Well, the day has finally arrived. Up at 5:00 AM and down to the ferry by bicycle from the church. "A Channel" emailed last night to say they were not going to make it to the send off due to other camera commitments.

We had a wonderful send off with family and intrepid supporters seeing us off at the terminal. The upper levels was a good first climb. Sunny skies and heavy north west wind for our first day. Lions Gate bridge was a challenge with very high wind..

Our route through Vancouver took us through Stanley park to the downtown. Soon we were in the heart of the Downtown Eastside. We stopped by the Lutheran Urban Mission office in the hopes of seeing Brian Heinrich but missed him by just a few minutes. Gerry's daughter Alexis met us at a coffee shop in the heart of the Commercial drive area, then we were off to Nanaimo and Hastings for a noon picnic at Pandora park. Fritjoff & Katja's daughter-in-law Kim met us with her work companions and a contingent of families of mental health clients. We had a chance for a short visit and very nourishing conversations. A contingent of Japanese visitors working with mental health there arrived for photos just before we were off.

Our route out of Vancouver took us out the peaceful and beautiful Adanac/Francis bike route through to North Burnaby and out the Barnett Highway. Met Ernie again at the Coquitlam Center then we rode the rest of the route to Mission, arriving at about 6:15.

In Mission we were met by Pastor Allan Boehmer and Chris Staeheli and his wife Robin. Charlie and Jan stayed with the Boehmers and Ernie and Gerry enjoyed the hospitality of the Staeheli's which included a quick tour of the Mission Abbey and lookout over an absolutely glorious clear sunny vista of the mid Fraser Valley. An inspiration to start our second day of travel.

After prayers of safe voyage at Calvary Lutheran in Mission we rode out Highway 7. What a glorious day of riding. At lunch in Agassiz we met Tom Ropeleski and Brian Potter, two Montreal cyclists who are riding from Victoria to St John's on a ride called In Motion For the Missing, (www.inmotionforthemissing.ca). The cause is missing children. We have an offer of parking in the driveway of one of their supporters when we are in Montreal.

Riding into Hope we ran across two young Canadian Korean students who want to ride to Toronto and then through the States. They are too heavily laden for this kind of travel so have taken to doing a bit of hitchhiking. They are staying at our campsite, so, after a little discussion last night we have offered to have Ernie carry their gear in the Motor Home if they want to ride with us old men. They will come with us as far as Kamloops and see from there.

Slept in the Motor Home last night after buying a bottle of good Italian red wine at the local store, the owner called for us and made reservations at a local campground. After some early journey organization glitches we managed to get a good night's sleep. Surprisingly we are still quite enjoying each other's company.

We are glad of a day's rest before tackling the Fraser Canyon to Lytton tomorrow. Tonight we are hosted by Christ Lutheran Church in Chilliwack for a pot luck dessert and an evening of fellowship and conversation to familiarize them about our cause.

After two days it is becoming clear that many people are open to hearing about the stigma of mental illness and many are also willing to lend a helping hand. In many ways it is overwhelming to be the recipients of such tremendous goodwill.

Your prayers and good wishes are helping to carry us along. Please know how much we appreciate your continued dedication and support.

Our love and good wishes go to you all.
Charlie, Jan, Gerry, and Ernie

Wednesday Day 3 - Hope
Light Beams from the Road

We are consolidated in our campsite and tour the Kettle Valley Tunnels in the afternoon.

On Wednesday evening we travelled to Chilliwack to meet with 12 members of Calvary Lutheran. We had a rich evening of sharing. Our message of increasing the level of acceptance and compassion for persons living with mental illness seems to hit fertile ground wherever we speak. Personal stories are beginning to peek out from behind a curtain and we are experiencing a palpable sense of appreciation for our efforts.

Charlie treated the group to his Baltimore Oriole song as well as our Ride into Light theme song. Charlie and his Martin road guitar are a team.

We experienced some alternator belt noise on the way back to Hope. Jan and Ernie tighten it and end the noise. It is good to have people with mechanical talent along.

Thursday May 4th
We get up early and Jeff and Oh pack their heavy gear into the motor home and they head off for the highway north up the canyon. We ride to the spot where we left the road. We are glad of having a day’s rest in Hope.

