Roly's Ride

Picture from a previous adventure
Some of you already were aware that I planned to
cycle from Ottawa to Kingston and back over the past weekend (June 7 & 8)
on the Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour organized by the Ottawa Bicycle Club. There
were three options (1)The Classic (177 kms both ways) (2) The Century (100 kms
both ways leaving/returning Perth) or (3) The Challenge (not sure how many kms
but one rider in our group did 214 kms from Ottawa to Kingston). I opted for
the Classic. I left Carleton U at 6:45 Saturday morning with 8 other cyclists.
We turned left on Col. By, crossed over Hog's Back Bridge and continued
along Meadowlands. We hadn't even gotten to Fisher when our most experienced
rider called out that he had a flat. He then quickly proceeded to give us a "How
to change a flat tire 101" clinic and in less than 5 minutes we were
on our way again. We cycled along Meadowlands, left on Woodroffe, right
on Knoxdale, right on Hunt Club, left on Robertson, right on Hope
Side Road, left on Eaglegson, right on Flewellyn and into Ashton
for our first pit stop. Fifteen minutes later it was back in the saddle again
and off to Perth for lunch. Everyone was feeling the heat and to top it all
off we were pedalling into a fairly strong head wind. After a half hour break
we headed for Westport. Lots of hills. The combination of heat, head wind
and hills was starting to have an effect on my legs, more specifically my
hamstrings. I had to get off several times and walk up the hills to work off
the cramps in my inner thighs. Eventually we made it to the gas station in
Westport but it was a zoo. Peter, who had stayed with me to keep an eye on me
in case I "bonked" out on the highway, suggested we cycle up to the
North Crosby Community Centre (another 4 kms up the road) where there would be
refreshments. When I turned onto CR 10 and started up the hill I made a
mistake and shifted to a harder gear when I should have shifted down to a
lower gear. Once again I had to get off and walk up the rest of the hill.
Eventually I made it to Shillington Park where the rest of the group was
waiting. By this time I had done 124.59 kms in the heat, with a strong head
wind and lots of uphill. My hamstrings were like violin strings
especially when trying to climb hills. I decided to call it a day and wait for
a SAG wagon to pick me up and take me and my gear the rest of the way to
Kingston. As one of the guys in the group pointed out I at least had the
satisfaction of being able to say I had cycled further than those starting out from
Perth and only doing The Century. I swallowed my pride and told myself better
to be safe than to risk tearing a hamstring.
While waiting for the SAG wagon to arrive I
noticed that the person who was operating the Amateur Radio Emergency Service
(ARES) had Veterans plates on his pickup truck and was wearing an HMCS Ottawa
hat. There was a lot of "chatter" on the shortwave radio and some
morse code. I mentioned I had been a Radio Man in the Navy before joining
Foreign Affairs. He then asked me if I knew Scotty Wensel. I said I knew a Ron
Wensel who was married to a french girl from France. He said Ron
"Scotty" Wensel was his good friend and they had been Radio
Specialist together. He also mentioned that they had had quite a
"vacation" in Hawaii. Before I could get the details of this
"vacation" out of him a support van arrived but was only able
to take our bikes (there were 3 of us waiting for a ride) to Kingston. There
was a lot of confusion, a lot of chatter on the ARES, there were bikers
dropping all over the place. I was able to determine there were 3 SAG wagons,
2 support vans, numerous stations and base control. At one point one of the
persons manning one of the stations was asked how he was doing. He replied
"I'm ready to be turned over". I guess there wasn't much shade
where he was located. Eventually a SAG wagon arrived with 5 persons in it. The
driver, the radio operator and 3 passengers (1 male and 2 females). The rear
seat had been removed so there was really only seat belts for 5 passengers.
There were two bikes in the back cargo area plus a cooler and a couple cases
of bottled water. The driver said he could fit a small person in the back or
the two girls providing they were agreeable. This freed up two places in the
van. The dilemna was now having to decide who would get to go and who
would stay behind to wait for the next SAG wagon to show up. I was prepared to
wait as I knew the others had been waiting longer than I had (3 hours at this
point in time). The guy who had been waiting the longest insisted I go first
probably because I was the oldest and because my legs were really cramping up.
