Gracie is home and on the mend

It's been a few weeks since I got Gracie back, and I've been putting off giving an update because I was hoping I'd have her on the road by now. Unfortunately the damage is more extensive than I thought and it's taking longer than anticipated to fix her up, so I'll just fill you guys in now.

On March 28th, I received a cryptic email from someone claiming to have my bike, and that I should give him a call. The number went straight to an anonymous voicemail, and the name/email didn't turn up any social media presence that I could use to verify who this person was. We arranged to meet up the following night to see if it's my bike. The only information I had was his name and address.

I was suspicious about why this person was contacting me. My assumption was that it was the person who stole the bike, and one of two situations had occurred: Either he spent the past four months riding her into the ground and figured since she would still have sentimental significance for me, he would try to sell her back to me - or - he needed to change a tire and knew I had the key to the skewer locks. Whatever led him to contact me, I didn't want to spook him by asking too many questions. I just wanted to be able to confirm in person that it was Gracie, and take things from there.

To be safe, I brought along a friend to hang back with my wallet, skewer lock key, and receipt for the bike, just in case I was walking into something sketchy. I arrived at the house after dark, as arranged, and I saw Gracie locked up out front. She was in rough condition, but definitely my girl. As soon as the guy answered the door, I immediately knew I had nothing to worry about and called out my friend to join us.

What the guy told me was that he found my bike dumped in an alley in Kensington Market. Based on his timeline, it must have been within days of her being stolen. After holding on to her for several months, he says it occurred to him that in spite of her condition, this was a pretty solid bike that someone might be looking for. After searching around on the net, he came across the newspaper article about her, leading him to me.

Based on her condition, my assumption was that whoever stole her tried to convert her to a single speed bike, but gave up halfway through the process and just dumped her.  I don't know what this guy was planning to do with the bike when he picked her up; she was clearly unrideable. I also don't know what prompted him to contact me four months after finding her, but none of that mattered to me as long as I could get her back. He didn't ask for any money, but I gave him a reward for his effort.

Now started the process of assessing Gracie's condition and figuring out how to bring her back to life.

• Handlebars were missing.
• Front brakes and brake lever were missing 
• The gear shifters were damaged, but still attached. 
• The large wheel on the crankset was missing a tooth (I have no idea how they managed to do that).
• Seat post is bent out of alignment.
• Front wheel was replaced (I assume they cut through it in the process of stealing the bike)

As of today, I've replaced the handlebars, seat post, both brake levers and front brake, all cables and cable casings. Gracie is 95% ready for the road. I'll be replacing the front wheel, but the current one is at least rideable. The only real problem is the gear shifters. While they're still attached to the derailleurs and seem to function, the thief destroyed the casings that attach to the shifters to the handlebars, so I'll need to reorder those as well.

Technically I can get her on the road right now. I can set the gears into a fixed position, I'm just unable to shift gears during a ride. Tuesday will mark the one year anniversary of leaving for my cross-Canada trip, and although she's not 100%, I should still be able to take her out for a ride to commemorate the occasion.  

Gracie's condition today

Sad Update

As a dismal punctuation to this trip, I regret to report that Gracie's been stolen. While tragic, it's motivated me to put together a book of this trip. In recognition of the experience she shared with me, and to ensure her story lives on, I feel a more thorough account is needed. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/11/02/bike_that_crossed_canada_stolen_outside_toronto_bar.html

Bike that crossed Canada stolen outside Toronto bar

Mark Smith's stalwart bike, Gracie, which took him from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Vancouver, B.C., earlier this year, was stolen Saturday night.

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Mark Smith rode across Canada on his beloved bike, "Gracie." Smith successfully completed his trip and returned to Toronto. And on Saturday night, Gracie was stolen.

By: Trish Crawford Music, Published on Sun Nov 02 2014

She’s a sturdy bike, built to carry heavy panniers and a passenger through the Rockies, across the plains and over the roughest terrain of the Canadian Shield.

“I didn’t want anything delicate,” Mark Smith says of Gracie, the bicycle he rode thousands of kilometres across Canada from April to July. “Anything that happened on the road, I needed to fix.”

But in spite of the fact that she wasn’t a glamorous model, Gracie caught the eye of Toronto thieves, who made off with her in the darkness on Saturday night.

