Ray's Route

Approaching the Canadian border at Tolstoi. Home sweet home!

News from Ray: August 25, 2004

This is a brief update as to the last few days. We rode into Detroit Lakes from Monticello. A nice ride of about 96 miles. The scenery was nice along the way and had great roads. Cloudy and cool so it was a nice change. Detroit Lakes is a beautiful little town with lots of lakes in the area.

From there, I headed to Thief River Falls which was another nice ride of about 95 miles which was north of Detroit Lakes. Had a huge wind from the south and made great time. A little under 4 hours which I was very happy with. Tired from pressing it so hard but happy to do it on such a great day.

My stay in United States was fantastic. I have nothing but good to say about the Americans that we met along the way and the treatment that we given.
We had to start the day today very early so we hit the restaurant at 5:00 am for breakfast. A local farmer recognized the van and my ride. We spoke for a short time and he quietly paid for our breakfast. That's the type of people that we met. My hats off to the States, thank you!

My long day was today, Aug 25 going back home to Canada and winding up in Winnipeg about 186 miles away after the detour to Stienbach. The day started out on a bad note. A huge thunderstorm woke us up a 3:30am. Knocked out the power and started to pour. All I could think about was having to ride in another 2 hours time. I hit the road at about 5:45 in an electrical storm in the dark. The road was just paved, wet and very slippery. It was hard to see the road because it was so dark but I made out alright. The rain let up finally as daylight broke which was a huge lift for me because I had to make very fast times to make my deadlines to be in Stienbach for 11:00 and Winnipeg for 2:00.

We had a great welcoming into Stienbach being met by Heather from the Chamber of Commerce and entering the fire dept, we were met by the Chief, Deputy and Captain. They made a great donation and presented my with one of their shirts which I will cherish.

From there, it was on to Winnipeg. The sun was now out and getting warm. I had already gone through 3 full containers of water in my water pack. The sun was a welcome site to say the least. We met Lindsey Ingram from the Winnipeg Fire Dept. on the outskirts of Winnipeg to ride in with me which was a welcome treat as riding a little over 2,500 kms with no one to talk to can really get to you. We were met by the chief in a pumper, an ems vehicle and a police car. We were escorted from the outskirts to headquarters downtown with full lights which was nice to get a clear run into a large city. Once we arrived, I was able to get a nice shower and was able to get cleaned up. Lindsey spearheaded some fundraising for the ride which I appreciated very much. The chief had presented me with a ball cap, and a Winnipeg shirt and also a nice travelling mug from the fire dept. Thanks to all that participated and made my long day a great one. The picture that I'm sending is just approaching the Canadian border at Tolstoi. Home sweet home!

Ray

Park near the entrance to Brandon, Manitoba

News from Ray: August 28, 2005

Hi Everyone

We're in Brandon, Manitoba now. We changed drivers in Winnipeg and good to go to Edmonton for the final leg. The days ride to Brandon was about 206 kms. It was cloudy and very cool. Welcome back to Canada!

Highway 1 is a road that is in bad need of repairs. I was told by Lindsey in Winnipeg that there are two seasons here, winter and construction! They forgot repair! The terrain is virtually flat although you still go through area's of hills, spruce forests and birch trees. The sun came out when we arrived and became quite nice out.

The city of Brandon is quite large with some beautiful parks. This picture is at one of the parks at the entrance to Brandon. A huge area of pillars and hanging flowers and ponds with statues. The park would be filled with weddings as the ideal setting for pictures. The rest of the park has picnic areas with fire pits and firewood provided for you, all free of charge.

Just passing through Austin, I had a couple pull up on my right side this morning after passing me and knew about my ride from the radio stations in Belleville. They were from Marmora and were on holidays heading out west. It was nice of them to stop and talk with me while I was riding. Tomorrow night, I'll be in Whitewood, Saskatchewan.

Talk to everyone soon!
Ray

PS In response to Karen's question about the names. We have two golden retreivers named Whisper and Sydney. Our daughter is named Jenna. Thanks for taking the time to say hi Karen and everyone else. Take care.
Ray

Southern Manitoba

Scenery in Saskatchewan

News from Ray August 31, 2005

Hi Folks

The ride from Brandon to Whitewood was an eventful ride. About 256 km's. Highway #1 from Brandon to east of Regina is 2 lane and heavy truck traffic. I decided for safety sake to take the highways south even though it would add on about 40 - 50 km's. Big mistake. The highways started out good, scenery was beautiful with lots of rolling hills and fields of every colour. From there, we hit a detour. The highway that was under construction couldn't have been as bad and dusty as what the construction was creating. We got back onto the highway and followed it up north to Whitewood. Don't let anyone tell you that the praries are all flat. Southern Manitoba have some huge valleys and hills. Great scenery though. The old joke about seeing a grain elevator for hours when your driving isn't far off of the truth but at least 20 minutes on a bike is accurate! Whitewood takes a different approach to attrack people to live there. $1.00 for a serviced lot but you must build within the year.

