But things change and indeed they did here...Lindsay's condition deteriorated and she began to have unbelievable pain, she passed away in December. It was shocking for all of us, I remember talking to our cousin Chelsey and saying "I honestly thought she'd make it through." The following few months were tough...I still feel like something's missing. It seemed like the ride was so far away...then all of a sudden it was June. I surpassed my goal of $3000 and have raised over $4500 to date in memory of Linds.
The day before the ride I was still running around, scrambling to get stuff done...I went to MEC and was nearly late for work because I decided I should get some chain oil, a new vest and a new jersey. Saturday morning came very fast...breakfast onsite at 6:30am. A very nice (yet, delusional) lady mistook me for olympic speed skater Cindy Klassen.....that made my day so far! The time came to line up at the start for the opening ceremonies...a truly emotional event.
Opening Ceremonies snippets
Needless to say I began the ride with tear in my eyes thinking about Linds and how much she wanted to be there...I then remembered I had her picture in my back pocket, and not just a picture, a funny one at that! She would have told me to "suck it up" and ride my bike. So I did, I left Spruce Meadows with 2200 other riders.
I was good and warm after the first 2 hills towards Okotoks and managed to stay hydrated and refuel as needed. The entire 112KM of day 1 was up and down the whole way...the only thing you could see was the hill you were on and the next one! Highlight of the day was hitting 60 kph on the bike! the whole day was sunny with a cross-wind...no biggie. As we rolled into camp there was a huge crowd of volunteers waiting. There were volunteers everywhere the whole day but this was truly something...someone walked my bike to the rack for me, helped me find all my stuff and told me how the evening would go! I went straight for my gear and my tent and to the shower! Colin and my cousin Shane showed up just after that and we chilled out for most of the night...I made good use of my 2 free beers! I also rolled out all my sore muscles with a tennis ball so I would be limber for Sunday.
Sunday morning...5:45am...people were awake and moving so I figured I should get up and keep warm. Thanks to the power of oatmeal and coffee! Around 6:30 the rain started...everyone's spirits were down...they wouldn't let us start riding until 7 so we huddled in the tent around the propane heaters. At 6:50 I realized I was delaying the inevitable so I zipped up my rain jacket and went out to get my bike. Problem #1...my cleats were FULL of mud, clipping in was interesting! The rain just kept coming, everytime I stopped pedalling a stream of cold road-water went straight into my shoe. By rest stop #1 I was COLD. I refilled my gatorade bottle and a VERY nice volunteer peeled my banana for me because my hands were too cold! At rest stop #2 the rain had kinda stopped...it was depressing there, people were huddled under space blankets, and my right quad was giving me trouble. Again, I refilled my bottle with valuable electrolytes and got back on the road...this time the wind had picked up. It began to rain AGAIN as I pulled in for lunch. I parked my bike and walked over to the food tent...They had a mountain of peanut butter and jam sammies! My face lit up as I grabbed 2...comfort food is THE BEST when you're miserable! I also downed some more gatorade to try and ease the cramping and I warmed up with a space blanket. I decided it was now or never so back on the bike I went. 40km to go, the rain let up, the sun came out, the wind picked up...and we rode straight into it...it's so depressing to ride down a hill into the wind and barely make it above 25 kph! I finally pulled into the last rest stop...my quad was screaming in pain with every push. I refuelled and asked what the last 20km was like...not really wanting to know the answer. They all said it was 4km to the turn, then a tailwind to the finish! I was gone in a flash! My jacket had dried out so I stuffed it in my back pocket and rode the last 14km mostly on my aerobars...It was still hilly but the wind at my back was nice. As I turned onto the road into Spruce Meadows I picked up my speed...I was crusing so fast that I forgot to smile and "fist pump" at the finish!
I unclipped about 100m past the line and just stood there...soon I was surrounded by my family, which was so incredible. I couldn't believe it was over, and that I had managed to overcome the hardships of that day.
We parked the bike and collected my gear...and I did a shot for Linds. She was with me the whole ride, I felt it. I'm so glad I was able to do this one thing for her, even though I felt like there was nothing I could do except be there when she needed me.
What an amazing journey of strength, grit, and humbleness...I am so proud to say that I accomplished this ride and was a part of raising $8.6 million for the Alberta Cancer Foundation!
With some of my cheerleaders
It's all about strength baby!
Me and Linds...