Smith had been out having a drink with friends at the Black Irish pub on Queen St. E. and Sherbourne St. He came out just before midnight, expecting to cycle home to his Corktown condo, only to find that his trusty ride was gone. The $1,500 black Surly bicycle Smith bought from Bikes on Wheels earlier this year couldn’t withstand the metal-cutting tools of thieves.

Smith was shocked. “It’s not the first bike I’ve had stolen, but it was the one I was most attached to,” he says.

Gracie pictured in Blind River, Ont. during Smith's journey.

He immediately posted the news on his Facebook page with the words: “Gracie’s gone.” He ended the message with, “She was a great bike, and worth remembering.”

Smith grew attached to Gracie during his personal mission to cross the country by bicycle. “I was embarrassed about how little of my country I’d seen,” says Smith, 37. “I wanted to say I’d seen it coast to coast.”

And so he did. His mission to see more of Canada and spend time in quiet reflection resulted in an almost 8,000-kilometre trip, a loss of 19 pounds, the growth of a Duck Dynasty-worthy beard and a full bank of memories and photos he posted on his blogalong the way.

Gracie is in many of the shots, dipping into the Atlantic Ocean at St. John’s, Newfoundland and again at the Pacific Ocean in Stanley Park, British Columbia. There she is at the side of the road, leaning against a giant red chair, or stopping by a humorous road sign.

“She never complained, which is something I can’t say for myself,” says Smith, who called the bike his “friend” in his postings. The provincial government worker is in the midst of taking a year off to work on his art and a graphic novel, as well as make the trip of a lifetime.

The first leg of his trip involved riding east from Toronto to St. John’s. After a week’s rest, he flew to Vancouver and rode back to Toronto. Going east in April was too early, he says, “It snowed every day.”

However, easterners were by far the friendliest people, he says.

“It was absurd, everyone I passed asked me what I was doing and did I have a place to stay?”

Arriving in Vancouver, Smith dips Gracie in the Pacific at Stanley Park.

Although he hobbled around with sore ankles after a day of riding on the eastern leg of the trip, the aches and pains soon disappeared and he handled the 100-kilometre ride a day well physically.

What astonished him was the emptiness of his country.

“I underestimated how much ‘nothing’ there is in Canada. I was rarely interrupted by civilization. There were big long stretches of open wilderness.”

In New Brunswick he left the Trans-Canada Highway for what he thought would be a more scenic route only to travel more than 100 kilometres without passing even an intersection. The owners of a closed motel kindly gave him accommodation for the night — the next town was still 70 kilometres away.

Smith has reported the theft to police and is scouring Craigslist and Kijiji to see if Gracie pops up for sale. Because he has the key for Gracie’s anti-theft wheels, the thieves will be unable to unlock them, says Smith. The way he locked his bike to the rack involved both the frame and wheel meaning the thieves probably had to damage it during the theft.

“It seems like a waste,” says Smith, who is hoping to be reunited with Gracie, but admits it’s a long shot.

Day 77-78: Arrival Home

I was hoping to cover art least 150km from Lion's Head yesterday, leaving only 100-or-so kilometers to get home today. Unfortunately the rain put a damper on things and I was only able to make it about 75km to Chatsworth.

Fortunately today was a great day for a 175km ride to finish up the trip. After climbing up rolling hills for the first 100km, the route was mostly downhill once I crossed over the Niagara Escarpment. Cool, overcast conditions made way for sunshine and gentle tailwind as I entered the GTA.

Stats for the trip:
87 days (including flight layover, and days off for weather and rest)
67 riding days
Total distance cycled - 7988km
Daily riding average - 119.22km
Maximum daily distance: 213km
Maximum speed: 68km/hr

Arrival home today

Rainy start for my ride out of Lion's Head yesterday

Getting an early start on the ride to Toronto

Prophetic intersection in Markdale

About to enter Niagara Escarpment where I set a new speed record for the trip

Sexy buildings in Mississauga

Day 75-76: Blind River to Espanola to Lions Head

Heading out of Blind River yesterday, I knew there wasn't any chance of covering the 220km to South Baymouth in time for the ferry, so I settled for splitting it up over two days.

There isn't anything significant to note for the rides leading to South Baymouth. The road was in good condition, the hills were frequent but manageable, and the wind was present but sporadic.

