From 27 May through 3 June I was honored to take part in the 7 Days Ride for Pancreatic Cancer through north central Ontario. This is just a short update on the ride. I've been super busy catching up and preparing for the upcoming Rideau Lakes Cycling Tour and a visit to see my daughter Claire in San Francisco (including a side trip to Yosemite National Park!)
As of 7 June, the 7 Days ride has achieved 96% of the goal of its fundraising goal of $250 k in support of early detection diagnosis and treatment. My generous donors have contributed over $5400 in support - love you all! The event requires the effort of numerous volunteers, and their support for the riders was tremendous. Everyone finished safely. I've learned more about pancreatic cancer and also the numerous stories of those affected by this low survival rate cancer
Over the 7 days, we rode over 1100 km including 9800 m of climbing and visited some amazing places - Algonquin Park, Port Carling in Muskoka Lakes, Bracebridge, West Simcoe Lakeshore, rolling countryside in Kawartha Lakes and many others. We were hosted by many fire departments for our rest stops, highlighting a profession with higher than average rates of cancer. I made dozens of new riding friends. The cardio vascular drift issue that plagued my 401 Bike Challenge ride in 2023 was non existent (yay!). Seems that in retrospect, I overtrained prior to running the Cornwall half marathon last year. This year, I made sure to very slowly increase my endurance distances and carefully manage my level of effort. Seems to have paid off
Highlights of the week included:
- The daily "Who we ride for" speech prior to the start, where one of our current or past riders would share their story of how pancreatic cancer has affected their life. The stories were always incredibly emotional as in many cases, the timeline between diagnosis and death can be in the order of months. Several riders rode with pictures or words from their lost loved ones taped to their bike
- Rider Peter who set up a two way video link on one of the evenings with his friend Arnold. Arnold is a 4 year survivor and was celebrating by playing a music gig at a pub that he rented out and invited all the friends that supported him over the years
- A fellow rider (and large fundraiser) who called me a hero when he found out I was fundraising for the ride but was never directly affected (family or close friends) by pancreatic cancer
- Getting to know all the riders and volunteers
- The rest stops were amazing. Many were in fire stations. So many baked goods from the volunteers - and I ate so much sugar and didn't have to worry about it. Did you know that coconut pineapple butter tarts existed? I didn't! Jujubes, Hornby bars, Coke, salt and vinegar chips, peanuts, multiple kinds of home baked cookies, chocolates filled with strawberry jam - the list goes on and on
- The crowd and reception as we rode into Millenium Park in Peterborough on Day 7 was terrific. Desa couldn't make it but we did a video chat so she could experience the event virtually
And of course, riding highlights of the week:
- Riding through Algonquin park on day 2. Didn't see a live moose, but did see a dead one unfortunately - mostly just the carcass left. Smooth roads, a nice shoulder, beautiful scenery and not too much traffic in late May. Only thing that would have made it better would have been a sunny day, but the rain was tolerable compared to day 1
- Day 3's challenging ride in Muskoka Lakes with 2300 m of climbing and witnessing the rich cottage country of Toronto. Unfortunately, rich property also means lot of maintenance, which means lots of contractors out riding their trucks, some like maniacs. Thank goodness the weather turned - I would not have wanted to attempt this ride in the rain
- Day 4 ride down from Huntsville to Barrie on the western shore of Lake Simcoe. More beautiful expensive lakeside properties and views to ogle
- Day 5 coming downhill into Millbrook from the west, my new buddy Enzo and I got into a bit of a "race" taking turns pulling/drafting and pushing it. Loads of fun
- Days 6 and 7 we managed to get both double and single pacelines going with some consistency making the ride very enjoyable
As always, there were some minor dissapointments:
- Day 1 sucked. It poured rain for hours. Everyone was soaked to the bone. At least it wasn't raining when we started off. And then we had a surprise detour (it was not there the day before) with less than 3 km to go from Bancroft that consisted of a dirt/mud road including a portion with a 10% upward grade. Good thing it wasn't pouring when we rode it though. I took over an hour to wash everything once we arrived - bikes, clothes and ourselves. Kudos to our road support team that got us all through it
- Some jerk stole my Patagonia rain jacket (luckily not my cycling rain jacket!) from the restaurant next to our hotel in Huntsville. Who goes to a restaurant and then steals stuff?
Overall, it was a fantastic and very well planned event. I will consider doing it again next year (the hardest part is the training - maybe I can stay fit through the winter?)
I signed up to to the Rideau Lakes Cycling Tour this weekend. Ottawa to Kingston on Saturday and then back on Sunday. Weather is looking iffy, especially on the way down. Oh well, just ride it
After this, my attention turns to the ACV 401 Bike Challenge in August - Toronto to Montreal in 3 days. Sick Kids to Children's Hospital. Yes, I decided to do 2 fundraising rides in the same summer. I'm fit enough now to do the cycling. But I need to focus on the fundraising part. You have all already done your part with your support and contributions. Now I will try to find others who might be interested in contributing
As always, I greatly appreciate your support both in fundraising and encouragement. Here's to you all keeping well, staying healthy and enjoying life to the best you can. Drop me a note so we can catch up on what you've been doing
Take care,
Dan
Help kids undergoing cancer treatments and their families by supporting the ACV 401 Bike Challenge. You can donate to my ride via Dan's donation page
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