Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Second Half Reaches Halifax!!!
Hey Friends and Family!
Well Jeremy and I (Megan) made it to Halifax on Sunday, August 15th. But before I get into the details and excitement of that I'll recap a bit of getting there since you last heard from us in Ottawa.
During the last two weeks we were pretty anxious to get to our final destination after working towards it for three months, so we pushed hard. We had several 130km days and a few that were over 140km. But as Ben said, now is the time to empty the tank!
Quebec was one of the best provinces to cycle through. Along with stunning scenery, houses and architecture, they are very cyclist friendly, having many bike paths and lanes. Also, many people cycle in Quebec so the drivers were understanding and gave us space. One of the highlights from Quebec began at the end of a long, but good day. Hot, sweaty, and ready for dinner, the three of us stopped at the side of the road to decide where we would stay that night. At that moment a car pulled up. An animated man came out to greet us (in English, which was a bonus). He said he'd seen us pass and turned around to catch us so he could invite us to stay at their cottage. I was amazed that he would go so much out of his way to invite us in! The next morning they made us a fabulous breakfast and he told us many amusing stories. We ended up leaving quite a bit later than planned, but we agreed it was worth it to meet such interesting and hospitibal people.
In New Brunswick we stayed on a quiet highway most of the way, surrounded by lush forest--we were thankful for the shade! A lot of the time we were beside a winding river. There wasn't many huge hills, but there also wasn't much flat land. We always seemed to be going up and down, up and down, which proved to be tiring after a 140km day! In this province we were fortunate to see the world's longest covered bridge. I marvelled riding over it, surrounded by thick beams, taking in the old smell of the wood. We were also drawn in to the little town of Nackawic with the promise of seeing the world's largest axe! It was gigantic! Though Jeremy was disappointed that it was too big to pretend to wield it. In New Brunswick's capital we had a great time staying with Becky, a family friend of Jeremy's who he hadn't seen in over ten years. Fredericton was also the place where Ben parted ways with Jeremy and I to take a detour around PEI and Cape Breton. His British humour was missed for the rest of the trip.
Before we knew it we were on the ferry that took us to Nova Scotia. There were a few highlight in our last little province, but it passed pretty quickly as we pressed on to Halifax. In Bridgetown we stayed with some more friends of Jeremy's who he hadn't seen in years. They spoiled us, giving us lots of food to eat and comfy beds to sleep in. The last town we stayed in was Winsor, which is the birthplace of hockey, formerly known as hurley.
It seemed surreal when the sign for Point Pleasant Park, our final destination, appear out of nowhere in front of us. We were met with smiles and hugs from Christian and his mom. It was so special to have them there to share the moment with us and congratulate us. I also shared the moment with Jenna over the phone. It felt good that the team had finished the goal set before us, and that we were able to share the excitement together. Just over three months earlier we had dipped our wheels in the Pacific ocean, somewhat naive to what lay before us. Here we dipped our wheels in the Atlantic ocean, full of experiences and memories, AND able to say that we did it--we cycled across Canada!
Thank you so much for reading our blog and supporting us!
-Megan
Well Jeremy and I (Megan) made it to Halifax on Sunday, August 15th. But before I get into the details and excitement of that I'll recap a bit of getting there since you last heard from us in Ottawa.
During the last two weeks we were pretty anxious to get to our final destination after working towards it for three months, so we pushed hard. We had several 130km days and a few that were over 140km. But as Ben said, now is the time to empty the tank!
Quebec was one of the best provinces to cycle through. Along with stunning scenery, houses and architecture, they are very cyclist friendly, having many bike paths and lanes. Also, many people cycle in Quebec so the drivers were understanding and gave us space. One of the highlights from Quebec began at the end of a long, but good day. Hot, sweaty, and ready for dinner, the three of us stopped at the side of the road to decide where we would stay that night. At that moment a car pulled up. An animated man came out to greet us (in English, which was a bonus). He said he'd seen us pass and turned around to catch us so he could invite us to stay at their cottage. I was amazed that he would go so much out of his way to invite us in! The next morning they made us a fabulous breakfast and he told us many amusing stories. We ended up leaving quite a bit later than planned, but we agreed it was worth it to meet such interesting and hospitibal people.
