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Fall 2013 www.knbc.ca
1
President’s Message Fall Newsletter 2013 Tim Sparling
Sad to say that the end of the cycling season is rapidly
approaching (for most of us). We have had some
wonderful fall weather this month and hopefully it
will last at least until the end of our programmed rides
on 26 October. I regret I have not been able to ride
much this year and have thus missed the opportunity
to meet many of our new members. I hope you have
enjoyed your experience with the Club. We will, of
course, continue to ride until the weather forces us off
the roads. All rides after 26 October will be
announced in Bike Shorts.
We have had a full year of cycling with 121
programmed rides at all speed levels, as well as a
number of opportunity rides which were announced in
Bike Shorts. The one challenging area was a lower
number of weekend away trips this year. Three that
did occur were very successful – thanks to Tom
Seniuk for the Lake Placid trip in May, to Joanne
Boisjoli for the trip to Merrickville on the long
weekend in May and also to Barrie Kirk for the great
weekend in Prince Edward County in August.
Hopefully there will be others who will volunteer to
lead similar outings next year. If you think you might
like to do so, but are not sure how to go about it,
please do not hesitate to contact our Tour Director,
Tom Seniuk, or Tom Wiley, who will be glad to give
you some advice and help with route planning. We
actually have some suggestions in our catalogue.
Remember that the Club is prepared to help defray the
costs of scouting such trips.
By my rough count we have had 27 different tour
leaders this year. Thanks to each and every one of
them. We cannot have a cycling season without these
volunteers. While 27 is a healthy number, we are still
relying on a group of about ten to lead most of the
rides. I strongly urge all members of the club to
consider leading a day tour. We will have tour leader
training in the spring and we also have a mentoring
system to assist new tour leaders as well as a superb
library of proven rides on our web site. Other things
accomplished this year:
* A full slate of social events (Thanks Dave
Audette)
* A St. John Ambulance First Aid course was
held exclusively for members of the Club (Thanks
Barrie Kirk).
* A full slate of CANBIKE II courses held
throughout the summer exclusively for KNBC
members. The course is open to all members and is
highly recommended by those who have taken it.
(Many thanks to Monna.)
* Had fun!
The Executive have noted that the problem of speed
creep has not yet been solved. We are going to discuss
this issue again at our next Executive meeting on 21
October, and plan to address it at the AGM. If you
have any thoughts on how we can curb this problem,
please get in touch with one of the members of the
Executive. Our e-mail addresses are all listed in the
Members Only section on the web site. We recognize
that this is a problem which must be fixed.
The AGM will be occurring on Monday 4 November
at Biagio’s on Richmond Rd. We plan to have the
food start at 6:15 pm with the meeting getting
underway sharp at 7:00. The agenda will be posted on
the web site as will most of the documents which will
be discussed at the meeting.
I hope you all have enjoyed your rides with the Club
this year. I look forward to seeing you at the AGM
and in the saddle next spring.
Tim
For additional information please contact
[email protected]. All current members will receive
event information in the club’s weekly Bike Shorts
emails.
Fall 2013 www.knbc.ca
2
St. John Ambulance First Aid Course Barrie Kirk [email protected]
Given the size of KNBC and the amount of biking we
do, accidents are unfortunately inevitable. Most
accidents that club members have are thankfully
minor, but there have been some major accidents both
on KNBC rides and on rides outside the club. And, of
course, accidents and illnesses can happen anywhere,
anytime, not just when we are biking.
In May of this year, KNBC organized a private
version of the St. John Ambulance (SJA) Emergency
First Aid, CPR and Automatic External Defibrillator
(AED) course. 15 KNBC'ers (including 11 tour
leaders) attended the course held at the SJA building
near Hunt Club and Prince of Wales.
