To start our bike tour from DAY 1 - click below
You're Doing What???
Day 13 - Jim and Jo-Ann were PERFECT hosts for us to have on the night of our first 50+ ride. Not only had we cycled for 53 miles, and over 6 hours and 15 minutes on the bikes, we also had been rained on endlessly for 3 hours, climbed (pushed) up a crazy hill and were starving.
If there is one thing I have learned on this trip it is the only people who truly understand what our vacation is like - is other cyclists!! They have been exhausted, starving, rained on, lost, hurt, tired, pissed, happy, sad, etc...all in the matter of a day's ride. They KNOW what we need when we get to their house. Jim and Jo-Ann were ready and waiting - dryer for all our soaked clothes, shower for Shane and I, bath for the girls, food, tea, coffee....I am so happy we learned about warm showers! Being with like minded people is so wonderful at the end of any day, but ESPECIALLY at the end of a day of TYPE 3 FUN!!! (if you missed the crazy day from yesterday, here is the link - TYPE 3 FUN)
They refused to let us help with dinner and forced us to just shower and take it easy, which was wonderful. Then, as if things were not FANTASTIC enough, they proceeded to cover their table in food, food and more food (again, if I were around non-cyclists, I would be embarrassed to eat the amount of food I am eating, but as they understand, no one balks when I fill my plate for the THIRD time - each plate being just as full as the previous one.) Just for some perspective, I dont even have a picture of the food. That goes to show how starving I was. I just wanted to scarf down every calorie in sight! I am pretty sure we ate dinner that night for an entire SOLID hour! I cant believe our stomachs can hold that much food. Well, I can....there is just no way to pedal for over 6 hours and eat enough food. We are in a constant state negative calorie intake. But, I love food, so its all good.
After dinner, the girls found dessert. We had brought some chocolates from Fort Langley. Jim and Jo-Ann were so grateful, but really, that is all we had to offer them....we were for sure getting the better end of the deal here. I am so excited to be hosts ourselves! I hope there are actually some cyclists out there who come through Chico! I will be cooking you some killer meals, that is for SURE!!!
Actually, we do offer a tiny little gift for our hosts, besides being able to spend time with awesome people like us, HA!!! In Olympia before we left, I made 20 pairs of earrings (all matching) that I have given to all the hosts (or wives) and to some cool people we have met along the way - I gave a pair to the woman who saved all my directions on Day 3, I gave a pair to the Awesome Lady Camping blogger that we met in Port Coquitlam, and just yesterday I gave a pair to a 25 year old woman we met cycling BY HERSELF from Vancouver to Los Angeles. Here is her blog ANNE FOSTER. So inspiring! I have 4 sets of earrings left. We are mostly camping for the rest of our trip back, and I am sad to put an end to our warm showers experience. It has been one of the greatest parts of this entire trip for us and the girls. Anyway.....I am so long winded it is ridiculous!!!
Jim and I sat down and rerouted some plans that I had for getting back into Vancouver on our return trip so we would not end up on the route to the busiest bridge crossing in North America! He had a few maps I could have and printed out the directions to the Cultus Lake Waterpark where we were taking the girls the next day. we were going to set up our tent in their beautiful backyard, but rain was possible overnight and they said we could sleep in their downstairs den so we did not have to pack up a wet tent in the morning. Again....these people are awesome!
This is Jim's Crazy Guy on a Bike Page - Jim Hillis
(I wonder if I can get a page on there? I could be a crazy guy if I had to be!)
We crashed and in the morning woke up to Jim and Jo-Ann making us a HUGE breakfast, and again they wouldnt let us help. Shane and I packed up all our stuff, loaded the bikes, and then feasted for a LONG time. We tried to eat everything on the table. we had another 50+ miles of riding today, with a detour to a waterpark in the middle, so we needed lots of energy. We had warned the girls that the waterpark was a MAYBE! It was a 5 mile detour, it was supposed to rain more and we would still have 15 miles to ride
We were outside by the bikes, saying our goodbyes when the rain started. Unbelievable! Even the locals were saying it hardly ever rained like this. you know, if I was going to choose between cycling 50 miles in the pouring rain or in the heat, I would choose the rain. So, we headed off. No point in waiting it out. We would probably be on the bike another 5 hours so we were sure to get wet at some point, or the entire time...you just never know.
