Post Journey Reflection

I have the satisfaction of accomplishing a long, arduous running trek and the realization of a long held dream. We brought new attention to the need for conserving the trail and hopefully spurred awareness or re-kindled peoples’ interest in the trail enough to get involved.
Looking back at this trek, I will remember; the focus required to keep to the leaf littered trail, dancing from rock to rock, on top of or over roots, identifying footing hazards, stopping to gaze at the views , the zen state, the physical effort, the push through pain or sometimes just trying to manage a pace through the pain, shuffling through the leaves and most of all running surrounded by the natural wonders so abundant on the Bruce Trail.
I will also remember the enormous amount of help and encouragement from Di, crew, pacers, family and friends.
Will I miss the journey? … Yes, I already am.
What next? … Well, my leg muscles (quads, calves & hamstrings) are still tight. We went for an hour walk in ShortHills Park by moonlight last evening and I discovered that my legs are still quite tired too. Possibly another journey is in the future, but right now I think I will just pause, reflect and enjoy the feeling.

The dream accomplished

Click picture below to watch the "Southern Cairn" video:

More Photos:

Shadows of the Bruce

Henri and his daughter Alisha on the last morning

Approaching the Welland Canal

Passing the double blazes of the Bruce

The last morning.

Last run with Henri on Day 18

The "last meal"

Henri in Hamilton

With Kinga in Mono Mills

Henri's incredibly healthy feet

Henri and Diane at the Southern Cairn

Henri and his mom Marty at the Southern Cairn

Our shoes on the Southern Cairn (we did the same photo on the Northern Cairn)

Waving the Canadian and Dutch flags at the finish

Henri, Diane and Don footing the Southern Cairn

"Master of the Bruce" cake that Alisha surprised her dad with

Cutting the cake at the finish

We done!

3:20 p.m.

More later...now's time to celebrate.

Another updated finish time

Between 3 p.m. and 3:40 p.m. at the Southern Cairn.  He's just unbelievable.  The range is in case he slows down or stops to chat with people en route.

Updated finish time

He's just cruising - updated finish time as of 12:43 p.m. is now 3:40 p.m. at the Southern Cairn.

Hometown Advantage

Yikes!  Whether it's Henri's home turf or excitement of "gettin' er done" he's a movin' and shakin this morning!  Right now, he's 15 minutes and approaching 30 minutes ahead of schedule with an 8:30 a.m. start.  But don't go putting money on his finish time yet - this usually means he'll slow down a bit this aft. 

We've past through Effingham and Wiley Road and are now just waiting for him at the Decew Bridge.  He is expected to come through at 11:10.  Alisha and I are waiting with coffee (brrr...it's cold this morning!) and his sister Eloise is about to drop by.  Thanks to John the Standard writer for popping in this morning en route too!

7:17 am - Day 18

One last day and 50 km to go! 

Starting at Staff Rd in Jordan and hopping right on the trail (probably about 8:30am).  This whole section is very familiar now, so I'm not carrying a map anymore.  A little weather (some rain is expected) is likely today, but won't put a damper on my day!

Looking forward to the finish but also sorry to have this journey come to an end!  So many people have helped along the way, run with me, put us up for the night, crewed or just showed up to offer encouragement.  It has been a very positive experience.

Henri

Want details about "South Cairn" day?

Email me - Diane - dianechesla [at] gmail [dot] com

I'll send you a detailed outline of "end day" that includes approx. times at various road crossings if you would like to catch Henri to cheer him on mid route.  Keep in mind that it's a heck of job to catch him at cross roads but totally FUN!

12:22pm - He's still going strong!  Wind has REALLY picked up though.  No knee/leg/ITB pain.

Quick update from "the field"

Diane here.  Just waiting for Henri to come into "stop no.2" on the second last day (top of Wolverton Hill).  He is reporting no pain in either of his legs and despite both of us being a tad disappointed in ending the journey on familiar territory, there really is no other place we'd like to be right now.

