Ken's story...
I've loved cycling for as long as I can remember. I love what an efficient and environmentally friendly form of transportation it is. I love how cycling combines exercise with my commute to/from work.
And I love going for a bike rides with my family....
I've loved cycling for as long as I can remember. I love what an efficient and environmentally friendly form of transportation it is. I love how cycling combines exercise with my commute to/from work.
And I love going for a bike rides with my family....
In the summer of 1972 I went to Yorkton Cycle with every cent I owned, $140 of my hard earned paper route money, and bought a purple Peugeot 10 speed touring bike. It was my pride and joy, and I loved riding that bike! In fact I can't bear to part with it - it hangs in my garage to this day. It needs a bit of TLC to get it back into good riding condition - the factory fenders and lighting system were removed in a misguided attempt to "update" it . Maybe I'll find a good home for it someday...
When I first met Cam we lived on the same street in Calgary. I had decided to start riding my bike downtown to work, mainly because it would be cheaper than taking Calgary Transit. This involved upgrading to a new Trek 21 speed hybrid bike, since the old Peugeot wasn't up to the task. Cam was interested in commuting as well, and took my Trek for a short test ride and decided he was due for a new bike as well. We commuted downtown together for several years until Cam moved out of the neighbourhood. There are a few good stories to tell about our morning rides, but we'll save that for another time.
It was during those rides that the topic of cycling tours came up. The first "long distance" ride was out to Paddy's Flats, a campground just outside of Calgary's city limits. I don't remember much about the ride itself other than there were some big hills to climb and descend. What I can recall most vividly was the exhilarating feeling of arriving.
That feeling was duplicated 3 days in a row a few years later in 1998 when Cam and I rode the Golden Triangle with another good friend John Feniak. That was the beginning of a yearly 3 day bike trip tradition that has continued to this day. Joined by various other friends, the rides have included "Going to the Sun Road" in Montana, "The Silver Triangle" in central BC, Jasper to Calgary, and a few others.
In total I've ridden over 36,000 km's since I started commuting to downtown three seasons of the year plus the annual trips. That's about twice around the world!
Somewhere along the line we began talking about riding across the country. The original plan was to do it the year I turned 50, but 2010 came and went. So we re-grouped and set a target of 2013, the year Cam turns 50. Things began to fall into place work-wise for both of us in 2012, and we decided June and July 2013 would be the time to go. So here we are, lists checked and double checked, numerous trips to MEC, flights booked.
Somewhere along the line we began talking about riding across the country. The original plan was to do it the year I turned 50, but 2010 came and went. So we re-grouped and set a target of 2013, the year Cam turns 50. Things began to fall into place work-wise for both of us in 2012, and we decided June and July 2013 would be the time to go. So here we are, lists checked and double checked, numerous trips to MEC, flights booked.
I'll be riding my trusty Trek MultiTrack 7500.
Thanks to the guys at Pure Cycle for getting the bike ready to roll!
And a big thank you to my amazing wife Elaine and our kids for all their love and support in making this crazy dream come true!
It's that amazing sensation of "arriving" (plus 6000 calories per day!) that I hope powers me through 6000 kilometers of riding on this trip.
It's that amazing sensation of "arriving" (plus 6000 calories per day!) that I hope powers me through 6000 kilometers of riding on this trip.