But You Have a Tail Wind?

Friday, June 7, 2024

7 Days Ride Update and Beyond

Riders and volunteers at Millenium Park post ride celebration in Peterborough

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

In the "middle" of Lake Simcoe on on Day 4 - Fabulous!

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

The truck that would escort us out of Barrie

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

At the end of Day 2 and Algonquin Park

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

The ice cream shop in West Pines Park Resort on our way up to Whitney on Day 2

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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Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Looking Forward to 7 Days of Riding

Tackling Foymount Hill for Training

A quick update on my progress towards the upcoming 7 Days Ride for Pancreatic Cancer starting on Monday 27 May. As of 21 May I've received $4400 in donations, surpassing my goal. Overall, the fundraising has amassed $160k of our $250k goal. A huge thank you to everyone who's contributed to the cause. Many of you have reached out to me with your stories of friends, family or even your own battles with pancreatic cancer

My training has progressed very well. I will need to ride over 160 km for 6 days in a row and then 100 km on the 7th day, for a total of over 1100 km, which averages over 160/day for the week. That's the easy part. The more difficult part is that on day #2 and #3 I will also be climbing over 2000 m each day. So I have had to train for both distance and vertical. So far in 2024 I have ridden over 4000 km and climbed over 34 km (that's about 4 times the height of Mount Everest). My longest ride was 177 km with 2400 m of climbing in Gatineau Park. I think I'm ready

The ride starts in Peterborough. The day routes are as follows:

Peterborough northeast to Bancroft - 162 km and 1550 m climbing
Bancroft west to Huntsville - 174 km and 2045 m climbing
Loop west of Huntsville in Muskoka Lakes - 167 km and 2300 m climbing
Huntsville south to Barrie - 169 km and 1360 m climbing
Barrie east to Peterborough - 168 km and 1480 m climbing
Eastern loop from Peterborough through Marmora (around highway 7) - 172 km and 1320 m climbing
Northern loop from Peterborough around Buckhorn Lakes - 103 km and 686 m climbing

The reason for shortening the final day is to entice new riders who might not be comfortable with 160 km to come out and experience the event at a shorter distance. This is working as we have quite a few Sunday only riders who have helped with fundraising

Now all I can do is get my bike prepared and wait to see what the weather will be next week

On a day of multiple ascents to Champlain Lookout

Take care,
Dan

Help patients battling pancreatic cancer and support my fundraising goal. You can donate to my ride via Dan's donation page on the Pancreatic Cancer Canada website

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Thursday, February 8, 2024

A Little Something Different

Another gratuitous shot of a Rideau Canal lock (Kilmarnock)

After the 2023 ACV 401 Bike Challenge Ride, I decided to focus on bringing my fitness back to where it was in February 2023 before all the cardiovascular drift problems started to set in. Given that I had essentially been given a clean bill of (heart) health in the summer, prior to the ride, I attempted to research what could cause a sudden increase in heart rate for relatively mild aerobic exercise. I didn't get very far. The primary contributors to cardiovascular drift include factors that I was already aware of: exercising on hot humid days, lack of hydration and age. Of these, the only one I could really control was hydration and I was deeply steeped in knowledge in that area, given previous marathon disasters and my subsequent research and adjustment of both water and electrolyte intake. I've always been a heavy sweater and suffer greatly in the heat and humidity, so I'm quite familiar with the tactics required to undertake endurance activities in those conditions. However, I could find nothing that could indicate why cardiovascular drift might suddenly increase? I did train pretty hard for the half marathon I undertook in March 2023 - with desires harking back to almost 10 years earlier when I was able to finish in under 2 hours. I figured if I followed the same training program that I undertook back then, that results would magically happen. As a result, I really pushed myself - especially in strength (hills) and speed workouts. I seemed to be perpetually exhausted and never felt that I was getting enough recovery. Once the fitness problems started kicking in, I countered by taking multi day recovery periods to attempt to get back on track, but it was too late. It seems I had somehow put myself in a state where what normally would be fairly light aerobic exercise would quickly raise my heart rate

So, after the 401 ride I decided on a different approach. No more race events for the foreseeable future. No hard training. Get my fitness base back. That meant lots of lower effort, longish rides and runs until I felt very comfortable raising it up by a small amount to the next level. Enjoy the journey as they say

As of February 2024, so far this has been working. My heart rate and cardiovascular drift now seems to be back where it was a year ago - I can exercise for over 2 hours and get nowhere near my max heart rate. At the same time, I've noticed that some of my leg and core strength has returned. This I attribute to that wonderful game that I stopped playing as the lockdown set in - soccer. Very early in 2023 before all these drift problems started, my good friend Roger convinced me to join a team that he was playing on, given that my old masters club had shut down during the pandemic. It had been 4 years since I laced up my boots. I thought about it for quite a bit and then decided to sign up. I certainly missed playing, but I certainly didn't miss the neverending injuries that seem to be a part of old man recreational soccer

Of course, my carefulness managing the CV drift issue prevented my from playing for the first half of the season. When I started up again, besides feeling even more spastic than usual with a ball at my feet, I now realized how out of shape I was for soccer. Yeah it's running, but it's different from just running on the street - lots of odd sideways movements. After the first game I couldn't move for 2 days. I knew this was going to happen when I signed up so not a surprise. It took me about 4 games until my body started to adjust to the stop/start and 'sprint' movements. I remember one game, where I played for 10 minutes and then came off because my hip flexors basically had shut off. Like an angry child they just were refusing to function

But despite the initial injuries, I had forgotten that this was essentially a strength type workout that I was not pursuing in any other activity. I keep telling myself that I need strength training (other than hills) primarily for running - weights and high load, low rep movements. And despite that it has done wonders for some of my running colleagues, I can't seem to discipline myself to do gym type strength training. But after I started soccer again, I noticed, primarily for running, that my core and leg strength were starting to make my runs easier. There's an old saying: "When you're young, you play sports to stay fit, when you're old you stay fit to play sports". But I found that "playing sports" in this case was providing a fitness component that I had missed through the pandemic

The soccer season went okay - I was just getting to the point where I was starting to feel like my old skill challenged self when the season ended. However, this same group plays 7 aside pickup through the winter indoors. This is exactly what I needed. The first few games were hell, espcially since some of these players were in their 30s and 40s. But now after several months of this, I can play for an hour and I'm not exhausted and with fast recovery. It's working

Likewise, I continue to run with my Sunday mostly marathoners run group. In winter, the group maintains their LSD (long slow distance) runs at 16 km. As the winter has progressed, without trying, I have found that my pace has slowly increased - just what I was hoping. Some of my group colleagues will be training for various races, including the Ottawa Race Weekend Marathon in May. I will be following their training program for the Sunday long runs, but I won't be adding the tempo, hills and speedwork elements - or if I do, it will be very carefully and slowly in terms of ramp up - not like last year!

My Sunday long run group on a remote outing to beautiful
Almonte Ontario just before the freezing rain started

For winter riding, well, it's a combination of smart trainer + Zwift (online cycling virtual reality game) and fat biking. I took advantage of Louis Garneau dumping their excessive fat bike inventory into Costco stores in January at effectively 50% off of the bike shop prices and got myself a new fat bike. This one fits me properly and I have found that I am more confident on my rides on narrow singletrack trails in the Western Greenbelt or other locations around Ottawa. Of course, I upgraded a bunch of parts on the bike to make it more enticing to ride

The new toy leans on a long abondoned car on "Chevy to the Levee"
trail in Ottawa's Western Greenbelt

However, the weather has been somewhat poor for fat biking - lack of snow and warm temperatures causing melting, resulting in hard, icy, sometimes post holed trails. Not riding outdoors as much as I like, so more time on the basement bike. When the family convened at Julie's in Toronto this year for Christmas for a change, and I ran in shorts there on Christmas Eve. Road cyclists were out in force that Sunday. Climate change is real

Desa and I gathering food donations on behalf of
Barrhaven Food Cupboard as part of the Santa Claus Parade