There had been nowheres to sit while waiting so I had tried to lay down on the
grass while waiting. After a half hour of lying in the shade when I tried to
stand up my hamstrings had completely cramped up and I was barely able to
walk. The ARES guy came over to help me get my bike and gear together and
helped me get to the van. In all the confusion I forgot to get his name.
Eventually we made it to Kingston after stopping
several times on the way to make sure other cyclist who were resting along the
side of the road were OK. By this time it was going on 6:30 and the support
people were beginning to tire and wanting to go home for dinner, etc. All
riders said they were OK and would make their way to Kingston on their own. I
passed 2 guys from my group who still had 20 kms to go. They really seemed to
be struggling. I then passed the remainder of the group who were approaching
the outskirts of Kingston at Hwy 401 and only had 6 kms to go. Once I arrived
at the Finish I looked for my bike but it hadn't arrived yet. I checked in and
got my key (C502 in Victoria Hall), picked up my bag and walked over to
my dorm room for the night. It was very clean, the bed was made up with fresh
linens, and there were clean towels, a facecloth, soap, drinking cups and a
floor fan. I went back to the Finish and was able to collect my bike which by
this time had arrived on top of the support van. Put my bike away in my room
on the 5th floor, had a shower and walked over to Ban Righ Hall for dinner.
Met up with the other guys from my original group plus those who had cycled
from Perth. Lots of terrific food, desserts, drinks, etc. I
really pigged out. After dinner we walked over to the beer beer and headed off
to bed.
I managed to get a half decent nights sleep. I had
done a half hour of stretches before going to bed and another 40 minutes when I
got up. I also took a couple of Advil before going to bed and a Celebrex in
the morning. Walked over to breakfast at 5:30. Met the others who planned to
depart at 6:30. Quickly ate breakfast. Again stuffing myself with scrambled
eggs, sausages, waffles/syrup, juice, bananas, etc. Checked out of the dorm
and dropped off my bag to be trucked back to Ottawa. Met the others and after
the compulsory photos departed for Westport at 6:45. All went well and I felt
great. This time I decided to stay in my "Grannie Gears" all the
way. Even when I was going down hills. We arrived at the Shillington
Park/North Crosby Community Centre around 9:30. The person manning the ARES
was still the same guy. I went over and said hello, thanked him once again for
helping me the previous evening and asked him for his name. George Ward. So
Ron Wensel if you are reading this George sends his regards.
After a short rest in N. Crosby we headed out for
Westport and the Mother Of All Hills. I had been warned by several people who
had previously cycled RLCT that this was a real killer but Barrie Thomas had
told me that it was do-able as it was at the beginning of the second day's
ride and therefore I should be much fresher. Barrie was right. I managed to
peddle my ass all the way up that f...ing hill without having to get off and
walk as I noticed many were having to do. Mind you I didn't fly up that hill
like some of the guys on racing bikes but nevertheless me and my Rocky
Mountain Sherpa 10 Touring bike made it. BTW I forgot to mention that on the
way down I clocked 64.6 kph just coasting down Westport Hill. Had I been
pedalling I'm sure I could have topped 70 kph.
Well to make a long story short we finally arrived
back at Carleton U around 5:45. Managed to down a couple of beers and drove
home. The temp. gauge inside the car was reading an outside temp of 33 C. Not
sure what the humidex reading was. When I got home I weighed myself. Before
leaving I weighed 203.2 after the ride I was 199.2. I had finally broken the
200 lbs barrier which I have been trying to accomplish for over a year now.
For those of you who like to keep stats the following are the readings from my
bicycle computer:
Day 1 TRP 124.59 AVS 19.63 STP 6:20:48 MAX 64.6
DST 1058
Day 2 TRP 179.63 AVS 22.67 STP 7:55:20 MAX 57.8
DST 1238 (What a difference a tail wind makes).
I don't have Ron Wensel's e-mail address so if
anyone of you should happen to have it I would be grateful if you
could let me know what it is so that I can pass this along to him.
For David Smith: George Ward says he lives in
Westport. He drives a black pickup truck. Perhaps you know him? If not he
would be a great guy to get acquainted with as I'm sure you would have some
interesting stories to swap.
Cheers, Roly
© OFARTS Canada 2008 Old Foreign Affairs Retired Technicians, Canada The
opinions expressed here are those of the contributors. Accuracy of facts has not
been verified in all cases.