The course squeezed a lot of information into a 1-day
course. The basic objectives for the first-aider are to
preserve life, prevent further injury or illness, and to
promote recovery. The course included:
Roles and responsibilities
Casualty management - unresponsive
Casualty management - responsive
Adult resuscitation (cardiovascular
emergencies, strokes, CPR/AED and choking)
Medical emergencies (diabetes, seizure,
asthma, anaphylaxis)
Severe bleeding and wounds (concentration
on what cyclist are most likely to encounter)
Bone & joint injuries (clavicle/shoulder,
lower arm/wrist, open lower leg and ankle)
Heat and cold illnesses and injuries
The course included a lot of hands-on exercises to
help ensure that we understood. It is interesting: you
listen to the instructor and you think you understand
what to do, but when you actually try to do it, you
realize that you don’t understand it as well as you
thought. We all took turns being the patient and the
first-aider – as the photos with this article show.
Not only does the first aid course teach you how to
treat people who are injured or ill, but there is also a
module on how to manage an accident scene, which is
especially important for tour leaders.
Here are a few things that I found particularly
interesting.
Make sure you are up to date with your
Tetanus and Hepatitis B shots. Road rash can
lead to Tetanus.
The first aider should (wherever possible)
enlist the help of others – and ask them to
report back afterwards.
If the patient is conscious, getting consent to
help him/her is vital. We must also respect a
“no”. If the patient is unconscious and/or
there is no response, there is implied consent.
One of the potentially most useful modules
was on CPR. The club is lucky that nobody
Fall 2013 www.knbc.ca
3
has had a heart attack during a club ride, but it
is always possible. By learning what to do,
we can help until the paramedics arrive – and
maybe even save a friend’s life.
At the end of the course, there was a short exam.
Everybody passed and received their certificate which
shows that we are all qualified in first aid for three
years.
There were two interesting postscripts to the first aid
course. A few days after the course, I was having
lunch with my wife Carol and she choked on her
food. She went red, could not breathe, and started to
panic. I did exactly what our instructor taught us and
used the “abdominal thrust” technique. It
worked. Carol took a deep breath and started to
breathe normally. Emergency over!
Another incident shortly after the course was when
Surinder’s wife cut herself badly while preparing
food. Surinder used his new-found skills to look after
his wife and the nasty wound before taking her to
hospital for treatment.
Accidents and illnesses can happen at any time and
you never know when you might need to help
someone. The next time KNBC offers a first-aid
course, I strongly recommend that you sign up –
especially if you are a tour leader.
Can-Bike II
Monna-Leigh McElveny
CAN BIKE 2 - Why!?
When someone first suggested that taking the CAN
BIKE 2 training course would be a great idea – I
remember my first reaction was WHY? Feeling rather
competent on the bike – and - having been a safety
professional for National Defence for over 15 years –
what did I need to learn!?
I was sadly mistaken – I came away with numerous
“tools for the toolbox” – and - due to the infrequency
of the city offered course, I subsequently volunteered
to become accredited to be able to train club members
so they too could benefit - but - at our convenience.
The course runs three evenings, the first focusing
entirely on theory with the next two putting it in
practice. The bottom line - is learning where to be on
the road with regards to the traffic around you and
more importantly why you should be there. Eighty
percent of bike/car accidents occur at intersections –
so it is vital to fully comprehend proper bike
positioning. The wrong choice when turning with
traffic, i.e a cement truck, can be deadly.
Understanding the rules goes a long way in providing
both competence and confidence. Although the
theory is pretty dry stuff – everyone agreed how
important it was – and took lots away from it.
All in all – six serials have been given with a total of
26 participants being trained.
I anticipate offering the same schedule of training
next year – so – if you would like to feel a bit more
confident and competent – come on out – you won’t
regret it – and I guarantee – you will learn something
to keep you safer on the road.
