pwrdfblog

I am back from vacation now- it's my first day back in the office, and I'm ignoring the hundreds of e-mails that have accumulated to write a blog post.  it has *nothing* to do with procrastinating, I promise!

Well, I might be procrastinating a LITTLE bit, but I also have been thinking about this topic for the last week and a half and figured I could update the blog with this entry.  THEN I'll get back to the e-mails.

I had the opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic a couple of weeks ago for my brother's wedding.  The last Chambers brother is finally safely married, and all is right in my mother's world :).  But that's not what I want to talk about here.

We landed in Punta Cana at around lunchtime, having gotten to the airport VERY early in Toronto.  We boarded a bus and were whisked away to the NH Real Arena resort, where we had all our needs met by smiling Dominicans who ensured our time there was the best it could be.  We swam in pools.  We walked on a gorgeous white sand beach, and swam in the oh-my-goodness-this-is-like-bath-water Caribbean Sea.  We took photos of palm trees (carefully groomed palm trees no less).  We watched an incredibly fit man lead aquafit and step classes each day.  The buffet served "authentic" Dominican food in addition to each day's theme (Italian, Asian, etc).

A week in paradise for many people.

I called it the "Disney Dominican Experience".  That is to say, the experience of a glorified, pacified Dominican Republic.  Everything manicured.  Everything positive.  Anything negative (poverty, disease, prostitution) held at bay with barbed wire on the fences around the resort.

Needless to say, my wife and I jumped at the opportunity provided to us by Punta Cana Mike, a Canadian ex-pat living in the DR who provides tours of the "real DR" for those- like me- who want to see more of Hispaniola than just the resort.  Our guide, Dave, was a British man who used to work for tour companies.  He had partnered with Mike to show us some of life outside the resort.  

He took us on a tour of a local school, a cigar rolling factory, a farmer's market.  He led us to a car wash (the local hangout) to play dominoes with the shoe-shine boys.  He took us to the local Iberia, a department store where you can avoid the mark-ups for products that you get on the resort.  He introduced us to Haitian artisans who make gorgeous woodwork carvings.  And he showed us a beach where the locals like to go- complete with ungroomed palm trees.

I was tremendously glad to have this opportunity to take my boys (aged 6 and 4) to see a bit of what life is like for the average Dominican.  While I know we didn't see a lot of Dominican life, I think we came away with a greater appreciation for the richness of the culture, the reality of life for its citizens, and the beauty of the environment.

I said to someone on Facebook that I couldn't work where I do and *not* take my children to see some of the reality behind the fences.  I know the dangers of poverty tourism, and don't want to glorify poverty.  But I *do* want my children to grow up with an appreciation for what life is like for other people, as well as an understanding of just how good they have it, getting to live where they do in the world.

So, while we didn't get the WHOLE experience of the DR, thanks to Dave (and Mike, for founding the company) we got to see a more holistic DR than we ever could have at the resort.  And I, for one, am incredibly grateful for the opportunity!

 No, this isn't a post about events at summer camp.  Nor will I warn you how many (or few) shopping days there are until Christmas.  But today I am thinking about Christmas.

Why?

Because today I have been working on the PWRDF Christmas Cards.  Every year, PWRDF offers packages of Christmas cards for a donation, and this year it falls to me in my role as communications coordinator to work on the cards.  

I will admit, I was a bit daunted at first.  I am by no means a man with impeccable taste, and it fell to me to choose an image to use on the cards.  I was kind of worried that I would end up choosing something that *I* liked, but that would not have very broad appeal.

Then a colleague told me that she had been working with an artist in Mozambique.  This artist, Silva Afonso, had sent some pictures of the Nativity that he had drawn.  I must admit, the idea of using an image from an artist who worked with our partners in Mozambique, and who had illustrated some of our resources, struck me as a good idea.  I also liked that the images- while clearly the nativity- had a very African flavour to them.  



To me, this spoke of PWRDF's global nature.  It also made me think about the importance that we place on partners.  Their local knowledge and experience is what guides our development work.  So having an artist who shared a local interpretation of the birth of Jesus seemed very appropriate.

The only problem with the image was that it was a line drawing in black and white, and I wasn't sure how many people would use it for their Christmas cards.  So I asked if the artist could colour it in for me.  Eventually I received (hand-delivered no less!) the original print for the colourized version of our card this year.  

So, without further ado, I present to you the PWRDF Christmas Card for 2010- almost 5 months early! Please contact me if you'd like to know how to order them!  :)

 I was listening to CBC Radio 1 radio this morning, and on Metro Morning they were talking with a city staffer and a strategist from the United Way about the Long-form of the Census that the government is looking to replace with a "voluntary" long-form survey.

As things stand now, 1 in 5 households receives a long census questionnaire which tracks all kinds of data, including ethnicity, religious affiliation, work, income, etc.  The government is proposing to do away with the 1 in 5 system and allow those who wish to fill in a long-form survey.  The furor over this has led to the resignation of the head of StatsCan.

Listening to the piece on CBC, which was talking about how useful the demographic information gathered by the census is, got me to thinking about the importance of numbers.  

And let me begin by saying I *HATE* numbers.  I hate being judged by how many people show up, and I hate people who look at numbers as the only important measurement.  I've fought against placing importance on numbers for years.  Quality is much more important than quantity in my book.

But listening to the numbers game today made me think about this again.  The United Way uses the census data to figure out which neighborhoods are in the most need of social services.  Where are income levels the lowest?  Where are new immigrants settling?  Where are there lots of kids living?  All that information- necessary for planning their program- came from the long-form census data.  

At our offices at PWRDF, we work with close to 100 partners around the world.  Each of them provides us with regular data about their work, their spending, etc.  That data allows us to track the effectiveness of what we do.  I'm reading that data now as I work on our annual report.  I use the numbers to support stories of change for our website.

