Day 9 GearUp4CF-Invermere to Banff- The Final Leg

early morning to departure to allow these diehards
the opportunity to ride the distance and not be behind in the end!  

Sunday morning started clear and cold in Invermere at 5 am. The plan today is that Jan Meulencamp, Paula Clark, Tamaki Kano, Kim Shaw and I will leave at 6:30 am, 2 hours ahead of the main group so that we will all arrive at the outskirts of Banff together and ride in as a processional.

viewpoint vista

view riding up through the canyon out of Radium 

Janet, will accompany us with our vehicle for support. And that is exactly how it played out. We had a short ride on Highway 3 to Radium Hot Springs where we then turn right and immediately start climbing. You ride beside a turbulent creek and through some tunnels as they grade kicks to upwards of 9%. 14 km. and 700 metres of elevation later, along with one startled black bear, we summited at the viewpoint. From there we had a long winding descent as I worked hard to get Kim to release her death grip on the brakes and actually go over 20 km./hour. It worked and we covered the next 10 km. in quick time.  The rest of the group caught up with us as we finished lunch so Jan was able to drive ahead to Banff, hop on her bike and ride back to join us.

From that point on you have 80 km of slightly rising grade as you head up after km. after km. of false flats that do sap one's energy over time. Actually for the last 15 km. the grade picks up considerably until you crest the Continental Divide and enter Alberta. A lot of people had a tough day today because of the second long climb. Our group worked just as hard but our speed was somewhat less, lo and behold, by the time we made our final descent to the Banff Parkway junction, all the groups including the 5 Alberta riders arrived within twenty minutes of one another. From there we rode the Parkway to the entrance to Banff where we grouped up and rode into Banff as a group and side by side. There we were met by quite a group of friends and family as we converged on the Banff entrance sign. Hugs, tears and photos all around. The trip is over!

Jan road up to join the procession on the final bit

In all respects we had a terrific, successful trip. It raised over $350,000 and through the singular efforts of Sharron Bates we had excellent media coverage all along the route and again in Banffwhere Walter Brennan, Mike Hamilton and I met with the local media. Meeting up with the Alberta contingent through the efforts of Sandy and Blair also proved very successful as now we had a big cheering section coming home. Some of our riders including Wayne and Paula had family there to meet them.

At this time I want to give a quick shootout to our intrepid and hardworking volunteers. Tracy as our lead kept everyone sane and the trip well organized even as she was providing roadside service that would do BCAA proud. Lisa Brennan looked after our lunch break needs which can be challenging as a pack of starving cyclists descend on the food laden table. Both Kim and Brian provided support services at the front and in the sweep position. Thank you very much for the time and effort that you donated to this ride. Also I want to thank Janet, my wife, for being there and pitching in, for editing my posts and adding photos and for that wonderful cup of French press coffee in the morning.

It is now 7am as I finish off the last of the official posts for this ride. Today a smaller contingent of 5 of us ride to Calgary and tomorrow we head home. Thanks to all of you who supported me so strongly in
this endeavour.

Day 8 GearUp4CF- Cranbrook to Invermere

breakfast at the 'Hot Spot'

Today the gods smiled on us perhaps to make up for yesterday's miserable weather and and as much as I did not enjoy yesterday all was forgiven today. Even though we woke up to cloudy skies and the promise of some mountain weather with just a hint of precipitation in the air, it did not turn out that way. We rode our bikes to breakfast at the Hot Spot in Cranbrook  as it was on the way out of town but by the time we finished breakfast and suited up the weather started to improve. All day long we were shedding weather gear instead of adding it on.

team is ready!! 

Better yet, we had a terrific tailwind which did not let up all day. It made heroes out of us all even though there were plenty of low rolling grades to climb and we had over 750 metres of elevation gain on our Garmins by the time we finished. The bikeaholics as Walter Brennan describes them set a blistering pace and even the A group rode at a 34 pace. The seniors (50+)which encompass Paula and Jan from Prince Edward Island, John Fettes who recently turned 73, Joan Swain, our captain and 3 time rider, myself and Dale who was with us until he flatted out made excellent time and averaged over 29km/hour.

the hoodoos

There was almost no commercial traffic and the shoulders were wide although many people flatted out on wire bits. As Mary Poppins would say, it was practically perfect in every way. We arrive quite early and had a chance to clean bikes in the lot, sit in the sun, drink a few beer and even watch some of the Uruguay-Colombia game which luckily was was won 2-0 by Colombia as there was a huge family with many young kids at the hotel all dressed in their country's reds and yellows who sang Ole-Ole all game long.

John Sullivan and Jan were a little late in arriving in the vehicle as they took an accidental side trip to Fernie, right from Cranbrook, the only possible change of direction available all day. At 4:30 our Calgary contingent and their volunteers and daily members arrived. Andrea rode up the pass to meet them. Unlike us they had headwinds and inclement mountain weather. We will all ride to Banff together tomorrow. I think this is a wonderful idea to bring the two CF contingents from Calgary and Vancouver together. Tonight we will share dinner and war stories. Actually they are outside my bedroom window drinking wine out in the parking lot. I hear them laughing so I will bid adieu.

Day 7 GearUp4 CF Creston to Cranbrook

trying to wait out the rain at the
Skimmerhorn Motel … no luck! 

bracing fora rainy departure

On a better day this would have been a nice club ride. 103 km on a valley run from Creston to Cranbrook with rolling terrain and a relatively easy grade climb as you follow the creek. The major impediment to this was that it was not a better day. Weatherwise, Friday gave the Osoyoos to Grand Forks experience a good run for its money. Today, the rain started in earnest just as soon as left our lodgings and headed South and it did not let up until near the lunch break. We had 23 riders with the addition of Laura and Steven and right from the git go the pace was perhaps a bit high for us middle of the group riders. Walter Brennan and Emily Trant, our visitor from England who is very fit (from rowing) set a strong pace. The speeds were not excessively high but if you add on a steady uphill grade which sometimes approached 3% I definitely felt the burn.

Bill with Laura Brine, Max & Nash

One casualty of the pace was Wayne Darlington our rider from Kelowna who had to pull up as his knee started to swell. That is now the second casualty as John Sullivan has not ridden for 2 days due to saddle sores. The wet, cold weather does not help.

Eventually we got to our first rest stop and once we resumed riding the pace slackened off a bit. John Fettes my steadfast riding partner and I had decided to drop back but with the pullback we were able to tag on with the main group and get the benefit of their draft. The rest of the day was more of the same, although the fast group put in blistering pace from the final rest stop and three of us rode at a more relaxed pace for the final leg. The weather improved and the roads dried out and eventually we reached out destination that being the Sandman Hotel in Cranbrook. My bike was a mess and my gears were growling so it took a major clean to get it all back to rights. This as you might sense was not a favourite day for me. The road was increasingly busy and noisy with lots of commercial traffic, the orange bridges do not have shoulder lanes so you have to be wary about crossing them, and although some of our group were exhilarated by the challenge of riding in the rain, I was not of that mindset.

madness in the laundry room! 

That evening we were feted by the Kinsmen at the golf club in Cranbrook and five of us finished off the day with four holes of golf at the club.

gathering at the Kin dinner

Day 6 GearUp4CF Rossland to Creston- The Kootenay Summit

Bill's glitzy cycling shoes

Every rider has one segment that throws a little fear in the heart. for some it is the Allison Pass out of Hope as it is two climbs back to back. For others it is Anarchist Mountain, coming as it does before you are warmed up. For me it was the Paulson Summit this year. But the Salmo Creston ride over the Kootenay Pass causes major concern for many riders as it is a 23km climb from less than 600 metres to 1750 metres of elevation without a break in between. The profile  looks like a patient's chart whose fever has spiked. It is also the highest paved roadway in Canada.

We start with a glorious but serious descent from Rossland to Trail as we shed 900 metres in less than 10 km. at around a 10% grade. The road hairpins down the mountain past the Trail Smokeater hockey arena (a world champion hockey team in the 50's) and finally passes below the smelter and across the Columbia River bridge. My Garmin unit packed it in and went on auto pause at 70 km/hour and so I have no stats on speed etc. except that Pual Underhill who did pass me clocked 83/km/hour. I think it lost satellite reception because the mountains pass in so tight as some of the other rider's units also went on the fritz. You have to be careful in th hairpins as it is a major highway and there are trucks that ascend this road bellowing away as they grind up the slope.

From Trail we head South down river until we start our climb of the Columbia Valley and into the towns of Montrose and then Fruitvale. This climb gains us 200 metres which we basically hold onto all the way to the base of the Kootenay Pass. Of course as soon as you see the sign "border crossing ahead" that means turn left and let's climb another mountain so the highway can stay in Canada. We  had our lunch break at the base and so fortified people left in little groups to ascend the pass. Again I started with John and Joan and we covered the first 6-8 km together. From then I was on my own. Over the course of the climb I went by a few more riders who were taking the odd break. More interesting, Tom, Patrick and Andrea passed me in the opposite direction as they descended the mountain as they are all doing a double ascent. More interesting yet, Patrick passed me on the way up again as he was completing his double. Tom told me later that it was not the best decision of the day for him!

Bill at the top

The weather worsened on the way up and just as I crested the rain started in earnest. I was quite surprised to see the volunteers huddling under their umbrellas in the 6 degree mountain weather when there was a fine warmup cabin not 100 feet away beside the lake. They had not used it in the past but on investigation the door was open there was wood inside and the old scoutmaster in me came out and a fire was soon blazing away.A perfectly timed moose also passed by the window and swam across the lake. Once we took the obligatory summit shots Joan, John and I began our long and uneventful descent down the rain soaked highway to Creston. Surprisingly about two thirds of the way down the rain stopped and the roads dried up. Mountain weather.

Sydney & her sister

In Creston we met up with my nephew Stephen Brine, his wife Laura and their two kids Max and Nash, who live in Kimberley. They will ride to Cranbrook with us tomorrow while Janet minds the kids. Also we met a CF family who wanted to meet us because of their connection to Eva through her blog 5 years ago. Sydney  was 5 at the time and their family knew no one with CF in their local community so when they came upon Eva's blog through the 65RedRoses movie it was a revelation and a huge support. Sydney sent a beautiful letter at the time which I read out at Eva's Celebration of Life. Yesterday she drew a picture of Eva holding Walker the family dog (which actually belongs to our neighbours ). We had a great visit and George Keulen also visited to show Sydney and her mum Stacey that so much is possible even with CF. So this trip is not only about cycling it is so much more!

Day 5 GearUp4CF Grand Forks to Rossland

Early to rise … usually 6:00 a.m. 

early morning scurrying to ensure each piece of gear
is in the right bag and each bag is in the right vehicle. 

Six years ago, when I first did this ride, this stage was the toughest one for me personally. I suffered above the blue bridge and bonked as I limped over the Paulson Pass, so I was somewhat apprehensive about what this day would bring. Well, firstly, the weather was very much improved over yesterday. The rain clouds had blown away leaving a perfectly fine riding day of fourteen degrees with white fluffy clouds. I had spent a good part of the previous evening washing the grit off the bike and once re-oiled this morning, the Cervelo RS was ready to hit the road. The new Michelin tires are a real treat. I did bring along my bike maintenance stand and it makes the mechanical chores so much easier.

Fed and watered, ready to depart from Grand Forks

I was one of the last to leave the motel as I had breakfasted on my own granola but I did intend to share a coffee with the other riders and we had a photographer coming to the restaurant at eight for the local newspaper to take a group photo. But cyclists tend to be brain dead for anything else other than riding their bike and I sailed right past the restaurant. About 2 km. out of town it sank in that I was a little further out than "just past Johhny's motel". So I did clock in a few k's more than the others.