Fall 2013 www.knbc.ca
4
KNBC’ers IN SUNNY NOVA SCOTIA
Jim Cale
Carole, Odette, Jim & Mary
In many ways this was a trip home for me and a
chance to do something that illness made me give up
last year – Bike the Cabot Trail one more time! I,
Odette, Carole, JoJo, Mary and Elly left Ottawa on
July 31st for a cycling trip in various parts of Nova
Scotia. After a 2 day drive we joined 26 cyclists from
around Nova Scotia, Ontario, Iowa and California for
a 4 day trip around the Cabot Trail, extremely well
organized by Velo Cape Breton. The Cabot Trail is a
loop of about 300 km with four major hills and lots of
others. We rode between 70 and 80 km per day
starting and ending at the Gaelic College just outside
of Baddeck and overnighting at Margaree Harbour,
Pleasant Bay and Ingonish. We will be giving more
information on this trip at the Winter Social, so for
now I will just say that we were with a terrific and
very friendly bunch of cyclists (is there any other
kind??), saw spectacular scenery, stayed in some
interesting places, had fantastic meals, left with many
fond memories and most importantly we conquered
the hills! Odette even conquered the down hills. And
to top it off, the weather was perfect. Although this
was to be my last Cabot Trail ride, I think that I may
have one more Cabot Trail in me - perhaps on my
75th!
Jojo, Mary & Odette
After the Cabot Trail, the 6 of us drove to Louisbourg.
We decided to take the next day off and visit the
Fortress which is a National Historic Site. As well as
learning a lot about the history of the fortress, its role
in the wars between England and France and daily life
in that period we learned of the importance to
gentlemen of well-turned calves. (Ask Mary!). We
were joined by two friends of mine from Halifax for a
ride around Marion Bridge and Mira Bay, where
coincidentally another friend of mine has a summer
home. We stopped for coffee but were met with
shrimp, cheese, BBQ chicken, dips of all sorts, ice
cold water and gator aid – talk about Maritime
hospitality! The following day we left Louisbourg and
en-route to Antigonish cycled about 65k around
Boularderie Island, again with my friends from
Halifax.
The next part of our trip consisted of a day cycling the
Cape George loop, otherwise known as the mini
Cabot Trail. This was our only rain day and after a
long, wet morning we found a seafood place on a
harbour in the middle of nowhere where we ate
wonderful fish and chips, chowder and the nicest
calamari that I have tasted for a long time.
Unfortunately as we were returning to Antigonish a
front came through with strong winds and heavy gusts
blowing right into us. So we were pretty well pooped
by the time we got back. Not JoJo though as she took
the day off to contribute to the economy of
Antigonish. She didn’t even get the rain!
Fall 2013 www.knbc.ca
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Jojo
We then spent two days in New Glasgow, followed by
two days in Amherst where we did hub and spoke
rides around each area including visits to the beach,
lots more great lunches and seaside scenery. Our last
day of cycling on the trip turned out to be 120k and
took us around the northwest coast of Nova Scotia
through Tidnish and up to Pugwash – a beautiful ride
with a nice tailwind and lovely weather. But as Carole
kept reminding us, this tailwind would be a headwind
going back. Unfortunately, it wasn’t just a gentle
headwind. By then it was blowing hard with strong
gusts and we had 45k to go! But we made it, getting
back to the hotel about 6PM. The following morning
we drove to Joggins for a tour of the fossil cliffs and
then began our two day drive home. In all we had 10
cycling days and for those who opted for biking
versus shopping, did 800k. All in all, a great trip –
good food, good scenery, good cycling and good
friends.
One Day in France, 2013 – June 24th
,
Barcelonnette to Roure
Tom Seniuk
This year, ten of us—me & Caroline, Dave C &
Linda, Michael, Barry, Rick, Mark, Mesfin and
Carole planned our most ambitious trip to France yet:
Cycling nearly the entire length of the Route des
Grandes Alpes, beginning with two days in the Jura
Mountains.
As has become a bit of tradition in these newsletters,
below is a detailed account of one particularly
memorable day on our now third annual cycling trip
to France this year in June. For the complete story,
consult the trip blog at:
http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-
blog/timsparling/3/tpod.html.
My plan after breakfast at hotel Cheval Blanc in
Barcelonnette was to ride in the van with Caroline as
she took Dave & Linda back to Briançon to pick up
their rental car which they will use to return to Lyon
tomorrow and fly home early. On the way, I could get
dropped off in Guillestre where Caroline had set up a
picnic lunch stop the day before, and I struggled and
failed to find a solution to a recurring problem with
punctures on my rear wheel (turned out the rim tape
had failed; I fixed it at the hotel in Barcelonnette). I
then finished that day's route, then continued on this
day's planned route.