Our ride back over the Mission Bridge was WONDERFULLY downhill the whole way and quite pleasant. We had passed a huge farmer's stand on our way into town yesterday but it had been closed. Today, it was open and hopping with business. We stopped to calorie load, eating everything we could in the parking lot and basking in the wonderful SUNSHINE that had peeked out. Oh, I do love the sun....
Jim had told us about a bike shop in Abbotsford where Shane could have his tire looked at for a new spoke, and it was right along our route which would be perfect. Riding into town, we passed this huge market called LEPP Farms, but we had to pass right by it because we had just eaten (bummer) and we still had so far to ride. We also did not take the 2 mile detour to the candy shop we had told the girls about. (Luckily, they had no idea we were passing it by...we would make it up to them on our way back through in 6 days!)
We made it to the bike shop and learned that Shane has some
I am going to stop here and give a huge shout out to GREEN LINE CYCLES in Chico. Every SINGLE time we go into Greenline, the guys are happy to see us, want to help us out with everything and have a smile to spare. Seriously, I have never been in a bike shop with nicer people. Thanks to Dax and all the crew there....we love you!
Our ride out of Abbotsford is totally uneventful (YAY! we dont have much of that lately!) Except we are riding out to that massive cloudburst! There are two roads that parallel the highway for miles (and are completely FLAT - Double YAY!!!), so we can get off the highway, not have to deal with crazy noise and fumes, but still make some good traveling time. However, as you may have guessed....it starts to rain. So here we are, 15 miles from the waterpark and the huge black clouds start to roll in. The waterpark is open rain or shine, but I wonder how fun it will be in the pouring rain?
We give the girls the option of coming back tomorrow for the whole day (that NEVER would have happened, 30 miles of riding!!) or to go now, in the freezing, pouring rain. Smart kids, they picked today. We kept riding and just as we got to the turn off for the waterpark (we could see the curve and the hill up ahead) we pulled into a roadside cafe to reassess our options - and of course get a healthy meal.
I told Shane to order whatever seemed good to him and the girls
There was a woman sitting in the cafe who heard us talking about how the road looked kind of dangerous up to the waterpark and she said it wasnt. People cycled it all the time and there was a decent shoulder, so we ate our "meal", got back on the bikes and headed to the girls waterpark Disneyland!! The road did end up having a perfectly fine shoulder, which is always a relief. It was kind of busy because this was Canada Day weekend, but never seemed unsafe.
The only trouble was that the road climbed up and up and up for about a mile, but then it went down FOREVER!!!! That was great for now, but the idea of cycling out of there was not fun to think about. Plus, we had 15 miles to Rosedale. When we got to the parking lot of the waterpark Shane and I both said, "We are NOT cycling out tonight!" I figured I would find Wifi somewhere to contact our host and let them know we would be there tomorrow. We would just have to find a spot in the forest to throw up the tent. Since it was Canada Day weekend, there would not be anywhere for us to camp at any of the campgrounds. They were sold out.
Of all the things we have done on this trip, Cultus Lake Waterpark was the MOST FUN!!! I felt like a kid again, I LOVE waterslides. I dont have a lot of pictures because I was way too busy off having fun, but we had the time of our lives. For one, it was not crowded at all. Who wants to be at a waterpark in the pouring rain? The water in the slides was FREEZING so we would go on a slide and then go in the hot tub, then go on a slide and then back to the hot tub. We had a blast! However, there was one drawback....do you see the stairs you have to climb to get up to the tops? How do you think that was for Shane and I after cycling 35 miles (plus 53 the day before!!!) we were like 80 year olds climbing the stairs. It was quite embarrassing. The girls would get to the top in 45 seconds and Shane and I would take 4 minutes. I think those stairs were WORSE than cycling for us. The next day we would pay for this, but for now it was the time of our lives, playing with the girls like we were little kids!Alli and I went on the twirly bowl kind where you drop down vertical, then swirl around like those penny drops for charity and then are dropped straight down into a 9 foot deep pool. We went at the same time and I thought for sure Alli would have been terrified getting out, but instead she went on it again 5 times!!