The canyon highway has a slow climb out of Hope for about 3 km then undulating hill to Yale. The ride is refreshing and these three grey haired men are faster up the hill than the boys. We met a truck accident scene just south of Yale. No one hurt but a power pole was taken out which meant no power from there to north of Hell’s Gate. This meant no light in 6 of the seven tunnels going north. We kept riding north in search of a place for morning coffee and then for lunch but nothing was open until we hid Boston Bar at about 1:45. A taxi driver gave Ernie a tip that there was a really good restaurant just about 2km north so we kept going. Up a 2 km hill then 5 further km along we finally arrived at the restaurant tired and famished. We have enormous appetites. We left after lunch full and a bit rested and continued north to the challenge of Jackass mountain.

   As you can see we made it. We got into Lytton about 6 PM to St Barnabas church hall to a warm reception from Rev Gordon Lines, his wife Loris and Mandy Thomas, a delightful First Nations parishioner who delighted us with her stories of earlier days of a more active railway in the canyon. They served us (the boys included) a hearty stew and dessert.

Friday May 5th
Off the next morning to Cache Creek. The ride today is easier, still hilly but less overall altitude gain. We are no longer in a closed in canyon. The Thompson has more gentle terrain. The hills are more coloured with sage green than the dark evergreen shades of the southern Fraser Canyon. The air here is dryer and we are aware that we are noticing far more detail in the landscape than we take in driving. We make a basic lunch on the side of the road and continued on towards Cache Creek.

We passed the spot where the last spike was driven.

   Then on past Ashcroft where we stopped for the best rhubarb cake and apple pie in all of BC at the historic Ashcroft Manor. The proprietor is a bicycle enthusiast and when he heard Charlie complain about his shifters he took off his chef’s hat and jacket and put on some overalls and took Charlie into his bike shop to fix the problem.

We phoned Dixie Sydia and told her we were only 1/2 hour out of Cache Creek. We arrived about 5:30 PM and Bill Sydia met us at the south of town to guide us to his home. Jeff and Oh were at the bottom of the hill leading into town and were planning to find a campsite. Bill offered them his back yard and said there were plenty of burgers for the grill so they joined us for dinner.

Jeff and Oh paused on the way into the Sydia’s house to ask Jan and Gerry “Why did you help us?” This lead to a very warm conversation about grace and the choices we are offered to make human connection.

Saturday May 6th Cache Creek to Kamloops
We had a very good day. Cache Creek to Savona by 11: 30 AM. The rolling hills are more gentle and the sage green of the hillsides is a soothing backdrop for our cycling. Downhill into Savona and an early lunch then up the 4.5 km Savona hill. We make it to Hills of Peace Lutheran Church in Kamloops by 2:30. This is the first day we have averaged over 20km per hour!!

Met at the church by Pastor Brian Krushel, and members of the congregation including our hostess for the night Doreen Likeness. Gerry’s friend Laurie Chapman showed up and helped us look for our Korean chums who left us on the road.

We were hosted for a delightful dinner at the home of Doreen Likness, then off to bed.

Sunday May 7th Kamloops
Worship at Hills of Peace in Kamloops with service lead by Brian Krushel and a warm reception for our message. Lunch at the church and some bicycle maintenance to ready us for the road tomorrow. A welcome day of rest followed by dinner at the home of Jim and Lynn Horne, who are members of the Hills of Peace congregation and Lynn is a director of the local chapter of the CMHA. (Incidentally Jim and Gerry are “joined in holy secretary”. Judy Benner was Gerry’s secretary for many years when she left Nanaimo to live in Kamloops. There she worked for Jim until she returned to Nanaimo in 1997 when she started working for Gerry again!!)

Another day of the Ride into Light being washed in the goodwill and love of another congregation.

