Martin Rides!

Day six, the final day of the ride, began with a bit of a dull thunk. The night before had ended with a tremendously celebratory mood with partying around the campsite.

Having dropped off my bike with the ride’s volunteer mechanics the previous evening (it was making some odd noises on day 5) I headed back to them to pick it up. The bike was fine - just needed some bolts tightening - but gently pedalling back to my tent sent stabbing pain in my Achilles tendons, both feet, at both points of attachment and along the full length.

After that I decided that it was important to me to finish the ride entering Montreal - a 15km stretch. Not wanting to risk missing that in light of the problems I was having, I realised I should not ride until the afternoon rendeszvous.

Tearing down and packing my tent and other camping gear knowing I was about to miss a large chunk of the last day’s ride was far from the greatest experience to date. The wellness crew - especially the chiropractic team - had been tremendously helpful and were sorry to see me have to make the decision not to ride.

After loading the trucks, we all walked to a grassy hill in the centre of the campsite for our last morning announcements, clap, and photos. The most impressive announcement was that the total raised had increased once again.

Seeing more than three hundred riders and the hundred or so volunteers all in a large circle, all in ride jerseys or crew shirts was quite something. To think that we riders had all come this far on our bikes and that all the crew had spent their week appearing in just the right places to cheer us on, feed us, and keep everything running smoothly -so much hard effort, such a great time, and what a result.

Riding in a van was nice because of the conversations and air conditioning. With those exceptions it was irredeemably frustrating passing riders, cheering them on as we drove by, sitting at breaks and lunch waiting for them to trickle in. I wanted to be on my bike. Needed to get on my bike. Had to get on my bike!

Fortunately for me I was first in line for the wellness team at lunch. After fifteen minutes or so of massage by camp favourite Sam (once he had got over his ‘wow these are tight’ reaction) my calves were quite a bit looser and with that my achilles tendons relaxed a little.

After lunch I switched vans, this time riding with Klaus (road safety lead) and Debbie, two absolutely fantastic people who lifted my spirits right back up with banter, observations, kind-heartedness, and playful ‘house shopping’ as we passed through Montreal’s tonier suburbs.

Arriving at the rendeszvous point where we riders were to gather and form up to ride into Montreal, I spotted my bike and speedily walked to retrieve it. The day’s frustration was over; I was ready to ride!

40 minutes later the last of the stragglers had pulled in, we formed up in single file, and set off along the Lachine canal. As we made our way into the city centre crossing bridges, circling through underpasses and passing numerous pedestrians we were frequently able to glance back and forward and see the incredibly long line of bike rally jerseys which stretched as far as the eye could see. At one point, crossing one bridge we could see participants of the ride still making their way across a bridge some way in the distance. The sight also surprised a large number of passers-by - many a person was heard commenting on the seemingly endless procession.

As we rode up Rue Bleury to the arrival point, one of the stages at Divers/Cité, our excitement grew. Police cars and cadets held traffic, waving us through junction after junction, and the cheering in the distance grew louder and louder. Finally, after six days of cycling, five nights of camping, and months of training rides we rolled past a swollen crowd, arriving to the sounds of “Bicycle Race” by Queen… “I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike….”

Bikes were rapidly parked as riders rushed around the beer garden embracing, cheering, and congratulating one another on completing the journey. Soon, beers in hand, we crowded onto grass for arrival photos, speeches, and more hugging.

Eventually the celebration wound down and we remembered we had to go drop off our bikes and collect our belongings from the support vehicles that had been carrying our camping and biking gear as well as all our clothing all week long. From there Greg, Jed, Mark, Tatum, Wade, and myself headed off to the Hyatt, our base camp for the weekend. Shopping, dancing, and massages were on the menu for the rest of the weekend, then, finally the all-too-short train ride home to Toronto on Sunday.

Thank you to everyone who supported me in preparing for the ride, in fundraising for the Toronto People With AIDS Foundation, and especially to everyone I rode with and met during the ride. It was a truly inspiring event to participate in - I look forward to repeating it in 2009!

Another early rise signalled the start of day five. More porridge with brown sugar, cereal, and fruit - all mixed together - was on the menu, along with bananas, bagels, yoghurts, scones, and more.

Camp tear-down by this morning had become almost second nature - a matter of mere tens of minutes!

After the daily bike rally clap remembering all those left behind both at home and in memory, we set off for a ride through some of the most lovely scenery so far.

Past beaches, along tree-lined avenues and lock walls, and across bridges and causeways linking dozens of islands we rode - soaking up the sun and delighting in the absence of hilly terrain.

For the record: Cornwall has some of the finest and most fun bike paths I’ve ever encountered - bypassing the main road the entire length of the town, cyclists and pedestrians are treated to stunning views and peaceful travel.

Unfortunately I pulled into camp this evening with considerable pain in my achilles tendons - an old problem flaring up again. After acupuncture had no effect I was lucky to get some deep-muscle massage from Dr Dave, the camp’s favourite chiropractor. His first reaction on seeing my legs was to exclaim “holy shit” and exhort me to see a physiotherapist as soon as possible to have my bursa and tendon issues resolved. 15 quite painful minutes later I got up from Dr Dave’s treatment bench with some hope of riding tomorrow restored. Only much calf stretching tomorrow morning will reveal whether I’ll be able to ride the whole 100-odd kilometers or only the ride into town at day’s end. I’m sincerely hoping I can ride tomorrow - not doing so would be too disappointing.

