TdR for Pablove - Day 4

I'm thinkin' day 4 might be a bit grueling because of the wind!  This ranchland area on the eastern side of the Canadian Rockies looks beautiful from the photos, and it will be really fun to ride moderate, rolling roads for 118 miles... but this area is known for the chinook winds, to the point that there are areas where the windmills are lined up along the road to harvest the wind energy!  This might be a LONG day if the winds are blowing... but maybe it'll be a tailwind and we'll get pushed all the way to Waterton National Park!  Hmmm.  If it's a cross or headwind, then we'll need to conserve energy in a paceline, which is where we sit on the wheel of the rider in front us and save energy because of the drafting effect.  We'll all take turns as the lead rider, and switch regularly because that person takes all of the wind and has to work harder, but then gets a significant rest when taking a turn behind the others.  The amount of climbing over this route is a little less than 4000', so it seems like over 118 miles that's gotta just be due to the rolling terrain as compared to any major climbs.  The pictures suggest that it'll be beautiful farmland with the Rockies on the horizon the whole way until we reach start getting into the Waterton area.  Towards the end of the day we'll turn west and head towards the mountains until we end up inside the park, where we'll stay on the shore of Waterton Lake. The picures from this lake look amazing... I wish we could afford $500 a night for the Prince Wales hotel, but after a long day on the bike we'll be glad for clean sheets and running water!  It's funny how when you're outdoors, using your body hard all day, whether backpacking, climbing, cycling, running.... it breaks you down sufficiently so that everything is easy and good by comparison.  I can think of so many times after backpacking all day, cycling for 7 hours, getting off a long rock climb, etc. where the instant coffee and freeze dried instant food you ate for dinner was the most amazing food I'd ever had! Somehow when you break yourself down, perspective becomes clearer, and extraneous crap matters a whole lot less... and the basics of life are so much easier to appreciate.  Thanks for reading.

Perspective

See the cute kid to the right over there in that pic with me?  That's my son, Grayson.  He and my daughter Taryn are the most precious things in the world to me.  I need them like I need air.  Their happiness lifts me up like nothing else I've ever experienced.  If I'm unhappy, they can reach down and drag me up out of the depths of  despair like absolutely nothing else in the world.  Their success is my happiness, their happiness is my success.  I know any parent reading this right now understands EXACTLY what I mean. 

Last night my son asked if I could snuggle with him as he went to sleep... a wonderful, sweet request that made me smile and feel really freakin' good.  Grayson is quite a cuddley kid, and I held him as he lay there in his fire engine pajamas, moving and settling in... I listened as his breathing slowed down, became regular, more deep....relaxed... and then.....he was gone to sleep.  I held him for a while longer, cherishing the moment.  I thought of how some parents who have lost their children to cancer would give absolutely anything for a close moment like that.  I know that there are parents whose kids are struggling with cancer right now, this very moment.... those parents must fear nothing more than losing moments like that forever.  A parent's most natural desire is to fulfill their child's request, to make them happy, to satisfy their needs.... in good times, and most certainly in bad times. 

Imagine being the parent of a child who should be healthy, who should be jumping, running, playing, bouncing, drawing, ..... but that beautiful, innocent child is stuck in a hospital with an IV in their arm, sick and unsure, and looking to you to ease the pain of their experience.  As a parent, what could be more natural than to try to introduce things into their experience that would allow kids to do KID stuff... even in as they live in a hospital?  That's exactly why I'm interested in supporting Pablove, and it's why I hope you do as well, through donations to our fundraiser ride - because funds from the Pablove Foundation go directly to helping cancer kids PLAY.  Isn't that what kids should be doing?  Pablove helps to bring art, music, recreation, and fun to the hospital in the form of a cancer unit play room!  When I read that in their mission statement, it spoke to the parent in me and it was over.  I knew we'd ride on behalf of the Pablove Foundation. 

Because the Castelaz family was willing to share the experience of their son, Pablo, and his fight with cancer through the Pablove Ride Across America and the Pablove Foundation, I have a strenghtened perspective.  I appreciate moments like the one last night with my son, who is Pablo's age, more than ever because of their experience.  Perspective is good. 

Thanks for reading.

TdR for Pavlove - Day 3

We'll start day three by riding out of the Bow Valley and hooking up with Highway 40, a road they call the Kananaskis Trail or Bighorn Highway, which will lead us south into the Peter Loughwood Provincial Park.  From what I can tell, the scenery will continue to amaze us but will gradually soften once we climb Highwood Pass near Mt. Arethusa in the Misty Range of the Rockies around mile 60.  The Highwood river originates there, and we'll follow it as we descend the back side of the pass and down the east side of the divide and into farm and cattle land. Once we connect with Highway 541, we'll keep following the

river through the Eden Valley until we end up in Longview! These first few days look like they'll have a moderate of climbing... at least compared to the 2nd half in Colorado, anyway. This day will be around 4000' feet of vertical gain, and it will be our first longer day at 110 miles..... the map suggests we'll climb moderate grades, maybe less than 3%, but sustained over about 30 miles until we then zoom off the back side of the pass with a generally downhill ride until we get to Longview! I can't wait to see the landscape transitioning from high, glacial peaks to the foothills of the Rockies and the flat farmlands..... watching the scenery pass as you speed through the open air is an amazing feeling! Thanks for reading.

TdR for Pablove - Day 2

The second day on the Icefields Parkway will take us from  The Crossing to Banff National Park!  The scenery will certainly continute to be jaw-dropping as we roll southward past the Columbia Icefield glaciers, Lake Louise, Peyto Lake, Moraine Lake, Castle Mountain, and and the many other heavily glaciated peaks of the Canadian Rockies.  I've always wanted to see the amazing waters of Peyto Lake, which has the most incredible blue water because of the glacial silt that flows in from the river.  I've seen countless landscape shots of this spot, one of the most photographed places on the planet... and we'll be riding by the very spot!  We'll actually ride through Banff and make our way into the Bow Valley and spend the night in Canmore, which is a smaller town in the immediate area that sits beneath the peaks of the Three Sisters.  Our plan is to Twitter updates and pics as we ride, stop at the view, etc.... as long as we can pick up a cell signal!  We'll upload any more photos, video, and a written blog post each night from the laptop in the hotel room....  Hmm, but maybe that'll have to wait until after a fat meal and a bit of hot tub time!   Thanks for reading. 

Tour de Rockies for Pablove... Day One!

We'll leave Redding, CA on July 18th and make for Seattle, then Jasper.... lousy 'cause the Tour de France will still be going!  I wonder if any sports bars along the way will show the Tour?  Haha, not likely.  So 2 days driving gets us to the start of day one.... we'll ride south on Hwy 93, on the Icefield Parkway, through the Canadian Rockies for 95 miles. It seems like the route will be relatively mellow.... elevation around 6000', not a ton of climbing, although we will climb over Bow Summit.  Mostly we'll just spin along the Continental Divide with our mouths open like fools because of the amazing scenery!  We'll be following the mountain valley towards the a place called The Crossing, the one spot between Jasper and Lake Louise that

has a place to get a bed & some grub.  Along the way we'll gawk at snow-capped peaks, glaciers & the rivers that flow from them, the Athabasca & Sunwapta waterfalls...We'll stay overnight at the confluence of the North Saskatchewan River and the Howse and Mistaya rivers near the headwaters of Alberta's Saskatchewan river system within sight of Mt. Wilson. It'll be my goal, however, to always keep the perspective that while we're living, cycling, breathing easily, enjoying the view and fresh air.... others are struggling in a hospital and aren't sure of their future. We'll make sure to keep them in

our thoughts as we ride. We'll be in no hurry! I figure we'll be on the bikes 7 hours a day on average, since we'll be doing basically a century every day.... and with all of the hardest mountain riding coming on the last 7 days of the trip, we'll need to make sure we ride at a sustainable pace in the early part of the trip. I imagine on this first day we'll be so psyched that nothing will keep our spirits down.  Thanks for reading!

Here we go!

Welcome to the TdR for Pablove blog!  We're cycling 1300 miles from Jasper National Park to Telluride, CO starting July 20th 2010 in an effort to raise money and awareness for kids' cancer on behalf of the Pablove Foundation!  And we're looking for one hell of an adventure, as well!  The plan is 1300 miles, 100 miles a day for 13 days... but we'll have 2 drive/rest days in there as well to rest butts & legs.  We'll start in Jasper National Park and spend 2 days cycling the Icefields Parkway towards Glacier National Park, with Banff & Waterton National Parks along the way!  We'll end this first stretch by riding Going To The Sun Road through Glacier NP, a road I've always dreamed of experiencing.  Then we'll load bikes in the sag car & drive to West Yellowstone, where the next day we'll tour from Yellowstone NP to Grand Teton NP... after that 126 mile day we'll be happy to see Jackson Hole for the first time!  Another drive/rest day will take us to Estes Park, CO for a super hardcore day starting in Rocky Mountain National Park.... 3 major climbs between 9,000-12,000' elevation!  From there we'll tour the most famous Colorado towns as we wind our way towards Telluride... we'll visit Vail, Carbondale, Aspen, Snowmass, Crested Butte, Durango, Silverton, Ouray on the way as we roll over roads like the Silver Thread National Scenic Byway and the Million Dollar Highway.  The scenery will be freakin' amazing... it'll be the trip of a lifetime!

We're happy to be riding for a higher purpose as well on behalf of the Pablove Foundation.  Please visit http://www.pablove.org/ to better understand Pablo Castelaz and the foundation that his parents started in his name.  The way his family is processing the heartache and loss of their son is truly inspirational.  Jeff's blog and video posts from his 2009 Pablove Across America ride are wrenching, heartfelt, candid, sometimes funny, and always extremely genuine.  We're proud to raise whatever we can on their behalf. 

More to come!  Thanks for reading.