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Vics Journey to ManitobaVic left for his month long bike ride to Manitoba Saturday, April 28, 2007...Red line shows Vic's route through BC: Victoria, Abbotsford, Hope, Manning Park, Keromeos, Penticton,Winfield, Cherryville, Fauquier, Nakusp, New Denver, Grey Creek, Creston, Yahk, Cranbrook... Vic got a ride to Calgary, thus the blue line... Alberta: Calgary, Mosleigh, Vulcan, (ride to )Medicine Hat Saskatchewan: Swift Current, Morse, Mortlack, Moosejaw, White City, Fort Qu'Apelle, Mortlack, Moosejaw, Regina, Fort Qu'Appelle, Langenberg, Russel, Rossman Lake! (here is Vic, in Victoria, getting ready for his journey. Spank It Sports hooked him up with some nice Storm Tech clothing, and Tony Hoar created the funky bike trailer) April 28: Vic travelled along 0 Avenue, which follows along the 49th parallel, and arrived in Abotsford after an 87 kilometre first day! He averaged 13km/ hr. Way to go Vic! On his way, his client Ron Burke joined him at Ladner and rode for about 5 km. Vic stopped in to see Dr. Ken Mikelson for a chiropractic treatment. Check out this Video... Vic and his grandson Jeffery set up the bike tent trailer, designed by Tony Hoar, and talk about the items Vic will take on his journey. Here are a couple of options to get to the video... 1) cut and paste this link into your browser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs97XkrAsDU 2) Go to www.youtube.com and in the search bar type "Vic Lindal" April 29: Vic cycled 90km today to make it to Hope, BC. Temperatures got to 24 C, and will taper off to 15. He made sure he arrived somewhere where he could watch the hockey game. Now that's a real Canadian! Vic says today was a say of gratitude! ...gratitude to Rider's Cycles for convincing him to get the High Tech Shorts, gratitude to Bill at Spank It for lining up Storm Tech high tech clothing, gratitude to Betty and Carmen from Lifestyle Market for getting him the proper nutritional supplements, gratitude to Tony for getting him the ideal trailer, and it is the ideal trailer! May 1st: "I road with Vic from near Hope to about the 40km point on the Hope-Princeton yesterday. I pulled his 65# trailer. Way to much stuff. He'll learn that weight is the enemy. After I left him he had some wonderful people encounter I've heard. I told him cycling is like that. We had a grand time. A neat guy." --Gary Baker May 2: "I just got a phone call from Vic! He is in Keromeos! He has linked up with another cyclist by the name of Jeremy. He says he plans to be in Penticton tonight where he plans to phone one of you with an update. He has just gone through some rain! He agrees with Gary Baker that his trailer is very heavy." --Wayne May 2 and 3: here is a note from Vic: In Penticton, My helper Jeremy moved on. He helped with the fire last night just east to Princeton Tuesday 86.8 K. Started at 8 Am From Manning Park. The big challenge was Sunday Summit (at the last stretch 9 % grade) Jeremy was going to take the trailer from Manning park but after 20 K down hill he thought the old guy could have the trailer back. Jeremy is an interesting chap (31 years old and just rides around collecting beer cans and couch surfing) He is the Long haul biking nomad so we got along well. When we got into Bromley Rock camp grounds he helped set up the fire and actually woke up to tend at night. He has no tent and just slept next to the fire. Lessons learned. No matter how long the hill or how steep, keep up the RPM and focus on the road ahead. Wednesday. We were on the road by 7. Jeremy left me at Keromeos (at my urging as I was holding him back) I go in to See Ron Rose and his Wife Jane at 5. Another 10 hour day to cover 90 K. Rest on Thursday and on Friday head to Victoria to deliver a speech for Prospeak on Saturday, then back to Penticton, Trail via Vernon and Lumby etc. Vic May 3: This morning Vic went for an acrobatic airplane ride to Kelowna with Ron Rose... Vic flew back to Victoria this evening, and will be speaking to the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association of BC on The Power of Belief, the Power of Visualization and the Power of Soaring with Your Strengths, on Saturday, May 5. He will then fly back to Penticton to continue his journey to Manitoba. May 6, 2007 Whoah! 