we are in now, is quite pretty, lots of hills, trees and the road follows the Ottawa River. Supposedly we have a big climb ahead of us at Montreal River (in about a week or so). Hope everyone is doing well!
------------------------------------------
Sarah and Shaun, bikin' our way across the country.

Subject: Update #7: Sault Ste. Marie

Hello Everyone,
First off, Sault Ste. Maire is pronounced "Sue Saint Maire".  It took us
a while to figure that out since people kept referring to this mysterious
thing called "The Sue".

We are alive and well and have had some dry and warmer weather for the
last few days.  After our 4 days of rain we've had about a week of good
weather from clear and sunny to overcast and hummid.  We've had three
nights with rain but that's ok since it stopped before morning for us.
 The first night of rain was a thunder and lighting storm.  We heard the
first drops of rain, quickly put on the tent's tarp and less than 2 min
after getting in the tent the rain just dumped.  We've stayed dry however
thanx to our tent, except yesterday coming into "The Sue".  It began
raining at about the 50 km mark and we were quickly drenched.  The air
was still very warm so we weren't cold at least.  We stopped for lunch
after a while and then rode on for the last 30 km.

Two days ago we noticed that my rear rim was starting to split (right
down the middle of the side wall).  So after noticing this I had to
disable my rear brakes.  Eventually the split in the rim created a sharp
edge that tore through my inner tube and I quickly had a flat.  We
repaired this and used Sarah's idea of protecting it with a thick
reflective leg strap that we had.  I then used electrical tape over this
to hold it all together.  We got to the camp site and it seemed to be
fine.  The next day we hit Blind River and the bike shop's mechanic
didn't work weekends so I couldn't get it fixed there.  We rode onto the
next night's campsite.  There we met a couple from Vancouver Island going
the other way.  We camped with them and swapped stories around the
campfire.  It was great.   The next morning I found that the split in the
rim had torn the tire and the tube was coming out.  Again, black tape to
the rescue.  Now we were praying that they would hold for 80 km to "The
Sue".  [Tim Allen would be horrified -- black tape??? not Duct Tape! ...
there's also several puns such as "finally being able to get the tire
repaired ... none to Sue-n," wanting to "Sue then over the defective
tire," etc. - BED]

We ran into another guy coming from Vancouver to the Maratimes and he had
duct tape so he taped up the rim while we talked [oops ... spoke too
Sue-n - BED].  It also turns out, that he used to tape oil pipes, so he
did a very good job of taping the tire.  In the end,I rode about 140 km
on a taped up tire with no rear brakes with little problem and some
worry.  We are now waiting to hear if the bike shop can fix it for us
(ie: new rim).

We are spending another night here and then on to Thunder Bay.   We've
been warned that this is where some real hills start but Dave and Cathy
(the cyclists from Vancouver Island) told us where to camp and get food
for the next bit which is very helpful.

(Sarah now)  

We hit a large grocery store (probably just a normal size one at home,
but huge compared to the general stores we have been dealing with for the
past couple weeks) and it was almost a culture shock! So much food, so
many decisions.  Not everything is canned!  We enjoyed our shopping and
stocked up.  After that, we found a Chinese food restaurant, that was
actually pretty good. (I can't believe I have lasted this long with out
Chinese food)  We have been warned not to try the Chinese food in Wawa.
(Why would you go to Wawa for Chinese food?)  

The bugs seem better, or else I'm just getting more use to them.  Jeff,
Jason's brother, emailed us that black flies like scented soaps, that
would explain why they went after my scalp and hair.  I think I'll look
for some less scented soap today.  

Enjoy your summer everyone, From "The Sue", Sarah and Shaun.

PS: Happy Canada Day (we'll be on highway 17 until July 4th, ie: no e- mail).

--------------------------------------
Sarah & Shaun
  - safe and sound biking the country.
--------------------------------------

Subject: Update #8: Thunder Bay

Hello from Thunderbay!

