Written by Ben Buckton - Incidentsoftravel.com

Just 2 Weeks To Go

With just 2 weeks to go before my first day pedalling across Canada, I’ve found myself looking back at how I reached this point. I first started thinking about this trip during one of our regular holidays with family in Toronto, long before either of our lads had even taken their GCSE’s, and now Sam is in his 2nd year at university and Jacob starts at the same uni next year. (Taken in Toronto, Winter 2004)

They’ve both gone off and had great adventures of their own all over the world since then, whilst I’ve been plodding along, planning and scheming!

It’s amazing that, even after all this time, I still suddenly think of things that I haven’t done yet. You would have thought the list would be finalised by now, but no; it grows and it grows. 

Then there are the items I need to buy. I’ve noticed that everything is costing about £8 at the moment, which could be worse I suppose. Earlier in the year the bills were much higher. Now it’s things like 10 metres of super-light nylon climber’s cord: £8, kevlar spoke repair kit: £8.99, waterproof bags for phone, passport etc: £6.99. There’s a saying that it takes as long to pack for a journey as you’ve got, and that’s been proving to be true in my case. I should apologise to my family for the ever growing pile of gear in our conservatory, which I reassure them will eventually be compressed into just 4 panniers and a handlebar bag. In fact it has to be!

And I should apologise to everyone I meet at the moment if I appear to be a bit distracted mid-conversation. It just means that I’ve suddenly remembered something else I need to do. 

A special congratulations today to Louise Peck, Music Dept Administrator at Beechwood Park School and friend-of-the-blog, who successfully completed a 30-mile bike ride on Sunday, starting and finishing in St Albans, called the St Albans Rotary Charity Cycle Ride (quite a mouthful!). These events create a great atmosphere around sociable cycling, and are always very memorable for the participants. Plus there is sometimes a medal at the end! Chapeau Louise!

6 thoughts on “Just 2 Weeks To Go”

  1. Ben, It has been chucking it down here all day, really wet, but the weather forecast suggests it will be sunny from tomorrow onward all the way to your arrival, and perhaps beyond. The omens are good!
    Love the photograph of Sam and Jacob. Hope the last preparations are going well.

    Stewart

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. Hi Ben great post on your long planning for Canadian adventure. I hope the forecast of good weather holds up! Are you aiming to cover a certain number of miles each day? Is your probable route anywhere on the blog site? Ol

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks Ol! Forecast looking ok so far, but since I’m going to have every kind of weather over the 3 months, maybe it doesn’t really matter. Plan is to cover 60-100 miles per day, 6 days on, 1 day off. But that is just a guide. I may post something about the route, which changes regularly and probably will carry on like that! Basically a fairly straight line between all the major cities after Calgary. Still toying with the idea of dipping my wheel in all 5 of the Great Lakes!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. That sounds like a great goal–I mean dipping your wheel in all the Great Lakes. Maybe take a swim in each of them as well?! It \’s also a great idea to have a range of miles to cover daily, so that you can adjust it depending on terrain, weather, etc? Will you be able to watch the Cup Final? Ol

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. Sadly I’ll be travelling over to Vancouver Island during the FA Cup Final. Maybe I’ll be able to catch the highlights at my motel. The Great Lakes plan is looking a bit iffy as it involves so many extra miles! I’ll see how I’m doing, and how the time goes too.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment