Training early in the year can be more grueling as you ride a lot in the rain. I am fortunate to have a reliable riding partner, my brother Mark. He is also riding for my husband Glenn and for a dear friend who recently passed away from cancer. Mark lives
in Langley, so some of my early riding escapades were in that city. It is a bit hillier than Richmond so offers a pretty good leg and cardio workout, which we need to do the journey to Seattle.
On our first ride I was pretty impressed to have gone 30 km. My knees were a bit sore, but I was managing OK. The second ride in Langley was a bit more challenging.
We set out early on a Saturday morning. As soon as we started pedaling the rain came down, but that wasn't going to stop us. The Ride to Conquer Cancer is often done in bad weather so we thought it was good training. The skies got darker and the rain heavier.
I had to keep my sunglasses on to shield my eyes from the pelting rain.
Halfway through the ride, we rewarded ourselves with a warm cup of coffee and hot chocolate.
Back onto the bike, we encountered one of Langley's many sets of train tracks. In hindsight I should have dismounted- I suspect there was a sign telling me to do just that. I watched my brother go over the tracks, without realizing he had angled his bike so his wheels were perpendicular to the tracks. When I crossed, the train track sucked in my front tire, twisted my bike sideways and literally threw me down on the slippery road. Being clipped onto the bike, there was no chance to get my feet free fast enough to stop my fall. The majority of impact was on my head and the crash actually split my helmet. Fortunately helmets are made to withstand a good amount of shock so the end result was a bit of whiplash, some minor bruising and the need for a new helmet! I was very fortunate that a kind doctor and nurse were first on the scene and had a large van that took me and my brother to his house. Such good luck, such wonderful people.
What I learned from this ride was that helmets are essential, that mine likely saved my life, and that people are kind enough to help you when you have fallen and you can't get up!
Richmond News publisher Lori Chalmers joined the Ride to Conquer Cancer to raise money for research and help herself cope with her own husband's recent diagnoses of the disease. She'll chronicle her journey in this column, which is also posted online.