Bill's new cycling shoes … 

on the 'blue bridge'

So once the photographs were taken we all set off back on Highway 3 heading toward Christina Lake. This was the enjoyable part of the day and a great way to loosen up the stiff joints. I led out a large group of us over the undulating terrain and an hour or so later we reached our first pit stop just as you leave the lake and start the climb in earnest. My Strava page gives out the numbers more accurately but the climb peaks out at 1535 metres and climbs over a 1000 metres. The initial plan was to spin up much the same way as over the Anarchist and hold my pace to my heart rate of 125 or 130. That worked well for awhile and there was a large group of 6 of us who were winding our way up at a 10 km. pace. John and I separated from the group and rode together to the blue bridge which sits high above the valley. From there the grade stiffens considerably with still another 6 km. to go.   Both George Keulen (a double lung recipient) and Emily Trant from England, passed us just as both John, my normal riding partner, fell off the pace. He was not having one of his best days. So I gave chase, my heart rate soared 150 plus and I was able to reel in both George and Emily before summiting. Not very smart but I did feel quite strong.

Bill & Emily atop Paulson Pass!! 

From the Paulson Summit it was a fast descent on great pavement down to Nancy Green Lake where we had a sunny and well deserved lunch break. The stage required another 400 metres of climbing to reach the Nancy Green Summit. Emily passed John Fettes and me again on the climb and inquired as to whether or not I would give chase but discretion was the better part of valour and tomorrow is going to be a bitch so I watched her disappear over the horizon and continued my steady course.

Finally we crested and enjoyed before a long smooth descent into Rossland and the Prestige Hotel. Oh yes, it is still a tough climb but the demons were vanquished. Just another day in the saddle. Tomorrow will be our last test of mettle as we ride for 140 km and climb the Kootenay Pass. A couple of the young, extremely fit riders plan to do the Kootenay Pass twice … just because!  I'll let you know how they do.

Day 4 GearUp4CF Osoyoos to Grand Forks

Ready to head out …
the rains have not yet begun

Claude, you would not have liked today. The gods were not smiling on us. We woke up to  blustery, grey windy skies and it went downhill from there. Weatherwise that is, as the rest was uphill with Anarchist Mountain looming directly over the Poplar Motel. Just for categorization there are three main groups in our platoon of riders. Four fit riders of which Patrick is the fittest, as a Cat 1 racer, followed by Tom, Andrea and the ageless John Sullivan. At the other end are three riders who set their own pace and are not that keen on pace line riding or fast downhills. Mike Hamilton, our CF rider still with his original set of lungs suffered yesterday during the long hot ride into Osoyoos and who took a break day on the anarchist. His health does not appear as strong as in the previous year. CF is a real bitch that way. That leaves 14 of us in the hoi polloi, competent, committed riders who either have experience or youth on their side and who will finish within 45 minutes of each other at the hotel.

rain, fog, logging trucks
and streams of water running down the roads

We spun our way up Anarchist, our little groupette of Joan, John Fettjes and myself, at a steady pace of 10 km. hour. The grade is a steady 5-7%. I set my heart rate at 125 to 132 and did not breathe hard all the way up. 16 km later we hit the summit in the fog and heavy rain and 7 degree temperature. Only to find out my day pack was in the wrong vehicle. I borrowed some gloves and leg warmers and we began our long descent into Rock Creek. That part was fun. A sodden group turned the final hairpin into Rock Creek and found a gorgeous heritage coffee shop full of locals and toasty warm. John treated us to lattes and feeling rejuvenated and warm wet we headed off to our lunch break at Midway.

gunning for another ascent

finally a flat spot! 

