Thank you all for your support. Doing this ride and meeting the people, other riders, volunteers, children with cancer, parents of children who have cancer or have survived and are in remission, and a few parents who’s children did not survive – this is what made it meaningful for me. Before it was just a ride. Something new to challenge myself with. It wasn’t until about halfway through that it took on new meaning for me. The current tally on fund raising is 605,000 with my little team of four (Robert Begg, Ivan Lew, Jeff Goss and I) raising over $6200. Each morning we would line up at the start, anxious and impatient to start our days ride. We had a long way to go, why were they making us stand around? And each morning we would wait there together for 30 minutes listening to people tell their stories. It took me a couple of morning to figure it out. This was the whole point. Some of the stories had happy endings, some not so much. The money we raised, that you donated, goes towards sending children with cancer to camp. It helps to make their lives more normal, it helps to build confidence and inspires both the children and their families. A child with cancer at a camp filled with other children with cancer suddenly becomes normal, not just “that kid with cancer”. The families feel supported and can move forward with their lives understanding that it is possible. I’m know I don’t express it nearly so well as the families who shared their stories with us but I hope you all feel that your money was well donated and understand that it really does make a difference.
Me Before we started: 
The Short Story:
As for the ride, I did complete what I set out to do. All very hilly, windy, and challenging 849 km (528 miles) . Much of it is a blur. For those of you who cycle a lot you’ll understand what riding in a group is all about. For those who don’t, we were most often in groups of 6 – 40 other riders. The road marshals tried to keep the groups to less that 20 but often they would merge and swell before then breaking up. When you get into the larger groups staying alert is very important. We ride in single or double file with less that a foot between us front to back and often only inches between you and the wheel in front. The closer you can get to the rider in front the easier it is. However, you can imagine the attention necessary at these close distances in order to avoid bumping the person in front and causing a crash. The optimal position in the pack seems to be 3-5 riders back. This way you get a good wind break without the whiplash effect further back. In this manner a group can roll along a *much* faster speeds than a single rider by swapping the lead position so that there is always someone strong and fresh pulling the pack. My average speed for the ride was just over 27km/hour. Given the number of hills slowing us down this means that on the flats we were often rolling at over 35.
I don’t remember much of the scenery, at times I couldn’t even tell you where I was! Just keep the legs spinning, eat gels every hour, powerbars every break, drink, drink, drink and watch the wheel in front of me. Are we there yet? Am I going to make it? Oh no, not another hill. How much further to the next rest stop? All went through my head over and over.
The Long Story (for those who have time):
The boys getting ready to go:
Thursday, Day 1, (226km) We checked in at 6:30 and started the ride out from the Mississauga city centre at 9AM. My team, Robert, Ivan, Jeff and I started out with the 29 group. There were road marshals (on bikes wearing special shirts) assigned to certain groups which were divided by speed. The advertised speed was meant to be the rolling speed. i.e. the 29km group would roll at 29km per hour on the flats. Faster down hill, slower up hill. Or so we assumed. I can’t remember when I left the 29 group, maybe it was at lunch time. I certainly couldn’t keep up and they weren’t doing 29! Ivan and Robert stuck with them and averaged 30.5 for day 1. Good work guys!!!! Jeff and I dropped back to the 27 group but soon left that and joined into a smaller group of about 12 riders, some of whom ride together all the time. This was a nice calm group and we ended the day happily with an average of about 27.5. I learned that what separates the groups are the hills. I can roll along the flats with the best of them or up a long easy ascent but stick a long steep hill in front of me and I just don’t have the torque to keep up with the big boys.
Thursday night we camped at the Gravenhurst KOA, about 25km from the cottage where I’m living now. Theresa, Alexander and Elyse where there waving at us as we passed within 1 km of the cottage (hot tub, shower, comfy bed… oh why am I doing this?) . I hope they didn’t wait too long and got a thrill out everyone waving at them. It was a bit of a set up I’m afraid but fun anyway. The group of about 14 that I was with at that point were gracious enough to let me ride front and centre as we came up to the corner where I knew they’d be waiting so there was Aunty Jen leading the pack. The camp was a major tent city but I slept well, didn’t hear the 100k people partying nearby, there were hot showers, hot food and it didn’t rain!
Friday, day 2, (209km) Up at 5:30. Yawn. We did a big 100k loop north of Bracebridge through some tough rolling hills on the Brakenrig road. Through Port Sydney and back to within 5km of where we started. Ivan and Robert must have been tired from day 1 because they stuck with the group Jeff and I were in. To be honest, it seems years ago and I don’t remember much about it. Oh yes, Ariel. We started the morning in a 27 group but the four of us and a few others (Alain, Andrew, Peter) kept pulling ahead on the hills. At the midmorning rest break we split the groups and we picked up a road marshal named Ariel. We were only about 10 people so were able to do an interesting type of riding which had us moving very quickly. Imagine two columns where the right side is constantly moving past the left. When the rider on the right reaches the front they continue past the lead rider on the left then pull in front of them while the next rider on the right moved up and past them. At the back, as the last person on the right passes the last rider on the left then the left person would move into the right column. In this way there was constantly a cycle of people through the front positions with no one person pulling for very long. Here’s a link on drafting that explains it better.
http://www.lostrivercycling.org/paceline.html
The afternoon was much easier than the morning. Hwy 118 was busy but has a broad shoulder and the hills, while long, are not steep. We got beer, wine and a bus ride for the final 7km making for a slightly shorter day, I think it was 203. The reason for the bus was a 5k section of torn up muddy road.
