Andrew and The Log Driver’s Waltz
In 2011, my husband and fellow EI Cure Project founder, Tom Lill met the wonderful Andrew Durand while they were both teaching languages as part of the TASIS Summer Programs in the glorious Swiss mountain village of Chateau d’Oex. The camp was all about learning languages every morning, followed by mountain adventures in the afternoons. The group of teachers and camp counsellors were very much the type of people who loved life, loved to travel and meet new people, and always had a story to tell about the various adventure sports that had led them to their next challenge or next new direction in life. For Andrew, who had been travelling quite a bit since finishing University, this group of people felt like coming home, and his eyes were opened to a way of life, and a spirit of adventure and endurance that lit a spark in his soul.
Andrew very kindly says that prior to meeting Tom and the group in 2011, he doesn’t think he would have shown much interest in The Log Driver’s Waltz. An 800km multi-day, endurance challenge of epic proportions. Andrew got in touch with me very soon after I shared the news of the EI Cure Project, to tell me about the Log Driver’s Waltz, and about his intentions to seek sponsorship to support our cause. I was of course absolutely delighted to hear from him, to learn about his intentions, and even more delighted to learn that he and his wonderful wife Carmen, are expecting their first child in October 2023.
Oh, and one more detail, you may notice that Andrew is sporting something of a very stylish and debonaire cycling moustache! This is not the norm for Andrew, instead he usually prefers a classic full beard. However, to further incentivise donors to give to his Canadian Go Fund Me, he promised to swap his beard for the ‘stache once he made it to CA$400. Of course, this target was quickly realised, and the beard was a thing of the past and the scene for the Log Driver’s Waltz was set!
In the paragraphs below, you will learn more about his adventures, and see pictures and accounts of Andrew’s 5 days of riding.
Andrew Durand and the other riders at ‘The Grand Depart’ of the Log Driver’s Waltz, July 29th 2023
Day 1
The Grand Depart took place on July 29th from Almonte, Ontario. You can see Andrew 8th in from the right, with the red handlebar bag. This picture was taken of the group of riders at 0km.
For the first 10km Andrew reported that the roads were nice, wide gravel tracks, followed by a ‘legendary’ piece of single-track known as the California Road. In the pictures you can also see the Trillium, Ontario’s Provincial flower, found frequently along the California Road.
After cycling for 128km, Andrew arrived at his first big refuelling location at Sharbot Lake. He chose to stop and make the best of some cake at the Cardinal Cafe, which is an old converted church.
Following his rest stop, Andrew encountered the first major challenge. On the K&P trail, a beaver dam had broken, and combined with a few days of rain, the trail was flooded for more than a kilometre. Andrew’s bike is fitted with tubeless tires, these have many benefits, but unfortunately they meant that Andrew couldn’t simply push his bike through the water. If he had done so, the tires would have filled with water and the tires would be ruined. The only solution was for Andrew to carry his bike, and all of his equipment and saddlebags for the entire kilometre, all the while burning much more energy than his body was truly able to give after a long day of riding. After this, Andrew made camp for the night at Dalhousie Lake, after travelling a total distance of 180km on his first day.
Day 2
This was a beast of a day, with another 180km completed, for a total of 360km in 2 days. When I touched base with Andrew at the end of it, he had sought refuge in a hotel for a few hours, soaked his aching body in an ice-bath, slept for a few hours, and then set-off again in the early hours of the morning around 5am.
Day 3
A 5am start meant Andrew got to enjoy some great scenery as the sun came up. Andrew departed Renfrew over an idyllic wooden bridge, and crossed into the province of Quebec. The morning sun cast an epic shadow of Andrew’s bike across the road. Day 3 was a much better day, and the next section between Shawville and Cambells Bay provided some relief with some very nice trails.
Andrew paused to celebrate making it past the half-way mark in Ladysmith at 420km, made it to Gracefield, but kept cycling to get to Lac Saint Marie at 528km, taking the Day 3 total to just over 200km.
Day 4
Andrew took another early start on Day 4, and enjoyed the sunrise over Lac Sainte-Marie. Following this was a beast of a climb, with an elevation of 1600m over the first 15km. The trails here were hard-going, with lots of washed-out roads and heavy stones.
Andrew crossed a hydropower dam near a town called Low in Quebec (589km). All the logs in the water were the inspiration for the name “The Log Driver’s Waltz”. Until the 1960’s, the logs in these waters were moved by human Log Driver’s who would ride and drive the logs down the river, all the while having to balance and roll the logs to keep them moving. You can learn more about the Log Driver’s Waltz in the short YouTube animation below.
Andrew really took on the distance on Day 4, and crossed another beauty spot in Wakefield, the infamous ‘Covered Bridge’ at 637km. You can see the internal wooden-framed beauty of this bridge in the pictures below. A true spectacle, and Andrew’s spirits were clearly lifting as he racked up the kilometres.
If you’re wondering “Does he ever stop?”, the answer is “Yes”, but Andrew’s stops were usually quite short, particularly at this stage. Andrew shared that along the route he would stop for water and the odd snack at various ‘Depanneurs’ located along the 800km route.
On Night 4, determined to finish on Day 5, Andrew rested at a refuge, and slept a little while. At 11pm he got back on the bike to ride through the night.
Day 5
Andrew knew this would be his final day of riding, and the day that unfolded was a beautiful one, full of blue skies, sunshine, and beautiful landmarks, including Ottawa parliament with it’s iconic peace tower, Carleton Place (787km), and finally the town of Almonte (805km), where Andrew paused to pose with the statue of the inventor of basketball (Dr James Naismith) which marked the finish line for Andrew’s 800km great adventure.
At the completion of this epic adventure, Andrew raised CA$1,555 (£900) from his Canadian family, friends, and followers. In the EI community, when Andrew started talking about his plans on social media, we only had two Canadian families in our EI support group. With Andrew helping us to raise the profile of EI on social media, I was contacted by a number of new families who were unaware of our new charity, and unaware that there was a support group out there dedicated to EI.
By doing the Log Driver’s Waltz for the EI Cure Project, not only has Andrew given us a super donation, he has also helped us to grow our audience, and has helped to provide a new lifeline and hope to Canadian families affected by EI.
From the very bottom of our hearts, the whole of the EI community would like to thank Andrew for his kindness, and for all the resilience, stamina, and tenacity that he has shown on our behalf. Andrew, you are truly one in a million, thank you!
If you would like to show your appreciation for Andrew and what he has achieved, please know that you can still donate directly in Canadian dollars via his Go Fund Me, or you can donate in any currency via our website donation page here.