I connected with my day pack and was able to put on a merino base layer which feels so much better against the skin than clammy nylon. Our 'groupette' expanded to about 7 and we slowly climbed to Greenwood and then to Eholt summit. This is when the skies opened up in earnest. It rained so hard in Greenwood I was cycling through a stream of water coming off the road that was 4 inches deep. We were told later the police had contemplated shutting down the highway because of the rain. To add to the misery there was no shortage of logging trucks barrelling by in both directions. No problem on the straightaways where there is ample shoulder room but not nearly as much fun on the bends where you have 4 feet of clearance between the road and the barriers. You just held your handlebars tight and prayed a piece of bark would not fly off the truck.

Eventually we summited at Eholt and John Fettles, Paul Underhill and a I had a great run into Grand Forks, slingshotting past each other. We arrive at the motel, the skies parted, the sun came out and all was good. There was some damage abraded skin (from wet gear and two spills but nothing too serious. Paulson Summit awaits us tomorrow.

Photo of the day! 

Day 3- GearUp4 CF- Manning Park to Osoyoos

Bill, Dale & John …
the 3 vets starting out! 

After a long ascent,
the celebratory photo. 

At our team meeting last night a group of decided to start earlier to get in more cool and less windy riding. If I had been on my own I would have started at 5:30 or 6 am as an 185 km day deserves an early start and you know it is going to be hot in Osoyoos and that the winds will arise. But breakfast wasn't available until 7 so we aimed for a 7:30 start. I headed out with John Fetttjes and Dale Staples, all of us vets, one in his fifties, me in between and John at 73. We soon passed the other early starters and had the road to ourselves. It was gorgeous cool and fast riding as we descend with the Similkameen through sub alpine Manning Park terrain. Excellent roads and an easy 33 pace on a one percent favourable grade. All good things must come to an end as we finally left the river to climb to Sunday Summit which is about a 275 metre climb. John and I made the summit and after obligatory photos at the summit we carried on and after traversing Saturday Creek we came to our first major descent of the day at "Mine Hill" above Princeton. It was a lovely swoop until we came upon a laden semi with lights flashing and just entering the big sweeping curve at the bottom. Thoughts of passing the truck faded as safety kicked in, particularly after yesterday's fright, and we settled in behind the truck until it picked up speed as the grade levelled off and we were back on our own. In Princeton I enticed John into stopping at the DQ as I had a need for an ice cream cone. A tourist chanced upon us and ended up donating 50 bucks.

From Princeton a group of us moved on in a pace line again in a favourable grade beside the Simikameen River, now much enlarged from the creek we had been sitting in the day before, until our rest stop at Bromley Rock, At the stop I took the opportunity to wade into the river and cool my legs. I find it really helps against cramping later on. At Bromley rock Joan Swain joined John and me and we had a 3 person pace line all the way to lunch at Keremeos. The up valley wind picked up significantly against us and it became a much harder ride even though favourable grade. Also the terrain becomes much more rolling.

Bill & Kim prepping
for the afternoon ride.

near Cawston
entering wine country

Lunch in Keremeos meant we had cycled 135 km with 50 left to go. Seemed easy enough except for a group of steep rollers, one Richter Pass and rather nasty headwinds that were bending the signs. I waited for Kim Shaw from our 65for65Roses team as it was her first time doing this and she was struggling a bit and came in last to lunch. Five of us set off from Keremeos and Kim was game but the wind and the sun was fierce and when we did finally arrive at Nighthawk Junction where we parted with the Similkameen and start climbing Kim decided a short hop on the sag wagon was in order to avoid total heat exhaustion. That left Tamaki, Jan, Paula and I to finish off the  climb as the last group of the day the day as we had done a fair amount of waiting earlier. The descent into Osoyoos was anti climatic as even bent over the handlebars I could not reach 50 km/hour with the wind. Steep descent but no braking necessary! We arrived at the Poplars Hotel which is beachside at about 5:30 and the best part was parking the bike on the grass and walking straight into the lake (after first shedding the electronic bits on my body). A few beer later and I was a new man. The Kinsmen supplied a great dinner and a local Cystic Fibrosis person, Ruby Lou's grand mom helped to make this day that much more memorable. It is now 6:45 Tuesday morning, the wind is blowing and it looks like rain. Anarchist Mountain awaits us, looming as it does behind the motel but that will be tomorrow's tale.