Sometime early last year, my cycling buddy Jack posted a notice in our bike club newsletter about a charity fundraising event called the 7 Days Ride for Pancreatic Cancer. I was intrigued as the cycling challenge part consisted of 7 consecutive days of at least 160 km per day. So quite different from the 401 Bike Challlenge - more of an overall endurance event but without the crazy 255 km single day ride in the middle. I decided to sponsor Jack and he asked whether I would be interested in participating - I said no for 2023, but I'd think about it for the following year. Over the course of the fall and early winter, I decided that I would like to participate. Part of my incentive was that I knew of several people who were either undergoing treatment or who had lost a loved one to the disease wihin the past few years, including one of the 401 Bike Challenge riders who lost his spouse in early 2023. It would also give me a chance to experience a different ride and meet some new riders and hear their stories. Unlike the 401, the 7 Days Ride changes their route every year. They used to ride around Lake Ontario, but the pandemic squashed that and have subsequently kept to central-eastern Ontario. They also started incorporating some loops within the rides, so that you get to stay at the same hotel for more than one night in a row and also it allows rider who can only manage a 2 or 3 day weekend ride to more easily participate. Other than fundraising, the biggest challenge I see with the 7 Days Ride is that it's early in the riding season - late May. So hopefully I'll be able to get in some long outdoor rides in April and early May so I can be somewhat prepared for 7 days of 160 km!

As far as the ACV 401 Bike Challenge goes this year, my main constraint will be whether I can fundraise for both events. You donors have been so generous the last few years in sponsoring me for the 401 ride and I'm acutely aware of donor fatigue for these fundraising efforts. My plan therefore is to primarily focus on the 7 Days ride and then see if there is still enough donation interest for the 401 ride. Next year might be the reverse. I'll figure that out in the fall. If you feel strongly that you are interested in contributing to the 401 Bike Challenge (kids cancer) in lieu of pancreatic cancer, contact me and let me know as this will help me plan accordingly

I'm excited taking on a new challenge and hoping that my fitness trajectory remains upward. 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 patients battling pancreatic cancer and support my fundraising goal. You can donate to my ride via Dan's donation page on the Pancreatic Cancer Canada website

Follow me on social media:

Monday, January 15, 2024

The Pancreatic Cancer Canada 7 Days Ride 2024 Edition

I'm raising money in support of combatting Pancreatic Cancer by participating in the epic Seven Days Ride.

Along with my team of fellow cyclists/fundraisers, I'll be riding an imperial century (160 km or 100 miles) per day for 7 consecutive days around central/eastern Ontario to raise funds and awareness

Why? Because the statistics are staggering:

Pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all major cancers
The 5-year relative survival rate is 10%. That means that 90% of Canadians diagnosed with pancreatic cancer will die
70% of patients do not survive past the first year
For these patients and their families, a pancreatic cancer diagnosis is traumatic and brings overwhelming day-to-day and emotional challenges
Pancreatic cancer is currently the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Canada, yet it continues to be underfunded, overlooked, and outpaced in research

I'll be posting to this blog from time to time to give you an update on my progress as well random thoughts on cycling, bike maintenance, volunteering, running, and other activities that I find myself engaging in

By making a donation, you are helping to make a difference in the lives of patients who have been diagnosed and their families

This is my 1st time participating in this event. I'd love for you to make a donation today and help make a meaningful difference in the lives of those undergoing treatment of this horrid disease

Take care,
Dan

Help patients battling pancreatic cancer and support my fundraising goal. You can donate to my ride via Dan's donation page on the Pancreatic Cancer Canada website

Follow me on social media:

Friday, August 25, 2023

Well, It Isn't Called "Challenge" for Nothing!

Arriving in Kingston on day 2
Way before all my nonsense started

The 2023 Air Canada Vacations 401 Challenge is in the books. $220 k raised for the hospitals and kids. 21 riders completed the 3 day journey this year, down from 2022. The big milestone however was that over the 18 years of this event, the challenge has now raised a total of $3 M dollars for pediatric oncology. A big thank you to all my donors who contributed towards the milestone and also allowed me to surpass my personal fundraising goal for the 3rd time

401 Bike Challenge founder Gene Piccoli displays
the cheque representing $3 M the ride has raised
over 18 years

I approached this ride with more trepidation than the previous two that I rode in 2019 and 2022. In both the previous cases I followed a training plan of my own design that would prepare me in terms of total distance, ride length and vertical climbing. In 2019 I rode over 3000 kms prior to the event and in 2022 I was around 5800 kms. In both cases the training plan involved long rides (over 200 kms) and back to back rides around 160 kms each. This time around, even though I rode 3000 kms prior to the event, I did not follow a training plan and as such did not incorporate the same preparation in terms of ride lengths, frequency and climbing. This is largely because of a sudden fitness issue I encountered in March while training for the St Lawrence (Cornwall) half marathon. Until I was able to get medically checked out, I had to take it easy in case there might have been an underlying heart condition issue. There wasn't. I still have the fitness issue (something known as cardiac drift - which despite the name is more related to body cooling and blood circulation than heart). So although I put in the distance, I did not train with much intensity. I felt good but still wondered whether a gradual increase heart rate during long rides on potentially hot days might just cause me to have to stop cycling

