The Awe of the Wind

Wind

In our vast country we are blessed to experience many different climates, diverse environments and a variety of different weather. We’ve already seen the Pacific coast, mountains, prairies, desert, and the boreal forest of the Canadian Shield. Of all the different things Mother Nature has thrown at us, wind presents the biggest challenge by far.

A little reminder of Mother Nature and her wind here as told by Brad

Must always be ready for Mother Nature!

Whereas a mountain looms high above you, its imposing stature striking fear into your heart, it has a summit. Get to the summit and your legs stop burning and you can bask in your accomplishment on the descent down the hill. Wind, on the other hand, does not give you a preview of what’s to come. There is no summit to strive for, not an indication of gradient to tell how hard the next section will be, just a brutal soul-crushing force working against you, making every pedal stroke a battle. Imagine balancing all your weight on two points of contact no bigger than a few square inches and then trying to get where you’re going and there is an invisible force pushing and pulling you at over 70 km/h. A headwind can make it feel like you’re towing a tractor trailer behind you and crosswinds feel as if an invisible team of strongmen are having a tug of war and you are the flag in the middle of the rope.

As with many physically demanding feats, when battling wind the rider must look within to have the strength to succeed. There are a few techniques that may help get a rider where they need to go while in the grips of a gale:

1.    The Lieutenant Dan: Remember that scene in Forrest Gump when Lieutenant Dan “makes his peace with God?” Yelling and screaming with each torrent thrown their way, Lt. Dan Taylor begs for more, insisting that the storm isn’t that that bad. In riding terms it translates to refusing to shift to a lower gear, gritting your teeth and attacking into the wind as if you’re trying to catch Mother Nature herself to give her a piece of your mind. Swearing and yelling may accompany this technique as well, though passing motorists may alert the authorities that a crazy man is on the loose.

2.    The Little Engine That Could: Let the power of positive thinking wash over you. Click into a gear you can spin in comfortably, don’t let the lack of speed get you down and push play on the imaginary reel of inspirational movie quotes in you head. It may be hard riding and it may take you a while but you set a goal and through positive determination you’re going to make it.

3.    I Doubt I Will But I Might: This technique usually rears its desperate head towards the end of a long ride. You’ve eaten all your bars, your bottles are almost empty, you have no money and you’re feeling so fatigued you’re seeing spots. At this point you’re considering ALL your options to get you to the end of your ride: I could fake a mechanical breakdown, I could knock on a stranger’s door (despite his mean looking dogs), I could rob a convenience store for sustenance, I could call a cab, hop on a bus, call my roommate or friend or even a hated enemy. In the midst of weighing all these options, you’ve fought the wind the entire time and you now find yourself close enough to your destination and you’ve made it, barely.

4.    The Quitter: You’ll never need to know any of these techniques because as soon as you see the wind blowing, you aren’t leaving your house. You will certainly have a great excuse like, “I had a big day yesterday,” or “I won’t be able to train in my appropriate zone in that wind,” but everyone knows you’re too chicken to willingly put yourself into that kind of difficulty.

Anything you can do to get you through the wind is a good thing. Every day you fight the wind should bring you closer to the exhilaration of a tailwind. For all the times you can hate the wind with every ounce of your being, they all seem to fade away when you turn that corner and the wind is at your back. With that glorious blessing at your back, you can fly faster than your legs alone could ever take you. Whether you’re 10 years old or 50 years old, you can’t beat the feeling of pedaling your bike and going fast.

Erik Marsh (Co-Pilot) 

From the Ferry and More

Team Marsh recently entered Brad's home province of Ontario and as he heads toward his hometown of London Ontario, also the home of the London Knights Junior Hockey Club where Brad played out his junior career, Brad shares an update from the Chi-Cheemaun Ferry to Tobermory here 

Brad Marsh as a London Knight

Brad made a stop in Durham, Ontario, hometown of best friend Dean Hopkins. Brad and Dean played junior hockey together with the London Knights and have remained best buddies. Dean's mom hosted Team Marsh for the night! Shouting out a big thank you for the great hospitality! Watch here

Team Marsh

Sault Ste. Marie and the Power of Lake Superior

'Friends' along the way!

We had initially pegged this section of our tour as 1500 km of boredom and we couldn’t have been more wrong. This rugged part of the Canadian Shield has been difficult and challenging but above all, beautiful. Our ride yesterday took us through the scenic Lake Superior Provincial Park and up and down a lot of rugged climbs. As we rolled into town with my legs burning from all the climbing, my thoughts turned to our days in the Rockies. Were those days this hard? Have we climbed like this before?

As soon as we got in I checked my trusty Strava cycling app and learned that in 135km I had climbed over 1 200 meters. After some clicking around I discovered that’s not far off the amount of climbing Pat and Dad had covered from Revelstoke to Golden in BC over the infamous Rogers Pass. I was surprised yet it did seem appropriate. Rogers Pass was the final and most difficult section of the Trans Continental Railway to be completed and the ground we just covered near Lake Superior was the final and most difficult section of the Trans Canada Highway to be finished. Crews had such trouble forging the way through the dense forest and rock that the final stretch of highway wasn’t even paved until 1967. For all its hardships however, cyclists are rewarded with breathtaking views of Lake Superior and the various coves and bays along the shoreline.

