Here are two more video's to finish off my documentation of the ride.
This first video is one I shot on the top of Kooteney Pass which seems like forever ago. It probably isn't the kind of video you are expecting but it was pretty cool to see. Click on this link to see it.
And here is the video I took on Day 9, the last day of our ride. I'm sorry it is so shaky but I hope you enjoy it. Click here to see the video.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Monday, June 30, 2014
GearUp Day 9: Invermere-Banff
We made it!!!! I am happy to report that all riders made it into Banff accident free!!! Yesterday was an awesome day for me. It was a long day, 150km's, and I rode most of it all by myself...it was actually quite nice. Nothing against the other riders or anything, but it was nice to be able to go at my own pace, take a bunch of video (battery went dead before I finished) and just soak in the most amazing scenery I have ever seen.
The ride yesterday went straight through the Rockies. We were surrounded by mountains all day long. Amazingly we did not get rained on, the cloud above us did not look pretty but luckily they left us alone :)
The day started out with a big climb out of Radium and the best thing happened on it; I over estimated the km's we had to ride! For some crazy reason I thought the summit wasn't until the 46km mark, so I set myself a nice easy pace and settled in for a lot of pain and a long climb. However, as I came around the corner of the 24km mark there were the support vehicles!! How I over estimated by that much I will never know, must of been a combination of the elevation and total exhaustion. However, that nice little surprise set the mood for the rest of the ride...I was so happy!!! We still had some climbing to do after this but that was out last major ascent and it was a great feeling to know that the climbing was all behind us.
From here the Rockies really opened up and the ride was amazing. It was a long day and a lot of people could feel the exhaustion, as could I, but I also just felt really good, we were almost done and I was able to ride the whole thing!!
This fact really is what I am most proud of this year. I think I have said it before, but many of my rides this year were slower than last year and I did not feel as strong on the climbs. But this year I was able to accomplish the goal I set for myself last year and wasn't able to meet, and that was to ride every inch of that ride! After I checked into the hotel at Banff I had to do a reality check to make sure I wasn't dreaming, that I really did ride the whole thing and the ride really was over. So I do feel a huge sense of accomplishment in doing the whole ride this year. It was very tough, I think tougher than last year. This has a lot to do with the weather on days 2, 3, and 4, the hot sun and then the pouring rain. But once those first days were over everything went a lot better. I know that as time goes on and I recover from the ride I will look back on this trip with awesome memories and a lot of pride.
Thanks everyone for following along on the ride and thanks for all your support and encouraging messages...I could not have done this without you!!
If you have been following along and would still like to donate to the fight against CF, you can do so here.
Climbing out of Radium.
Keeping the legs warm during lunch.
Made it...where is everyone?
The ride yesterday went straight through the Rockies. We were surrounded by mountains all day long. Amazingly we did not get rained on, the cloud above us did not look pretty but luckily they left us alone :)
The day started out with a big climb out of Radium and the best thing happened on it; I over estimated the km's we had to ride! For some crazy reason I thought the summit wasn't until the 46km mark, so I set myself a nice easy pace and settled in for a lot of pain and a long climb. However, as I came around the corner of the 24km mark there were the support vehicles!! How I over estimated by that much I will never know, must of been a combination of the elevation and total exhaustion. However, that nice little surprise set the mood for the rest of the ride...I was so happy!!! We still had some climbing to do after this but that was out last major ascent and it was a great feeling to know that the climbing was all behind us.
From here the Rockies really opened up and the ride was amazing. It was a long day and a lot of people could feel the exhaustion, as could I, but I also just felt really good, we were almost done and I was able to ride the whole thing!!
This fact really is what I am most proud of this year. I think I have said it before, but many of my rides this year were slower than last year and I did not feel as strong on the climbs. But this year I was able to accomplish the goal I set for myself last year and wasn't able to meet, and that was to ride every inch of that ride! After I checked into the hotel at Banff I had to do a reality check to make sure I wasn't dreaming, that I really did ride the whole thing and the ride really was over. So I do feel a huge sense of accomplishment in doing the whole ride this year. It was very tough, I think tougher than last year. This has a lot to do with the weather on days 2, 3, and 4, the hot sun and then the pouring rain. But once those first days were over everything went a lot better. I know that as time goes on and I recover from the ride I will look back on this trip with awesome memories and a lot of pride.
Thanks everyone for following along on the ride and thanks for all your support and encouraging messages...I could not have done this without you!!
If you have been following along and would still like to donate to the fight against CF, you can do so here.
Climbing out of Radium.
Me and my favourite volunteer!!
Keeping the legs warm during lunch.
Made it...where is everyone?
Sunday, June 29, 2014
We Made It
I just wanted to post that we made it to Banff. Everyone arrived safe and we had a great ride today. We just got back from our celebration dinner and I am exhausted. I will blog about it all hopefully tomorrow. Kim and I are driving back tomorrow but hopefully I can have something up on the blog by tomorrow night.
Thanks everyone for your support, I could never have done this without everyone supporting us and cheering us on along the way.
Thanks.
Thanks everyone for your support, I could never have done this without everyone supporting us and cheering us on along the way.
