The Epic Ride.

The Magnificent Seven:L-R:Josée, Jan, Fiona, Lindsay, Ben, Martin, Rob

Well folks, our little team of seven actual riders made it to the finish line in the epic Ride To Conquer Cancer which took place on Saturday and Sunday of the past weekend.  Two of our original team of nine were unable to ride.  However, they were with us in spirit as we made the trek.

We overnighted in Vancouver on Friday and joined about 2800+ others at the starting point in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver.  Breakfast, in the form of a scrambled egg wrap (ugh!) was provided, opening ceremonies were completed  and the first riders left on time  at 07.00 in a steady downpour of rain.  We were soaked before we started!  By 08.00 we were all on the road, headed for the Peace Arch and the American border.  The border crossing took 45-60 minutes and we were well on our way into the home of the brave and the land of the free.

About 113Km ahead, we rode into Mt. Vernon, our overnight stop.  We stored our bikes, collected our bags from the trucks and found our tents.  Then, with dry clothes in hand, we hit the hot showers.  These were amazing, built into trailers which could be towed from place to place and re-established in new locations.  Dinner came next.  This was one of the down-sides of the trip. After the 117 Km ride, we waited, standing in line for about 90 minutes, to get our meal, which was not too great when it came. (However, the positives on this trip greatly outweighed the negatives.)  We hit the tents early, for we were very tired and also knew another early morning awaited us.  I slept not a wink.

Sunday morning was a repeat of the previous one.  It always amazes me that some early risers seem to forget that others might not want to be up before the birds.  You know, you’ve heard them in hotels, speaking at the tops of their voices as they leave their rooms, crashing their doors behind them.  Those same people were there at our camp-site, informing all of their intentions to visit the can or brush their teeth.  Who cares?

Once again, it rained quite steadily as we left camp.  Once again we were soaked within minutes.  The ride progressed along fairly level terrain, beautiful farmland, and very picturesque communities.  However, about 20Km from the end, we had to climb some quite severe hills.  Ben, God bless him, who had cycled behind me the whole of the trip, quietly encouraged me to keep going, as legs burned and lungs sucked air.  We made it through the ranges in good shape and feeling surprisingly good.  By this time, the other riders on our team had left Ben and me far behind, ( as we had agreed  before we left Comox) which made me appreciate my son’s encouragement all the more.

Finally, like Moses, we came down from the mountain to a lovely cycle path along  the Sammamish river bank.  For about 12Km we followed this gently winding, gorgeous route, sharing the trail with Sunday morning walkers and bikers going in the other direction.  They must have wondered what they were seeing as we all swept past them.  Finally, we crossed a narrow footpath over the river and went into the finishing area at  Marymoor Park in Redmond, just north of Seattle.  Crowds were cheering us on, pom-poms were waved and cow bells rung. I was determined that I would not cross the line before Ben , so I slowed briefly to allow him to come alongside and we crossed together.  There was no time to celebrate in any way, as we were grabbed and directed to take our bikes to the trucks so they could be loaded on and prepared for the trip home.  However, our faster riding team-mates were there to greet us with a cold beer, which barely touched the sides of my throat.  Within an hour, we had located our bags, showered (again in those wonderful movable showers), grabbed a bite to eat, and were loaded on our homeward bound bus.

As we arrived at the border crossing and Canada customs a farcical event occurred.  Our driver collected all our passports with our customs declarations inside each one. ( I got really uneasy at this, for I do not like giving up my passport to anyone other than a customs officer)  The documents were processed inside the office and our bus took off.  As we hummed along towards Vancouver, it soon became apparent that not everyone had received their passport from the pile, and that our driver had left before the customs officers had time to return all the passports to us.  The driver would not turn back.  He was not going to change his schedule.  The temperature rose in the bus, especially as we learned some people were flying to interior towns of the province out of Vancouver the next day.  Fortunately (for the driver), a customs vehicle overtook us and stopped us.  The officer delivered the remainder of the passports, a huge cheer went up, and we were on our way.

A ferry trip and a drive home followed our arrival back into Vancouver.  We got into Comox around 00.30 on Monday morning and I was in bed about 01.30 after a cup of tea  and a brief run down on the trip with Cynthia.  I slept ’til 11.45 this morning.

The overall experience had been a good one.  We met lots of very fine people.  One in particular stays in my mind.  He was a handicapped man who made the trip riding his specially equipped tri-cycle.  Some of the riders were cancer survivors, their bright yellow flags fluttering from their bikes as they rode the route with us.  We needed no further inspiration after seeing them.  Yes, there were some glitches in the organization, but when one thinks of the thousands of volunteers, police, cooks, etc. involved in making this event happen, the glitches pale by comparison.

The net result is that 2800+ riders participated and over $11 million was raised for cancer research.  This would not have been possible without all of you out there who supported our team, me, and others like us in this venture. Heartfelt thanks to all of you.

Goodbye and God bless, but check below too for pics and video.

To view a CTV video report of the ride click below.

CTV British Columbia – Maria Weisgarber on the Ride to Conquer Cancer – CTV News.

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100 Km…made it!

