A 5.45 wake up for myself and the 20 bunk mates in the truck. We stumbled across the parking lot and descended on the local breakfast place for eggs sausage etc. Perhaps not on the Canada Health food diet. We got into cycling gear and the RV’s and made the drive to Trois Rivieres where the local Sears store made us very welcome. Our ride was dedicated to Katie who successfully survived a kidney tumor, which was identified when she was 11. The inspiring thing about Kate, and many of these children, is her ability to see through the challenges of the treatment she was receiving and find positive wisdom. The Nurse who treated her told the story of Kate always talking about dialing up her optimism knob to an 11 as she dealt with her treatments. Amazing wisdom.
The days and roads blur a bit but we had a great ride along the Saint Lawrence from Trois Rivieres. Beautiful, some nice bike shoulders and a great group to ride with. Mark and Josh were on the tandem and we did some great pace lining to keep a high pace.
We arrived in the small town of Ste Anne de la Perade for lunch and a very very very good apple crumble(only 2 servings.)
There was a bit of confusion on directions as we left and soon we were on a gravel road surrounded by bush. Fortunately the support team got us organized and did a quick shuttle to get us back on the highway because we were riding to Louis Garneau’s office and store and had to be there by 4.00pm. The opportunity to meet and ride with him plus a chance to check out their discount store, spurred the group on and we were pacing at 35+km for the remaining 60km. Good fun and some great riding form the team. Louis and his team were fantastic and incredibly warm. A great organization.
Louis joined us for the 20km ride into Quebec. There was one particularly steep climb and I will always remember seeing the tandem with Carlo, Bill, Louis and a Canadian Team Rider helping to push it up the hill.
It was a great finish to the day and my ride. I was able to pass the pebble from BC to Brad and Ron DiFrancesco and I grabbed our bags and headed to the airport.
We left a great group of new friends who will finish their adventure in Halifax. A tremendous experience full of emotion and admiration for the children and families that have to fight this difficult disease.
I am proud that I have had a chance to express my support for Adam Fedosoff and it is fantastic that he is home again.
Ian
A good nights sleep and another cheerful wake up call. It was a little cool in the truck overnight but a quiet parking lot and only 2 of my truck mates sawing logs.
Finding breakfast and washrooms in the Sears stores required some perseverance, 2 floors down past the women’s section and down a few corridors. The search for the washrooms was a sign of things to come. The great volunteers had the full breakfast for us.
The days dedication was for Juliana who at the age of 4 and after being sick for a long time and was finally Diagnosed with Lukemia. She spent over 9 months in hospital and numerous treatments, but is now a healthy 12 year old. It puts a few hours in the saddle in perspective.
A quick drive to Hawksbury and we were on our bikes. The sky was sunny and the temperature perfect. Sleeves and a vest. We rode through town and turned left over a bridge and rode for 10km on a perfect rode, until we realised we were on the wrong side of the Lac De Deux Montagne. A good warm up and a nice addition to what was to have been a short day.
The other side of the Lac was beautiful with quiet if a bit rough roads wonderful scenery and a bit of a head wind to keep us honest. I got to do some leading and work with the tandem and felt good about the riding. We worked our way down to Montreal which was where we had some navigational complexity. Fortunately when we were really lost and had stopped in a parking lot Dale Creighton from the Beaconsfield Cycling Club spotted us and volunteered to lead us in his van. This was fortunate.
We met up in Pointe Claire with a cancer cycling group and the 80 of us cycled the final 22km to our Sears store for a meal and showers at a local tennis club.
A wonderful day and a celebration of Juliana’s success.
I was fortunate to join the ride at the end of day 10 at Dundas Square and then at Harboufront for a great ceremony and lighting of the CN Tower. It also gave Craig the chance to pass me the pebble from the Pacific.
My first day and it started with a 6.15 wake up call from Rich and a Fedora and some music.. I was a little groggy and somewhat chilled after my first night in the truck. It was about 5 degrees and we had an all night lullaby from trucks on the 401 as they passed Pickering Town Centre. The groggyness and chill were quickly banished by the warm welcome from the great Sears volunteers and a great breakfast. With a 160km ride ahead of us I took full advantage of the pancakes and syrup.
The days dedication was to Magdeline and Olivia both who suffered brain cancer. Wonderful stories of bravery pain and a swift realization that some stories end with success and some not. Making these kids and their families lives better is a truly worthwhile thing and an honour to be able to help with.
Today’s ride was pickering newcastle brighton then Bellville. The newbies were asked to start back a bit to learn the group dynamic. There are a lot of good riders and they have 10 days under there belts. Great to ride with. After we got through Oshawa there was a call for fresh legs so I took the opportunity to get up to the front and follow Ron Mitchell(making a cameo appearance) do some of the heavier lifting. It felt good to help the National riders who have put a lot of time in the saddle.
I found incredible respect for Mark and Josh riding the tandem. Mark is a very powerful rider with a high pain threshold and great sense of humour second only to Josh who is a fun and funny teenager and cancer survivor.
I would highly recommend the ride from Newcastle to Brighton. Good roads, some amazing views of the lake and great farm country.
We arrived at Sears in Bellville to a feast of turkey dinner and banana pie(awesome). A quick shower in the flying T and we were off to Ottawa for night 2 in the trucks.
Ian
Sorry for typos and errors. I am writing upside down in a bunk in an RV on the 401.