Thanks.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Day 8: Cranbrook-Invermere
After the emotions of yesterday and another over cast sky I really didn't know what to expect as we rolled out after breakfast this morning, but now that it is over I can report that it was a GREAT day!! The weather for today was awesome, my legs felt loose, and we had a nice tailwind for about 80-90% of the day...we made record time today biking 132km in just over 4 hours...my average speed for the day was 31.5km/h. It was a fun day but obviously the thoughts and feelings of yesterday were never far away.
We got to the hotel at around 1pm which is great and we've had a nice afternoon sitting around in the pub and outside talking. My cousin Aletha, her husband Byron, and their new born son came to visit with Kim and I. It was so great to see them and catch up.
We also just met up with our Alberta riders. This morning a group of 5 riders left from Banff on the "Rocky Mountain Weekend Ride" and met up with us here and they will be riding back to Banff with us tomorrow.
It is amazing to think that this is already Day 8 and tomorrow is our last day. I am not counting my chickens before they hatch as anything can still happen before or during the ride tomorrow, but it is crazy to think that tomorrow is already our last day! During the ride today I was thinking about specific things that have happened on the ride and all the days have already meshed together and I am having a hard time keep everything apart, which was the super hot day? What day did it rain again? When was Paulson? Over time everything will define itself but on the ride it is just go go go and there isn't much time to sit and process. On Day 3 (lets think about this)...we were in Osoyoos and I remember wondering how I was every going to make it for another 6 days. I was dehydrated, my legs were cramping, and my saddle sores were getting really bad...and now here we are, only one day left!
One thing that is cool is that in the last 18 months I have put over 10,400km's on my road bike. I never thought I would be able to do that. Somehow I think it is going to take a lot longer to put the next 10,000 on it. I think that once I get back I am going to have to drop my bike off at the bike shop for some work...over the past couple day with all the rain it has developed a squeak, it kind of reminds me of riding one of my old junk pile bikes back on the farm when I was a kid...however, throw enough oil on anything and I am sure that squeak will disappear (I am sure all my farming family is nodding with approval and all my cycling friends are shaking their heads in horror).
Tomorrow is going to be a tough day, it is a long day (150km) and a lot of climbing. I am looking forward to the ride being done and if everything goes well it is going to be pretty amazing to once again see that Banff sign.
Though the scenery was amazing today I regret to say I didn't do much with my camera, we were in a pace line all day moving at a good clip so I didn't really think it would be good to whip out my camera and hobble all over the road while trying to film.
Here is what tomorrow looks like:
We got to the hotel at around 1pm which is great and we've had a nice afternoon sitting around in the pub and outside talking. My cousin Aletha, her husband Byron, and their new born son came to visit with Kim and I. It was so great to see them and catch up.
We also just met up with our Alberta riders. This morning a group of 5 riders left from Banff on the "Rocky Mountain Weekend Ride" and met up with us here and they will be riding back to Banff with us tomorrow.
It is amazing to think that this is already Day 8 and tomorrow is our last day. I am not counting my chickens before they hatch as anything can still happen before or during the ride tomorrow, but it is crazy to think that tomorrow is already our last day! During the ride today I was thinking about specific things that have happened on the ride and all the days have already meshed together and I am having a hard time keep everything apart, which was the super hot day? What day did it rain again? When was Paulson? Over time everything will define itself but on the ride it is just go go go and there isn't much time to sit and process. On Day 3 (lets think about this)...we were in Osoyoos and I remember wondering how I was every going to make it for another 6 days. I was dehydrated, my legs were cramping, and my saddle sores were getting really bad...and now here we are, only one day left!
One thing that is cool is that in the last 18 months I have put over 10,400km's on my road bike. I never thought I would be able to do that. Somehow I think it is going to take a lot longer to put the next 10,000 on it. I think that once I get back I am going to have to drop my bike off at the bike shop for some work...over the past couple day with all the rain it has developed a squeak, it kind of reminds me of riding one of my old junk pile bikes back on the farm when I was a kid...however, throw enough oil on anything and I am sure that squeak will disappear (I am sure all my farming family is nodding with approval and all my cycling friends are shaking their heads in horror).
Tomorrow is going to be a tough day, it is a long day (150km) and a lot of climbing. I am looking forward to the ride being done and if everything goes well it is going to be pretty amazing to once again see that Banff sign.
Though the scenery was amazing today I regret to say I didn't do much with my camera, we were in a pace line all day moving at a good clip so I didn't really think it would be good to whip out my camera and hobble all over the road while trying to film.
Here is what tomorrow looks like:
Friday, June 27, 2014
GearUp Day 7: Creston-Cranbrook
There is nothing worse in cycling than starting your ride in the pouring rain, and that is exactly what happened today. After putting on all the warm clothes I had, trying to be as water proof as possible, within three minutes of riding I was pretty much soaked through. In the words of one of the riders who had to sit today out, "in those first km's there wasn't anyone smiling or hooting or hollering, no one looked happy to be on the road."
My legs felt quite heavy all day and I pretty much just tried to stay in the middle of the pace line or on someone's wheel all day. Today was one of those rides everyone just wanted to put their heads down and get through, and we did get through it quite fast...103km's in 3h48min.
