Gilbert Desjardins witnessed the genocide in Rwanda. But not the one that dominated the headlines in 1994. Instead, the artist who lives in the small Quebec town of Mont-Laurier, about an hour north of Mont Tremblant ski resort, was a young traveller in that tragedy-laden African country in the years 1965 to 1969. It was …
The ConnecTour team had the opportunity of being hosted by a Warmshowers couple in the heart of Ottawa’s Centre-Ville district, beside the Ottawa River. But the overnight campout in the backyard was filled with drama. In the middle of the night, Lynn Marshall was awaken by someone sneaking into the back yard. Fearing the person …
We’d been planning the ConnecTour cross-Canada cycle-touring ride for 16 months. Had it ever crossed my mind that one of us would be injured and off the ride for more than seven weeks? I know I certainly didn’t. Ever the optimist, I was excited to start on the four-month ride to discover our beautiful country …
Learning to roll with one of this tour’s unexpected twists Read More »
There are dozens of highway memorials along the roads we have taken across Canada, fading memories to those who have died in crashes along the way. In some cases, the locations of these mishaps seem so benign, the tragedies are inexplicable. One often wonders, how could someone lose control at this place? Bicyclists are given …
You can fix the road, but who can fix reckless drivers? Read More »
As we are about to set up our bicycle clinic on the legislative grounds in the heart of downtown Winnipeg, we hear a loud bang, coming from the vicinity of where Donald Street crosses the Assiniboine River. Kevin Celestino, a member of our event partner – The Wrench – quickly realizes a bicycle tire has …
Ross and Brenda Bond live on a small farm they bought in 1975 about an hour’s drive west of Winnipeg near the hamlet of Poplar Point. It’s an idyllic piece of tree-lined property located about a kilometre south of the highway. With all the green cover, passersby would never even know it was there. The …
It’s the time of year when we collectively celebrate this great country and the vast diversity of people who enrich our lives. Here’s a short video from one of the lovely trails we have ridden in the past few days. The paved North Star Rails to Trail out of Cranbrook truly IS a great trail. …
From the dated, wood-frame exterior, it would be easy to dismiss Hotel Ymir (pronounced ‘why-mer’) as just another ramshackle old remnant of British Columbia’s mining heyday, relying on income from the eerie glow of video gaming terminals to eke out a marginal existence. But stepping inside is a bit like diving down the rabbit hole. …
Ymir Hotel an unlikely sanctuary for great Canadian art Read More »
ConnecTour is kicking off its cross-Canada tour on Friday, May 28th as planned. However, because British Columbia has extended its travel restrictions until June 15th or possibly later, the team has modified its Stage 1 schedule, and will be leaving from Kelowna rather than Victoria, as originally planned. The team had traveled to B.C. in …
