That's it But That's Not All.

How to sum up almost three months of biking across the country? It is one big fantastic blur of friends and family, ups and downs, green green grass and rocky mountain hills. Rolling and climbing through the heavy heavy highs and the sink bottom lows. A heavy dose of life served on the silver platter of Canada.

We started this trip as six friends trying to achieve a goal. We ended it as six brothers having done it.

So how to sum it up? I shall try.

Laughing, butt pain, biking, biking, biking, shammy shorts, spandex, clipping in, clipping out, laughing, eating, setting up camp, charity, filming, jamming, fundraising, reflecting, sun-setting, sun-rising, digging through the trailer, frustrating, fixing the bike, brent fixing the bike, more biking, sleeping, living like gypsies, and just living.

We saw it all and we did it together.

Episode 4 is on it's way. It follows us as we travel through Ontario. It was a treacherous trip. Enjoy.

But now, the Tandem Team members are going their separate ways. Our dream team of the most epic individuals on the planet has been split up, as we scatter across the country to go back to some semblance of a normal life. Well...normal for us.

Episode 4 and 5 are still coming, then the documentary in the fall. So stay tuned!

www.thetandemtour.com

A big heartfelt thank you to everyone who made the halifax fundraiser such a big success.

Cathy Seamone, you are an inspirational lady, and you've raised one hell of a young man. Thank you. And Mark, thank you for the support, hard work, and kind words. Sorry about your son in the music video... ; )

Cathy Miller and your entire clan, Liz, Jane, Colla, Kevin, John, Michael, Adam, Annie, Pat, Mike and all your families. You guys gave us the best reception we could have imagined, supported us right from the beginning, and followed us along the way. Thank you.

And to all the countless people who had our backs, we can't thank you enough.

Halifax

We made it. That's it that's all. Halifax. End of the Line.

We had a very exciting day yesterday, with much news to report. On Monday we had a fundraiser in Pictou, Nova Scotia. This is where Redtail Nature Awareness Camp is located, the charity that Ben Miller is raising money for. Redtail Camp is a small summer camp, where kids get to go and learn about the environment around them, and how to interact with it. It teaches them about the beauty and complexity of the natural landscape. Tandem Rider Ben Miller attended the camp as a youngster.

The camp is threatened with being shut down, as all of the surrounding lands have been bought by an American logging company. They intend to clear cut the acreage, and pulp the trees. Redtail needs to raise $250, 000 By December of this year to buy off the parcel of land. Ben is trying to help them do it.

After our night at Redtail, we cycled into Dartmouth, Halifax. Along the way, we were met by reporter Colleen Jones from the CBC. Colleen did a story on us, and it made the national headlines. This made us very, very excited.

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/ID=1548890800

We spent last night in Dartmouth, and this morning we cycled over the Bridge into Halifax to do a spot on CTV Breakfast Television

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=136348603064917&ref=mf

We spent the rest of the day doing a "Media Blitz"

We were very fortunate to have many people in Halifax reach out to us, and coordinate several amazing ventures. Such as meeting the Mayor, Peter Kelly. He met us outside City Hall and congratulated us on completing. We asked him if he wanted to go for a ride on the bike, and he accepted. We took him for a small tour.

Later that afternoon, we took the bike down to blackrock beach, and dipped the front wheel in the Atlantic. We were greeted with an entourage of supporters to cheer us in. Once again, the outpouring of support from the public amazed us. We really appreciate everything people have done for us to get us this far.

Tonight we have a party fundraiser at the Waterfront Warehouse in Halifax. This is our last chance to raise some serious money for the charities, and we know it will be a huge success!!

But it's not over yet. Much more Tandem Love to come. Episode 4.

www.thetandemtour.com

The Chronicle Herald

Bicycle built for four
Charitable cyclists ride monster tandem bike coast to coast
By MONICA GRAHAM
Tue. Jul 20 - 4:52 AM

" border="0" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; "> Jeff Belanger, Ben Miller, Ian Bevis and Brent Seamone are pedalling a four-man bike across Canada to raise money for charities. They arrived in Pictou on Monday and will stop in Halifax on Wednesday. (MONICA GRAHAM)

PICTOU — After 59 days of pedalling through mountains and enduring traffic, wildlife and weather, a four-man cycling team raising funds for their favourite charities arrived in Pictou on Monday.

Jeff Belanger, Ben Miller, Ian Bevis and Brent Seamone, who make up the Tandem Tour, left Victoria, B.C., on May 5 to pedal a specially built four-man bike to Nova Scotia.

"The support has been amazing," Seamone said. "People are honking their horns and stopping on the side of the road to take pictures. We’re almost at our fundraising goal."

The group hoped to raise $20,000, which would be divided equally among the four charities that have personal meaning to each of them.

Seamone is riding for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, because his mother was diagnosed with the disease. Belanger’s trip supports the Canadian Diabetes Association, because his brother has diabetes. Bevis, who lost a close friend to cystic fibrosis, is riding for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Miller is raising funds for the Nova Scotia non-profit Friends of Redtail Society. He wants to help the organization buy land near a Pictou County nature camp in order to keep it from being clear-cut.

Miller attended a Redtail Nature Awareness camp for six years as a child. He credits it with providing him with valuable life skills.

The team is accompanied by friends Matt Murray and Ben Gulliver, who drive the support vehicle and are filming the tour.

A fundraiser was scheduled for Pictou on Monday evening, featuring the team’s band and road stories, like their crash somewhere on the Prairies.

They were following close beside their support vehicle to shield themselves from strong headwinds when the bike clipped the back of their trailer and toppled over in the middle of the highway.

"Luckily there was no traffic," Miller said.

Then, there was the time a wheel rim "pretzeled" as they pedalled through the Rockies, Seamone said.

"It was a good thing it was on the flat," he said, adding it was one of 12 rims that split or fell apart.

And their bicycle chain broke again and again. The team members couldn’t count the number of times they changed tires and fixed spokes.

The Seattle-built bicycle is made of the strongest possible components, Seamone said.

"But there are 800 pounds of meat on the bike," he said, referring to himself and his teammates.

"We came down some of those mountain passes at 75 or 80 kilometres an hour. There was a lot of stress on the bike. It needed maintenance every day."

The team tells stories about Ontario highways with no shoulder and large transport trucks breezing past just centimetres from their shoulders, the variety of wildlife or their surprise at the amount of roadkill — including a black bear at the Cobequid Pass toll booth.

"The only thing we haven’t seen is a cougar or a lynx," Miller said.

The team leaves Pictou today for the final leg of their journey to Halifax. Their last fundraiser will be held Wednesday evening in Halifax at the Waterfront Warehouse.

More information about the team and its mission are available on the websitewww.thetandemtour.com, along with video of the trip.