100kms today! Vic had a flat on the trailer, but still biked with it for a while! He felt a bit tired, as the trailer felt heavy. He managed to fix the trailer tire, and plans to head for Cherryville tomorrow! May 7, 2007 After spending the night at Brian Gatzke's in Winfield, Vic headed out on the road again, today for a very heavy, hard 75 kilometres. On the way he stopped at a bike shop called Sun County Cycle in Vernon. Brian was up in Vernon, and turned back to make sure Vic took the right exit to get to the bike shop. After collecting a new spare tube for his trailer, he set off again. On his way, there was some blasting going on which stopped traffic for a while, and a lady named Angelia Renee happened to see him cycling. As she had wanted to do a trip like this some day, she decided to drive home, get her bike, and go cycle with Vic for a while! Random strangers on bicycles... I love the adventure! Vic finally arrived in Cherryville. He found a great B & B, and is staying tonight as their first guest. Debbie and Clint Whitecotton are still renovating what is already a beautiful place to stay in Cherryville called White Wood B&B. Tomorrow, he says that it should be another tough ride. This time 76 kilometres. Check out the pics Brian took while Vic was visiting in Winfield! http://s90.photobucket.com/albums/k267/brianmg/vics/ May 8, 2007 Vic is spreading the word.. His journey is about many things, one of which is an awareness against procrastination! Today he rode 80.1 km, and averaged 10.7 km/hr, for an 11 hour day. He ended up in Fauquier, BC, and is the first guest of the season, hosted by Gloria at Tulaluk campground. www.tukaluk.com. This was a tough ride, and the hills made him think about how Terry Kotyshyn, Principal of Cloverdale Traditional School (where's Vic granddaughter Tasha attends) asked Vic before his ride, "Did you miss the geography lesson about the mountains in BC?" Well Vic remembers the lesson, and googled the geography before he left, but now thinks everyone should ride it to become familiar with the contours of these hills. Part of his journey was through Monashee pass, with a Summit of 1242 metres. Great winds greeted Vic at the top of Minor's Hill, causing Vic to get off his bike and push for the first time. He discovered that he could push his bike and trailer at 3.7 km /hr, and that's a stat I'm sure we can appreciate! People ask Vic, "What do you think about when you ride?" His answer, "Cadence..." He keeps his bike at 85 - 95 revolutions per minute. Focus on cadence and distance will take care of itself. As Vic is now out of cell phone range, he is having his clients phone the campsite pay phone! Wow - that is commitment! Another highlight. Vic took the 15 minute ferry ride across Arrow Lakes today! Tomorrow he heads for Naskup, and then down to Nelson! May 9th: Vic left the camp site at 830 and got in at 1503.He said that he took it easy today 55.7 K, and averaged 10.6 km / hr, with the fastest speed at 46.6km/hr. It was a little over 5 hours in the saddle. He met some healthy active ladies at the Burton General store. He met Reg Reimer, a parapalegic on the road (hand cranking a wheel chair), out for a 35 K ride. Wow! Early bed tonight at the Kuskanax lodge Interesting learning: Gary Baker said if you get below 50 RPM then you are doing squats at the gym. "So yesterday on Miner hill (should be mountain) I did a few gym squats. Thank goodness Ken my 85 year old personal trainer has had me on a strength programme." The other learning: What is the experience that a person wants to have in life? Get the EPV. Then be sure you are fit for the experience. I've been reading the book "The Performance Edge by Robert K. Cooper", and will talk more later on this." At Lavington I met a waitress who mentioned she was cleaning out her closet and there it was Napoleon Hill's book "Think and Grow Rich." Then out side the Blue Nose Deli got into a discussion on The Secret and Wallace Wattles. New Denver tomorrow... May 10th: 4 hrs 31 minutes, averaged 10.5km/hr , fastest speed 56.7km. Vic decided to take it easy for two days, instead of taking one day off. (My question: How many of us would think 4 1/2 hrs of bike riding is taking it easy? ha ha) So he is in New Denver. He stopped off at the "Bicycle Hospital", which is normally open only Friday and Saturday, but the owner, Pete, opened it specially for Vic, just for a quick tune up and to pump up the tires. Vic met a man named Hillier, a friend Of Tony Hoar's, who remembers Tony coming up that way to help set up the seniors cycling event. Today was another day of gratitude. Gratitude to the early explorers of this area. While Vic already read about and had admiration for Thompson and Fraser, it became greater and deeper as his journey progressed. He has gratitude for the Highway builders - Wow what