Monday, July 8, 2013
Thank You!
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The Ride!
Saturday morning and we’re up at 5am to make sure we are out the house at 6am (ok 6.10am!) ready to drive to Repentigny where the ride starts
Our good friend Tristan has volunteered to be part of the crew and has been designated Team captain in charge of putting up 800 tents!
First stop is to collect Stuart’s yellow survivor flag, a hugely important symbol and something I’ve been looking forward to seeing on Stuart’s bike for a long time.
We’re part of Team CGI, so on the Saturday we are wearing the team kit – I don’t think we’ll lose each other!
Ionna is also part of team CGI and she is carrying a picture of all her dept on the front of her bike. She was struggling to raise the funds to do the ride, so everybody in her dept did something to help her raise the money.
Waiting for the off
There are some emotional speeches at the beginning that make everyone very thoughtful, the first of a number of emotional moments throughout the day. Everybody at the ride is riding for somebody. Many carry the names or pictures of their loved ones on their bikes or their jerseys.
As we set off, we see Kate from the Ride to Conquer Cancer crew, it was great to see a familiar face in the crowd
We missed Tristan at the off, but he managed to grab a picture of us, just as we leave
The first rest stop was by a picturesque little church. There were several tents with volunteers handing out snacks and water.
At the second rest stop I’m feeling the heat and I should have paid more attention to the water bottles behind me. I’m going to suffer later.
At every rest stop it’s possible to have a massage for the tired muscles if needed, but quite frankly it’s too hot and sticky to even think about.
Near the end of the day, we make an unscheduled stop to see some amazing kite surfers. The first day was billed as a 110km ride, but we pass the 110km mark and find that we have to cycle an extra 3km. The day’s ride was 113km in the end. The last 3km were the toughest of the whole weekend. As soon as we hit 110km I was ready to get off my bike.
Finally, we pass through the barriers to enter the campsite and it feels great.
We park our bikes up for the evening, along with another 1800 bikes, it’s quite a sight!
Fortunately, there are two trucks at the site with several ladies and gents showers, just a few minutes to queue and you’re refreshed and ready for the evening.
A hearty meal is served, a piece of chicken, plus potatoes, rice, pasta and bread – seems like the organisers think we need to carbo load for the next day!
A huge tent is where the meals are served.
I pass by a van where free t-shirts are being handed out, so I collect one for myself and one for Stuart (as modelled by Stuart below)
We are then very embarrassed later on when all the volunteers turn up in the tent to be clapped and cheered by the riders to say thank you, and we find that they are all wearing their special volunteer t-shirts. I quietly move my t-shirt from the table and sit on it and hope no-one notices!
There’s also a very lively band that play for the early part of the evening, and amazingly some people have the energy left to dance.
I do not!
I’m in bed by 8.30! Unfortunately, I’m awake again a few hours later, with a blinding splitting headache. I wake Stuart as I’m seriously considering going to the medical tent. I realise it’s dehydration/heatstroke and I’m panicking that I’m not going to make day 2. Several glasses of water and some pills later and I manage to get back to sleep. Fortunately, I’m fine in the morning.
Day 2 and at 5am the sound of 800 tent zips being opened seems to be the wake up call!
The departure time is 7am and people are lining up ready to go
There are several riders called Sentinelles de la Route, who are there to assist on the day. They are there to help if a rider gets into difficulties
We’re ready to go, and today we get to wear our Ride jerseys, which I love.
More rest stops, and today I’ve learnt my lesson and I’m drinking lots of water. The ride is 121km today and funnily enough I find the ride easier than Saturday, partly its less hot, and partly the psychology of not having to conserve any energy for the following day
There are many motorbike riders supporting the ride, and several of them are controlling the traffic at busy junctions. It’s great fun to roll up to the junction and be given priority over all other vehicles
At the end of the ride as we cross the finish line, we are cheered in by Lauren and Kate from the Ride to Conquer Cancer team, which was lovely, and also two work colleagues Ioanna and Nancy find us to congratulate us, when they hear our names on the tannoy.
We also meet up again with Tristan who has now dismantled 800 tents. Through my work I was given a VIP pass which I gave to Tristan. We aren’t entirely sure what benefits the pass came with, other than a plastic badge and free neck chain!
Finally, we head over to the stand where people are taking photos. It is a wonderful site to see Stuart lift his bike in celebration of completion of the ride. A long journey to get here, but we made it!