So, I'm beginning to change my opinion on numbers.  I think they *are* important.  I'm just glad I'm not the one who has to crunch them all day!  :)

And- as for the census- I am in support of keeping the current system.  I think a comment from the United Way staffer was very telling.  She said that the people we most need to hear from- the poor, immigrants, those on the edges of society are the ones who are the least likely to voluntarily fill out a long-form survey.  I think she's right.  

So StatsCan- please keep producing numbers for us!  And to the United Way and all the others who use those numbers to make positive change in the world: keep it up!

I freely admit that I'm becoming a social media blog junkie.  I now have about a dozen of the things in my Google Reader RSS feed, and I flip through the headlines every hour or two, and read the occasional article that jumps out at me as being relevant to my work, or interesting in the overall world of social media that I'm learning more about.

This week, of course, the two big topics have been the Old Spice campaign (brilliantly done @isaiahmustafa btw) and the problems with the iPhone 4's antenna.  It is this latter topic that got me thinking.

Steve Jobs had a press conference today about it, and it's been trending on twitter and spawned article after article about these problems.  Not one of the articles or posts has talked about the conflict minerals that go into the iPhone.  (You can see the brilliant video that I blogged about a few entries ago here.)  

For those of you who don't know about conflict minerals, let me sum up: tin, tungsten, and tantalum (the three Ts) as well as gold are used in all our personal electronics, including our laptops and iPhones.  These all come from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (in addition to other places.)  The difficulty with the Congo's minerals is that they are controlled by warlords who use the profits from selling the minerals to fund their wars which have led to millions of deaths and rapes in the Congo.

Here's another great video primer on the topic:



As I learn more about this issue, I get more and more angry that none of these major tech blogs (Mashable, TechCrunch, Read Write Web, etc) is talking about the millions of people who are dying so we can have the latest iPhone; they're just focused on the antenna problems.

So, if you haven't already, I strongly encourage you to add your voice to those calling on major electronics producers to source their materials with conflict-free minerals.  And- if you happen to know someone at a major social media blog site- then please ask them to cover this aspect of the story as well!

 I am back from a glorious weekend on the Bruce Peninsula, and will admit to wishing I was still there rather than sitting in my cubicle today.

I went to the Bruce to visit my in-laws, and to participate in Art in the Garden, an art show held annually in Big Bay at Keppelcroft Gardens.  I've been selling photography at the show for years now.  And no, I'm not here to flog my photography...

What I want to talk about is what I *wore* to flog my photos at the show.  As I packed for the weekend, I thought about what I should wear to the show, and decided on my "Le Tour de PWRDF" T-shirt which has the logo nice and big on the front.
I chose to wear this because I thought it might afford me the opportunity to talk about Le Tour and the work of PWRDF should anyone ask me.

I'm pleased to say that not only did a couple of people ask me about it, I ended up giving out a PWRDF business card to one person, and hope to hear from him, or at least that he will visit our website and our various social media presences.

I'm glad I wore the shirt, and will do so again.  It doesn't cost anything to do this, but it does give me the chance to talk with people about justice, development, and the work that I am proud to be a part of.

OK, so there's a heat wave in Toronto right now, and the power was out yesterday, so not even any fans at my house.  That isn't why I'm talking about Ben and Jerry's today.

And yes, some of my fondest memories of summer camp in New Hampshire were of driving to the lake and stopping to get Ben and Jerry's ice cream cones for all the guys in the van.  That isn't why I'm talking about Ben and Jerry's either.

I'm actually talking about Ben and Jerry's because of an ad that appeared over an article on Mashable yesterday.  The ad was for Ben and Jerry's new Fair Trade Ice Coffee products.  Well, I totally support Fair Trade, so I tweeted about this.  I rarely start conversations through my tweets- I get the occasional person re-tweeting my messages (yes, we sound like a flock of birds) but I rarely get more than one or two responses.  This particular tweet led to conversation with about a half dozen people about Ben and Jerry's, and the fact that Ben and Jerry's has a store in Vaughan but not in Toronto.  I even ended up with a Vaughan-based magazine following me because I had talked about Vaughan in so many messages!

The whole thing really put the "social" in social media.  And it got a bunch of people talking about a company that has been supporting fair trade chocolate and coffee for years.  So I think it was a good thing all around.

Now I just need an excuse to go to Vaughan Mills to purchase some Fair Trade chocolate ice cream from Ben and Jerry's there...

 So I'm back behind the wheel (or keyboard) of the blog again.  Many thanks to Suzanne for her blogging after riding over 100 km daily and then doing a presentation (almost every day) about PWRDF.  Le Tour was a success, and we're really glad Suzanne made it through and home in one piece!

Now that I'm back, I have a confession to make.  I have iPhone envy.  I looked at the iPhone when it came out and secretly wanted one.  I couldn't justify it to myself at the time, but they were really cool.  I'm a geek at heart, and cool tech is one thing I like to drool over, even if I don't own it.  

Well, last Monday, my cell phone went AWOL.  We looked and looked for it, but it didn't turn up.  Phoning it and listening for it vibrating (I keep the ringer off) didn't help.  So I went to my local Rogers dealer to explore the options.  (And YAY Rogers for being SOO much better than Bell at making it easy for people to replace a phone!)

To make a long story short, I'm now the proud owner of an iPhone 3GS.  It lets me be on Twitter, 4Square, IM, Facebook, etc wherever I am (fun for work AND play).  Not only that, but the thing actually makes phone calls!  Who knew?

Of course, I end up glossing over the justice and environmental impacts of my love of technology most of the time.  But my wife found this video about conflict minerals which I had to share.  The geek in me (who loves Mac product) has always liked the "I'm a Mac" commercials.  So this video grabbed me from the top, and when I realized its topic, I paid even more attention.  I give it to you with no further delay:


While I can still justify buying my iPhone (having a cell phone is certainly useful, if not necessary), I *will* be thinking before I blithely pick up my *next* piece of technology.  And starting to ask questions of Apple (and other suppliers) about how they can produce the cool stuff I love in a more just and sustainable way!

