20th
Day 13
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
