He was planning on cycling 90 to 100 kilometres a day in his cross-Canada ride — and retired Hope Secondary school teacher is getting close to that rate, now that he’s out of the mountains and onto the prairies.
Truls Asdal started his trek on May 28 in Victoria and as of Monday or Tuesday, he planned to be wheeling through Winnipeg.
“Holy %$#@, This Country is Just too Wide,” is the title of Asdal’s blog on crazyguyonabike.com. Go to the site and search for Asdal in the search area at the top right. So far, he’s been making daily updates, including day 25, where he met a man dressed as a knight, riding a horse across Canada.
Asdal plans to tent mostly, so he’s hauling about 30 kilograms of gear. Meanwhile, his wife Sheila gets to stay home and sleep in a nice warm bed every night.
She’s not crazy.
“He phoned last night,” said Sheila on Monday. “He was in Pipestone, Manitoba, on Friday and he’s hoping to be in Winnipeg today or Tuesday.”
If he keeps pedaling, Asdal should be well past the longitudinal center of the country, come Canada Day.
“He’s pretty much on schedule,” Sheila added.
“He lost one day, due to a washout near Nelson. He’s taken the Crow’s Nest route. He had a lot of rain in B.C. but it was a little better in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
“He went to a bike shop in Medicine Hat because he likes to replace his chain every so often. They said the chain would be fine for a while yet — but he had to replace his rear tire. It was absolutely smooth.”
With a new tire installed, he ran over a staple a few days later and needed another repair.