Then we went on the wavy slide next to the vertical drop, pictured at the top. (I had no intention of going on that vertical drop, but figured the wavy one would be mellow.) Alli said she would go if I did and I was fine with that. She went first and I was surprised at how scared I felt watching Alli go down at 30 mph!!! My baby, on this terribly scary ride! But then I went on it myself and I wanted to scream like a baby!! I am getting less adventurous in my old age. I was worried Alli had been scared, but no, she loved it. We were going to go on some more things but then rain started coming down in sheets and there was thunder and someone saw lightening, so the whole park shut down. We had been there almost 3 hours so we figured we got our money's worth.
We had to wait around for about 20 minutes because the rain was just out of control (if you look close at the picture at the top you can see the crazy rain). It was coming down so heavy that you could barely see across the park. This break gave us just enough time to decide that we were fine to keep cycling. It was only 6, and once the rain let up we could cycle to town and we promised the girls we would take them out to dinner when we got to Rosedale. We all deserved it after the last 2 days of cycling.
The stairs did not help our cause at all. The ride out of there was tough, but when I actually looked at the mileage it was only .75 miles up the hill out of there and then downhill to the road. Piece of cake really....Our ride to Rosedale was back roads and actually very beautiful. We could have stopped to eat in Chilliwack but we were concerned about it getting dark before we got to Rosedale so we pushed on and let our hunger fuel us all the way there. But you know how it is (or maybe you dont, but just try to think about it) around every corner we figured we HAD to be there....but no, there would be another corner....then it had to be around the next corner....but no, again disappointment, and mounting starvation.
Then the moment of terror. We hit a road that on my directions we should have not passed, so I am thinking oh NO!!! we must have taken a wrong turn and we have been going for miles and miles in the wrong direction (which would not surprise me in the least) but I kept riding on, in the pouring rain, with legs that wanted to be put out of their misery. I was hoping to see another sign that would put my mind at ease. Shane was a ways behind me so I kept my concerns to myself for now....until the 2nd street that I saw and realized again, we should be passing this road going the other way. I was so not ready to tell Shane we needed to head back. He was working 20 times harder than me since he has Alli to pull.
Luckily, a man and his son were riding past so I asked him where the street we were looking for was and he said, "Right there, just by the bend in the road!" and pointed in the direction we were going, YAY!!!! What I didnt realized was that my directions were from a road north of the one we were on, so it only seemed we were going the wrong way.
We rode up to our hosts house soaking wet, but as always with smiles on our faces. The door opened and the sweetest couple in the world were standing there. Suzanne, first thing out of her mouth..."I am in utter amazement! I told Christopher there was NO WAY that you were cycling here in this rain. You guys are AWESOME!" Now that is quite a greeting. She could not get over the fact that we were actually there, plus when she learned we had stopped at the waterpark I think we almost fainted! Said we were the greatest parents in the world. Actually, we have the greatest kids in the world...we are just trying to do right for them!
Right away, she offered to let the girls take a bath and warm up so we headed up the stairs. As we walked up I noticed pictured of a baby flashing on their TV and lots of baby gear (swings, bouncy seats, etc...) Now it was my turn to be impressed...they have a daughter, 5 months old. Not only was her father in law staying with them for the last 2 weeks, and now they had a family of 4 staying with them for 2 nights, all of this while being a sleep deprived mother of a 5 month old. I remember having a 5 month old. I dont think I could have dealt with strangers staying at my house. Suzanne is a rock star mother!!Christopher, you are a rock star dad, for sure!
This is her blog... CYCLE STORIES her and Christopher cycled to Alaska from their house.
I have to say, we are a good family to have around if you want to see that you can still lead an active lifestyle even after you have children. If there is one word that would describe us, I think ACTIVE is a good one! In 13 days we have cycled 336 miles....40 hours on bikes, and we are still smiling!!
NEXT BLOG POST: Some real relaxation - CANADA DAY at BRIDAL FALLS
No comments:
Post a Comment