Saturday (mid-day): Princeton, B.C.: Checking in to kill time and stalling before taking what might be the last massive climb. The Allison Pass, there are still lots of hills, but locals say this is the last huge one.Its windy, head winds and my legs have got nothing left. I feel depleted, and the wind doesn't help.Plus there is nothing between here and Hope, no towns, no services, so I already know I have to spent the night tenting it in Manning Park in the middle of nowhere.

By tomorrow night, I should be in Langley, lined up to take the ferry to Victoria on Monday.
Psychologically I'm really tired, fed-up, dying to finish. it might just be the frustration of being so close and still not finished.

It's funny there's nowhere to stay around here, but the traffic is endless. including bikers on Harley's. Why is HDR's (Harley Davidson Riders) are some of the nicest people you could ever meet, but that bike is so loud it's annoying. I won't miss never seeing one again! (Been passed constantly and the noise is something else).

Friday: Keremeos, B.C. Now the high desert country where it's blinding hot (33 plus) during the day, and cool (14 degrees) at night. Everything is cradled in the shade of a mountain, or perched along the top of a preposterous peak. There are no safe havens, no middle ground along B.C.'s southern hwy 3. Three brutal peaks; 21 -18 & 11 km climbs.

Grand Forks -Greenwood - the first pass, long and gradual (at least for this area), then at Rock Creek a 21 km climb that ends in a picturesque peak (with a viewpoint motorists stop at to peer into the valley), and the drop dead descent into Osoyoos. The last one, every Ironman Canada finisher knows, it Richter Pass which is easy by comparison at 11 km and has a downhill dip in the middle.

It is sooo hot, I miss the morning chill. (Had to wear a vest), now I regret not appreciating it more. There are lots of hotels/motels ( and tourists) , but forgot it's the long weekend so there are ZERO vacancies. Have to pop the tent on the grass behind a gas station. There's also an RV parked overnight, the owner says no problem. Even get to use the washroom (but no shower). By now I don't care, two days and counting.
179-9 hrs 23 minutes-6,556 Total

A Message from Fans:

I would very much like to see just what is left of a man after such madness has taken hold and run it's course. Will he be talking to himself and giggling uncontrollably? Perhaps just silence and far away eyes. Is Brian going to be a Jesus freak from now on? Brendan

Amazing Brian. Eat something. Well done on your tour. Drink something. That is a remarkable feat. Eat something. Enjoy a bit of a holiday soon. Did I say eat something? slainte, Pete

If there are plans for coming out this way, let us know we will easily accommodate people (or in Brian's case, a shell of a person?). I hope to be able to see him in all his bedraggled glory! Jenny

Grand Forks, B.C.: The last Thursday ever! The count down continues. It was another grueling day in the mountains (can you hear Phil Liggett?) with no shade, no help and no mercy. Outside of Salmo the climb up Bombi Pass to Castlegar is another 38 km climb. It's not as steep as the Kootenay Pass but it's longer, B had to stop twice on the way up to catch his breath and a drink. Relief at the top but the descent was equally gruesome since it was recently paved and with the rain it was a slippery, scary drop into Christina Lake. It's supposed to be 35 degrees again on Friday, (but at least it's a dry heat), he'll start earlier in the morning for the
remaining days.

Winnipeg Hotel- B's staying at a landmark hotel in GF, the "Winnie", and visited my dad's grave to take a photo. My dad would have approved of his trip, he loved sports (esp. hockey) but as my mother would say, "that man would watch any sport on TV"

137 kms- 7 hrs 17 minutes- 6,377 kms Total

C: Saddle Sores? B passed a "Brian's Saddle Shop" just after Kootenay Pass and was tempted to get help for his! Apparently it's slightly better now that it's drier (no rain), and less humid (less sweating), so it's starting to heal. His hands are still numb, and his legs cramp even when he's not riding. One can only assume the rest of his parts are still working, who knows? Maybe there's a limit to how many kms one can do in a week?

Brendan wants to see the" skeleton get off a bike" in Vancouver, Jenny wonders about "bedraggled glory", and Peter thinks B's mind will go next. It's like torture, continuous pain can cause madness right?

C: Queens Stage: Kootenay Pass -6 thousand feet of continuous climbing? This is why I am in TO and NOT cycling with B. If it's the single hardest thing he's ever done (and he likes pain), I would have been crying at the bottom. Like Yellow Lake in Ironman Canada, there are some times it's okay to walk your bike; (outrageous!! Ironman keeners say), but if you can walk the marathon (or parts of it), you can walk the bike. That's my theory. Now suddenly B wants a granny gear!! ( Brenda & I told him to get one at the begininng). However at least he got a standing ovation at the top from a bunch of bikers (B.C. is hog heaven), they had stopped to recuperate and couldn't believe a cyclist could make it to the top without stopping. They asked for his autograph (he loved that!) and took his picture.

Day Thirty Seven: Cranbrook to Salmo, B.C. Longest, hardest hill ever, 34 kms of continuous uphill... not even one little flat break on the way to the top of the 6 thousand ft Kootenay pass and I did it without taking a break... mainly because I had no idea how long it was until I actually got to the top! Got cheers from motorcyclists resting at top when finished. It was the hardest climb I have ever done... Even trucks were grinding their gears and going so slow, it took them 15-20 seconds to pass me. One of the trucks was a Kokanee beer truck... I almost cried at the thought of all the cold beer just inches away. The reward was a 30k downhill where I did not pedal once... but had to stop to let brakes and wheel rims cool down! Finally finished the day and unbelievably, wound up at a motel run by an ex track cyclist, with signed photo of Lance Armstrong on the wall.
194 kms-9hrs 26 mins. Total to date 6,240km.

Day Thirty-Seven; (Wed July 28) Salmo, B.C. Over 6 thousand kms done, and only a fraction left (5 days max).

C: Brian's only company on the road. Imagine how hot that guy is in 30 plus weather

Day Thirty-Six: Tuesday July 28/10 Cranbrook B.C. At the Lazy Bear Motel (C: which B likes because of a childhood nickname Bear (after some TV show BJ and the Bear).
Now the end is tantalizingly near and painfully far at the same time. Maybe Grand Forks by Thursday, Keremeos by Friday, Manning Park Saturday, and Monday Vancouver and the ferry to Victoria.

Can't get over how much traffic there is RVs by the dozen with retired drivers! Constant trucks and cars packed with kids. B.C. is a tourist magnet. Its so stressful have had to put away the ipod to concentrate totally on the traffic. The shoulder is so bad,littered with rocks, cracked and uneven, so have to ride on the road. It's tense.

Heath wise good thing its ending. Have permanent numb spots on both hands and blisters on both cheeks! IE saddle sores. Knees and quads are aching and takes increasingly longer to warm up in the morning. I've noticed my legs cramp easily even when I'm not on the bike.

168 kms-6 hrs 58 minutes- 6,046 kms Total

Day Thirty Five: Blairmore, Alberta. (20 kms from B.C.) BM is a tiny town near Crows Nest Pass at the foot of the Rockies. Picturesque & QUIET. Everything(2 bars,little else) is closed by 5:30. For the first time forced to eat dinner TWICE.
Found a bar(empty as usual) and ordered the only thing on the menu-a personal pizza and wings. (Then watch the bartender undo the plastic and throw them into the microwave.) Still starving, I look for a corner store, nothing, BUT find another bar. Again it's empty BUT has a better menu so I order a burger n'fries. First time I ate dinner TWICE in the space of an hour.

Deathly silence, it seems unfair that after riding all day with no one to talk to, I arrive in town and there is NO ONE in the pub. Who would imagine I'd be desperate to talk?(with complete strangers - anyone? which is totally unlike me). It turns out there is such a thing as too much of a good thing (solitude). (C:Now I know why B is so annoyed when I don't answer the phone! And being out of town at a conference this week I haven't been around. A crime! Who knew.)

Weatherwise the mountains might bring relief. Cool in the morning and slowly heats up all day so not bad. Am apprehensive about rain in the mountains but might be lucky and miss it. On the energy front, am finding it hard to get going in the morning, generally tired, stiff, sore. Have to stretch out, and ride gingerly early on to settle the saddle sores. (Pain-free is no longer an option, but with only a week to go I can bear it). Tomorrow my mantra will be, "this is my last Tuesday", then "last Wednesday", last "Thursday". The mountains will be a distraction, now I need it.

148 kms - 6 hrs 40 minutes- 5,878 kms Total

Sunday, July 25, Finish in Lethbridge, Alberta: The wind has died down, but it's boiling! With NO shade. Happy to get off the bike. Now have blisters and numb spots on hands, saddle sores are worse, its a grind. Don't know what I'd do without the ipod. Initially was reluctant to use it, now I need it. At a certain point, you just want to finish, I think I'm at that point. Should be in B.C. by days end.

In a first, find a women's wallet with ID, ten dollars, several pawn shop receipts, and a casino players card in it. There is a Casino here, so obviously she is a semi-regular player. Turned it into the desk and strangely she was still at the hotel (different room). Kind of sad.

174 kms-8 hrs 12 minutes-5,030 kms Total (corrected 5,730 kms Txs PN)

I've just enjoyed my first steak stince my fabulous sendoff in St John's. It didn't measure up to the St John's feast, but it was pretty damn good and I definitely earned it today... 224km in 10 hrs 22 mins to get to Medicine Hat, Alberta... yeah... province #9... only one more to go. (and that's 5,556km total to date).

I was Alberta bound from the moment I started pedaling this morning and 4 strong winds in my face all day were not going to stop me. Did everyone get the cheesy Gord Lightfoot and Ian Tyson nods there? Anyway Ralph's Steakhouse was a welcome stop after a very long day in the sun. It may not sound like anything special but it was everything it should be... country music and lots of guys in cowboy hats... Strangely, they were all black (the hats, not the cowboys)... so I guess the good guys all hang out somewhere else... suits me... I always wanted to be one of the bad guys.

The prairie roads continue to be a grind... lots of long, gradual uphills and leg destroying false flats... but I can sense the mountains looming ahead. Today was my last day on the Trans Canada... yeah again! Here in Medicine Hat I make the turn onto hwy 3 to begin my southern route through Alberta and BC... I'm looking forward to the change.

My excitement for the day was an attack by some falcon / hawk /whatever... it came down on me out of the sun like a fighter jet and the first thing I knew, I heard the sound of the air on its massive wing span... saw its shadow on the ground beside me... and actually heard the tap of its talons on my helmut... It quickly flew off, but it scared the #$#& out of me and I almost crashed. Clearly it didn't know what to make of me... and I think that if I had lost anymore weight, it might have just carried me off.

One of the pics above is obviously coming into Medicine Hat late in the day... the other is a look back at one stretch of the long prairie road... click on it to enlarge and get you can get a sense of the endless roads and why this part of the trek is such a grind... I know the mountains are still ahead, but right now, this seems like the hardest part.

C: No these are not the same picture. Just an example of how similar the prairies can look to the unappreciative eye. The two spots are miles apart but you'd never know it. Storm clouds brewing, on the positive side you can see it way before it hits you, on the negative side there is noooooo cover, so you will be rained on. If B is lucky it won't rain today (Saturday) but it has been the rainiest summer in Saskatchewan ever. (I think)

Day Thirty-One: Swift Current, Saskatchewan. It rained all day (at least it wasn't another tropical storm), soaked but relatively warm until a truck goes by and splashes up cold dirty water. Making it worse, pit stops are more uncomfortable daily, there isn't even tall grass between Moose Jaw and Swift Current! I don't care what anyone says, its awkward. Regardless of the isolation of Northern Ontario, this stretch of prairie is the most empty 100 miles ever.

177 kms-7 hrs 18 minutes- 5,332 Total

C: Being from Saskatchewan I take exception to criticism the prairies are flat and boring. Regina is a city with heart, and all the amenities of Toronto's G20-a man made lake and transplanted trees at a fraction of the billion dollar cost. Plus as B is finding Saskatchewan drivers move over, (cause there's lots of room on a flat hwy and you can see a cyclist for miles) but besides that prairie folks know life can be tough, and they admire someone crazy enough to suffer the pain, rain, wind and heat. Farmers get that.

Day Thirty-One: Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Finally and he's fit to burst! Bad enough the prairies are all up hill (in a painfully invisible way); and kills the legs, it also wrecks havoc with the bladder. Ever try stopping for a nature break when there are NO TREES. There is no discreet way to find peace and for a shy guy that's torture.

A surprize - Regina is a polite, pretty city, nice town down, civilized (C: small?) and with a beautiful "green mile". (C: imported trees and a fake lake). Moose Jaw too is an attractive town, with good motels and restaurants. Tx G. Cause covered in mosquito bites from the last flea bag motel. First things first, find a Laundromat, The Snow Hut (also sells ice cream), fight with the single moms over washers, kids crying and dogs barking the whole time. Staying at the Travel Lodge on Athabasca and Main, so nice, so clean, so air conditioned.
143 kms-6 hrs 26 minutes-5,155 Total

What you're not done yet? It's a toss up between who is more competitive Brian or his dad? A less competitive parent might have said "What? Cross the country on a bike? But why?" (C: my mom for instance). B's dad thinks it's fabulous, why not? And as fast as possible. A lifetime runner Bob still thinks hiking all day, alone in the Arizona heat is an adventure. Gee I wonder where B gets it?

Day Thirty: Indian Head, Saskatchewan. (80 kms east of Regina). The prairies are sooo NOT flat! It's a long, steady grind uphill with no breaks. The other challenge, unlike eastern provinces, the TC does NOT run through towns, so you have to get off the hwy to look for a motel, then backtrack if there isn't one. It was a sunny, slightly windy day, perfect for riding. In case that doesn't continue, I took advantage of it for a fourth straight day of 200 plus kms. Am exhausted though. This motel earns the dubious distinction of the worse yet! Cramped, dusty, the taps leak, the windows and door barely close, there are no hangers, the sheets seem clean but everything is damp. No phone, no internet, a TV with one channel (C: Tx God for CBC!). It's only 150 kms to Moose Jaw, and I'm looking forward to it (and a clean motel) already!

226 kms-9 hrs 41 minutes-5,012 Total

After my 3rd straight 200+k day yesterday (206 to be exact) to get to Virden, I'm off to a quick start today... only 10am and I've already crossed into Saskatchewan... stopped at the tourist info place (yet another computer though with the usb port disabled, so no pic)... It's so nice to have put the lousy roads of Manitoba behind me and it was worth the effort for those long days.

Not sure how many more big days I have in the legs though... Contrary to popular opinion, the prairies are not flat... especially going west. Even when the road seems flat, your legs tell you that you are slowly creeping uphill towards the rockies... and I'm feeling it. It's getting harder and harder to get back on the bike each morning.

Still, I'm past the 2/3 mark and it is beginning to feel like I can really do this. Time to get back on the bike though... lots of kms still to go today and it is a beautiful day for riding... winds are light (so far)... and the sun is shining after finishing in the rain yesterday.

P.S. Lesley... I love any flavour, but if you can do chocolate-orange, Carmel is out and you're in!