For me, the first 60km's though were all about pushing through the mental barriers of wanting to get in the car...it actually turned out to be a pretty emotional day for me. Just before rolling out this morning I read on Facebook about a friend who was recently admitted to St. Paul's for CF reasons...this really stuck with me all day. As I was riding and wanting nothing more than to quit I kept remembering back to my old hospital room in St. Paul's and what my friend was going through. I remembered unpacking all my stuff at each admission, the smell of the antibacterial wipes, the total lack of privacy, the constant interruptions, the shitty food, and the beeping from the fucking I.V. pump...it was at this point that I found myself actually crying for about 3 minutes during the ride. I remember so often sitting in Room 1 of ward 8A and wanting nothing more than to be able to get out of there...and here I was today complaining about some stupid rain while having the opportunity to bike over 100km's. It is amazing how CF puts things in perspective, and today was the perfect reminder about why we are doing this ride and just how shitty every single part of CF is.
I know my own health is still very fragile and I face my own post-transplant complications, but when I think back to those long day, weeks and months I spent in St. Paul's I just can't help but be so incredibly humbled by the gift of life I have been given. This ride has been very physically and mentally demanding and we are not done yet, but how could I ever complain about some stupid rain or a headwind when so many people with CF are still fighting the fight to breathe. If any of my CF friends are reading this tonight, and I know this doesn't really help you in any way, but please know that you are the ones who got me through the day today, thank-you.
Some rainy pics:
We were wet before we even turned a spoke.
Pace line in the rain.
My legs felt quite heavy all day and I pretty much just tried to stay in the middle of the pace line or on someone's wheel all day. Today was one of those rides everyone just wanted to put their heads down and get through, and we did get through it quite fast...103km's in 3h48min.
For me, the first 60km's though were all about pushing through the mental barriers of wanting to get in the car...it actually turned out to be a pretty emotional day for me. Just before rolling out this morning I read on Facebook about a friend who was recently admitted to St. Paul's for CF reasons...this really stuck with me all day. As I was riding and wanting nothing more than to quit I kept remembering back to my old hospital room in St. Paul's and what my friend was going through. I remembered unpacking all my stuff at each admission, the smell of the antibacterial wipes, the total lack of privacy, the constant interruptions, the shitty food, and the beeping from the fucking I.V. pump...it was at this point that I found myself actually crying for about 3 minutes during the ride. I remember so often sitting in Room 1 of ward 8A and wanting nothing more than to be able to get out of there...and here I was today complaining about some stupid rain while having the opportunity to bike over 100km's. It is amazing how CF puts things in perspective, and today was the perfect reminder about why we are doing this ride and just how shitty every single part of CF is.
I know my own health is still very fragile and I face my own post-transplant complications, but when I think back to those long day, weeks and months I spent in St. Paul's I just can't help but be so incredibly humbled by the gift of life I have been given. This ride has been very physically and mentally demanding and we are not done yet, but how could I ever complain about some stupid rain or a headwind when so many people with CF are still fighting the fight to breathe. If any of my CF friends are reading this tonight, and I know this doesn't really help you in any way, but please know that you are the ones who got me through the day today, thank-you.
Some rainy pics:
We were wet before we even turned a spoke.
Pace line in the rain.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Day 6: Rossland-Creston
Wow, am I glad today is over!! It was a good day but it was a very tough day. Kooteney Pass definitely got the better of me on this day! But I was able to finish it so I guess it was a good day :)
The day started out great, we left Rossland and had a nice quick descent into Trail, it was about an 8-10% grade and a lot of fun to cruise down. Once we got into Trial we right away had two climbs to get back out of Trail and we were on our way to Fruitvale for our morning break. From here we set our sights for the bottom of Kooteney Pass, the 67km lunch break. We had a pretty stiff headwind for the 30km's leading up to lunch but we could not have asked for better weather. From here we started up the biggest (and I think hardest) climb of the trip. It started out quite well with some nice 4-6% grades but about 10km's up we hit the 7-8%'s and these killed me. It was about a 21km climb and I suffered big time over the last 10km. I remember that last year I did the whole thing without stopping; not a chance this year. I think I had to stop about 5 times, they were all short breaks, but my legs just would not go.
The weather was perfect the whole way up, quite cloudy but it looked like it could rain at any time, and sure enough, with 500 meters to go the sky opened and it started coming down good. You can see the pictures below. We all grabbed our bags and headed into a little warming cabin that is up there and we all put on our winter gear. It rained quite hard for about 17km's down, I got totally soaked through and then I came around one corner and was hit by a burst of warm air, about 1 km later the rained stopped and all of sudden it got really warm. After reaching the farming flats outside of Creston, right at the bottom of the mountain, I had to stop and strip off a few layers as it was about a 11km ride to the hotel.
The day was difficult but overall I am satisfied with how it went. We had three riders do the Kooteney Pass twice this year which is amazing!
This picture makes the whole day worth it:
The day started out great, we left Rossland and had a nice quick descent into Trail, it was about an 8-10% grade and a lot of fun to cruise down. Once we got into Trial we right away had two climbs to get back out of Trail and we were on our way to Fruitvale for our morning break. From here we set our sights for the bottom of Kooteney Pass, the 67km lunch break. We had a pretty stiff headwind for the 30km's leading up to lunch but we could not have asked for better weather. From here we started up the biggest (and I think hardest) climb of the trip. It started out quite well with some nice 4-6% grades but about 10km's up we hit the 7-8%'s and these killed me. It was about a 21km climb and I suffered big time over the last 10km. I remember that last year I did the whole thing without stopping; not a chance this year. I think I had to stop about 5 times, they were all short breaks, but my legs just would not go.