an incredible feat to build highways in this province! He has gratitude for the scenery, the amazing lakes, rivers, and mountains. He has gratitude for all the people he met along the way. Tomorrow he heads for Caslow... Friday May 11th: This day marked two weeks since Vic started his journey of ageless living! He went from new Denver to Ainsworth, and on Saturday gave me a quick call before he went down to the pool for a time of relaxation. His dad always said to him, "If you ever get lost follow the water to the ocean." Vic says that he was wondering when this river would ever change direction, as he rode up and up and up hill again. It was today that he finally saw the water flow the other way. As he reached the top of one hill, he chose to rest, and take 11 minutes to meditate. As he opened his eyes, he noticed a man about 50 feet away with some chop sticks... Vic wandered over to see what he was doing. As it turns out, Michael Steinman, a commercial diver chose to sit at the top of this hill and make sushi. He had many different kinds, and much too much to eat, so he offered Vic some, and Vic was more than happy to eat it! Vic also met Joe Matthews from Silverton, who had hiked up to the very top of this hill, so that he could ski down and take pictures! Nice timing for Vic, as he was able to ask him to take a quick picture, and I'm sure we will see that on Vic's site soon! Vic met Tristan at the hotel where he stayed in Ainsworth, and he helped Vic get his trailer right through to his room. What a great design Tony - the trailer easily fit through all the doors! Saturday, May 12: Vic took the Balfour ferry to Crawford Bay, and as he always likes to look around and see if he knows people, whever he goes... he managed to run into John Brisbois. John is one of Vic's altime favorite volleyball players, with whom he's had many great conversations... what my dad probably didn't remember at the time, is John also coached me when I played for summer games team back in 1989... John is a principal now in Crawford Bay! Vic also had a nice conversation with John and Diane from Fernie, and Riley, a 13 yr old on his way to Trail. Vic roade for about 30 kmm today, to make it to Grey Creek, BC, where he stayed at Cedar Crove Campground. (www.cedargrove.com), own by Ken and Lynn Another neat story of people Vic has met... Vic was able to give a couple of motivational speaches, and back in Ainsworth he met Harold, over 90 years old and a great inspiration. Also, Vic met Francy,a flag lady at Coffee Creek, who's three children are avid moutn bikers, and she is commited to getting a bike now and riding! Sunday, May 13th: Happy Mother's Day! Vic woke up and used his camping gear to make organic coffee, and a nice bowl of oatmeal mixed with hemp hearts, and to help start the day, he of course had his greens plus energy suppliments! Today was a great day to test out his new storm tech gear, as the Biking Viking rode through hail storms and rain! Well, he made it, and was of course thankful for the new clothes he acquired before his trip began! 9.5 hour day. 6.5 hour in the saddle. To overcome procrastination, Vic decided to do 47 minute segments, with 11 minutes of meditation at the end. He kept his cadence... and averaged 10.3 km/hr, with a high of 50.1. While most people would expect a good down hill ride, it was a wavy downhill route... up and down, and up and down... Vic says he has seen a lot of cyclists on his journey, and remembers a group of 30 heading from Grand Forks and doing a tour of Kootney Lakes... Another inspiration from the Quantum Leap Strategy... a caterpillar can move up and down and all around, hang off trees, but only a butterfly can fly. Vic's claiming Butterfly status... Monday, May 14th: Vic took a day off in Creston. Tuesday, May 15th: Throughout this whole journey Vic has still been able to keep in contact with his clients, with three calls this morning, and then off on the road again. 10 am - 4 pm. 10.3km/hr average, max at 42.6 km/hr. The tempurature got to 35 C today! Yikes! He went from Creston to Yahk, BC, and is staying at the Cosy Quilt Motel. There is a river flowing right behind the motel, and Vic was suprised to know that it hadn't peeked yet! He said they brought the army in to watch the Fraser, but Vic will watch the Moyeux (spelling?)