In New Brunswick we stayed on a quiet highway most of the way, surrounded by lush forest--we were thankful for the shade! A lot of the time we were beside a winding river. There wasn't many huge hills, but there also wasn't much flat land. We always seemed to be going up and down, up and down, which proved to be tiring after a 140km day! In this province we were fortunate to see the world's longest covered bridge. I marvelled riding over it, surrounded by thick beams, taking in the old smell of the wood. We were also drawn in to the little town of Nackawic with the promise of seeing the world's largest axe! It was gigantic! Though Jeremy was disappointed that it was too big to pretend to wield it. In New Brunswick's capital we had a great time staying with Becky, a family friend of Jeremy's who he hadn't seen in over ten years. Fredericton was also the place where Ben parted ways with Jeremy and I to take a detour around PEI and Cape Breton. His British humour was missed for the rest of the trip.
Before we knew it we were on the ferry that took us to Nova Scotia. There were a few highlight in our last little province, but it passed pretty quickly as we pressed on to Halifax. In Bridgetown we stayed with some more friends of Jeremy's who he hadn't seen in years. They spoiled us, giving us lots of food to eat and comfy beds to sleep in. The last town we stayed in was Winsor, which is the birthplace of hockey, formerly known as hurley.
It seemed surreal when the sign for Point Pleasant Park, our final destination, appear out of nowhere in front of us. We were met with smiles and hugs from Christian and his mom. It was so special to have them there to share the moment with us and congratulate us. I also shared the moment with Jenna over the phone. It felt good that the team had finished the goal set before us, and that we were able to share the excitement together. Just over three months earlier we had dipped our wheels in the Pacific ocean, somewhat naive to what lay before us. Here we dipped our wheels in the Atlantic ocean, full of experiences and memories, AND able to say that we did it--we cycled across Canada!
Thank you so much for reading our blog and supporting us!
-Megan
Sunday, August 8, 2010
HALIFAX!
 |
| Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia |
Hello Everyone from the East Coast of Canada!
Myself (Christian), and Jenna, are now here in Halifax, Nova Scotia! We made it!
 |
| Ready for the rain in Quebec |
We had to ride hard without hardly any rest days in order to finish quickly, as Jenna has a very important wedding on the West Coast (Bethany and Derrick), and I had my mum and brother flying in to meet me in Halfiax. So we pushed on to finish as fast as we could, and now we are here! We did close to 30 days of cycling with only one day off!
It is surreal to be done, and I will spend ten days here before I fly back to the West Coast. Jenna and I have already been discussing and processing the trip and what it has taught both of us. It has been truly incredible, and will be something we will always cherish.
Thank you all the family and friends who believed in us and supported us along the way, and to all the people who aided us in our journey with kindness and hospitality.
The cycler's toast I thought of:
May the wind be at your back,
May the shoulder be ever wide,
And may the downhills always be longer than the ups!
Here is to cycling Canada!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Leaving Ottawa
I've been sitting here trying to type a blog entry but to be honest I don't really know what they've been through since their last blog post.
Hi, I'm Jeremy's sister, Kathy. I'm here to just show you a ton of pictures.
I hope you don't mind.
Hi, I'm Jeremy's sister, Kathy. I'm here to just show you a ton of pictures.
I hope you don't mind.
Parliament, Road Trips, and the Flu
Hey everyone!
Sooooooo, it's been a while since our last update and there have been some developments.
First, due to time constraints, Christian and Jenna decided not to take a day off in Sault Ste. Marie and they are now in New Brunswick.
Megan and Ben arrived in Ottawa almost a week and a half ago and have been staying at my mom's house most of that time. We decided to have an extended layover here so that I could visit with my family. I was able to see my little sister and nephew, Austin (who has started walking since the last time I saw him, a year and a half ago), as well as my older sister and her family (including meeting my youngest niece, Dahlia, for the first time!). We also took a drive out to Quebec City for a few days so that we wouldn't have to stop there later on. Unfortunately Megan and I both ended up catching a bit of a stomach flu as well.
That's about it for now, we're going to head out now and start the final leg of our trip. Halifax in two weeks! My sister's going to post pictures of us at some point.
Bye for now!
Jeremy
Sooooooo, it's been a while since our last update and there have been some developments.
First, due to time constraints, Christian and Jenna decided not to take a day off in Sault Ste. Marie and they are now in New Brunswick.
Megan and Ben arrived in Ottawa almost a week and a half ago and have been staying at my mom's house most of that time. We decided to have an extended layover here so that I could visit with my family. I was able to see my little sister and nephew, Austin (who has started walking since the last time I saw him, a year and a half ago), as well as my older sister and her family (including meeting my youngest niece, Dahlia, for the first time!). We also took a drive out to Quebec City for a few days so that we wouldn't have to stop there later on. Unfortunately Megan and I both ended up catching a bit of a stomach flu as well.
That's about it for now, we're going to head out now and start the final leg of our trip. Halifax in two weeks! My sister's going to post pictures of us at some point.
Bye for now!
Jeremy
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