The RTCC riders

Another Ride to Conquer Cancer has come and gone! Just like that, I raised over $2500 for the Princess Margaret Hospital and rode over 200 miles from Toronto to Niagara Falls!! How do I feel? How did it compare to the two previous RTCCs well, let’s start at the beginning.

I found the fundraising to be a challenge this year. I blamed it on the recession and hard times for many over the past year, but really I think my friends are tapped out. This is their 3rd supporting me and I think many are tired of supporting! Regardless, by some miracle and amazing friends, I made it to my goal with time to spare. I registered online to get my package delivered… but it didn’t show up. Snag number 1!! So, we arrived early on Saturday morning to get our registration pack with our bike tags and bracelets. Luckily there was no line up, but the layout of the event had changed a bit and there was serious confusion about which way everyone was suppose to go. At 6:30 am, things should be easy…the layout of the area should be fool proof. Oddly enough, my boyfriend was convinced that we were leaving through the Princess Gate (like the previous years) and I thought we’d be leaving from where the TV screen was on the other side. I asked 3 “crew” members where we were leaving from and not one of them knew…hhmmmmm snag #2.

First pit stop!

We eventually figured it out and left at the front of 4000+ riders! Pheewwww. The course was well marked and like last year the pit stops had amazing volunteers and everything you needed.

Elf feet

Unfortunately it RAINED! A lot! I was drenched, but not chilled. My booty covers came in handy big time! Although they are suppose to be waterproof they weren’t. Nothing is waterproof in a torrential down pour (unless you’re wearing a garbage bag, then maybe…). At least it saved my shoes from getting all kinds of road crap, dirt, and mud on them. The only downside to my booty covers is that they started off being a little too big (men’s size small), and then ended up stretching out even more, making me look like a elf!! They pointed up at the toes and everything!

Made it to camp, a jiggy-jig-jig!

Mark and Krista – with one rainy century ride completed and another to go.

Camp in Hamilton was great. I had a tent in a quiet section and was well prepared for tent-city-living this year. I had earplugs, a warm sleeping bag, and gravol to help me doooze off to sleepy town. It all worked perfectly. The only complaint I had was that the “dinner” was cheap and horrible. After riding for 160km I want more than a glorified hot dog or “turkey sausage” …..give me something substantial, make me feel like all those kilometres were worth it! That dinner and having Nescafe instant coffee was like a slap in the face. Talk about cut backs. Honestly, get Second Cup or Tim Horton’s to sponsor it. There is something so upsetting about drinking instant coffee when you’ve worked so hard to fundraise, train and ride for this event. Booo.

The sun came out as soon as we crossed the finish line, just in time to shine on my horrible helmet head.

The second day of riding was great, but rainy too! We made good time on both days, since the terrain was relatively easy. Things could have been much tougher if we have more hills to climb or if there was head wind to fight. We got lucky. We also hooked into a super nice pack of riders who made riding at 33km/hour a breeze. Thanks Clark, Darren, et al! And thanks to the guys from the Fabulous Fifty group and Bloor Village Idoits. You were a pleasure to ride with!

The proud family

Coming into the home stretch this year was totally anti-climatic. I didn’t realize we were actually there until we crossed the finish-line. Unlike the last 2 years, they finished on the blvd, instead of turning left at the lights and having you come down a “runway” into a big open field. Instead you crossed the finish line, if you were lucky you spotted your family on the way, then you were caught up in a log jam of people and bikes! We weren’t able to turn around and go hug the ones we love or possibly the ones we were riding for. Instead we had to force our way into a bike parking lot and then some how coordinate our way around the crowd to get to our families. This was incredible annoying. After 300+ kms of riding the last thing I wanted to was try and figure out what the heck was going on, where my family was, how to find them, where my bags were, etc etc. Like the Saturday morning, making this fool proof and logical is key. Having more volunteers that knew what was going would have been helpful too.

Hot dogs and hamburgers…

Anywho, I’m being critical because I can. I’ve done this 3 years in a row and have spent a lot of time and effort on their cause. I don’t expect things to be perfect, but it was way better the first year I rode, back in 2008. Yet there was only had 2800 riders, not over 4000 so, I can understand some of the changes. But I do hope they learn from their mistakes.

Beyond some logistical details, it was great to ride all weekend with my amazing friends and man. We made it through together as a group and had fun along the way. At times the ride was emotional and sad, since we all rode in memory of someone close to us who had lost the battle. Yet for myself it was gratifying to know that all the fundraising and riding is actually making a difference in the fight against cancer today.

Rocket Girl 2010