Natalie and I have just finished cycling from Vancouver to Calgary. Here are some photos from the trip.

We stopped in Penticton for a couple of days to watch my brother Scott at Ironman Canada. Scott was disappointed with his race, but the rest of us were proud of his effort. Not everyone can turn in a top twenty result and still call it a bad day.

We got to cheer on a lot of the other pros as well. It was great to see Tereza Macel race to victory after she won Ironman Lake Placid only five weeks earlier.

I was teammates with Tereza at the 1996 World University Triathlon Championships in the Czech Republic. After having raced for so long, many would have assumed that her best races were behind her, but Tereza’s recent commitment to TeamTBB has obviously paid off.

It was also exciting to watch Jordan Rapp pull off the overall win. Jordan is well known for his movie themed race reports. You can check out his site at: rappstar.com.

After a couple of days at the Ironman circus, it was nice to hit the road again. Natalie and I didn’t put too much pressure on ourselves to cover a certain distance every day. However, mountain passes and the desire to reach certain campgrounds by nightfall sometimes made for some tough days.

Overall the weather was fantastic. We only had one really rainy day which was at its worst as we descended from Sinclair Pass in Kootenay National Park.

Of course, if it weren’t for the precipitation, we may not have got to enjoy the mountains in all their snow-capped beauty the next day.

The wolf on highway sign wasn’t the most reassuring thing to pedal past on our unarmoured bikes. We later learned that the sign had been up for the past two months. There had been a wolf begging on the highway and they were simply trying to prevent motorists from stopping and feeding it. Nevertheless, I was glad Natalie and I decided to leave our bicycles made of straw at home.

Believe it or not, we did make it all the way to Calgary. However, I dropped and broke my camera as we approached the continental divide. As a result, we have only the memories etched in our minds and a slightly heavy feeling in our legs to remind us of our amazing time in Alberta.

Already looking forward to the next bike ride!

Although Boaz has come and gone, we’ve continued to enjoy various car free outings as a result of Boaz’s Un-Road Trip. Last night, Natalie and I moved the Couchbike back to Kitchener from Stratford. Thunderstorms were in the forecast, but the weather turned out to be perfect for a late day Couchbike cruise.

Natalie was still busy preparing for her PhD comprehensive exams next week, but fortunately that’s one of the perks of Couchbike travel. One needs not necessarily pay attention to the road when an expert driver is at the tiller.

Since we were making pretty good time, we stopped in for a visit at the Humphrey’s at about the half way point. We got in to Kitchener just before dark.