The weather was perfect the whole way up, quite cloudy but it looked like it could rain at any time, and sure enough, with 500 meters to go the sky opened and it started coming down good. You can see the pictures below. We all grabbed our bags and headed into a little warming cabin that is up there and we all put on our winter gear. It rained quite hard for about 17km's down, I got totally soaked through and then I came around one corner and was hit by a burst of warm air, about 1 km later the rained stopped and all of sudden it got really warm. After reaching the farming flats outside of Creston, right at the bottom of the mountain, I had to stop and strip off a few layers as it was about a 11km ride to the hotel.
The day was difficult but overall I am satisfied with how it went. We had three riders do the Kooteney Pass twice this year which is amazing!
This picture makes the whole day worth it:
Kim working hard at the top of Kooteney Pass...our volunteers are the only thing that keep us going.
One of the highlights of the day was coming with 100 feet of a Moose, twice! I took video of each "encounter" but the internet is kind of slow here so I won't be able to upload it, but it was pretty fun.
Lastly, here is what we have in store for ourselves tomorrow.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Day 5 Video
Here is the video I took today, you will need to turn your volume up as my voice is a bit quiet.
GearUp Day 5: Grand Forks to Rossland
Well I am just going to come right out and say it...today was GREAT!!! (I bet you weren't expecting that). But seriously, today went really well and much better than I thought. A lot of it had to do with setting a nice easy pace on the climbs and also the weather was perfect (finally).
We got on the road at about 8:30am and had a nice easy ride for about 33km's, riding along Christina Lake and then beginning our ascent. I began climbing at right around 9:45am and I think it took close to 2hrs to make it to the top. I took quite a bit of video so I hope it works...the videos from the last two days have not been able to upload.
From the top of Paulson Summit we descended down to our lunch break at Nancy Green Park and from there climbed up again to Nancy Green Summit. The whole day today everyone was commenting on how awesome the weather was, mostly over cast with the sun popping through here and there to make sure we didn't get too cold.
So yeah, over-all it was a great day. It is nice that it was a bit shorter as well, 98km's, and we got to our hotel by 2pm.
Tomorrow is another big climb, Kootney Pass, and it is the biggest of the trip. It is funny how the certain mountains effect people in different ways. Everyone has their "hardest hill" and last year for me it was Paulson. Therefore I don't know what to think for tomorrow, it is going to feel easier than today or more difficult...I guess it doesn't really matter, tomorrow will take care of itself. For now we are off to the pub!
Here is a look at tomorrow's ride, the elevation map for tomorrow is the best one of the ride, you gotta wonder why they can't just build a tunnel, think of all the gas money truckers could save.
Paulson Summit
This view is better in-person
We got on the road at about 8:30am and had a nice easy ride for about 33km's, riding along Christina Lake and then beginning our ascent. I began climbing at right around 9:45am and I think it took close to 2hrs to make it to the top. I took quite a bit of video so I hope it works...the videos from the last two days have not been able to upload.
From the top of Paulson Summit we descended down to our lunch break at Nancy Green Park and from there climbed up again to Nancy Green Summit. The whole day today everyone was commenting on how awesome the weather was, mostly over cast with the sun popping through here and there to make sure we didn't get too cold.
So yeah, over-all it was a great day. It is nice that it was a bit shorter as well, 98km's, and we got to our hotel by 2pm.
Tomorrow is another big climb, Kootney Pass, and it is the biggest of the trip. It is funny how the certain mountains effect people in different ways. Everyone has their "hardest hill" and last year for me it was Paulson. Therefore I don't know what to think for tomorrow, it is going to feel easier than today or more difficult...I guess it doesn't really matter, tomorrow will take care of itself. For now we are off to the pub!
Here is a look at tomorrow's ride, the elevation map for tomorrow is the best one of the ride, you gotta wonder why they can't just build a tunnel, think of all the gas money truckers could save.
Here are some pictures from the day:
In this one you can see the road we just climbed up.
The popular blue bridge:
Paulson Summit
This view is better in-person
Video from Anarchist
Here is a short video I took about half way up Anarchist Summit on Day 4 (yesterday). You can see Osoyoos way below us, you can also the see the rain clouds catching up to us...about 5 minutes after this video the sky's opened up and it never stopped.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Day 4: Osoyoos-Grand Forks
From one extreme to another, that's all I can say about the weather so far on this trip. Once again the weather was the popular topic of discussion (and sorrow) today, but for the totally opposite reason as the previous days. Today it rained, and rained, and rained...pretty much the whole 124km!!
Overall today was another pretty tough day. We began the day about 800 meters from Anarchist Summit and so without any warmup, we began the 30km climb right off the bat. It was about 4km's into the ride that is began to spit...by the time we reached the top of the summit our visibility was down to about 30 meters as we were socked right into the rain and clouds. from the top on Anarchist Summit it was a long and cold(!) descent into Midway for lunch, where we all stood around the lunch table changing out of our wet gear and into dryer warmer clothes. I think everyone faired a bit better after lunch as we were all in cold weather gear and knew what to expect. Some riders got caught in a torrential downpour where drivers later said that their windshield wipers couldn't keep up with the rain.