The Bruce is beautiful.  Really, in comparison to road running, there are very few people that hike or run on these trails so there is so much peace to be experienced out here.  I know as the man that tried to control his Doberman-like dog yesterday on the trails from nipping at me said that no one ever hikes along in back of his house.

Right now, our estimated arrival time at the southern Bruce cairn is 2:30 p.m. - but that will probably be pushed forward as Henri takes the time to run with others tomorrow & take longer breaks (and dependent too on leg/knee strength).

Ciao for now...

Start just off of Dewitt Rd. this morning in Stoney Creek

Navigating the maze on McNeily Rd. in Grimsby

Alice doesn't live here anymore...and sometimes, neither does Diane

Remember that movie?  I remember watching it as a kid and thinking Alice has lost it.  If you've tried to crew someone on and end-to-ender in Hamilton, you too must have felt like Alice and wanted to run away from it all!

Geez!  I sat in our crew vehicle frazzled today on some access mountain cut I'd never heard of despite being from Hamilton.  Cars whizzing by  - up, down, up, down - and yes, the Bruce Trail crosses through this road.  This was a common occurrence trying to crew in this city.

It was a fairly non-invasive start at the dead end road bit of Old Guelph Rd. at Hwy 6 at 8:15 a.m. this morning.  Henri had a decent pace going.  He met up with Spence & Cloey (Spence's dog) on the trails in Dundas.  Something was different today though - both Henri and I seemed a tad unenthusiastic.  Henri's pace varied between 7-9 minute kilometres all day.

Don from our running club joined Henri around Felker Falls on west Hamilton mountain early in the afternoon.  Don almost ran 50k himself today but I'll let him tell you that story at the Club one night.

A new pain - this one appearing to be the IT band on one of his legs started to give Henri problems in the last several hours of the run today.  Nonetheless, Don and I paced him through to the end and still a great 48+ k on day number 16 of his journey.  That's just about 800 k on his feet.

Some mapping of tomorrow's route to do, some massaging & in bed by nine.

Henri starting out Day 16.

Day 15 - Rattlesnake Pt to Clappsons Cut ... done

8:00 am start on Appleby Line, ran well consistently to finish 48 km by 3:09 this aft.  The luck continues with kinesio tape and my quad muscle.  The trail is still beautiful.  The Grindstone Creek in Waterdown was quite something, I didn't know it was there!
Resisted the temptation to do more, after conferring with my ultra cool handler, Di.  This trek is about enjoying the journey - not trying to do it as fast as I can. 
Tomorrow; Waterdown, through Dundas/Ancaster, to west Hamilton (Dewitt Rd.)

Henri

Day 14 - From Terra Cotta to Appleby Line (Milton)

Hey, Scheduled for 44 k today, last nights massage and todays strategy of kinesio tape vs tensor bandage made a huge difference.  Was able to run today for the whole day instead of hobbling through the last 20 km.  Still there was a trail reroute through the Kelso Park that was very poorly marked, causing me to run in circles and do extra mileage! Very demoralizing - Oh well, sh.. happens.  Finished 52.2 k today. Was great to see my brother Hans and family out today on the trail (I now have some champagne to pop when I reach Queenston)!  Charlotte was an awesome pacer on the trail again today and it was great to see Gary Black out.  Today we ran his route which we will be doing later this fall.  ...nice trail!
Tomorrow - Appleby Line (from Rattlesnake Point) through the ITT route and onwards to Waterdown (Clappisons Cut) 48.4 km.
Henri

"Sign, Sign, Everywhere a sign..."

"To keep people out or to keep Mother Nature in?"

Boy - what a difference from the north - I noticed as soon as we hit the Orangeville area yesterday (Saturday) that the roadways by trails are littered with "NO PARKING" signs.  This means that "parkable" areas are jam packed with vehicles.  I was stopped to be told I couldn't park somewhere and when I explained that I was crewing a runner coming from Tobermory, I was kindly allowed to stay parked "illegally."  This makes for a hectic couple of days.

