Made it!

We made it. 149.42 kilometres today and we got to Mamo's at 9:30pm. We rode for 8 hours 43 minutes and 2 seconds at an average of 17.14 kph. Mackie's maximum speed today was 40.25kph and the odometre reads 1318 kilometres. Quite an adventure today. We started late because it was raining. Pushed ourselves to make the Quebec border but were held up by a downpour that we waited out in a depanneur. Rode through Valleyfield to find the bridge across under construction so we had to double back for about 4 kilometres. Finally we're here. Mamo, her friend Betty, Pam, Roan and Aidan greeted us as Mackie triumphantly rode up the street. We'll post pictures tomorrow. Thanks everyone.

Domestiques

The domestiques in the Tour de France are the riders on the team that do all the work. They shuffle back and forth from the team car with food and water for the other riders on the team. They ride in front when there is a headwind and create a draft for the other riders. Up until yesterday, I was this team's domestique. I am towing about 100 pounds of gear and clothing.
Mackie became super domestique. I have been stricken with a pretty severe dehydration. I am exhausted and nearly had to abandon the ride. Mackie paced me through the day making a draft for me. He stood guard when I had to make emergency pit stops at the public restrooms. He is a trooper.
The ride route was the best we've had so far. The path along the 1000 Islands Parkway is a joy to ride. We made Brockville at about 1:00 even though we started late. Pushing on we went through Maitland, Prescott, Cardinal, and Iroquois on our way along the St. Lawrence Seaway. We finally had to sprint the last 12 kilometers because a lightening storm was racing us to our destination in Morrisburg. Mackie took off at a blistering pace. He finished the last 12 k in 25 minutes with me 200 metres behind him. Final stats were 112.98 kilometers at average 16.31 kph, maximum 34.20 kph in 6 hours, 55 minutes, 33 seconds. Further and faster than yesterday. Will we get to Mamo's today? Look out George Hincapie!

Everybody has a bicycle story

Everybody has a bicycle story. I've got lots. My parents gave me a mountain bike for my 21st birthday and when I was 24 I flew to my grandma's house in Vancouver and rode back to Montreal. The trip from Toronto to Montreal took me 3 days then. What a difference 18 years makes!
Michelle has the saddest bike story. She got a new bike as a surprise from her parents as a 13 year old child in St. John's, Newfoundland. She proudly rode it with her older cousins into town to a bookstore and hours after getting it some depraved hooligans stole the bike and threw it into the bay. It was never recovered nor replaced. The first time she told me this story I wept, makes my soul bleed fire.
Mamo's first new bike still hangs in her basement. She hasn't ridden that bike since before I was born but it must hold some memories.
MacLaren already has some phenomenal bike stories. Yesterday he completed his second metric century in three days. What a feat! We rode 112.92 kilometers in 7 hours, 24 minutes, and 44 seconds. Mackie's top speed today was 33.48 kph. He averaged 15.23 kph! His odometer now reads 1056 kilometers since he started training for this ride. We successfully outran a raging rainstorm. Thank-you to my cousin Brenda Moore and Faye who came out to Highway 2 in Kingston to cheer us on. We ate Vietnamese food in downtown Kingston then carried on. At 7:30 pm we checked in to an Inn in Gananoque, had a swim in the outdoor pool, and while we were comfortably watching Germany stomp England in World cup soccer on the tele, the rain came. Hopefully the all night rain has emptied those clouds. Thank- you for the great comments. Please keep them coming as we share them with Mac and he thrives on knowing you are cheering for him. Today we'll make new stories.

Now I know why the pros take EPO

Well we just got up and Mac is raring to go. "I was born to cycle." he told his Mom yesterday.
"Can I go on that waterside again?"
Yesterday we did get to the pools at the Ramada. Mackie's was 5 inches too short for the slide but the lifeguards let him on when they saw him swim. The slide hurdles you down four stories in a constant tight right corkscrew turn. "Dada go faster! Lie down on your back and you'll go faster! It's awesome!"
It is awesome. The force that glues you to the walls of the slide at hundreds of kilometers an hour is awesome. I think they test astronauts here. When you are just about to pass out, the slide spits you into hurtling white water and you have a ten metre swim through the froth to save yourself. Mac and I tested our space-worthiness dozens of times before enjoying the all you can eat Prime rib buffet. Chevy Chase never made a movie like this. Is this what the Tour de France riders do at their hotels? No wonder they need performance enhancing drugs.

Les Triplets de Belleville

If you haven't seen our favourite cycling movie Les Triplets de Belleville then you should rent it.
Maybe that's what we'll do this afternoon because the rain has dampened our spirits and after a solid morning the three of us are relaxing at the Belleville Ramada Inn. There is an MG car rally on the back lawn which we can see from our balcony so Mackie is happy. After soaking through a mere 42.5 Kilometres he doesn't even feel like going to the indoor pool with 4 story water slide! Mackie's top speed today was 34.53 kph. Yesterday he exceeded 40kph on an insane downhill. I thought I was way ahead of him and pulled over to find him only seconds behind me.
"You should hear the sound my bikes making Dada!" he exclaimed as he whistled past.
"You're not allowed to go faster than 30 anymore." I insisted. So much for that rule.
It took us 3 hours and 6 minutes to ride 42.44 kilometers at an average speed of 13.68k today. Quite a contrast to yesterday's 100.1k in 6 hours 38 minutes at an average of 15.05. Yesterday's stage was much more difficult. The final climb to the campground felt like Alpe d'huez. Mackie was smiling all the way up while I was worried I was going to have a heart attack and die in the ditch. Today Mackie could not wait to be done. This is a mental challenge above all.
Sorry Jman today's epicurean delights only include Chocolate Chip Clif Bar, Egg McMuffin, Wonka's Everlasting Gobstoppers, TootsieRoll mini chews, and fresh mint Tic Tacs. If the rain let's up maybe we'll get to Denny's for dinner.

