17th
Team 2, Day 11: Breakdown
This morning in Pickering didn’t seem all that different from the others. Wake up early in the bunk truck, stumble into the Sears store for the morning washroom routine, and then off to a staff room in some hidden corner of the store for a plentiful breakfast prepared by a bright-eyed and cheerful crew of cheerful Sears associates. We shuttled out of Pickering to Belleville where we were greeted by more food and more cheerful Sears employees at the Belleville depot. It was Saturday so the centre was fairly quiet, but I believe someone told me that over 1300 employees work there. We were also joined by 2010 National Rider, Damon. Damon led us out of Pickering and rode with us to Kingston. As we mounted up, I suddenly remembered that my sunglasses had broken yesterday at the Inside Ride event. I usually have a strict policy of not riding without some kind of eye protection (for insects and road debris from bikes and passing vehicles) but I had moved my extra lenses to the bunk truck so I didn’t have any choice if I wanted to ride. I believe that things happen for a reason, but sometimes I am too stubborn to take a hint.
I could tell fairly early on that I was in trouble. My legs were very leaden and I was breathing hard after just a slight incline as we began to warm up. I was hoping the feeling would pass, but as we rode on it became apparent that I was in over my head. I was okay on the flats, but everytime I took my turn at pull or on any kind of a hill I could feel the lactic acid burn building in my leg muscles. Today was going to be my breakdown day.
Finally, after about 40km of riding I decided to pull myself off the road and get in the RV. I simply wasn’t able to sustain a 30kmph pace and didn’t feel it was fair to hold up the whole group. I was exhausted. I crawled into the RV and promptly fell asleep. I remember waking up once and hearing the guys outside filling water bottles at a water stop, but they said when they checked in on me I was completely out of it.
I had planned to sit out until Brockville, but at a rest stop in Kingston on the way there I offered my bike to our crew chief, Scott Doran. Scott was a National Rider in 2010 and has been dying to get in a ride. Scott, however, uses a different kind of cleat on his cycling shoes, so he had to swap out my pedals for a set of his own. Our mechanic, Kirk, had that taken care of in short order and the team departed with an additioal set of fresh legs.
Unfortunately, no one remembered to pick up my pedals off the bumper of the RV. Oops! That was my second hint that I shouldn’t be riding, but this time I really had no choice. I have heard of determined riders getting by on one pedal, but with no pedals I was definitely hooped.
Kirk remembered about 50km from Kingston that he had set them on the bumper. We couldn’t waste time and gas going back to look for them, so Egbert tracked down another set at a bike store in Smith Falls, a little off our intended path. I jumped into the cube van with RP, another volunteer driver, and we headed off in that direction. We found the store, picked up the pedals, treated ourselves to ice cream cones, and headed back meet the team en route at Merrickville.
RP and I thought we had a couple of hours before the team reached us, so we were surprised after about 90 minutes when we got a text from Egbert saying they were just passing through town. We scrambled to get back to the truck and catch up.
We skipped ahead of them and unloaded my bike. The mechanic tools were with Kirk in the support car, so as soon as they pulled up we did a quick pedal change, snapped some head and tail lights on the bike because we were going to end up riding in after sunset, and lit out once more for our destination at Ottawa. My legs were remarkably better. It is amazing what 2 hours of sleep and an afternoon of rest can do for muscle recovery. Left to my own devices I probably wouldn’t have given myself enough time, but as the day unfolded I felt very refreshed.
I only got to ride about 40km after that. By the time we pulled in to Manotick, our supper stop about 25km short of Ottawa, it was fully dark. For safety’s sake, we had to load the bikes and shuttle in to Ottawa. The disappointment at having to cut the day short was more than compensated for me though by being greeted by my younger sister, Suzanne, and her family. It was fun to roll in to hear my nephew, Liam, and niece, Kim, excitedly calling my name. I haven’t seen them or their dad, Jamie, since March 2010. Thanks for coming out guys!