Well, when we left Sault Ste Marie the plan was to head for Thunderbay by July 4th, July 3rd if we decided to do some long days. Somehow, we made it here July 2nd! It has been eight long, sunny, hot, hilly, beautiful days of biking. The ride along Lake Superior was breath takingly beautiful and in some spots breath takingingly hilly. Supposedly some of the climbs are worse than stuff in the Rockies. (We will find out in a few weeks!)

We camped a couple nights right on Lake Superior, (I felt like I was home, it looks just like the ocean --- beautiful). And even went swimming one day in it (very cold). It seems to stay pretty cold, so on these hot days, there is actually quite a bit of fog and a very chilly wind off the lake.

It has now been 46 days since we left Halifax, 38 of those were biking days and we are now officially half way! We started running into bikers going the other way, maybe 2 to 3 weeks ago, and now we pass at least 2-3 individuals, or groups a day. All of them want to know why we are going "the wrong way", because supposedly the winds blow predominantly eastward. We have not found this to be true, having had equal head and tail winds, if not more tail winds (most of them complain about this to us and one even damned us for it, jokingly of course). We have not met anyone else heading west, but we have heard about a guy heading west ahead of us, and his response to "the wrong way" question, is he "enjoys hearing all the people biking east complaining about the head wind!"

Actually, I am really glad we are heading this way. Not only did we not hit snow, which almost every biker we have met did hit in B.C., we also are not trying to pass, or not get passed by all the groups heading the same way. Also this way we can meet, chat with other cyclists and then bike on our merry way.

We made it this far with no Bears! Quite happy about that one. We did see a small cub that had been hit by a car on the side of the road, luckily no mama bear was near by. Lots of moose roaming around.

My personal favorite was the "smart moose", who crossed the highway right by the sign warning cars to watch for moose. We have also seen a few deer, bunnies, tons of birds - including vultures and hummingbirds, butterflies, and way too many chipmunks. The chipmunks are actually quite annoying, and way too brave. They will gladly climb up on the picnic table while we are sitting right there. Even yelling at them didn't cause them to move. Eventually Shaun started throughing things at them, and they would move away for a while. The worst, was when two tried to bite my toes! Luckily I felt something at my shoe, and Shaun noticed and they scurried away!

Your resting cyclist friends in Thunder Bay, Sarah and Shaun.

Subject: Update #9: Dryden - 357kms in 3 hot days

  Well we are now in the big town of Dryden after 3 hot days of 100+ kms each.  
The terrain has become flatter and is getting flatter by the day as we head 
into the parries.  The temperature is also rather high.  We've had temps in the 
30's so we've had to resort to getting up at 5 am and riding in morning only.  
This means we are in bed by about 9 pm if it isn't still too hot.

  The bugs have changed now from mostly little bitting black flies to 
misquitoes.  At least the deet works better on them.  We've had some tail wind 
days lately and have been making good time.  We hope to be in Leighbridge in 
about 20 days, but that is still a rough guess.

  We enjoyed our week in Thunder Bay visiting Brent (a friend living there) and 
the rest was probably good for us.  However, getting back on the road after 
that long of rest and the comforts of home was somewhat challenging.

  A little story from Sarah:
---
    On Monday, when we left Brent's, we left rather late at 9:30 am, and it was 
cloudy but soon became a hot, humid day.  Temps up to 35 degrees.  It was 
mostly up hill, and we were not well hydrated, or drinking enough on the way.  
After about 60 km, we expected to find a rest area.  We kept going, but no rest 
area.  After 90km we were hot and not feeling so happy.  We finally found a 
little bit of shade, on the side of a logging road.  So there we sat on the 
ground, grumbling about the last bit of our lukewarm water, eating dry flour 
tortillas, realizing it was much too hot to cook our soup and swatting at bugs, 
when suddenly this very dusty black sunfire shows up! It is our friend Brent, 
to suprise us with lunch! Including cold water!   We were very happy and 
grateful, even if we did eat quickly to avoid the bugs.       
---
  Just to let you know we are enjoying ourselves more with this good weather, 
even if a little too hot.

------------------------------------------------------
Sarah and Shaun, bikin' the country and swatting bugs.

Subject: Update #10: Winnipeg

We are now being cooked and eaten. The temperature here is reaching around 35 degrees by noon and the mosquitoes are crazy.