Daughter Julie saw me off again this year
from Sick Kids! So grateful for family support

Day 1 (Toronto - Belleville) began as usual with a sendoff from staff, friends and family from Sick Kids hospital in Toronto. The Wednesday weather looked promising with 0% chance of precipitation in the forecast - the only day of the 3 that looked rain free. I was delighted that my daughter Julie, who lives in Toronto, was able to see me off at the start. Joey, who is the son of one of our previous riders and a leukemia survivor gave a great speech on how Sick Kids was able to successfully treat his cancer into remission and he emphasized how much the ride and riders meant to him and his family. If a child was diagnosed with leukemia in the 1960's it was basically a death sentence. With all the advances in treatment, the survival rate now is in the range of 85-90%

Shortly after 8 am, we headed off down University towards Lakeshore Blvd following our police escort that would take until Guildwood. A cyclist's dream - having all the traffic have to wait, ignoring some of the traffic lights and having the cops actually protecting cyclists for once. It might be my own bias, but my observation was that we seemed to get more cheers and encouraging honks on the whole ride than we did in 2022. At one point as we were waiting to cross Front St, a woman on the sidewalk asked: "Where are you riding to?" at which point one of the riders responded with "Montreal". Then the woman pumped her fist in the air and yelled out "F*ck Yeah!". I wish someone got it on video - it became the topic of conversation of the day

Waiting for traffic light on University

Before Pickering we split up into our groups based on speed. Each group of about 8 riders has a lead motorcycle escort and a trailing support van that contains snacks and drinks and our day bags. At the very end of the last group is the large truck and trailer that contains the mobile bike shop and storage space for all our other bags. It also has ample room to transport riders that need a break or can't continue. There were 3 groups this year - I was in group 2. Group 1 was extremely fast and group 3 was a just bit slower than my typical club ride pace

Getting out of the GTA is a pain. With our police escort now gone, we rode highway 2 (Kingston Road) which is basically rolling hills and traffic lights all the way to Bowmanville, at which point the roads become more rural in nature. Many of the riders say that day 1 is harder than day 2 because of the hills and stops, even though day 2 is 65 km longer

We continued without issue until our lunch stop at beautiful Cobourg Beach (Victoria Park). My cardiac drifting heart rate started to creep up in the last 45 minutes or so prior to lunch but it wasn't out of line with what I had observed on my club rides prior to the event. The air was cool but the sun was very hot off the road

I was starving even though I ate various things at the prior refueling stops - rice Krispy squares, jujubes, potato chips. Lunch consisted of various delicious catered sandwiches. This was a step up from the previous years' McDonald's catered lunches, as they were no longer a lead event sponsor (but kudos to them for still having donated $25k to the event!). I chomped down one. Someone was handing out energy drinks and I grabbed one. I then ate a second sandwich and had a spruce beer that Gene brought. By the time we were ready to leave, I was feeling a bit tired, but ready to go. I was wondering if my cardiac drift would be a bigger factor in the afternoon after the stop - this seemed to be the pattern I experienced on prior rides

Good form! Downhill "ready" position

Leaving Cobourg Beach is a bit of an uphill to get back on highway 2. Less than 1 km out and I saw my bpm was already in the 160s!! WTF? I haven't even warmed up yet? Okay, so I watched this closely hoping it could come down as we progressed. It came down into the 150s but then at each hill it would go up. I eventually fell back from the other 4 riders on the hills and saw it go up 170-180-190. Justin dropped back to see what was going on and I told him I had to stop. I felt fine otherwise, but this was highly abnormal

Rather than wait for the large bike van, I was able to squeeze both my bike and myself into the support van that was following group 2. From there we rode about 27 km to the next stop in Brighton. I watched my bpm the whole time while sitting in the van - it was all over the place initially but finally it settled back into my normal range. I felt somewhat jittery but otherwise fine

