“A Bicycle Ride Around the World Begins with a Single Pedal Stroke” – Scott Stoll

The above quote sounds so simple, I will hop on my bike and cycle around the world. Unfortunately it isn’t always that easy, the planning, the saving, the equipment and the courage to actually do it.

We are now in the next phase of planning our next trip. A shorter time away, although I keep wanting to go for a year again. I recently made a list of what we need for our next trip, not too many things really.

Our panniers held up really well, although the cam-lock system (attachment for the bike) on Ralf’s rear panniers needed repair, his front pannier mesh pockets were worn through and one of the seams on the front pocket of my rear pannier was coming apart, on my other rear pannier I had caught it on a nail in Scotland and had taped it with duct tape for the rest of the trip.

I emailed Arkel and asked them if they could repair my panniers and told them about the other problems. Arkel responded within a couple of hours: They would send a new cam-lock system for Ralf, new mesh to replace the pockets. As far as my repairs were concerned they couldn’t repair the panniers as they are waterproof but offered me a replacement pair for $100.00, instead of $269.95. All I needed to do is swap the back and cam-lock system to the new pair. I opted for a new set of panniers, what a difference in the colour.

Ralf also needed a new front rack, the one he had used for the Grand Adventure was a little lower, which is why the front mesh wore through.

The order was made on March 2, 2016 and we received the parcel on March 7, 2016. Excellent service once again from Arkel.

“I thought of That While Riding My Bicycle” Albert Einstein on the Theory of Relativity

O.K. Not such grand thoughts or brilliance while we were out on the road, but you do have a lot of time to think while cycling half-way around the world. I did think a lot about what I wanted to do when we were finished The Grand Adventure Part One. Of course, one of the things I thought about was to go again, and again, and again.

I have been planning the next trip and also planning on where and when we would like to go. However, I have also been thinking about the condo and the things we would like to do to make it comfortable. So many things to decide on.

In the interim, we decided we should look for some employment. I have been working for Chris and looking at other secretarial work. Should I really be promoting my business if I have to tell people that I will not be around for the summer or the winter.

Ralf was hired by Simcoe County Airport Services – his first run on his own is tomorrow Sunday March 13, 2016. Basically, he is doing something he enjoys – driving – but doesn’t have to put in the long hours of being a transport driver and he can tell the Company when he wants to work. The days are about 5 – 6 hours and he drives people to the airport. He has always enjoyed driving, but was getting very tired of the long hours. We had discussed him working for a delivery company or something like Simcoe County Airport Services. Ralf got his wish and I got mine.

I also found my perfect job! I have been hired by Bradford Greenhouses. While on the road I had decided that my perfect job would either be working at Bradford Greenhouses or in a bike shop. I am so excited, there were a lot of people at the Job Fair but I managed to bluff my way through the interviews! I have an orientation on St. Patrick’s Day and then I will get my work schedule. I will be working in the greenhouse, putting out plants and helping customers. It is only a seasonal job, which means we could still do a late summer trip to Europe.

I have a small patio at the condo with two small patches that I can add some annuals too and some container pots and that is it. At Bradford Greenhouses I get to enjoy working with flowers and plants, advise people on what they should plant where and what will survive. This is my first foray into retail work for years, I am hoping I will enjoy it. I know it is going to be hard work, however I think I will really look forward to going to work everyday.

The Greenhouse is about 5.5 ks from the condo, downhill all the way and a cycle lane for some of the way! Of course coming home it will be uphill, I will be able to extend the route to make it 7.5 ks if I want to get some more exercise. My hours are part-time, I will be able to go out on some training rides when I am not working – Life is Good.

Of course I will still help Chris out when he needs me.

“Learn to Ride a Bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live” – Mark Twain.

What a strange winter we have been having. On Sunday (Feb 28, 2016) the temperature was +9 degrees and sunny. After breakfast we headed down to the lake shore and had a lovely walk along the bay into downtown Barrie and back to the car, about 5 kms. People were smiling, jackets were open and everyone was enjoying the sunshine and the warm weather. The lake is still frozen with ice-huts and kite surfers out there, I am not sure I would be out there right now.

The park area around the bay is undergoing major renovations and is a bit of a mess. The realigned the road while we were away, moving the road to the rail-line and creating more parkland. By the time they have finished all the upgrades it will once again be a great place to visit in the summer and winter.

It really felt like spring but then on Tuesday evening (March 1, 2016) the winter came back  with a vengeance, we had almost 45 cms (about 18”) of snow dumped on us. The condo corporation had cleared the lot by 7:00 a.m. and the sidewalks (including up to the front doors) by 9:30 a.m. Ralf had to go to the dentist this morning, it took him 20 minutes to dig the snow out from between the cars!! I am so glad I don’t have to drive to work!

March: “In like a Lion out like a Lamb” – let’s hope so.

I’m not a baker, but occasionally I get an idea that maybe I should try baking muffins. This idea came to me recently when we seemed to have a collection of very ripe bananas. I bought all the ingredients and decided I would bake muffins for Saturday morning breakfast. While Ralf was working out, I went into the kitchen to prepare the muffins. One of the bananas was missing, on asking my dearly beloved if he had eaten it, he admitted he had. We had a discussion about why he had eaten the banana when he knew I was making banana bran muffins for breakfast. “It was on the counter, you have to put your name on it if it’s yours” was his response. Oh my dear hubby, how come he can make me laugh when I am cross with him.

His response referred to our stays in hostels, while we were on the road. While we were staying in hostels you had to label your food that you put in the fridge or on the shelves, if it was not labeled and/or in the “free box” it was up for grabs.

The muffins were not too bad, although in my opinion not moist enough or banananery enough due to the lack of one banana.

February 21 – February 28, 2016

I recently bought a book called Keep Calm and Pedal On. It has some great quotes in it: Some of the early attitudes to cyclists: “Velocipidists are imbeciles on wheels” – Le Gaulois, 1869.

I might add a new quote on each new post, if I remember.

At my first visit with my new Doctor in January I mentioned to her that Ralf was concerned about a couple of moles, I had on my neck and leg. Last week, after getting back from the UK I had two biopsies performed. I was very brave and didn’t cry, I didn’t get a lollipop or a sticker. Good news both of them came back negative, but this is a timely reminder to do as the Aussies tell you: Slip, Slop and Slap, they have also added Seek and Slide to the original recommendations.

• Slip on sun protective clothing that covers as much of your body as possible.
• Slop on SPF 30 or higher broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen, at least 20 minutes before sun exposure. Reapply every two hours when outdoors or more often if perspiring or swimming.
• Slap on a broad-brimmed hat that shades your face, neck and ears.
• Seek
• Slide on sunglasses

This link is for an ad that was promoted by the Victoria Cancer Council: http://www.sunsmart.com.au/tools/videos/current-tv-campaigns/slip-slop-slap-seek-slide-sid-seagull.html

When we were in Australia we were reminded of this Slip, Slop, Slap all the time. At almost every campsite there was a big bottle of sunscreen/sunblock on the counter at reception and we were always asked if we had put sunscreen/sunblock on and had enough in our bags. I had always been really careful about not burning and nagged Ralf about putting cream on before we left in the mornings. We didn’t burn once while we were away.

More and more people will be diagnosed with skin cancer in the coming years. Because, let’s face it when people of my generation were younger we never thought about putting sunscreen on – heck olive oil was good – we just wanted a tan. Some nationalities still haven’t got the message – you can always spot a Brit on a beach – they are the ones bright red with sunburns. SPF 8 does not cut it in Cuba, Greece or Spain or anywhere else in the world. Stay safe and Slip, Slop Slap. J

Ralf this week got his A-Z license renewed. It gives him better opportunities to find work, although I do not want him to drive tractor-trailer again, he could do shunt driving.

February 14 – 20, 2016

The deep-freeze has left us, and been replaced with snow! That damn rodent (Wiarton Willie) was right for a change – 6 more weeks of winter.

Fortunately for us to keep our sanity we have our bikes set up on the trainers and we are cycling every morning and dreaming of our next trip. Here is a conundrum, how come when I check my stats at the end of my training ride I have climbed anywhere from 4 to 14 metres, on a stationary bike in the spare room. I am cycling away, keeping a steady cadence of 81 rpm, heart rate is good, everything is going well, but I have gone up an incline of 4 metres to 14 metres. Remember I am in the spare room on a trainer. Inquiring minds need to know how that is possible.

Life is Like Riding a Bicycle – in order to keep your balance. You must keep moving. Albert Einstein

I have been working on promoting my business, visiting some of  the planning companies in Barrie. I am getting some work from Chris which is keeping me sane.

It was rather nerve wracking visiting all the planning companies in Barrie, I have never had to \”cold call\” before.   A couple of them seem interested, I will follow up next week, to see if they have any work for me. If not I will go to the Engineering companies.

Saturday Feb 20, 2016

I woke up this morning feeling sad and missing my Dad. I rolled over in bed and told Ralf I was missing my Dad, he put his arms around me and held me. That is why I love my husband, no words just holding me while I had a little cry.

February 8-14, 2016

We arrived back in Canada on Monday February 8, 2016 to a snow-storm and squalls as we drove home. The rest of the week was more snow and then on the week-end the temperature dropped to -27 with a windchill of -40 what on earth is that all about.

Why on earth did we opt to stay in Canada for the winter – we must be crazy!

I had work waiting for me from Chris, and kept busy for a couple of days.