Suzanne Rumsey lists 19 things she learned on Le Tour de PWRDF

I returned to the PWRDF office yesterday (Monday) to a warm welcome from my colleagues – a welcome banner, cake, flowers, the whole nine yards – and our twice-yearly cleaning day. Nothing like a little filing to get the post-Tour juices flowing! Many thanks to my colleagues for their wonderful, good-humoured kindness.

Today I spent a bit of time looking at the photos I took over the course of Le Tour de PWRDF. So many good memories of people encountered and places visited. And it reminded me of the many things I learned on this journey. Herewith a list of those learnings, some of them sublime others ridiculous, but all good to have learned.



1. There is no such thing as a “good hair day” on a bike tour, just “bad” ones. This was especially true because I sport bangs and had my helmet plastered on my head all day. Therefore, learning number…

2. It is never impolite to warmly greet one’s hosts and then immediately request a shower, as in, “Hello, it’s very nice to meet you. Could I have a shower? No really, you WANT me to have a shower!”

3. As noted in a previous blog, there is ALWAYS a hill at the end of the day! And in the case of the route from Charny to Thetford Mines, Québec, there are SIX hills! Thus, learning number…

4. Once I had committed to cycling up a hill there was generally no other choice but to get to the top, especially because I was cycling with clip-on shoes/pedals. Unless I could be really sure that there was no traffic coming over the crest of the hill, there was no turning across the road to get enough glide to unclip. So it was pedal or fall over! But this brings me to learning number…

5. Just when I thought my legs couldn’t dig any deeper, they did. I was prepared to walk at least part of the last hill into Thetford Mines. I had my shoe on but not clipped into, the pedal, but halfway up heard a “CLICK”, and so locked in I pedaled to the top. Physical limits are what we choose to make them. And now I have legs of steel.

6. Canada is an incredibly beautiful country. I grew up in southeastern British Columbia, so I have a particular bias for the Rocky Mountains. But the hills, valleys, coastlines, woods and lakes of the Maritimes and Québec were a treasure to discover. However…

7. Google Maps knows nothing about distances when it comes to navigating those hills, valleys, coastlines, woods and lakes on a bike. Plugging in Halifax to St. Anne de Bellevue gave me a distance of 1,318 km door to door. That’s on the Trans-Canada. I wasn’t on the Trans-Canada, except very briefly. And so I cycled 1,393 km and got a few lifts along the way for a total distance of over 1,600 km.

8. Canadians are friendly and helpful in BOTH official languages. Whenever I asked for directions I always got “helpful”(!) responses, and when I explained that I spoke only a little French, the person I was speaking with would usually just smile, nod and carry on in rapid-fire Québécois! One piece of advise I received repeatedly was that the prevailing winds blow from west to east, and therefore I was biking in the wrong direction, that is east to west and against the wind. This I knew before I set out and it was confirmed for me especially between Fredericton and Woodstock (gusts up to 50 km/hr) and between Rivière du Loup and St. Jean Port Joli along the St. Lawrence River (thanks to the young couple who I shared leading and drafting with that day). The next time I do this I hope General Synod is in Vancouver and my destination is Toronto.

9. Canadian Anglicans are equally friendly and hospitable. I had more good parish and home-cooked meals than I can count, not to mention good, hot showers (see no. 2 above) and comfy beds. Speaking of eating…

10. Long-distance cycling requires one to eat. And eat, and eat and eat, and oh yes, hydrate… Hearty breakfasts were followed by a mid-morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack and a good dinner. I carried a bottle of water and a bottle of Gatorade on Olive, and went through both each day, as well as other drinks along the way. My Lester (the lobster) sandwich still stands out as my all-time best lunch. Thanks Moncton!

11. Speaking of hydrating… I am a tea drinker. This meant that about 15 km down the road each morning I needed a toilet. Sometimes that came in the form of a Tim Horton’s or an Irving gas station (clean bathrooms, very nice), but often it meant the woods. And…

12. Good old Tim Horton’s. Who knew they make excellent hot chocolate?

13. How does the saying go? “An ounce of prevention is worth…”. Hmmm… something good I recall. Well a special word of thanks to the bike shops in Toronto, Halifax, Fredericton, Quebec City, Montreal and Edmonton (Mark Rumsey at Hardcore Bikes, my unofficial official sponsor), who equipped and boxed and shipped and unboxed and tuned and refitted with rear gears, and adjusted “les vitesses” (I learned that’s what gears are called in French), and boxed and shipped Olive again. Please support your local, independent bike stores. They are good people.

14. The relationship between time and distance is different when you are on a bike. It took me a day to cycle 100 km, the distance it would normally take an hour and a bit to drive in a car. And so time slowed down, the intensity of the urban life I lead in Toronto diminished, and a certain “spaciousness” (to quote Adele Finney, PWRDF's Interim Executive Director!) opened up before me each day. That was such a gift. That and…

15. Time to think, but interestingly, it wasn’t the “deep” thinking I thought I might do about moving forward into a new job at PWRDF, or other changes-in-life themes. It was more thinking about how my body was feeling (“Man my butt hurts.”), what I would have to eat on my next break (“Hmmm, energy bar or muffin?”), how amazing the eagle and eagle’s nest I just stopped and took a photo of looked, and who I might be meeting down the road. Interestingly, the journey enabled some living in the moment that urban life makes difficult. It also allowed me to…

16. See and hear more than one does travelling in a car. Who knew there were frogs living in the marshes along the road side who sang to me? Bird song was everywhere too: mourning doves, yellow finches, blue jays, cardinals, red-winged blackbirds (very territorial – defending their nests they chased after me), robins or as we call them in our house, robin birds, and many others that I could not name.

