Thursday, April 21, 2011

The Wheels of Life Keep Turning :)

My first love - peddle power!
Ok, the pity party is over and I have moved on from my rant about cancer.  Time to focus on the future. 

This summer I have the honour of participating in the MS Rona bike tour 2011 from Grand Bend to London which takes place over two days (July 23-24).  I have been asked to join a team with Lish and her husband Conor.  Our team name is "On Your Left".  Our team website is http://www.onyourleft.ca/

Little did Conor and Lish know but I have not biked in a long time and the bike I currently have (my old one died 3 years ago) is not fit for a 150+km race over 2 days.  I actually won this bike in Florida at a casino several years ago and Lennie and I drove it back to Canada in the car - pain in the butt as it is very big and bulky but I love her!!!!  I even rode her to work at Ashley Oaks PS several times but the roads in London suck and are not safe so I did not ride her as much as I really wanted to. 

I am calling him Steve.
Lennie said that I could use his bike so I took it for a tune up this week to Cyclepath.  I bought toe clips and had them installed, added a water bottle holder plus bought appropriately padded bike shorts - not attractive at all but my butt will be happy.  My dad lent me his helmet (mine would not stop a pebble from hitting my head) so I am ready to rock and rock.  Our team is having some fundraising events and meet and greets starting in a week and I am psyched to get back on the bike and train.  As everyone knows, yearly I do a huge run for the Crohns and Colitis society of Canada.  This year, I have decided to focus my fundraising efforts for the MS Society (bet you thought it would be the Thyroid Foundation)((don't worry I am doing the fashion show again this year so they have my support too - photos next week)).  I would appreciate your support at http://msofs.mssociety.ca/2011Bike/Sponsor.aspx?PID=1247097&L=2
Northridge biking

Sweet shoes
 I was at my parents tonight and my mom and I got chatting about me biking as a kid and we remembered that I have always loved biking and having a cool ride was important to me.  She pulled out 2 fantastic photos that were taken when I was about 7 years old out front of our old house in Northridge.  I love the pants, shoes, poncho (which I wore 24/7 apparently and the basket. 
  My old bike had a basket too but Lennie won't let me have one now as he thinks I will get beat up.  I do have a great bell on the bike so that makes up for no basket or handle tassels. 

Speedy already! Plus, love the pigtails.


 My favourite biking memories are from 1990-1993 when I worked in Ottawa as a traffic surveyor.  Great summer job as a student.  I subleted an apartment and each year would return to work for the Regional government.  We worked with a plastic board with counters on it and you had to count the vehicles and pedestrians at intersections all over Ottawa.
 
Great tan and legs in my early 20s!
You worked 6am - 10am, 12pm - 2pm and then 3pm - 6pm.  It was exhausting but the best part was that you had to ride your bike around town each day to get to your assigned spot.  We would listen to the radio and chat all day long.  The other great part was that they partnered you up and I always had great working partners.  Lennie worked too once his contract with GM was done and we had great summers together in Ottawa.  July 1st in Ottawa can not be beat!!!  What a great party for Canada's birthday.  I have very few photos of that time in Ottawa except for this one of me with the counter on my lap sitting in my lawn chair.  I was really hoping I had a picture of my bike but I can't seem to find one - I think I cropped this photo for a scrapbook and the bike part went into the garbage. 

There are a million reasons why I am so happy to be participating in this event this summer. 
  • Raising money for charity
  • Cross training opportunity for the marathon October 9th - Yeap I am running it no matter what!
  • Being outside in the summer
  • Hanging with Lish, Lindsay and Conor
  • Meeting a ton of new people
  • Being in Grand Bend
  • Sleeping at UWO
  • Remembering how much I love biking
Thank you Lish and Conor for the opportunity.  I won't let the team down.