Part 2 of the Tour Canada ride report by Leslie Strugnell

Posted In: Fitness September 18th, 2014 divider No Comments »

We started last week to hear about Leslie’s cycling trip across the great country of ours. Here is part two:

The hardest climb in all of Canada was North Mountain on the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia. It was a 4km climb at 13% grade (that means VERY steep)! If that climb was back in B.C. or Alberta, I probably would have had to walk up, but it was amazing to see our fitness levels improve so much to be able to get to the top of that climb. The feeling when we reached the top of North Mountain was pure exhaustion, but incredible satisfaction!

The whole trip was full of challenges: the long climbs of the mountains out west, the strong winds in the Prairies, the climbs and the dreaded bugs in Northern Ontario, the rain we got in Quebec and New Brunswick, the Cabot Trail climbs in Nova Scotia, and the cold, rainy, and windy last day into St. John’s as we dipped our front wheel in the Atlantic.

But these challenges were silver lined by the amazing beauty of the country we were able to see: the magnificent mountains, the wildlife, the spectacular sunrises and sunsets, the golden fields that stretched for miles, the quaint little towns with the friendliest people, or the blue ocean waves crashing into the cliffs.

It is hard to put into words what this trip taught me and meant to me. I know I could not have done it without the seventeen others who kept each other going when it was tough, and shared those high feelings on the mountain tops. Lifelong friendships were definitely made on this trip.

If you feel like going on an adventure, GO FOR IT!

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Leslie Strugnell recently completed the  Tour du Canada, a supported cycling journey from BC to Newfoundland. This is her report.

Thank you Leslie for sharing, I think it’s safe to say most of us are now incredibly jealous!