So thank you to everyone for your love and support. I hope you enjoyed reading the blog - I’m definitely not hanging my cleats up yet!
To go to the next post Click Here
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Our good friend Tristan has volunteered to be part of the crew and has been designated Team captain in charge of putting up 800 tents!
First stop is to collect Stuart’s yellow survivor flag, a hugely important symbol and something I’ve been looking forward to seeing on Stuart’s bike for a long time.
We’re part of Team CGI, so on the Saturday we are wearing the team kit – I don’t think we’ll lose each other!
Ionna is also part of team CGI and she is carrying a picture of all her dept on the front of her bike. She was struggling to raise the funds to do the ride, so everybody in her dept did something to help her raise the money.
Waiting for the off
There are some emotional speeches at the beginning that make everyone very thoughtful, the first of a number of emotional moments throughout the day. Everybody at the ride is riding for somebody. Many carry the names or pictures of their loved ones on their bikes or their jerseys.
As we set off, we see Kate from the Ride to Conquer Cancer crew, it was great to see a familiar face in the crowd
We missed Tristan at the off, but he managed to grab a picture of us, just as we leave
The first rest stop was by a picturesque little church. There were several tents with volunteers handing out snacks and water.
At the second rest stop I’m feeling the heat and I should have paid more attention to the water bottles behind me. I’m going to suffer later.
At every rest stop it’s possible to have a massage for the tired muscles if needed, but quite frankly it’s too hot and sticky to even think about.
Near the end of the day, we make an unscheduled stop to see some amazing kite surfers. The first day was billed as a 110km ride, but we pass the 110km mark and find that we have to cycle an extra 3km. The day’s ride was 113km in the end. The last 3km were the toughest of the whole weekend. As soon as we hit 110km I was ready to get off my bike.
Finally, we pass through the barriers to enter the campsite and it feels great.
We park our bikes up for the evening, along with another 1800 bikes, it’s quite a sight!
Fortunately, there are two trucks at the site with several ladies and gents showers, just a few minutes to queue and you’re refreshed and ready for the evening.
A hearty meal is served, a piece of chicken, plus potatoes, rice, pasta and bread – seems like the organisers think we need to carbo load for the next day!
A huge tent is where the meals are served.
I pass by a van where free t-shirts are being handed out, so I collect one for myself and one for Stuart (as modelled by Stuart below)
We are then very embarrassed later on when all the volunteers turn up in the tent to be clapped and cheered by the riders to say thank you, and we find that they are all wearing their special volunteer t-shirts. I quietly move my t-shirt from the table and sit on it and hope no-one notices!
There’s also a very lively band that play for the early part of the evening, and amazingly some people have the energy left to dance.
I do not!
I’m in bed by 8.30! Unfortunately, I’m awake again a few hours later, with a blinding splitting headache. I wake Stuart as I’m seriously considering going to the medical tent. I realise it’s dehydration/heatstroke and I’m panicking that I’m not going to make day 2. Several glasses of water and some pills later and I manage to get back to sleep. Fortunately, I’m fine in the morning.
Day 2 and at 5am the sound of 800 tent zips being opened seems to be the wake up call!
The departure time is 7am and people are lining up ready to go
There are several riders called Sentinelles de la Route, who are there to assist on the day. They are there to help if a rider gets into difficulties
We’re ready to go, and today we get to wear our Ride jerseys, which I love.
More rest stops, and today I’ve learnt my lesson and I’m drinking lots of water. The ride is 121km today and funnily enough I find the ride easier than Saturday, partly its less hot, and partly the psychology of not having to conserve any energy for the following day
There are many motorbike riders supporting the ride, and several of them are controlling the traffic at busy junctions. It’s great fun to roll up to the junction and be given priority over all other vehicles
At the end of the ride as we cross the finish line, we are cheered in by Lauren and Kate from the Ride to Conquer Cancer team, which was lovely, and also two work colleagues Ioanna and Nancy find us to congratulate us, when they hear our names on the tannoy.
We also meet up again with Tristan who has now dismantled 800 tents. Through my work I was given a VIP pass which I gave to Tristan. We aren’t entirely sure what benefits the pass came with, other than a plastic badge and free neck chain!
Finally, we head over to the stand where people are taking photos. It is a wonderful site to see Stuart lift his bike in celebration of completion of the ride. A long journey to get here, but we made it!
So thank you to everyone for your love and support. I hope you enjoyed reading the blog - I’m definitely not hanging my cleats up yet!
