Doug Foster's report on the Ride to Conquer Cancer

Jun 23, 2009

This past weekend I participated in the Ride to Conquer Cancer. As many of you know, it’s a 200 km weekend ride from Exhibition Place to Niagara Falls, with a stop overnight at Mohawk college in Hamilton. A number of you sponsored cancer research through my participation, and for that I sincerely thank you. Three thousand, five hundred riders raised .5 million.

I realize a hundred km a day isn’t a long ride for many of you and some of the faster riders completed each day in about 3.5 hours. However, a lot of the participants are purely recreational cyclists, and every type of bike, every age, and every body type, was there. More significantly, there were a lot of riders with cancer survivor flags attached to their bikes – a symbol of what the ride is all about.

I was privileged to ride with one of those people – Dawn – a former FMCT member that many of you know. You will see Dawn’s report here as well. We are long time friends and have been running buddies for over 6 years, but last summer she was diagnosed with cancer. So much for our normal routine at the Egg Nog Jog and Around the Bay, and the Sunday training runs as she worked toward yet another run in Boston! She spent 6 months through the winter enduring ultimately successful chemo treatments, and in her competitive fashion, decided the ride would be her goal at the end. I committed to ride with her, regardless of how it turned out. I’m thrilled to say she finished, and finished strong – an emotional high for both of us. The look on her face, and the knowledge that, in her words, “I finally felt like I am once again my old self, not a cancer patient but an endurance athlete” made it even more worthwhile.

So – the event. 8:00 am start Saturday at the Princess Gates, with 3528 of our best riding friends! A few speeches, some upbeat music, watching a rider change a flat 100 yards before actually hitting the road, and we were ultimately off through the gates and onto Lakeshore at about 8:45. Some riders further back didn’t make it out for at least another half hour, but for most it wasn’t about pace, it was about riding for cancer research. West along Lakeshore with a closed lane for a while, and then into regular traffic. Past more flats – moral of this, stay away from the curb in Toronto! We passed at least 15 on Saturday, although there were support vehicles cruising the route and helping change tubes and pump up tires. There were so many bikes on the road at this point that cyclists literally owned at least the inside lane, and often half of the next. Out to Cawthra Rd., north to the Queensway, and west.

First Pit stop – port a potties (none to soon – beginning to regret the large coffee earlier), water and Gatorade, fruit, pretzels, granola bars, repairs, medical support – all there, and at every stop along the way. And my first episode of realizing I’m leaning toward the side that’s still clipped in. Darn, or words to that effect. Oh well, four sprocket tooth scratches to match the 6 or 7 similar souvenirs from last year.

On our way past Erin Mills town centre, up to Britannia road, over to lower base line into Oakville. Lunch – chicken wraps, pasta salad, water/Gatorade/juice boxes, dessert and fruit courtesy of Swiss Chalet. West again on lower Base Line, winding our way on into Burlington – the map is so small I can barely read it now with my glasses on, but you just follow the riders ahead and the signs. (Note the “riders ahead and signs” part – when your riding partner yells to you that we’re turning, and she’s already turned, it’s time to stop daydreaming.) Every turn marked, police or volunteers at all the intersections watching for and stopping traffic, and encouraging the riders.

Down into Dundas, and then up the Hamilton Mountain. Practicing Rob’s spin class instructions to drop the heels and “scrape mud off your shoes”. Even though Dawn and I had agreed to meet at the top, I pulled off about three quarters of the way up to wait – 2 minutes and she was going by, and right to the top. Talk about pumped – she rode that hill – one of the spots she was concerned about. That accomplishment high carried through the rest of Saturday and all day Sunday. On to Mohawk College – the overnight stop.

Sunday – clear sky, perfect temperatures – fantastic day for a ride! We headed out about 8:00 through great scenery along the top of the escarpment. CN tower off in the distance one way, a view to Queenston the other – photo op time. Great pace today – mostly good pavement, good company, little wind, lots of adrenaline. More pit stops, lunch and another episode in the parking lot of leaning to the side where I'm clipped in. Live and learn (again)! And another lesson – when you are squirting your water bottle on your leg to get the dirt off the scrapes, make sure it’s not the one with Gatorade in it! Cheering stations along the way with people clapping, yelling and saying thanks. One of the big differences from most running events was that the “crowds” cheered constantly and for everyone, they weren’t just waiting for someone they knew.

Somewhere above St. Catherines we came to the longest, steepest hill I've ever seen looking over a set of handlebars. The scrape the mud part only worked part of the way up, and I decided to save some legs for the rest of the day. I’d guess only about 10% of the riders I saw made it all the way up – and I thought the badlands road section was a challenge! Another pit stop, and on to the Falls.

Out onto the Niagara River Parkway, and a 2 km downhill cruise in a closed lane toward the finish. And the finish – hundreds of people lining the chute clapping, cheering, waving – a cheering team from Princess Margaret was there for the entire day. And the announcements as the survivors – notable by the special flags on their bikes – came in stirred a bigger roar. Another, well deserved, high for Dawn.

A great weekend for a great cause – some memories still, and always will, give me goosebumps. I guess that’s why we ride.

Doug Foster