After summiting our second climb of the day we had another 20km descent and I think everyone was just praying to make it to Grand Forks safely. In one particularly sketchy section I was passed by a logging truck that happened to hit a swell in the road right as he passed me and it was as if I was hit with three 5 gallon pails of water as each of his axels screamed past me...over all it was a day to remember (usually I am a fair weather rider).
I did not take much video today as it was difficult and dangerous to navigate the camera and stay on the road in this kind of weather, but here are a couple shots from the day.
Overall today was another pretty tough day. We began the day about 800 meters from Anarchist Summit and so without any warmup, we began the 30km climb right off the bat. It was about 4km's into the ride that is began to spit...by the time we reached the top of the summit our visibility was down to about 30 meters as we were socked right into the rain and clouds. from the top on Anarchist Summit it was a long and cold(!) descent into Midway for lunch, where we all stood around the lunch table changing out of our wet gear and into dryer warmer clothes. I think everyone faired a bit better after lunch as we were all in cold weather gear and knew what to expect. Some riders got caught in a torrential downpour where drivers later said that their windshield wipers couldn't keep up with the rain.
After summiting our second climb of the day we had another 20km descent and I think everyone was just praying to make it to Grand Forks safely. In one particularly sketchy section I was passed by a logging truck that happened to hit a swell in the road right as he passed me and it was as if I was hit with three 5 gallon pails of water as each of his axels screamed past me...over all it was a day to remember (usually I am a fair weather rider).
I did not take much video today as it was difficult and dangerous to navigate the camera and stay on the road in this kind of weather, but here are a couple shots from the day.
Paul and Bill at the top of Anarchist:
Pulling into our hotel like a bunch of drowned rats:
Tomorrow is one of our biggest climbs, Paulson Summit, I hated this climb last year and I'm sure tomorrow isn't going to be any better :)
Monday, June 23, 2014
Day 3: Manning Park-Osoyoos
I am very happy to report that today is over! That's pretty much all I got to say about that...okay, I'll tell you a bit about it. Today was another very difficult day. This was the longest ride I have ever done, 183km's, and again, it was some of the hottest weather I have ever ridden in. At one point during the second climb of the day my bike computer was registering 40 degree!
The day actually started off very well, we left Manning Park just a little after 8am and had a really nice 30km ride until our first climb of the day. Sunday Summit isn't a long climb but it was good enough after suffering through yesterday. From there we descended into Princeton and kept right on going. From Princeton we set our eyes on Keremeos where we would have lunch at the 134km mark. This took us to about 1:45pm when we pulled in there. From here on I, and most people, began to suffer. Right after leaving the lunch stop you could tell the heat was on! We had a pretty strong headwind for most of the day and there were times between Keremeos and Osoyoos where it felt like we were standing in front of the furnace, the wind was just so hot and dry.
This also coincided with our second and largest climb of the day, Richter Pass. When we finally got to these climbs I was just wasted and just had to keep telling myself I was going to be okay and to just take is easy. I rode this whole section with two other rides, Norm and Joan, and having them there was very nice as they helped provide the morale boost. When I finally pulled into our hotel here in Osoyoos my legs were cramping so bad I could barely get off my bike. Out hotel is right on the lake here so everyone pretty much just got off there bike and walked into the water with all their biking gear still on.
Anyway, tomorrow is a bit of a shorter day, 124km :( We begin with the long climb up Anarchist Summit, it is about a 30km climb to the top but we have a rest stop at about the 16km mark. Here is what tomorrow looks like:
Here are some pics from the ride today.
The day actually started off very well, we left Manning Park just a little after 8am and had a really nice 30km ride until our first climb of the day. Sunday Summit isn't a long climb but it was good enough after suffering through yesterday. From there we descended into Princeton and kept right on going. From Princeton we set our eyes on Keremeos where we would have lunch at the 134km mark. This took us to about 1:45pm when we pulled in there. From here on I, and most people, began to suffer. Right after leaving the lunch stop you could tell the heat was on! We had a pretty strong headwind for most of the day and there were times between Keremeos and Osoyoos where it felt like we were standing in front of the furnace, the wind was just so hot and dry.
This also coincided with our second and largest climb of the day, Richter Pass. When we finally got to these climbs I was just wasted and just had to keep telling myself I was going to be okay and to just take is easy. I rode this whole section with two other rides, Norm and Joan, and having them there was very nice as they helped provide the morale boost. When I finally pulled into our hotel here in Osoyoos my legs were cramping so bad I could barely get off my bike. Out hotel is right on the lake here so everyone pretty much just got off there bike and walked into the water with all their biking gear still on.
Anyway, tomorrow is a bit of a shorter day, 124km :( We begin with the long climb up Anarchist Summit, it is about a 30km climb to the top but we have a rest stop at about the 16km mark. Here is what tomorrow looks like:
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Day 2: Chilliwack-Manning Park
Well all I can say is that the curse of Day 2 is still alive
and strong!! What is it with me and this day?!?! Okay, maybe it wasn’t
that bad, but today was a brutal day.
It started out quite well.
I felt strong leaving Chilliwack at 8am this morning and even when we
left Hope at around 10:45am I still felt good. But about half way up the Hope Slide the climbing began to
take its toll. I ended up getting
my first flat of the ride just over half way up the Slide and after that I just
couldn’t really get a good rhythm going.
The main thing that made the ride so hard today, and everyone suffered
today, was the heat. I have not ridden
in heat like that yet this year and the scary thing is that tomorrow is going
to be hotter as we get ride into the BC desert.
A lot of people experience leg cramping today as buckets of
sweat were just dripping off of us.
I was less than a km away from the Manning Park lodge and I had to pull
over and stop because both of my legs were cramping so bad. The volunteers waiting for us at the
top of Allison Pass said that every single person let out an expletive as they summated
the climb, as I said, pretty much everyone suffered today!
Tomorrow should be a nicer ride but it won’t bring much
relief. It is our longest day of
riding, 185km’s, and as I mentioned, it is going to be hot!
Today we had about 40 riders with us, but now it is just
down to the 21 nine-day riders. It
is a strong group and I foresee myself hanging out near the back for most of
the ride J However, I am so thankful to be doing
this ride again and I know I need to keep that in mind.
I did take quite a bit of video but I don’t know if I will
be able to upload it tonight as the internet here is very slow. If it doesn’t work out I will try
upload it tomorrow night from Osoyoos.
Here is what tomorrow looks like.
Allison Pass:
ps. please forgive me if there are lots of spelling/grammar/typo mistakes...I'm just too tired to edit this.
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Day 1: Home-Chilliwack
So Day 1 is in the books! It was a great day and a lot of fun to reconnect with old friends from last year's ride. Because Kim is an official volunteer this year she had to be at Crescent Beach early this morning therefore I decided to ride from home to Crescent Beach. It is only about 17km's and a friend of mine, Clarke, swung by my house to pick me up and ride with me to the start line. There are obviously a lot of people I don't know on the ride but it is great to see a lot of familiar faces, people who did the ride last year.
The weather was awesome today. There was a bit of a headwind so I tried to make sure I was drafting other people (1 or 2 day riders) as much as possible. Having done this part of the ride 3 times now there weren't too many surprises.
I want to thank my awesome family for coming out again and cheering us on half way through the day. Everyone is always wondering who all these crazy people standing on the side of the road are and I am always proud to say that those people are MY family!! It is always a huge boost to the riders to see you all there, so again, thank you!
There were over 100 people riding today, 5 of us who have CF, 3 of those who have had double-lung transplants, including myself.
In regards to the ride, it was for the most part quite flat. There were 2 hills that were kind of steep but luckily quite short. I felt pretty good and I am looking forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow is about 2-3 hours of flat riding into Hope and then we begin to climb, and I mean climb. We head up the Hope Slide, most people hold a personal hatred of that climb, and then continue up to Allison pass. You can read all about it in the description below.
Here is a link to a short video from today's ride. I will try take more video in the days to come, I was having such a good time talking and catching up with people I kind of forgot to take more shots.
The weather was awesome today. There was a bit of a headwind so I tried to make sure I was drafting other people (1 or 2 day riders) as much as possible. Having done this part of the ride 3 times now there weren't too many surprises.
I want to thank my awesome family for coming out again and cheering us on half way through the day. Everyone is always wondering who all these crazy people standing on the side of the road are and I am always proud to say that those people are MY family!! It is always a huge boost to the riders to see you all there, so again, thank you!
There were over 100 people riding today, 5 of us who have CF, 3 of those who have had double-lung transplants, including myself.
In regards to the ride, it was for the most part quite flat. There were 2 hills that were kind of steep but luckily quite short. I felt pretty good and I am looking forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow is about 2-3 hours of flat riding into Hope and then we begin to climb, and I mean climb. We head up the Hope Slide, most people hold a personal hatred of that climb, and then continue up to Allison pass. You can read all about it in the description below.
Here is a link to a short video from today's ride. I will try take more video in the days to come, I was having such a good time talking and catching up with people I kind of forgot to take more shots.
ps. I told you the elevation map would get more entertaining.
Friday, June 20, 2014
Let's Do This!!
Well, here we are, it all starts tomorrow. My bags are about half packed, my medications are about half packed, I bike is almost ready to go, and Kim almost has all she needs for her volunteering duties (we are just about to go pick up her vehicle). So yeah, I'm not totally ready to go yet but it should all fall into place nicely...I hope :)
It is great to finally be here. I am feeling pretty good, I don't know if I'm as strong as last year but I am quite a bit more relaxed which should help. Kim is excited to be officially volunteering this year. She has her role set out for her. One thing I do love about this ride is how organized and well run it is; and this is all due to the awesome team of volunteers we have.
I do hope to blog each day and if it works out, maybe post some video. I will also post the next day's ride description each day. Below you will see what we have in store for tomorrow.
The main highlight on day 1 is that about 2/3rd of the way through the ride we pass my Aunt and Uncle's farm and there is usually a good crowd of family members there waving and cheering us on. All the riders get a kick out of it and I usually get roasted a little bit once people find out they are my family.
Tomorrow there will be just over 100 people riding the 100km's from Crescent Beach to Chilliwack. The weather looks great although it does look like there is going to be a slight head wind...I'll have to make sure I tuck in behind someone bigger than me :)
Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading my blog over the next many days. I will try as best I can to give you a bit of a taste of what riding across the province is like. Now, time to finish my packing job!
Cheers!
ps. the elevation map isn't that great on this page and I know it's hard to see, don't worry, it will get more entertaining and even comical as the ride goes on.
It is great to finally be here. I am feeling pretty good, I don't know if I'm as strong as last year but I am quite a bit more relaxed which should help. Kim is excited to be officially volunteering this year. She has her role set out for her. One thing I do love about this ride is how organized and well run it is; and this is all due to the awesome team of volunteers we have.
I do hope to blog each day and if it works out, maybe post some video. I will also post the next day's ride description each day. Below you will see what we have in store for tomorrow.
The main highlight on day 1 is that about 2/3rd of the way through the ride we pass my Aunt and Uncle's farm and there is usually a good crowd of family members there waving and cheering us on. All the riders get a kick out of it and I usually get roasted a little bit once people find out they are my family.
Tomorrow there will be just over 100 people riding the 100km's from Crescent Beach to Chilliwack. The weather looks great although it does look like there is going to be a slight head wind...I'll have to make sure I tuck in behind someone bigger than me :)
Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading my blog over the next many days. I will try as best I can to give you a bit of a taste of what riding across the province is like. Now, time to finish my packing job!
Cheers!
Monday, June 16, 2014
Training Complete
This past Saturday I went on my last training ride and I'll just say, I wish it went a bit better. Okay, it wasn't that bad, but it wasn't that great either. Here's how it went down. This past Friday, Kim's parents treated the whole family to a weekend away in Harrison Hot Springs. So being out in the Agassiz area, and this being where we ride on Day 2, I figured it would be good to go for a ride and and once again familiarize myself with the route. Now you may not know, but in the two previous years that I have done GearUp, Day 2 has always been a horrible day. Two years ago, when I did the Weekend Challenge, and with that being my first year of cycling, I did not train enough and just had a horrible time of it. Then last year, while staying in Chilliwack our first night, my ulcer flared up and I barely made it out of Hope on Day 2 before almost fainting off my bike. So on Saturday I wanted to get out and break the curse of riding from Agassiz to Hope. Well, it didn't really happen.
I started out under very dark skies but it thankfully stayed dry the whole 81km's. Here is the thing though, it took about 40km's for my legs to start cooperating with me, which is coincidentally the distance from Harrison to Hope. I don't really know what it was, if I was over tired, or if it was just in my head...or if that section of highway really is cursed for me, but my legs just did not want to go. My goal for the ride was to make it at least to Hope which I did force myself to do with the help of a tailwind. After pulling into the town centre though those hot springs back at the hotel where starting to sound mighty nice. So I turned around and mentally began preparing myself for the 40km ride back to the hotel in a headwind the whole way (this mental preparation usually involves berating myself for having ridden so far in the luxury of a tailwind). But the strangest thing happened, as soon as I hit that headwind my legs all of sudden came to life and the ride back went quite well. So here is what I am thinking...it is only the eastbound direction of HWY 7 that is cursed but going west is just fine :) How this will help me next Sunday I have no clue...I guess I'll just have to suffer through it again. Oh, and you will also notice that my Garmin computer stopped recording after only 1.4km...typical.
Anyway, this week is mostly a rest week. I will go for maybe two short rides to keep my legs into it but for the most part will just be focusing on getting enough rest and getting the right nutrition in my body...can anyone say Pasta!!!
I started out under very dark skies but it thankfully stayed dry the whole 81km's. Here is the thing though, it took about 40km's for my legs to start cooperating with me, which is coincidentally the distance from Harrison to Hope. I don't really know what it was, if I was over tired, or if it was just in my head...or if that section of highway really is cursed for me, but my legs just did not want to go. My goal for the ride was to make it at least to Hope which I did force myself to do with the help of a tailwind. After pulling into the town centre though those hot springs back at the hotel where starting to sound mighty nice. So I turned around and mentally began preparing myself for the 40km ride back to the hotel in a headwind the whole way (this mental preparation usually involves berating myself for having ridden so far in the luxury of a tailwind). But the strangest thing happened, as soon as I hit that headwind my legs all of sudden came to life and the ride back went quite well. So here is what I am thinking...it is only the eastbound direction of HWY 7 that is cursed but going west is just fine :) How this will help me next Sunday I have no clue...I guess I'll just have to suffer through it again. Oh, and you will also notice that my Garmin computer stopped recording after only 1.4km...typical.
Anyway, this week is mostly a rest week. I will go for maybe two short rides to keep my legs into it but for the most part will just be focusing on getting enough rest and getting the right nutrition in my body...can anyone say Pasta!!!
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Cypress Training
So, as I said in my previous post (I think), I have not been up to the North Shore much this Spring. Well I thought I better try change that, at least for one day. So this morning I went up to Cypress.
The goal today was to do the mountain twice and it actually worked out! I admit that I am not as fast as last year but I do think my endurance is better. Last year I climbed Cypress twice in one day as well and the second time up I really struggled. This time I actually felt better on the second climb than the first, that is until the final three km's when my legs let me know that they had enough. Over-all though it was a good ride. The weather was perfect and I actually had some fun coming down the mountain (usually I hate coming down). I think I will be ready for the climbs on the trip. I know I will be slower than last year but I think I should be able to make it. I just have to make sure I set my own pace and don't burn myself out at the bottom of each ascent :)
One funny thing happened, I was about 500meters from the top of Cypress (or at least what I consider the final line) and a guy came riding up behind me. Due to my heavy breathing (or maybe I should say snorting) and an earbud in my right ear, I didn't hear him coming. Right as he was beside me, and he was right beside me, he said, "Good morning." It startled me so much I nearly jumped out of my saddle all the while letting out quite a loud expletive! He kept going and I was left laughing at myself. I caught up with him at the top and we had a good chat. Turns out he is the sponsor of a race team, Fulgas, that a friend of mine races for. Just another story from the road.