There is no easy way to sum up the first week of this experience. We have been continually overwhelmed by the positive response and hospitality of all groups both big and small. Seeing the province from the vantage point and speed of a bicycle is a continual exercise in wonder. Birds sing for us, eagles soar over the rivers putting on a fishing exhibition, and colours seem more vivid. Our surroundings change constantly but at a more human pace and scale. The environment is here not to be conquered but to be absorbed, accepted and lived with. Our bodies respond to our efforts with growing strength and with limits. With humility and with the grace of God we are beginning to think we may just succeed for another day. We are blessed. Cheers from the Road

J, C, G and A The Boys

Monday May 8th Kamloops to Salmon Arm
Monday morning we said farewell to Doreen Likness, gathered at the church and coasted downhill to the CMHA gathering centre in Kamloops where we had a half hour of conversation with the people using this wonderful facility. We were hosted by Lynne Horne who serves on the Board of CMHA Kamloops. A reporter from the TV news arrived and interviewed us, and then we were off to Salmon Arm.

The road out of Kamloops was flat and fast. We made good time in the morning and arrived for a break at Chase by 11:30. There we struck up a conversation with a Kamloops family who were excited by our venture and just donated $40 to us on the spot. We tackled the hill coming out of Chase and enjoyed an afternoon ride through Sorrento and on to Salmon Arm. The Motor Home ran into some minor problems and had to be towed to Salmon Arm where a new alternator belt was installed.

We were hosted for the evening by Reverend Bill Keesman and his wife Veronica. They took us to dinner and provided us with hot showers and comfortable beds for the night. A welcome respite and good company after a long ride.

Tuesday May 9th Salmon Arm To Revelstoke
We picked up the trail in downtown Salmon Arm and rode to the Salmon Arm CMHA office where we met the staff and left some brochures, then on up the hill and through a few miles of road construction and up the scenic highway over the lake towards Sicamous. Just a few Kms from Sicamous a freelance photojournalist took photos of us as we passed him on the road. He asked about our cause and made arrangements to set up a photo shoot over Shuswap Lake just up the hill from Sicamous. He sent the photos off top the National Post. We will see what will come of this.

We stopped for lunch in Sicamous and met several more people who wanted to know about the Ride. One had recently lost a close friend to suicide and the other, a father was struggling with the rest of his family to cope with the reaction of both their family GP and others to his son's recent psychotic break in which he suffered some hallucinations. He was shocked when the family GP was afraid to see his son on her own and when she suggested the young man was dangerous and that he should be moved out of their home.

Wherever we go these stories seem to come out as soon as people know we are here to fight the stigma we attach to mental illness.

The same thing happened later in the afternoon at 3 Valley Gap when a woman who was troubled by a recent suicide in her family approached Jan.

The ride into Revelstoke represents another transition from hilly terrain into real mountains. We booked into a campsite and ready ourselves for our assault of the famous Rogers Pass.

Wednesday May 10th Revelstoke to Rogers Pass
The climb starts with the road out of town to join the highway. Highway 1 through Glacier National park starts as a gradual 2% climb with some one to two Km steeper sections. At this pace of travel we are aware of the gradual climate change as we climb. We started in surroundings covered with the spring colours of bloom and leaf. As we got higher the grip of winter is still evident. Trees are not bloomed or leafed yet and the sunny day takes on a chill. The last 7 Km to the summit is steep and slow pedalling with stops every few Km to catch our breath.

We finally arrived at the summit and headed back down to the campsite in Revelstoke.

Thursday May 11th Rest in Revelstoke
Our rest day is welcome after attacking Rogers Pass on Wednesday. During the day we ran across a woman who works as a coordinator for a small mental health support group RAOP the Revelstoke Area Outreach Program. We dropped by for coffee and there we were given the story of Dolly, a woman who was recently diagnosed with a mental illness. He simple and clear words give substance to our mission.

“Being diagnosed with a mental illness is very traumatic. It yanks the rug out from under your life. It really affects the way our friends and family relate to us and us to them. When I first got sick I felt so alone, and that no one understood me. I found people just stayed away.”

Her story is so encouraging. She found relief when she discovered a group (RAOP), which could provide her with a place to tell her story without worrying about being judged.

Also at the campsite we had a number of people come by to take brochures and talk about the issues of mental illness. One fellow from Maple Ridge asked about joining our ride for a while and, after he read our brochure he brought a donation, twenty minutes later his wife came by with another donation.