Sunday was Valentine’s Day – a hallmark holiday that Ralf and I do not participate in. We show our love to each other every day, we don’t need a special day to remind us to do it.

The drive to the airport was uneventful and we had a good flight to the UK on February 1^st, 2016. The flights to the UK and Europe are always overnight flights and usually I get to sleep, but not this time unfortunately. The flight arriving at Gatwick was early, but we couldn’t get an earlier train to Long Eaton.

I am always amazed when I go to England how much green space there is. They have had a fairly mild winter and some of the trees were in blossom, the daffodils and spring bulbs were poking there heads up and some already blooming.

My niece picked us up from the station at noon and we had a nap in the afternoon. The rest of the week was busy, visiting family, getting together, crying and of course the funeral. As the hearse arrived with the flag draped coffin and the Last Post playing, I was sobbing, along with the rest of the family.

At the wake there were lots of tears, but also lots of laughs as we remembered all the good times we had with him.

We had a big family photo taken with the siblings and spouses and another one with all the Grand children and Great Grand children.

We were told not to wear black – but as a lot of us have black in the wardrobe, we had to accessorize with some colour. I loved Sharon\’s pink shoes.

Great Grandchildren to the left of Dawn – Grandchildren from Dawn and to the right

Bye Dad we all loved you so much.

The reason for the late postings.

We had a great day on Saturday January 16, 2016. We got the office set up and the road bikes set on the trainers – yeah we can start training again.

After a busy day of really getting the office and work-out room organized, we sat down with a glass of wine and were ready to relax for the evening. It was 8:30 pm.

Ralf checked on facebook and my sister-in-law had just posted a message to call my brother asap. It was 1:30 a.m. in England, I knew this wasn’t going to be good. My sister called almost at the same time.

It wasn’t good news – my Dad had passed away at 12:30 (an hour earlier).

My Dad joined our family when I was about 12, he was a big man over 6 feet with a very big heart. That big heart finally gave up.

What can I say about my Dad, he was kind, generous, funny. We all loved him very much. He was lost without my Mum who passed away in 2006 and in the last few months had been in and out of hospital. The family had got him into a care home for a couple of weeks to help him recover from the last stay in hospital and to give us a chance to look for a place for him with assisted care. We all felt that he was safe.

A few memories of my Dad:

Dad asked us all if he could marry my Mum, knowing that she would not say yes if we didn’t agree. When he proposed to my Mum she said “I have to check with the kids” his response was “I already have asked them and they have said yes”.

We used to take Sunday drives into Derbyshire, one of the best areas to go was Dovedale, where there were stepping stones over the Dove River, one of us always went home wet after missing a step or being “bumped” of the stone.

I left home and moved into my first flat with a couple of girls. Neither Mum or Dad liked one of the girls, but let me make my own mistakes. When I called to tell them that this particular girl had left with all the money for the utility bills, Dad came round with the car and picked me up. He spoke to the landlord and sorted everything. Dad (and Mum) was always supportive of whatever I did.

When Ralf called my Dad to ask if he could marry me (both Ralf and Dad old fashioned and military) he started to laugh – and cheer. I was the last of six to be married.

Mum and Dad came to visit us while we lived in Germany. We had just bought a new Saab. Dad was so excited to drive it, he had owned a Saab 96. We took them to Rottenburg ob der Tauber, my Mum who was the worst back seat driver (ever) held on to the “granny handle” and watched the odometer, if Ralf went over 130 kph, Mum used her “imaginary brake” which happened to be the mechanism where the seatbelt went into, this tightened Ralf’s seatbelt against his chest, he slowed down – Mum released her “brake” and that is how the trip went. Dad realized quickly that Mum was the “safety” in the new Saab.

So many memories of a great man.

After Mum passed away, Dad and my sister came to visit us in Canada. We went to Niagara Falls, Dad was so excited about going on the Maid of the Mist.

Ralf and Dad got on really well, it was close to Ralf’s birthday so Dad treated Ralf to a helicopter ride over the Falls.

I had a special week with my Dad when we spent a week crossing Canada on the train. We met in Vancouver (Dad flew in from the UK and I flew in from Ontario) we spent two days on the Rockie Mountaineer from Vancouver to Jasper and then spent a couple of days in Jasper together, followed by a trip on Via Rail to Toronto. While on the Via section of the trip there was a problem.

We came into Folyet a Northern Ontario Town and stopped, this was not a scheduled stop on the route. As Dad and I came from breakfast we noted the station was covered in police tape and the police were in Hazmat clothing.   There had been three unrelated instances on the train. One lady was airlifted to the local hospital with breathing problems, one of the carriages had Australians who were sick (as it turned out they had the flu, but Toronto had the SARS crisis the year before) and unfortunately a lady had died on the train. My Dad with his wonderful sense of humour kept saying “We’re doomed, we are on the plague train”. He had seen a movie with the “plague” on it and the train had driven over a wooden train trestle and fell into the ravine below in flames”. We were laughing so hard, we were crying, “We were doomed”. He wrote a great essay about our trip with his usual dry humour, so funny.