The goal today was to do the mountain twice and it actually worked out! I admit that I am not as fast as last year but I do think my endurance is better. Last year I climbed Cypress twice in one day as well and the second time up I really struggled. This time I actually felt better on the second climb than the first, that is until the final three km's when my legs let me know that they had enough. Over-all though it was a good ride. The weather was perfect and I actually had some fun coming down the mountain (usually I hate coming down). I think I will be ready for the climbs on the trip. I know I will be slower than last year but I think I should be able to make it. I just have to make sure I set my own pace and don't burn myself out at the bottom of each ascent :)
One funny thing happened, I was about 500meters from the top of Cypress (or at least what I consider the final line) and a guy came riding up behind me. Due to my heavy breathing (or maybe I should say snorting) and an earbud in my right ear, I didn't hear him coming. Right as he was beside me, and he was right beside me, he said, "Good morning." It startled me so much I nearly jumped out of my saddle all the while letting out quite a loud expletive! He kept going and I was left laughing at myself. I caught up with him at the top and we had a good chat. Turns out he is the sponsor of a race team, Fulgas, that a friend of mine races for. Just another story from the road.
Monday, June 9, 2014
The Countdown Is ON!!
Well, the countdown is on! We are less than two weeks away from the ride and this is really the final week of training. I don't intend on over doing it this week but just hope to get in a few more rides to make sure the legs are ready for what is coming.
I am a bit nervous. A lot of people are asking if I feel stronger than last year. My reply usually is that I am stronger in terms of flat and rolling hill rides, but in terms of the mountains and climbing, I know I am not as strong. This just means I will really need to pace myself on the climbs and just slowly get through it. I have not been able to get out to the major hills/mountains as much as I would have liked, I just hate driving somewhere to ride when I can just jump on my bike right here.
As of Saturday, we are also within range of checking the 14 day weather report on the Weather Network. I know this is not totally reliable being this far out still, but I must say, I am not really liking what I am seeing. It seems that we have been quite spoiled in these past two weeks and we might be heading for some more unsettled weather. But I guess there is no controlling that!
Anyway, I'm still getting used to taking video while I am riding, especially with the new camera I am using. Again, I will try make it a bit more smooth next time :) These shots were taken last Friday, most of them are in South Surrey and Langley, I got a bit to lazy to take video after the 50km mark.
Enjoy!
I am a bit nervous. A lot of people are asking if I feel stronger than last year. My reply usually is that I am stronger in terms of flat and rolling hill rides, but in terms of the mountains and climbing, I know I am not as strong. This just means I will really need to pace myself on the climbs and just slowly get through it. I have not been able to get out to the major hills/mountains as much as I would have liked, I just hate driving somewhere to ride when I can just jump on my bike right here.
As of Saturday, we are also within range of checking the 14 day weather report on the Weather Network. I know this is not totally reliable being this far out still, but I must say, I am not really liking what I am seeing. It seems that we have been quite spoiled in these past two weeks and we might be heading for some more unsettled weather. But I guess there is no controlling that!
Enjoy!
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Staring Down a Deer
So today was a new experience on the bike. While riding down 0 Ave a deer jumped out of the forest about 10 meters in front of me. I slowed down, hoping not to scare it (I kind of wanted to take a picture). As soon as he was on the road he just stopped and shared at me and within about 3 seconds turned and jumped back into the States. It got me thinking, could someone use a deer to smuggle stuff across the line?
Anyway, today's ride was a bit difficult. I had taken four days off from riding as I was attending a retreat over the previous three days and yesterday had a clinic visit so this was my first ride since last week, and I paid for it. It seems like my body does better when I am riding lots rather than taking a bunch of days off.
Last week was my biggest week of training, I did just over 400km's. I felt quite good and as long as I get my legs back after these couple days off, I think I am feeling good for the ride. The hills are really going to hurt me though. I have not been up to the North Shore as much as I was last year so I know it will be harder going on the mountains this year, but I think/hope I can just stick it in low gear and push my way through.
The ride is getting quite close now and I can feel myself getting more nervous!
I hope to go for another ride tomorrow and I will try take some video on the ride. I am using an actual camera now (thanks to my Mom for letting me borrow her's) so hopefully it will be of better quality.
That's all for now.
Anyway, today's ride was a bit difficult. I had taken four days off from riding as I was attending a retreat over the previous three days and yesterday had a clinic visit so this was my first ride since last week, and I paid for it. It seems like my body does better when I am riding lots rather than taking a bunch of days off.
Last week was my biggest week of training, I did just over 400km's. I felt quite good and as long as I get my legs back after these couple days off, I think I am feeling good for the ride. The hills are really going to hurt me though. I have not been up to the North Shore as much as I was last year so I know it will be harder going on the mountains this year, but I think/hope I can just stick it in low gear and push my way through.
The ride is getting quite close now and I can feel myself getting more nervous!
I hope to go for another ride tomorrow and I will try take some video on the ride. I am using an actual camera now (thanks to my Mom for letting me borrow her's) so hopefully it will be of better quality.
That's all for now.
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