We made it to Manitoba and we've wiped the dust of Ontario off our feet, or should I say our tires.

From Dryden to Manitoba, we had a few nice nights of camping with no bitting bugs. In Vermilon Bay we stayed a nice campground that had a nice lake and dock that we took advantage of.

We expect to be in Lethbidge by July 25-28 still. Today we left the trees behind and it's flat for the next while.

------------------------------------------------------
Sarah and Shaun, bikin' the country and swatting bugs.

Subject: Update # 11 - hot and sweaty, but bug free!!!!!!

Hello from Indian Head Saskatchewan!
    We are finally bug free and totally loving it!  Well, we hit Winnipeg with 
little problem, but had big problems trying to leave.  To start with, we got 
set to go and Shaun's front tire was flat.  He decided that it was probably a 
slow leak, so he just pumped it up and away we went.  About 2km down the road, 
the front racks on his bike began rubbing against the tire, so another 20 min 
or so and away we go again.  Then it turns out that his tire doesn't have a 
slow leak, so at a grand total of 5km now, we stop at a gas station and patch 
his tire (another 30min).  So away we finally get, or so we think, and after 
only 3 more km his tire is flat again!  So we pull into the Husky truck and car 
stop and now bike stop, put a new tube into the tire and are finally ready to 
go.  Nope, we turn the corner, and CRACK!  Shaun's chain went into his spokes 
and broke 2 spokes completely and damged all but one of the others on one 
side!  So it is now 8:30 in the morning, we have done a grand total of about 
10km and we have a busted bike.  Luckily Shaun's 2nd cousin Peggy lives in 
Winnipeg and came and got Shaun, and was nice enough to host us for a second 
night.  
    Actually it was probably a good thing that we didn't bike that day, because 
it ended up being the hottest day in Winnipeg since 1930, with a temp of 35C 
and a humidity of 55%.  So other than that, Winnipeg was lovely and a nice 
rest.  
    So we started the trip with an average of 60km a day, then we increased it 
to 80km, then somehow it became 100km and now it seems to be 130km.  I think I 
got left out of the decision making process around 100km :)
    With all our long days, we will hit Regina tomorrow, and then onto 
Lethbridge in about a week depending on wind!  Actually, the wind is still 
being good to us and is blowing west or south west across the Prarries.  
   
---------------------------------------------------------------
Sarah and Shaun, bikin' the country and getting cool bike tans.

Subject: Update #12: 1000 kms to go... almost there!

  Hope you're each enjoying the summer.  For the most part I am, Sarah is 
totally enjoying it.  Well we are now about a 1000 km from home having just 
pedaled our 5000th km yesterday.  We arrived in Lethbridge to visit my nana 
(Shaun's dad's mom) and recuperate before attacking the mountains of our own 
province.

  We had a really nasty headwind riding from the border of Sask. and Alberta to 
Medicine Hat and then half way to Lethbridge.  It was a horrible day.  We 
fought for almost every km and rode for over 7 hours and we're exhuasted in the 
end.  However, the was nowhere to stop between Medicine Hat and Bow Island 
where we camped.

  We had a nice visit in Regina with my Aunt Thelma and her brother.  They 
treated us like royality and gave us the grand tour of the city and surrounding 
area.

  The ride across the parries has been pretty good except for the part from 
Medicine Hat to Lethbridge.  That part was the most boring of the country.  
Flat and nothing but uninteresting farm fields and no trees.  The parries 
otherwise have had a fairly large number of trees most of which have been 
planted in the last 50 years or so.

  2 days ago we met a man that we've been leap frogging with across the 
country.  He's cycling the same way as us, left Halifax a few days after us, 
and has stopped in the most the same places as us.  We just never met.  We had 
a nice visit with him and had hambugers at the border of Sask. and Alberta but 
he went on to Calgary and we stayed and then went on to Lethbridge the next day.

  We should be home in about 3 weeks and are already planning the ride from 
Hope to home (I say one day, Sarah says maybe not).

