Adventure Cycling’s North Star 2021 Tour Canceled!
One of the fascinating indicators that the human body is ready to handle stress is a measurement called “Heart Rate Variability” or HRV. In short, it is the difference in the time between heartbeats. The greater the almost imperceptible “irregularity” of those beats can show how ready the heart is to handle loads. Many athletes and coaches use HRV as a way to predict how well your body will react and recover from a difficult workout. Counterintuitively, it is not the regularity of the heartbeat but its minute irregularities that show resilience and the ability to recovery. In my mind’s eye, I visualize the healthy heart and primed nervous system like a dog bouncing and jumping around, ready to take off at any moment and run in any direction if commanded to do so, primed to react to change.
In September, I had signed up to ride with several other cyclists departing from Missoula, Montana on 19 June 2021. There are several versions of the saying, and its origins are probably African, but my favorite is, “He who travels alone travels fastest, but in the company of friends you go farther”, attributed to the South African poet, Breyten Breytenbach. It is a long, lonely stretch of road across Alberta, British Columbia, and the Yukon. Having companions to share the common gear and camaraderie would be great. But, of course, I could always ride it solo.
Yesterday, change arrived as an email from Adventure Cycling, announcing that they were canceling the North Star tour. Their decision was based on the border being closed and their inability to book campsites in Canada for the group, due to restrictions currently in place limiting non-essential (tourist) travel. While I can understand their decision, I’m disappointed that it was taken in early March for a trip that does not leave for fourteen weeks. With vaccines being delivered in both countries and with increasing political pressure from citizens in the communities on both sides of the border for an accelerated opening, the situation and options are changing quickly.
In November 2020 the Wilson Center Task Force on Public Health and the US-Canadian Border was established to provide a report, due out this month, on how to manage the re-opening of the border. It is expected that the Task Force’s recommendations will inform a phased-in approach to resuming non-essential cross-border travel. Given the recent scientific data on the efficacy of vaccines in stopping asymptomatic spread of the coronavirus in vaccinated individuals, the likelihood of the Canadian Government setting policies to open travel into Canada by vaccinated non-essential travelers is very probable. My feeling is that the Adventure Cycling Association took the decision a month too early and, following the Task Force’s report, the situation would be much clearer and a decision to cancel or proceed would have been based on solid policy announcements by the Canadian Government rather than in the frustration with booking campsites.
However, healthy resilience and adaptability to change is a good thing while dreaming and designing adventures. The upside for me and The Rise Up Rise, is that I no longer have a fixed date on which I must be in Missoula, Montana. If the border opens up earlier or later, I can cross when I wish. Or, perhaps I’ll cycle across to Bellingham, Washington to take the ferry up to Whittier, near Anchorage, Alaska, and cycle south from Mt. Denali and down to Whitehorse and on to see friends in Atlin. Endless possibilities.
Kimo
10 March 2021, Bronx