17. Physical tiredness is good. In my day-to-day world of work and family, there is often a fair degree of mental and emotional tiredness that I experience. What a gift it was to come to the end of the day and more than anything else be simply physically tired, and then to be renewed for the next day with a hot shower, a good meal and a comfortable bed. If only we could be renewed mentally and emotionally so easily.

18. The Primate, Archbishop Fred Hiltz often describes PWRDF as one of the “good news stories” of the Anglican Church of Canada. I learned that indeed it is. And it is good news because Anglicans in parishes large and small across this country support PWRDF and the work of our partners in many creative and meaningful ways. An organization doesn’t get to celebrate its 50th birthday without the steadfast commitment of many, many people, some of whom I had the privilege to meet along the way. And finally…

19. I will never be able to say thank you enough to all those who made this ride possible. You are too many to number and name, but I do hope over the next weeks to, as I promised I would when I stopped riding, to do the old-fashioned thing, put pen to paper and send some thank you notes.

A thousand thank yous. I have been so very blessed.

Guestblogger Suzanne Rumsey sent one final reflection from the tail end of Le Tour de PWRDF.  Congratulations to Suzanne for finishing the ride!

In his seminal work about the 20th century in Latin America, Century of the Wind, the Uruguayan writer, Eduardo Galeano describes the centrality of corn in the lives of the Mayan peoples. The "people of corn" he writes take a new-born baby out to the "milpa" (cornfield) to be blessed by the ancestors and the baby's umbilical cord is buried there. New life nourishing the corn. The corn nourishing new life.

After over 20 years of work in Latin America, and many visits to the milpas of those with whom our partners work, it seemed fitting that I would reach my goal of 1,300 m in the middle of a corn field. A short distance out of Farnham, Quebec, on the Route Verte to St. Jean sur Richeleiu, my odometer indicated that I had reached my goal. So I stopped, took a picture of the field full of new corn, of my odometer, and of myself. I gave myself a little pat on the back, phoned my partner, David, "because I needed to tell somebody!", drank some water and carried on.



At the end of the day, a warm welcome awaited me in the person of Rev. Eileen Steeles in Chambly, who helped me make the onward journey to St. Hubert where a friendly barbeque took place at the parish of St. Margaret of Antioch. Rev. Michael Robson acted as kind host for the evening event, and then I enjoyed hospitality in the home of Frankie and Phil Goernert in nearby Greenfield Park.

The Finish Line
The following morning, after a hearty breakfast with the Goernerts, Michael and a number of parishioners, Rob Shropshire arrived to accompany me on his bike across the St. Lawrence and on to the island of Montreal. Rob and I worked together in my first years at PWRDF when he was the Africa Program Coordinator. He now lives and works in Montreal at Equitas - International Centre for Human Rights Education. We had a wonderful time visiting and winding our way along the bike paths past the Jacques Villeneuve Formula One Raceway, the former Expo 67 site, across the bridge to Montreal and then along the south shore of the island to Lachine.



In Lachine we were met by Rev. Michael Johnson on his very cool vintage motorcycle, complete with Canadian flags and placards about Le Tour! He acted as our escort to Ste. Anne de Bellevue after we lunched together in Lachine. Rain threatened for much of the ride, but once again only really showered when we were under the awning of the restaurant!



Upon entering Lachine we stopped at the old City Hall where we were met by more cyclists, along with Sue and Eric Winn and their "Citizen Patrol" van. So the last few kilometers were a bit of a parade. Rounding the corner to St. George's, a red ribbon "finish line" awaited me, held by two girls from the parish, together with Rev. Neil Mancor and a large number of parishioners. What a welcome! I felt a little bit like Lance Armstrong crossing the finish line on the Champs Elysees at the end of the Tour de France!



And then of course there was another barbeque!

Tonight I am staying in the restful home of Sue and Eric. Tomorrow I will preach at St. George's and then begin the journey home, taking Olive to a bike store for boxing and shipping, spending a bit of time with my aunt, Lesley Lee, and then flying home to what I hope will be a post-G20 city.

In my last blog I wrote that I would write one post-ride blog. Well, since I still need to write a sermon, I think I will make this the first part of a two-part post-ride blog. But that can wait until I return home. For now, simply a word of deep, deep thanks to all those who made this ride possible, colleagues in Toronto, hosts along the way, my guys on the home front, the weather gods and goddesses, and many, many others who helped me on my way.

Peace to all of you,
Suzanne

Guest blogger Suzanne Rumsey sends her final entry for Le Tour de PWRDF from the road.

With just two days of riding left and the weekend coming, this is likely to be my final blog from the road. Today I travelled through some very beautiful, but hilly country from Magog to Lake Bromont. I was grateful therefore that it was only a 62 km ride and that I arrived at the home of Tom and Rita Claire Edmonds (Tom is a former colleague from the United Church) just as the skies opened to rain heavily for a couple of hours. It had been spitting on and off until then, so the timing was perfect!

Tomorrow I will ride from Lake Bromont to Chambly and then be accompanied to St. Hubert for an evening with folk there. Finally, on Saturday, it's on to Ste. Anne de Bellevue with former PWRDF colleague, Rob Shropshire joining me as my peloton. This is not the Tour de France and I'm not Lance Armstrong, but riding into Ste. Anne is going to feel a bit like riding along the Champs Elysee at the end of that Tour, I think!

With thanks to all those who have made this such a wonderful experience along the way, and with a final blog to follow post-ride, I will close for now with another short poem by Wendell Berry:

The incarnate Word is with us,
is still speaking, is present
always, yet leaves no sign
but everything that is.

IX, Sabbaths 1999

Guestblogger Suzanne Rumsey is most of the way to Ste. Anne de Bellevue, the finishing point of Le Tour de PWRDF.