To top it off, Henri's pace is only increasing.  Yuppers - day no. 14 - that's two weeks into running fifty "k" a day and he's getting faster.  Today was his fastest pace yet.  Although he had ONLY 44k to do today, he finished at around 3 p.m. so decided to keep going.  He bagged another eight kilometres out there and finished in Milton at the back of Kelso/front of Rattlesnake Point (while I waited nervously parked illegally).

What's up with his pace?  Here's some thoughts (I've informally interviewed Henri but it turned into a casual conversation about running):

-Henri's demeanor is just plain casual.  He has a low operating stress level and takes everything in stride.  So 50k a day in the woods is merely a wonderful "walk in the woods" for him - everyday

-we could all do it if we trained (hmmm...he laughs when people ask him about training & claims that the first week of running the Bruce was his training)

-Charlotte has been pacing him (For those not in the know, Charlotte broke the End-to-End record on the Bruce this past June with a time of 13 days and 10 hours)

-Similar to point 1, he LOVES being in nature & is compelled to run on trails any day, any time

Whatever the reason, he's remarkable to watch (and lovely to crew for!).  Here's some visuals from the past couple of days:

 Henri laughing at the start of Day 14 - Terra Cotta

Henri laughing at the end of Day 14 - Milton

Sat Oct 16th - Day 13

Day 13 and still going strong.  I think the key is doing a manageable 50 km a day.  My right quadricep muscle has been a issue for the last couple of days.  It has tightened up like a charliehorse and limits my speed to a half walk, half shuffle by mid day.  The good thing is that I think I have mastered the apesters technique for a quick ground covering half-walk, half-jog that sees me through with some speed and manages the pain level.  This aft was better so keeping my fingers crossed. 
On an other level the Bruce Trail is still beautiful with the fall leaves and each day on the trail is a joy.  Thanks to Greg for running on Thursday, Stephan and Kinga who helped and paced yesterday and to Charlotte who ran with me today.   And of course the capable Di who enjoys the logistics and keeps me organized and running.  Thanks everyone!

Henri

As Joe Walsh says, "It's hard to leave when you can't find the door..."

This morning, we left a bit earlier than usual to pick Charlotte up down the road. But it's hard to leave when you can't get your crew vehicle out of the long driveway...

Kind of like Joe Walsh sings. You know the tune - "Life's been good to me so far" and the one line about him having so much fun at a party that he can't leave if he can't find the door. Well...much to Henri's grand embarrassment at my driving, I just couldn't get the van out of John and Sue's country driveway this morning. Back and forth, waves from Sue in the kitchen facing out on the driveway, me laughing silly, Henri saying "more this way, more that way" and...well imagine this headline:

"After 600 km, local man's journey to complete the Bruce Trail from end to end "ends" in country driveway in Mono."

As you can probably guess, this story has a happy ending as I'm here writing this. We met Char for an 8:04 a.m. start on 7th line just east of Airport road. On schedule, on time this lovely 13th day of his run. And as usual, he's maintaining a 8:50 to 8:05 minute per kilometre pace. Lots of road though which kills a trail runner's spirit. Nonetheless...great day...can't believe this lovely journey has an end to it. Viva la Bruce!

Charlotte and Henri at the start of Saturday's Bruce Trail 50k.

End to end, foot by foot, bacon egg mcmuffin to bacon egg mcmuffin

Henri and I love bacon egg mcmuffins and thought it would be an excellent addition to his daily caloric intake on the Bruce.  So from time to time, I zip into a town & pick one up, or we have one en route to the trailhead at the start of the day.

Here's the thing, a bacon egg mcmuffin is not a bacon egg mcmuffin is not a bacon egg mcmuffin.  They're all made different.  Timmys - yummy.  But have you noticed it's a bit chewy?  I think the stellar performer comes from McDonalds, as per our Bruce mcTesting. 

