Well, I finished.  Two days, 215 kilometers, 9.5 hrs of riding, my best time ever for the Ride to Conquer Cancer. I feel pretty good physically, and emotionally I’m still riding kinda high. It’s a great weekend and a great cause. I’m very proud of my involvement and with the involvement of the rest of Team Kortright.

Speaking of which, what a great group of people. Noah and Tyler finished well ahead of the rest of us, but that was expected. Denise rode over 170 km, much further than last year. I am very proud of her as I am of Brian who kept her company and encouraged her every step of the way even though he could easily have kept up with the boys and me. Two members of the team Bruce and JaneAnn tackled the challenge of the 200 mile route. Bruce was unable to ride on Sunday due to other obligations but Jane successfully completed the entire 200 mile route. Well Done!

The one shadow on the weekend however was the fact that two members of the team were unable to ride for health reasons. Darby, who rode last year, suffered a whiplash injury a few weeks ago and was advised to limit her bike riding by her therapists. Marika incurred a concussion injury while playing rugby and faced similar restrictions from her doctor. I really missed having them along for the Ride but they joined us at the finish line and participated in the celebrations.

I know I’ve already said this, but it was a great weekend. And next year should be even better. It’s the 5th running of the Ride to Conquer cancer next year and they are planning all kinds of extras. Not the least of which is the awarding of a commemorative Gold Bike Helmet to all those who have participated in all 5 rides. This year, out of almost 5000 riders, there were only 444 of us who had been there every year since the beginning.

I truly believe that all of us need to have a cause we believe in; something we do just because it feels good and does good for other people. The Ride to Conquer Cancer is mine; and likely will be for some time. I hope you are able to find a cause to which you too can commit and find hope.

I’ll likely have more to say on this later, but for now…

Shalom.