After my massage and dinner we had a brief candlelight ceremony at the campsite’s beach - an opportunity for us to take time to remember and share our reasons for riding. Many stories of pain and hope were told - by relatives and friends of those lost to HIV/AIDS, people living with the virus, all reminding the 400+ riders and crew of the impact that our efforts this week have and will continue to have.

The volunteer who chose this evening to share his diagnosis with his ride friends, the man who spoke of his young daughter’s use of PWA Toronto’s services, the nurse who gives of her time in the hope that it might prevent some of the suffering her brother has endured, and the rider who as so many rides to ensure the PWA foundation and it’s services are there should he need them - all these stories and more touched us all and will resonate for days, weeks, and months to come.

Day five is over - day six, our last, begins after this sleep and with it the final approach and entry to Montreal. All about that will follow on Saturday.

Today saw us departing the lovely town of Kingston, home to a military college, maximum security prison, and Queen’s university.

The ride was a mild 106km along the Loyalist and 1000 Island Highways with highlights including many confused residents of Brockville, lunch by the lake, and quite a lot of (for us) fast cycling.

Fewer well-wishers today than previously, although there were a few individuals cheering us on from the roadside.

Tomorrow promises to be a day replete with natural splendour - I’ve switched to using my camera for photos instead of my iphone, so you’ll have to wait ’til Monday for those!

Stats:
Maximum temperature: a balmy 26
Top speed: 46km/h
Flat tires: still 0!!!

My apologies for failing to keep you updated these last two days - battery exhaustion + lack of instructions for my solar charger meant no access to the iPhone.

Day one started with the sound of a detuned radio amidst a sea of wet tents: CityTV’s ‘Breakfast Television’ had sent roving reporter Jennifer Valentine to cover our departure from Port Hope.

It’s great to see the ride get great exposure, but a challenge with live TV is that you end up spending quite a bit of time standing about waiting for the ads to end and the on-air personality to wave everyone ad they depart. It as good, though, especially, I’m sure for those at home in Toronto.

While the views can be almost cinematic am- cruising past seemingly endless fields of corn or wild flowers set against the edge of the lake (lake Ontario, that is), two of the most wonderful things about the ride involve passing people.

Our route quite intentionally takes us through many of the small towns, villages, and hamlets along the way to Montreal. In almost every one we’ve had kind words of encouragement from locals while waiting at a traffic light and in many come across a single house bedecked in streamers, signs, and a group of well-wishers whooping and cheering to keep our spirits and energy up.

The second group of passees that brighten our days are our road safety volunteers. Paired in vans, these are the people seen driving by making sure everyone is ok while blasting some of the campest music available on their car stereos. At particularly hazardous points (ugly railway tracks, sharp hard-to-spot turns, or crossing the highway) they stand, noisemakers in hand, cheering at the top of their voices - often in fantastical costume. The road safety highlight so far has without doubt been riding along and suddenly seeing a volunteer fully dolled-up in make-up and glamorous dress rollerblading in the opposite direction waving streamers attached to the ends of ski poles. Absolutely fabulous!

Another key group of volunteers are the wellness crew, our team of medics, massage therapists, chiropractors, and acupuncturists. Following advice from experienced riders I signed up for my first massage at lunch on day two, some 85km into the ride. Given the choice between waiting 40 minutes for a massage or 4 for massage + chiropractic treatment, I figured it was as good a time as any to see what those were like. Ten minutes and an upper- and lower-back ‘release’ later I indeed felt quite a bit less stiff and was able to happily ride into the United Empire Loyalist campsite by Adolphustown - our stop for the night.

More swimming in the lake followed by a couple of hours sitting and chatting with friends old and new rounded out a terrific day.

Day three was a nice easy ride - or so I was told. Only 50km into Kingston! All hope of a relaxed, casual, and, most importantly, slow ride fell by the wayside as our camping group of five (Greg, Jed, Mark, Wade, and myself - pictures to follow) departed together and rode as a line for much of the way. At an average speed of 30km/h.

But by golly it was fantastic! Nipping into break we spotted some cyclists who we had passed earlier eagerly continuing on. Within 30 minutes of departing, there they were, again being passed by our group! Our speed barely dipped an tenth of a km/h as we zoomed up hills, all rotating in to take turns pulling (or leading and breaking the wind, enabling the rest to draft behind and conserve energy). We were fast.

Kingston consisted of doing laundry, sitting on a patio with beer in hand, and dinner followed by a long and much-desired sleep in a real bed. Bliss.

Averages for day two are long-forgotten except for the high temperature: 38C!

Everything about day four to follow tonight (iPhone is charged) and I know how to use the solar thingie now, so days five and six will see posts, too!

We’re half-way to Montreal and I couldn’t be more excited!

Just a quick note to confirm I’m still alive and pedalling. Battery died on the iPhone and my solar charger let me down.
A post with details about the last two rides will follow this evening!