The Reasons and The Plan

On June 1st I am simply planing to get on my bike and ride from here in Vancouver, BC to Halifax, NS. This is not something that has not been done before and I honestly think that it can be accomplished by almost everyone.  Bicycles are amazing for being efficient and being easy on your body.  That being said, my country is HUGE....really, really big.  My route (and I use the term loosely) takes me roughly 6000 kms and I am hoping to cover around 135 kms a day.  http://g.co/maps/e97gd For the first 7 days I will be accompanied by my friend Alex Bullock who's wheel I will be sucking to Banff.  After that I will be alone in the prairie breezes but hopefully there will be plenty of people along the way who will want to ride with me for a leg.

So the next question is 'why am I doing this?' For the most part its to learn about my country.  I have been lucky enough to travel to many places on this planet but I have not seen all of my own country and in my opinion there is no better way to travel than on a bike. I like the idea of exploring under human power. This trip has also been on the back of my mind for a long time and right now I am healthy, relatively low on responsibility and have an amazing employer who is allowing me the time to accomplish this life goal (Thanks UX Guys). So I figured I might just do it.

The other factor is that I am making this an opportunity to raise some money for Neuroblastoma and Peloton65 (http://peloton65.com).  Neuroblastoma is responsible for 8-10% of all childhood cancers.  Although it is only the 5th most common cancer in childhood, it is responsible for a disproportionate  number of deaths due to cancer in children. Peloton65 is a growing group of cyclist, family and friends united in the fight against neuroblastoma and their efforts go to benefit the James Fund for Neuroblastoma Research. On this ride I will be thinking about Thomas Mueller who passed away last fall, at the age of 7, after a long battle. As well I will be thinking of my Aunt Claudia, Aunt Anne and Uncle Glenn who all are very much missed.  So if you wish to support me on this ride please checkout out Peloton65.com and donate to the James Fund.

So the preparation has been fairly easy for the most part.  I have a bike thanks to the guys at Kissing Crows Cyclery here in Vancouver. I also got some awesome casual riding clothes from On The Rivet here in Vancouver.

The frame is from a company called Handsome Cycles out of Minnesota. It will be loaded with panniers front and rear. I have a giant three page list of the gear I am going to take but I think things will change as the weather changes on my trip. For the most part I am most nervous about food and eating enough and the right things so I don't come back from this trip looking like Kate Moss after a cocaine bender.  I am planing on tenting and living off the kindness of strangers so if I am in your area and you feel like feeding someone toss me a note!




Alex is making so I get to ease into this trip with some support vehicle action.  We have been riding together for a while now and hopefully he can drag me up some of the big climbs in the BC interior. The picture to the right is him and on a Saturday training ride around Vancouver.

Alright time to go for a ride and get my packing on.  Please toss any questions at me and keep tuned in for updates along the way and thanks to everyone who has helped me so far.  Can't wait to get on the road.