First order of business: The 19-km climb of Col de
Vars. Everyone else did this one the day before:
Mesfin at Col de Vars, with his Bushtukah water
bottles, on June 23rd
Having been up and down this climb a few times in
the van, I knew what to expect in terms of the
changing grade, including the one kilometre with a
rare negative slop. I should have taken a photo of the
marker on that stretch but didn’t (there are roadside
Fall 2013 www.knbc.ca
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markers every kilometre on important climb telling
you the elevation, average slope of the next kilometre,
and how much further to the top.) It was another
beautiful day and by now this was just another routine
1000 m climb that I banged out without any trouble.
By this point in the trip, I had ridden myself into
much better shape that I started with. We all had.
Down the other side, I passed through Jausiers. This
is the town where the climb to Col de la Bonette
starts. Everyone else decided to abandon the planned
route to Roure today, which had three fairly
substantial climbs, in favour of the road up and over
this col instead. It was a bit shorter with only one
climb, albeit a BIG one:
Mesfin at the sign in Jausiers that points to La
Bonette.
The claim to being the highest road in Europe is a bit
dubious, depending on how you define it. But at 23
km long and with about 1600 m of elevation gain
topping out at 2802 m, it is the highest paved through
route in the Alps.
I continued on to Barcelonnette, but ran into a
problem just south of town. The road up to Col de la
Cayolle was under construction. Judging from the
sign, it might have been possible for cyclists to get
through but it would have taken me another 10 km to
find out. Since I really didn't want to risk riding an
extra 20 km for no reason on a day that was already
going to be pretty long, I rolled back to Barcelonnette,
grabbed my jacket out of the luggage which was still
at the hotel, then returned to Jausiers and started the
climb to La Bonette like the others.
Considering that this col isn't anywhere near as well
known as the other very high ones like Galibier and
Iseran, I was expecting a glorified cow path to the top.
Instead, the road surface was excellent all the way up
and the lower stretches even had a dedicated bike lane
like some other well-known climbs we’d done before,
such as Mont Ventoux. But there were no kilometre-
by-kilometre signs (until I went over the top; they're
on the other side).
Even though I already had ridden 60+ km including
the climb of Col de Vars before starting this monster,
I was chewing it up pretty good. Caroline came by in
the van with the luggage on the way to Roure when I
was about 3 km from the top.
There was the usual collection of people, motorcycles,
bicycles and a few cars as we’ve come to expect at the
top of big cols like La Bonette, at just over 2700 m
elevation. There is an additional ring road around the
Cime de la Bonnette that tops out at about 2800 m,
but due to the snow it was only accessible by
pedestrians and cyclists.
There is still plenty of snow (and cold!) at these
elevations, even at this time of year:
Mesfin & Mark at the side of the road close to the top
of La Bonette
Just as I was about to start up this last, steep kilometre
to the top, I saw Dave and Linda coming down. They
had followed through with their plans to drive back to
Barcelonnette from Briançon, pick up their bikes, and
Fall 2013 www.knbc.ca
7
ride this col before travelling to Lyon for their flight
home tomorrow. They were surprised to see me, then
I explained the change in plans before snapping their
photo:
Dave & Linda at La Bonette (2700 m)
A nice Lithuanian family snapped my picture at the
marker at the top of La Bonette, but one of the better
photos from the group at this point is of Michael:
Michael at the top of La Bonette (2800 m)
The descent from La Bonette is an amazing run-out.
Not far from the top are the abandoned ruins of Camp
des Fourches, followed eventually by the spectacular
and beautiful steep, green walls of the Gorges de
Valabres. By the turn onto D30 near St-Sauveur-sur-
Tineé for the final 9 km (climb!) to Roure, the
distance from the top of La Bonette was 54.5 km and
the elevation drop was 2225 m.
It was around 7pm when I reached St-Sauveur-sur-
Tinée so I hit the gas the best I could to get to Roure
for dinner. I still had some left in the tank and
finished strong. My numbers for today: 150 km, over
3400 m of climbing (very slight net elevation gain on
the day, about 50 m), average speed 18.8 km/h. Yeah,
baby! I really killed it. Caroline thought I was a half-
bubble off plump when I rolled up to the van and did
a short shadow-boxing routine.
