ROCKed the Hills!

  I've ridden ~700km in 5 days, and have some observations from the road. Days 1 through 5 have been full of the great hills (mountains?), rocks, wildlife and forest of the Canadian Sheild! The rock here is indigenous, meaning it's made of cooled lava from beneath the earth's crust.  It's a redish colour, making the gravel on the shoulders of the road and even the cement made from surrounding rock look more pinky/orange/brown. Also on the side of the road you can see hydra poles being held up by piles of rock rather than being set in the ground. This is because it would be so difficult to drill a hole to stand the pole up in.

Before I left Norfolk, I had countless warning about moose, bear and mosquitoes. The mosquitoes do get pretty heavy after dark but luckily I'm in bed by then. Apparently the bear and moose come out more after dark too. So far, I've been lucky to only see them form a distance. The bear I was about 30m away. It was morning and the bear looked curious more than anything as it poked it's head out of the forest to the side of the road. I think it was on its way to the greasy spoon across the street for breakfast! The moose was in the ditch on the way up to T-Bay. I only saw it's back but it looked pretty small (for a moose). A couple mornings ago, Theo, Steve and I saw a lynx checking out the cabins we were staying at. It was just taking a look around, probably scouting out some garbage, prancing away with tail wagging. We have that on Go-Pro footage.

The boreal forest in this area is dominated by evergreen trees. I've seen of pine, spruce and mountain ash.

This hills are truly awesome. They're up and down, around bends, more up, a little more down. I really like that the roads are made to accommodate transport trucks since that means the corners are gentle and I can take up more speed on the downhill. Theo and I had a good system going where I would draft off him going downhill and then I would use that speed (often more then 45km/h, up to 60km/h) to take off uphill. I really like the hills - even the uphill - because it's a new challenge every few minutes. It breaks up the ride and gives a sense of accomplishment, then there's the thrill of going downhill! Yesterday, Theo and I ended our hilly potion with Sault-Ste Marie Area's Old Hill and Mile hill (~ 1 mile uphill at a grade close to Turkey Point hill). Ahh yea!

I was SO excited to see Ryan, Lisa, Raya and Cy today. I've had a few really tough rides and was pretty tired before I left yesterday but the thought of seeing them gave me that extra motivation to get going. There's nothing like Raya and Cy's smiling faces, yelling "Aunt Jessie" and running to give me a hug. I engulfed them both in a huge bear hug. AWE! We had a delicious family dinner together and got settled. What a day J

Today is rest day. Thank goodness! Now that I'm allowing myself time to rest I can really feel how tired I am! I'm mostly tired all over, like I was hit by a Mack Truck. That's to be expected though. I think I have trigger finger from switching gears so much on those bloody hills! Today's the day to get fixed up though - I'll look for a place to get a massage (couldn't find anywhere yesterday but will not be giving up on that just yet), and get a couple other nagging things looked at. My bike (Jacques) is already at the shop getting a tune up.

Today's to-do list: massage, doctor/physio, wallmart (for chain-cleaner holder and funnels, eye drops), pick up bike, emails, presentation for Owen Sound, blog, thank you notes, bike 30km to catch up to Laird, call committee members for update.

Talk to you soon. Keep smiling,

Jess

Piss and Vinegar

Daily update

It's day 3 of the Strong, Free and Happy ride. It was a fogy day, once again with hills (par for the course in this area). We saw a blackbear this morning. Boy was it cute, button nose and all!

Today I biked 155km between 7am and 4:30pm, much of it with Theo. This time though, I set the goal and the end point. Yesterday, I stopped a little early because it was pretty warm, I was slowing down and the boys were worried about me. I had wished I went farther, given the beautiful day and rhythm I had. Now, I'm definitely not going to discount other people's worries about my safety but I'll be trusting my own judgment more. I put a lot of mental and physical preparation into this - more than I think can be easily understood by others - so I can't expect them to know just how far I can go before quitting time. 

Some background info

Have you ever heard the saying that brick walls are there to show how bad you want something? It's all about looking adversity straight in the eye and finding a way to overcome it. The first time I heard that was in "The Last Lecture" (Randy Pausch), and it really struck a chord with me. I totally believe in fighting for what you believe in, giving your all etc etc. It's usually tough, sometimes makes you wonder if it's worth it, and always changes your life. (Can you see where I'm heading here?)

The Strong, Free and Happy ride for mental health definitely has a worthwhile cause and has kept me -and many others - hopping to make it happen. I am incredibly thankful to everyone who has given their encouragement, talents and time. I am also really happy to see all relationships that have come about because of it. That in itself is worth it, but it hasn't been an easy route. From the few original brainstorming sessions I had last summer to conversations throughout the fall, finally committing in January to today, the committee has had our share of challenges, changes and shining moments. (My favourite shining moment being Tuned Up.) Early on, I decided it was better to trust others and give it my best shot than to not try. That was a risky move that came with a bunch of 'brick walls'. I have felt disappointed, stressed overwhelmed and doubtful at times, yet whenever my confidence wavered close to reconsidering, something positive happened that instilled that confidence. For example, people have stepped up to fill in the gaps in support crew work, they have offered sponsorships and donations, they have commented that their life is better because of this (or exercise in general), and have something to bond over. I've bonded with so many others as well and am very thankful for that. I've also learned a lot about strategies for handling adversity, which happens naturally when so many people are working together. Physically, I was quite hurt during a practice session. Luckily, I had not obvious breaks or concussion and was able to get back to biking a few days before the ride.) Had I known I would be so challenged before I started this, I may not have. I'm glad I didn't know and glad to still be here giving it my all.

Just thought you should have a taste of the background info. It's the good stuff and only the beginning.

Talk to you soon. Keep smiling,

Jess

Hi all,

I just wanted to check in to let you know how I'm doing. Yesterday Theo and I biked 146km from Thunder Bay in 15-20km/h headwind, cool temperatures and rain/mist. Ave speed 20km/h, max speed 42km/h. Ice baths, nutrition and stretching have been key. Uncle Steve has done some pretty solid driving too!
Today I ended up doing about 129km in a warm, sunny and hilly. ave speed 25km/h max speed ~52km/h. woo hoo! The views were amazing today. I can't wait to get pictures up and write stories. However, I haven't been sleeping too well (wildlife keeping me up) so I'm going to bed soon.  I'll have to share another time. Talk to you next time I have an internext connection, I promise!
Twitter, facebook and the website, www.strongfreehappy.ca, will have more constant updates, especially when cell/internet reception is lacking.

Thanks for reading! keep smiling!

Jess