  

Friday May 12 Rogers Pass to Golden
We start the morning with a ride in the Motor home to the top of Rogers Pass where we left our ride 2 days ago. The East side of Rogers Pass is a series of long bumpy downhill sections with a few uphill sections in between. We continue riding through pristine forest, out of Glacier National Park and through to Donald Station, the only sign of settlement in this expanse of bear country.

After Donald Station we travel down the Columbia River to Golden. This is the great Rocky Mountain Trench which runs just west of the Rocky Mountains South East past Colorado to New Mexico. We are walled left and right by mountains.

We arrive in Golden in the mid afternoon and stop (for the first time!!!) at a Tim Horton's on the outskirts of town. There Jan arrived in a flourish of artistic dismount resulting in the following “post dismount stance”

  

We then contact Pastor Ronald Tabbert of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Golden. What a fantastic evening of conversation, wit and grace. This is a man through whom the light of life shines so brightly it is hard to conceive of sadness in his presence. His church is a sanctuary for the homeless and poor in Golden. The entire basement is a clothing and food distribution centre with a comfortable lounge area where the poor and homeless of Golden can come to relax and have a cup of coffee and a donut.

Dinner was a feast of good food and good and warm conversation with a man of wide and deeply followed interests. What a treat!!

Saturday May 13th Golden/Radium to Hector Canyon
On Saturday morning we awoke to breakfast hosted by Ron then we were off to conquer the Kicking Horse Pass. We are now looking at mountain passes in a more particular way, Kicking Horse is 300 Metres higher than Rogers pass, but Golden is 320 Metres higher than Revelstoke. When you do the math the day shouldn't be quite as hard. But “How do you make God laugh?? You make plans.”

When we got to the junction with Highway 1 we found it closed because of a rockslide brought on by blasting. We rerouted down Highway 95 towards Radium, biking 35 km of that route. On this route we experienced narrow 6-inch shoulders and heavy truck traffic because all Highway 1 traffic was being rerouted here. Jan noticed a wounded juvenile Eagle on the side of the road so he stopped to give it some water and then stopped at a Bed and Breakfast down the road to tell the residents about it. They in turn promised to do what they could.

We remounted at Radium to ride the longer and steeper route through the Sinclair Pass to the breathtaking Kootenay Valley making it a total of 85 Kms to Hector Gorge where we stopped for the day. Sinclair Pass was by far the toughest ride of the trip so far. The grades were up to 11% and the hill to the top runs a steady 10 Kms most of which is over a 7% grade. When we reached the top of the pass and entered the heart of Kootenay National Park, which follows the Kootenay River through a valley between the Kootenay and Rocky Mountain ranges. This is some of the most remote and spectacular scenery anywhere in the world. We were glad to have Bear bells.

We biked that day as far as Hector Gorge where we marked our spot and drove to Banff where we were hosted David and Jeandot Ellis in their beautiful Townhouse backing onto the slopes of Sulphur Mountain. The view was spectacular, the pleasure we experienced in the company of David and Jeandot exceeded the view. David is a retired Anglican Priest. Jeandot was born in Canada but was brought up in the Bordeaux region of France. We became fast friends and enjoyed many conversations.

Sunday May 14th Banff Rest Day
We attended morning service at St Georges in the Pines with Reverend George Belcher. Charlie sang 3 songs and the congregation responded very well to our message. The rest of the day we spent exploring Banff and getting Charlie's bike tuned up. We were served a delicious dinner spiced with good conversation with David and Jeandot.

Monday May 15th Hector Gorge to Canmore
This is the day we cross the Continental Divide. The ride from Hector Gorge to Vermilion Pass follows the Vermilion River through forests, which unfortunately have suffered from the ravages of at least two major forest fires in the last 5 years. Still the terrain is beautiful and the hills steep but navigable. The terrain was gentler than the climb to Sinclair Pass on Saturday.

   Once we reached the summit we made steady progress to Canmore along Highway 1. David and Jeandot insisted on hosting us again in Banff and made sure we had a feast for dinner and a good hearty breakfast to start the run from Canmore to Calgary. We cannot say enough about their generous hospitality and their stimulating company. We count ourselves very lucky to have met them.