Friday night we stayed at Camp Northland near Haliburton. Ugh. It rained for about the last hour of riding, maybe more, and continued to rain most of night. Hauling a suitcase, backpack and tent through the mud while we searched for our cabin was a definite low-light. While we had cabins to sleep in the bathrooms and showers were in separate buildings making for a soggy walk. Oh, the co-ed cabin was Ok but the co-ed showers were, um, interesting? These cabins made other camps I’ve seen look like paradise. Someone snored. I think it was Jeff and since he couldn’t recall any snoring I’m still blaming him!
Saturday, Day 3 (219km). This was the day I was most NOT looking forward to. The morning was the worst for hills and my legs were tired and sore. I had waited for a massage the night before but given up after an hour of waiting and gone to bed. Up and down go the hills. UP and down. Those UPs take so long and the downs are gone so quickly. Then we found Jeff Martin and Terry LeMay. They saved my life on day three and actually made it a lot of fun. Jeff pulled and pulled and pulled. He liked being out front. Terry rode behind him and made sure the group stayed together. They slowed down on hills (what a novel concept) and then kept the speed on the flats to something we could all manage. Terry must have gotten tired of my “easy on the hills” call but he never complained. Jeff Martin was a machine and pulled us all in for hours. Others would go to the front to help out for a little but Jeff always worked his way back to the lead position. Finally, the wind at our backs and an easy descent into Peterborough and we flew into town. I owe my day three to Jeff and Terry, they made it not only possible but also a wonderful day.
Trent University was a treat after the previous two nights. It’s all relative, but that single dorm room seemed like heaven. We signed up for massages at 5;30 when we arrived and finally had our names called around 8:15. It was worth the wait. Dinner was amazing, hunger is the best spice but I do believe the food was pretty good. It was warm, no rain, beds to sleep in. Sigh.
Sunday, Day 4 (200). Last day. Just a few rolling hills they told us. Yeah right, it’s all down hill from here. Ha ha, I’ve heard that one before. The first half of the day was again really tough. I dropped off the back of the group I was in, partly because I refused to stand and burn myself out on the hills and partly because I just couldn’t. Or maybe I could have but I didn’t want too. In either case, I often take a long time to warm up and today was no different. At one point JeffG and I decided that the group we were with was going too fast so when they stopped for a break we kept on going. At first we toddled along at about 15k/hour thinking they would catch us soon. When they didn’t we picked up the pace taking turns pulling each other. They did finally catch up to us about 10k further on when we stopped at the next rest station. What took you guys so long? : )
The break was quick as we’d found JeffM and Terry again and a few of us quickly took off with them. Mostly the same group from the day before – Alain, Andrew, Ivan, JeffG, Robert and a couple of others. Then this group also fractured leaving only 5 of us to finish the final 2 hours together. But what a finish. Andrew must have been holding out on use because all of a sudden he was pulling us along at 40k/hour. He and Robert swapped in and out maintaining the seemingly impossible speeds. I surprised myself and suddenly came up with enough energy to keep up with them as we flew through Brampton and into Mississauga. And there was Jeff, after saying over and over that he couldn’t do it, right there with us. Way to go Jeff!! The only thing slowing us down at this point were the lights.
We skipped the last water stop in hopes of making the 5 PM escort home. The set-up was such that 3km out from the Mississauga City Centre everyone had to gather up into a large group that then go in to finish as a large group with a police escort. As we came in sight of the gathering point we could see the mass of cyclists about 1km ahead moving out with the escort. A volunteer tried to wave us into the stop to wait for the next batch but that wasn’t for us. We would catch them! Whizzing along at 40-45km/hour we chased the group. Taking over a lane on Hwy 10 the five of us put in the last big push finally having to pass about 5 cars and the rear escort vehicles to join the tail end. We’d made it!!! It wasn’t until this point that I actually realized I was going to make it. That I had indeed made it. 850 km, over 30 hours of rolling time, sore legs, sore arms, sore everything but here we were. Wow.
Will I do it again? I don’t know. Was it worth it? The hours and hours of riding in preparation? Sunburn, thunderstorms, hail, sore legs, sore shoulders, multiple repairs to the bike, new shoes, new pedals…? YES. Absolutely, no question about it.
Once again, I’d like to thank those who supported me. My friends and family who believe in me and give me the strength to keep going. Everyone who donated. And IBM for having flexible work hours that allowed me to get my training in. You make it all possible.
For anyone who would still like to make a donation here is the link:
https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/LoginRegister.aspx?EventID=14751&LangPref=en-CA
The map: http://www.tourforkids.com/ontario/maps/TFK%20Turn%20Directions%202008-08-12%20v2.pdf
Next mission: http://ironman.com/events/ironman70.3/muskoka70.3
Goal: Complete in under 5:45.
Nice work Jennifer – who knew a charity ride could be so grueling?! I guess you are in good biking shape now! 😉