Day 2 - Night Rider

I'm going to start off my day 2 update with our ride dedications. One of the things that each team does before each ride....is to have a personal dedication to someone who is either going through the cancer journey or has gone through the journey.  These dedications reinforces the significance of Wellspring, as well as keeps the team moving when times are tough.

Our day 1 dedication was to our friend Doug, who is our team's warrior, as well as someone who has dedicated many many hours to volunteering for great causes, including for the Wellspring ride. Additionally, we also dedicated this ride to Doug's son-in-law Chris and his family, who most recently was diagnosed with cancer.  Chris has a tough path over the next number of months along with many challenges. Our entire team is hopeful that Chris will conquer these challenges and win the battle.

Our day 2 dedication was to Mark, who is my team mate Eric's brother-in-law, and who is fighting this horrible disease. Again, our team is hopeful that Mark will pull through the tough times he faces.

In terms of today's ride....it was our night ride...cycling in the darkness from midnight to 6am...in Virginia, from Winchester to Harrisonburg. It is most likely our toughest shift during this event. The theme was hills, and more hills. There was 1400m in total elevation to climb and we rode 113kms....and to add to this challenge, we were also hit with rain, making it a very wet ride.  On a positive note, Virginia roads are in fantastic condition and the road surfaces were very smooth. Not sure we saw much in terms of pot holes and debris.  That said, lots of road kill including a skunk, several possums, squirrels, and a raccoon.  And oh yes, we also saw a number of deer staring at the us...wondering what was disturbing them in the middle of the night.

Not too many photos today....due to both the darkness and the rain...the camera did not come out too much:

Our team before the ride...and before we got really wet from the rain...

Here's our follow vehicle and my bike....along with a sense of what was coming down:

What a night transition between 2 teams looks like (in the middle of no where...usually on the side of the road at a parking lot):

Team 1 doing their dedication prior to their ride:

With some of our awesome volunteers....they keep us safe and help to support the ride:

Day 1 - A most inspiring first day of the Wellspring Ride 2015

Hi All!

Sorry for the delay in blogging about the ride this year.  My riding and shift schedule meant there was even less downtime than normal for me!  I'm going to send this update from day one out....then try to get a few hours of sleep before getting up at 4am for our next ride shift.

The launch morning was bigger and more inspiring than ever. We had both our Peloton riders, as well as the 1 day event riders on hand....and many, many supporters out to cheer us on.  Overall, it's great to see how this event has continued to grow...and to see more and more people involved and become a part of such an important cause.  Without this support, Wellspring would not be able to help so many people battling cancer.

Here's my team this year - with Will, Eric, and Sandy.  Eric was on my team last year. Will was our cancer warrior last year (you may have seen him on Canada Am with me!). and Sandy is riding in honour of his Mom, who was the founder of Wellspring!  Go Team 5! Woohoo!

Although this is my 5th year cycling for Wellspring and cancer support...my launch day was completely different and unique. I was looking to fulfill my commitment to do a double shift as a result of everyone helping to get me to more that $15,000 in fundraising by this time. Thank you again!

The double shift turned out to be a unique opportunity to ride with 4 of the 5 teams involved with this event. It was a fantastic experience, and the weather (aside from the constant wind for a few of the shifts) was almost perfect.  My total distance covered was just over 240kms between 9am and midnight.

Here's the route that I covered on my bike in 2 segments on the first day - Canada and USA:

Some photos from the day...

At the first rest stop when I was riding with Team 1 - along with some fantastic volunteers out to provide water to the riders:

Shift 1 completed....with Team 1:

Selfie photo with Team 3 as we rode our bikes across the Peace bridge!

This is me as I decided to take a break after 160kms....needed to save some energy to ride with my Team at 9pm that evening....

Needed a wider lens....however, this is almost the whole group of riders and volunteers heading to New Orleans:

Okay ---- the wifi is really bad at the hotel I'm at currently....so will need to wait to post Day 2...!

-billy

Making A Difference

Global TV put together a great segment on the Wellspring ride. It's only a few minutes long and really captures what the event is all about and why we are doing all this cycling. Our team's cancer warrior from last year, Will Tompkinson speaks about what the ride means to him....and it's significance.  He's on my team this year and riding with me all the way to NOLA. Amazing.

Click HERE for the Global TV video.

By the way....they spent over 4 hours filming us in interviews and cycling to produce these 3 minutes!  The folks at Global TV definitely have a passion for telling the best story possible!

Only a couple of more days before we start riding!  I need to pack....

Here'a photo at the finish line last year with Will as well as another cancer warrior Vanessa. I'm really looking forward to instead be cycling with Will to the finish line this time.

Anything is possible

Thanks to everyone's generosity, we (Gail, Mya, Ben, and myself) have achieved our fundraising goal of $15,000 for Wellspring's cancer support programs. This means that I will honour my commitment of a DOUBLE RELAY shift during the Wellspring Ride. 

Logistically, it makes the most sense for me to attempt this on the first day of the event.  So....this means that on Saturday, September 26th - I will start cycling at 9am and continue until midnight - for a total of over 300+ kms.

Never having done this type of distance before, I'm hoping to prove that 'anything is possible' (with an extra bit of determination and effort) !  

After this long first day, I will then join my team and continue with the 'normal' relay shifts of cycling 120kms each day for the next 6 days until we reach New Orleans. I'm sure that my body will probably scream at me in new ways that I have not felt before.  My plan is to keep pushing ahead knowing that it's still nothing compared to what those fighting cancer go through.

Check back to see how all this goes....I will be updating this blog regularly all the way to New Orleans.

All are invited to the start line! It's at the Wellspring House in Oakville, and festivities start at 8am on Saturday, September 26th.  It will be great to see you! More details here:

www.wellspring.ca/2015pelotoninvite

By the way....I was thinking of testing a new bike for this event....what do you think?  Found it at LegoLand!