At the end of the ride, with Ben and Josée's Flip Flop vehicle behind

Hi everyone…just a quick note that yesterday four of us from the Ride To Conquer Cancer team, Team Flip Flop Shops,  went for a ride.  We met at the Courtenay Air Park and Headed out to the Courtenay connector and on towards Cumberland and the Inland Island highway.  If you wish, you can take a peek at the rest of the route by clicking here.  It was the first time Jan and I, two of the four riders had done 100Km.  Ben and Rob were the others. I felt good when we returned and Jan looked as if she was ready to do another loop!  While I was soaked in perspiration, she had a pleasant glow about her.  She is an amazing athlete.

Just in case you haven’t seen Ben and Josée’s vehicle since they had it Flip Flop “wrapped”, here are a couple of pics of the vehicle.

Vehicle as it was

As it is now

Cute huh?  Goodbye for now and God bless!

Almost Time To Go

As I write to you today, on Jan. 28th, 2010, the time has almost come for us to leave for Egypt.  In three days, on the 31st, we leave from Comox and then from Vancouver the same night. In the last post I told you we would be spending time in that country with friends of ours.  Because of the demonstrations going on in Cairo, I have checked the government of Canada’s travel advisory site.   There are no official warnings posted against travel in Egypt.  However, the usual precautionary advice is there.  We are advised not to join large crowds (brilliant!) and not to be out too late at night.  I don’t mean to trivialise the situation in Egypt, but those warnings might also apply in Vancouver’s east end.  I did register Cynthia and myself with the Canadian government’s site as visitors to Egypt.

We are planning to take a large number of running shoes with us for the children at the Found School, the school for Sudanese refugee children which Mary-Jean, our friend, helps to run.  So far we have 116 pairs packed in suitcases and a golf bag.  We have many more pairs in the house, as the response, from the citizens of the Comox Valley, to our plea for shoes, has been overwhelming.  Here’s a general letter of thanks which Cynthia was moved to write to the local papers and so to our wonderful valley residents.

“Letter to the Editor

The people of the Comox Valley are the best. My husband and I are off to Egypt on Mon. Jan 31st to visit friends, Neil and Mary-Jean. These friends are involved in helping with a school for Sudanese refugee children in Cairo. The children, families and their teachers are amongst the poorest of the poor in this city of millions. The C.O.O.L. church which meets on Sundays at Berwick has supported the school for two years by providing funds for the students and teachers to have a hot meal at midday. For many this is their only meal of the day.

Two weeks ago I wrote to Mary-Jean to ask if anything was needed that we could bring with us when we visit the school. Her reply was unexpected – “Please bring multivitamins and good second hand shoes. Many students canʼt attend school because they have no shoes and walking the roads in bare feet causes many cuts and foot infections with no money for treatment or antibiotics.”

As a family we tried to respond. My son Ben Davies has a financial planning company in Comox. He included a plea in his current newsletter and collected 3 large bags of excellent shoes from his generous clients. My other son Tim works at Brooklyn Elementary School. The teachers spoke to the children and to teachers at other schools.

The news spread like wildfire and now two days later our front hall is piled with bags of good shoes. Personal friends raided their closets and found more shoes.

Tim Cowan at the Medicine shop in Comox donated 13 huge jars of Gummi multivitamins and friends Lynore and Don donated a further 4  jars of the same multivitamins. Another friend Tricia gave us $20 towards the excess baggage costs that we will undoubtedly incur.

We are overwhelmed with the generosity of this Valley community. Over and over a need is mentioned in the news media and the Valley people rise to meet it. We will visit the school with shoes in hand and tell them that their plight is known in the Comox Valley. They are not forgotten refugees ignored by Governments and  persecuted by others. On the contrary, in the Comox Valley they are respected, valued and cared for as individuals. It is said to really understand the plight of others we must walk a mile in their shoes. We cannot do that with the Sudanese refugees. But because of your generosity they will walk many miles in your shoes and, Iʼm sure, will thank God for you every day. Well done Comox Valley.

Blessings Cynthia and Martin Davies”

Bags of shoes at home

More shoes in the hall.

I had planned to write a weekly post to the blog from Egypt, but as the internet has been shut down by their government as of today, posting may not be possible. Well, if it doesn’t work out, I will update you on our trip when we return.
On our return, the next big challenge for me will be to get in shape for The Ride To Conquer Cancer. I am one member of our team of eight who will be riding in this event which takes place in June 2011. We are riding under our team logo of Team Flip Flop Shops. This is the name of a business venture by our son Ben and partner Josée. (actually it is mostly Josée’s baby). If you would like to read more about our ride you can click on the link here to my site, and go to the team’s site from there.

So my friends, until the next time, take care of yourselves and may God bless you and keep you in the palm of His hand.

What A Weekend!

The Past Weekend

Did you ever have one of those weekends when your feet never seemed to touch the ground?  To me, the past weekend seemed just such a time.  It seemed that a lot got packed into the Friday to Sunday period.