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Friday, July 5, 2013
One more sleep!
The bags are packed, camera batteries charged, chips formatted and legs shaved (well, mine anyway!)
The weather forecast is looking a little on the warm side! Must drink lots and lots
I’m a little worried about the potential change in wind direction on Sunday. If it remains westerly we’ll be fine, but if it turns round too early and starts blowing from the east we’ll be in trouble!
The route is published (Montreal to Quebec City, overnight camping at Trois Rivieres). I’m pleased to see there are 4 rest stops on each day, since Saturday is a 110km ride and Sunday 120km!
And here are the bikes, all ready to go!
Can’t wait for tomorrow!
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The weather forecast is looking a little on the warm side! Must drink lots and lots
I’m a little worried about the potential change in wind direction on Sunday. If it remains westerly we’ll be fine, but if it turns round too early and starts blowing from the east we’ll be in trouble!
The route is published (Montreal to Quebec City, overnight camping at Trois Rivieres). I’m pleased to see there are 4 rest stops on each day, since Saturday is a 110km ride and Sunday 120km!
And here are the bikes, all ready to go!
Can’t wait for tomorrow!
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Wednesday, July 3, 2013
The hard part is over....
We've just got back from the Global Morning News TV studios. We've been interviewed on the morning news show to talk about Stuart's 90 day plans.
This was completely nerve wracking as it's a live show. I was extremely nervous, but fortunately we were sent a list of questions last night, so we rehearsed our answers all evening. This morning they then asked us a completely different set of questions! I think we held it together and hopefully promoted the Ride to Conquer Cancer well enough.
Saturday should be a breeze now!
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Monday, July 1, 2013
Canada Day
It’s Canada day today, which we are delighted to celebrate, as this means another day off, and what else would we do but a training ride?!
We return to our favourite route, train to Deux Montagnes, cycle to Oka, ferry to Hudson, cycle to Saint Anne-de-Belleview (lunch), cycle to Pointe Claire (cup of tea) and home along Lachine Canal. Another 85km in the training bank!
I have looked back over the blog, added in all the spin classes and cycling to work, and I figure that I have done over 1,700 training kilometres, which is not bad for a fair weather cyclist. I may still be slow, but I’m hopeful I can manage the distance!
We met another cyclist today who will be doing the ride next week (the camaraderie of a shared jersey) and I explained that I had booked myself on the last bus back from Quebec City at 5.30 on the Sunday. He said he did the same last year, and probably lots of others do too, but you just get on whichever bus is ready when you arrive. I’d really like to not miss the last bus!
For the record, our jerseys went in the washing machine last night, and were all ready for another outing today. I suspect that these will forever be our favourite bike jerseys.
So what have I learnt over the last few weeks?
Drink lots of water
Don’t try to keep up with the Roadies
Go to bed early in the week before the ride
I can cycle in any weather
Cleats are great if a little scary
Don’t go for a pee in the woods when there are mossies about
So am I ready for the Ride?
YES I AM!
(and Stuart was ready about 3 months ago!)
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Sunday, June 30, 2013
Sunny Days
Yesterday rain was forecast all day, so we decided to postpone the training ride to Sunday. The power of my new rain jacket meant the rain never really turned up, but it was nevertheless a good chance to catch up on home chores that have been much neglected.
One of the things I happened to do was check back through some old emails that I had sent in November 2011. In one of them I found that I had written down the dedications (positive statements) that Stuart said out loud each time he swallowed one of his chemo pills (5 in the morning and 5 at night). I thought they were worth sharing:-
1 – Dr Melnychuk – for him to be amazed by Stuart’s progress
2 – For Stuart and I to be able to have a meal out in a restaurant (achieved Wed 9th Nov)
3 – For the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer – for Stuart to be on that ride
4 – to be able to send a good news email to family and friends (achieved Fri 11th Nov)
5 – to be able to say goodbye to pain
I can hardly believe that 18 months later the ride is really going to happen!
But first another training ride!
We really enjoyed the ride last Sunday to Senneville, so decide to do the same 95km ride again. Last week, whilst Stuart was leading the way I thought he was actually going to take us on the highway to Ottawa, fortunately there is an exit that lead us safely to a back road.
Having posted on facebook last week about cycling in Senneville, our friend Cecile commented on how much she would like to cycle in the area, so we give her a call and she and Stephan join us on the ride.