About 18 km down along Lake Memphregog from Magog is the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Benoit-du-Lac. Nestled on a hillside overlooking the lake, it is a place of prayer, contemplation, as well as a working farm producing cheese, apple cider and other good things. This morning I had the chance to visit the abbey with Lynn and Judy Ross and sit in for a short while on their morning eucharist that included the beautiful Gregorian chanting of the Benedictine monks. When I get back on my bike tomorrow I will enjoy the cheese I bought following worship.



We were joined at a local restaurant by Judy Ball, a non-stipendary deacon working in the three-point rural parish of Mansonville. Speaking with her, Lynn, Judy and Curtis (yesterday), I was once again made aware of the extent to which the diocese is "in transition"; searching for ways to continue its ministry at a time of shrinking budgets and congregations. Retired priests, deacons like Judy and lay people are filling the gaps. Lynn's brother, Dean Ross, for example, is a retired priest but finds himself working full-time in the parish of St. George's, Lennoxville. It was there that I spoke to a group of about 35 parishioners who recieved me warmly, spoke with me about PWRDF and plied me with tea and goodies. I am being well-fed on this trip! With many thanks to long-time lay leader Kay Hartwell for hosting me and the tea.

Today was also a media day involving interviews with English CBC Radio in Quebec City, the Sherbrooke/Lennoxville newspapers and the Anglican Journal who phoned to check in.

Tomorrow promises to be rainy and hilly, but the ride will be a mere 65 km from Magog to Bromont. Piece of cake -- I hope!

 Suzanne Rumsey continues to guestblog as she rides Le Tour de PWRDF.

My cycling route from Charny to Thetford Mines yesterday can be divided into three parts:

1. Charny to Plessisville: west for 70 km of Route Verte/Trans-Canada Trail on an old, flat railway bed;
2. Plessisville to Inverness: southeast for 25 km along a gently rolling country road;
3. Inverness to Thetford Mines: south for 25 km traversing the Appalachian mountains.

Part three almost did me in.

I'm developing a theory about long-distance bike rides: There is always a hill at the end of the day when one is most tired. Yesterday there were six, massive, long hills. Those 25 km from Inverness to Thetford Mines took two hours to cover and required a bottle of water, half a bottle of Gatorade, a granola bar and two pieces of Coco Camino Fair Trade Chocolate courtesy of Cecily Hinton (thanks Cecily!) to make it -- that and a few stops halfway up hills and some stern talking to my legs, and the rest of me. I also used what some might call "visualization": visualizing a frozen cappucino with whipped cream at the Tim Horton's in Thetford Mines where I was to meet PWRDF board member, Lynn Ross and his friend Curtis. Boy was I ever glad to see them -- and have my frozen cappucino!

During part one along the flat, straight Route Verte, I found, as I have on previous days, helpful signs to keep me on the trail: the Route Verte sign of course, but also signs warning cyclists about curves in the trail. Clocking 20 km an hour those curves can be pretty tricky -- NOT! Then there was the sign just before the crest of a hill during part three which shows a car speeding up to the crest with a tractor going down over the crest. They need one like that for bicycles!
                              

Today I am in Magog, near Sherbrooke, staying with Lynn and Judy Ross, doing a couple of talks and taking a breather. After a warm sunny day yesterday, it is raining here today and so I am grateful for the timing of what is turning out to be a non-cycling day.

Guest blogger Suzanne Rumsey is nearing the end of Le Tour de PWRDF.  Her thoughts on Day 13

The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world, grows in me
And I wake in the night at the least sound
For fear of what my life and my children`s lives may be,
I go down where the wood drake nests
In its beauty on the water
And the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things,
Who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief,
I come into the presence of still waters
And I feel above me the day blind stars
Waiting with their light
For a time, I rest in the grace of the world
And am free.
Wendell Berry

This spring I had the privilege to participate in a three-choir performance of Hymnody of Earth, a beautiful choral work by American hammer dulcimer virtuoso, Malcolm Dalglish. Many of the lyrics of Hymnody come from the poetry of Wendell Berry, an American writer, poet, essayist and farmer -- music for the earth and words for the soul.

I packed two books in my trunk bag that sits on top of my rear bike rack. One is a novel that I yet have to open. The other is a collection of poetry by Wendell Berry entitled Given - Poems. Berry`s reverence for God`s creation both in nature and in human relationships shines through in his poems. It has been good reading to do after days of cycling through and meeting that creation, and before collapsing into physically exhausted sleep.

Today, a rest day in Charny, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence across from Quebec City, was spent with Cecily and Don Hinton. Cecily is a former PWRDF board member, as well as a former PWRDF diocesan coordinator in the Diocese of Quebec. After getting Olive tuned up in the morning, Cecily and I went to a park by the Chaudiere River and once again I experienced the beauty of creation in the powerful waterfall that carries the river`s water down into the St. Lawrence. I was also able to spend time this evening with my great aunt, Claire Ford, and her daughter, Nancy. At 84, Aunt Claire has just moved from her house of 48 years into an independent seniors apartment and is feeling the loss of `home`.

This journey is proving to be a blessing in so many ways as I look back over almost two weeks of travels and encounters. Now I look forward to the final stretch into the Montreal area and tomorrow, it`s on to Thetford Mines about 120 km down the road.

Sabbaths 1999 - IV
We travelers, walking to the sun, can`t see
Ahead, but looking back the very light
That blinded us shows us the way we came,
Along which blessings now appear, risen
As if from sightlessness to sight, and we,
By blessing brightly lit, keep going toward
That blessed light that yet to us is dark.
Wendell Berry

Here are some photos that didn't come through with the e-mails over the weekend:

Suzanne Rumsey (guest blogger) checks in about her weekend ride on Le Tour de PWRDF.

