Today started in Truro, Nova Scotia at the Sears store for breakfast. The weather was good and it was one of the warmer days of the ride. The mornings dedication was for Kallen, a boy from Saskatchewan, who is a pediatric cancer survivor. The other dedication was for for Tom’s Mom, Ruth who is under going treatment. Tom is one of the members of team 2. We were riding fast today as we had to get to Suzanne’s school, another member, in Antigonish. The school is primary to grade 7 and Suzanne is the vice principal. We rode a 140km hard uphill ride to get there and arrived at 2pm to 220 screaming children. It was electric with all the cheering. WOW. After some speeches, we went into the classrooms and saw all the posters of us that the children have made. They all wanted our autographs and it really was quite humbling. Standing there with many kids asking for autographs and such. It was great to see how the whole community got behind the cause. After that we went to the Sears store for lunch where a great spread of food awaited us. Then showers and off to the next start point. We are meeting up with all the teams tonight and tomorrow we will all ride together for the final day. It’s hard to believe it is almost over!!
This morning was a very cool morning getting our of the bunk truck. It was around 3-4 d but the sky was blue and it was going to warm up. Breakfast was at the Comfort Inn. Many layers of clothing was put on to keep warm. The ride today was a hilly course with many rollers. We had a cross wind to make it interesting but at some points it was a tailwind. During this time, we were able to maintain a speed of 38km. The climbing today was the second highetst elevation other than Northern Ontario. It was a good day with lots of beautiful scenery to look at. Our route followed a river valley for most of the day. It’s hard to believe that the end is near for this ride. We are being shuttled to Nova Scotia to ride the remaining two days.
Today started out with breakfast at the Sears store in Trois Rivieres. We left early (7:15) as it was a busy day with a tight schedule. The day was sunny and cool but after 20 minutes or so, the body was warm. We had our first rest stop in St Anne de La Parade. The Quebec cheese there was amazing. From there we rode to the Louis Garneau factory for lunch. Louis Garneau was one of the major sponsors for the ride and supplied all the teams with their kits. ( Jersey, bibs, socks, vest, jacket) We were treated to a tasty lunch and some free swag. While we were eating, Louis Garneau came introduced himself and joined us for lunch. After eating, we rode to Sears at St Laurent Mall in Quebec City with our special addition to Team 2, Louis Garneau. He lead us to the mall and each member of the team had the pleasure of riding beside him. It was a very cool highlight to the day. A inside ride was just finishing once we arrived at the mall. There was local media there and some good exposure to the cause. More inspiration was brought to the team through Jacob, a teenager who is going through treatments to cure his cancer. After everything was over, some of us decided to ride back with Louis to his factory. He had a nice surprise in store for us during the ride, a hill the locals call the little Pyrenees. It was a 1 km 18% climb that was a real challenge! After that we went shopping at the outlet store then into the RV’s to shuttle to Edmunston, NB
We awoke in Kingson to a sunny day and relatively warm weather. It is much warmer than the days in Northern Ontario and Manitoba. It was an emotional morning as our captain, Ken Cross is from Kingston. He spoke about his daughter Megan, who’s cancer came back last Feb. She needed a bone marrow transplant and her sister was there as a donor. The procedure was a sucess. There were many tears as Ken spoke about his daughter and you could get a sense of what the famiy has gone through.
It was a very inspiring day on two fronts today, one being the Cross family. The other was Josh Nelson, his parents and Drew. Ken really has been a solid captain and a large part, as to why team 2 works so well team. Josh shows that if you hold onto an idea and never let it go, that someday it will happen. The ride ended in Ottawa today with an inside ride. This was Josh and Drew’s time to depart the team. They were riding the Ontario leg of the ride and sadly this part was over today. It was a tearful send off to Josh, his parents and Drew. I must say that it was a pleasure to have them in our RV and how I got to get to know them during the shuttle time.
We are now shuttling to Trois Rivers to meet the bunk truck and start our day tomorrow.
