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#CNTower lit up blue and orange tonight for #WorldCancerDay - taking time to reflect and remember those who are no longer with us. via Instagram http://ift.tt/1QgqBzY

#IFTTT #Instagram

Phil put together an awesome video of our trip!

A one second video every day...Here is what it looks like to bike across a continent in less than three minutes!

22,840 dollars raised for the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada 4,962 kilometers 80 days of cycling 8 different countries 8 shredded break pads 3 broken spokes 1 flat tire 1 continent Countless memories Thank you all for your generous donations and support throughout this adventure! You can see our progress from 36.1430°N to 60.3894°N (roughly an eighth of the circumference of the earth) at http://trackmytour.com/Gg1qX It is pretty surreal being in Bergen. We started planning this tour over a year ago, and it is still sometimes hard to believe that we started, let alone finished the journey. We hope that John is smiling down upon us. It was a real pleasure to experience the freedom of biking - having all of your possessions on a bike and depending on only yourself (and partner/navigator) to get wherever you need to go. Not a day went by when I didn't think "couldn't have seen that if we weren't biking!" I started out this trip not particularly enjoying the activity of cycling, but can honestly say that after four months on a bike every day...it's grown on me. Phil and I are both happy to be saying goodbye to Ruby and Toupé, not wearing matching outfits everyday (though I'm worried I might lose him in a crowd) and continuing on our trip of a lifetime around the world. If you have enjoyed our photos and stories, please follow along on the next part of our journey at www.traphiladjentures.tumblr.com (That's TraPhil AdJentures...I know - I couldn't believe that handle wasn't taken yet either!) Cheers, Jen and Phil

BERGEN! #BrainCycleTour 22,840 dollars raised for the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada 4,962 kilometers 80 days of cycling 8 different countries 8 shredded break pads 3 broken spokes 1 flat tire 1 continent Countless memories (at Port Of Bergen, Norway)

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There you have it! Our completed route from the #BrainCycleTour. Check out http://trackmytour.com/Gg1qX for descriptions and photos from all of these places. 🇪🇸🇫🇷🇧🇪🇳🇱🇩🇪🇩🇰🇳🇴🚵🚴

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Here’s Martin in Germany, Denmark and Norway!

What an adventure!

Here's Martin in France, Belgium and the Netherlands!

Our good friend Martin got a free ride across Europe on the BrainCycle Tour! (Good thing he's cute) Here's Martin in Gibraltar and Spain!

August 30: Cycling Day 80 - Fitjar to Bergen WE DID IT! Today was our last day on the bikes, and a pretty fitting final day. (Because giving ourselves an easy day to end on would have been boring, right?) We set out a bit earlier than usual to blue skies. We arrived to the final ferry just as it left, so had a nice wait for about 45 mins between a Mercedes and a Tesla (what else?) with a toddler in the back. (Can't say I had really thought of a Tesla as a family car, but hey, Norway!). The ferry ride was absolutely gorgeous, and we really enjoyed the spectacular views from the top of the ship. The cutest part of the day also occurred on the ferry...A family with two small kids were playing on the deck - Mom on one side, Dad on the other, kids each with one of them. The kids would run as fast as they could towards each other and laugh hysterically as they just grazed past each other. This went on for about 10 straight minutes. Once we got off the ferry, we were to follow along the E39 for a while, the major motorway. Since bikes are not allowed on that road (and for good reason), a bike path went in the same direction as the road, but while the road was relatively flat, the bike path was insanely hilly! After a while, we had to turn off and follow the smaller roads, which was OK since they were at least gradually hilly...until we hit a mountain. Holy cow. It was the biggest ascent I had done since the Pyrenees and for Phil since Belgium (I had a broken bike that day). The darn thing just kept going and going, and was so steep! But with it being the last day, I figured "don't need to walk for a while anyway" and didn't get off to push at all. Wahoo! After a much needed break at the top, the last 18km started out with a fantastic downhill, with views to the valley, Bergen and surrounding mountains. A small glitch as Phil was going down the mountain...his brakes started to make snapping sounds. Because it wouldn't be a day of cycling without something going wrong with the bikes. With the "just gotta make it 15 more km mentality" Phil was able to wiggle things around until the terrifying snapping stopped. The remaining ride into Bergen was actually very pleasant, all in bike lanes and relatively flat! In fact, the bike lanes were so convenient, we missed the sign that said "Welcome to Bergen!" (Or whatever the sign says...). The bike lanes brought us right to the city center, where there is a beautiful pond with a big fountain, just as it started to rain. I was having a moment when we stopped there (in my mind, akin to Natalie Portman in V for Vendetta, though I'm sure not quite so dramatic to passers by), but was interrupted by Phil, "stop crying, Jenny, we're not there yet!". So I pulled myself together and we continued on through town (ah, the joys of riding a bike on cobblestones in the rain...will not miss that!), out to a park at the point of Bergen. Final count: 4,962km! (Shy of the predicted 5,000km, but we do hope you can forgive us). For more photos and our route, check out: http://trackmytour.com/Gg1qX

August 29: Cycling Day 79 - Leirvik to Fitjar There are two roads going the length of the island, one on the east and one on the west. As a result of the impending doom (ok, bad weather) we have been basing or approach to Bergen on proximity to a roof. The west road headed right towards where we needed to go (and looked a bit less busy on street view) so we took that way. After a long and challenging day yesterday, we planned an easier one today. The weather started out as being overcast with the occasional spitting rain and progressed to raining with occasional pouring! (Someone asked us recently what our favourite piece of gear is...without a doubt, rain gear!) There were lots of hills today, but really neat lakes and ponds at lots of different levels in the mountains. Very beautiful. There was a gorgeous waterfall right as we were crossing into the Fitjar Kommune. We were about to head on our way after a quick snack break when the heavens opened and rain (seemingly the size of golf balls) came down. I sought refuge under an abandoned mill next to the waterfall, but Phil, completely waterproof, took to dancing in the rain. (You may have noticed Phil's neon yellow booties in some photos...joke's on me for making fun of those booties - I had very wet feet!) We continued on in the rain and there was so much water on the road, I was worried about hydro planing (but it was still a pretty awesome feeling to go quickly through the rain and not get (too) wet...well, except for when an SUV passed next to me and splashed the contents of a massive puddle sideways (most of which landed in my ear) haha!). We successfully found a building to sleep in, and it has an awesome hot shower! Norwegians are serious about water pressure, too! If all goes according to plan, we will be in Bergen tomorrow! For more photos and our route, check out: http://trackmytour.com/Gg1qX

August 28: Cycling Day 78 - Langevåg to Leirvik Today was a day of Spanish proportions...particularly in the "ascent" category. (In fact, I would have considered it a hard day in Spain and that's with a bum knee and cold weather!) It was very hilly indeed, and the roads were, at times, some of the narrowest we have seen. At some points, I was feeling a bit squeezed with just me on the bike, next to jagged rock that had been blasted to make the road (and over hung it in some places) and sometimes with large drops down to water on the other side. The excitement (feeling of claustrophobic angst) was augmented when coach busses were coming right at me. Thankfully, the drivers here are all very skilled. The scenery here is almost overwhelming. So much water and many different shades of green (not to mention how "green" the vehicles are...the Nissan Leaf seems to be one of the most popular cars here, perhaps followed by the Tesla...must have seen at least ten of those today.). It seems around every bend, there is a tiny fishing village, a lake or a mountain (or all three). It was an OK day weather wise, except for two major downpours. One occurred right before we headed into a section of three beautiful big bridges, island hopping our way east. Luckily, the rain stopped just as we were going over them and the views were just spectacular. It is definitely not the high season here anymore (in fact, most campgrounds seem to be closing at the end of August so it is a good thing we are ahead of schedule!). Every place we have stayed has been pretty chill - no check out time "just leave the key in the door" (pretty sure keys are just for the tourists in these parts). We have been getting discounts all over the place too, which is very nice given the high cost of living in Norway. We are now less than 100km from Bergen! I can still remember the first hundred very clearly. What a trip. For more photos and our route, check out: http://trackmytour.com/Gg1qX

August 27: Cycling Day 77 - Haugesund to Langevåg We were flirting with big black clouds all day today. It started to downpour as soon as we arrived but stopped after just a few minutes, lucky us! The day started off on a highway without bike lanes, but we were able to turn off quite soon after to a much quieter road. It was a very hilly day with beautiful scenery which reminded me of northern Ontario and then of Wales (particularly the bridges on the side of the road constructed of stone that looked like they had been there since the beginning of time). Throughout the ride, we could hear the trickle of water along the side of the road which was quite lovely. There are lots of goats and sheep here, but we only saw one cow! A record low. We were greeted to our lodging with a beer on the house. The place we are staying opened not too long ago, and is run as a proper pub (bar at the bottom, inn above). The proprietor lived in London for many years. We were the only ones staying at the Inn, and therefore had a whole house to ourselves (including washing machine!). At the end of an inlet off a fjord, we couldn't complain and had a great evening. For more photos and our route, check out: http://trackmytour.com/Gg1qX