Since leaving Edmundston on Friday morning, I have crossed the border from New Brunswick into Québec, cycled over a mountain range and past Lac Témiscouata to Riviere du Loup, then turned left and travelled along the Fleuve St. Laurent (St. Lawrence River) to St. Jean Port Joli and arrived today in Charny, just across the St. Lawrence from Quebec City -- 339 km in total. Herewith, a few snapshots from the journey:

Land of the Silver Birch, Home of the Beaver
Do you remember that camp song, Land of the Silver Birch, Home of the Beaver...? There is a stretch of the Trans-Canada Trail, also known as the Petit Témis Inter-Provincial Park, that runs from Edmundston, all the way to Riviere du Loup. It is a dedicated walking and cycling trail built on an old train bed, and so although I was traversing a mountain range, the grades were always forgiving. In fact, a brief attempt at cycling on the highway proved much hillier, windier and truck-ridden. So I opted for the Trail and although it was a bit rough in spots (it is mostly a gravel surface), I found it to be a wonderful encounter with the natural world that stretches between the New Brunswick border and the St. Lawrence. I met rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, birds of all kinds, almost ran over a snake and yes, found a beaver lodge right beside the trail and a few resident silver birches. The stretch along Lac Témiscouata was particularly beautiful.



But is was a long day, and 145 km later I arrived at the old rectory in Cacouna, a community right on the St. Lawrence, just to the east of Riviere du Loup. There I was welcomed by Anne Chapman, and her friend Anne Arkell. After my now routine post-ride shower (I am much more pleasant to be with once I`ve showered), we enjoyed a lovely dinner on the rectory`s deck overlooking the river. Such a peaceful place to spend the night.

My Peloton
Heading west along the St. Lawrence the next morning, I fairly quickly encountered what felt like gale force headwinds blowing across the coastal flats. But just as I was cursing the wind, I came upon a young couple, Marie-Elise and Julian, who were heading in the same direction I was on their bikes and we formed a peloton (riding group) to do battle with the wind. Just to give you an idea of the strength of the wind, my average speed alone is about 18 or 19 km an hour. In the worst of it we were down to 9 km. But what a difference even a three-person peloton makes. As we each took turns breaking the wind (not `breaking wind`!) at the front, the other two riding behind could move forward much more easily, giving our knees and legs a chance to rest from pushing hard. Despite the wind it was a day spent enjoying the beauty of the St. Lawrence shoreline, the farmland and the small towns along it. The boulangerie in Kamouraska offered particularly yummy chocolate and almond croissants. And having cycling company for the first time was delightful.

With thanks to Marie-Elise and Julian, I arrived in St. Jean Port Joli where, for the first time I was on my own, staying at a lovely bed and breakfast known as Auberge La Belle Epoque, a beautifully restored building that was once the town grocer.

Speaking French
About 12 years ago I spent a semester at the Université Laval in Québec City studying French. I am discovering that a) my French is rusty, and b) while people are reasonably forgiving of my rusty French, they don`t slow theirs down! So I muddle along as best I can. The day with Marie Elise and Julian was a big help as we moved back and forth between the two languages.

La Route Verte
The Green Route, is a system of roads and trails (like the one I mentioned earlier that is part of the Trans-Canada Trail) used by cyclists in Québec. Today, in between dodging rain storms, I enjoyed some of the detours that the Route takes you along, into small towns, along country lanes, and around bigger town centres. My one complaint is that they don`t strategically place enough gas stations (of course not!) along the Route which have become my bathroom pit stop of choice; those or Tim Hortons (Timmy`s makes good hot chocolate, who knew?!), or failing all else, a strategically placed bush or tree along the way.

Approaching the south shore across from Québec City, the Route took me onto a dedicated -- and paved! -- bike path for about 20 km through the towns of Levi, St. Romuald and finally into Charny. There I made my way to the home of Cecily and Don Hinton. Some readers will remember Cecily from her days as PWRDF Diocesan Rep. for the Diocese of Québec, and others as a PWRDF board member. A shower(!) and hearty meal awaited. And tomorrow is a rest day which I am very much looking forward to.

A Thank You
Finally, I want to send out a special thank you to Anne Walling, Diocesan Rep. extraordinaire from the Diocese of New Brunswick. Anne gave me a lift down the road when the distance between Moncton and Rothesay proved too far. She attended the events held in Moncton, Rothesay, and Fredericton from her home in Bloomfield, and then packed herself, her husband and her PWRDF resources into her van and set off on a camping trip, attending the events in Perth-Andover and Edmundston. I took to calling her my `roadie`! Thank you so much Anne.

Guest blogger Suzanne Rumsey has reached the half-way point of Le Tour de PWRDF 

With 735 km on Olive's odometer I rolled into Edmundston, New Brunswick, the "halfway" point on Le Tour de PWRDF. Tomorrow I will cross the border into Quebec. My legs are tired, but each day brings new countryside to enjoy and more good folk to meet.

From Perth-Andover I continued my journey up the St. John river valley to Grand Falls and then headed northwest through Ste. Anne de Madawaska along the New Brunswick/Maine border to Edmundston. It rained in the night and the morning was cool and overcast but gradually the sky cleared and gave way to a very warm afternoon. I have been blessed with good weather to date, with only an hour or two of rain on the bike coming into Fredericton.

Here in Edmundston, the parish is a joint Anglican-United "model", the first and only of its kind in the Diocese of Fredericton. I gathered with a few members of the parish and their priest, Rev. Fran as she is known, who is an Episcopalian priest living right across the border in Madawaska, Maine but who ministers in Edmundston. They shared with me the story of the two parishes coming together, the decommissioning and sale of the United Church and the integration of the two congregations at St. John's/St. Paul's. They described it as a challenging journey, but one that has been important to take. And when I asked how they manage to support the initiatives of both denominations, for example, PWRDF and the UCC's Mission and Service, they matter-of-factly said they support both, and promptly handed me a cheque for PWRDF!

