Friday the 13th!

Yesterday was Friday the 13th, and the day I retired.
Lots of hugs and well-wishes from co-workers. No bad luck there.
Stopped at the $store b4 work and found plastic Canadian flags I'd been looking for, that may work on the back of the bike to confuse and prevent cougars from attacking - good luck there.
Great customers for most of the night - good luck there, although I rarely have/had trouble with customers, like some folks at work do.
When I arrived home at 11 pm, I found these items on my frig shopping list, below 'eggs', from my daughter, Mary Esta:
- Bear tranquillizer
- darts (for tranquillizer)
- chloroform (for in case bear darts run out)
- meat grinder (to make bear-burgers in the wild)
- oh, and in that case, add ketchup to my list...

Yes, I rather like Fridays the 13th.


Fog on a Trail to Hide Bears In

Trekking

Ed in his shop, Ideal Bikes, Picton, ON

I picked up my new Gary Fisher bike yesterday, and biked home into the sun and the wind on a trail - Prince Edward County's Millenium Trail - that may well be the worst trail in Canada in some parts.
Thank you, Ed, for all of the work you went to in adding the extras. You put on a great bike light, and the rain-proof paniers are so roomy, those new no-slip pedals are awesome, the new kickstand is marvelous, and the Trek rides like a dream, except on the worst parts of our county trail.
Now I have to load it up with gear, and practice riding with it weighted down.
The tires might be harder than my old bike, who knows, but the ride on the trail was like riding on wooden wheels in some parts. Every stone/rock (the trail having been re-inforced with 3-6 inch stones - who has the brain? - (it must have been loaned out to another county) causing my glasses to bounce and giving me verdigo.
Today, same effect but I learned that I can get used to it. Perhaps there is an elastic band that would hold the glasses tighter. I could remove them and try riding blind.
I rode highway part of the way today and used the county trail back, and again saw the bear signs. Huges holes freshly dug up. My daughter, Mary Esta, printed out info' on bears. They have 7 times greater a sense of smell than dogs, (dogs being maybe 1000 times greater than humans) so there goes the possibility of using the fabric sheets I just purchased especially for this trip as a prevention against mosquitoes, as it also says perfumes attract bears. Mustn't have any odours that can do that.
I think I am nearer to being ready.
Only time will tell; right?

The Miracle Is...

As Murray Snyder, www.crazyguyonabike.com ,
once wrote to me, of his first day out on his first trip:
"The miracle isn't that I finished,
the miracle is that I had the courage to start."
I feel that way, and I haven't even picked up my new Fisher bike yet.
I could have done so last night, but went to an alternative art film instead, (The Counterfeiters).
Will try to do so tonight, after my grandson gets picked up, hopefully.
Another thing I have yet to do - important - is to let Mr.T know that I'm going to be away for a long time.
I have to explain it to a 4 year old!!!
I am now waking at 6:30 am, and biking until 8:20 when he gets here. I still have to work my mind into getting me up at 5:30, though, so I can cycle when it's cooler - from 6 am until almost noon - and then break for the worst of the afternoon heat before setting out again.

Almost Ready

Well, Folks. Just 4 more working days, 4 more babysitting days, (I am going to miss Mr.T terribly), 1 more weekend, and 1 extra day to do last minute jobs.
Then it's on the VIA train on the 19th, and in Edmonton on the 21st, in Vancouver on the 22nd, and back on the VIA to Edmonton on the 29th. Two or three days later, I leave Edmonton on my bicycle, heading for Ontario on the Trans Canada Trail.
Six years in the planning, and I'm not ready.
Here are some last minute things to attend to: insurance on my new bike and equipment, getting a cell phone and cancelling service on the home phone, packing and unpacking the bike to get used to it, sleeping on the thin little sleeping mat in a light sleeping bag, getting in and out of the tent and setting it up/taking it down, riding the trails every day until I leave (you can see how horribly rugged our Millenium Trail is here in Prince Edward County in the above picture), figuring out the best credit cards to carry and where to 'wear' them, think about buying opera binocs or taking the heavy bulky ones we already own, getting a small pore water filter (a musthave), learn how to change a flat bicycle tire, and, finally, decide what stove to buy.

Here are some of the important supplies to carry: lots of water (cage)(camelpack), chlorine w eyedropper, small pore Katadyne water filter in case you HAVE to drink pond water, salt tabs, small candies to prevent 'bonking', camera, notebook/journal, pen and pencils, sunscreen, walking stick for when my bike breaks down (kidding), bungis, locks - Picton bikestore owner, Ed, suggests 2 locks, pepper spray, duct tape, bike repair kit w chain cleaner/fluid/rag/tire/tube repair, hot chocolate mix and/or poweraid mix, stove, matches in plastic bag, lighter (Bic), noodle soup mixes, dried fruits/veggies and/or emergency dried meals, light (tin,plastic) cup, bowl, knife, fork, spoon, pot, pot scrubber, Swiss Army knife, address book, extra plastic container, rope for caching food at night, dish soap, bar soap, dish cloths, rag(s), garbage bags, toothpaste, deordorant, dete sheets for bugs (Muscol can ruin camera lens), flashlight, pillowcase (holds clothes, too), hand cream, klennex, 1st Aid kit, tums, vitamins, aspirin, tensor bandage, PeptoBismo, blood group card, needle n thread, playing cards, Sudoku pages, book, extra eyeglasses in case yours break, tent, hammer for pegs, sleeping blanket and extra fleece blanket, extra clothes, rain jacket (Gortex), small tarp, sleeping mat, helmet, gloves, family pics.