The TEAM

Starting out in Jasper, we will be a mighty team of three. My brother Mark of Boston, MA will be joining for a week until Banff. Going for the duration is my cousin Noreen of Bar Harbor, Maine.  

I mentioned the Great Divide Mountain Bike Ride to Noreen about 6-7 years ago. She emailed this past January saying the thought of the ride had recently become a subject of her dreams (I’m not the only one). I wrote back saying I had it half-planned for an August departure. She ruminated for one day and then I got her answer: “I’m in!” 

Molly (my life partner) and Noreen (my bike partner), Bar Harbor, June 2022.

Noreen is a much more experienced bike-tourer than I am with many local and international trips under her saddle. Great (dry) sense of humor, steady gaze at the world, and unperturbed by any number of competing contingencies: wonderful qualities for this adventure. She is also a terrific cook so it was unanimous that she be our nutritionist and I be the navigator. Heck, we may get lost but we are gonna eat like royalty. Finally, she's taking a leave of absence from Mount Desert Island High School where she works in the Special Ed department. Although I have yet to test it, Noreen's patience and encouragement skills are going to come in handy on some of those long climbs.

We have never bicycled together which can be a wild card: respecting and working with another biker’s pace and rhythms. We’ll work it out. 

 Mark in Stowe, MA, meeting me at the very end of my 1985 ride. 

Getting back to brother Mark. On a daily basis, Mark bikes more than he walks and he is fast. He is a good lead dog. Since he will be joining us on relatively skinny tires for the paved portion of the first leg of the Icefields Parkway, Mark is going to be blindingly fast compared to me and Noreen. Since most of the campgrounds along the parkway are first-come-first served, Mark will be our scout, securing a campsite and having lunch ready by the time we arrive. Well, at least get the campsite. It will be great to ride with Mark and I have a feeling he is going to have seriously mixed emotions about leaving the trail after a week.

Never to be underestimated: although Molly will remain in Boston, she is a solid source of support, initially encouraging me to do this ride (without hesitation), setting up this blog, mailing care packages to established P.O.s, being available to help map possible reroutes due to fires, etc. She did this expertly when our son Erickson hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in 2017. I know this trip would not be possible without her. Thanks Molly!

And last but not least: all of you are part of this team! Thanks to all who have donated to Apprentice Learning via the Rodman Ride for Kids, and thanks for following along!

Mark and Tim after a training ride on July 23, 2022. Thirty miles before 8 am!