What a ride!

After four days, 604 kms, two pulled knee tendons and a lot of great memories, the ride has come to an end. I could not finish the ride on my bike due to the injury sustained on Days #2 and #3, but rode out the rest of the trip in the support vehicle desperately wanting to be on my bicycle with the team. I will know better for next year to train longer for this ride, do longer distances, and remind myself that my body is not an elastic. Sometimes things that stretch do not always stretch back.
The bond that grew between the seven participants in this ride was amazing. For the most part strangers before this ride, we grew into great friends. The people we got to know along the way were amazing. I will always remember the generosity of spirit and pocketbooks of complete strangers, who cheered us on and funded our cause. I will also remember the celebration that awaited us back in the office where we finished our ride. Some 1oo employees waiting on the front lawn of Novartis head office, balloons blowing in the wind and a resounding cheer when we turned into the driveway leading to our reception. We felt like veterans returning from a war. Heros of some sort. It was truly amazing. In the end, we have pledges for $21,000 or more for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, and it looks like actual donations may even grow beyond this amount. It was such an amazing feeling to be part of this effort and, once I recover from the wounds from this trip, I will start to train for next year's ride. I am just assuming this will be a yearly tradition and something that will grow not only in fundraising, but also in participation. Watch out for that stretch of Novartis blue along a highway near you next year!!