Tuesday May 16th Canmore to Calgary
This was a glorious day to ride to Calgary. Just a bit of high cloud and still air to complement the spectacular ride past the Three Sisters and the last great wall of the Rockies, which guard the entrance to the great plain.

Jan suffered a flat just as he started out so Charlie and Gerry (who rode blithely ahead without noticing his predicament) waited for him before morning coffee. The entrance to Calgary along highway 1 becomes clogged very quickly but we were lucky enough to find the Bow River pedestrian and cycle path which took us right through the heart of Calgary along the shores of the Bow river.

  

More on our wonderful experience in Calgary and our ride east into the heart of the Canadian prairies in our next instalment!! Bye for now from the Riders (Charley Jan and Gerry ride the bikes and Ernie rides them !!)

Calgary Thursday May 17th
Our introduction to Calgary along the Bow River path was a fitting introduction to the next few days experience. We were guided from the east side of the path through a residential area by a Calgary fireman who was riding his bike home from work and saw us reading our city map. We met up with Ernie and the motor home in an east Calgary mall and headed to the home of Stan and Geradine Poulson.

We were greeted by Stan and Geradine's two young adult children and took the opportunity to clean up before Stan and Geradine arrived home and took us to dinner. This family is the epitome of what is best in Alberta. Stan and Geradine operate a large construction trucking business that hummed next door throughout our visit. Stan starts his day about 4:30 AM when he sets up the process for the dispatch of approximately 100 trucks.

We were amazed that he was able to take time with us. As he chauffeured us around his beloved Calgary he fielded calls, put out fires took us to bike stores and showed us the sights of this vibrant city.

In the afternoon Geradine arranged to have friends and relatives over to their home to hear about our ride. This process continued into the evening. We were again amazed at the eagerness of people to talk about mental illness in their families. When people hear that one of the purposes of our ride is to fight the stigma attached to mental illness this seems to be an invitation to open up a topic many people keep painfully quiet about. The evening was a generous opportunity for sharing of these stories and for spiritual exchange.

We are very grateful for the generous hospitality of Stan and Geradine. They carry out their busy lives with a grace and simplicity, which constantly honours the gift of life the rest of us so often take for, granted. What a pleasure to get to know these people.

  

Calgary to Basanno Friday May 18th
We left Calgary along Highway 1 making great time towards Bassano. No wind and travel along the highway was fast. Made Strathmore in time for a morning coffee at Tim Hortons where we were given another donation (add this to the donation made by a police officer who pulled Ernie over just to check ). This is a long day covering 141Km. We arrived in the early evening and had dinner in Basanno before driving to Brooks for our billets Agnes and Gisela arranged by Trinity Lutheran Church.

Basanno to Medicine Hat Friday May 19th
Long grind against the wind towards Medicine Hat. Made Brooks by lunch time and plugged along to make it to Suffield by the early evening. This is a very long stretch of open prairie with little change of topography. Camped in Redcliff. This was to be a 155 Km day and we made 114 of it.

Medicine Hat to Maple Creek Saturday May 20th
More headwind and slow progress. We were short of our goal yesterday stopping at Suffield so we didn't make Medicine Hat till noon. Stopped for lunch then headed for the Saskatchewan boarder. We were stopped 15Km short due to a very windy and lightning laiden thunderstorm. Camped close to the boarder at Irvine Alta where we were treated to one of the most beautiful sunsets the prairies have to offer.

Sunday May 21st Make up lost distance
We used the Sunday rest day to make up the shortfall of the last two days of headwinds. This was a great run with the wind at our backs. It is amazing that facing a headwind we can barely make 15 Km per hour when, with the wind at our backs we do 30 KM and sometimes even more. We arrive in the early afternoon at the campsite in Tomkins.

Monday May 22nd Tomkins to Swift Current
Another day with the wind at our back and made good progress. Leaving the edge of the Cypress Hills area we are aware of the shifting altitude. This route skirts the Missouri Cocteau, which defines the northern edge of the Missouri basin where water to our left flows to Hudsons Bay and water just a few KM south flow to the Gulf of Mexico.

We had intended to ride past Swift Current to keep some extra Kms in the bank but we sidetracked to the Hospital in Swift Current so Ernie could have a sore tooth looked at. We stayed with Wallace and Barbara Haile Monday night and had a great meal out with Wallace, Barbara and their daughter Jessica.