August 24, 25 and 26: Rest Days in Stavanger and Region After our big day of biking before the sunrise and hiking up a mountain, we decided to have some lower key days. We had intended on taking a tourist ferry along the Lysefjord to see where we had climbed the Pulpit Rock and some nice waterfalls, but that is a pretty popular activity apparently, as it was all booked up. Luckily, we had heard there was a small commuter ferry (ten cars max!) along the Lysefjord as well, so we hopped on that as pedestrians. It was actually better to do the commuter, because we got to see where people go and stop at the tiny villages where people live. One stop was just a platform at the bottom of a cliff! We had no idea where the fellow we dropped off there went. At another small stop, the captain dropped off the newspaper. The scenery was just incredible - we saw Pulpit Rock from below (could barely see people at the top...it is way up there!), waterfalls and Kjeragbolten, a rock stuck between two cliffs (which we wanted to hike to but are saving for a later trip). Phil's Dad kindly brought Phil's computer with him so that we could "back up" our photos and videos and free up some space on our picture taking devices. It was the first time we had tried with the GoPro and for some reason, some of the pictures and videos disappeared when we plugged it in. We spent an entire day scouring online help, doing everything we could to recover the material, but no luck. A pretty frustrating loss (and way to spend a day). On the 26th it was time to get back to the North Sea Cycle Route, which we will be following to Bergen. According to our maps, there should have been a ferry to Skudeneshavn...but it was cancelled in 2007 once multiple bridges and tunnels were constructed. So, the next option was to take a bus ride to Haugesund where the route picks up again. The nicest bus driver on the planet helped us load and unload Ruby and Toupé below the bus (first time with this method of transit!) and we shortly figured out why bikes aren't allowed on that route. The first tunnel we went into was 6km, basically straight down (must have been a 10% slope) and then straight back up. We crossed lots of bridges (all very high in the middle for ships to pass under without the hassle of lift bridges) a ferry (which we arrived to perfectly timed with departure) and many more tunnels (one of which had a roundabout! A roundabout IN a tunnel!!). We start biking again tomorrow. Wish us luck with the hills and rainy season!

A few photos from Stéphane's camera (we lost some the GoPro photos and videos...see next post...)

August 23: Cycling Day 76 - Hirtshals to Stavanger I finally got some proper Danish is (ice cream) on the way to the ferry and it did not disappoint! (Double chocolate, raspberry and soft serve on top, in case you were wondering). We lined up for check in with the cars to the ferry and were placed in a lane of what I can only assume counts as "specialty vehicles", since for a long time, it was just our two bikes and a very old looking Morgan (which I just learned is a type of car...). While waiting to get on the ferry, we met Garrett and Morgan (funnily enough, named after the car) in line - two other tourers our age headed to the COP conference later on this year. They started their tour in North America and had just taken a boat from Iceland. We enjoyed hanging out with them and sharing stories over dinner on the ship. When it was time for bed (the ferry from Hirtshals to Stavanger was 8PM to 6AM, we headed up to the sleeping room (full of airplane seats for people who can't afford a cabin (or for whatever reason you wouldn't get a cabin...)) and found it to be occupied already by THE LOUDEST SNORING EVER. There were lots of different languages being spoken earlier in the cabin, and also a lot of grumbling to try to get the person to stop snoring. For some reason, my mind went back to a poster on the door of my Gr. 8 teacher's classroom that said, "smiling is the same in every language". So is snoring. Phil was able to get some rest eventually but I could not sleep a wink and took to wandering the ship like a zombie. I went down to the benches where people eat and lay down on that for a while, but no sleep was to be had. The ship let us off about 20km from Stavanger, and the bike ride in was beautiful! Very hilly already, but gorgeous. It's the first time we have biked with the sunrise (which is not something I intend to repeat, but the light was lovely). A notable piece of infrastructure on the way in was a roundabout for bikes and pedestrians ABOVE a roundabout for cars. We are excited to have a few days here with Phil's Dad (and bed sheets!!). Wasting no time, we decided to take on the 8km (round trip) hike to Preikestolen (The Pulpit Rock) overlooking the Lysefjord and region. On no sleep, I wasn't sure if I was dreaming. A 604m drop to the water and no barriers at all. It truly took my breath away. The hike had a "Challenging" designation, which was surely for the way down. The trail was unlike anything I'd seen before - by far the busiest (must have been hundreds of people at the top alone!) and constructed not of gravel or regular dirt ground, but rocks that had been made into stairs and walkways. Clearly a very popular spot. We saw people of all ages on the "trail" - babies in backpacks, toddlers wobbling along, and even a fellow with one leg and crutches who did the entire thing (amazing!). There were also about 30 dogs of all shapes and sizes. For more photos and our route, check out: http://trackmytour.com/Gg1qX

Very fjord-unate to have this one by my side (especially when I bike at a glacial pace). #BrainCycleTour 🇳🇴 (at Lysefjord)

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