The big sweep into Osoyoos

The local Kin group provided a BBQ dinner
at the Poplar Motel on the shores of the lake … so beautiful 

Day 2- Chilliwack to Manning Park The first challenge

A peek outside the hotel window in downtown Chilliwack showed it was going to be a glorious day. No clouds against a beautiful background of snow capped mountains. We met for breakfast, had our safety briefing and bustled about for an 8 am start. We are now down to about 40, The Weekend Warriors plus the 21 9 day riders. We all led out at a comfortable pace leaving town on Chilliwack Central. The plan was to ride together in procession to the Agassiz bridge before breaking up to more individual paces. This plan was challenged from the get go as a train stop cut off the last 4 people. It managed to get sorted out and off we went through a very picturesque Chilliwack dairy countryside.If you didn't look up at the mountains you might think you were in Holland what with all the Dutch dairy farms and Christian Reformed churches.

along the lowlands of the Fraser River (Camp River)

farmlands east of Chilliwack

There was a scare crossing the bridge and I was right in the middle of it. We occupied the whole of one lane on this 2 lane bridge and half way across a semi came thundering in the other direction. Some people edged to the right and this caused a touch which then caused the rider two ahead of me to apply full front brake causing his back end to lift up. The riders ahead of me had to also apply brake and I aimed for the hole between them also putting on some brake. John Sullivan was beside me and the truck was right beside him. We touched shoulders and I leaned right determined not to get spun out into the truck or knock John over.The end result was that the rider behind me, Val, touched my wheel and toppled over. No real damage but the scary potential for a nightmare scenario. My knees were knocking for the next half an hour.

Reaching the summit of Allison Pass -a real slog

Post bridge we rode to Hope at a very strong pace of 35 plus with the mountains to the North and the Fraser to the right. It doesn't get much better than this. Lunch was in Hope and then it was onto the first big climb of 16 km and an 850 metres climb to the top of the Hope Slide. The grade is generally 6-7% with portions of 8 and 9. The fortunate part is that the wind was in our favour which helps a lot even going uphill. From Sunshine Village we had a 20 km. slight downhill grade alongside the Sumallo River and that along with the strengthening tailwind allowed for sped of 40 to 50 km/hr. Oh life is good when the gods are smiling on you.

Cooling off in the Similkameen! 

At Rhododendron Flats (actually an uphill 3% grade but of no note if you are in a vehicle) we had our last break before the BigBurn hill to Allison Pass at 1340 metres. This is a 22 km. climb which starts gradually and ends up in an 8-9% grind for the last 6-8 km. It was tough. After a quick obligatory photo at the top Walter Brennan and I coasted the final 10 km. to the lodge which we then bypassed for a short ride up the Gibson Pass ski road to the Similkameen River and a half hour soak in its icy waters (in 1 minute segments as it was ice cold water). This ice treatment worked well as I have no stiffness in my legs this morning. Oh, yes I should mention we had a few pitchers of beer on the deck afterward. All is good. We are now down to our core group of 21 nine day riders.