Tuesday May 23rd Swift Current to Mortlack
Another day of steady progress across the broad prairie. We stopped at a small local store in Parkbeg to get some provisions and camped at Bessant Campground, which is a provincial campground with beautiful grounds and great showers.

Wednesday May 24th Mortlack to Regina
This is a busy day. We had lunch at MooseJaw hosted by Central Lutheran Church pastor Doug Shephard. We had a tour of the church after which we continued to Regina where we ended our ride at the south west corner of the city. We drove to Charlie's mother's ( Beth's ) home then on to the home of Enid Lemke and Al Campbell where we were treated to dinner, songs, stories of the road and wonderful conversation with all.

Thursday May 25th Rest Day in Regina
Up in the morning and off to Luther College where we addressed the entire school of approximately 450 students plus faculty. Charlie had a chance to plug his Road Martin into a real sound system (Charlie on steroids!!!!).
  

We spent part of the evening riding the trail system through Regina down to the legislature.
Friday May 26th Regina to Grenfell
Leaving Regina we faced some headwinds and some scattered rain and cool temperatures. We met Charlie's friends David and Marlis Kaiser who bought us second breakfast.
  

We met another RV based bike tour called Cycle for Spirit sponsored by the Keg restaurant. They are raising money for children's charities. As the day progressed we used our rain gear several times facing both rain and headwinds.

At Indian Head we met Pierre, a rider from Rimouski who is doing Canada in 4 sections. This year he is doing Regina to St Saint Marie.

We stopped a little short of Grenfell.

Saturday May 27th Grenfell to Elkhorn
The weather today is very changeable and cool. Less headwinds so we made reasonable progress. We stopped short of the boarder but we are still satisfied with our progress given the headwinds and cold, which necessitated frequent warm up stops.

Sunday May 28th Elkhorn to Brandon
Lots of weather. Some headwinds, some tail winds lots of cold and some hail. Passed the boarder into Manitoba in the mid morning.

  

We stopped at Virden for a buffet brunch. Charlie: “You can never get enough to eat in these places”

Got to Brandon late (about 7 pm) and were taken for a nice dinner by pastor Ted Jannuska. We are thankful to be in two homes this evening and to get warm showers. Brandon is a very welcoming University town.

Monday May 29th Brandon to Portage la Prairie
Left the town of Brandon Ted Jannuska met us at the Husky station, bought us coffee, lead us in prayer and we were off down the road to Portage La Prairie, a distance of 130 kms.

We are aware of more forest and more rolling hills and river valleys. The day goes more quickly with back winds and a bit of rain and mist before the weather cleared and the wind settled. We arrived in Portage and drove down the main road after getting directions from the secretary of Trinity United Church. Riding through Portage we arrived at the church at about 6 pm where we were met by Anna and Bill Brown and escorted around the lake to their lovely home. This was another evening of great conversation and sharing of music and our ride stories all set in a lovely community built around a lake that is actually an oxbow of the Assinabione River.

  

Tuesday May 30th Portage La Prairie to Winnipeg
Left the home of Anna and Bill Brown and toured the beautiful Trinity United Church with its full Cassavante pipe organ.

The road was good leading out of Portage but in many sections in Manitoba the road has no usable shoulder at all forcing us to use the right hand lane and constantly watch for traffic in the mirror.

This is the richest farmland we have seen in the entire trip so far. In places we see rich fields stretching for about two kilometres on both sides of the roadway. Wind is at our back and strong so we make good progress on this short day of riding.

At noon we were taking a quick break in the van when a Toyota SUV drove past us on the small side road where Ernie had turned off. He passed us then backed up and asked, “What is this “Ride into Light”? We explained and he told us he is a Hutterite who lives in a colony just a few hundred metres down the side road. He invited us to participate in their communal lunch. He introduced himself to us as Ron. He ushered us into the dining building that had a kitchen, which looked better equipped than most hotel restaurants. We were fed a hearty meal of dumpling soup, chicken, vegetables and fresh salad all picked this morning from the garden.