... Vic will head for Cranbrook, where he will spend a couple of days with Chris Jenkins, and do some visualization sessions for Chris's volleyball team before they head to Calgary! Wednesday, May 16: 6 hours 24 minutes... Yahk to Cranbrook... As Vic rode today, he spent time preparing his speech for the volleyball community of Creston. (He was to give the speech Thursday, and prepared in his head as he rode) Thanks goes to Gary Baker for the short cut through Creston! Someone asked Vic if he had a support group. His support group is his Trek Bike, his Nomad Trailer and Tony Hoar's creation... May 18: Wow Vic made it to Calgary. Ok, he got a ride so he could watch some Volleyball. Chris Jenkins one of the all time great Provincial players from the Pac Rim days gave the ride. (even put new tires on his car (truck) He's there to watch the Western Canada U 15 and U 16 Championships. He also gets to see Dr. George McMaster who is in Calgary for his son Jonathan's wedding. Now that is planning. He has now looked at the map and from Calgaryand is looking at 1100 K to the seminar. Vic says that there better be a great tail wind if he is to make it on time. "then all I do is my 47 minutes at a time with the 85 to 95 RPM." The key to overcoming procrastination is to have an EPV then do the action which in Vic's case is 8 to 10 hours a day now to make Rossman Lake on time. Remember the 8 to 10 hours is only a series of 47 minute segments. Taking client calls each day will be easier as there is likely more cell coverage in Alberta and Saskatchewan than there was in BC...something about mountains. MAY 20: Mosleigh, Alberta Vic left Calgary this morning and had an 80 km day. He averaged 11.8 km, and peaked at 40 km coming down to the Bow River. As we expect of the Prairie Provinces, most of Vic's trip today was flat, and while the wind was supposed to be behind him, it must have got confused and hit him straight on! Vic found out that his tent does well in thunder and lightening storms. I think that may be good to know... I was concerned about the hills of BC.... I don't know, but thunder and lightening and wind in the Prairies seems like a great new challenge! So Vic was trying to find a bike route out of Calgary. How could he avoid those busy streets? After searching on line and finding nothing, Chris Jenkins said, "Hey Vic, let's phone a bike shop." They got a hold of Pat, the owner of "Cycle Path", and managed to get down to the shop just before it closed as Pat said the directions were not easy to convey over the phone, and he could draw him a map. When Vic set out this morning he ran into another cyclist, Rick, who guided Vic through the largest Urban Park in Canada, Fish Creek Park. On his way, Vic was suprised to see a Flock of Pelicans gathered together on the Bow River. Also, Vic mentioned that he saw a pheasant, a species of bird not native, but introduced and yet almost extinct. He cruised along Hwy 22x, which had a large enough shoulder for bikes to ride side by side, and a few cyclists did so as they passed the Biking Viking plugging away at his steady pace. Vic will be heading along Highway 24 tomorrow on his way to Vulcan, Alberta. 3 days to Medicine Hat, then along Hwy 1... FUNNY STORY, COURTESY OF WAYNE SMITH: Apparently, on his way through BC, he picked up a couple of pillows that someone threw out from their truck and has been taking catnaps off the road in our BC wilderness. So today, after doing 50 km out of Calgary (where he was helping a Cranbrook Volleyball team in a competition), he thought he should be taking a break. So, he pulled his bike off the side of the highway, pulled out his pillows and took a 11 min catnap. (When you get to be 70, you need those once an while). When he woke up, he found out that a motorist had seen him and phoned 911 and there were the paramedics and the RCMP attending to him. (I guess, it is harder to get off the road than in BC.) MAY 21: Vulcan, Alberta Well, if you ever thought about giving Vic a call of encouragement, today would be the day. He is staying at the Vulcan Country Inn: 403-485-2281 Now Vic has, in the past, tredged through the Rivers of BC with his waterproof socks, endured weather of all kinds, but today, in Alberta he was as close as he's come to throwing in the towel... Thankfully he made it out of Calgary before it snowed, but he hit an incredible rain storm - 3 C tempurature, went through 3 pairs of gloves, and water proof socks for the first time ever did not keep the rain out and his feet felt like blocks of ice. He travelled 37.5 kms today through what seemed like the middle of knowhere - no coffee shops to stop at, only farms spread out, with houses miles apart in the distance. I suppose the pouring rain inspired him to increase his average speed to 15.2 km/hr in hopes of reaching