Hi All

So I have been terrible…  it has been 2 weeks since the race and I am finally going to talk about it.  Not that it went badly..  in fact it went very well.

I thoroughly enjoyed it!   What a lot of fun.  I had hoped to finished the 40 km race between 2 and 2 and a half hours, considering my training was fairly light.   7 weeks earlier when I started training, I did 20 kms in 2 hours 20 minutes.   My unofficial time was 1:57:27,  a full 30 minutes less than I had hoped.
The course was great and the weather perfect. We all got off to a great start with everyone behaving well and no jostling which is always good.  Unfortunately 1 rider just ahead of me at the first gravel turn lost control and fell.  After that though, never saw anything untoward again.

Marcell managed to catch me every now and then, although he missed the first checkpoint due to a wrong turn.  Hence the photos.  His videos are more extensive and will post them as well later, once edited together.  He was complaining though that I am not gesturing or responsive – of course most of the time, any response would probably not be more than heavy breathing.
The hardest part was absolutely the last 15 minutes.  Up David Avenue to the top corner was indeed the hardest part of the entire race, but I did it.  It felt great to finish and afterwards, they had laid out a spread of fresh fruit, yoghurts, drinks, hot dogs, you name it.

A great wrap to finish the race.  Lisa and Alan came to the finish to cheer me on,  and I missed Lisa M who was jogging along the path..  Sorry Lisa…
A huge thank you to all my supporters,  the money you helped raise is going to a great cause here in the Tri-Cities.
Will be doing some more again soon…    Anyone interested in the Mud Run Ride in August?
Later

M

Hi All

With only 2 days left before the 2010 Wheel to Heal, its almost over to get some karma points and sponsor me.

Time is almost up.. and I am so close to my target… And in case you are wondering, yes, I will probably do it again next year, as well as the Ride to Conquer Cancer which is a two day event from Vancouver to Seattle.

Will make sure that Mick takes some photos on Sunday to post them!

Later

M

And the week of the race finally arrives… With 6 days left to the 40 km ride, its all systems go. I successfully completed my three rides of 30+ kms last week, and was planning on taking it easy with short relaxing rides this week. Seems its going to have to be more than just relaxing…

My bike developed an annoying creak, which is most likely caused by a crushed bearing in the handle bar joint. So it is going in for emergency surgery tomorrow afternoon to be collected on Thursday evening. Not a happy day… but at least they assure me it will be well enough to ride on Saturday…

Otherwise I am all ready for the race and really looking forward to it. I really hope that plenty of people turn out on Saturday to support the riders and the event. For those wondering where a great place to catch the action is, the Start/Finish at David and Pinetree, and the intersection of Creek and Victoria, as both locations we pass by twice. Here is a link to the map if you want to pick your own spot.

Remember, you can also go and sponsor me here! Go on, its good for your Karma…

Ok so last week was a bit of a slow week for me.. however I did manage to complete the 40 km route for the Wheel to Heal in just over 2 hours 30 minutes. And by the end, I thought I was never going to get finished. The last 5 kms felt like they were the last 50. So this week I have set a target to complete 4 rides over 30 kms. With good weather from this afternoon till the weekend that should be easy, and then next week to just do some short rides to get saddle time.

I have less than 2 weeks left to prepare, not that I can do much growth in 2 weeks, but at least get the stamina up.

So now we get to the important part… we need riders! So if you are in the Vancouver area and want to do something fun and improve your karma, sign up for the Wheel to Heal. There is a 10 km, 40 km and 80 km – your choice and no judgements on it. Its all for a good cause.. This all benefits the Eagle Ridge hospital which serves the Tri-Cities community.

Oh and for those that are far away, and can’t ride – you can still do some good…. Sponsor me

Later