After waiting three hours in South Baymouth for the ferry, and sitting for an hour and a half through the ferry ride, I was eager to get some miles under my belt when we landed rather than find a place in Tobermory for the night.

That decision almost burned me as I found myself 50km out of the city with the sun already set behind me and no sign of a motel. I was five minutes away from tenting in a farmer's field when I finally came across a motel in Lions Head.

*Note- I'm posting this a day late due to wifi issues. This morning looks like a full day of rain ahead of me. I'm currently in Wiarton, hoping to get in another 100km for the day.

Leaving Blind River

Serpent River

Leaving Tobermory on the Chi-Cheemaun

Glorious sea gull soaring majestically over ferry-goers, waiting for scraps and garbage

Starting to regret my decision not to stay in Tobermory for the night

In the nick of time

Day 74: Rocky road to Blind River

For today's 134km ride from Sault Ste Marie to Blind River I enjoyed great weather, but did hit 20km of atrocious road conditions that put a lot of stress on Gracie and had my joints barking. I've ridden over pre-repaved asphalt on this trip already, but never over such a long continuous distance. 

With cheese grater road surface and loose gravel shoulder,  I picked the lesser of two evils and rode in the traffic lane, darting over onto the shoulder when vehicles squeezed me over.

Whenever I have to ride in the traffic lane because of a loose shoulder, I constantly check my rear view mirror to see if cars are getting ready to move over to accommodate me. If I can't see them moving over well in advance,  I don't wait to make sure,  I just move onto the shoulder and try not to fishtail into the ditch until the vehicle passes. It makes for slow riding, and today was even more of a challenge with both the shoulder and the road surface being so poor for a long stretch.

However,  aside from the aforementioned 20km stretch,  I had a good rhythm for today's ride. I didn't have the cold breeze off Lake Superior, and the terrain started to flatten out and become less rocky. On the whole,  a good day on the road.

Bumpy ride

On the road from the Soo

Kickin' it, old school

Road into Blind River

Day 73: Sault Ste Marie

If you're cycling through Sault Ste Marie,  make sure you stop at Vélorution Bike & Ski shop. They use their back lot as a campground for touring cyclists which is free to use. They have 24hr washroom facilities and free wifi, and are also conveniently located right on the Trans-Canada. Great little oasis.

Weird story that happened but sounds totally made up:
I was looking for a bar to catch the end of the Jays game yesterday and walked into the only one I could find with the game on. The bartender said they don't allow backpacks in the bar (I resisted the urge to tell her it was a pannier). I said okay,  do you want me to put it behind the bar or something?  She said no,  you just can't have it in here. Although offended at this stupid policy, the Jays game was going into extra innings and I wanted to watch it. So I went outside and put the pannier back on my bike,  removed all the contents, went back inside, put all my crap on the bar and ordered a beer. The bartender then asked for my ID. This was getting irritating, but I gave her my drivers license which she studied intently, then went to confer with the other server,  came back and said it doesn't look like me. I showed her my health card for good measure and explained that the beard's new but I'm clearly the dude in both pictures. She reluctantly conceded and asked me what I was doing in the Soo,  as she gave me my beer. I told her I was biking across Canada. I mentioned something about having trouble finding places to grab a drink in some of the places I've passed through,  noting that the last bar I passed by was almost 350km back in White River.  She squinted her eyes at me,  and asked me what I ordered there. Odd question,  but I told her I was drinking Kokanee. She said,  I thought so,  I was your server. I work here on weekends and White River during the week.

Sunset over Lake Superior

Agawa Bay Campground

Best bike shop ever

Day 71-72: 281km from Marathon to Agawa Bay Campground

I was remarking recently that rain has been the norm for this trip,  forcing me to ride through it or wait it out on more days than not. Well, yesterday and today have made me eat my words. Easily the best two days of weather since getting to Ontario, with sunshine, cool breeze (tailwind! ), and gorgeous scenery spoiling me for the last 48 hours. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Tonight I'm camping at Agawa Bay Campground in Lake Superior Provincial Park,  tomorrow I should be hitting Sault Ste Marie.

Leaving Marathon

White River's claim to fame

I was greeted with incredibly thick fog this morning, but it dissipated quickly

Today's ride from White River to Agawa Bay

Riding down to Agawa Bay