It’s quite a hot day today, and I’m still struggling with my water carrier. No water seemed to be coming out whenever I tried to drink and ride. I finally figured out that I should unclip the water tube whilst riding, otherwise the water won’t flow properly. It’s just as well that I finally got this figured out as the forecast for next week is looking pretty warm!
Inevitably we head back to Herbs for our usual lunch break!
Today, we had both decided to wear our ride jerseys
We saw at least a dozen other riders out today, also in their jerseys, so it was great to be able to give them a wave. It will be amazing next week, when there are 2,000 of us! Now, I’m really starting to look forward to the ride!
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One of the things I happened to do was check back through some old emails that I had sent in November 2011. In one of them I found that I had written down the dedications (positive statements) that Stuart said out loud each time he swallowed one of his chemo pills (5 in the morning and 5 at night). I thought they were worth sharing:-
1 – Dr Melnychuk – for him to be amazed by Stuart’s progress
2 – For Stuart and I to be able to have a meal out in a restaurant (achieved Wed 9th Nov)
3 – For the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer – for Stuart to be on that ride
4 – to be able to send a good news email to family and friends (achieved Fri 11th Nov)
5 – to be able to say goodbye to pain
I can hardly believe that 18 months later the ride is really going to happen!
But first another training ride!
We really enjoyed the ride last Sunday to Senneville, so decide to do the same 95km ride again. Last week, whilst Stuart was leading the way I thought he was actually going to take us on the highway to Ottawa, fortunately there is an exit that lead us safely to a back road.
Having posted on facebook last week about cycling in Senneville, our friend Cecile commented on how much she would like to cycle in the area, so we give her a call and she and Stephan join us on the ride.
It’s quite a hot day today, and I’m still struggling with my water carrier. No water seemed to be coming out whenever I tried to drink and ride. I finally figured out that I should unclip the water tube whilst riding, otherwise the water won’t flow properly. It’s just as well that I finally got this figured out as the forecast for next week is looking pretty warm!
Inevitably we head back to Herbs for our usual lunch break!
Today, we had both decided to wear our ride jerseys
We saw at least a dozen other riders out today, also in their jerseys, so it was great to be able to give them a wave. It will be amazing next week, when there are 2,000 of us! Now, I’m really starting to look forward to the ride!
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Sunday, June 23, 2013
Anniversary Ride!
Quite a big bike ride planned today and we set off at 7.30am this morning because my bike is booked into Paul’s Cycles in Pointe Claire for a tune up and look at the gears. (Everything needs to be ready for the big day!)
We arrive about 9.15 to drop the bike off.
Whilst I’m signing the bike in, Stuart is discussing very high end range road bikes with the staff. I think I’ll have to keep an eye on him over the next few days, check he doesn’t make any unauthorised visits to this store. Perhaps I’ll put a tracker app on his mobile phone, or not, since he doesn’t have a mobile phone!
After a cup of tea and a muffin we pick the bike up and head off on a new route to Senneville in the north west corner of the island. After a couple of close shaves with the Highway, we find ourselves on the beautiful Chemin de l’Anse A L’Orme.
This is a really picturesque spot to cycle through and we see some houses that make the Hudson mansions look like Pieds-a-Terres. Here’s Stuart in front of a particular huge house. In fact the turreted garage is probably bigger than our house back home (which doesn’t have any turrets).
The route we have chosen somehow loops back to our favourite restaurant Herbs, where we enjoy a lovely Sunday Brunch.
Yesterday I made two purchases to get ready for the ride. Here is my first one. A new camel bak. (water carrier in a back pack)
I haven’t managed to get the hang of taking the water bottle out of the carrier and drinking whilst riding, so I keep having to make water stops. The camel bak feels OK to ride in, and I think I will be able to wear it for the day, but I’m still having trouble drinking whilst riding. I put my head down and take my eye off the path whilst attempting to drink, and judging from the look of horror on the face of an oncoming jogger (now jogging just off the edge of the bike track), I guess I was pretty close to mowing him down today. This is going to need some work (the drinking, not mowing down joggers).
Almost at the end of the ride (which happened to be 97km in the end) we stop at the St Ambroise Terrace by Lachine Canal for a refreshing Apricot Beer!
And now here’s me with my second “getting ready for the ride” purchase
I’ve been borrowing Stuart’s light weight rain jacket for some of the rides, and given the weather lately we realised that I probably need one of my own. However, despite storms being forecast for the afternoon, the sun comes out and the rain stays away. The power of a new rain jacket!