After lunch we had a chance to talk to some of the people about our ride and its purpose. We could have spent the whole afternoon. Several women opened up to us talking about their families and their own experiences. These are very warm and engaging people with a very generous sense of hospitality. Their facilities were simple and largely unadorned but very up to date and functional.

One of the young men who work in the mechanic shop offered to tune Jan's rear derailleur, which he got working perfectly.

Ron is the head teacher and Principal of the colony school that is operated totally without public support. This school has facilities and a computer lab, which would be the envy of any public school. He invited us for a tour and to speak to the students who were just practicing coral music (imagine a choir of grades 1 to 12!!) We spoke to the students for about 10 minutes and we sang Charlie's Ride into Light song, then answered questions.

  

As we rode away a boy biked after Jan to look at his bike and to ask about his equipment, especially his bike computer.

This colony of 80 inhabitants just 30 Km west of Winnipeg is a wonderful example of the simple richness of communal living. The members, both men and women were warm, engaging and helpful. We left with a sense of gratitude at having been offered this experience. Entering Winnipeg was a bit of a challenge. Ernie got diverted off the Number 1 highway and we spent about an hour and a half in sporadic cell phone contact with us on bikes without a map and Ernie in the motor home in heavy traffic. Finally Ernie told us over the cell phone that he was at the Provincial Legislature. An easy ride from our location and we were reunited. We then drove to the home of Lill and Al Popp where we were treated to a delicious dinner and a taste of Chateau Neuf de Popp (Al's Merlot) followed by a tour of the St Boniface Cathedral and the Winnipeg Forks market area. All in all a full day!!

Wednesday May 31st Winnipeg Rest Day
The day started with Al loaning us his Chrysler Van to drive downtown for our visit to the National ElCIC offices. We were greeted by the communications director, and before morning chapel we had a few moments to reconnect with our National Bishop Ray Schultz (on loan from BC).

We participated in morning Chapel conducted by Elaine Sauer, the newly elected Bishop of Manitoba, then we were treated to a mid morning snack and a chance to sing Charlie's songs and tell our growing story to the Bishop and staff. This was a chance for us to put faces to names and to connect with the national church staff on a personal basis (and also a chance to let Bishop Ray know how much we look forward to his return to BC).

We had a quick trip to MEC where we met Pierre from Rimouski again (we had first met him in Indian Head). We bought bright backlights to help us cope with the Manitoba highways (the worst in the country so far). We often find ourselves having to ride the right lane because the shoulders in many places are made of loose gravel. The worst highways in the country are accompanied by the most considerate drivers who constantly yield the right hand lane to us.

That evening we were treated to a traditional Lutheran Pot luck at Prince of Peace Lutheran. We again had a successful evening of sharing our venture with the members of these two congregations.

Thursday June 1st Winnipeg to Prawda
We said a reluctant goodbye to the Popps. Al and Lill are such generous and engaging people. Al's refreshing view of the world is that “life is just a kick” and he just enjoys whatever happens day to day.

We drove to the Golden Boy to continue our journey east. Riding out of Winnipeg was fairly easy. We just followed Broadway east to St Mary Blvd then south to St Annes and down to Fermor Boulevard which becomes the Number one East. We waited for Ernie just outside the city boundary only to find he was 15 Kms ahead of us on the way to Prawda. Again we had the beautiful rich Manitoba farmland on both sides of the highway for the next 65 Kms where we could see a line of deciduous trees.

Just at this point we saw a small memorial garden tended in memory of a young Manitoba girl who passed away in 1998. 1/2 Km to the east of this garden the prairie, which stretched 1800 Kms to our west, came to an abrupt end. Within the next few kilometres we could see the odd outcropping of granite and as we moved east the deciduous trees began to give way to evergreens. After 10 Kms there is a rolling topography of rock, evergreen and streams.

We are now at the western boarder of Canada's next great geographical formation, the Canadian Shield with it's worn granite, evergreen trees and its blue lakes.

We arrive at Prawda in time for showers and a fairly early dinner.

Friday June 2nd Prawda to Kenora
We left Prawda in the morning to make for the Ontario Boarder, but first we stopped 40 Km down the road at the beautiful Falcon Lake where we stocked up on fresh baked bread and Cinnamon Buns. We are now in cottage country with warm summer beaches and fishing resorts lining each lake.