With my heart rate back to normal at Brighton, I felt good enough to get back on the bike with group 3 to ride the remaining 25 kilometers into Belleville. I warned everyone that I might have to quickly stop if the condition arose again. It didn't. It was like nothing ever happened. We got to the hotel, showered, had dinner all per usual. I felt fine - I wasn't even that tired

I tried to figure out what might have been the cause. It was a quite warm on the road. I was well hydrated - no issue there. I probably shouldn't have had that second sandwich and instead kept it for a later stop - too much blood dealing with digesting. An then - that stupid GURU energy drink!! I'd totally forgotten about it

I never drink these things - I swear I've had maybe 1 or 2 RedBulls in my life just to see what they taste like (gross). I have no idea why I drank it. I was more concerned about there being any artificial sweetener in it than caffeine or the myriad of other ingredients (guarana extract, echinacea). And caffeine in coffee and regular soft drinks (Coke) typically has zero effect on me

If you're concerned about heart rate increase, then uh, maybe don't drink stuff whose purpose is to increase your heart rate. And don't break the first rule of any endurance activity - never take something that you haven't already experienced during your training. I felt like a moron

On Thursday morning (Belleville - Cornwall), everyone's big concerns were weather and timing. In 2022 we finished riding day 2 in the pouring rain in dark at 8 pm. We did not want a repeat of that situation. It was scary and we were lucky that nobody crashed due to a pothole or touching another rider. The forecast showed a similar pattern to the previous year - chance of thundershowers late in the afternoon. And, it looked like our desired tail wind had turned into a more challenging cross wind coming from the due South

I decided to start the day in group 2 again. We were back up to 7 riders at the start of the day. The ride went very well through Napanee and on to Kingston. Stops were very short as we aimed to keep to schedule that would bring us in before dark in Cornwall. At Kingston, some of the riders decided to switch groups, so we're now down to 4. The section east of Gananoque is on the amazing 1000 Islands Bike Path which extends 35 kms to near Brockville. During this portion of the ride, the groups are a bit more fluid as the escort vehicles remain on the road. I was the oldest and slowest of the 4 riders in group 2 and we motored it towards lunch at Mallorytown Landing at 140 kms. I was pushing to keep up, especially on hills and definitely in need of a break, but I didn't think that I felt any worse than I had at this point on my previous two ride experiences. Oh, and no cardiac drift so far at all!!!

Group 2 on day 2. I still felt great at this point

However, I wasn't very hungry. I managed only one half of a small chicken wrap and a brownie. Looking at the coleslaw made my stomach churn so I tossed it. Because of my day 1 experience where I likely ate too much, I wasn't very concerned that I didn't eat much at lunch on day 2

We kept our stop to under 1 hour (yay!) and the 4 of us in group 2 headed out continuing our brisk pace on the remainder of the 1000 Islands Bikeway and then past Brockville. Everything was great for a while. Then I started slowing on the hills. Heart rate still awesome, but I was fading. The other 3 riders were waiting for me after the hills. I was getting slower and slower. I was bonking - my glycogen stores had been depleted and now my stomach had shut down and I couldn't intake any food to replenish. Eventually just before the 200 km mark, the support van told me to stop at the next gas station where we would regroup. I got off my bike and sat on the curb. Then I got dizzy. I'll spare the other details. Took me several minutes to set myself straight again. The other riders and support staff asked me what I wanted to do. I said I needed to get in the van. They highly agreed that that was the best answer

So, now I got to ride in the large van with the driver/mechanic and one other rider who was already there. It was raining for a good portion of the 25 km trip to Morrisburg, so I was both disappointed but also a bit relieved. Once in Morrisburg, I felt somewhat fine again and managed to rehydrate and make sure my electrolytes were good. But I still couldn't eat. Less than 40 km to go - could I make it?

I stayed with group 3 so that I'd have a better chance of handling the pace. Things went pretty good for about 32 kms and I was even able to lead for a bit. Then - yeah, I started to fade again and was now dropping off the back. We ended up regrouping towards the end because of some traffic lights leading into Cornwall so I got to finish together. I was completely spent and queasy again with leg cramps/spasms I sat mostly by myself to steady everything. Eventually I was able to gather my stuff and get in the shower. I went down for dinner with the riders and volunteers but I felt too queasy to stay, so back to the room and early bed. At about 1:30 am I felt good enough to hunt down a vending machine and drink ginger ale and eat some chips