Today started in Woodstock with all three teams meeting at the local Sears store. This was the first we have ride together since Vancouver. There was ride alongs all day today and people joined us in Woodstock. The next stop was Brantford at Sears,where a live band was playing. After listening to some music and picking up more riders, we left for Burlington. The route was cool for me as we were going right through much of my training ground. The ride went through Dundas, right down Governors road (right by my home). I did think of quickly going in for an espresso, as they have been far and few between. LOL From there our route brought us to Burlington (Maple View mall) and to a large crowd. Thank you Mike, Deb and Mason Thiele for coming to support me. Sharla and Raegan were there also, so it was nice to see them. Drew was at a birthday party that included mountain biking at a dirt bike area with jumps and such. How could he be dragged from that?? Thank you Frank for saying hello. A special suprise was Duane joined us for the ride along. He “powered” it out on a mountain bike. It was good to catch up with him. The ride picked up more people in Oakville and by then we had a very large convoy. It ended in Sherway Gardens where all the teams split up again. We will not see them again until the night before Halifax. Now we are on the shuttle to Kingston. We ride to Ottawa tomorrow. It was kind of a different day today with all the people, riding at home area and all the support!!!
This morning we got up well rested and ready to get out on the bikes. The weather was much warmer and there was internet and mobile phone connections all over!! What a start! Our ride today was dedicated to Meladina who past away at age 17, in 2008. We left from Tobermorny, team 1 left first and we were out around 5 minutes after them. Our lunch was in Owen Sound at the local Sears store. Another great spread of food!! The next stop was Walter Falls and then off to Collingwood. The total KM for today was 189km with some mild hills to make it a little more interesting. Josh and Drew rode the tandam the entire way and it was Josh’s first ride of that distance. It is very inspiring to see him work so hard. What a brave soul!
After the ride today, Melanie treated us to a very nice experience. We all went to the Scandanvi Spa, where there was mineral pools, steam rooms,sauna and lastly private showers!! What a relaxing time!! Now we are in the RV’s shuttling to Woodstock to meet our bunk truck. Not a bad distance tonight - 190km. We have Sharlene in our RV tonight so that mean massages!! Tomorrow is a big day as we ride through Brantford, Burlington and Sherway Gardens. Our route will take us right down Governors in Dundas, pretty much right by my home!!
Today was more a day about making the ferry across Lake Huron and not having to drive around, a 10 hour trek. It was a cold and rainy day. We had reservations made and had to be there by 3pm sharp or the drive and no sleep would be on. All three teams were meeting on the ferry and we had not seen them since BC so there were lots of stories shared. Our support cube vans did not make the ferry so they had to drive around. After the ferry, there was no shuttle and we got to have a relaxing shower, dinner and even time to watch some college football in the pub!! We even got to get to bed before 11am. It was great to see the teams again and we will be riding with Team 1 for the next couple days.
The internet and mobile phone connection has been non-existent the past few days. Communication has been difficult and frustrating. We’ve had an addition to our team this morning : Josh Nelson, a 16 y old cancer survivor and Drew. They will be riding a tandem for the Ontario leg of the ride. The morning started as usual but today it was quite cold. I really was not prepared for how cold it is in the mornings but I do have enough to keep me warm during cycling. The dedication for the day was for Isabella, a 9 month baby who is undergoing treatment. Our thoughts go out to her and her family. What a day for Josh and Drew to join us, many many hills. There is much work in riding a tandem under these conditions. The mountains of BC were not as much as these. In BC we climbed 3700ft but today was 5800ft of climbing. The LivDerma sport cream was a big help for the legs recovering!! Lunch was at Terrace Bay Curling club and it was as usual very good. We finished the day in a camp ground for showers and dinner (pizza) and started our shuttle of 500km. There was a mix up with our final rest stop and there was no room for all the vehicles, so the caravan traveled down the rode and found a place to park. This was around 3:30am but it meant no bathrooms and breakfast stop. Damian, our crew chief, spent the next few hours arranging all this while we slept. THANKS
