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| Robert Wein participating in Ottawa Race Weekend |
Now that I signed up for the Air Canada Vacations 401 Bike Challenge in late August, I figured I would need to plan how I'm going to train up for the ride, even though I'm still in the most intensive part of run training for Ottawa Race Weekend. The breakdown of the 575 km ride distance is:
Day 1 - Toronto to Belleville (190 km)
Day 2 - Belleville to Cornwall (260 km)
Day 3 - Cornwall to Montreal (130 km)
It day 2 that's daunting. The most I've ridden in a day is about 185 km and that was years ago. I am familiar with the route, having ridden all the pieces of it on various multi day bike trips. Most of the Ontario part follows Highway 2 (aka Kingston Road in various locations) and it's quite flat, being mostly along the lake shore and St. Lawrence river.
In my usual planning style, I figured I'd better start cycling NOW. The ride training guideline recommends cycling 2000-3000 km prior to start. Since I can't get much riding done in April and May, I figure I'd at least sacrifice one day's run training to get going. So, I signed up for yet more support activities - including joining 2 bike clubs and also enrolling in an advanced bike skills course, which will improve my safety and ability to ride in a group. Kanata Nepean Bike Club has Saturday rides, which will help prevent divorce because Desa works most Saturdays anyway.
I signed up as a guest rider for a 54 km ride with KNBC. Starting in Kanata, it basically followed a big southerly rectangle to Munster and then Richmond and back. This was on Easter Sunday and some businesses were closed - in particular the favorite coffee shop in Richmond that the cyclists tend to converge upon. So a trip to Tim Hortons was planned instead.
The ride was very enjoyable and uneventful. The howling 70 km wind gusts from the previous weekend were long gone. I got to know the various other cyclists in the ride, most of whom are longtime club members.
We descended upon Timmy's to replenish our energy. Sitting with a couple of other riders near the door, we noticed that some of the cyclists outside were fiddling with the front glass door, trying to get the second door unlocked. I looked out as it seemed odd that they were trying to do this without asking for staff help and wondered what they were up to? Looking further down the entrance side, I saw what they were attempting - a man on an electric scooter that had mobility issues was trying to get in and his scooter would not fit through the single door. The cyclists' attempts to open the second door were unsuccessful and eventually they helped the gentleman set up his walker and helped him through the single door, leaving the scooter outside.
The restaurant was pretty busy it being lunchtime and all. The disabled man stopped at the entrance and was obviously trying to figure out where he could set up. Since I was sitting near the entrance on the movable couch style chairs, I asked him if we could move the setup around so that he could more easily access the chairs and table with his walker. He was quite grateful and said thank you - he seemed to be about my age and we started to chat.
"I used to cycle a lot" he declared at one point. "Have you ever heard of the Kanata 5?"
My emotional response felt like a punch in the stomach while at the same time draining all intelligence from my brain. I knew this man's name, but with the shock of his introduction I couldn't recall it. "My name is Robert Wein" he said.
Ottawans know the story well. Back in 2009, a group of 5 cyclists were out starting a training ride early on a weekend morning when they were struck by a man in a van, who immediately fled the scene. Robert suffered the worst injuries. The perpetrator waited some time before turning himself in. We will never know if he was intoxicated at the time. In 2012, he received 9 months for dangerous driving and 15 months for leaving the scene of the crash, served consecutively. The cycling community was outraged, as the van driver played the situation perfectly to avoid more profound consequences and got away with it.
It could have happened to any of us.
I don't exactly remember what I said to Robert next. Probably that I was glad to meet him - everything sounded wrong (uhh ... I'm glad to meet you because you were permanently disabled by a reckless van driver??). I shook his hand. I wanted to say I was sorry, but stopped myself. I started to recall some aspects of the incident, of which he reminded me he has no recollection. I mentioned that this type of tragic event replayed itself recently, this time with the cyclist being left for dead in a ditch, which he acknowledged.
Robert seems to be an amazing individual. I have friends who know him and who worked with him prior to the hit and run. He has exhibited remarkable positivity about his situation and has created his own his foundation to raise funds for brain trauma research.
I am very glad I met him.
