Day 2 Wellspring Ride

No matter what route we take heading south from Ontario - we need to get through Ohio. Having done this ride for Wellspring a few times now...I KNOW that Ohio is NOT flat. Contrary to popular belief, it is NOT downhill all the way as we cycle south.

Hills, hills, and more hills is the theme for our ride today. And that means LOTS of climbing. These are also not the 'bumps' we typically see and train on in Markham. The elevation we must take on in Ohio is relentless - and is both challenging and demotivating at times in that we can work so hard to get to the top of a hill to turn the corner and find out it keeps going up!

Our leg of the ride today started new the Pennsylvania Ohio state line and concluded in Cadiz. Our team completed 109kms and climbed 1412 meters in elevation.

While there are lots of highlights through the course of our days...one worth mentioning is the unsolicited support from strangers. At the end of our ride in the town of Cadiz (apparently the birthplace of Clark Gable by the way) - a lady saw us and our bikes and decided to stop...come out of her car...and inquire. She then gave us a cash donation for Wellspring. Amazing.

Here's the tracking of our route:



Here are my team mates, Eric, Tom, and Ryan, with the follow vehicle behind us in the distance:


Our volunteers, Roger and Bryan drove the follow vehicle on our segment today...protecting us and alerting drivers that there are cyclists ahead of them on the road:


Steve and Nancy drove the motor home which provides us with the much needed rest breaks along the way:


Can't forget about our Wellspring Lego guy...


This beautiful historic courthouse in Cadiz was the backdrop at the completion of our hilly 6 hour ride:


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Day 1 Wellspring Ride: Inspiring Start

I am so inspired and motivated by all the people who are an active part of this event...as well as everyone who steps up to support it. It was a beautiful day for the launch which began at the Wellspring centre in Oakville Ontario. We heard inspiring words about how important Wellspring is to people who are fighting the battle of their lives including personal stories from each of our 5 cancer warriors. Friends and family of all the riders and volunteers came our to cheer us on as our full group escorted the first team of riders out to start the 3000km journey to New Orleans. We ride non-stop relay style, always with a team with wheels on the road, covering every kilometre of the route.

Our team's ride today was from Dunnville Ontario to Buffalo New York. We got to cross the Peace Bridge and US customs on our bikes!

A few photos from today...

There are our amazing Wellspring warriors who will be meeting us at the finish line...Vanessa, Vesna, Will, Alix, and Elizabeth:


Our group of riders and volunteers:


Definitely miss my family every year when I set off on this ride to support Wellspring:


My Wellspring Lego Rider...who's part of our Peloton this year:


The tunnel under the Peace Bridge who most people never see:


Yep....needed to have a team selfie on the bridge!


Waiting for the US customs officer:


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Ready...set...GO!!!

Bags are packed. Ready to go. Last sleep at home for a bit...and last night of reality before being immersed in the Wellspring Peloton Challenge...






- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

2014...a new year...a new destination...

The snow is finally beginning to thaw and I can see signs of spring finally arriving (although it's still not as warm as I would like for training rides). With the warm weather, the Cheung Family, also begins what we have now done for the past 3 years, which is to support the Wellspring Cancer Support Centres in the greater Toronto area. 

The goal is another round of successful fundraising activities culminating in a symbolic long distance cycling event in the Fall. The destination for the group this year:  New Orleans!

There will be lots more opportunity to blog about the cycling journey; this posting will highlight TWO fantastic events my family has in store for our supporters. Let us know if you can join us for one or both of the following events!  

Used Book Sale!  Saturday, April 5th / 6th

Mya, now 11 years old, decided that she wanted to plan a fundraising event this year. Over the past few months, she has amassed a GIANT collection of used books for ALL AGES - and is holding the sale on April 5th and 6th this coming weekend. ANYONE interested in reading needs to drop by! Contact me for specific details.

ALL BOOKS WILL BE $1
6 BOOKS FOR $5
OR
FILL A BAG FOR $10
(bags will be provided)

Wine & Wellspring Event!   Saturday, June 14th

Building on the success of this event last year, we are doing it again. And this time, it will be bigger and even better! Mark your calendars for Saturday, June 14th, 2014:

COST: ONE BOTTLE OF WINE, PER GUEST

Your cost will include: Hand selected gourmet cheeses, mouth watering sweets & savory bites all paired beautifully with several bottles of fine wines.