That was until today.  With an 8:04 a.m. start on day 12, and feeling another smoker coming on, I thought I'd better treat him to some intense and dense calories early on in the day. I mean the guy is ripping through aid stations in about four minutes, not the usual ten.  Now, Kinga is with him and y'all probably know what that means....quick, quick, quick and most efficient!

Mind you, our new sore/stiff knee/quad theory, as shared by Lee Anne this morning, is that the sore knee syndrome starts around 40 k.  Yup - yesterday, he slowed at 40k.  So I'm thinking he's going to need most calories early on as this is when he's going the fastest.

So - my point is - I"ve have found THE bacon egg mcmuffin.  It just melted in my mouth moments ago - and the pieces I fed into Henri's mouth while he practically jogged through this aid station were met with a smile of sincere satisfaction.  Where did I buy this sandwich of delight?   The four corner stop on Hwy 89 on the way to dirty girls - you know, where Champ Burger is.  I think the actual donut stop is Pete's Deli/Donuts or something like that.

21 ways to fix a knee/quad problem

Okay so maybe there are only 5 or so ways.  The point is, we've gone from 13 to 18 minute kilometres of hiking only yesterday back to 8.13 to 8.57 kilometres today (and all running!).  Here are some funky things we did to address Henri's knee/quad problem that had him limping and not running yesterday:

-natural anti-inflammatory cream from Charlotte massaged into the knee & quad area
-white body tape, redone to actually make it looser while he was hiking
-material knee brace over the above tape when he really slowed down
-more Charlotte cream when we arrived at Lee Anne & Pierres, mixed with an Australian cab-sauv (one for the skin, one for the mouth and mind)
-sauna and massage
-stretching in the morning
-tensor bandage, applied by Hen but artfully pinned by Di
-sight of Greg knocking at our door at 7 a.m.'ish ready to head out with Hen for the day

-and of course, things en route like Di's Diner:

-and the ham (hamming actually):

Right-e-o.  Have to buzz as the guys will be in in about 20 minutes & I've got to check out a piece of property up here spotted en route (a pastime I've developed - investigating beaudacious properties close to the Bruce).

Cowboys, Crooks & Candy

Cowboys
So there I was sitting at the first stop this morning waiting for Henri just atop of Blue Mountain.  It was a mighty cold start to the day but the views were just spectacular.  Can you believe that this was my "office view" this morning:

I was so compelled by this view, that I started out on a short hike down the grass-covered hill at about 9:15 a.m.'ish.  Henri had about another half hour or more till he reached me - or so I thought.

Well giddy up cowboy as the next hour was filled with mad dashes, sweatin' panic and searching - once again - for my runner up and down sideroads this side of hell's half acre.  Yuppers - there's a grand old mistake on the Bruce Trail map and even though we thought there might be, we kind of brushed it off in the excitement of starting the day.  Looks like what was suppose to be an "8" was printed as a "3" on the BT map and Henri sailed through the section above the Blue Mountain ski trails.  So what was suppose to be an hour and half section was probably only twenty minutes.

It made a greeeat exciting start to the morning as I wizzed up and down twisty turny and narrow sideroads searching for Henri.  I left bottles at one spot in case I was wrong.  Finally, after a few zips here and zags there, I spotted him walking up a long steep road, arms crossed to stay warm.

So that was my cowboy start to the day and dam I loved it!

Crooks
After five whole days of unbelievable progress, today was a slow one.  Henri felt his right quad and knee beginning to seize up sometime last weekend.  Today was near-full seizure.  Was it his speed?  His dashing about the rocks and downhills?  Or was it just due time that the ups and downs of the mid-Bruce finally took a jab out of his quad muscles?

Henri's been robbed of his child-like style which had him joyfully frolicking down rock lined trails and steeps for the past while.  CROOKS!  But hey...we've got some secret rub that Charlotte gave us to put on his sore quad/knee and it's time to slow down and focus on the conversation with folks that run with him.  I hid in the bushes today to capture this neat-o shot of Henri and Bill coming out of Pretty River trail (admist full convo):

 Candy
Have you tried candy tongue? Or something like that - the tongue shaped sugary treats that are sooooo delicious?  Thanks to Cath that brought us some on her grocery trip mid-day today.  They were definitely a perky addition to the day!

And keeping on the theme of candy, check out this "sweet" spread that Pierre and Lee Anne prepared for us:

Day 9: Another beautiful day

It's been so beautiful weatherwise that I am almost dreading the first day of rain.  But, that can wait!  Running from Euginia Falls today Ron and I were able to view the Beaver Valley from "Old Baldy" (thats the rock outcrop, not me), some old abandoned apple orchards (sampled a few apples), and some turkeys and some very nice waterfalls.  As Di and I finished the day with a pause to view Georgian Bay, there was an enscribed memorial with the saying;
"More and more, in a place like this we feel ourselves part of wild nature, Kin to everything."
by John Muir. 
Tells the story for me!
Henri

The "BLISTER"

Hmmm...things haven't changed in five days and I'm afraid y'all will become bored if I tell you, once again, that Henri smoked today.  Yup, started at 8:30 this morning and finished at 5:21 on day nine.  This also marks the half way point in his journey.

He started out the day with ultra runner and super nice guy, Ron from up this way:

Based on my anal pace calculations at each stop, I advised them to slow down.  But no way Jose, Henri was just dancing all over the rock-covered downhills of the Bruce.  Ron even indulged in our tempting van fare of all things cheesy (and a beer when he was done) as I do think Henri gave him a good trail run today (and I would only guess that he normally has a much more selective diet to keep himself trim).

So...what to write about today that will entertain you?  Well, there is one thing ... the "BLISTER."  Yup, Henri has one.  It's been there since day number two.  It's colourful too!  After about 450 kilometres, here's the ugly little blister that sits silently on his big toe:

Day 8: Finished in Eugnia Falla

So day 8 continued strongly,  Much help from the volunteer crew(Tracey and Chris) and runners Greg and Charlotte.  Finished at 4:30 ish.  Still on track. The trails are beautiful and are so enjoyable to run.   It's great to have Diane back to coordinate everything and looking forward to tomorrow.  Henri

Day 7 in the bag

Just a quick update from the field - Henri finished 50 km today at around 4:27 p.m.  Although I turned over control to a new crew today at 1 p.m., it is evident from a time standpoint that he is in a "get stronger" phase.  That is, his times show that his pace has picked up through the week.

At the 12:30 checkpoint, he had a bit of a slow point and reported feeling muscular soreness.  I did ask him to slow down given the day's heat (and Henri is not a hot weather runner).  Nonetheless, reports from the field show that he finished strong. 

A dinner out tonight with Tracey (new crew) and Greg (fellow runner) in Thornbury and early to bed for a killer Monday.  I'll be back with the crew tomorrow night as I'm a bit culture shocked from reentering "civilization."  You can't hear any cows mooing down here in the city! 

Everyone looks forward to Charlotte joining in and her friend Chris.  It's an honour to have Char with us as her speed record of the Bruce this past June is even more astonishing now that I'm living and breathing the Bruce!

Fun with Dick & Jane

...the Canadian ultra version is actually "Fun with Doug & Joanne"...(no pics though of Joanne as she is home prepping meals for the evening)

 Henri and Doug at the start of Day 8

Doug, me (Diane) and Henri hamming it up at the start of an excellent and fast day!

Smokin' hot Saturday!

It's 12:34 and Henri's already covered 25k.  He's smokin' hot today!  Not sure if it's Mr. Doug Barber's pacing for the first three hours of today, the great night's sleep or the alignment of the stars, moon & Turkeys.  Nonetheless, he's doing fab! 

