I just wanted to thank everyone for their wonderful donation to MS. I just completed the ride today and have spent the last 4 hours sleeping on the couch, recovering. I had 25 people sponsor me and raised a total of $1385.00.
The first day of the bike ride ended up being 95 kms, and it was a grueling, taxing, arduous ride. It took us all day to arrive in Olds due to the major headwinds and most of the ride being uphill. To help you visualize it, we had to pedal going DOWNHILL. We managed to not get picked up by the "Sag Wagon" though, which was a good thing.....we watched tons of people drive past us in them that were too tired to finish. We didn't even think to lather on the sunscreen since the forecast predicted overcast skies and rain - yet halfway through the ride the sun came out and burnt the hell out of us. Our fault, we know :(
Once we arrived, we were pampered - due to Annette and I raising over a thousand dollars, we were upgraded to a townhouse, rather than camping or staying in the dorms. Due to this, we also received Bernard Callebaut chocolates and a bag of goodies - and were able to have our own bedrooms and bathroom....we had hot water in the shower - heard later that the dorms ran out of hot water early and they all showered in cold water. As well, we were invited to the "high rollers room" which had gambling for charity and free alcohol..to let you know HOW tired we were - we spent most of the night nursing our one and only drink on the leather couches in the lobby - only because we couldn't physically move to any other area. At 7:30, I was ready to call it a night. Managed to make it to 10:30 though - for anyone that knows me, they are probably surprised that I went to bed that early. We were physically, and mentally exhausted.
This morning, we woke feeling like a train had run over us. We ate breakfast and got back on our bikes and FORTUNATELY, the wind was at our backs. Today's ride was better - it was a different route so we didn't get to take advantage of all the downhill areas, but it's easier climbing hills when you aren't fighting the wind. Today's ride ended up being 70 kms. Although we hit some rain at the end, it was a pleasant day.
There were hundreds of volunteers, and the sponsors made the whole experience worthwhile. Volunteers were so friendly and encouraging, the food was wonderful and the organization was above our expectations. The Hutterite community baked fresh bread and shared it with the group on the first rest stop - they were extremely kind. The ride raised over $700,000 which was a record.
I have attached a link to some pictures for you - enjoy. Again, thanks so much for your support.
http://community.webshots.com/user/merdypops2
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