  

We crossed into Ontario about 2 pm and continued through the rolling hills to the ultimate summer resort town Kenora. We were met at the junction of Highway 17 and Highway 17A by pastor Bill Cowan of Bethesda Lutheran Church who escorted us to the lakeside (actually Winnipeg Riverside but it looks like a lake) home of Rob and Mara Karle, who had both their hot tub and Barbeque fired up. We were fed, watered (ok …beered and wined) and hot tubbed all overlooking a scene right out of a Tom Thompson painting. We are constantly reminded here that this land inspired what may well be the world's greatest landscape painting movement, the Group of Seven.

Saturday June 3rd 2006 Rest Day
We rode from the West side of Kenora to the entrance to highway 71 on the east side of town. We are riding Highway 71 because it takes us through the Lake of the Woods country down to Fort Frances and from there on to Thunder Bay. We attended a Pot luck dinner at Bethesda Lutheran Church and got back to the Karle home in time for an early evening.

Sunday June 4th Kenora to Caliper Lake
We start the day by participating in the lively service at Bethesda lead by Pastor Bill Cowan. We sang and spoke to the congregation and had a chance to talk to individual members of the church after the service. Again many individuals spoke to us about their personal experiences with mental illness, either themselves or with members of their families. We got away late because we were taken for a wonderful Brunch buffet to the Top of the Tower, a restaurant with a 270 degree view of this beautiful lakefront vista.

We got to Highway 71 at 1:30 pm and started south through forest, streams and lake vistas.

We arrived at Nestor Falls at 8:30 pm just in time for a bite to eat and bed.

Monday June 5th Nestor Falls to Fort Frances
This is a long day of riding through rolling hills against a slight headwind. There are no stops along the road until we got to Emo just 30 kms from Fort Frances. We called our billets, John and Shelley Jorbro and spoke eventually with Madeline Jorbro who, with her late husband was one of the founding members of Hope Lutheran church in Nanaimo. We had a wonderful evening with John, Shelly, their son Ethan and Madeline. Charlie played many songs and we got an excellent night”s sleep in the family tent trailer.

Tuesday June 6th Fort Frances to Flanders
This is a busy morning. We are up early for a 7:30 AM radio interview followed by a one and a half hour ride out of town to get a start on our 122 Kms today. We got a 25 Km head start then drove back to Fort Frances for a great reception at the Step Centre, the Fort Frances CMHA drop in centre where we met a photographer for the local newspaper and got to meet with the staff and many members of this thriving drop in centre.

We left the Step Centre and cycled for the rest of the day past Rainy Lake and Lake Couchiching. We are now getting into some remote territory, the part of Canada David Thompson called the “Big Lonely”. We ended the day just a few Kms past Flanders. We then drove to Atikokan for the night.

Wednesday June 7th Flanders to Birchell Lake
This is another day of riding through the Canadian Shield past trees, lakes, streams and the occasional moose, but very few buildings or people.

  

We made steady progress with slight back winds. In the middle of the afternoon we came to the water shed divide where water ahead of us flows east to the Atlantic rather than North to the Artic.

  

We stopped at Birch Point Campground near Birchell Lake. Charlie, Gerry and Jan went for a quick swim in the lake before bed. Charlie found out later that he had been attacked by leaches while standing in the lake (He'll live, but you wouldn't have thought so with all the noise and complaining!!)

Thursday June 8th Birchell Lake to Thunder Bay
This is another day of steady riding with a few more hills and more settlement as we approached Thunder Bay.

We passed by Kakabeka Falls then rode into Thunder Bay on a smaller road which took us closer to Hilldale Road Church. We were met by a member of Hilldale's Finnish congregation and taken to their beautiful church (built entirely by volunteers from this incredible Finnish congregation) where we were fed a lovely dinner.

More to come…

We are about one-half way along our adventure and every day there is a surprise waiting for us. We are blessed with new experiences and with the grace and generosity of so many wonderful people we have met along this life altering pilgrimage.

Cheers
From the road

Jan, Charlie, Gerry and Ernie