photo...maybe

Cool Dude!

Wayne models a pair of our new sand goggles!

Technical difficulties...

I thought I should refresh my memory on how to post a photo to this blog and it isn't going well!  I've taken the photo, and transferred it to my iPad, but do you think I can remember how to get a photo onto the blog??  Obviously, some work needs to be done before I get to Cairo and have other issues to think about.  

The photo itself is not all that interesting, just a shot of my bike on the wind trainer in the basement, to illustrate what training has looked like lately.  However, I did get 35 km in outside a couple of days ago when it was a balmy plus 5C.

Maybe I'll be smarter after I eat some lunch - worth a try anyway!

Visit toTDA world headquarters

Just back from a fun week in Toronto; centre of the universe, victors in the 100th Grey Cup and home to the Tour d'Afrique office.  I had emailed in advance to see if there was a particular time to visit, but I hadn't heard back from the person I checked with.  We decided to drop in anyway, and our group of 4 in red Stampeders jerseys burst through the door, stopping all work being done with our arrival.  We introduced ourselves and were graciously welcomed by Henry, Brian and Shanny.  It turns out Mike, who I had emailed, was off in Costa Rica, helping with the Doomsday Ride.  Our hosts patiently answered our many questions and we left feeling even more excited about our impending adventure.

With just over a month to go until our departure for Cairo there is a lot left to do so now I must get focused!  Today I received a package pickup notice from the post office which I hope is our passports being returned from the Sudanese embassy with visas attached.  Then the passports have to go back in the mail to the Ethiopian consulate for another visa.  Thankfully, the other 8 countries we visit are happy to sell us a visa at the border.

I don't want to sound whiny but the weather here has not been very favourable for cycling so I have been spending a lot of time on the wind trainer in the basement.  It is a challenge staying interested for the hour minimum that I make myself do.  Usually I listen to music with earbuds in, since the wind trainer makes a bit of a racket.  If no one is home, I will sometimes sing along and I must say I have a new appreciation for the athleticism of singers.  It is difficult to pedal at a workout pace and sing along and breathe!  I sure hope no one comes in unannounced while I try this but the awful noise I make would probably scare anyone away.  On occasion, I watch tv instead of listening to music and had a trip back in time the other day when I found a rerun of The Partridge Family to watch.  That David Cassidy is still as dreamy as he was when I was in junior high!

Check out the TDA website - it has been totally redesigned and looks great!

And the preparations continue....

It seems I've been so busy getting a myriad of things looked after that there's been no time to write about it all.  Yesterday we got a lot crossed off the to-do lists.  We were out in the driveway cutting the heavy duty tarp we bought into what we hope will be a thorn-proof ground sheet for the tent.  Then to double check the size of the ground sheet we thought we'd better set up the tent and put it on top of the ground sheet.  Then I wanted to see how much room the thermarests we borrowed from Sandy's camping supply room would take inside the tent so they were unrolled and laid out inside the tent.  The neighbors were probably thinking "those crazy Gaudets are going to sleep in their driveway!"  But we probably disappointed them all when we put everything away.

I've been out on my bike a few times and especially enjoyed Saturday's ride because before I left Wayne pumped up my tires!  I always give them a squeeze before I head out but evidently it is impossible to diagnose low tire pressure in a mountain bike tire with just a road bike type squeeze!  It felt much easier with 50 pounds psi as opposed to 25 psi.  Now I know.  Plus, I felt like a genius when I suggested the reason neither of our bike computers worked could be because we put the wrong front wheels ( where the sensors are) on each bike.  Once the wheels were swapped to the other bike, voila, fully functioning computers!

Wayne has been racking up the miles in the basement on the wind trainer and using his time wisely by multitasking and watching old movies.  He has a shocking new addiction...the cheap movie bin at Walmart!

Donation information for the Tour d'Afrique Foundation

http://www.tourdafrique.com/donate

Here is the link to the Tour d'Afrique Foundation...more on what the Foundation does in the next post!

Snowy First Ride

New Bikes!

We saw them Saturday!  The bikes we'll be using for the TDA are described by Wayne as "sexy"...I don't know if that refers to the vibrant lime-green and shiny black paint job, the 29 inch wheels or the overall ready-for-anything look, but these bikes seem ready to take on an entire continent!  We'll be changing out the brakes from hydraulic to mechanical, adding bar ends to the handlebars and then we get to take them for a test ride.  Of course, the first snow of the season has fallen, what better time to buy bikes!

Other preparations include a bit of fundraising for the Tour d'Afrique Foundation.  The foundation is dedicated to supplying bikes to health care and community workers throughout Africa.  Every year, one bike per full tour rider is donated, additional fundraising by tour participants means more bikes can be donated, and any riders whose fundraising goes toward the Foundation participate in the donation ceremony.  I am excited about this and very grateful to Bikram Yoga Calgary South for kick starting my fundraising by making the TDA Foundation the recipient of the October karma classes at their studio - big thanks to Lyndsay and Morgan!  I'll post some information on how to donate if you're so inclined just as soon as I figure that out.  So much to learn, so much to do!