This ride was a bonus for me when friends and family members donated over the $1,000.00 minimum for the BC Cancer Foundation. I discovered the ride a week before Trek and was inspired to sign up when Angela Dawson, another BC Lung Trekker, offered to make a generous donation if I rode. With the short time frame between Trek and the 2007 Tour of Courage (September 23rd) I was unsure if I would be able to raise the required funds for me to ride. Then I came to the conclusion it was not about me riding, it was about raising funds for cancer research to "pay it forward" to help others who are struggling with cancer. My success in dealing with cancer comes from the support of friends, family, doctors, nurses, counselors and support staff. All have benefited from the research of the BC Cancer Agency.
I had a relaxed ride over Saturday, happily discovering my cadence was a smooth 99 to 104, something that had been lacking in the past two weeks following Trek. I stopped for a visit with Aunt Ann and Uncle Pete along the way as I rode, in reverse, a portion of the planned ride. On route to UBC, I passed up cycling a critical section along Discovery and W 29th Ave. A quick spin into Thunderbird Stadium and then out to Mo and Diane’s, who not only were generous with their donations, but were also wonderful hosts for the weekend. To top it of they were less than 3 km from the start line!
Sunday morning started with the promise of sunshine and a warm day. A little riding around UBC, and a return trip to Mo and Dianne’s gave me a 12 km warm up prior to the start. As we were waiting for Lance to speak, Premier Gordon Campbell came around shaking our hands and thanking us for participating in this fundraiser. He was in lycra and planning to do the 60 km ride.
Lance Armstrong then gave us the pep talk we were all waiting for. Following the announcement of our 1.8 million dollar total everyone moved to the holding area a few meters from the start line. Lance Armstrong and a select few riders were to lead off 10 minutes ahead of the 90 km riders. The 60 and 30 km riders would be sent off once the 90’s were on to their 2nd lap of UBC.
As we were waiting the lead riders filtered through. Lance Armstrong came through last, the rider behind me collected his autograph. I was able to tell him that he had made a difference in my recovery, he thanked me and was on his way. The ride officially started at 10:30 with the lead riders departure.
At 10:40 the first 50 cyclists doing 90 km were sent off, 10:45 the next pack including myself were released. And away we raced! Caught up in the excitement of riding with celebrities a number of us hammered up NW Marine Drive, stringing out our pack of riders as we circled down Chancellor Blvd onto W 4th Ave. Determined to stay with the racers as long as I could, I pedaled hard, and my lungs seared. Luckily we would be kept cool by the increasing cloud cover.
Going way too fast around the 1st 90 degree turn onto Blanca St. I swung outside the pylon marked course into, luckily, an empty oncoming lane. Traffic was stopped for our swing onto 16th, another sharp turn onto Discovery and the hammer was put down. Focusing on keeping my heels down and my climbing cadence around 110, I was starting to get looks from the racer’s as I kept up with my “tank” of a touring bike. We crested and started heading downhill. Descending at close to 50 kph, I discovered adrenaline had gotten the best of me as I rattled over the bumps and potholes (I had passed up discovering the day before). On Camosun the ride smoothed out and after a quick turn we were climbing SW Marine Dr. to the start of our second lap of UBC. The racers were strung out, but I was still with them, much to my pleasant surprise. As we climbed towards 16th I passed Premier Campbell. I called out, “Good on you!”. After all, there he was, on a bike doing his part for the BC Cancer Foundation.
Determined to keep up I focused on spinning, unsure if my legs would give out. Then around the corner and there they were, the lead group who were being held up, for a photo opportunity, by a camera crew on a motorcycle. The group now included Phil Liggett (THE voice of cycling) and Axel Merckx (stage winner in the Tour De France). Coming around NW Marine Dr. We again strung out at a reasonable (for me) pace in the low 30s. As we descended on Chancellor we lapped some of the later starting 90 km riders. I did much better going through the W 4th and Blanca corner, staying within the marked course. Once more on the rough descent I discovered a comfortable track on the edge of the pavement, allowing me to keep up without the bone jarring effect experienced on the 1st lap.
The pace was steady along SW Marine Dr. as we headed south to Richmond. We were strung out in groups of 6 to 10 riders, drafting off each other, two or three abreast at times. Now we were in the “open” section of the tour. Until we returned to UBC we had to contend with traffic. Or should I say traffic had to contend with us.
Coming off the Arthur Lang bridge we formed a peleton of 60 to 80 cyclists, at times taking the whole lane up to 6 abreast. A mass of cyclists cutting the wind at up to 40+ kph. What a rush. I would occasionally check our speed as I focused on spinning fast enough to keep up with the pack. Pleasantly surprised at the ease of maintaining a position in the front third of the peleton.
On the return from Iona Island, an interesting change occurred. The earlier “looks of interest” were changing to questions about the distances I was used to traveling and general camaraderie as the racers realized I was not dropping back. While there were a few mountain or regular road bikes, the peleton consisted mainly of light racing bikes and “teams of young riders”. Luckily for me no one was in a hurry, yet!