Moncton

Halifax is only 262 kms away. That's about 3 hours by car, 2 days on a single bike, and 3 days by quad-tandem bike. We will get there on wednesday.

Looking back at the map, we realize how far we've actually come. Just under 6000 kms. We rode almost every day for 2.5 months, and in three days, we will reach the coast.

The people we've met we will never forget, and the experiences we've shared will last a lifetime. Canada is truly an amazing an inspiring country, and we are lucky because we have seen it at 20 km/h.

We have a fundraiser at Pictou in Nova Scotia on monday, and another in Halifax on wednesday. These are our last 2 big pushes to raise some money for our charities, and meet our fundraising goal.

We have had an unbelievable amount of help in every facet of making this trip possible, and to everyone who has helped, donated, housed, fed, tolerated, watched and followed us along the way, we can't than you enough. We couldn't have done it without you.

See you on wednesday.

www.thetandemtour.com

New Brunswick

A few days ago we reached the border of friendly New Brunswick. River and hill country. Up and down. and up and down.

The highway rolls over gradual hills that climb in and out of river valleys for miles. The road ascends and descends, rarely reaching a level plain. As soon as we reach the bottom of the hill and cross over the river, we are sure to head back up the hill on the the other side. Repeat.

Once again we had a simple twist of fate after a thunderous night spent in the rain. We road out of perth-andover in the cloudy skies, and continued on our daily up and down climbs, slowly drying our bone-drenched bodies. The day carried on, and we finished our 100kms. Not a km more, and not one less.

Hoping for a drier and maybe some soothing libation, we called the folks at The Best Western in Woodstock New Brunswick. They were generous towards our cause, and took it upon themselves to house for the evening. We were grateful. They gave us coffee and tea, and a nice complimentary breakfast, and we spent the evening on the patio telling strangers how far we had come. It doesn't really sink in until you tell somebody that you just road there on a four man bike from Victoria.

We have one week left in the trip, but it feels like we still have miles to go. A couple hundred of them actually.

www.thetandemtour.com

Salty Air

Once again we were befallen with another glimpse of Canada's impressive beauty. As the St. Lawrence flows towards the Atlantic, it mixes with the sea, and becomes the largest estuary in the world.

The Gulf of St. Lawrence is the gateway to the Atlantic for North America's Great Lake's. Reaching it means that we sit on the doorstep to the Atlantic Ocean, and are fast approaching the east coast of Canada.

As we cycled past Quebec City, we watched as the river slowly mixes with sea water. The smell of the ocean rises up like a slow fog, begging you towards the coast. The massive tides are a reminder that the other coast of the country is only a few hundred kilometres away.

Last night we had the pleasure of meeting our new friend Lise. She was born and raised in Quebec, and has traveled extensively across the world. Lise has a little cottage on a beautiful beach near Riviere du loup, Quebec. She opened her home to us, let us camp on her beach front property, made us coffee, and gave us cookies. Lise told us about how Quebec used to be, how it is now, and how it should be.

Tonight the dry interior air is mixing with the salty air from the east. We can smell the ocean, and feel the cool breeze as we ride the bike further down the gulf, and it will only get stronger until we arrive in Halifax on July 21st.

www.thetandemtour.com

A few notes

There are a few things that we've learned while biking across the country. I shall list them for you here:

1. A highway road sign is not an accurate indication of distance, and should not be used as a reference for distance cycled

- for example: when one sign says "Quebec 16" and 3 km down the road another sign says "Quebec 21", you know something is amiss

2. When taking advice from people about biking across Canada, ensure that the individual has indeed biked across Canada...or is a cyclist. However, be weary of cyclists out for an afternoon ride who insist on "taking the scenic route". After 100km in the baking sun, we are not interested in the extra 30km scenic route...merci beaucoup

3. Despite the scenic beauty, northern Ontario's highways are treacherous, and one has to be either ignorant or completely insane to want to cycle them. We fall into both categories.

4. Not everyone in Canada speaks English, and we were forced to take French in high school for a reason...i should have paid more attention...mon dieu.

5. People across the country make the same joke when they see a 4 man bike, "The guy in the back isn't peddling!" We politely chuckle. We are also familiar with this phrase when it is said in French.

Today we are in Quebec City, and will continue on towards Halifax this afternoon. We will stop biking when it is time, and will camp where it is possible. The sun is violent, and the risk of heat exhaustion is high. This morning we woke up late, and missed our early morning window to ride, and as a result, we have to wait until the late afternoon/early evening. A break from the heat. Thank god.

www.thetandemtour.com

The Heat

We've been resting and relaxing in Montreal...except it was more of a stay up all night and go to Jazz fest in Montreal.

We stayed at Casa del Sammi, a beautiful loft apartment on St Laurent. To our benefit, the apartment also doubles as a giant sauna.

Today we hit the road once again, and spent the whole day in the baking sun. The temperature today was a high of 34 C, but with humidity it feels like 40. This is not fun biking weather.

But we've battled it all before, so what's a little heat. Right now i am battling an army of bugs, so i must make this brief, as they are eating me alive.

We have 2 weeks to go, and the team is feeling the race to the end. Having said that, we are soaking up every km of the last thousand that lay ahead of us. Tonight, we dream of pools as far as the eye can see.

www.thetandemtour.com

Toronto Twenties Tandem Party Fundraiser

To our family, friends, and followers. We've been on a much needed break from biking. We've spent the last week resting, sunning, touristing, fundraising, and not biking. It was a much needed break.

Because of that, we haven't really blogged, updated, uploaded, or facetweeted. And for that we're kind of, but not really sorry. We just biked most of the way across the country on one bike.

The Toronto Fundraiser went off like dynamite. Pulled together by Nat thank you thank you, Anita, Rene, Gabe, Colt, Dave, Matty, Jerr, Scotty, Carly, Cam and Mark, and the sponsors Cushman-Wakefield and Hub. These people put so much work into helping our cause and raising money for the charities, that we can't thank them enough.

Once again the Tandem Band played, with a few guest percussionists, the one and only Greg Bevis, and Rene "poppin off" Gulliver. The night grew loud and percussively vibratillating well into the evening, throwing the roof off downtown Toronto. The bucket was passed round and funds were raised for all four charities. It was an evening of unforgettable generosity and kindliness.

Today, we made it to our nation's capitol to join in the celebrations of Canada Day. The Queen was here, and we saw her on the big screen. We sent her a formal invitation for a Canada Day quad-tandem stroll, but she dutifully declined. The celebrations were joyous and jubilous, and only further proved that we live in the most incredible country in the world, with the most dynamic population in the world. Happy Canada Day.

R and R and R

Sometimes when riding a bike across the country, you need to take a break. Right now, we are taking a week off and resting in Toronto.

We have a fundraiser party coming up in Toronto, Tuesday June 29, at the Roosevelt Room. Tickets can be bought online at www.thetandemtour.com

In order to make it to Toronto on time, we did the math, and figured we had to ride 130kms a day, for 11 days. We set our goal, and stuck to it. For the past 11 days we rode at least 130kms a day. We are very tired.

But we had some help. Ben's older sister Nat, who is also the Tandem Team Manager, takes care of our press, sponsors, planning, and generally speaking keeps us in order. She is the seventh member of the team.

Nat met us one week ago with an RV. she brought along friends Colt and Carly, and for 5 days, the three of them cooked us meals, kept us hydrated, and set up camp. They took care of everything else, while all we had to do was bike. And so we biked. Every day. All day. Without their help, we wouldn't have been able to make our deadline.

Our goal was to make it within 120kms of Ottawa, stop biking, put the bike on the roof, then drive to Muskoka, spend a few days at Scotty "the champ" Ross' cabin, then drive to toronto, fundraise and relax, and the day after the party, drive back to where we stopped biking outside of Ottawa, and pick up where we left off.

Wednesday at 4pm was the deadline. This is when we would stop biking. At 2 pm we were within 30kms of our stopping point. We ate lunch, and excitement grew as we knew we were within one hour of not having to bike for 6 days. We finished out lunch, and excitement grew as we knew we were so close to the deadline. That last 30 was probably the toughest of the trip.

We peddled and peddled, knowing that 4pm would come. And come it did. We hit Cobden Ontario, 120 kms outside of Ottawa, on the dot, and stopped pushing.

After almost 2 weeks without a day off, and riding 30kms per day above our average, we made the deadline. We put the bike on the roof, and put our feet up.

Right now, we are in Toronto, with friends and family, not biking. On wednesday we will pick up exactly where we left off, but for now, we revel in not sitting on a bike seat.

www.thetandemtour.com

Out of the Woods

The light beams through the trees as the maples break the skyline. The forest rings alive with the chirping and chatting of ancient plants and animals. As we ride down the highway, we can hear the never ending forest as it comes alive with light and life.

Northern Ontario is a place of extreme beauty and intense mystery. The rolling rambling of the bike falls silent on the hills as the sunshine blasts down from the sky. The endless wilderness reigns supreme over people and their things.

The road through Lake Superior Provincial Park passes by some of the most impressive scenery in Canada. The highway follows the outline of the ancient rock escarpment as it collapses into the crystal blue lake.

We left Thunder Bay having been warned of the tough road ahead. Countless people told us that the 700 km road from Thunder Bay to Sault Sainte Marie would be the toughest of our trip. In many sections the highway has no shoulder. That, combined with Semi Trailers, trucks, weather, cars, moose, and bad drivers, we knew we had our work cut out for us.

We left Thunder Bay at around 3pm last Sunday in the pouring rain. We had to ride a certain amount of kilometres, so we put on our rain gear, clipped into the bike, and went. The thing about riding in the rain is that once you get soaking wet, you're not going to get any wetter, so what's the difference. As John says, "State of mind. Suck it up. Get on the bike"

We got on the bike.

On that sunday afternoon, we left all communication. No Internet. No phone. The middle of nowhere. Quiet.

The stunning scenery and beautiful landscape had us in its grips. We spent the week in our un-connected wilderness watching the road in front as it wound around Lake Superior. We climbed the hills in the scorching sun and watched the thick forest canopy from above.

From Montreal River and down the road evens out. There are no more big mountains to climb. The sun is shining, and the rain has stopped. Summertime living.

www.thetandemtour.com

Thunder Bay

The road to Thunder bay was a long long bendy twist of highway wrapping around boulders and navigating around lakes. The lack of shoulder to ride on presented a particularily hard challenge that allowed us to test our truck dodging skills on a bike. The road from here to Sault Sainte Marie isn't any better. In fact, it's worse.

The guys at Woodcock Cycles in Winnipeg got a few of our bike issues sorted out. We laced up a few spare rims, and were confident in the successful completion of the next leg of our journey. However, as we are never without bike problems, we knew that we weren't out of the woods yet...literally.

As we manned the 4 man down the highway on a narrow strip of shoulder, we were intermittently disrupted by the snapping of spokes. In one day, we managed to snap 3 spokes all on the same front-left side of the wheel. We only had 4 spares for that side. Fearing a rim crushing bike smashing fall to the ground, we decided to put on the spare rim for the front wheel.

The rain and the wet hasn't subsided, but we managed to make it this far. From here on out we're driving towards the coast. We're in the eastern watershed. Everything is flowing towards the east. We will be in Toronto soon.

www.thetandemtour.com

Beach Time

We've been spending the past few nights at Cam's cabin in Kenora, Ontario. Cam is Jeff's cousin. The cabin is very close to the boarder of Manitoba and Ontario. From the deck, we can see beautiful Ontario. The vast bumping landscape of rock, lake, and forest.

Yesterday, we drove back down the highway towards Manitoba, and rode the 100kms back to the cabin to finish off the distance that we missed, then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging around the lake. That's our new friend Mike in the bottom right hand corner of the picture, or as we like to call him, the dude.

Lake of the Woods has 10 000 islands, and many of these islands have cliffs. A few of The Tandem Team members get their thrills from things in addition to quad-tandem biking. Cliff jumping is one of these things. Unfortunately for Miller, the impact of his face with the water, did not agree. He'll be ok. He's a tough guy. No more gainers.

www.thetandemtour.com

Brandon to Winnipeg

We left Brandon, Manitoba the morning after our impromptu fundraiser. Ashley and Nathan and every one else who took us in and showed us a good time we thank you guys! Brandon is the place to be.

We headed east along the low-lying landscape towards Winnipeg. Lying at the bottom of the Red River Valley, Winnipeg and the surrounding area has a very low topography, with no significant hills in the vicinity of the city. Lucky us.

The ride into Winnipeg was straight, flat, and windless. In the morning we were met at our campsite by Jeff's cousin Cam Saltel. Cam has organized our entire stay in Winnipeg. He has put together a fundraiser, rallied new sponsors, comped several nights stay at The Inn at the Forks (swanky) and hooked us up with food and drink along the way. Cam is the man.

We rode into Winnipeg ready for a few days of rest and relaxation. When we got to the city, we went straight to a salon to get some haircuts, courtesy of Cam and The Salon. Looking rather bearded and grizzled, we all decided to trim up a bit. Moustaches were carved, and beards were trimmed. We all had beards of the finest order, but none were as fine as that of Jeff Belanger's. This man had a beard the size of Santa's, with none of the gray, and all of the jolly. Jeff now has a man's moustache, handlebarred and all. We look like Lynyrd Skynyrd circa 1972.

After the cuts it was off to the Forks public market and shopping area, at the confluence of The Red River and Assiniboine River. (Fun fact: The Red River is considered a canadian heritage river, and is home to the largest average size catfish in the world...we didn't see any).

On our "day off" in Winnipeg, we were set with the task or rallying some troops at the Forks to come to our fundraiser. The local Keg Restaurant had offered us a lunchtime meal, and we jumped at the chance. With some smooth moustache'd talk by tandem team rider Mat Murray, we were able to enjoy steak for lunch on a sunny patio.

That evening was our fundraiser. Once again, The Tandem Team played some songs and sang the night away. We played deep into the night, and auctioned off prizes and raffles to friends and family all night long. The fundraiser was a huge success. A lot of work went into making the night such a great party, and we thank everyone who helped. Dan, Cam, Paulette, Ron, Jill, Colby (you rock on the guitar little man), Adrienne (best coffee in Winnipeg), Gooding, Mary-Anne, Deanne - you guys all rock, and thank you for your tremendous support.

Today, we are hanging at Cam's cabin in Kenora Ontario. That's right, we made it to Ontario. Yesterday we rode as far as we could, then drove into the cabin. Tomorrow, we will drive back to where we left off, and cover the Kilometres that we missed. We have to ride it all. Today is our day of rest and relax. The landscape has changed from flat Canadian Prairie, to rocky Canadian Shield, one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world. We still have almost 2000 kilometres to Toronto, and the road is a rocky rocky maze of bouncy gravel and concrete that winds through the endless Canadian Wilderness, and it will most likely be the toughest stretch yet. Bring it on.

www.thetandemtour.com

Music and Bikes

When we began this trip, none of us were cyclists. We had never used clip in pedals until the day before we left, we didn't know what a chamoix was, and would never have been caught dead wearing spandex. We overcame these apprehensions very quickly.

Now, we consider ourselves to be cyclists by association. We have all learned basic bike maintenance, know enough lingo to fool the gearheads at bike shops, and wear spandex daily.

We chose to do this trip on a four man bike because it is unique. We wanted an attention grabber, and a four man bike definitely grabs attention. However, as we ride across the country on the number one highway, we have met many cyclists who are on the exact same mission.

There is a specific group of bikers who we have been chasing for a few days. Two girls, Lisa and Ayla, have been about a day ahead of us since Osoyoos, and yesterday we finally met up with them. We've been in contact with them via facebook, and we were originally drawn to them because their mission was to raise $500, 000 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

As we sat in the double decker pub last night, we finally met up with the girls. We sat in the bar, and traded stories of broken chains, busted rims, and creepy rest stops. Today, we all rode together a little further down the number 1 highway, as one big fundraising gypsy cycling caravan.

The ride today was, however...paced. Last night was jam night at the double decker. The house band got on stage first, and ripped it up. They spun musical greatness across the stage as the entire bar sang along. When they finished their set, they opened up the floor to the Tandems. We eagerly jumped up on stage, and led the entire bar in new renditions of our old favourites. Later on, the house band invited us back on stage, and we all sang our faces off into the wee hours of the morning.

It seems as though things always have a way of working themselves out. This evening we met yet another cyclist who is on the same mission. Tonight, we are all camped together in Portage La Prairie, and tomorrow we will all ride together to Winnipeg. We may not have been cyclists when we began this trip, but we feel that now we have been willfully adopted into the cycling community. And it's awesome.

www.thetandemtour.com

Hitting the Pavement

Riding a quad-tandem bike in the rain is not very much fun. Riding it in the wind is also not very much fun. However, falling on a quad-tandem bike is the worst.

A few days ago as we faced trying times, we were forced (read, made the decision) to ride the bike through these awful conditions. We decided our best course of action was to draft behind The Tandem Tour trailer. This nice little pocket of calm air allowed us to break through the wind, and increase our average speed. It worked for a little while, until our captain lost his concentration for a split second. In this split second, the bike got a little too close to the trailer, and as we leaned into the trailer to push out, we fell to the ground. 800 pounds of man and bike hitting the pavement in the pissing rain. Our combined weight made for an extra hard impact. Although I've never been dump tackled by a linebacker, I imagine it feels something like hitting the ground on a 4 man bike going 25 km/h.

We dusted ourselves off and carried on our tandem way. We braised the wind and rain, two more cracked rims (yes, the ones we had shipped in from Seattle) and the endless bouncing highway, until we made it to Regina. Bruised and battered, we rested.

Aside from a few tough times, a lot of fun is had on The Tandem Tour. Songs are sung, and silly dances are created daily. We make several roadside breaks along the way, to both rest and consume vast amounts of food, and during these rest breaks, we have fun. Jeff Belanger shows us the ins and outs of The Caribou 2-step, while Mat Murray shows us the delicate art of highway rock-throwing.

Tonight, we rest in Brandon, Manitoba. We were told about an open mic night at the double decker pub, and as we've turned into a bit of a travelling band, we jump at any opportunity to play music. The people at the pub love our cause, and are getting ready to throw us a fundraiser tonight. We will play some music and sing some songs.

Actually, riding a quad-tandem bike is kind of like us singing songs...we just make it up as we go along.

www.thetandemtour.com

Saskatchewan

Today we rode into 50km/h headwinds gusting to 70. The forecast called for rain and strong winds coming from the east. They said it was going to rain, and we knew that we had to ride. We have to keep riding east to get to the coast on time.

Our goal for the day was to ride for as long as we could, and take breaks whenever we needed them. The wind was blowing in our faces, and there were dark clouds on the endless prairie horizon. We began our day at a swift pace, and tucked into the stretching rolling saskatchewanian land.

We wanted to reach Regina by a certain day, but sometimes its better not to ride in bad weather. This is what we've learned today. As we finally approached a small prairie town of 293 called Chaplin, we stopped into a restaurant for some real homecooked food.

Our bike started a conversation, and as we sat down to look at the menu, a man introduced himself and asked where we were staying. He told us that he had a small one bedroom down the road, yellow house, number 7, and that we were more than welcome to stay there. We thanked Keith very much for his offer, but replied that we had to be on our way to make it to Regina on time. Keith smiled and left.

We paid our bill and set out on the road. This time Ian sitting out and Ben Gulliver sitting in as 3 man. The boys set out down the wet rainy and wind blowing highway, as the van blazed the way close in front. About 9 km down the road, it started to rain. Terrential downpour. This was in combination with the 70km/h gusts. We had a quick team meeting, and turned back.

We knocked on Keith's door. There he was sitting on his couch watching the news. Keith was happy to see us, and was excited about what we were doing. He offered us his roof over our heads in a night of bad bad weather. On a windy rainy cold and shivery night, we have a roof over our heads. Tonight we are in a warm house in the middle of the prairies, because a perfect stranger is now a friend.

www.thetandemtour.com

Swift Current

The amount of support that The Tandem Tour receives never fails to amaze us. Strangers on the street have offered us their homes, and friends we have never met want to make us dinner. Helen in Medecine Hat invited us in at a moments notice, cooked us steak at 10 o'clock at night, and gave each of us a bed to sleep in. Or Linda in Cranbrook, who cooked us the biggest dinner we'd had in weeks, and treated us like family as soon as we met her. These people are the ones who make up this trip. We are six bearded men who bike a lot, and bathe seldom, and more often than not we'll ask to use your shower, but these rest nights are the ones that give us the energy to continue on our journey, and the people who take us in are a part of the fabric of what this trip is about.

And then there's the bike shops. We've been through many bike shops in the last few weeks, and every peddle-head gear junkie bike brake specialist wants to get a look at our bike, and some even work on it for us, but no one was as stoked to work on this bike as shane was in Calgary.

Shane works at the largest bike shop in Calgary, and he is a very sought after bike mechanic. His work is respected, and he knows more about bikes than anyone else in Canada. This guy is a legend.

When we rolled into Calgary with our mountain chewed bike, we needed shane's assistance. We found the bike shop, and on the saturday of all days, tried to get someone to work on it. There was a three day wait at the shop to get shane specifically to work on a bike, but he was the guy to fix our quad-tandy. Shane took one look at the bike, and another long look at Big Bear, and he found the time to work on the bike.

With Brent's hunger for knowledge, and Shane's enthusiasm for awesomeness, the two worked on the bike for about ten hours on Saturday. The two of them took the bike apart completely, and rebuilt it from the ground up. In the process, Brent learned a whole lot about bikes, and Shane learned a whole lot about Brent. The two had a bro down for one day, and Shane is now the official number 1 quad-tandem mechanic, and bike mechanic, in the world.

Today we are in Swift Current. The prairies are beautiful. They are slowly pushing us east. The wind is picking up right now, and not in the good direction, but we bike on.

Episode 2 is coming soon. very soon. And it's good. Ben Gulliver has done it again.

sincerely in sasktown

www.thetandemtour.com

Alberta is Not Flat

Contrary to popular tandem belief, Alberta is not flat. It is rolly. Very rolly. These rolling hills blend into the landscape, causing the unsuspecting quad-tandem rider to think that he is travelling on a level plane, when he is in fact, going uphill. When battling a headwind, this uphill climb can be much tougher than expected.

This morning we woke to a headwind coming directly from the east, our direction of travel. The climb began at 11:00 am this morning, and finished about an hour ago. Our destination was Medecine Hat, a 120km ride away. With a fair tailwind, travelling at a swift 40km/h, we thought we had it in the bag. Instead, we battled the wind and the endless endless pulsing landscape for 120kms.

Riding into the wind is physically and mentally exausting. You push through the burning burning in your legs to get there faster, but "there" is still 100kms away, and you're not getting there any faster. Because of the wind speed, the faster you push into the wind, the harder it pushes back. What should be a fast cruise through the flats, turns into an uphill battle. Our average speed riding into the wind on a flat was 12kms an hour. Our average speed going up the largest pass we've crossed so far, was 10kms an hour.

Downhills usually provide a small break for the rider to lift his butt off the seat, and get a quick break. On the flat into the wind, there are no breaks. Without the constant motion peddling, the wind quickly slows the bike down. Sitting in a bike seat for 11 hours in one day is very very painful. Every time you lift your butt off the seat, the searing pain escapes for just a moment, until you sit back down, and the pain sinks back in. Your bruised sit bones beg for some relief, but the land is endless, and the wind is strong.

The mental battle is just as bad. The road stretches in front to no end, and the weather looms on every horizon. In combination, these make for a wall of defeat being built in the quad-tandem rider's helmeted head. The bike and the weather seem to push and push until you are up against that wall, not wanting to push back.

But today we pushed and pushed and pushed, until the pains in our butts ceased, and the horizon got a little closer. Tonight we sleep in Medecine Hat. Bruised but not battered, with warm beds and full tummys...and sore asses.

www.thetandemtour.com

Calgary Cows Flatlands, Tailwinds and waiting waiting waiting

Calgary is the flatland. The foothills to the Mountains. The plateau to Canada. At 3438 feet above sea level, we rest...and party.

Our reception in Calgary was one of the highest saddle. Global Calgary met us outside the city limits and interviewed us as we peddled up the hill towards cowtown. They filmed our faces and put them on tv, spreading The Tandem word.

The first night in Calgary, we reunited with family and friends. In Calgary, each of us has friends that we treat like family, and family that we treat like friends, and we've been enjoying the love in Calgary.

We had a successful fundraiser at Richmond Pub the other night, and o man did we rest and relax. We met up with new friends, and everyone at the bar celebrated the night. Some of the Tandem Souls jumped up on stage and played a few songs, much to the celebration of the crowd. Ben, Mat and Ian, joined by drummer Mark Seamone, grooved the night away, while The Firm Handshake closed the night out with some bluesy tunes.

Today...we get going...try to get going...we will get going...by this afternoon. We move. This afternoon we move...just have to get the bike tuned up first. Brent is madly working his Big Bear Magic on the bike, and we ship our this evening.

we will miss all our Cal fam, mark, Kass, Jo, Joanie, Uncle John and Aunty Janice, all warshawskis, my seester, Brad, Kris, Ashlene, Kaelin, Mike, Mark, Buddy, Luke, Jeff, Aunty Paula, All Fords

thanks for the love and support

we roll out on two tandem wheels tonight.

www.thetandemtour.com

Mountains and Plains

The Rocky Mountain divide is the point at which North America is divided in two. The Mountains here seem to explode out of the earth's crust, running like a spine dividing the continent into two halves. The faulted and folded rock crags through the landscape, creating a jagged and impressive landscape. We have crossed our last pass through the rockies, and we are now on flat land.

In Fernie, BC these mountains are at their most impressive. The peaks rising above the little mountain town are daunting and incredible. As the peaks around the town crumble and fall, Fernie stands strong as "the gateway to British Columbia".

As soon as we entered Fernie, some locals offered us a place to stay, and the chef at the pub opened up the kitchen, and cooked us a meal. We gratefully accepted. We ate very well, and we slept very well, nestled in the generosity of new friendship.

Next was the crowsnest pass. The last wall of rock between us and Calgary. Water that falls on the westside of the pass will end up in the pacific ocean. Water that falls on the eastside will end up in Hudson Bay. We snaked through the rock, rising higher, until we got one last view of the crumbling rockies from within them.

