Ah Kingston, 1/2 way to montreal. woot! we stay at queens univerity in dorms that have air conditioning, showers, comfy beds and flush toilets. it's pretty swanky.
The ride so far has been incredible. I told myself this year i would ride slow, not race through things and so far the ride has given me lots of oppertunity to do that.
recap (of what i can remember....)
day 1 (112km): riding out of queens park in toronto is always emotional and amazing. people standing on the street clapping and waving, wishing us well. AND the ride down younge street is beautifully downhill all the way, unlike most of the rest of the day. So riding out of toronto was great i was busting it a little, sometimes getting frustreated stuck behind someone going a little slower than my training rythm, but i got better at being ok going slow. i remembered from last year that the first day was pretty hilly. but shit. after lunch there are some awesome hills. and by after lunch the adreneline of the morning has worn off and lunch is kinda sitting like a rock in your belly. going up the hills then is challenging. but i still end up loving the hills!
day 2 (126km): our team was sweeps for the morning. so what this mean is that we have to be at the very end making sure that no one is left behind. basicly riding slower than the slowest rider. and it's a touhgj ride. 58km to lunch and hilly no as bad as the first day but still some good hills. so yes slower than the slowest rider. some of my team mates found it very challenging. i kinda enjoyed it. 9km/h was mentioned as the speed we were going on flats. if you're not a cyclist, this is quite slow. most people can jog at that rate. the medium riders on the rally are usually going 20-27kph. but we did alright. the one rider we were following eneded up breaking a spoke and the freind who was riding with them decidied they should both get rides to lunch (where the mechanics were) yay! now we can go fast untill be find the next slowest riders. all was going great unitll i hear a "sssssssssssssst" at first i was coulnt' figure out what the noise was and a flat tire didn't occur to me as i had recently purchased puncture resistant tires. but yes i had a flat front tire. so i pulled off, my tube stem (where you [put the air in) was basically hanging off) so i changed it and got on the road again. not made it past the next two breaks and we're about 2km out from lunch and 1/2 way to camp (and at this point it's also 2:30 in the afternoon, the team members that didn't sweep arrived at camp another 58km away at 3:30) so we're way behind and so busting it. then i hear another psssssssssst. yep another flat this time the back tire. puncure from the rim side. arg. and i'm out of tubes. so i find the hole patch it up, start inflating the tire and psssssssst oh great! another hole. and just as i get my tire off again to find the 2nd hole a van pulls up. they're going to take me to lunch the dears they are. so after lunch we didn't have to sweep but i had a tire to fix and my frint tire to inflate all the way, and ym darn back tire woudnt seat properly. so i was the last one to leave lunch before the afternoon sweeps. but decided to bust and and ended up getting into camp around 5:30. 58km in about 2.5 hours. not to shabby. and we get to ride the ferry. that's always fun. the cold lake felt great that night i tell you 8+ hours on a bike. whoooo.
day 3: red ress day! so today the whole camp in encouraged to dress in red and for most that means wearing red dresses. it's our "short day" only 50km. so we dress up and scare the locals. imaging 250+ men in dresses biking thorugh your small town. we turn some heads, mostly becasue we look fabulous! over the top is encouraged, some folks even do it in heels. it's a great time. and i decided to try going slow again today. i decided i could only pass 10 people. so once i had done that i just hung behind a group and sang, enojyed the scenery (which was beautiful) and spun. what a great ride! and when we got to kingston one of the newest sponsors of the rally is a brewerey and they gave us beer with lunch. so we have the afternoon off. i'm showered and changed. and feeling great. so i might just go for a nap.
but remember what i was saying about all the little bits adding up to something amazing? two things, first, the ride is broken up into small chunks with breaks thoughout the day. so the most you ever have to ride is just over 20km. so it's great. small bits, bike for an hour get fed, bike for another hour, eat some more keep doing this and eventually you're at camp. it's awesome. and second. so far the rally has raised over 1100000 dollars. i don't have my glasses on but thats 1 million 1 hundred dollars. you see all the twonies and loonies and change that we all get when we are fundraising get all put together to riase an amazing amount of money. I feel so blessed to be a part of this ride, it really is a life changing experience. if anyone is interested registration for next year is already open *hint hint*
alright. must go apply arnica oil. and stretch some more.
warm fuzzies to you all
jaye
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