Kerouac

Delayed our departure because Weather Network was calling for thundershowers that never came until Thursday morning.  We finally got underway at 9:45 am Thursday. We saw G20 motorcades in Mimico and Queen's Quay. We were quickly past the G20 security. They let us snap a picture with the riot police even though Mac looks like bicycle terrorist.  We were well past Leslieville by noon. Kingston Road proved an incredible challenge. First there was tonnes of red lights. We stopped at Licks for a burger. Then Dada blew his back tire and had every other bike part but that. We called CAA but then Bob with a pickup truck, offered us a lift to nearby Bay Cycle. After a quick fix we were on our way. The bike mechanics sure liked Mackie's bike. Kingston Road becomes Hwy 2 and a complete construction nightmare. The pavement is grated and rough and the shoulder is unmarked. Very stressful moments with some incredibly inconsiderate motorists. Finally reached a store called Algoma orchards. This marked the beginning of rural roads. Ladies were impressed with Mac. Had dinner there.. Bananas, cheese bread, nitrate free oven roasted turkey, Scottish cheese and complimentary apples!  Thanks Sharon and Martha. Carried on to complete Mackie's longest day at 82 k. Kingston Road was a killer but our last hour was more tranquil. Found a great spot at Historic Bond Head located in the municipality of Clarington for camping thirty feet from Lake Ontario. The lapping waves put us to sleep.
Woke up. Ate breakfast and made it to Port Hope in an hour and a half. Then carried on to Cobourg an went to the awesome white beach called Victoria Park.   Mac loved the water park so we cooled our heels for a couple of hours.  Mac and Michelle also made sand castles. We ate our lunch at Wicklow Beach after Grafton...ravioli by the lake. Dada was happy to get those 3 lbs cans off my bike but Mommy and Mackie replaced the weight with pebbles they collected. We made it to Brighton at 5:30 pm. For dinner, we stopped at Captain Georges for fishnchip. Yummy! The trip odometer reads 91 kilometers today. The waitress tells us it is all uphill for the last 6 or so clicks to the KOA campground.  She wasn't kidding! We pulled into KOA at 98.8 kilometers and plunged into the pool and hot tub for a couple of hours.  Mackie rode a loop of the park to complete his first ever metric century ride 100.1 kilometers! Good night. sleep tight. Don't let the big bugs bite. nighters tighters. have a good luck!

The Gear is Key

Gear is key. MacLaren rides a Redline Flight Micro Mini. We combed bike shops in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, California, and Las Vegas and found it was the best bike for someone Mackie's size. The crank arms are extra short at 130mm. His wheels are 18x1 inch; thinner than either mine or his Mom's. The tyre pressure is 110 psi; plenty enough to hold up Mackie's 36 lbs body. The front chainring is 37 teeth while the rear cog is 13t. He only has one gear! It is a sweet ride with a stock weight of 12.6 lbs. However we've added titanium bar-ends as Mackie complained about not having multiple hand positions on one of our 50+ kilometre training rides. We also equipped the bike with a VDO cycling computer that provides odometre, daily trip distance, average speed, maximum speed, and trip time. We intend to post these facts daily.
Michelle is riding a stock Specialized Dolce Vita.
Dad rides a Lemond Reno and gets to pull everyone's gear in a B.O.B. yak cargo trailer upgraded with an 80 psi Kenda Kwest rear tyre off MacLaren's old bike.
Thank-you to MacLaren's Godfather, Daniel. Daniel's brother, Jay, works for The North Face. Gotta give a shout out to The North Face because Daniel loaned us an amazingly light tent for the trip. We are trying to pack light and keep it really simple.

Baby Driver

First potential bump in the road-MacLaren has a cold and stayed home from school. He has had a quiet day even though he wants to get out and ride. We went to the bike shop and got extra tubes for his 18 inch wheels. Imagine to scale his bike ride will seem like riding to Europe.

A meal with Michelle's family has him feeling fortified-he loves Chinese food. Hope he is better in the morning. He asked me to sing him Simon and Garfunkel's "Baby Driver" when I tucked him in tonight.

"They call me Baby Driver

And once upon a pair of wheels

I hit the road and I'm gone.

What's my number?

I wonder how your engine feels.

Ba ba ba baaa"

Father's Day

My Dad, MacLaren's "Poppy" loved Willie Nelson. "And I can't wait to get on the road again."

We had a great Father's Day weekend. MacLaren earned his fourth top ten triathlon finish in the 6-7 year old category and asked if he could do the next one when he heard the older kids got to bike further. I was a volunteer counting the laps of the 10 and 11 year olds. Mackie would have been at the top of those times based on his ride that day. Our daily training rides are typically 3-5 times further than the 14 year old's triathlon distance.

MacLaren also passed his deep end test with flying colours at the rotary pool. We had a great time practicing dives all afternoon. I'm afraid to tell him about Marilyn Bell or who knows what we'll be doing next year.

After all this exercise we cooled our heels watching Toy Story 3 at cineplex. Mac got his fill of carbs with his own kiddie combo of Popcorn. Also a delightful ending to a wonderful Father's Day. "To Infinity and Beyond!!!"

One week

So next Wednesday MacLaren graduates from Kindergarten. He also plans to graduate from triathlete and daily distance cyclist to full-on Grand Tour Cyclist as we will be heading out on Hwy 2 to Montreal and "Mamo's House". He is pretty excited about it and we thought we should share his excitement by recording some thoughts here.

I asked MacLaren, "What do you think about riding to Mamo's House?"

"OH YAAHHH!!!!"

Hope he will be able to keep up this enthusiasm over the next 600 or so Kilometers.