You will have the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets, $20 per ticket for the chance to win your choice of several wine bundles or increase your chances by purchasing SIX tickets for $100 or TWENTY tickets for $250.

All bundles will include a minimum of SIX bottles of wine.

All bundles will be displayed. You will have the opportunity to “choose” which bundle you would like to win.

A selected number of bundles will be designated as “MUST BE PRESENT” to win.

WHEN: Saturday June 14, 2014

WHERE: Chateau du Cheung

What you must do:

You must deliver your favorite wine prior to the event day! Arrangements can be made for pick up.

Come & enjoy an evening of wine, food and great company while supporting the 2014 Wellspring Peloton Challenge!

Day 6, 7, and 8: We did it! Austin arrival!

I had full intents of providing blog updates every day of the ride....unfortunately the second half of the adventure just did not allow for it. I was once again totally immersed in the eat, sleep, drive and ride pattern with very little downtime. This happens as a result of our team's rotation schedule and where we need to be at any particular time. So I'm going to provide this update as a wrap up of the past few days.


Yes, we arrived in Texas! And yes...we arrived in Austin. More on that later.

The first and probably most important update...as some of you may already be aware from various Facebook posts...is that our team 4 riders are safe. You have all seen photos of the follow vehicle which drives behind the riders. One of the scariest thoughts as a cyclist riding on the road are the cars not seeing us...and thus the follow vehicle offers protection that we don't normally have when we are riding on our own.
Well...that follow vehicle did exactly what it was supposed to do on Day 7 when a guy driving an F150 pickup truck was not paying attention while driving at 90km/hr down the road (we think we has texting). It slammed into the rear of the follow vehicle at full speed. The quick thinking and response of our volunteer driver, Dave Raynor, alerted the riders of the impending danger and accident in time for them to bail from the road...and his fast response in repositioning the follow vehicle saved a lot of lives. The cars are destroyed...the riders were a bit shaken, but safe, and were able to, and wanted to, complete their ride (after some significant logistic maneuvers). Special thanks to Dave and Ron...and we are glad they are okay as well:


By the way...we will be looking for a new follow vehicle next year...possibly one with iron reinforcements at the rear...if anyone has a military tank...let me know.





With the logistics changes...I also found myself with the opportunity to take on the role of driving one of our other vans as the follow vehicle to protect the last team heading into Austin. It was amazing to see how much goes on 'behind the scenes' in this role, even though I have done this ride now several times and have been a part of the planning. There is always ongoing communication with the motorhome. There is constant monitoring for cars coming up from behind. And the driving behind the riders was actually not as slow and boring as I thought it would be (then again...I only had to do it for about 30kms!). Again....lots of RESPECT for all our volunteers who step up to this role each year.
We rolled into our meeting spot outside of Austin around 3am on Friday. I had the opportunity to hang out the passenger window and here are some photos of the final ride - it really gives you a sense of the night riding.











Friday morning was our final ride as a whole team, riders and volunteers, into the Austin finish line. It continues to be a tremendously emotional experience - to see our friends and family, our wellspring warriors, and even complete strangers, waiting to cheer us on, after so many days on the road. We had a few challenges along the way...we rolled with it...and we made it. Our current fundraising total by 24 riders this year....over $475,000...which will go to help Wellspring. To help support those fighting this thing called cancer...to help them win the fight. Could not keep doing this without your ongoing support - thank you!











- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Day 5 - The VAN as a second home

After a few hours of rest from the previous late night....we needed to get ourselves from Franklin TN, just south of Nashville, all the way to Ridgeland, Mississippi (just north of Jackson). It was a LONG way...and we needed to get there at least in the early evening so that we could have a quick nap before riding the midnight to 6am shift. This is a very tough schedule for a body to suddenly adjust to. Essentially...due to how the rotations work out, there was no 'riding' for this 24 hour period. We only did the eat, sleep, drive thing today!