Today is also an "easy" day - a total of 44k and change - THAT'S IT!  Whew-hoo!  This aft we will venture down to the Hall of Fame here in Owen Sound with Mr. Barber to see where he was inducted for his running several years back.  We'll then have an extended happy hour to celebrate such a fab day.

I can't imagine this journey ending - this is great fun - seriously!

Day 5: Sliding a bit sideways

Diane here on behalf of Henri who is doing well but a bit wiped.  Today was day 5 on the trails and some 250 km total.  Henri is doing great but today was our first "wee bit tough" day.  At the start of Kemble Rock/Mountain, logging has the trails all chewed up.  So footing was bad.  Kind of like waking up on the wrong side of the bed.

He did have an energy lull before noon and I could tell that he was just "different" today.  Perhaps it was our decision to bypass Timmys on the way into the trails (which we both regretted minutes down the road) or maybe we can put it down to a restless sleep in the Wiarton motel.  As we've now learned from an evening with Doug and Joanne Barber, it may have been the motel.  For the ultra runners out there, you'll have to ask Joanne what's up with the motel.

Here's a short sideways video I shot of Henri coming up a crevass this aft.

 For all the inquiries, Henri is exactly on schedule. I (Diane) do update the link to the schedule on this blog.  Keep in mind, that it is still EARLY so anything can happen.

Henri would like me to share that he credits Chi energy drink to saving his day today, he saw 3 black squirrels (I saw 4) and he picked up a lucky penny on the trails today.

It's late so I'll say good night and wish you all were here!

Few quick pics...

Please adjust your humour...

 Dutch "ice bath" at day's end

 Mr. Nature spots a bird

Crewing is hard work - all that waiting between trailheads.

 Someone made me hold their coffee + bacon mcmuffin from timmys. I of course, wouldn't be caught dead with this type of food.

 No humour here -  the views are spectacular.  What are you doing on a Thursday afternoon?

Author: The guy that SHOULD be leaving for the trails NOW

Its 730 and we are leaving dhortly for day 4!  The trals are bearutiful yet so cruel.  The nature is awesome but I swear the trail creators were looking for every bit of gmarly rock, hill & cliff, they even make me run along the edge of the cliff face, (which I don't enjoy!)  So far so good, no critical feet issues!  catch you up later!  Henri

Author: Zen like Diane

It's 10 a.m. here on day 3, Wednesday October the 6th.  It is incredibly quiet as we travel along Rush Cove.  It is also quite isolated.  Both Henri and I are in great spirits.  The weather is smashing to boot. 

Our internet access failed us last night and I'm finding that we have scant time to do anything else.  All is good though.  Our evenings consist of showers, cleaning the day's clothing, happy hour, supper, plugging in all the electronic gear & going over the next day's maps.

I can definitely say from crewing in Badwater & on Charlotte's Bruce Trail record, this is an adventure on its own.  Henri carries his own map and needs to pay attention to where he's going as it's just him out there. So far, I've joined him at the end of each day for ~ a 5k run together out.  I'm really feeling the sense of adventure with the coordinated map reading.  I'm also dreaming of our 2011 adventure...The Andes? The Alps? The west coast?

Later kids!

Start of Day 2

Dyer's Bay, 8:07 a.m. Tuesday October 5th
This is the EXACT same time that Henri started yesterday.

The Day in Pictures

 Lonely Diane at 3 p.m. - still looking/waiting to find lost Henri.