Roure is a beautiful perched village and our hotel
here, Auberge Le Robur, takes full advantage of it.
The view out of the dining room window, and our
guest room window, and likely all windows in this
property, is amazing:
The view of the valley below the perched village of
Roure.
The view from the dining room is matched by the
food in the dining room. The remaining eight of us
chose the 5-course dinner option and it was worth all
€38. Thanks Steve for lining this place up for us.
You would have been thrilled to experience it.
It started with an amuse bouche of gazpacho made
with green peas and sweet pickled radish:
Fall 2013 www.knbc.ca
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amuse-bouche at dinner at Auberge Le Robur
...followed by a cheese course, then a custard with
cheese and mushrooms, a fish and lima bean plate, a
roasted pigeon main course, and finally an interesting
version of black forest cake for dessert:
Caroline with dessert at Auberge Le Robur, and Rick
This was by far the most memorable meal we had the
entire trip.
Special thanks today to Caroline. She did a LOT of
driving, much of it up and down narrow winding
roads infested with motorcycles, to get everybody and
everything delivered to their destinations.
Prince Edward County, Civic Holiday
Weekend
Murray Gordon
Civic Holiday weekend, sixteen of us, based in Picton
and led by Barrie Kirk, explored the south side of “the
County.” Our longest day was barely 70 km, but
Quinte’s Isle begs you to take the time to soak up its
beauty and serenity.
The Ride
Day One: Southwest on what can be very busy roads
to the fabled sandbanks. We crossed the top of Athol
Bay, then turned back inland through Cherry Valley,
Milford and Black River. Good roads, not too busy,
and fairly flat, but we had to negotiate a hill after ice
cream at Black River!
Day Two: West on Hwy 33, through Bloomfield and
Wellington, then looping north to Casa Dea winery on
Greer Rd. A meander along Closson Rd. brought us
onto busy CR 1, but a stretch with good shoulders.
Back through Bloomfield again to Picton. Once more,
roads pretty good and route fairly flat.
Day Three: Followed Hwy 33 along the eastern
peninsula (although some felt the call of the shops to
be stronger than the call of the road).
Fall 2013 www.knbc.ca
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Near the Glenora ferry, we left the main highway and
followed CRs 7 and 8 around the end of the peninsula
- these roads are fairly quiet with some hilly sections,
a good place to “give your horse its head” - and back
into Picton.
The Sights
There is so much to see, but some highlights, in no
particular order:
The sandbanks: You cannot visit the County without
taking off your shoes and socks to stroll the miles of
sand and surf.
Prince Edward County Lavender: The lavender was
past its purple best for this year, but still fragrant.
Early Sunday morning, the quirky Bloomfield Bicycle
Co. was already alive with activity. Amid a clutter of
bikes, oppressively hot in summer, it is a wonderful
resource: there isn’t a County road they don’t know.
Lake on the Mountain: A just reward for riding up the
hill. The view high above the ferry crossing Adolphus
Reach is a bonus.
County Cider Co.: The cider alone – try the ice cider –
is worth the stop, but the view of Prince Edward Bay
makes you want to stay a while.
Wine
If you want to make friends on a County bike trip,
bring panniers! You will want to buy wine and cider.
So will other people whose bikes are too delicate and
packs too dainty for cargo.
Fall 2013 www.knbc.ca
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We visited Long Dog and Casa Dea, the latter
producing a delightful Charmat Method sparkling
wine, but the most interesting winery was not on the
itinerary.
Bonnie, Lesya and I went back to Huff Estates, which
piqued our interest as we passed by earlier. It’s not
just wine. We lucked into the opening of a new
exhibit at its Oneo Gallery, with artists and hors
d’oeuvres, but its fascinating collection of outdoor
sculptures was worth being late for dinner!
Dining
Fast food is available, but thankfully, charming
independent establishments predominate. Whether it
was lunch at the Milford Bistro or dinner at the classy
Waring House, the menus often feature local produce
and County wines. In the County, however, be
prepared to take your time over a meal.
