Aug 21 We made it to Halifax!

So Chris and I biked into Halifax, at about 4:00 pm after biking 145 km. Our total distance was 1825 km, over 14 days. We averaged about 130 km per day.

We were able to see a lot of Canada, from the Seaway valley, to both urban and rural Quebec. We saw the beginnings of the Gaspe, and rode through the heart of Acadia into southern New Brunswick and then Nova Scotia. We live in a beautiful country.

It was great to share the time with Chris and I know that my Dad would have loved the trip.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed, or is contributing to "Pedaling for Papa".

If this is you first visit...consider reading the posts in reverse order, to get a feel for our trip.

Aug 20 to Tatamagouche Nova Scotia

We rode today from Shediac, NB to Tatamagouche, NS a distance of 130 km.

We set out very early, but not to get to riding. Marilou gave us a ride to the Hopewell Rocks, and we checked them out for a while, then were back to Shediac and on our bikes by 11 am.

"The Rocks" provincial park is an amazing place, where we were able to go out on the beach at low tide and check out the mud, the gravel and the amazing sandstone Hopewell rock formations. The majesty of God's creation is truly awesome.

Aug 19 A day at the Beach

We had a day off today. OR sort off. We rode from south of Mirimachi, to Shediac, and then had a day at the beach. We rode about 50 km, to bring our total to 1550 km. According to the map, we have 280 km left to Halifax.

It was a great day too!

We had thought of going further, but Marilou phoned from the beach to tell how beautiful the day was at Parlee Beach, so we decided that it was too good to miss.

We will just have to ride a bit further tomorrow.

Aug 18 to well past Miramachi, NB

We decided to travel across the peninsula from Bathurst to Mirimachi NB, to save time and distance, but found that the short distance, was made up for in vertical meters.


We climbed a total of more than a 1000 m today, as well as pedaling 135 km.  Our total number of km is now over 1500 km.

We stopped to take a picture of a cool Anglican church, in Mirimachi that was a provincial historical sight.

It was considerably flatter after we left Mirimachi, on our way to Moncton.

Aug 17 to north of Bathurst, NB

We started the day north of Cambelton and finished north of Bathurst.

We finished of meeting with Marilou, John and Matt at a campsite right on the water, with a pool, a play ground and showers!

New Brunswick 11 am

We were hoping for a welcome to New Brunswick sign, but when we crossed the bridge, all there was was a stop sign....but it was a New Brunswick, stop sign....it says STOP over the ARRET

For those that are interested, that is NOT a new hair do I am trying out!   My bike helmet stands my hair up in ridges....

Aug 15 Rimouski to Cambelton (almost)

Well, a long day.

Christopher and I set out from Rimouski, at about 8:00 am looking forward to a long day on our bikes.  We  managed to ride 170 km to put our total distance covered to about 1100km.  And we are very close to New Brunswick (about 30 km outside Cambelton).  A good day.

But it was a WET day too.  As we rode from the St Lawrence coast, across the south end of the Gaspe we saw hills and hills and more hills.  But since it was our first day of real continous rain, we didn''t get to see the tops of the hills, until we were mostly up them.  Perhaps a blessings.

We are looking forward to a shorter day tomorrow.

Mon Aug 15 Rimouski

Did I say construction yesterday?

Oh my.  About 5 km outside Riviere de Loop, we began to see signs about a "closed" road.  We were a bit concerned because the suggested detour was to go on Hwy 20 - a 4 lane controlled access road similar to the 401 in Ontario.

We came to a flag person who promised that while the road was closed it would be ok for bikes - we would just need to watch out.  Watch out we did.

Our next 10 km included a LOT of gravel and dirt.  It also included carefully timing our progress to miss when the excavator was swinging across the road,  Steering around a number of dump trucks, and being directed to us the back yard of several private residences.  Seriously though, it was nice of the construction guys to get us through as I am not sure how we would have made it otherwise.  The road WAS torn up.  They were taking it down to bedrock, and I was glad Chris was with me to confirm my read of the blasting warning signs.

After the construction the rest of the day was very much smooth sailing. 

Or at least mostly smooth.  We are starting to get into the hilly part of the trip.  It is NOT good news when you see a 2 km to passing lane, most times this means a major workout is coming.

We traveled a total of 110 Km today, so our total is now up to 940 km.

We are moving into countryside that reminds me of northern Ontario, and is rugged and beautiful.

I have found all this biking has made sleeping on almost anything, quite enjoyable.

Sun Aug 14 to Riviere de Loop

We rode another 140 km today, to bring us to a total of 830 Km. It has been fun!

But we meet the dreaded CONSTRUCTION today. About 10 km of it, on gravel, with groves and bumps and lots, and lots of dust. When I took my socks of tonight my white feet really stood out against my very brown dusty legs!

The shower was HEAVENLY

All was not about the construction.  We saw many beautiful farms and tiny towns.

As the St Lawrence changes from the St Lawrence River to the Gulf the views are wonderful.

Sat Aug 13 A night in old Quebec

Today was sort of a day off - we traveled from the Etchemin river toward River de Loop, about 42 km.