I am enjoying the kind hospitality of Dawn Miller and her cat Buttons this evening, and bracing myself for the "uphill" ride to Riviere du Loup tomorrow. 116 km give or take

 Suzanne Rumsey continues her guest blogging on Le Tour de PWRDF.


As I ride along on Olive, I think about how best to describe the day to those who are preservering in reading this blog. Today I found myself with about half a dozen things I wanted to write about, but a blog is not a novel, so here are three briefly.

Getting Directions
When I lived in Managua, Nicaragua for a year in 1989, getting from A to B was often a challenge unless you knew where you were going. There were no street signs or house numbers of addresses of any description that we here in Canada would recognize. For example, my "address" was: "from where the Andres Bello College used to be, 2 blocks south and 1 block down". When I asked my friend and neighbour, Nieves Saballos, what one was to do if one didn't know "where the Andres Bello College used to be", her response was, "Everybody knows where it used to be!"

Interestingly, I am finding a similar system at work here in the Maritimes. When I ask directions to say "Highway 130", the response I often get is, "Oh, I'm not sure about road numbers. Is that the old Trans-Canada you're talking about?" Yesterday, on my way from Fredericton to Woodstock, I stopped at a mechanic's shop near a fork in the road to ask directions. A young man told me to cross the river and go up the highway, then cross the river again into Woodstock. An old man standing beside him then said, "Why are you telling her that? Listen," he said, "Just go up this road about 4 kilometres where it will dead end. There'll be a barrier that you'll have to get off the bike and go around and then up the bank to the four lane [the "new" Trans-Canada"], cross the four lane and then you'll see the continuation of the road that dead ended." "Well," I thought, "anything is worth a try." So off I went to the dead end, up the bank to the Trans-Canada, and then discovered that getting across the "four lane" involved dodging 16-wheelers and climbing two more banks. I took the Trans-Canada another 4 kilometers down the road before getting onto another secondary road -- both name and number I now forget! -- and continued on to Woodstock.


Meeting Priests
I am meeting some wonderful parish priests on this journey. Lori Ramsey in Truro, Brieanna Andrews in Springhill, Wendy Amos-Binks in Moncton, Albert Snelgrove in Rothesay, and Walter Williams in Woodstock. This morning, 20 km up the road from Woodstock, Walter met me for coffee at the Tim Horton's in Hartland (home of the world's longest covered bridge!). As we were chatting I asked for his advise about a place to stop for lunch, and he suggested the Florenceville Motor Inn. When I got there, the owner called someone named Doug, who appeared 10 minutes later. It turned out that he was Douglas Painter, the parish priest in Florenceville who Walter had called to let him know I was coming through town. We had a great visit over lunch.


Perth-Andover
Finally a word of thanks to Sandra Moffatt, retired school teacher and cyclist, who is hosting me here in Perth-Andover. As I rode up into her neighbourhood, she met me on her bicycle! The first person to do so on this trip! She and I then went to Trinity Church for another delicious potluck dinner and conversation with PWRDF with about 25 to 30 folk. There I met Martha Johnson, the former PWRDF parish representative who last year had a fundraiser for the 50th anniversary that involved being sponsored to lose weight! She raised $1,000! Hooray for Martha, and hooray for Trinity Church!

Suzanne Rumsey continues to guest blog from New Brunswick as she continues to ride 1300km from Halifax to Montreal on Le Tour de PWRDF.

My father, Gavin, has an old LP recording of the 1960s British comedy team, Beyond the Fringe. For the last few years when I have gone to visit him and my mother in Victoria, B.C. on New Years Eve we listen to the comedy sketch called, "The End of the World". The scene is the top of a mountaine (yes, with an 'e') on top of which four men are sitting waiting for the end of the world. At one point in the ridiculous dialogue in which they speculate on what the end of the world will be like, one of them asks, "Will this wind be so mighty as to lay low the mountaines of the earth?" To which another replies, "Will this wind be so mighty as to lay low the mountaines of of the earth? No, you silly nit, that's why we're up here on this mountaine waiting for the end of the world!"

Had I been the one replying to that question today I might have said, "No, but it is almost mighty enough to lay low Olive and me."

I had wind, wind, and more wind today from Fredericton to Woodstock. Sometimes it blew right at me, other times right across me, forcing me to hang on for dear life to avoid being blown over. Sometimes it was blowing uphill so hard that I was having to pedal hard to go DOWN. And in fact, going up hills was sometimes FASTER than going down! A mighty wind.

But the day was sunny with not a cloud in the sky and the St. John river valley that I rode up (there were also hills), was beautiful. And arriving in Woodstock I was met by local priest and archdeacon, Walter Williams who kindly guided me to the beautiful bed and breakfast of a parishioner, Jean Collicott, and then took me for dinner. I was then welcomed by St. Luke's ACW and spent some time speaking with them about the work of PWRDF.

I was told in Fredericton that it's uphill from there to Riviere du Loup on Friday, so with thanks to the guys at Radical Edge Bikes, I got Olive in for a tune up yesterday and this morning went back to get a new rear set of gears put on that gives me a few easier gears for the hills. Bike stores are great.

 Suzanne Rumsey had a day off from Le Tour de PWRDF in Fredericton.  Here are her reflections.

"I believed in belief, for its own shining sake. To believe in the face of utter hopelessness, every article of evidence to the contrary, to ignore apparent catastrophe - what other choice was there? We are so much stronger than we imagine, and belief is one the most valiant and long-lived human characteristics. To believe, when all along we humans know that nothing can cure the briefness of this life, that there is no remedy for our basic mortality, that is a form of bravery. To continue believing in yourself... believing in whatever I choose to believe in, that is the most important thing."
Lance Armstrong (It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life)
I spent Day Six of the Tour de PWRDF resting in Fredericton with my aunt and uncle, Fran and Terry Christie, my cousin Robyn and her two-year-old daughter Cara. It was the first time I had met Robyn who late last year, at the age of 31, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma that appeared to be spreading rapidly through her body. Thankfully, she has responded well to chemotherapy, but her beautiful, thick, long, brown hair is gone, and her body, though cancer-free is still recovering from treatment. But she still has her wonderful smile and speaks hopefully about a life beyond cancer.