  In 2 or 3 days we'll start the Crowsnest pass riding to Castlegar and then we 
get on the Kettle Valley Railway Trail.  Then it's 3% grade or less.
  
  Well, we have been having a great time.  Shaun is always entertaining!  He 
decided he wanted to take a picture of a heard of buffalo in a field on the 
other side of the road.  So he stops, pulls out the camera, and they all 
stampede to the other end of the field.  So we bike a little further, and then 
he stops again, out comes the camera again, and again they stampede off the 
other way.  Anyways, he eventually got 4 pictures of stampeeding buffalo.  
(What ever for?).  This would be the same roll of film we used to catch 
pictures of a very friendly gopher who came and helped us eat some pasta one 
day.  I'm sure years from now, we will cherish these pictures!  
  
  On our day of ridding into Alberta, I heard a rattle snake (very loud and mad 
sounding) off to the edge of the highway, didn't see it though, and just kept 
biking.  My first and only run in with the rattlers!

  A few nights ago, we stayed in a neat little town (pop less than 200) called 
Moris (Saskatchewan).  It had quite the large museum for such a small town, 
which we toured and enjoyed.  This town is also on the edge of a large shallow 
(only 4ft deep) salt water lake, which is a major stopping ground for a wide 
variety of birds, including some endangered species.  Needless to say, we were 
woken up with many happy overly cheerful "singing friends".  
  
  We are still doing our "up at 5:00am" mornings, even though it isn't so hot 
any more.  Now it is only 27-30 degrees and is actually cool enough in the 
evenings to use the sleeping bags.  While I am definetly not a fan of early 
mornings, I think somedays I may even be a tad grouchy, it is nice to end 
around 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternooon.  
  
 That is it for now.  After a few days of rest, it is onto the mountains.  We 
will follow the number 3 highway to Castlegar and then can get on the Kettle 
Valley trail all the way to Hope.  Hopefully we will be able to send an update 
from Castlegar and then we are homeward bound!  
   
------------------------------------------------------
Sarah and Shaun, bikin' the country and swatting bugs.

Subject: Update #13 Home! (almost :))

Well, we have made it into our last and most beautiful province. It is amazing how much we had taken for granted the beauty of B.C. We had met a couple from Quebec, in Sask, biking east, and the lady was still raving about the beauty of B.C. We thought she was a little over excitted, but whatever. But, you should have heard us, and seen us when we hit the Rockies. We definetly live in the most beautiful province!
So we left Lethbridge, made it to the crowsnest pass, without realizing that we were climbing much, and then it was all down hill to Creston. From there we went north up the side of the Kootney lake and across the lake on a ferry to Nelson. This was hilly, but increadibly beautiful and the weather was sunny, but not to hot. After Nelson, we headed to Castlegar, and then it was out into the wildernesss.
From Castlegar to Midway, we rode on an old railway bed that has somewhat been converted into a bike path. Parts of it were definetly more mountain biking than nice easy touring, but the views up around Christina Lake and Arrow lake were quite pretty. This area actually is not officially a bike trail yet, so it was a bit more adventuresome! We got to wander across 4 trestles and through 3 or 4 tunnels, with one tunnel being 964 m long (almost a km). This tunnel, Bull Dog Tunnel, required us to walk our bikes and use our flashlights, but it was still almost pitch black the whole way! The trestles were a little on the scarry side. These trestles are not part of the Kettle Valley bike route, so there are no side rails, and no nice platform to ride across. Imagine having to push your bike across making sure you stepped on each log, being able to see the canyon or swirling water between each step. Needless to say, this was not enjoyed by Shaun at all, and I might have had a bit of a fit when I saw the fourth trestle, the highest and longest, but we made it!
We are now on the actual Kettle Valley Trail, wich is fairly well traveled, and all of the trestles have railings (thank goodness!). We haven't seen any bears, but have seen lots of deer, including a young buck who must have thought Shaun was also a deer, and decided to charge him. Ask Shaun for the full story!
Two nights ago we met a cyclist from Germany, (Arnd) who is moving at about the same pace and heading to Vancouver. So we have been enjoying his company on this last leg of our trip. We should be home this Friday night. Probably fairly late and exhausted since we are going to do Hope to Tsawwassen in one day. See you all soon.

