Richie and Caroline left Merritt while Lynn and I had breakfast, broke camp and readied the RV. It took us quite a while to catch up. They move at a steady and astonishing rate! We took Highway 5A instead of 5 which had a lot less elevation and was a beautiful and scenic drive along the valley to Kamloops. We drove beside Nicola Lake and saw a lot of flooding along the way.
We finally caught up with the cycling phenoms about 80 kms up the road.
We stopped to fuel them up......
........and send them back on their way.
We thought these were Osprey. Any thoughts?
After riding to Kamloops we stopped to resupply and then drove up to Karen and Dennis Gobin's, long time friends of mine.
Some of their children and Grandchildren were there to greet us.
This is the spectacular view they wake up to each morning!!!
Lynn collected a few of their lilacs.
We had an awesome visit and enjoyed an amazing dinner and breakfast the next morning.
Thank You Dennis and Karen for your great hospitality and generosity!
Ritchie left early this morning for his first challenging day in the mountains.
He covered 128.5 km (Caroline did 75 km👏👏), but the significant accomplishment was the vertical climb (see below) of 2047 M (that's over a mile of vertical pedalling!!). Holy crap!
It was hard enough for the RV to climb the hills. I can't imagine riding it.
They often didn't have much shoulder to ride on and when they did it was often covered in thick gravel rendering it useless.
Caroline joined Ritchie at the Coquihalla summit. Some of the hills she attacked were unreal. Way to go Caroline, you were absolutely amazing today!
We arrived in Merritt to see the rivers cresting. These sandbags were protecting many people's homes.
Our site at Clay Banks RV Park was the prettiest one we've had to date.
Friday, May 19, 2017
After a decent night's sleep, the 3 Musketeers set off on their Day 2 journey.
This took them along "0" Ave. (the 49th parallel).
All along the road were these markers.
United States on one side and Canada on the other. For a brief period of time I was an illegal! No walls out here!
I love this shot!
The Rockies are starting to make their appearance.
Lynn and I waited in Chilliwack for their arrival. This was the end of the trail for Shevaun for now. She had rented a car for the drive back home to Vancouver.
Its been a great couple of days and Shevaun has been an important cog in this project. She will hopefully rejoin us near Ottawa near the end of our journey.
As we bid adieu to Shevaun......
......Ritchie rode off on his own for the first time as Caroline joined us for the rest of the day.
As Ritchie rode off, we stayed in town to get a few battery issues looked after. We hadn't left before we got a message that Richie was already at Wild Rose Campground, some 50 km away!
We were surrounded by mountains all around our campsite!
After a shower Ritchie attended to the bikes. He keeps them in immaculate condition!
Another great day with some good mileage behind us.
Tomorrow will be an uphill challenge for our crusader.
Ritchie and Caroline arrived on time at Mile 0 for the start of their amazing Ride.
A shot with what is probably the most inspirational person Canada has ever been blessed with and a person that that has been in all our minds and will continue be as we cross this beautiful country. Hard not to get emotional in the presence of this beautiful monument.
The group continues to build.
Mean Green Team
Many of the bike club members that rode with Ritchie, Caroline and their daughter Shevaun to the Swartz Bay Ferry.
Ritchie's very inspirational Speech.
Preparing for the start.
It was an awesome start for this 5000 km. journey and included a Police and Fire escort along with 25 riders.
Some of Caroline's co-workers that cheered her on as she passed her workplace.
Ritchie's fellow workers were just as enthusiastic, but we got too far behind to capture any shots.
Preparing to get off the Ferry in Tsawwassen.
Caroline, Shevaun and Ritchie received a wonderful welcome when they arrived at Honour House in Westminster.
Craig Longstaff gave us a tour of this amazing facility for Veterans and First Responders suffering from PTSD. This is an amazing healing place with an extraordinary volunteer staff. I will cover it in more detail at a later date. It reminded all of us of the homey atmosphere of the Stedman Hospice back in Brantford, Ontario.
All proceeds from these awesome bracelets from Brass & Unity (created by a female veteran who suffered from PTSD) go to Honour House. Looking at this on our wrist daily will remind us of the purpose of our odyssey.
We finished up the day near White Rock, BC. 113 km, even with all the stops.
This is a day that will remain with me for a long time. It really brought to full realization the significance this journey has.
Our version of the Celebrate Canada 150 Bike Ride officially began today as the Support Team pulled up anchor and headed for Victoria, B.C. After a busy day of last minute errands and final packing, we were off like a herd of turtles!
We left Brantford, Ontario at 4:30 pm and headed for Sarnia and the border. The RV (the "official" CC150BR support vehicle) ran well and Lynn even took a turn behind the wheel and drove like a veteran.
Once we crossed over Blue Water Bridge to Port Huron, Michigan, we stopped at a Cracker Barrel for a very enjoyable dinner.
We are now boondocking at the Michigan Welcome Center (that's us on the right and getting ready for bed.
Tomorrow we will put our heads down and drive towards Mitchell, South Dakota (our stretch goal!)
