It is time to leave my comfortable hotel room that smells like soap. I drank some electrolyte water and luckily my headache is gone. I’ve got a long ride planned today - 100 km to Lethbridge and then 15 km Coaldale. There’s rain the forecast - I expect I will get wet. I bid farewell to the mountains and I get my day started. I probably should have started an hour earlier because there is a tailwind until about 7:00, after which I will be riding in a crosswind coming from the

I wake up in the middle of the night thinking I’ve left my helmet flashing light on. I check, but it’s not on. I lay back down and there again is a flash… this time it’s followed by a low rumble. A storm is rolling in! I check my new “Lightening” app, and, sure enough a storm is nearby. Storms can be unnerving when you are safe & cozy inside a house. Being in a tent during a storm takes it to a whole other level. It starts to rain, and I am tired. I figure there’s not a thing

I set my alarm to 9:00 am so I would not waste my rest day sleeping - I have much to do. My internal alarm clock goes off at 5:00 am and I lay around in my tent listening to the birds chirp until 6:30. For me to sleep until 9:00 would take a miracle, I am hopeful that one day I can do it. I’m usually up well before the crack of dawn. My “Rest Day” has many little tasks on the ‘to do’ list - bike service at the bike shop, supplies re-stock, laundry, etc. It’s all done in slow

I wake-up this morning feeling tired ( maybe it’s the time change). Tomorrow is a rest day, and I’m super stoked to spend my rest day in Fernie. I’ve been through Fernie once, and I remember thinking it was awesome! If I want to get there…I need to get going. At 6:30am, I’m ready to leave and I do a final sweep of the room to make sure I have everything - even though I think I do. Thank goodness for this routine practice because I have not packed my foot-long Subway sandwich

Through the night I wake up several times to the sound of the rain, grateful to be in the RV.. The My bike has had a nice wash. The rain at 5:30 am has stopped, just as I am getting my gear assembled. By 6:30, I’ve got everything on the bike & I’m ready to make my move. Today Brian is travelling back home and I won’t see him again for a bit. The ride starts out with a goal to get to the Two Scoops ice cream shop in Yahk. This stop was recommended to me by some friends. I don’

The ride today takes me along the east edge of the vast and windy Kootney Lake. The ride is surprisingly quiet - which is a bonus for me as the shoulder is very narrow. Ferry traffic only comes by every few hours - and local traffic is minimal - so most of the time I get to ride on the outer one quarter of the lane undisturbed. In many respects, I've timed this trip nicely in that summer vacation for most families does not start until some time in mid-June. I expect this rou

An amazing ride today - hardly felt like work - and a few interesting adventures. Leaving the campground this morning, I was in unfamiliar territory. Brian & I don't know this area too well, but we did come to Nelson twice before for brief visits in 2017 and again in 2021. I mapped out and pinned my path with my RidewithGPS app, my Garmin Edge and my Google maps. I enjoyed the beautiful homes leaving Castlegar towards Trail - especially those with the orchards and rhodos in f

Today is a special rest day because Brian and I get to visit my dear friend and her husband in Trail, B.C. I was a bit dizzy first thing this morning when I got up, but thankfully it has resolved quickly. It has been 10 days since last driving the truck, and Brian (who never dares to comment on my driving) points out that I am driving 10 km BELOW the speed limit and that there is a big line of cars behind us. Clearly I've become accustomed to a slower pace of transportation.

I wake up this morning and roll over - my world is spinning and I feel nauseated. This is completely out of the blue as up to now, I've been feeling great. I had one can of beer last night, so that can't be the problem. Next in line of likely suspects - vertigo! I've had vertigo a few times in my life and this feels suspiciously similar. In my experience, vertigo usually lasts a few weeks! I get out of the tent to go to the washroom and it is confirmed, things are spinning an

After a great night of sleep, departure time was a little delayed as I realized my inReach (an emergency communication device) battery was very low. Better to have a late start than to be without my emergency communication should I need it. The ride today is a little shorter (63 km), but I'm looking forward to the possibility of seeing some friends who have a cottage at Christina Lake. I'm also good with taking a lighter day before the hill tomorrow. The scenery is lovely and