Day 1- Crescent Beach to Chilliwack

A glorious sunny summer day to start our long awaited ride. Up early to get the bikes on board and some last minute packing. Joan Swain arrive at 7 and we were off to Crescent Beach by 7:30. We were met by the usual hullabaloo of cars, bikes being unloaded, scurrying volunteers and a generally excited and happy group of people. There are over 100 riders on this first day and close to 50 for Day 2. After speeches and photos we lined up for the opening horn and were off on schedule at 9 am. Janet had made paper roses for the 65for65Roses team which people tied to their bikes and helmets so we were quite visible. The crescent Beach climb led to the rollers of White Rock and then into the open countryside past Highway 99. For some reason the ride took us up 208th to 0 Ave. which presented a nasty and rough climb. Once on 0 Ave we just headed East and soon enough we were on pancake straight flats. It's always interesting to ride on 0th ave and watch a parallel American road about 20 feet away separated by only a shallow grass ditch. Oh yes, and the odd obligatory border police armed to the teeth. I was riding with John Sullivan and Jay Gow initially with some of the fast boys but then dropped back at the first checkpoint to ride with Norm Shearing and Joan Swain. We formed a nice pace line with some others, and with Norm pulling for most of it we soon arrived at the lunch spot. After lunch another well developed pace line took us through the Chilliwack countryside to our final stop at Yarrow. Jan had driven through to Chilliwack and then cycled back on Vedder Road so when we met up I dropped back and accompanied by Nicky, Kim, Heather and Jan we rode somewhat sedately into Chilliwack arriving in the mid afternoon. An easy first day.

It was a patio day so we enjoyed sitting outside beside the lily pond at the Coast Rhombus Hotel for 'after ride beers'  as well as for dinner later. The only other small matter of note is that I changed out to my new tires so I will see how they feel today. My previous tires had been labeled as "training tires" by Theo my mechanic buddy, and that just won't do.  It's now just past 6 am, a glorious morning with not a cloud in the sky and we will see what the day brings.

Ready to Go

Just a bit of last minute packing and we will be ready to go. The bike is tuned up, and now outfitted with a pair of brand new tires, and I think I am fit enough to take on this challenge. The weather actually looks quite good with promises of sunny weather. And the best news of all. My goal of reaching $65,000 is now quite surpassed. Today, two very large donations came in from my business partners and I have now reached over $75,000. Incredible really, there is no other way  of describing it.

So now it's just a matter of riding the bike, staying safe and enjoying the trip.Tune in from time to time and I will try to keep up with my ride on this blog. Thanks again for all your support!

Goal Achieved!

Almost There!

It's now less than a week before we ride. I'm sneaking peeks a the Weather Channel everyday and so far the first few days look hopeful. The training has now tapered off to just a few rides with no strenuous hills so hopefully I will be refreshed on Day 1.

The campaign to raise $65,000 is has paid off in spades. I am so absolutely grateful to the many, many participants who have donated money to 65for65Roses in aid of the Cystic Fibrosis cause. Friends, workmates, clients, neighbours, family, friends of family, long lost friends and many, many anonymous donors. As of today I am only $4,000 dollars off my goal with over $61,000 raised and a promise from some who are still to donate. I am confident that by Friday, with the helpful push of some last minute donors I will reach the goal set so astronomically high early in March.

At this time I would like to thank my family without whom this would not have been possible. To my wife Janet who watched me ride of into the sunset almost every evening only to then watch me head to bed shortly after returning. Jan helped to write the script and strategize on the campaign  and my daughter  Annie created the blog and the Facebook pages to bring it all to the world. My son, Hunter,  did his bit by working hard at UVic and bringing home good marks.The Markvoort family in Toronto and London pitched and raised funds as a 65th birthday gift to me and for that I am so very grateful. Janet's family, the Brines, also stepped up to the plate and helped the cause.

I also want to thank Sharron Bates who gave me such a visible media presence, both on the PSA announcements that many people are seeing with the news avery morning and evening. Her coverage of the Spin-A-Thon newscast helped a lot as did arranging the interview with Fiona Forbes on The Rush.

65for65Roses is now a team with three, 9 day riders, Joan Swain, John Sullivan and Kimberley Shaw. We also have a number of one day participants who will ride with us from Crescent Beach to Chilliwack. I am very excited about our team, our ride and our challenges ahead.

Thanks to all of you for participating.

King of the Mountain in the Geezer Category

King of the Mountain (over 65set) for those using Strava and climbing up to the top of the SFU Hill.

My training has paid off and I think I am ready to hit the big mountains on Highway 3.

A Slow Climb Up Mount Seymour

This is the toughest hill on the North Shore. It hurt.