We left Antigonish early the next day on our way towards the ferry.  We rode about 145 kms leaving us with 65 the next day.  We camped at a very nice spot with a pool, which gave us a good chance to rest the muscles.  The next morning we had a great breakfast at the Big Red Barn.  There was a beautiful view of Cape Breton Island and traditional music playing in the background.

The ride was amazing as we made our way to the ferry for 4 oclock departure.  When we got to the ferry line, we pulled out the outdoor shower and all showered in the middle of the ferry lineup.  Shorts on of course. 

Going to Newfoundland is important becaues we are raising money for an amazing cause, the Daffodil Place.  Typical Canadians are defined by courage, willpower and determination when faced with adversity such as cancer.  Many people in Newfoundland face much more adversity when it comes to getting their treatments.  The Daffodil Place provides a resource to cut costs and make treatment easier for those going through the gruelling battle and we are proud to help raise funds for this amazing cause. 

The ferry was about 6 hours but we had a little bit of entertainment with two “classic” movies; No Reservations and August Rush. 

As we neared close to the island I believe it set in for all of us how close we are to the “end” of the Tribute Tour.  But I think for all of us the Tribute Tour is apart of our lives and Typically Canadian will never end.  We will continue to work together with Firefighters, and amazing Typical Canadians to keep the Tribute and the fundraising going.  We have a goal of raising over $720 000 and will work until we reach that goal. 

When the Ferry arrived in Newfoundland, there was a lot of emotion for me.  I had finally brought my Granddad home.  I know the trip around the island is going to be very special as his memory is kept alive by the stories I hear from people who knew him and the story I tell of what he meant to me. 

We are on the island and riding with the memories of our loved ones and we will be riding with all of Newfoundland across the island, raising money for Daffodil Place

Who are you riding with?

A last minute route change leads the 29 footer back to New Glasgow and into Trenton Camping Grounds. The original plan was altered by route captain Andrew Mr. Mapquest Hopkins who quickly became MVP for Sunday July 13. As it turns out the fair was in town, right on the camp grounds. After some booming fireworks and a good rest, we were off today for Antigonish. The Sheet Harbour Shuffle surely turned some familiar heads as we rode past the Pictou rescue van that escorted us to Truro; we missed them so much we decided to hunt them down for one more wave. A 60km jaunt into Antigonish was just what the doctor ordered, John Pellerini of the RCMP greeted us on highway 104 and took us down to meet Bernie and Jim of the Antigonish Fire Department. Down at the hall we met Mayor Chisolm, who extended 20,000 thank yous from the surrounding area as well as a generous donation from the Town. Bill Landry was the mastermind behind the wonderful greeting and media event and we thank him for that. It was phenomenal to meet the gang at the fire hall and to join Mayor Chisolm, Donny and Ken for lunch down the street. The seafood chowder was top shelf and so was the company. Presently, we are camping in a complimentary spot at Whidden Park Ltd and highly recommend using these grounds if you are ever in the area.

Grayski, Turkey and myself ran down to join Beaus at the rink for the final day of the tournie.  As usual, there were a few teams that were there for keeps and were not shy to give the two fans in the stands a matinee showing of their toughness. For the most part, however, the games were fast and fun to watch.  The Halifax Forum was a great host for the tournament and we definitely appreciate the ice time. In the end it was the white team who ran up the score board in the third game of the finals, but within the final few minutes, the black team came within one goal. After pulling the goalie and gaining the zone the black team rushed the crease needing only three more seconds to tie the game and send it into overtime…Thanks to Beaus and all his buddies for making the tournament a success and for raising close to $2000.00 for the cause!