------------------------------------------------------ Sarah and Shaun, bikin' the country and charging deer.

Subject: The last update - WE'RE HOME!!!

We made it. 91 days on the road, 74 days of biking. It was wonderful! Kind of leaves us wondering "what next?" Don't worry, no new plans are in the works. We will have to settle down now, get back to work and actually earn money and all that fun stuff. But first, an update since Summerland.
We left Summerland, headed back into the wild west and onto the trail again. We manged to see 4 bears in the next few days. All just on the edge of the trail. My favorite was Shaun slowing down to point one out. "Don't slow down, just keep going!" Anyways, all the bears were probably more scared of us than we were of them, but the adrenaline rush did help us to bike the next few kilometeres very quickly.
We camped in the back country one more night, camped in Princeton and then made it to the edge of the Coquhiualla Highway about 20 km north of the toll booth and camped out by a creek. Then we got to ride the highway. The first 20km were a little bit of a climb up to the summit, but then we enjoyed 50km of downhill! The first 17km were at an 8% grade. This was a little much for me, I don't like to go much faster than 45 km an hour, but Shaun and Arnd just flew down the highway. There was a tunnel to go through at one point, so I stopped, took off my sunglasses, waited for a break in traffic and then finally went through. Shaun just flew through it. Arnd wasn't sure if bikes were allowed through the tunnel, and supposedly was debating if he should go through or go around, when "zoom" he was through the tunnel! As you can see we had very different perspectives on the ride down to Hope.
We hit Hope quite early in the day and ended up biking on to Bridal Falls for our last night in a tent. We met a really nice couple at the campground who came over and brought us wine to toast our last night!
So, Friday morning we got up nice and early and hit the road. The ride from Bridal Falls to Chilliwack was great, downhill or flat with a wonderful tail wind. At Chilliwack we got sent off the highway on some crazy way out of the way bike detour route, only to end up back on the highway on the other side of Chilliwack. We then continued on the highway getting kicked off every so often on bizarre detours, before we were finally no longer allowed on the Trans Canada in Abbottsford. At this point the bike detour signs just ended, so we created our own route, involving a few hills, and went south across the highway and then headed west. Our route would have been great except for the airport. So after detouring south (and hitting a dead end) we detoured north and got around the airport. Eventually we hit Langley! In Langley we decided to take 16th ave to 200th and then head south to 8th so we could eventually get onto the 99 highway and take that. However, 16th ave had a bridge out, which involved a detour and more big hills, and the bike ride down to 8th ave proved to be pointless, because when we finally got to 99, there was a sign --- "no bikes allowed"! ARRRRG. So we headed into White Rock, on the King George Highway. I will never understand why bikes aren't allowed on a highway with a nice wide shoulder, but are sent on a detour onto a busy road with lots of parking lots and people turning and really horrible shoulders! So we followed this through White Rock and then decided to get on the dike and bike to Tsawwassen, but of course all of the dike in this area was gated off as private property. So then we decided to ride down a road and see were it went -- which was no where. As we headed back to King George highway, we met a guy who gave us directions on how to get back onto the dike. So we followed his directions, biked on the dike for about 2km and then the dike was crossed with highway 99. Rather than run across 4 lanes of rush hour traffic, we decided to bike highway 99 (there wasn't a "no bike" sign where we got onto the highway!) to highway 10 and then finally made it to Ladner. Got on the dike in Ladner, rode to Tsawwassen. We met our family (my mom, Shaun's parents, sister and my Uncle) down on the beach and officially ended our journey with the dipping of our tires in the Pacific Ocean! Home at last! Shaun accidentally drop his bike in. Opps.

So that is it. Our final thought is that if any one is at all considering an adventure like this, "DO IT". It was definetly a wonderful, memorable, once in a lifetime trip. We will hopefully be able to share more stories and pictures with everyone in the next while. Hope everyone enjoyed our emails, and thank you to all who sent us the great encouraging notes!

THE END

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Sarah and Shaun, no more bikin' the country and swatting bugs.!