On the other side of the country, in Victoria, B.C., my father, Gavin Rumsey, continues a long, slow battle with prostate cancer that was diagnosed over three years ago when it had already spread to his bones. Through hormone therapy treatments, chronic headaches, and now participation in a clinical trial for a new drug, he has maintained a quiet optimism and a wonderful sense of humour. After a CAT scat of his brain a while back to try to determine the cause of his headaches, I asked him on the phone what the results of the scan were. "Well," he said, "There was nothing in there!"

Lance Armstrong describes himself first as a cancer survivor who battled testicular cancer that spread to his brain and lungs. Lance wrote: "Through my illness I learned rejection. I was written off. That was the moment I thought. Okay, game on. No prisoners. Everyone is going down." He beat cancer and went on to win seven Tours de France, one of the longest and most challenging professional cycling races in the world.

Well Robyn and Gavin, "game on". You are both such an inspiration.

P.S. Today, my unofficial official Tour de PWRDF sponsor, Mark Rumsey, wrote to me about hills:

"Hey Suzanne:
It sounds like you are finding some hills on your trip. Just remember;
what doesn't kill you makes you stronger...or at least more achey. You
can slug me next time you see me. When I'm suffering up a hill in a
race I like to think about the downhill on the other side and the rest
I'm going to get there 'cause there's always a down...that and looking
forward to food.
Love,
Mark"

Thanks Mark, and thanks to Beverly Morell and all those who gathered at the Cathedral in Fredericton this evening for a "picnic" dinner (it had been raining earlier) and conversation about PWRDF.

Suzanne Rumsey continues to guest blog from the road on Le Tour de PWRDF.

Some readers will know that my bike, Olive, was named for my grandmother, Olive Ford, who died three years ago at the venerable age of 92. Olive was a great matriarch, a grand old woman who famously stated that, "Getting old is not for wimps." She lived life well and fully until she died.

This morning, I was asked to preach at St. Paul's, Rothesay, just outside of St. John. The other guest of honour at the service was Margaret Bourne, who was celebrating her 99th birthday. Actually, the parish was celebrating it early because on June 22, her actual birthday, she is to attend her 81st high school reunion! She told me she graduated from high school in 1928, and that she believed she was the only one left in her graduating class. The Sunday bulletin mentioned that, "We enjoy her insights at Bible study class; her motions at ACW to give away more money ('isn't that what we have it for?'); her faithfulness in worship and her interest in everyone in the church and community." As she cut her birthday cake, Margaret declared that she hoped everyone would come to her 100th birthday next year!



My host in Rothesay was Christian Turnbull, mother of four and grandmother of more with a large house (originally owned by her father-in-law, Wallace Turnbull, inventor of the variable pitch airplaine propeller) and a large heart. Thank you to Christian.

Olive, my bike, is carrying me well. The terrain continues to be hilly but my legs are gradually getting stronger -- I think. Following the service today I cycled to Oromocto, just outside Fredericton. After almost five days of dry cycling I hit rain about 20 km from my destination. So a first test of my rain gear which generally worked well. However, I need windshield wipers for my sunglasses which I wear at all times to deal not only with sun, but also bugs, dust and those little bits of gravel that vehicles sometimes kick up. Pulling into Oromocto my odometer read 83 km for the day and a total of 460 km cycled from Halifax. That's a third of the way there! Time for a rest day which I will take tomorrow with Fran and Terry Christie, my aunt and uncle who live in Fredericton.


(Photo of a covered bridge near Sussex, NB)

Here is another guest post by Suzanne Rumsey, who is working her way from Halifax to Montreal on Le Tour de PWRDF.

When I was preparing for Le Tour, I received an email from Wendy Amos-Binks, a parish priest in Moncton asking, "Do you like lobster?" "Do I like lobster?" I replied. "I LOVE lobster." And so yesterday, at the end of a wonderful deanery gathering of about 30 folk from the Moncton and Sackville areas, complete with children AND their bicycles, I was presented with "Lester", my lobster. No kidding, he had his name written right on his right claw. Fortunately, he was already cooked and more fortunately still, Wendy offered to dis-assemble him for me to make sandwiches. And so today, halfway up yet another long hill between Moncton and Sussex on Hwy. 890, I stopped at the Cornhill Nursery and Cedar Cafe (highly recommended, especially if you're on a bike) for iced tea and Lester sandwich. Lobster never tasted so good.

             

The event in Moncton came at the end of a 95 km day on the bike from Springhill to the Trans-Canada at Amherst and along it to Sackville. Unfortunately, no secondary roads cross that part of the border between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, so for about 15 km I shared the road with 18 wheelers going 100 km/hour. On the Nova Scotia side this proved rather scary at first because the narrow paved shoulder had a rumble strip running right down the middle of it. Things improved across the border (thank you New Brunswick) with a much wider paved shoulder. But I was glad to leave the Trans-Canada behind at Sackville and head across country to Dorchester. Brieanna's husband Danny's directions that he gave me in Springhill the night before were very helpful in avoiding road construction. But Danny was right when he said, "I won't lie to you, King's Rd. is hilly." Holy cow. One steep hill after another and on one my legs tanked again, and I had to walk up.

I don't mean to make excuses, but I am realizing that one of the things my dear Olive, which is originally a racing bike, is missing is a third cog for those low gears that touring and mountain bikes have. My quads and gluts were pretty sore by the time I rolled through Dorchester and on to Moncton. I think a massage will be in order when I get to Fredericton.

But a shower at Wendy's followed by a potluck bar-be-que, games with the kids and Compline and a bike blessing all helped to end a another wonderful sunny day.