(Top photo of Robert Wein courtesy CBC)
Take care,
Dan
Day 1 - Toronto to Belleville (190 km)
Day 2 - Belleville to Cornwall (260 km)
Day 3 - Cornwall to Montreal (130 km)
It day 2 that's daunting. The most I've ridden in a day is about 185 km and that was years ago. I am familiar with the route, having ridden all the pieces of it on various multi day bike trips. Most of the Ontario part follows Highway 2 (aka Kingston Road in various locations) and it's quite flat, being mostly along the lake shore and St. Lawrence river.
In my usual planning style, I figured I'd better start cycling NOW. The ride training guideline recommends cycling 2000-3000 km prior to start. Since I can't get much riding done in April and May, I figure I'd at least sacrifice one day's run training to get going. So, I signed up for yet more support activities - including joining 2 bike clubs and also enrolling in an advanced bike skills course, which will improve my safety and ability to ride in a group. Kanata Nepean Bike Club has Saturday rides, which will help prevent divorce because Desa works most Saturdays anyway.
I signed up as a guest rider for a 54 km ride with KNBC. Starting in Kanata, it basically followed a big southerly rectangle to Munster and then Richmond and back. This was on Easter Sunday and some businesses were closed - in particular the favorite coffee shop in Richmond that the cyclists tend to converge upon. So a trip to Tim Hortons was planned instead.
The ride was very enjoyable and uneventful. The howling 70 km wind gusts from the previous weekend were long gone. I got to know the various other cyclists in the ride, most of whom are longtime club members.
We descended upon Timmy's to replenish our energy. Sitting with a couple of other riders near the door, we noticed that some of the cyclists outside were fiddling with the front glass door, trying to get the second door unlocked. I looked out as it seemed odd that they were trying to do this without asking for staff help and wondered what they were up to? Looking further down the entrance side, I saw what they were attempting - a man on an electric scooter that had mobility issues was trying to get in and his scooter would not fit through the single door. The cyclists' attempts to open the second door were unsuccessful and eventually they helped the gentleman set up his walker and helped him through the single door, leaving the scooter outside.
The restaurant was pretty busy it being lunchtime and all. The disabled man stopped at the entrance and was obviously trying to figure out where he could set up. Since I was sitting near the entrance on the movable couch style chairs, I asked him if we could move the setup around so that he could more easily access the chairs and table with his walker. He was quite grateful and said thank you - he seemed to be about my age and we started to chat.
"I used to cycle a lot" he declared at one point. "Have you ever heard of the Kanata 5?"
My emotional response felt like a punch in the stomach while at the same time draining all intelligence from my brain. I knew this man's name, but with the shock of his introduction I couldn't recall it. "My name is Robert Wein" he said.
Ottawans know the story well. Back in 2009, a group of 5 cyclists were out starting a training ride early on a weekend morning when they were struck by a man in a van, who immediately fled the scene. Robert suffered the worst injuries. The perpetrator waited some time before turning himself in. We will never know if he was intoxicated at the time. In 2012, he received 9 months for dangerous driving and 15 months for leaving the scene of the crash, served consecutively. The cycling community was outraged, as the van driver played the situation perfectly to avoid more profound consequences and got away with it.
It could have happened to any of us.
I don't exactly remember what I said to Robert next. Probably that I was glad to meet him - everything sounded wrong (uhh ... I'm glad to meet you because you were permanently disabled by a reckless van driver??). I shook his hand. I wanted to say I was sorry, but stopped myself. I started to recall some aspects of the incident, of which he reminded me he has no recollection. I mentioned that this type of tragic event replayed itself recently, this time with the cyclist being left for dead in a ditch, which he acknowledged.
Robert seems to be an amazing individual. I have friends who know him and who worked with him prior to the hit and run. He has exhibited remarkable positivity about his situation and has created his own his foundation to raise funds for brain trauma research.
I am very glad I met him.
(Top photo of Robert Wein courtesy CBC)
Take care,
Dan
Help kids with cancer at both Toronto SickKids and Montreal Children's hospitals and support my fundraising goal. You can donate to my ride via Dan's donation page at the Air Canada Vacations 401 Bike Challenge website. 100% of your tax deductible donation goes to the hospitals
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