Today, we are going North toward Calgary. We will be there tomorrow. Tonight, we rest, sleep eat, have fun and be merry at Aunty Pauls in Okotoks.

with tandem love,

www.thetandemtour.com

a little snag...

Fully loaded, the quad-tandem bike weighs about 800 pounds. Going up steep hills, or mountains, it is very slow. Going down steep hills, or mountains, it is very fast.

As a quad-tandem bike gains speed going down a mountain, several factors are working against it...and it's riders.

The intermittent braking causes the disc on the disc brake to get very hot. The other night, as we ripped down Blueberry-Paulson pass, our disc got so hot, that it melted all the plastic components of the brake.

The pressure on the rims from the speed and the weight combined, is enough to cause the rims to buckle...sort of like a pancake. Since our bike is very unique, there is not a huge market for rims that can support 800 pounds of man and bike. As a result, we are stuck in Cranbrook with 2 cracked rims, and no replacements.

With a lot of help from the people of Cranbrook, we will be able to get back on the road tomorrow. Since we will be riding out of here on heavy duty rims built for a single person mountain bike, and not a four man road bike, we will have to be very, very careful.

Because of that, we can't go through Banff to meet our friends at lululemon. This is something we were very very excited for, and feel sorry that we can't ride up through Kootenay National Park, through hot springs and glaciers, and then down the rolling highway riding the quad-tandem into Calgary. Instead, we will attack it from the bottom up, taking the number 3 highway through the crowsnest pass, and then north towards Calgary. We are on a mission to be in Calgary for a fundraiser on the 20th, and we will get there.

Riding through the mountains on this bike has been an adventure. There was no way we could have predicted the kind of difficulty that we were to face. Actually, no one could have predicted the kind of difficulty we were to face. No one has ever done this before.

www.thetandemtour.com

Nelson and Beyond and Episode1

We've spent the last few days in Nelson. Nelson is a town in the Kootenays. In the 60s and 70s, there was an influx of draft dodgers and hippies alike into Nelson. Most of them are still there.

Jeff's uncle Gill lives in Nelson, where he runs the local Mexican Restaurant El Taco. El Taco is perched on the hillside overlooking downtown Nelson, and the patio sits on the streetside facing the sunshine. This is where we spent thursday afternoon.

The relaxtion was much needed. 2 nights previous we had descended Blueberry-Paulson Pass (Bonanza Pass), just before castlegar. The 4 hour ascent, and 40 minute descent had drained the team riders. We also cracked our rear rim.

The next day, we arrived in Nelson. As we dealt with the shipping of the rim from the US, we basked in Nelson's glowing afternoon. We ate burritos, enchiladas and taquitos, as Gill told us the history of Nelson.

After a night of well deserved tequila drinking, waterfall jamming, music blaring, silly dancing, and friendship making, we cycled our weary selves down the highway beside Kootenay Lake towards the Kootenay Lake Ferry.

The Kootenay Lake Ferry is the longest free ferry in North America, and maybe even the world. It comes every 2 hours, and takes car and passenger down one of the most beauiful lakes in the world. The sun was banking off the water as the ferry drifted us down the lake. More filming. more fun.

On the other side of the water, the road bumps and bounces along the lake for 70km towards Creston. This road is rated one of the top 10 rides in the world. For us it is number one.

We regained our momentum as the slow rollers of the hill glided us towards Creston, and deeper into the Kootenay mountains. The quad-tandem bike acts like a roller-coaster as the momentum of one hill carries you up the other. It was early evening, and we were cruising in on the most beautiful road in the world.

Today, we will try to ride the 140km to Cranbrook. Rolling hills in the sunshine on a quad-tandem.

ANNNNNNND Episode one of Tandem TV is up!!!!! we are very very excited about it. You can watch the movie online at www.thetandemtour.com

with tandem love.

www.thetandemtour.com

One more thing...

I left off yesterday talking about Greenwood BC. But there are a few more things to note about this place.

Greenwood was one of the 8 Japanese internment camps in BC during World War II. As the Japanese empire expanded across the Pacific, all Japanese-Canadians in BC were sent inland, and many of them ended up in Greenwood. The buildings along the main street in town, now shops catering to tourists, is where most of the Japanese families lived. 200 people lived on the second floor above the ice-cream shop with only a small wood burning stove. One of these 200 people was a man named Tiki. Yesterday was Tiki's birthday, and we met him.

Tiki turned 90 years old yesterday, yet his small stature still remains strong. He doesn't look a day past 60. Tiki spent 45 years driving trucks throughout BC. As we greeted him in the morning light, he recalled his days of living in Greenwood. The winters were cold, he remembers. He remembered how the street was lined with people every labour day for the annual parade. There is still a strong Japanese community in Greenwood to this day.

After our morning ride out of Greenwood, we descended into Christina Lake. We decided to get a quick swim in the lake before conquering Bonanza pass, a 1,535 m (5,036 ft) summit. The road climbs out of Christina Lake, and keeps going up...and up...and up. We peddled for 4 hours up hill. all up hill.

The strain in your legs at this point is brutal. It seems as though the lower half of your body goes numb, and your brain just keeps firing signals t peddle up and down, up and down. At about 8pm, we reached the summit. Then we had to g down the other side.

Up one side of the mountain, then down the other side.

The 26 km up takes a long time. The 26km down the other side, doesn't take so long. Except when you get a flat tire. And we did.

Once again, our entrusted captain, Brent Seamone, took the reigns, and changed the tire at the side of the highway, and then continued to pilot the bike into Castlegar. He has been at the helm of this bike for every Km so far.

The strain on the captain, mentally and physically, is exausting. Yesterday we rode over 140km. 60km of it was uphill.

Today, we rest. In Nelson.

www.thetandemtour.com

Sunny Days

i write this to you from the corner of the Dairy Queen in Grand Forks BC. We have just risen from the Osoyoos Valley, and the boys spent a grueling day yesterday climbing the Anarchist Pass out of Osoyoos. It lives up to it's name.

After the 2 hour morning climb yesterday, we breaked briefly for some rations. The sun was hot and the road long, so after a brief hiatus, the boys carried on down the road.

After several more passes, and one long ascent out of the desert, it seemed as though the landscape was once again making a dramatic turn. We have come from the arid desert of the lower Okanagan, and are now making our way towards the Kootney Mountains of Nelson, BC.

Yesterdays arduous climb was rewarded in the most unexpected of places. Greenwood, BC. This little town's claim of being "the smallest city in Canada" made us feel right at home. Once again, the hospitality of small town BC amazed us. This little town, population 630, greeted us warmly down their main street, where we were met by the editor of the town newspaper and the owner of the best Ice cream shop in Canada. No lie. They gave each us an ice cream come of our choice, atop a freshly made waffle cone. We inhaled them.

Now, we are on our lunch break in Grand Forks, and the Tandem Team is telling me to get back on the bike, so we can make the 98km to castlegar by tonight. One mountain pass ahead this afternoon. Many more to go after that. Peddle hard.

www.thetandemtour.com

Similkameen Valley

Today we travelled down the beautiful Similkameen Valley. From Princeton, the road follows the river all the way down the valley until the US Border. It is one big downhill.

Today is also the day that we hit our all time fastest speed. 75 km/hour.

Once again, today was perfect quad-tandeming weather. We had all three key ingredients: a quad-tandem bike, a sunny smile, and friendship.

We followed the number 3 highway as it slowly rolled in a downward pitch for 120kms into Osoyoos. The views of the valley are breathtaking. Small vineyards create a patchwork landscape of watered countryside, while disintegrating peaks crumble down valley walls. The river cuts through the middle, where abandoned trading posts remain from a bygone era.

Everyday we get a few honks from passersby. Usually it's a friendly honk, or a fistpump out a car window. Both are encouraging as we struggle up a hill. Sometimes people have heard of who we are and what we're doing, and want to stop and have a chat, or donate to the cause. Often, all we need to get us up that hill is a little bit of encouragement.

Today we were treated to some of the best kind of encouragement that we could have hoped for, and it came in a little town outside of Osoyoos called Kermeos. There, Colleen Christensen who works at the Keremeos tourism info booth, cheered us on as we rolled into town. She put a sign that read "Welcome Tandem Tour Group Ian, Ben, Brent and JefF" on a big billboard outside the tourism centre. There were also some people from the town there to cheer us on. As our tired bodies peddled into town, Colleen and the others treated us like family.

Colleen then treated the whole team to a delicious lunch of beer and roast beef sandwiches at The Crowbar Pub. Once again, we all inhaled our meals, while Colleen phoned ahead to Osoyoos to try to find us a place with a hot-tub for the night. She was so proud of us, and her hospitality and generosity made us feel at home.

The good weather has been following us across the country, and there are only more sunny days ahead. Tomorrow we climb the walls of Osoyoos, and continue making our way to Banff, and then Calgary. Oh ya, and tonight we are sleeping in beds. real beds. and we are happy.

www.thetandemtour.com

Into the Mountains...Hope-Princeton

Tandem day factoaloids:

Saturday May 8: Agassiz to Manning Park

Distance Cycled 85.32 km

Cycling Time: 4 hrs. 39 mins

Avg. 18.3

61.34

Sunday May 9: Manning Park to Princeton

Distance Cycled: 89.65 kms

Cycling Time: 4 hrs 45 mins

Avg. Speed: 31.78

Max Speed: 61.92 km/h

We have just emerged from the mountains. The tall leg smashing mountains.

We spent most of yesterday and today climbing the roads rising out of the Fraser Valley, and into the interior plateau. As the road gains in elevation, the weather gets colder. The road climbs the mountains out of hope, and keeps going until Manning Park. This is where we have been cycling.

After climbing and climbing, our legs would begin to burn. each of us consumed more calories in a day than we thought possible. As we rose each pass, the weather would begin to change. We battled through the lactic acid and muscle tear butt pain of all time, and then coast down the other side of the pass, gaining lost time like a freewheelin mountain smashing quad-tandem bike.

We geared each other up, and encouraged the tandem man behind him to keep pushing. The downhills are our reward.

We have cycled more in the past 2 days than i ever thought i would cycle in one trip. And we did it together on one bike.

tomorrow, down the valley ahead and into the desert of Osoyoos. feelin good.

www.thetandemtour.com

Langley to Agassiz

Tandem Day Factoids: May 7

Rode: 97.63 kms

Cycling Time: 3 hours 45 mins

Avg Speed: 25.98 km/h

Max Speed: 54.02 km/h

Today we are feeling good. Very good. As we rode through the beautiful Fraser Valley, an overwhelming sense of freedom came over the Tandem Team. We finally said goodbye to the City, Family, Friends, Girlfriends (we love you) and a usual pace of life. As the sun beat down warmly on our heads, our legs pushed us a little further across Canada.

2 days ago we left Mile 0. From there, our friends and family cheered us off as we peddled down the start line of the trans-Canada highway, but we weren't alone. Some friends rode with us to the ferry (thanks you guys, Pete, Hillis, and Dustin!), and from the other side, Martina (from the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation) and Bill Markvoort peddled alongside for the trip into Langley.

That night we had a killer fundraiser at the Fort Pub in Fort Langley. It was unreal. the support we have received from the Langley community has blown us away. The whole community came into the bar, and treated us like family. They are hugely supportive of our trip, and weren't afraid to show it. We had some burgers and beer, raised some money and auctioned off some snowboards. epic.

Now before we rode off on our trusty quad-tandy steed, there was one issue that we needed to address. The Trailer. Built buy Big Bear Brent Seamone himself, we had high hopes for the Tandem Trailer, but alas, she didn't make it past the quality control of the Langley Dads. Not due to shotty construction, Big Bear is a man of the highest calibre, but because of shotty wheel construction.

Once again the Langley dads stepped up to the plate, and batted it out of the park. They bought us a brand new cargo trailer. Now, the Tandem Tour support van can go over 80kms an hour, haul the musical instruments, and carry the camera equipment. These guys are incredible.

So we rode over the mighty Golden ears bridge, and into the beating sun. We were sad to leave Kathy Miller's cooking, morning smoothies, coffee, late night chili, and endless hospitality, but it was time to carry on. Today we rode almost 100kms, with Ben Gully at our side on his single bike, and rode into the mountains of beautiful British Columbia.

Now, as we stare into the soon to be rocky mountains, there is nothing buy joy. pure tandem joy.

www.thetandemtour.com

Global Morning News and A channel News!!

It's been a crazy few days, but we are now right into our journey. For the past 4 days, all 6 of us have been running on full steam trying to get all the things done that we needed to get done.

On Monday we night we took the late ferry back to Van, because on tuesday morning we were on the GLobal Morning News! ...not Breakfast television like we had thought, and told so many people...sorry to all the friends who spent about an hour watching Breakfast Television...Luke. SOrry Big Guy.

So we made it to Burnaby by 8am, and patiently waited in the parking lot. We were a tad nervous as this was pretty big news for us! We assembled the bike, and waited until someone gave us instruction. I was hoping Tony Parsons was gonna be there, but alas, no Tony.

At about 8:20, Lynn Collier came out, and gave us some instruction. She asked us a few questions, and then bam, the camera went on and we were on the air.

you can watch the interview here:

http://www.globaltvbc.com/video/index.html?releasePID=eJL9DBsXT0Ro0TeU_vo_2pmW9Qm_U07q

we're on at 15:20 into the video.

You may notice how Big Bear has been replaced by a homeless fellow. Well that's no ordinary squeegee man, that's our good friend Mat Murray! He has been traveling in the bowels of SOuth AMerica and the jungles of Ecudor for a few months, and only got home a few days ago to join the Tandem Tour. He was a little caught off guard when they stuck the camera in his face. As he so eloquently put it on BC Television, "I am the Spare Tire."

More to come soon. We'll post some pictures from Day 1 later today.

with freewheelin love

www.thetandemtour.com

Times Colonist Article, Friday April 30 2010

These riders are getting that syncing feeling as they prepare to head out on a four-person bicycle trip across the country. From left, Jeff Belanger, Ben Miller, Brenton Seamone and Ian Bevis plan to roll out Wednesday on a 6,100-kilometre journey they call The Tandem Tour, from Victoria to Halifax. Each ri

Photograph by: Darren Stone, Times Colonist, Times Colonist

Where one of these guys goes, the rest are sure to follow -- even if it's all the way across the country.

Four friends have decided to add a twist to cycling from coast to coast by taking on the challenge in perfect sync, on a bicycle built for all of them.

Ian Bevis, Jeff Belanger, Ben Miller and Brenton Seamone have been doing plenty of practice rides on their customized four-person tandem bike, and plan to start their 6,100-kilometre journey from Victoria to Halifax on Wednesday.

Their unusual conveyance was built for them by Rodriguez Bicycles of Seattle.

Each rider in The Tandem Tour, as the two-and-a-half-month camping journey is being called, is making the effort for his own special reason. Hence the motto for the trip -- four guys, four causes, one bike.

For Bevis, the ride is to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in memory of his close friend Eva Markvoort, who died in March after a lifelong battle with CF. The University of Victoria student was given her degree by school officials just before her death.

Bill Markvoort, Eva's father, will be meeting up with The Tandem Tour on the first day of the trip when they roll off the ferry at Tsawwassen.

He will then ride with the group to Fort Langley for an evening fundraiser.

Belanger is riding for the Canadian Diabetes Association because his brother is diabetic, Seamone is riding for the Multiple Sclerosis Society in recognition of his mother and Miller is riding for Friends of Red Tail, an environmental organization in Nova Scotia.

Seamone said when he and his friends began talking about the excursion several months ago, the plan was for a leisurely bike trip across the country.

"And then these guys stared getting wild ideas."

The members of The Tandem Tour, all either 23 or 24, came together when they attended UVic. Two are from Fort Langley, one is a Vancouverite and one is from Halifax.

"We're super excited," Bevis said. "It's an awesome bunch of guys. We're all really good friends, so we're going to have a lot of fun."

Proof of that is a new set of speakers strapped to one of the four sets of handlebars to provide mood music along the way.

The bike weighs about 29 kilograms on its own, but is a 385-kilogram behemoth with all four strapping lads in their seats.

It takes about two minutes to take apart and six or seven minutes to reassemble.

"Everything's beefed up. The front fork has extra tubing welded on," said Seamone.

Another friend, Ben Gulliver, will be shooting video segments and plans to put a documentary of the trip together. For details or to make donations, please see www.thetandemtour.com.

jwbell@tc.canwest.com

© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist

The Tandem Team has been spending a lot of time together lately to get ready for this trip. From our home base of Cadboro Bay, Victoria BC, we plot and plan the inner workings of our soon to be adventure. Well, actually, the adventure has just began.

We spend most of our days together, thinking about what needs to be done next, and how we can work together to get it done. Miller gets going on the "follow-up" calls, or as i like to call them "get ready to be shut down by another non-sponsor call." Big Bear Brent starts doing some man-stuff right off the bat. Like building a trailer. That's right, Brent is building the wooden trailer that will be pulled behind the trusty Tahoe. I either send some emails, call my mom, or play the guitar. Oh, and plan the route. We did that yesterday too. And by golly...Ontario is going to be a long way across. Ben Gully usually starts off his Tandem Day by ordering some camera equipment off the internet. Im not saying, but there may or may not be some aerial photography going down.

But alas, yesterday morning we awoke to the beautiful sun shining down on us in beautiful Victoria, and we knew what we had to do first. Go for a ride. A big ride. The biggest yet.

We dusted off our helmets, and saddled up the quad-tandem. After some light maintenance, We took off up the massive unbelievibly large hill that is Sinclair Road. With Big Bear at the Stern and Jeffy B sitting stroke seat, we had our work cut out for us. With one of the lightest at the front, and Big Man weighing about 50lbs. more than him at the back, the ol' quad Tandy was struggling and swinging around like a snake in heat. Remember, this bike is 12.5 feet long hub to hub.

As we turned down Mackenzie Ave. We had to make a change of seat positions. With Big Bear now closer to the Front, we made a short stop at the bike shop to get the computer working, then took off down the galloping goose trail towards the ferries.

Dodging cat calls from supporters and hecklers alike, we peddaled on. It was a beautiful spring day in BC, and we were cruising. Our average speed was an easy 30km/h

We reached a top speed of 50km/h...shit.

On our way home, we took the good ol' Pat Bay highway. It was a little nerve wracking peddling alongside semi's, but it is something we knew we had to get used to, so we put our heads down and peddled.

Just before we reached home, we were stopped on an uphill, and had to re-start. We all got on the power stroke, and 3...2...1...crunch. We bent the outer chain sprocket on the rear casette. to much power on. Once again, a crash analysis. What did we do wrong, and how will it never happen again. This is how we deal with problems. Learn our lesson, and move on. Luckily our friends at the Quadra Bike Shop fixed it for us. What a bunch of guys.

Tonight we are having a fundraiser BBQ, and all the boys are coming in from Victoria to show off the bike to our Vancouver friends. Today is a good day.

www.thetandemtour.com

here are some pics of the bike!

Yesterday the four of us hopped on the bike and took it for a spin. After some extremely jittery moments, we seemed to get the hang of it. With Big Bear Brent at the helm, I truly felt safe. With Miller at the helm, I felt a little more nervous. But we will all learn how to pilot this beast in time.

In order to pilot this thing correctly, we all have to work in complete unison. That means the Captain calls out commands, and each man down the line repeats it to the man at his back. We have to "power on" to get it going, and then pedal away while the captain controls the braking system, the gear shifting, and the navigation system.

We powered out of Cadboro bay, Victoria, and up the hill to Cedar Hill, towards UVic. We cooked it up the hill, and were going twice the speed of other cyclists. As the rain poured down, our emotions quickly turned from fear, to excitement. We will truly have to work as a team in order to make it across the country.