This is Paul

Exactly 13 months to go before my trip. I’m just getting some decent riding in now. Although I have been out and about this past winter on my bike I wasn’t able to get out as much as I wanted. My  mom was in the hospital for a couple of months and I wanted to be available for her at a moments notice if she needed me. For example, like the time the hospital called and the nurse said your mom needs to see you, I said I could be right over to which the nurse replied “that would be best”. I raced over expecting something serious and when I got to her room she looked up at me from her wheelchair and said, “my TV isn’t working”.

Training has begun for my trek across this great land of ours and over the coming weeks I will be ramping up my rides and putting my training schedule into full gear (no pun intended). I have planned my first bike camping trip for the end of May, a short 50km jaunt to Rideau River Provincial Park, where I will stay two nights and give my camping gear, and legs, a workout. Before that trip I hope to have at least one Grand Fondo (100km ride in a day) under my belt with some gear on the bike. Paul has already started to plan it, a round trip ride taking in Carp, Almonte and Carleton Place (111 kms round trip).

As I was writing my last blog I realized I seemed to talk a lot about my friend Paul, so I thought I would introduce you to him, for without him this website would be nothing.

I’ve known Paul McCloskey for 20+ years. He was the best man at my wedding, we run a softball team together and we cycle together, a lot. Last year we tried to do a Grand Fondo a month. We didn’t make it every month but we did give it a good go, I think we ended up with 4 fondos, including the one where Paul’s bike computer died with 2 kms left before he hit 100km.

Paul has a quirky sense of humour which makes for some enjoyable bike rides, and is never shy to share his opinion, which can make for some interesting bike rides. He likes to plan our rides, but last year I learned to go over his plans before heading out. On one fondo  Paul planned for a shortcut to Chelsea from the Gatineau Hills. We found ourselves going down a steep mountain bike trail on bikes not equipped for such trails. Our high centre of gravity and narrow tires on this trail was a little more than unnerving, but we survived and Paul got a flat tire. Karma perhaps?

Paul (and his wife Penny) ride Brompton bikes, which he LOVES to talk about.  They’re beautifully engineered folding bikes, very efficient. He’s been to the French Alps with his Brompton and he and his wife took them on a tour of the Cabot Trail last year. You can see a short video, entitled “A Real Cyclist”, of him riding his Brompton on my homepage“. (Why is there a video of somebody else riding his bike on my homepage? Let’s just say Paul has a lot of control over the content of my website, perhaps too much control).

Paul is the genius behind “Bikes and Baggs”, the website and its clever name. He’s my “technical advisor” for the website and for my bike. Something I didn’t realize I would be getting out of this trip is a tutorial on web design, it’s very cool.

I’m hoping Paul will be joining me on portions of my ride across Canada, somewhere out west he says is a potential and he mentioned he and Penny may join me to cycle through Newfoundland (although I am not sure Penny knows that). If anyone would like to join me along my adventure let me know, I’m always up for company…mountains anyone.

My misadventure this month: I went for a ride on a day when it was -8 degrees. When it’s that cold I wear a rain cover over my helmet which is very effective at keeping the cold wind out. Along my ride I stopped for breakfast, and when I finished breakfast I went to the washroom before heading out again. I laid my helmet and gloves on the side of the sink and as I stood at the urinal I heard a clunk. My helmet and gloves had fallen in the sink and turned on the automatic faucet. It was at that moment that I discovered that the rain cover that is effective at keeping the rain off my head, is also very effective at keeping water in my helmet. My ride home was very cold on my head, but thankfully I had an extra pair of gloves with me.

By the way, mom has been out of the hospital for a couple of months now and doing great. And for those of you keeping an eye on me, and you know who you are…Uncle Whit, I’m down 14 pounds.

Next month I will be talking about my gear. Take good care.

Bill