On to Regina. Great east wind which was much appreciated for sure. Sunny and warm. About 176 kms for the day which made it an easier ride. The city of Regina is beautiful. A couple of huge parks and nice scenery. My hotel is on the east side of town right off the highway which made it easy to get to and highway 11 which will be my last one to Edmonton is just a mile up the road to make the connection. The hard part of the ride now is more a mental thing than a physical thing. Sometimes its hard to stay focused when you're tired but things are still going well and I'm still going strong so everyone take care and I'll update in a couple of days.
Ray

Park in Davidson, Saskatchewan

News from Ray September 2, 2005

Hi Everyone

Roads from Regina have been great for the last couple of days, 4 lanes and good traffic. It was just 4 degrees when I left Regina which made for a cool ride but I did come prepared for it. It was a nice ride of only 156 km's into Davidson.

The town is very nice and the people friendly but the town's hotel leaves much to be desired. After having to check in at the bar, we had to get the girl to sweep the beer bottle glass away from the front door. The two chairs felt like they had fabric over 2 by 4's and you couldn't sit on them. The television didn't work, just a lot of wires hanging out of the wall. The shower was right out of the fifties and had cowboys on the shower curtain and the whole room was framed by huge weed bushes on either side. The light, to get it to turn on and off, you had to use the plug! Oh well, we made the best of it anyway and went off to do some laundry.

I guess that I had parked in front of the local newspaper. A woman had come into the laundry mat looking for me to do a story. Small world, seems she was originally from Corbyville which for everyone else, is now a part of Belleville which is where I had left from. We went to the local butcher and purchased a couple of steaks and some other supplies and went to the park to play scrabble and spend the rest of the day. Stayed at the park until nightfall and went back to bed.

Left very early in the morning, as soon as possible actually and left for Saskatoon. I don't know who to thank for the winds, but I've been extemely lucky with them right from the start. Great tail wind today and had a great ride. Fairly warm and sunny. I'm here for a rest day tomorrow for a final push to Edmonton. I can't believe that I'm almost there!

The picture I'm sending is at the park in Davidson. A huge Tea Pot. Largest in the world?

I'd just like to thank everyone for their posts on the site. Each one is read and very much appreciated! I'd also like to especially thank Kim Whalen and Sue Rollins for all of their hard work in keeping up with me and making this page a reality.

Thanks to all!
Ray

Saskatchewan River, Saskatchewan

Fireworks, Celebrating Saskatchewan's 100th Birthday

News from Ray September 5, 2005

Hi Everyone

I spent two days in Saskatoon to get ready for the final four day ride into Edmonton. We enjoyed the area and its parks. There were Sea Doo races along the Saskatchewan River which we took in and just rested the rest of the time. I then rode to North Battleford Sunday morning which was about 136 km's. The wind Gods have definitely been on my side and Sunday was no exception. A little cool but sunny. The scenery was gorgeous as we followed a huge deep valley about 10 to 20 km's wide most of the way. We stopped at a lookout to take some pictures and met a couple from Toronto who were on their way to Edmonton to celebrate his stepmother's 102nd birthday. Very nice people and are now planning to come and see me compete at the Nationals.

This is Saskatchewan's 100th birthday. We went to North Battleford's park to take in the events. They had fireworks planned to take place simultaneously in 14 towns and cities. It was quite a show. At 9:39 across the province, the show started. It was 30 minutes of pure colour in the sky. The show was narrated with music and famous people from the province. It was kind of neat thinking about the fact that people from all across the province were seeing the exact same show. It was quite a night and I thank the people of Saskatchewan for letting us share their celebration with them.