We spent the morning walking in old Quebec city, and then got on our bikes to make sure we stayed limber.  After our ride, Mariou picked us up, we had supper at a little park, and she took us back to Quebec for the evening.

Chris stayed with the little boys for a couple of hours, and Marilou and I went into the old city and had coffee at a quaint little coffee shop.

Then we slept in a motel on a nice comfy bed.

Our total kms traveled is now about 690 - well more than a third of the trip, it will be half way there at the end of tomorrow!

Fri Aug 12 Quebec City

So we are sleeping just outside Quebec city, over looking the beautiful Etchemin vally, and Marilou , Matt, and John have joined us.

We traveled about 130 km with mostly tail winds on Friday - so we did the distance in a little more than 4 hours.

After we got there, we were able to go into Quebec for supper...the joys of meeting Marilou with a car.

Thurs Aug 11 Louisville....with air in our tires

Ah the advantages of inflation.

Chris an I are half way to Quebec city from Montreal.

We had a tail wind today, and rode 130 km, but had to deal with 3, yes three, THREE flats. Not an encouraging way to travel.

First we thought it might be the way I was changing the tires, then we thought it might be the way Chris was doing it. Finally we knew it was just our day for flats.

We passed some beautiful old catholic churches on 138.

We made it to Quebec,11:00am Aug 10

But that was only the start of the day!

Today was the day of bridge excitement.  First we crossed the St. Lawrence via Salaberry-de-Valleyfield.  A good crossing on a bike path on the top of a dam.  But extremely confusing to find.  We did finally get going in the right direction, with the help of Chris' french.  

Next was the Beauharmious fiasco.  We came to a impassible bridge (at least legally on a bike), and ended up going on a 35 km detour to find a bridge we were allowed to cross on our bikes.  35km is a long way for a detour if you are on your bike!!

And then finally we tried to cross the Mercier Bridge onto the island of Montreal to find that it was under construction and not open until 7:45 pm!  ARGH  We will not publish how we crossed this great divide, however it was long and it was not to our liking!

We finally arrived at my cousin's house in down town Montreal at about 7:20 pm.  We had hoped for a 3:00 pm landing, and a wait for him to come home from work, in a quant coffee shop, but it was not to be.

SO we have now shown that we can really do 160 km in a day....as we have done it twice in the last 3 days.  Hmmm.

We did enjoy a great dinner and good company with cousin Ian, and a dry night at his house...

Did I mention the torrential down pour we rode through with storm sewers overflowing and cars making bow waves in west Montreal?  Ah but that is an other story.

We are now warm dry, and sleepy......it was a very good day.

Arrived in Cornwall!

So the first two days are behind us, we have 225 km under our belt, and we have stayed mostly dry!

I learned that we were on the radio in Kingston yesterday. Thanks for that whoever you are!

The trip has gone well... But not quite as planned. We set off Monday morning, with a great send off from some brave souls who got up early to see us off. My Mom came from Kingston to see us off, and many more than I expected were there cheering and waving. Thank you everyone.

We made good time, but as we traveled, we found that fully loaded, the rack on Chris's bike was slowly bending and allowing a part to touch the wheel. We decided that a permanent fix was a good idea, so made some distance, and then met Marilou who picked us up and brought us home for repairs. We fixed the frame, slept at home then she brought us back to where we left off. And we had a bonus last sleep in our own beds!

So we rode 160 km Monday from Bath to Iroquois. Tuesday, a bike repair, then 65 km from Iroquois to the far side of Cornwall. And then bunked down before the rain!

Favorite sights:
Munchkins from a summer program, dozens of them abou 4 years old, all dressed in yellow, enjoying Upper Canada Village.
The sun setting over the St Lawrence was beautiful as we pedaled.
Watching the lightning from a dry place.

The night before....

Well we are all packed and ready to go.


It's going to be a great adventure I hope although the weather for the start of the trip isn't looking too promising....lots of rain.

I got serious with the light weight packing and seem to have the total bike weight down to under 40 lbs.  not bad, in that it includes a tent, air mattress, tools to fix our bike, and all sorts of things.

It's off to bed for me!

Welcome and ...What this is About

Al Timpson

Steve and Christopher Timpson, son and grandson of Al Timpson are riding their bicycles from Bath, Ontario to Halifax, Nova Scotia in his memory, and to benefit, St John's Church in Bath, and ALS Ontario.  This is their blog.

To find out how you can help go here.

AL TIMPSON was a well know educator who died of ALS in 2000.  He was a well know teacher and principal in Frontenac County, who had a passion for excellence in elementary education, and was active in many programs to ensure that students from all situations could start their education well.

He would have strongly supported gifts to both of these organizations.

His church was very important to him. He spent many hours supporting church both locally and on a wider scale.  Al's struggle with ALS was a hard one, as it is for so many. He faced the terrible disease with courage and grace, commenting that the killer was relentless. He would, in his very calm way note that "you just got used to losing one thing, when ALS would take something else away from you".