Day 2: Carleton Place to Perth

Today was notable for being an easy day. A totally easy 40kms along country roads in the blazing hot sun fueled by pedal power alone. Can you tell that the person not riding the bike is writing this?

Andrew and Max set off from Carleton Place feeling strong, and blazed through our prospective lunch destination way ahead of schedule. This bold move threw the support team into chaos, but thanks to a cluster of handy mapping tools we have at our disposal, we were able to rejig our plans and catch up with the riders at a point further down the road.

We chose what looked like a shady and picturesque roadside spot for lunch, and cheerfully set up camp chairs in preparation for a relaxed bite to eat. Instead it turned out to be a mosquito-infested patch of land that forced us to wolf down our ham and cheese rolls at breakneck speed and get back on the road.

A short while later, heralded by the soothing tones of Max’s new kazoo, the Bakfiets rolled into the beautiful heritage town of Perth. No media frenzy today, but instead a magnificent park, a well-stocked ice cream shop and a gorgeous sunny afternoon to enjoy them both.

Tomorrow looks to be a harder day – for the riders at least – so stay tuned for what day three of Max’s Big Ride will bring.

Day 1: Ottawa to Carleton Place

The day began early as Team Max arose at the crack of dawn to pack bags, load cars and eat scrambled eggs. We arrived at our launching place on Parliament Hill with dark clouds overhead and a reasonably heavy sprinkling of rain coming down – unfortunately for us, the weather forecast was enjoying a rare moment of accuracy.

But what started as a small, damp group in front of the Centennial Flame, quickly grew to a large, excited bunch surrounded by what can only be described as a media frenzy. Andrew was pulled left and right for interviews by CBC, CTV, Metro and The Ottawa Sun, and even Grandma and Grandpa and I got our heads on TV!

By this time the sun had come out and it was almost time for the boys, along with Andrew, Kendra and young Russell from Urkai, to hit the road. We dragged Max away from his gang of playmates, and with a clunk of the bike stand and a slightly confused cry of ‘are we leaving now?’ from Andrew, away they went. 

The ride to Stittsville, the first stop of the day, went smoothly. From all reports it was great to be finally out on the trail after all the months of planning and preparation. After about two hours in the saddle, it was a happy group that pulled into Stittsville Station for lunch. They were greeted by the Ottawa Fire Department with loads of gifts, a very generous donation and an invitation to sit in the fire truck and wear the Fire Chief’s hat– a definite highlight of the day for Max. After a bite to eat and a quick play in the park for Max and Russell, the cargo bikes departed again, this time to their final stop of the day in Carleton Place. En route they saw two chipmunks, two turtles (one of which was laying eggs), and had to turn back three times for things that Max had somehow thrown out of the bike. Once again, the riders reported a great time on what they described as a fantastic trail in a beautiful part of Canada.

With day one successfully completed, we are all looking forward to what the next 10 days will bring.

Tomorrow is the big day

After months of planning and hard work, tomorrow is the day we finally depart on Max's Big Ride - our 600km journey from Ottawa to Hamilton on a cargo bike to raise money for research into DMD. I asked Andrew yesterday if he felt ready. His response, 'not really'. And I'm not surprised. In the lead up to the big day he's had a cold, followed by the flu, and then an emergency wisdom tooth extraction the night before we left for Ottawa, none of which he has fully recovered from. But he added, 'Will I finish? Yes.' And he will. I'm yet to meet a man more determined than Andrew when it comes to just about anything, and when it comes to the most important thing in both of our lives -- Max, and an opportunity to make a difference to the quality of his life -- his determination alone will see him complete the trek. 

That's not to say that we haven't put in a lot of preparation. Despite all of these relatively minor obstacles, we're all extremely eager to hit the road tomorrow and get this epic journey underway. Wish us luck! 

Kerri