The storied Lake Superior is massive. The world’s largest lake by surface area, biggest of the Great Lakes, it stretches on beyond the horizon as if you’re looking across the ocean. I passed the Chippewa River and for the rest of the day I had Gordon Lightfoot’s “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” in my head. While I tucked into the breathtaking descents that seemed to go right into the lake before turning at the waters edge I kept hearing the line, “Superior, its said, never gives up her dead.” Needless to say, I took extra care to keep my tires on the road and the bike upright at those spots. I learned later that the reason they say the lake “never gives up her dead” is because the natural water temperature is so cold that a body in the water sinks as opposed to eventually floating as would happen in most other bodies of water.

New friends Matt & Berny are biking & camping. Check them out at
 www.berny-matt-velocanada.blogspot.ca

The big lake they call Gitchee Gumee has served as an incredible backdrop to our riding in Northern Ontario. As we’ve travelled west and south on Highway 17, one look to the right over the blue water glistening in the sun or lush forest growing atop the rugged rock faces is a great reminder of the natural beauty of our country. It can be enough to put that little extra into your legs to get you over the rolling hills or that little push you need to throw it into a bigger gear to race around the corner to see what vista might be there to greet you. Northern Ontario has truly been a highlight of our trip so far and I won’t soon forget the unbelievable rides we’ve had in this great part of our country. 

Erik (Team Marsh Co-pilot) 

Phase 2 Ride Update & Phase 3 Intro from Brad!

Brad @ The Terry Fox Monument!

Team Marsh has finished Phase 2 of the Brad Marsh 90 Day Challenge to Bike Across Canada in Support of the Boys and Girls Clubs.
Now entering Phase 3 and Brad's home province of Ontario!


Listen to an update from Brad Listen Here

My Hardest First Week of Training Yet by Patrick Marsh

Son Patrick with Brad!

When my pops first mentioned to me that he planned to ride his bike across the country in support of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada I must admit, I thought he was joking. But after many subsequent emails and phone calls I knew it was something he was dead set on doing. Having ridden with him many times over the past few years I was a little worried how he’d make out. After many nights attempting to plan the logistics of the ride and hearing him say many times “the ride is actually going to be the easiest part” I was very concerned that he may have been underestimating how hard the ride was going to be, particularly the high mountain passes. Even though over the last number of months my dad had been transforming so much of himself into the best condition since his playing years, he was still no Andy Schleck. Furthering to my worry, I’ve seen my old man ride steep roads in the past, particularly at last years Penticton Gran Fondo. I witnessed his unique climbing style: a combination of foul language, pedaling squares, nearly bonking, and zigzagging across the road. Fast forward to April 29^th of this year and I was truly set up for some serious surprises.

Due to training and work commitments I was (and am) unable to join my pops for extended periods of time to ride with him. However, I managed to time my first week back at training in my 2012-2013 speed skating season with a week off of work. I was planning on riding with my dad through some of the hardest high mountain passes on his journey. Meeting him in Revelstoke, BC on the 29^th of April my brother and I joked that ‘the super-domestique’ had arrived to ferry my dad across the mountains. To be honest, I was expecting just that. I was expecting to be dragging my old man up and down mountains while never putting myself in too much physical strain.

Patrick & Brad bonding on the bikes!

However, starting my first ride of the training season on April 30^th we set off to climb Roger’s Pass. Besides riding in snow and rain the ride was actually quite enjoyable. I’ve said it many times, but riding your bike is truly one of the greatest ways to see the country and despite freezing rain and snow, we were actually making great time. Every time I seemed to push the pace, Dad followed no problem. Then around 50k into ride and after many waves and honks from the national speed skating team en route to a training camp in Penticton, BC, we set up the final kick to the top of Roger’s Pass. Two things stood out to me. First, climbing Roger’s Pass on your first day of training is hard. Really hard. Second, my old man was not showcasing the unique (and hilarious) climbing style I had witnessed the previous summer. He got into his own rhythm, focused on staying in that rhythm and began to make his own way up the final kick. Once we got to the top I had truly noticed the biggest change in my old man. Waiting for a hilarious and likely politically incorrect statement about how hard the climb had been he rolled into the parking, unclipped and said, “That was sweet!”

Surprised, hungry and cold, I joined him and my brother for some lunch at the top of Roger’s Pass before finishing our ride to Golden, BC. Over the next few days, we would be climbing several other mountains, getting rained and snowed on much, much more, battling some of the worst head/cross wings I’ve experienced and being spoiled with one of my most memorable moments on a bicycle yet: a police escort through Calgary. One thing never did happen in my days with my old man though. Never did I once get the sensation that I was ‘dragging him through the mountains.’ Every time I felt as if I was pushing the pace, he’d surprise me again by taking the lead and pulling for a while himself.

Once arriving in Calgary and getting the chance to meet everyone at the Boys and Girls club I saw first hand the absolute best part of this entire journey: little kids running circles around my dad.

Pat Marsh (Team Marsh Member and son)