Summation
As we lingered over Monday’s lunch at County Cider,
I could sense a reluctance for the weekend to end.
This truly enjoyable weekend was owed, in no small
part, to Barrie’s planning and attention to detail! His
choices of routes, sights to see, and restaurants were
superb. On a personal note, as a relative newcomer to
the club, it was a great way to meet people. I came
away from the weekend feeling that I belonged in
KNBC.
Barrie, wherever you decide to go next year, sign me
up!
Photos by Bonnie Tobin, Janet Clark, Peter Blancher,
Nancy Chalut and Murray Gordon
The Italian Adventures of the Three (Lady)
Musketeers
Carole Laflamme
I t was fun !
T otally awesome !!
A lways discovering new sights !!!
L oads of handsome Italians !!!!
Y ou should have been there !!!!!
On August 15th, Sue Potvin, Monna-Leigh
McElveny and I flew to Rome with the three
mandatory B’s: our bikes, our bikinis and our big
smiles. A three-hour bus ride took us to Teramo, 10
kilometers from our destination: the remote village of
Valle San Giovanni. It had a few houses, a church,
many barking dogs (mostly at night ), a little store
that carried tomatoes, toilet paper and wine (what else
do you need) ? Thank God for that wine!
Oh and let’s not forget Bar 90 where Monna
and Sue got their daily morning cappuccinos. The
owner Francesca, a kind motherly mama, supposedly
makes the best in Italy! Way before our 15-day stay
Fall 2013 www.knbc.ca
11
was over; most of the locals had become family.
That’s what you call good old-fashioned Italian
hospitality.
Each day took us to a different destination:
sometimes to picturesque perched villages such as
Castelli, Isola and Civitella, other days to towns along
the beautiful Adriatic Sea like Giulianova and
Pescara, where Sue worked on evening out her tan
lines.
When returning to our 3-bedroom house in
Valle San Giovanni, we always stopped at Bar 90
where Francesca or her gorgeous son Felipe served us
“Italian birra” and the most delicious gelato this side
of the Atlantic.
Monna, Carole & Sue
Now, in case you did not know, there are no
female cyclists in Italy, so when the three of us graced
the roads of this great country, we got a lot of
enthusiastic “Buongiorno!” and “Ciao Bellas!” from
young Italian cyclists. One day, when all three of us
inadvertently wore pink outfits, we almost caused an
accident when a club of Italian cyclists cranked their
heads, dropped their jaws and simply said “WOW!”
Of course, we smiled and waved, because it felt so
good to pretend we were 29 again!!!
On three occasions, we had locals offer their
services to guide us on elaborate circuits which
included without fail hills, hills and more hills. But
what spectacular vistas! Well worth the hard work and
abundant sweat!!! Plus, what a pleasure to follow fit,
energetic Italians like Elario, Pierro and Lorenzo.
A little anecdote: on our 14th day in this tiny
village of Valle San Giovanni, after a big going-away
supper in our honor, our cycling friend Pierro
mysteriously tells us to follow him. He takes us to this
cave (no joke, it was literally “a cave”) where we
discover a partying team of at least 20 soccer players.
Talk about a hidden treasure!!! We are greeted by a
resounding cheer! Pierro introduced us and we are
served cake and a wonderfully sweet drink called
Lemoncello. Later on, walking back to our home,
Monna exclaimed: “We’ve been here for two weeks.
Where the hell were all these guys hiding?”
………In retrospect, perhaps it was for the best…….
Our Italian adventure culminated with a 4-day
holiday (off our bikes) in Rome where we visited the
amazing Pantheon and Coliseum, got utterly &
completely lost in the Roman Forum, were blessed by
Fall 2013 www.knbc.ca
12
the Pope at the Vatican, explored immense parks,
gardens and museums (including the incredibly
breath-taking Gallery Borghese), threw our coins in
the beautiful Trevi Fountain (to ensure our return to
Rome) and immersed ourselves in the fabulous night
life of this magical city.
So to make a long story short, we cycled, we
hiked, and we cycled some more, we swam in the
“Mare”, we walked on the beach, we cycled still
more, we sun-bathed (well Monna and Sue did… I
read in the shade), we body-surfed in the Adriatic, we
cycled again, we ate lots of pasta and gelato & drank
lots of good wine and oh did I mention that we cycled
a lot? (That’s what we came to Italy for after all!
……… Or is it?)
In between, we met a ton of people with
hearts of gold, we became the highlight of a tranquil
tight-knit community, we learned a bit of Italian (such
a warm, sexy, colourful language) and we now have
an Italian family that will always welcome “The 3
Canadian Girls” back to “Sunny Italia” with open
arms… What more could we ask for?
Ride to Turn the Tide
Nancy Hough
The 2013 Ride to Turn the Tide is now in the history
books, and it was another successful and inspiring
experience. We had good weather Thursday and
Friday, although we did battle significant head winds
all three days. Our support team of four was
phenomenal and along with them, 22 cyclists
including the following KNBC members: Christine
Walton, Mary Aaftink, Lina Woods, Stella Val, Susan
Monaghan, Ute Webb, Wendy Richardson, John
Kim and Nancy and Paul Hough. The ride raised over
$45,000 and counting!
So was it all hard work? Not at all! We were
superbly and generously hosted by other granny
groups in Almonte, Perth, Merrickville and Metcalfe -
this was not a low cal tour! Each group fed us a
variety of healthy foods, and then out came the
deserts........ There was also some awareness
raising: Dr. John Kim, a research scientist for
HIV/AIDS, gave an informative talk to our group and
our hosts in Metcalfe about his work as head of the
National HIV and Retrovirus Laboratory of the Public
Health Agency of Canada. And our cycling jersey
caught the eye of several people along the route and
we were able to fill them in on the grandmothers to
grandmothers’ campaign and the Stephen Lewis
Foundation. Clive Doucet, author and past City
Council member, was also a cyclist and we're looking
forward to whatever he writes about his experience.
Our efforts would all be for naught if there weren't
people like you who so generously supported our
cyclists. You helped me reach my goal, and I wanted
to reiterate my sincere thanks. Speaking as a cyclist it
was a blast; as a grandparent, it was an important
event to be part of; as an individual it was gratifying
to have such generous support; and as an organizer, it
is great to have the Ride behind me for another year!
Fall 2013 www.knbc.ca
13
Roly & Beverly Compete Cross Canada Trip
Roly Mailloux
The following is a quote from the book called "From
Sea to Shining Sea" by Patti Kagawa:
"Canada is a vast country, full of wondrous sights and
inspiring people. It may take a while but if you have
the time, cycling is an ideal way to travel and view the
country at ground level (literally). Cycling into a town
loaded down with panniers is a great conversation
starter, in any language. Luckily, English across the
country is the same (except for accents) and if you
find a French ambassador or if you remember even a
bit of that old high school French, you can survive in
Québec and other French-speaking areas. Canadians
across the land are friendly, curious, helpful,
empathetic and hospitable."
And in the words of my partner, Beverly, who stuck
by me through thick and thin and gave me the courage
to complete this amazing journey:
"Well we finally made it to St. John's NL. Yay.
Thank you to Aaron Brownlee for planting the seed of
cycling across Canada. Thanks to everyone who put
us up or put up with us. We appreciate the hospitality
of family, friends and the kindness of strangers. I can
hardly believe our journey has come to an end. In the
end I have come to realize that we live in a beautiful
country. Last of all I would like to thank my best
friend and sidekick Roly Mailloux for sharing this
journey with me XOX"
2012 Part I Vancouver, BC to Trois-Rivieres, QC
Total number of days = 84
Total number of nights camping = 17
Total number of days cycling = 66
Total number of rest/sick days = 18
Total cycling kms = 5467
Average kms cycled per day = 83
2013 Part II Trois Rivieres, QC to St Johns, NL
Total number of days = 48
Total number of nights camping = 5
Total number of days cycling = 34
Total number of rest days = 13
Total cycling kms = 2514
Average kms cycled per day = 74
Total kms cycled coast to coast = 7,981.
From the Editor
A big thank you to all newsletter contributors.
Ken Vachon
E-mail KNBC Newsletter Editor