First off, another thank-you for your support. Your generosity has contributed a total in excess fo $10,000 to the B.C. Cancer Fund on my behalf. That is a substantial component of the total of over nine million dollars raised by the 2,250 participants in the Ride to Conquer Cancer 2010.
It was quite an adventure; and although I needed a bit of recovery time, I surprised myself in finding that the ride itself was not as onerous as I had imagined, and the need for further recovery is due to peripheral events. Riding with Sarah was a thrill, even when she blew by me clustered with the majority if the Brine Brigade on several occasions. But I was particularly touched when she dropped back at the end to see me through the final leg of the ride, and we rode over the finish line in tandem.
Without going in to great detail at this point, I can say that the 255 km route was nicely broken up with stops for refreshment and sustinence. The weather forecast was not great for the first day and looked much more promising for Sunday further south. Reality turned out the complete opposite. In any event, the first part of the ride to the border and beyond was a breeze, and much of the day was sunny and warm. The first two pit stops were so close together, I missed the first one completely, and stopped at the Blaine high school grounds for a snack and a drink. Some strong headwinds slowed us down heading in to Bellingham, and then a steady climb had me looking forward to a break. Lunch at Lake Padden was very welcome, and the two afternoon stops seemed to be located just as fatigue was setting in, so the rest and refreshment were envigorating and made the subsequent legs tolerable. Arriving at camp in Mount Vernon around 1500, Elaine was waiting close to the camp, and we stopped for a beer and chat with the campers, before heading out in search of accomodation. Since Elaine was not provided for in the camping arrangements, I had a good excuse to bunk in with her rather than staying in a tent with the multitudes overnight. We were lucky to find room in a motel in neighbouring Burlington, barely 10 minutes from camp, so I had a good night's sleep and woke early on Sunday feeling pretty good.
Skies were grey when we arrived at camp before the 0700 start of the second day's ride. Viewing the lineups for toilets and breakfast, I was quite happy to have had the relative comfort of a motel, and I was pretty close to the early starters on the road by 0715. Since I had shunned raingear by virtue of misguided faith in the weatherman, I set off in the same outfit as on Saturday, figuring that I might as well get wet from the outside as from the inside with sweat. We had just started pedalling when the mist ahead turned into a sprinkle - barely wetting the ground. However it persisted, and by lunch I had not warmed up in spite of very brief pit stops, and several challenging uphill stretches. So lunch was abbreviated, with one photo stop and I mounted the bike again.
That was when I discovered that I had a flat tire - not a bad spot if you have to have one. I hailed Sarah, who had a repair kit, but she escorted me to the repair tent where an obliging bike tech checked my tire and mounted the spare tube that Sarah had brought along. It was there that I determined that I was mildly hypothermic, as I couldn't help with removing the wheel since my fingers refused to work and I was shivering pretty hard. With the wet and the cold, I was just not generating enough heat to keep everything working right. Once the repair was done, I figured I would get warm on the long uphill grind I was facing. No such luck - it started to rain hard. So I carried on, keeping stops to a minimum, with just a few sips and a handful of trail mix. Then minor disaster struck as I neared the last pit stop. I was slowly crossing the only remaining rail line, and thinking it had dried off, I took it at slightly off perpendicular: my front wheel slipped - and before I knew it I hit the ground. I took the impact on the left knee, and had only a minor laceration which I wiped off with a soggy bit of tissue, and carried on; thankful it had not been serious.
At the last pit stop Sarah waited for me, and insisted I put on her rain jacket, which she had offered me earlier. I hesitated, since it was not raining any more, but with a bit of wind blowing it certainly helped with the shivers. She stuck with me for the rest of the way, which was now in suburban Seattle and seemed mercifully short - and much of it downhill. We arrived at the endpoint around 1400, somewhere in the middle of the throng. With the thrill of the finish, and lots of adrenalin pumping, plus a touch of hypothermia, I didn't feel the knee at all - until much later. With some dry clothes and a beer it was time for the final photo-op with some of my companions on the ride.
The trip home was longer than hoped - 40 minutes bumper to bumper getting by an accident on the Interstate south of Bellingham, and another 40 minutes lined up at the border. By this time, my knee had started talking to me, and it was pretty sore last night. However, I was tuckered enough I would have slept standing up. Today it's still sore, so I have not been up on it much, but it seems a lot better than yesterday. As for the muscles, they ache a bit, but not nearly as much as I anticipated, and all in all I'm really no worse for wear.