Despite my personal fitness struggles, there were some good positives. First, no cardiac drift on day 2 for almost 240 kms! After the shenanigans in the afternoon of day 1 I was very pleased. Second, the thunderstorms held off and last, all the riders were done way before it got dark. For most of the riders, the 2023 day 2 was a much better experience than 2022, and much safer

How could I have avoided bonking on day 2? I think it's definitely a fitness issue - lack of longer rides, lack of back/back long rides, lack of practicing eating on longer rides and more hills than I was able to schedule in with my other fitness issues. Also, even though group 2 was probably going only about 2 km/hr faster than group 3 during the first part of the day on day 2, that difference is huge in terms of expended energy. Of course, I felt great in group 2 until I didn't

The day 3 leg from Cornwall to Montreal is typically considered easy (130 km) after Belleville - Cornwall. Once again the forecast looked daunting - it was originally promising rain for the whole day. That seemed to change overnight to showers only in the morning and the afternoon.

I slept okay (still better than the first night in Toronto) but was concerned about how I'd do on the "easy" day. I was able to eat a reasonably sized breakfast but my head was still a bit fuzzy and I would still get the occasional leg cramp depending on movement. Once we were outside preparing to leave, I felt better. And after we were riding for about 10 minutes, I felt great again

The ride into Montreal is always pleasant and almost like a bit of a 'party on wheels' after the long day 2. Time to catch up with everyone. I stayed with group 3 and enjoyed a very relaxed pace into John Abbott College in Ste Anne de Bellevue. There we once again picked up the police escort to ride us in. We stuck to our practice of a more rigid schedule and arrived at Children's Hospital just after 3 pm

Dan, Rob and Desa at the finish. The Brossard gang

As usual, we were greeted by friends and family, hospital officials and families whose kids are undergoing treatment. The ceremonies were held indoors this year because of the forecast, but there was very little precipitation riding in from Cornwall

We got through this year's ride with no crashes and no injuries - a testament to the volunteers who keep us safe and the riders for riding safely and keeping their bikes in good working condition. Bravo

And finally, a huge thanks to all you contributors who sponsored me. Without your contributions, this event wouldn't exist and the result would be a huge loss in the lives of those undergoing treatment and their families. You make the difference

Take care,
Dan

Help kids with cancer at Toronto SickKids, Montreal Children's and CHEO 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

Tuesday, August 1, 2023

The Road to the 401 Bike Challenge is Filled with Potholes

My packed bike on the train bridge over the Mad River near Middlesex VT

Hey everyone! A little cycling and adventure update since my 2022 401 Bike Challenge ride last August, as I wind down the last couple of weeks before the 2023 ride edition!

Last October, I had the privilege of riding in San Francisco and Marin County for their annual Biketoberfest event. Riding with a group who were much younger than me, I got to cross the Golden Gate bridge, zip through Sausalito and San Rafael to a town called Fairfax. Fairfax is home to Biketoberfest and the Marin Museum of Bicycling, which I plan to go back and visit on another occasion. Weather was perfect and some of the hills were absolutely brutal - including an 18% climb in a residential neighborhood that I had to walk up. On the way back to SF, I rode through The Presidio and part of Golden Gate Park

Riding crew for Biketoberfest in San Francisco

Once he weather turned cooler again, I changed my focus to winter running as I typically do. Somehow, my Sunday running group managed to talk me into signing up for a race - they were trying to get me to run the St. Lawrence marathon out of Cornwall. This race is in April and has higher likelihood of cooler weather than Ottawa Race Weekend in late May. I didn't feel up to the vigours of marathon training, so I signed up for the half marathon. My training proceeded quite well through the winter, mixing in indoor riding on a virtual reality platform called Zwift, and keeping up with the marathoners for their long sunday run distances. I felt great

Until ...

In late March I noticed that I was having trouble on the slow Sunday runs completing the distances - distances that I had far exceeded only a few weeks earlier. I figured I might be overtraining and so I cut back on the mid week workouts but the situation didn't improve. By the time race day came along I was unsure if I should even attempt it - especially since it involved a drive to Cornwall. I participated anyway and ended up with a terrible result as I needed to do run/walk intervals for the last half of the race

Clearly something had changed with my fitness. I was worried that I had some kind of heart issue, but subsequent tests showed that my heart health was stable. Further research seems to indicate that I am experiencing something called cardiac drift, which is a condition where at low level aerobic exercise levels (like long, slow runs), your heart rate gradually increases until is ends up in the anaerobic zone. Since it is doing this extra work, after a while fatigue sets in. Cardiac drift can increase as a result of hot weather, high humidity and age (crap). Your capillaries dilate to try and cool your body down and in doing so, they end up reducing the amount of blood that's delivered to your muscles. To compensate, your heart rate increases. I've never been comfortable running in hot or humid weather and now it's gotten worse

Visiting some old rocks

While I was figuring all this out, I didn't want to put too much stress on my system, so I limited myself to shorter rides and even stopped running completely for a while. As a result, my fitness level for the 401 Challenge is miles behind where it was last year, but I figure I should still be able to ride the 3 days. I will be following up with a sports medicine clinic to see what can be done to counteract the effects. I don't want to give up my long slow runs!

In May, Desa and I embarked on a cruise vacation around the UK. Starting in Southampton, the ship travelled counter clockwise around the isles with stops in Edinburgh, Inverness, Belfast, Liverpool, Dublin, Cork, Weymouth and back to Southampton. We then spent 4 nights in London. We had fabulous weather (not a drop of rain!) and did lots of walking (multiple days of 30k steps). I got to visit Stonehenge, Edinburgh Castle, Loch Ness, the Titanic Museum, the International Slavery Museum, The Cavern Club, the Guinness Storehouse, Trinity College, Blarney Castle & Gardens, The Tower of London, The British Museum, Camden Market and tons of other sites

Dublin Guinness Storehouse visit and tasting!

Although my cycling fitness is down from last year, I did manage to embark on a 10 day self supported bike packing tour that started in Provincetown Massachusetts, went down Cape Cod and across to Providence Rhode Island and then travelled up through central Massachusetts, through New Hampshire and ended in Burlington Vermont. About 900 km over 10 days with 50 lbs of clothing and gear. Me and my 3 fellow cyclists stayed in "cheap" motels - no camping. We had excellent weather again with only 1 day of solid rain when we travelled from White River Junction VT to Montpelier VT (that was also the big climbing day - about 1300 m). We lucked out on the timing of the ride, as the following week parts of Montpelier and roads we had travelled were completely underwater due to flooding because of torrential rains. Some of the bike path networks were spectacular - especially on Cape Cod, coming out of Providence and in New Hampshire. Many old railway lines have been converted to fine gravel bike paths

A ride though Vermont isn't complete without the
obligatory stop at the original Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop

And recently, we got to visit our daughter Claire again in San Francisco. Great weather (again, we've been so lucky this year) and had tons of fun just playing tourist and visiting sites. I can't get enough of San Francisco

My crew cycling on beautiful Angel Island State Park
north of San Francisco

As the days wind down towards the 2023 401 Bike Challenge I'm balancing getting rides in without overdoing it. It will be interesting because so far this year my longest ride has only been 120 km. The 2nd day of the 401 Challenge is 260 km. In past years, I deliberately scheduled a training ride of over 200 km as well as back/back days of 160 km (imperial century rides). I know many of the riders don't do this and still manage to make it through the 3 days, so I'm counting on what I've observed from others to get me through!

Railway caboose museum in Franklin NH

As always, I hope that you are all keeping well, staying healthy and enjoying life. Send me a quick update if we haven't connected in a while so we can catch up!

Take care,
Dan

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Air Canada Vacations 401 Bike Challenge 2023 Edition

I'm raising money in support of the pediatric/oncology departments at the Toronto SickKids, Montreal Children’s and Ottawa's CHEO hospitals by participating in the epic 401 Bike Challenge.

Along with my team of fellow cyclists/fundraisers, I'll be riding 585 kms in just 2.5 days from the doors of SickKids in Toronto to the doors of the Montreal Children's Hospital to raise funds for research, family care and awareness of childhood cancers.

I'll be posting to this blog from time to time to give you an update on my progress as well random thoughts on cycling, bikes, volunteering, running, and other random activities that I find myself engaging in.

By making a donation, you are helping to make a difference in the lives of children with cancer and their families. 100% of the funds donated are split between these two important facilities in their efforts to improve the health of children by integrating care, research and teaching.

This is my 3rd time participating in this event. I'd love for you to make a donation today and help make a meaningful difference in the lives of these children and families!

Take care,
Dan

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