Many Thanks!!
There are so many people to thank for various things, I'll try to be complete, but please forgive me if I left any one out - it isn't for lack of appreciation! (All lists are in order of occurrence)
Selected People Prior to the trip:
- Mom and Dad - For encouraging me to be strong and independent.
- Grandpa Goedert- His voice spoke up in my head every time I slouched "Straighten your back or it will be sore tonight!" Those words kept me feeling strong throughout the trip, and the various biking tricks for getting through difficult areas proved important everyday.
- Nathan Otis - For motivation when the stretches became long from his statement made when in only first grade "I will keep pedaling until my little legs fall off!"
- Jim Maddox - For taking care of everything in Santa Barbara and always being there. Not to mention taking care of Pali and all of my things! I wouldn't have been able to travel as easily without your kindness.
- Bobbie Bratz - For showing me that traveling alone is not only possible, but sometimes preferable.
During the trip:
- Gary Dunkley - For being an incredible mentor and friend, for everything.
- Entire wedding party - For hosting the most incredible wedding I've ever seen!
- Peter and Deb - For companionship, stressing this importance of being able to set up and take down a tent quickly, and being much better about emailing than I! Congrats on completing your incredible trip!
- John Bark and Donald Cambell - For dinner and great stories, not to mention charging my laptop batteries.
- Gavin Grandish - For showing me the ins and outs of bicycle touring. Thank you soooo much!
- Susanne and Reg - For hosting me in the most beautiful yacht club I've ever visited.
- Nadine - For teaching me that for the next trip, a to b is less important than what you do during your trip. Next time I'll take more side trips! Plus being the first and only female solo cyclist I encountered on my trip.
- Stephen - For taking me in and allowing me to have a website for my trip! It would have been impossible to have had anything on the web during my trip without you!
- Greg and Junko - For housing me for a night and more importantly, answering all of my Saskatchewan questions, and teaching me about farming in the area.
- Loonie - For being you! That sums it up, but to be more specific... for lending a hand to anyone you happen to come across that you can help in any way. This led to a great friendship and a lot of fun! I couldn't list all the adventures here.
- Fred and Debbie Klatt and Family - For taking me in and feeding me cheese brats. Not to mention the video!
- Olaf and crew in Thunder Bay - For letting me stay at a closed hostel out of the rain.
- Ben Christie - For showing me how quickly it is possible to bike, providing motivation, and for not getting upset when I messed up trying to help you change a spoke.
- Matt Petro - For good company and memories of Madison
- Michelle - For giving me updates on Dunk, and writing incredible emails, etc, etc.
- Naoya - For showing me that there is another level of patience and persistence far beyond what I have learned on this trip. Anyone can do anything they set their mind to!
- Linda Slivinsky - For being a kindred spirit and entrepreneur, for being the only other person I know who sees people in small stones, and for giving me so many incredible pastries!
- Rudy Moore - For sending a power cord for my laptop!
- Dave - For driving clear to the other side of Algonquin park just to have lunch!
- Mike McIvor - For showing me around Ottawa and being great company, even if we weren't able to fix my bike ourselves.
- Regent - For taking me in for a night and giving me an incredible painting.
- Maria and Kik - For showing me Montreal, providing a welcome place to stay, and being wonderful friends. And for Maria, for being such a great friend.
- Asena - For giving me a new outlook on life. Oh, and being a great travel companion!
- Chantal and Albert Gagnon - For taking me in for a night and teaching me about New Brunswick and Maine, and showing me the best bike route south.
- Hilkka and Bruce - For taking my bike onto your truck so I didn't have to pay extra for the ferry. And sharing a campsite, and laundry, and simply being really cool people.
- Bob - for finding me and taking me in for an amazing three weeks. And giving detailed summaries on cycling almost every region of the world.
- Fen and Jocy - Too many things to list here. A taste of Halifax and Cape Breton life in summary. You are amazing people.
- Rita and Paul - For housing and great food during the hurricane, and Paul - for tramping through the wilderness of Nova Scotia, showing me the land and its inhabitants, most importantly the sundews (of course!)
Gear Gifts
- Suzanne and Gody - Gortex Jacket that kept me dry for an average of an hour of rain a day.
- Berdnt - Thermarest - I couldn't have made rock quarries my favorite sleeping places without it. Invaluable sleeping pad.
- Bicycle Warehouse in Nanaimo - Waterbottle and an endless topic of discussion.
And to the countless others without whom the trip wouldn't have been nearly as enjoyable!
The completion of this trip is dedicated to Dunk and his full recovery.
"The world is a giant book, and the only way to read it is to travel." - Maria from Halifax