Today we were off to the long anticipated Halifax. Halifax was actually not apart of our original route, but the support pouring out of that city could not be ignored and it was a last minute adjustment. It was a relatively short ride from Truro, about 100 km, and the boys from Truro had our backs in their big red truck shouting words of encouragement as we road in the escort. The weather was mostly with us, not too hot, winds at our backs for the most part (slight cross wind to our right). The people in the east coast are ones to be rivaled with their generosity, we had a man stop along the way just to give us some cold waters and ask about us. We arrived in Bedford not too long after that and we were given our first surprise of the day when Gary and Anne Harris were there to meet us. Gary and Anne are huge supporters of ours and were one of the principle reasons Halifax was such a success. Gary is a recently retired firefighter with the Halifax Dept. who had been diagnosed with cancer, beat it, and is once again tirelessly fighting it again (his story is actually on our website). He and his wife Anne had contacted us and played an integral role in setting the framework for our event in Halifax. We continued on to be on time for our escort at 2pm. We were overwhelmed when saw 6 Halifax police and RCMP motorcycles, a group of cyclists, and 2 fire trucks for our escort into town.

When we arrived at city hall it was an emotional speech, in which we got Gary to come up and join us. It was our pleasure to make him an honourary rider and to award the Halifax Fire Dept. as Yellow Jersey Honourees. Gary is the definition of a typical Canadian, a true inspiration and a hero to all of us. This was a well deserved Yellow Jersey as the firefighters put on an amazing fundraiser boot drive raising over $4400. The firefighters also showered us with gifts; hats, t-shirts, and books on their history. They then treated us to a great dinner with Chief Bryson Wilson, Gary, Anne, City Councellour Sheila Fougere (the next mayor of Halifax) and her husband Joe. Another pleasant surprise on the day was a surprise visit from Kyle’s mom, it was her and Al’s wedding anniversary. We would also like to thank Sgt. Mike Spearns of the police dept. for their efforts as well.

The night was then capped off with a little hockey. A close friend of mine growing up and another one of the reasons Halifax was included on our route, Nathan Beasoleil, had organized a fundraising hockey tourney. We had Turkey manning the clocks while Nathan made some controversial calls as the referee. The first three games were tonight, while the rest of the tournament will take place all day tomorrow. There were a lot of quality teams with a lot of CIS players with a few professionals as well.

We had a great night last night in Charlottetown; Joe, Winston and Randy of the Fire Dept. treated us like family taking us all out on the boat where Steve and Hoppy had a controversial dive off. I still think Hoppy won. When the morning came we ate breakfast and decided to stop off at the massive Cancer tribute put on by the Canadian Cancer Society right outside the Confederation Arts Building. The setup was truly amazing and all of us were in awe reading some of the stories of those who have battled cancer. The photos were very artistic and shockingly real. After a couple photos of our own we saddled up and we were off to catch our ferry to Nova Scotia. However, we left Charlottetown with one more body in the RV, a childhood buddy of mine named Turkey decided he’d hitchhike with us to Halifax. He promised he’d make us sandwiches, but we’re still waiting. The ferry was in Wood Island giving us a 52 km ride with some fairly hilly but scenic terrain.

We were met on the other side by another fire dept. from Pictou who decided to contact us and get involved. They took us from the ferry to their station where they treated us like gold and on the drop of a hat decided to cook us up a huge steak dinner. It tasted amazing going down, but we were scheduled to be in Truro by the end of the night, and it was tough hopping back on the saddle again after a meal like that. It was a ride for the ages: stuffed with steak, wind in our face, rain, mount Thom, and 60 km to go. With an escort the whole way the Pictou boys made sure we got there and then passed us off to the Bible Hill Dept. and then the Truro truck took us the rest of the way in. The Truro Dept. was really hospitable providing us all with beds to sleep in, dinner, and most of all a relaxing night. The Truro volunteers also provided us with a donation. For Dinner they turned us to Peter, the pizza specialist, who surprised us with a donair each with our meal. It was our first ever donair, and from what we were told they are world famous in Truro. They did not disappoint.

This morning it was really tough to get up and at em after an enjoyable/early morning with Miramichi, Rexton, Richibucto, Dieppe and the Moncton Firefighters at night.   Once we finally got on the road we had about a 65 km ride to Confederation Bridge.  The Bridge is 13 kms long and connects New Brunswick to PEI crossing the ocean.  It was a bridge long enough to make 7 sandwhiches and have them devoured before we got to the other side.   