We wound our way down Russ Baker, # 2, Railway, Moncton, #2, and onto the Dyke road where we stopped for a “pee break”. I took advantage of it to strip away a layer as the day was warming up. I did, however, make a fatal mistake, failed to take a calcium and electrolyte supplement – more on that later. My plan to stay hydrated and use my bottle of ensure to keep my energy up was working. Here I was riding with the front 30 cyclists alongside Phil Liggett and Axel Merckx. Checking my cycling computer I was mildly amused to discover our average speed in the mid 30’s. It was early yet, Richmond was flat, and I wondered if I would be able to maintain it on the return to UBC.
The peleton held together as we weaved our way along the south of Richmond turning North after Rice Mill, up onto Sidaway and #6. Heading East on Vulcan and River Rd, there was an increasing, but quiet, tension amongst the riders. Our speed would pick up into the 40’s and then settle back into the 30’s. Any stop or obstacle and all of us “non-competitive, Sunday riders” would be adjusting our location in the peleton. The excitement was building.
We swung around the corner on Bridgeport and everything slowed down to a stop. I checked our average speed, 32.8 kph. Riders were filtering off the road to a bike path. Some were calling out to stay on the path, others were heading off up the bridge on the shoulder. I chose the road, another “piece of glass in the tire” as they say. I quickly discovered I was the second to last of the group that chose unwisely. As we bottlenecked waiting our turn to get back on the bike path, we watched the peleton turn into a string of single riders going over the Arthur Lang Bridge. With the lead riders a few hundred meters away and climbing fast I watched my hope of keeping up diminish.
2nd to last over the bridge I was determined to make up time. Spinning had kept my legs comfortable, so upon returning to SW Marine I started to edge past a few of the other riders. SW Marine is not hilly by Island standards but it is a little lumpier than Richmond. It felt good to be able to make up time. By the time we reentered the closed loop around UBC I had passed about 30 riders. I was happy my starting adrenalin rush had not cost me too much, here I was less than 5 km from the finish and in the midst of the first group of 90 km riders heading for the finish. The sun was out, this ride was “in the bag”. Or so I thought ….
Passing a struggling 30 km rider I said a few encouraging words and then my nemesis struck. The supplement mistake I made while stopped on the Dyke Rd. was here in full glory to remind me I was no elite athlete. My right hamstring cramped, threatening to charlie horse if I did not keep the leg straight. I started the riding massage, an awkward maneuver involving spinning with only my left leg and massaging out the cramp as I crawled along, my speedometer barely registering. The riders I had just passed were easily sliding by as I worked out the knot in my leg. I kept focused on Lance’s quote; “Pain is temporary, it may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit; however, it lasts forever."
Eventually I was able to start a slow spin. Stretched back over my saddle and down in the aerobars I carefully increased my speed. My drive leg, my power leg, my spin leg was now my governor; too fast a cramp would return, much slower I might as well walk. Remembering this was only a “community charity ride” was comforting and I consoled myself thinking about the Post-Op goals I had accomplished. Still it stung a little to have done so well only to fade at the end.
I looked up the road, the last cyclist of our peleton was a few hundred meters ahead. “If there are two bikes on the road, it’s a race” went through my mind. So I notched it up, taking what seemed a like a very long time to pass him. There were three more approaching the last turn up to the finish at Thunderbird Stadium. I would not be last and now I was hoping to put these three behind me. It was not to be. I caught the wheel of the next rider but I was head down, without the juice to accelerate past. In a way I was glad there would be no-one I knew watching this lack luster finish.
As I turned away from the finish line Angela surprised me by cheering me for my accomplishment, taking a few pictures and reminding me the lead riders had only arrived a few minutes earlier. The announcer continued to call out incoming 90 km riders. I was #166 with only 80 or so in ahead of me the announcements were a reminder I had done well. Checking my average speed and distance I was elated to see I had held to 31.5 kph over the 97 km course. With only the short stop at the dyke, this was my best ride ever. All my training had paid off.
We wandered about the venue in an effort to keep the legs moving. I refueled and stretched before heading down into the stadium where I managed to get Axel Merckx’s autograph and Angela explained to him I was 5 months past major cancer surgery.
The sun was out. It was too late to catch a ferry even if I had the legs to do the 45 km ride, which I did not. I returned to Diane and Mo’s for a wonderful salmon dinner. Life is grand.
A brisk 5 AM start ensured I arrived in time for the 7 Am shuttle through the Massey Tunnel. I took a similar route to the Tour of Courage, cutting out the Iona Island run and taking Williams across to #5. The city was quiet, a few taxis and buses making their way in the dark. As the sun rose the traffic increased and by the time I arrived at the shuttle pick up, all three lanes heading North out of the tunnel were in full use. An interesting chat with the shuttle operator, and then we were away.
The ride to the ferry was cooler than I expected with a headwind to boot! Fueling up at the buffet has become a favorite of ours when taking the bikes on the ferry. This morning was no exception as I prepared for the last 30 km push to home. The weekend was 275 km of cycling in total. What a great way end the summer.
A special thank you to Mark Hamilton of General Paint (Victoria) for arranging to supply me with a 2007 Tour of Courage cycling jersey as a memento of this years ride.
Six months ago I had no idea my recovery from colorectal cancer surgery would have seen my fitness improve.