We visited him while we were on the Grand Adventure and every time we called him via skype he told us how proud he was of us.

Not half as proud as I was having him for a Dad. It’s not often you get to pick your Dad, we made a great choice. He was the best. Love you Dad.

We fly out to the UK on Monday February 1, 2016 next week for the funeral – February 4, 2016.

A slight delay in posting for January.

This post was going to start of with …. Nothing happened this week in Barrie and I was going to leave it at that.

However, Ralf has got his lay-off notice from The Source, we knew it was only a temporary job.

On Friday January 12, 2016 we met our new Doctor a very nice young lady. Canada and Barrie has a shortage of family Doctors. To try and help people who do not have a family doctor the local hospital has created a service called the Family Medicine Teaching Unit (FMTU). What this means is that newly qualified doctors who are training to be General Practitioners work under the supervision of qualified doctors for two years as residents. They have a full slate of patients, but are able to seek advice from qualified practitioners. Each appointment is recorded and the trainee doctor gets to go over the interview with the qualified doctor before the end of the appointment, to confirm the diagnosis and recommendations for treatment. We tried to reconnect with our old Doctor, but we had been removed from his list as we had not seen him two years. We are now part of the FMTU at the RVH. The appointment was quite interesting, we get a new Doctor every two-years or if the Doctor sets up a practice in Barrie we could move with the Doctor. Our new Doctor only has a year left in her training and is going to set up a practice in her home town near Ottawa. I think we will opt for the new Doctor every two years.

Sunday December 29, 2015 to Saturday January 2, 2016

Sunday

Our heating system went down and we had to call the service guy. They sent a very nice young man who wants to travel Australia on his bike with his two friends – motorbike not bicycle – wimp. They have already done a week-long trip together. I told him to do it now and not wait.

Monday

As I sat watching the TV last night I realized that I was becoming a slug.

The road bikes, in the past, would have been set up in the basement and I would be cycling to virtual cycling videos or spinning, attempting to keep my summer fitness level and keep away the winter fat. This year the road bikes are in the dining room and the spare room is steadily getting organized but not enough room to set up both bikes to enable us to work out. I much prefer to be exercising outside, but the bikes are put away and any outside exercise is usually done on the week-ends – snow-shoeing or cross-country skiing. However, this year it has been so mild I was considering getting Mrs SweetCheeks out and going for a ride.

Before I decided to do this today, I checked the outside temperature minus 7 degrees. Although I couldn’t cycle I could go for a walk and that is what I did. This morning I headed out for a short walk, it was really cold. I discovered that about 1 km away I could walk into the Ardagh Bluffs. This is a natural area that has been maintained in a natural state by the City. I will investigate the trails tomorrow.

I also started doing a light weight work-out, it felt good to be exercising again. There is not enough room in the condo to do my Tai Chi, but I am going to see if I can clear a space to be able to do Tai Chi again.

Tuesday

Our first heavy snowfall on Monday night, we had about 20 cms. I guess we will be needing snow tires after all. The condo corporation cleared the sidewalks and the driveway by the time I got up this morning. I didn’t go for a walk today, the sidewalks were too icy. I did my 15 minute exercise routine and felt good. It’s amazing how quickly the muscles forget what they are supposed to do. My arms actually felt a little stiff from yesterdays 15 minute work-out.

New Years Eve – we relaxed and spent the evening watching the Blue Collar Comedy Tour – very funny.

New Years Day – We had about 20 cms of snow on Monday, Mr & Mrs SweetCheeks were outside covered with tarpaulin, but we really needed them to be inside. We moved stuff around again and Mr. & Mrs. SweetCheeks are now in the spare room, the road bikes are still in the living room. Embrace the chaos!

Next week I am calling a house clearance guy so that we can get the spare room back and on our road bikes and trainers – Mrs & Mrs SweetCheeks will be in the dining room!

Saturday January 2, 2016

Reasons to divorce your husband.

When husband thinks he has lost a very expensive piece of electronic equipment that you spent a lot of money on. “I have looked everywhere” he says. “I think I might have left it in the rental car” he says. “It should be in my camera bag but it isn’t.” he says,

We search every box, cupboard, storage area that we can – no trace of the Garmin. Ralf called the car rental place, no they had found nothing.   I look in his camera bag, I remove everything out of camera bag, which is what you should do when you are looking for something.

“Did you take everything out of your camera bag?” she asks. He looks sheepish as she produces the Garmin. The Garmin was tucked in the front of the camera bag, underneath a book. Can I kill him now!