Better to be innocent instead of freaked out?

[zoom-zoom]

Is this woman insane in the most truest sense?! I have 2 friends pedaling across the US right now...they're planning for it to take 3ish months. And this woman is pedaling against typical wind patterns...?

[rebeccaC]

I have no idea how well she can ride distances, she could be a young Seana Hogan i'd have to take more time but hey she would be doing it a lot slower than some women solo RAAM riders who have done close to the same mileage (3000 miles) with 170,000 ft of climbing in 9 to 12 days. Hogan and Muffy Ritz have both done it in 9 days.....of course there are very FEW Hogan's in this world

i hope she has an enjoyable time!!!!!

[shootingstar]

I reread her blog..it's 2 months. Still it's pushing it, physically. She's not doing the RAAM.

[rebeccaC]

I reread her blog..it's 2 months. Still it's pushing it, physically. She's not doing the RAAM.

5000km in 60 days with 10 days off is just 100km a day. a few women here could do that. interesting write up on wind patterns. i was just using raam as a comparison mileage/time wise would you post a link to her blog or pm it to me? i'd like to read it.

[shootingstar]

Honest to cycle daily, for 100 km. for 60 consecutive days...would be mentally tough. Sure, there are at least 4 mountain ranges to pass through between Alberta and British Columbia. The 3 Canadian provincial prairies can be deadening on the brain...my partner who is a happy hermit cyclist (he did cycle from Vancouver to Toronto twice, 4,800 km. one way...lst time in 45 days with his own gear). He was happy to even see a tree or a truck on the horizon..

I'm not trying to be negative...but Canada and US are huge countries. There are huge tracts of unhabited land and space that is different from more tighter areas of Europe. Especially wilderness with no services for 100-150 km.

When we cycled only 1,000 km. in the Maritime provinces, I lost 7 lbs. I had not anticipated the strong ocean breezes and poorer road grades....Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia do not design their roads with more gradual grades. (So says my civil engineer partner).

Interesting link. I think psychologically it might be easier to tackle the mountain ranges first, in the West.. Then the Canadian east coast would be a nice book end. The history, flora /fauna and culture on Canadian west and east coast are quite different.

But everyone is different about cycle touring. My preference is not to breeze through an area and collapse into bed after supper. I like to stop, enjoy and learn about the local area also.

[Crankin]

I think you can attribute her zeal and general lack of understanding to youth... and maybe lack of really understanding the geography of Canada.
I like to overplan every bit of a cycling route, whether it's a day ride or a multi day one. It's not that I don't stop and smell the roses (I do), but I feel uncomfortable with the unknown when riding, so I try to do a lot of preparation up front. I always end up enjoying most of what I've planned, but there have been a few times on supported tours where I think, "I would not have taken people through this intersection, road," etc. This attitude has bode well for being a group ride leader, as I obsessively think about safety and all of this when planning local routes. I know this is different than a tour, and I would not, ever go off and ride across any country (even a small one) on my own, but generally I think there are people who do stuff like this all of the time, and others who don't.

[OakLeaf]

I think the only thing she MIGHT not have down is access to food and water once she starts getting further west. If she's mentally okay with being away from home for such a long period of time, there really isn't anything physically different about that, than about being out for a week or two. After the first four days your body's in shape for the mileage, particularly at her age. But she may not be prepared for areas where it could be 50 miles or more between convenient stores.


I was even more clueless, and about the same age, when I set out on my first solo tour. But I was never anywhere that I couldn't buy food or pay for a campsite that supplied water.

[nuliajuk]

Is this woman insane in the most truest sense?! I have 2 friends pedaling across the US right now...they're planning for it to take 3ish months. And this woman is pedaling against typical wind patterns...?

From British Columbia through Alberta and perhaps the westernmost part of Saskatchewan, it's mostly prevailing from the west. Once you get into the middle of Saskatchewan, it can come either direction, but we get it somewhat more from the east. I don't know what it's like from Manitoba onwards.