Monday morning came and I think the wind Gods and everyone else left us. It was cold, raining hard and windy. 146 very hard km's and it was a day that I was very glad to get over. It was one of the toughest yet even though it was a short ride. It was only 9 degrees. We stopped at the Hen House for a much needed cup of hot chocolate to get some feeling back in my body. I can't complain at all with the weather though, I've been extremely lucky so far so I don't mind some tough miles at all.
Tomorrow, it's on to Vegreville!
Ray

Riding into Vegreville, Beautiful Park

Crew that rode into Strathcona with me

Ray with his special mascot, "Charity Too"

News from Ray September 8, 2005

Hi Everyone
After yesterday being such an emotional day and realizing that the ride is now over, my body was extremely tired. I had a great sleep last night but my legs are very sore today and I'll have to do my best now to get them back for Saturdays competition.
This morning, I went down to the competition site to help set up the course. It was nice to see again some of the Strathcona firefighters who are treating me as one of their own. They are a class act and a bunch of great guys.
The picture that I'm sending is one of my mascot. Her name is "Charity Too". She was built for me in Mississauga by my sister Faye. She is a cancer bear in a firefighter outfit. I built a chair for her to sit on top of the chase vehicle where she sat up top every day, every mile, through the heat, cold, wind and rain and came out looking none the worse although she did need a good bath a couple of times after some particularily nasty days on the road. She was my beacon to keep me going. Believe me when I say that going 4,528 km's on a bike by yourself, sometimes you need something. She represented to me everything that this ride was about. She will have a new home here as she will be presented to a special family in the near future. I'll keep you updated as to her new home shortly.
Take care everyone and thank you again for all of your support.
Also, special thanks to Allison who wrote such a touching poem.
Ray

Doing the hose drag in competition

Ringing the last Alarm

News from Ray September 11, 2005

Hello Everyone

My stay here in Strathcona has been quite cool for this time of year but the people are extremely warm and friendly so that certainly makes up the difference. The Strathcona Honour Gaurd held a large fundraiser on Friday and Saturday night. The funds were to support the Firefighters Memorial but they had donated half the funds to Katrina which was a great gesture on their part. The night was a comedy theme which to some people is a strange thing. They wonder why you would choose a comedy theme to support a firefighters' memorial. The best answer is that comedy and humor is what gets firefighters through the tough times. It's all we have sometimes to keep us sane when we're faced with horrible situations and therefore is fitting. The night was fantastic and a lot of fun with some great acts.
Saturday morning was the Memorial March. I was both honoured and privileged to march in the colour parade. I was asked to sound the last bell which was a special moment for me.
After the parade, it was straight over to the course for the competition. I'm used to competing in the heat and humidity of Ontario. Here, it was extremely cold with strong, cold, north wind which was blowing over tents and banners. They still had a huge loyal crowd out to support such a fine event. I had no idea as to how my body would react to the competition after only having a couple of days off from the bike. I found out during the warm up, not good! I had to cut my warmup short because it wasn't going well at all. My race time was up and I came out to the tower. It was the worst and most painful race that I had ever been in. I had a rough time finishing the race but I did finish it at least. The other competitors were great and helped me off the course and had great words of encouragement afterwards. As I had said before, there are no finer competitors in any sport but these guys. Thanks!
The final race was very exciting as home town boy Rob Murray of Edmonton just edged out Dan Malone the Halifax team by just .1 seconds. What a fitting end to a great day. Our Canadian Champ, Mike Gilbert of St. Catherines was hurt in a freak accident the night before the event and was unable to compete and may be out for the Nationals also. I am looking forward to time off now and getting my form back for the Nationals starting on Thursday.
The Awards' Banquet was held at Boston Pizza afterwards. Before the awards were given out, I was given the opportunity by Dale and Hillary who run Firefit to make the presentation of "Charity Too" my mascot. I called up Mike Adamson's family to the front. Mike was a Strathcona Firefighter who succombed to Cancer last December. I let the people know who my mascot 'Charity Too ' was and what she stood for and I was able to present the family with her. I let them know that there are many people out there working hard for the Cancer Society to help find a cure so hopefully one day, no one else will ever have to go through what they did. It was a tearful presentation on both sides but they were very greatful for it. Mike was only 25 years old and left us far too soon.
One last note: Over the last two weeks, like you, I have seen the horrible devastation that Katrina has caused. It has saddened me as I could not imagine what it would be like to be in that destitute situation. I've had a hard time justifying my efforts in doing fundraising in light of their tragedy at this time. I have come to this resolution for myself. I have made my own contributions to the Katrina fund which I hope everyone will but I will still continue on with my own fundraising. I know in my heart that the families New Orleans and area States will be reunited and will rebuild as they are strong people. Cancer on the other hand is a horrible deadly disease that will continue on until enough money is raised and researchers have the necessary tools they need to finally eradicate it and find the cures.
Take care for now.
Ray

Foothills at Rocky Mountain House

Raffle Quilt

Handpainted Helmet