As you will see it’s a white jacket, and in fact 6 years ago today I was also wearing white, which is one of the cheesiest ways to shoehorn in a photo of our wedding 6 years ago today!
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We arrive about 9.15 to drop the bike off.
Whilst I’m signing the bike in, Stuart is discussing very high end range road bikes with the staff. I think I’ll have to keep an eye on him over the next few days, check he doesn’t make any unauthorised visits to this store. Perhaps I’ll put a tracker app on his mobile phone, or not, since he doesn’t have a mobile phone!
After a cup of tea and a muffin we pick the bike up and head off on a new route to Senneville in the north west corner of the island. After a couple of close shaves with the Highway, we find ourselves on the beautiful Chemin de l’Anse A L’Orme.
This is a really picturesque spot to cycle through and we see some houses that make the Hudson mansions look like Pieds-a-Terres. Here’s Stuart in front of a particular huge house. In fact the turreted garage is probably bigger than our house back home (which doesn’t have any turrets).
The route we have chosen somehow loops back to our favourite restaurant Herbs, where we enjoy a lovely Sunday Brunch.
Yesterday I made two purchases to get ready for the ride. Here is my first one. A new camel bak. (water carrier in a back pack)
I haven’t managed to get the hang of taking the water bottle out of the carrier and drinking whilst riding, so I keep having to make water stops. The camel bak feels OK to ride in, and I think I will be able to wear it for the day, but I’m still having trouble drinking whilst riding. I put my head down and take my eye off the path whilst attempting to drink, and judging from the look of horror on the face of an oncoming jogger (now jogging just off the edge of the bike track), I guess I was pretty close to mowing him down today. This is going to need some work (the drinking, not mowing down joggers).
Almost at the end of the ride (which happened to be 97km in the end) we stop at the St Ambroise Terrace by Lachine Canal for a refreshing Apricot Beer!
And now here’s me with my second “getting ready for the ride” purchase
I’ve been borrowing Stuart’s light weight rain jacket for some of the rides, and given the weather lately we realised that I probably need one of my own. However, despite storms being forecast for the afternoon, the sun comes out and the rain stays away. The power of a new rain jacket!
As you will see it’s a white jacket, and in fact 6 years ago today I was also wearing white, which is one of the cheesiest ways to shoehorn in a photo of our wedding 6 years ago today!
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Saturday, June 22, 2013
Leader of the pack?
No – not even in the pack!
There’s a training ride organised by the Ride to Conquer Cancer crew today so we decide to join them. It starts at Vaudreuil over to the west of the island so we need to hire a Communauto car to get there for 8am. It’s a tight squeeze, but by taking all 4 wheels off, we get the bikes into the car and are away by 7am!
I’ve never ridden in a group before, so I’m looking forward to seeing if I can keep up! There’s about 30 of us, and of course rain is forecast (but at least it’s warm)
We all depart the car park together and I make the serious mistake of leaving with the first group (the roadies). The ride is only supposed to be ridden at 20-25km /hr, but these people are cycling at 28 – 30 km/hr. I keep up for about 10km (ish!) but am soon dropped! Unfortunately, these boys have taken a wrong turn, and are heading round the circular route the wrong way! We will all end up at the same rest stop (Tim Hortons, unsurprisingly) but now there is no group behind us to join onto. It seems like I am destined not to ride in a pack after all!
We arrive at the rest stop (last of course!) and decide to only ride part of the second loop. We can’t afford to return the Communauto car late. When you sign up for Communauto they give you a hell and damnation lecture about never bringing the car back late!
Towards the end of the ride, it starts to rain gently. Ha –after last week’s epic adventure I don’t see that this counts as rain at all, so I leave my rain jacket in the handy rain jacket carrier on the bike.
We only chopped 10km off the ride, so find that we have ridden 68km and arrived back at the car park at noon. (we actually had time to do the whole ride, but never mind). I’m delighted to find that we arrive just behind the roadies, but ahead of everyone else (we skipped the second rest stop, this may have helped). So I’m very pleased that I felt the ride was well within my capabilities and that my average speed was a stunning (well for me anyway) 21.7 km/hr!
As we are loading the bikes in the car, one of the other riders says to Stuart, hey aren’t you the guy in the video, that’s an amazing story. I feel myself welling up. Goodness knows what I will be like at the actual Ride!
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