 Once on the other side the Borden-Carleton Firefighters met us to convoy us for the first leg of our trip to Charlottetown.  This was actually a suprise and this amazing Fire Department went out of their way to be apart of the Tribute Tour.  Thanks to the Borden-Carleton Firefighters.

The rest of the ride was really amazing, with the rolling hills and amazing scenery.  There was some major downhills and some major uphills and we had to pump it really hard to make it to Charlottetown for our event.  When we got to the city we were met by police officer Chris and Winston from the Charlottetown Fire Department.  They convoyed us into town where we were met by Chief Bill Hogan and Firefighter Joe.

We are lucky enough to be taken out for dinner by Winston and the gang and then heading to Joe’s boat right on the ocean.  It should be a nice way to unwind as we have been riding really hard the last while and it is starting to catch up with some of us.

The Typically Canadian Group is riding with the Firefighters of PEI…

 Who are you riding with?

With the heat getting worse we decided to get an early start to the day, trying to stay out of the hottest parts of the day. We were up at 5:45 to the smell of bacon, sausages and eggs made by a few of the firefighters in Miramichi. It was a nice start to the morning and the perfect meal to begin the days ride. With an escort out of town, we were off for Moncton as well as a new stop along the way. Thanks to the guys at the hall for a great time, we’ll have to try to make it back for the pond hockey tourney in Feb.

The morning made for a nice ride and we were greeted by the Rexton and Richibucto fire departmants along the highway. Through another department they had heard of our venture and wanted to show their support. We made a quick stop off the highway into the small town and were welcomed by some other firefighters on the department. Although the stay was short we appreciated the opportunity to meet everyone and for all their support. The stop was about halfway to Moncton and the heat was beginning to show.

With the sun almost at its highest, we were about 30km from our final destination at the Moncton firehall. Chris, Shane, Steve and Roger were all out ready to take us into their home cities on their bikes. With two fire trucks accompanying us we made our way into town. With a nice warm welcome we were happy to be out of the sun and done riding for the day. With the Two Jennifer’s and Trish, we were surprised with a donation from the Advance Savings Credit Union, OMISTA Credit Union and PSE Credit Union of Moncton. It was the “biggest” check of the tour so far and we really appreciate their contribution. We were able to quickly cool down with a dip in the ocean at Parlee Beach and then came back to the Hall at Station 3 for a big spaghetti dinner. It was a great meal and the perfect end to a hot and exhausting day. With a little more room at Station 5 we headed down there to spend the night. With the heat continuing on throughout the week we decided we would try and make it another early day on the road the next morning.

After a great nights rest in the middle of nowhere we were off to our next scheduled stop in Miramichi.  It was another scorcher outside reaching over 30 degrees celcius.  There were a few tough climbs in the beginning, but the wind was at our backs and we were making some great time.  The 108 itself was a choppy road, but had very little traffic, at Renous we cut up north on the 8 and were averaging 50km/h.  we arrived at Miramichi city limits at around 2pm where we met up with Firefighters; John and Randy, as well as, Lisa and Scott from the local police.  We were escorted to the central fire hall, where we would settle down for the night.  Today was a special day as we declared Miramichi Fire Chief John an honourary rider along with us on the Tour.  John had been very supportive of our cause from the get go and had just recently battled cancer himself.  We also presented the Miramichi Firefirghters Association with our Yellow Jersey Certificate for their generous donation and their past efforts in the local Relay for Life.  After the formal stuff the fire department treated us to a huge dinner with some mean steaks cooked up by Roy.  Roy then proceeded to teach us a lesson in pool, along with his partner bucket.  (they hussled us for the RV, but then donated it back to the cause).  We are currently relaxing and planning our trip back to Miramichi to take home the Pond Hockey Championship next year.

We woke up in Edmundston to a group of firefighters and a few of their family members ready to take us for a nice big breakfast.  We had a great meal and shared some laughs before heading back to the fire department to get ready to hit the road.  The boys at the hall had arranged for an escort out of town lead by Officer Jennifer of the Edmundston Police.  We thank everyone for all their support and appreciate the help from our new friends in Edmundston.  We were back on the road and headed for our next stop in Plaster Rock.

The cold and wet days seem distant as we were now riding in some of the hottest temperatures of the tour.  The heat was up to 30′C and with the humidity felt even hotter.  We made it to Plaster Rock drained from the heat but with little going on, decided to go furthur to make the next days ride shorter. 

It seems since the route was made a lot of people had questioned the route we had from Plaster Rock to Miramichi.  We were told there was literally nothing between these two points.  The road was said to be old and hilly.  However, we stayed on track and tried to make it as close to our next destination as we could.  We had finally gotten to about half way along the road when we called it quits.  The heat and the hills had taken everything out of us.  However there was another problem, there seemed to be nothing around us for miles were we stopped.  With the RV pulled over we began discussing what we should do when another smaller camper pulled up.

 With a big smile and a wave the Deputy Mayer of Plaster Rock, Suzanne Mullin, got out of her camper and came over.  She and her husband Wally, came over with a donation and to know more about what we were doing.  After explaining our situation she came up with a new plan.  They knew the owner of an outfitters camp just down the hill from where we stopped.  We hopped in the RV and followed them to meet Arnie, the owner of the camp.  Arnie was more then happy to have us stay at the Halfway Inn Outfitters and waved us any extra fees for staying there.  With a 12 bed lodge and satellite TV we were able to catch a bit of the Tour de France before shutting it down for the night.  With such a big space to sleep it was nice to have all the room.  The Halfway Inn was the only place on this highway that even resembled human existance other than the road itself.  It was the perfect place to stop and relax for the night.  Its humbling when strangers go out of their way for you to help you out. 

The ride for the border started with a 5 am wake up as we had 7.5 hours to ride 200 kms and you never know what you may face in regards to wind and other variables.  Well we were lucky enough in regards to the wind as it was primarily at our backs.  Other variables though such as Gray breaking a chain and getting a little lost almost tampered our arrival and race for the border.  We were lucky enough to have Big Ally Braatz come to our rescue a couple times and we rode smoothly towards the border. 

As we rode along the Trans Canada Andrew Hopkins decided to make a strong push for the border 50 kms out!  Steve followed and I couldn’t make my mind up in time if I was going to go.  As Gray and I watched the two battling it out for position, I caught on to what they were doing.  As before we talked about the draft and how well it works….Well sense Gray is on Hoppy’s team he would not take the lead ever to help catch up and just rode my back tire for the entire ride.  By the time I clued in there was no catching Hopkins and he rode very strong all the way to the border.  Team Gray/ Hopkins won what may be the last leg of border races as we will be taking bridges or ferries over the next borders. 

It was a long tough ride but everyone pushed it hard and luckily we did as we forgot about the time change and were lucky enough to get to our meeting spot on time.  The Edmundston Firefighters and St. Basile Chief, Gerald Martin, arrived just after us with an antique truck, a safety van, a police escort from Daniel, a Fire Truck  and 8 riders to join the convoy into town.   It seemed like there was only going to be 7 riders until Jean-Luc “The Big Arrival” flew in and Big Al gave him the new nickname.   

When we arrived we did a photo opp for the local paper and then were taken to the municipal conference room where Deputy Mayor Ben welcomed us and gave us some history of the region.  They even had a special page for us in their sign in book which we all signed and left a msg.   This is also where we met Maurice who is better known as Tomate!  He was a great guy with a loud laugh but his only fault was that he was a Bruins fan and not a Habs fan. 

When that was done we headed back down to the hall where a pizza dinner was ready for us. We ate with all the guys and then it was off to Mario Parisien’s house for a swim and some Ploys.  We were also joined by the Big Arrival, Don Lebel, Rino Michaud and all of their beautiful wives.  It was a great night and everyone within the Edmundston Fire Department took amazing care of us.  We are currently enjoying a “rest” day which means we are trying to get caught up with all the e-mails, laundry, bike maintenance.  It never ends but the work we put in is nothing compared to battling cancer or the work that is done every day by amazing volunteers and dedicated individuals such as the Edmundston Fire Department.

 The Typically Canadian Group is riding with the community of Edmundston and the Edmundston Fire Department.

Who are you riding with?