After another good sleep in the tent I'm off for the 20+ km hill (aka 'mountain') leaving Osoyoos. I'm super stoked - with a healthy dose of reservation. My only goal is to make it to the top - bike, walk, or crawl. I've got some incentive to get up there - some friends who used to live in our neighbourhood now live there - and have time for a visit with me! As I leave the campground, I immediately see three deer grazing just outside the entrance. What a nice surprise! Approa

I had an AMAZING sleep - warm and cozy. So grateful for the sleeping bag liner - it performed well by keeping me toasty warm. Emergency hot packs not required. Today is a rest day and I'm bored. I'm itching to keep on going - to get some more miles clocked, but I know this is a long term investment. I spend the morning trying to sort out my technology. Creating blog posts on my computer is super easy, but creating them on my phone and ipad mini is a whole other challenge. Sup

Looking at the driveway coming out of the campground, Brian suggested,"Maybe you should walk your bike up?". I thought, "What kind of a biker am I if I can't ride up that hill?" Out loud I said, "I think I'll give it a try." Thankfully I managed it without a problem - a good warm up. About a kilometer down the road, I realize I have an issue - my feet are freezing cold. Preparing for the trip, I had to make some very difficult decisions about what to bring along and what to l

The bike ride out of Manning Park was pretty smooth - lots of downhill. It is the Sunday of the long weekend, traffic is super light - everyone must be sleeping. The downhill of course does not last - the climb to Sunday Summit begins (elevation 1,282 m). I’m a slow poke rider, but I can also really grind it out when I need to - slow and steady finishes the ride. It is easy to get all messed up by a hill - they can be really intimidating. Anxiety can creap in - which can be

Well today’s ride did not disappoint! It threw everything at me to see if I was up to the challenge - rain, snow, sun and an unexpected surprise - fog! These were the first real hills (actually a mountain)! The day was long and hard, but I made it. I am ever grateful that I put in the time and effort to train - my body is tired at the end of the day, but I don’t have that “post legs day workout” pain (you know the one I’m taking about where you cringe at the thought of havin

Today was a day filled with connections with my childhood and family. Unfortunately I took very few pictures as I was in the moment. The early part of the day took me through the Sumas Prairie farmlands where I did alot of biking as a teenager. The familiar smells of farm country have a certain comfort for me. I rode Past my childhood home and I was flooded with memories all over the place. Of course nothing is quite the same anymore and there is a new generation of kids in

After many months of learning, planning, training and troubleshooting, today is finally here and I'm standing beside the Mile 0 sign in Victoria, B.C. I am nervous and I feel like I'm standing in a dream, but no, it is reality. I have everything I need packed into 7 neatly organized, balanced and weighed bags (each with it's own list of contents). Without a system, it would easily be chaos. After much parring down, I have ended up with the bike, luggage and rider coming in at

Sea-to-Sky Highway - just past Horseshoe Bay. Test runs are important for checking to see if I have the equipment, supplies and ‘know how’ for the official bike trip launch. This weekend I made my first test run from Squamish, British Columbia to Victoria (tented overnight in Tsawwassen). The first day was 100 km of riding (plus the Massey Tunnel Bike Shuttle) and day 2 was 39 km (plus a 1.5 hour ferry). I can attest to the fact that my body is feeling it - aches here and the

March 21, 2026 - Crossing over Lion's Gate Bridge into Stanley Park (Photo Courtesy of Brian McGeown (cheerleader) I've never considered myself to be an athlete, but I've always enjoyed hiking and biking. The last 10 years, physical injuries, perimenosausal craziness , and my own choice to prioritize other things in life resulted in me living a sedentary lifestyle and packing on 'a few' extra pounds. Looking in the mirror, I was seeing someone living a life that was not cong

August 30th, 2025 - The 'final approach' into Squamish from Vancouver. Photo Courtesy of Jackie Hamill (cheerleader) Thinking about riding across Canada and actually doing it are two different things. The only time I ever did a long haul bike ride was back when I was in my twenties when I rode solo on my mountain bike one way from Hazelton to Terrace, B.C. (144 km). I did not have a car back then and I "needed" to go to an aesthetician appointment (youthful vanity). Looking a