David T
Photo Credit: Krista Pollard
It was a soggy, stormy day yesterday as we embarked on our fundraising ride for Alzheimer's Memories in Motion program. It was a tough call for the organizers as we faced a pretty dismal forecast. However, we played it by ear and persevered and it all worked out well.
I was in the 160 km group. As we started in Atwood, the storm clouds were gathering and 9 minutes into the ride it started to rain. For the first 10 minutes of rain, the road was not so wet so it was just a nice cooling shower. But as the water accumulated on the road, the tire of the bike ahead started to spray the water up into my face. There is no avoiding the grit that crunches between the teeth!
As we started to hear thunder, we raced to the Cowbell Brewery in Blyth, the closest shelter. There, we found shelter although the brewery/restaurant was not yet open. We watched as the lightning flashed around us. Not knowing how long this might last, we decided to start shuttling to the lunch spot 40 km away. Fortunately, the organizers had managed to book a community centre two days previously when the forecast looked questionable. I volunteered for the shuttle, but the rest of the group received a very warm welcome in the Cowbell when they opened shortly after I left. At the lunch place, we took refuge and managed to find a kettle and some teabags to warm ourselves from the inside out.
We enjoyed a great lunch provided by one of our sponsors Freshii. With wonderful cookies by Krista! The Alzheimer Society volunteers really went out of their way to make us welcome and provide whatever comforts they could. And they listened attentively to our endless cycling stories.
As the 240 km group arrived, dripping wet, we got ready to set out again -- this is when the picture with the umbrella was taken. It is always tough to go back out in the rain after one has finally dried out, more-or-less, from being previously soaked.
Photo credit: Brent Doberstein
An hour into the afternoon ride, the rain stopped. An hour later we even saw our shadows a few times and we stripped off the rain gear and extra layers. We had some long stretches battling a substantial wind hitting us at 2 o'clock. But, it was a very tight formation (best group cooperation I've seen) and we just shortened our stints at the front of the group. Throughout the ride, we maintained a respectable 28 km/h average pace.
Photo credit: Andrew Meyer
In the end, this was not a gruelling ride and did not feel like an ordeal at all. The adverse conditions just made for more vivid stories and memories. But it did feel awfully good to hit the shower to wash off all that road grit. We raised roughly $12,000 for a great cause.
Thanks so much to Velofix for providing technical support, Freshii for the lunch, Krista for the cookies, Brent for support for the 160 group and for all the organizers and other volunteers.