Some of you are probably wondering where Arvid takes his naps during the day. The RV is up ahead or far behind so we’ve got a bed set-up in the back. It’s actually quite comfortable.

Arvid has a little fun at Evan Balzer’s expense as he attempts his first standing handoff.

Victor

Sent from my iPhone

We just asked Arvid how the bike is holding up and he’s quite satisfied with it. Having a high quality bike for the trip has reduced one worry for Arvid and the crew.

Outside of Wawa, Ontario. Humor provided by the Josh, Vic and Evan in the support vehicle.

If you’re ever 50 km west of Wawa, Ontario, thank them!

This is Paul writing from at home (Winnipeg) here. I wanted to give things a little perspective. Arvid’s been riding ultra-marathon distances for over 15 years. But he’s a much different rider than he was 15 years ago.

At the beginning…

– In 1995, Arvid dropped out of a 1200km race after 900km. – In Alaska, Arvid dropped out of a 600km race after 480km. – Arvid dropped out of the Furnace Creek 508 (800km race) twice before successfully completing it on his third try. If you take longer than 48 hours, you are disqualified.

On the other hand…

– In RAAM, Race Across America (widely considered the world’s toughest bike race), Arvid completed 3000 miles in under 12 days. This is the equivalent of racing 6 Furnace Creek 508s *back-to-back* with the same disqualification time limit. He needed to bike 405km every 24 hours to not be disqualified. – In GrandpasCan, the pace has been raised even more. He needs to bike 452km every 24 hours to break the record. *And the ride is longer than RAAM.* – **At the end of RAAM, with about 800km left, Arvid decided to make one final “push” to the finish line, sleeping as little as possible. This “push” was as long as previous races, yet he did it in 40 hours.

Things have changed over the years…

Arvid is still working his way to Marathon. It’s slow going through the many climbs. We have very little network coverage right now. So unless you work the night shift it might be time for bed.

From Henry P in the RV:”ON yours to discover. Yeah, because there are no signs!” After missing the turn off to Thunder Bay Arvid: “Someone needs to buy ON a level. I thought the climbing was done.”

It’s almost full dark now. The fog is very thick now and the temperature is going down. We can only see about 50m in front of us. Anything could be out there. It’ll make seeing traffic coming in front and behind more difficult. Some added prayers for safety and for Arvis’s spirits would be appreciated.