To begin with, Ben, Josée, Cynthia and I went out for dinner on Friday evening.  Tim and Andi were meant to come but had to decline as Tim had hurt his back and wouldn’t have been able to sit long enough for a meal.  We promised to celebrate with them and the children at a later date, when  Tim was feeling better

The principal reason for going out was to celebrate the sale of my mother’s house in Wales. Following my mother’s death in November of 2007, the house was placed on the market. The house remained on the housing market for almost two and a half years until the end of May.  The second reason for going was to celebrate Cynthia’s birthday which was to happen the next day.We visited the Avenue Bistro here in Comox and had a fine meal.

Saturday began with a glorious start to the day.  The sun shone and it was warm right from the start, quite a change from the lousy May we’d experienced.  It was Cynthia’s birthday!  However, we were like ships that pass in the night as she was out the front door and down the drive in a flurry of papers and exhaust fumes.  She was headed to the A.G. M. of African Community Technical Services (A.C.T.S.) of which she is a board member.  The day actually starts with a board meeting at St. Peter’s Church here in Comox, and from which this brilliant organization operates.  A.C.T.S. has a tiny office on the top floor of what was the rectory of the church before the building became the church office.  Several volunteers man the office which is the heart of A.C.T.S. The whole organization is overseen by David Moore who is the C.E.O., a dear friend and a wonderful man.  David is also one of the very few salaried people in the organization.  (To learn more of A.C.T.S. and the wonderful work it is doing in Africa and Uganda in particular, take a peek at the slideshow below and the link to the right of this page)

Acts pp for cool

I had only begun my household chores when Tim arrived, dropped off by Andi.  He wanted to hit the hot tub to see if he could get any relief for his very twisted and painful back.  Tim’s now heading into his third week of being unable to work.  The phone rang…it was Ben.  He was wondering if I could help him with a project at the farm.  I told him to pick me up in just over an hour and got on with the chores, leaving Tim to soak in the tub.  I buzzed through the household duties just in time, for Ben arrived with three  coffees.  We sat and enjoyed them and had a brief chat until it was time to leave.  As we left the house, Andi re-appeared to pick up Tim as she’d finished at the local farmer’s market.  Ben and I said brief goodbyes to Andi, Tim and the children and headed out to begin the project, a fencing one.  We headed to a supplier, got what Ben needed and grabbed a sub for lunch on the run.  By early afternoon we were out at the farm, digging holes for post around the new corn patch Ben and Josée had developed and readied.  By 18.30 we had done the lot…we’d done the fence to keep out the deer.  Guess how we felt when minutes after we’d finished, Monty the mini-pig squeezed his pot belly under the fence and started rooting through the site.  It was a blessing no corn had been planted yet, for Monty the Destroyer would have pig-dozed his way through it.  When I left, Ben was wracking his brains for a way to keep out the pig.  It seems that a lot of the rocks we removed might come in useful any way to weigh down the bottom of the fencing.

When I got home, I showered and got myself a bite to eat.  Around 21.00 Cynthia came in from her day at A.C.T.S..  I offered to make her tea, but she felt she wanted to have something a little stronger, so we headed to the Blackfin Pub and had a Spanish coffee and shared a slab of New York cheesecake to round off  the day.

Sunday morning I was up at 04.00 after getting to sleep at 00.00.  I was wide awake, so rolled downstairs to make a cup of tea.  It was just light enough for me to see the resident herd of deer stripping the leaves from the lower branches of both fruit trees.  Joy of joys!  The tea was fine and I checked email.  After answering a few, I rolled back into bed around 06.00 dreading the sound of the alarm at 07.30.  When it came, I was already awake and waiting for it.  As a matter of fact, I don’t know why I let it ring.

We were soon off to church to help set up equipment there.  Others came to help and within fifteen minutes all was done.  The service went well and Fr. Bill Hedges, our guest speaker, delivered a fine sermon.  We spent time afterwards with the rest of the congregation over coffee and then headed home.

We had promised to drive to Qualicum Bay to meet Ben and Josée there.  They had left their Honda Element in our drive and cycled to Parksville then turned back on themselves and riddden to Qualicum Bay.  I believe they did about 110 Km in all.  (See map of route here)

This was their final training ride before they head off to Vancouver on Friday and participate in the Ride To Conquer Cancer on Saturday.  That ride takes them from Vancouver to Seattle with an overnight stay in tents.  If you want to learn more of that you can watch a video of the 2009 ride on the previous post, Trivia Night.  I drove their Element and Cynthia took her car .  Ben and Josée had packed a picnic lunch in their vehicle for all of us, so when we’d made the rendezvous, we went down a beach access and had a bite to eat.  The drive home took 30 minutes.

As we entered Comox, Cynth swung down to Tim and Andi’s home where we found the four of them in the back garden.  They’d invited Cynthia, (and me by association) to go for a gelato ice-cream as their birthday gift to her.  We all piled into their van and headed down to the shop in Comox which produces this heavenly ice-cream.  It’s run by a Swiss woman who makes an absolute killing in the summer months.  Of course, the winter is lean, so it all balances out over the year.  We had our ice-creams in the warm afternoon sunshine and after we were done we headed home.

What a weekend!  It seemed as if we were always on the run, but it was great fun and I hope to have another action packed weekend soon as possible.

Best wishes to all of you out there who read this.