civilization! He is currently in his room, heat cranked up to 100 C to try and dry his clothes out and warm up a little! What a neat little town though... of course since it is called Vulcan, the tourist centre has a Star Trek Dome! He went over there to ask if they knew of any taylors who could sew up his water proof pants which experienced a bit of a blow out part way through his journey. He met Allison, a U17 volleyball player who travels two hours return to play volleyball in Lethbridge. Allison is happy to get some volleyball tips and a jump training program from Vic. Also, LaRae, another tourism centre employee was able to help Vic wth navigation of his route to Medicine Hat. They said they will get his pants fixed, so thanks LaRae and Allison! A special thank you for the cookies goes out to Charlene from Jaffray, BC, who's son plays on the East Kootenay boys U15 volleyball team. (Chris Jenkins' team from Cranbrook) Vic wants them to remember "Stand tall, breath deeply, and smile." What an awesome attitude Vic has! Here he is, freezing cold, feet like ice, soaked to the bone, and he still manages to think of encouraging words for others... now there's some inspiration we can all learn from! May 22, 2007: Note from Vic... "Yes, a client, Stacey came and picked me up in Vulcan. She has taken me to Medicine Hat after a great lunch with his wife Cindy and the staff at We Care and the staff of Stacey's company, Work Place Safety. I had a chance to do my talk on the number one disease in North America (Procrastination). I went to the local Source for Sports to get a small tune up on the Bike. All is running well. My tires are up to 75 PSI again, so I'm ready. Jay did a great job of quickly checking everything out. Then Neil found me some new cyling pants.. Stacey looked at the map and then calculated the time to get to the seminar and decided to drive me to Medicine Hat and said said Swift Current might be better. Wow is that going the extra mile, or in this case hundreds of kilometres and several days. I am inspired!" May 23, 2007: 10 hour day... Vic says Gary was right - at least in BC when there's a hill, you know it is going to end... in Saskatchewan, when you are running into a head wind, it seems to never end! I think Vic's message on my phone said he was .5 km per hour straight into the wind! yes... it sounded like .5 ! He stopped in a town called Herbert. The restaurant was closed, but he popped into the bar, and managed to once again give one of his procrastination speeches... For those who have said the prairies are flat... well, Vic managed to find a long long steady climb in Saskatchewan, but at the top, there was his good friend George McMaster, and his wife Sandy! They were one their way home from Calgary! Vic had a rest, and a chat, and hopped back in the saddle to make it to Morse, Saskatchewan. George really wants Vic to make it in time for the Personal Greatness Seminar in Rossman Lake, so they have told Vic they are coming to get him if he hasn't made it there by Wednesday! www.personalgreatness.org May 25: Mortlack to Moosejaw - a tough day. averaged 9.7 km /hr 4 hrs 35 min in the saddle. Vic wanted to say a big thank you to Steve Robertson for the pump up call! May 24: Elizabeth at the Morse Motel 9 - runs the Motel all by herself as her husband has been ill and has gone to Hungary. Vic says she is a great lady, gave him a great rate, and Vic was thankful to be able to use the phone at the motel to call clients. As Vic was riding along leaving Morse, he ran into three cyclists, Hillary, Warren and Tanya, who had been cycling from Vancouver! He said, wow, you don't have a lot of stuff on your bikes, and found out that they had a support van up ahead. Vic was able to spend a 47 minute session drafting these cyclists, and talking to them about procrastination. He made it to Mortlack, Saskatchewan after a 71.2 km day. He averaged 11.1 km / hr. He had dinner at Wagon's West Cookhouse, where sandy is the owner, and Carla was his waitress. He talked to Carla about the awareness program of procrastination... May 26: Vic said he had a fantastic day today! The original plan was to get to Regina, but they decided to carry on through to White City. I say "they" because Atilla from France, met up with Vic and decided to ride with him. Check out the pictures link to see a picture of Vic and Atilla in Regina. 92.7 km today, averaged 13 km/hr, and fastest speed was 30.9 km/hr. Vic stopped in to Western Cycle - Your Source for Sport in Regina to get his pump fixed and to get more Shammy butter. May 27: Fort QuApelle, 3 hr 57 minutes in the saddle... 54 km day, averaged 13.6 km/hr with a high of 48 km/hr. Atilla rode with Vic until Balgooney (spelling?), and headed on his way to Halifax. Vic carried on to arrive in Melville, stopped at the grocery to pick up some bananas, and to asked questions about campgrounds up ahead. When he was informed that the next campgrounds weren't for another 50 km or so, he decided to stay in Melville. He met a nice man named Darryl Sininger at the store who told him to come on down to the campground where they were staying, Braeburn Inn Campgorunds. Darryl offered Vic a pull-out cot for the evening! Bonus! (note - I spoke with Vic and he gave me the details for May 25 - now posted below) He met Omar, from the RCMP academy, who took the picture of Atilla and Vic. Thanks Omar! Joel fixed Vic's bike pump, and Rod said Tony's trailer looked fantastic. So, after impressing people in Regina, they headed on to White City, where they camped out at Dire Straits Campground! May 28: 6 hrs 20 min. 28 sec in the saddle. 74.4 km 11.7 km/hr average 32km/hr high. Allie, one of his client's called for her 2 pm (BC time call), and Vic asked for one more hour as he was still on the Highway. She called back just as he put his key in the door at the hotel. Perfect timing! Vic's biggest fan is Stephanie Lindal, his grandaughter, and this was the highlight of the day! She phoned him with a pump up call, and to let him know she got three awards at the recent Emerald Classic Volleyball tournament in Seattle! Not only that - her team won! Way to go Steph and the Breakers! This is a huge tournament in the US, one of the toughest challenges for a Canadian Team to take on! Vic was impressed with the truck drivers on his journey, mentioning that 98% of the truck drivers pull out to the second lane when passing him. He thinks Canada must have one of the biggest populations of truck drivers around with over 250,000. It was nice that this highway run had a great shoulder for him to ride on, not like some other days where it seemed like a back road adventure with the bumps! On his journey today, he wondered how much of the Prairies originally had trees, and how much the early settlers had to clear in order to create the vast farmland we are all so familiar with now. He worked on his EPV for Jasper, where he will meet his good friend Malik and ride back through BC. So, Vic decided to get pumped and train a bit to get ready for those BC Hills again! He cranked his gears up, 50 - 54 rpms and stood up on the bike to simulate the nasty hill climbs! May 29: long day, got in at 10:45 pm- Langenburg 7 hours 49 minutes 82.5 kil. average 10K per hour , 60 k working against 30 k headwinds. As Vic was riding along, he saw a man on an ATV checking on his cows... not like the old days by horse back! Vic started chatting and when Vic mentioned he was from Victoria, Don said he'd like to take his wife there for their anniversary... and then he said.... "someday"... well, we all know what that means to Vic! Time for the speach! As it turned out, Don had a little calendar notebook with him, and after talking with Vic, wrote in trip to Victoria, staying at the Royal Scott Motel, April 27, 2008! Don invited Vic to dinner with his mennonite family, so there was: Don Barkman, wife Charlene, son Tyler and Kirk, and the father in law Denver Wiebe, andwife Lavina Vic rode the rest of the way in the dark! May 30: After 9 days straight, and just over a month from the day he left - he made it! Woohoo Today Vic rode 3 hrs, 11 minutes, 9.3 km/hr, lots of wind again, high of 40.9km/hr coming into the Assinaboine River Valley... Vic wants to thank George McMaster today, who reminded him and encouraged him frequently during the 6 months leading up to this trip, telling Vic that he is a man who says he's going to do something and he does it! ... and he did! Vic arrived in Russel, Manitoba today and met up with George and Sandy McMaster, the fascillitators of the Personal Greatness Seminar in Rossman Lake. They picked up the keys, and Vic in Russel and are getting ready for a great seminar week! www.personalgreatness.org Funny note: today is part of bike to work week, and Vic was the extreme example! June 7, 2007: After his week long seminar in Rossman Lake, Vic will give a speech at the Place Louis Riel Hotel "Ageless Living" Friday morning, June 8. Then he will hop on a train to meet his friend Malik in Jasper and trek through BC once again on his mountain bike! Place Louis Riel (in Winnipeg)
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