End of 50.6 km

The reason Henri did only a few scant kilometres in two hours

Henri shares a fascination of mushrooms with his daughter, Ashley

Gorgeous spot at the start of the Bruce - Little Cove

Henri parties at the end of Day 1

Self photo - Day 1

Gorgeous grotto along Georgian Bay

Author: Runner

Ok, feeling good now after a 50.6 km day.  (mind you it's the first one).  The day started out pretty good but started to get a little tough from Little Cove to Cypress Lake.  Then from Cypress lake it was brutal rock up and down, up and down, took me 2 hours to do 7.5 km.  Yikes!  It turned around at High Dump Side Trail where I could finally start running/plodding again. Lots of mushrooms on the trail today and bear scat! Finished it off by standing in the waters of Dyers Bay for leg recovery.  Now wine & cheese with Di,  a fire on in the wood stove, dinner and get ready for tomorrow!  Di is great!

Author: Almost fired Diane

Day 1 - Almost fired Diane


Today I barely saw "the runner".  I would have fired me.  Henri's too nice to fire me.  You see, I saw him at the 5.2k mark this morning and after that, I spent the next six hours looking for him.  I even told the very nice gas station attendant that I lost "the runner."

It's easy to do.  We basically underestimated timing, neither of us having ever run the Tobermory section of the Bruce before, were unfamiliar with the "tough" and therefore "slow" terrain.  Our "fail safe" method of marking a meeting spot to indicate one of us had been by also failed (i.e. Henri was to leave some tp under a rock.  Well, there were rocks abound with one piece of tp in sight at the meeting point in question so I left, figuring I did see "the sign" that he'd been by).

Nonetheless, we found each other at around three this aft.  I jumped up and down like a lunatic when I saw him coming down the trail.  I was scared for a bit that I'd have to explain to his family that I lost him.  I also had images of Jack Nicholson in "The Shining" on my brain...not sure why.  And to top it all off, when I wandered along the trail looking for Henri, there was a very strong smell of fresh animal poop - probably a massive bear as the poop smell was VERY strong.

Over to you Hen...

Author: Not usually a morning person Diane

HE'S OFF!  8:07 a.m. on Monday October 4th.  Nice & crisp but clear weather!

Author: Diane the Bell specialist

Hmmm....we left home at approx. 11 a.m.  Three point five hours later, we've only made it as far as Milton (my parents).  Car is OVER stuffed, we missed all rental places by 25 minutes and after a long - but fun - 2 hours on the phone with tech support, we found out that our internet stick only works on my MAC.

The moral of the story is buy MACS and buy vans, not cars if you're into adventuring!!!!  See y'all in  Tobermory!

Coverage & Sponsors!

Author: One rather post-wedding tired Diane

Two big THANK YOUS today as we do [all] of our packing/organizing before heading out on our Bruce adventure tomorrow:

1. A BIG THANK YOU to Karen at National Wireless for loaning us a USB internet key and two radio-style phones to keep in touch en route with each other & with everyone out there via this blog!!! I was rather worried about Henri running by himself on the Tobermory to Owen Sound route all this coming week. Now I'll be able to nag him from afar (ha ha!)

2. An uber cool THANK YOU to John Swart for his uber cool article on Henri in today's St. Catharines Standard. Smiley H. is on the 2nd page of the sports section. Online link to the article is HERE!!!

Later kids!  Have a great couple of days and think of us tomorrow as we get up with the sunrise and mingle with Mother Nature and Bell Cellular for 8+ hours on Monday!  

Prep Week

Author: Diane

Bye Bye and Happy Birthday Party for Henri are done and thanks all for coming out.  Thank you VERY MUCH for the lovely bottles of red wine which will help boost up the celebratory part of this adventure.

It's a crazy busy week as you could imagine BUT before we put the finishing touches on our planning, one of the twins is getting married THIS FRIDAY.  Yup - Alisha and Aaron are getting married at one o'clock on Friday here in Niagara on the Lake [Henri has 3 kids, 2 of which are twin girls].  The conversations are kind of funny in our house this week as they range from "oh oh, I've got poison ivy AND hives" [oh brother!] to "the receiving line will actually be at the Church."

Please join us in Henri's "adventure of a lifetime" by either coming out to crew/pace, following along on this blog or participating in KEEN'S "Boots give back" program - which we are DIGGING!!!