Between Calgary & Edmonton or A Rock & A Hard Place

Former Flames Captain Brad 'Marshy' Marsh

Phase one of our trip is over. We worked hard to get through the mountains, the snow and the rain. We had a great time at the Boys and Girls Club and we got ourselves off to a great start with our goal of raising money and awareness for the Boys and Girls Club. Now we start phase two and it’s just Dad and I and the prairies ahead of us. We upgraded our support van to an RV (believe it or not its cheaper than another rental car) and now we’re faced with the challenge of conquering the most monotonous part of our beautiful country.

           

Not your average size 'bike riders' Brad & Erik

After an amazing reception in Calgary and an enjoyable day off with Pat and his fiancé, Annie, we re-evaluated our plan of attack. Dad is holding up pretty good but his Achilles tendon is inflamed and his foot is swollen up like a football. We’ve been asked by Trek, our bike sponsor, and the Edmonton Boys and Girls Club to swing through Edmonton on our tour. Considering its out of the way and keeping in mind Dad’s injury, we opted to drive up to Edmonton and give the tendon an extra day to heal before we continue from there. We’re looking forward t making an appearance at United Cycle in Edmonton, which should be lots of fun. It’s a bit funny that we’ll be making an appearance on behalf of Trek, and any avid cycling fan would see why. The average pro cyclist, the kind of guy they’d normally have making these appearances, is about 5’8” and 140lbs. Dad and I are both over 6’3” and tip the scales at 230lbs and 220lbs respectively. In the context of a pro peloton we’d not only be slow but also gigantic. I often wonder what it’d be like to meet Lance Armstrong. He’s a man so huge in stature yet he’s only 5’9” and 153lbs.

We’re looking forward to starting Phase two of our trip but there are definitely some mixed feelings about our starting point of Edmonton. In short, we hate Edmonton but that’s another story for another time…

Erik