I'm going to take this opportunity to thank some of our volunteers along the way. Our follow vehicle drivers provide protection and emergency response if needed. All are first aid and CPR trained. They do 12 hour shifts driving behind the cyclists at all times.
This is Russell and Heather:


Roger and Bruce:


Dave and Ron:



Our Motorhome drivers provide the well needed support for rest stops and transition points along the way. They maintain the motorhome and select safe areas for the riders to take breaks - and they also work 12 hour shifts.
Here's Janeen and Matt:


Wun and Glenn:


Steve and Nancy:


And oh yes....both Matt and Wun are also our volunteer photographers to capture the adventure!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Day 4 - The Bad and the Good

As much as we tried to ensure as many aspects of this event are planned and organized...there will always be some challenges. Our day started off with visits to 2 different bike stores in Lexington to tune up 3 bikes on our team. It's amazing what riding so much distance each day can do (and yes, the bike crash didn't help either). That said...the local folks were able to get everything fixed up and we were back on the road.





Our ride route started from just south of Lebanon TN at 6pm. BAD. This was actually revised from last year due to traffic....however the same challenge existed. While our team pulled over frequently to allow cars to pass - it was still not enough for some drivers. While most were supportive...we did experience some negativity from a few who apparently couldn't spare the 5 or 10 minute delay in their day.


Oh well...we pedalled onwards aware that what we were doing is making a difference for the people who use the services of Wellspring.

Due to some variations in the distances that have been covered by the teams, a great surprise for us in the second half of our ride was that our team got the opportunity to ride from the entrance of the Natchez Trace Parkway. This is the GOOD. It's essentially a 444 mile paved road with no stoplight s, stop signs, or much traffic from Nashville TN to Natchez MS. It is a dream route for cyclists and rated as one of the top rides in North America. Our team quietly coasted for several hours, up and down on the roller coaster path...in the dark...no traffic....just us and the peace of night. Oh yes...we also saw 20 to 30 curious deer not sure who was interrupting their night.





The other GOOD that we had before the day was complete took place after our ride. By the time we got to Franklin where we took over the hotel rooms from the team that was riding after us...it was 230am. We were hungry and even McDonalds was closed in town. We found one place that still had lights on...Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom. Upon walking in, we were told they just had last call and their kitchen was closed. In fact, their chef was gone already. I guess from the looks on our faces and our explanation of why we were walking in so late...they invited us to have a seat. Several of the restaurant staff then took to staying late after closing, providing refreshments along with firing up the kitchen to make us some of their special pizza. Awesome. Even more awesome....was that they refused to charge us for the pizza, indicating it was their way to support what we were doing. We gave them a big tip in return for their hospitality.

Michelle, our server, at Old Chicago at 330am:



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Day 3 - How to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving...

It's currently 4am in the morning...and this is the first time I have an opportunity to provide a blog update...so here goes (forgive the typos if any!).

Firstly, we needed to figure out where to find turkey in the town of Lexington, Kentucky where we stayed the night after our ride. After some searching and with the help of TripAdvisor...we settled on a place called Ramsey's Diner. It was located downtown...had great ratings...and fit the criteria of being local.


What and awesome find....they specially prepared, to the best of their abilities....sliced turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, parmesan corn on the cob, and as well, some fantastic mac and cheese. Not exactly like home...but it all tasted great...and was all that we could ask for.


Next door was also a pie shop...who brought the Apple Caramel with cinnamon to the restaurant as dessert (yes, with additional whipped cream and vanilla ice cream). Again...awesome.

In terms of our ride...we completed our noon to 6pm ride from Waverly Ohio to Flemingsburg in great time. it was capped off with a beautiful sunset. We had the opportunity to cross the Ohio - Kentucky border over the Ohio river:


At the finish of the ride...falls colours and warm sunlight:


You may wonder why Keith is lying lifeless on the grass....it was brought to our team's attention that the bike crash the day prior...had everyone co ing tomthe rescue of Melinda...while Keith had to fend for himself. Here is a re-enactment of what the scene looked like:


Yes...we are having lots of fun. Just a few more photos below...I'm going to sleep now....more updates later!










- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad