Departure day
The long wait finally came to an end today as a nervous and excited team gathered in front of our rented UHaul van at our company head offices at lunch time. We carefully packed each other’s bikes in the van along with a bag of fresh clothes and spandex and sealed up the truck. Here are a few highlights from our departure day:
Morning: Truck pick-up and Blog down
Spent a bit of extra time waiting to get approval to drive our UHaul off the lot this morning (paperwork) and got to the office to learn the Blog was down. If you had trouble trying to visit for a good portion of the day, we do apologize, but their services were down for a good number of their users…we are glad it’s back up.
2PM: Photo shoot for local media
I am happy to report that the communications team and a couple of outside consultants managed to secure coverage of our journey in the Cobourg times (due to a local connection with Steve) and also several Montreal papers, who came to shoot the team loading the van and posing in our team outfits.
8PM: Arrival at the hotel
After pushing the UHaul’s upper limits for most of the journey, we were able to arrive in downtown Toronto in time for a late dinner at the “Hot House Café” and connect with two more members of the team. I must admit it was quite something to sit down at the table and stare down its length and recall how small the group was last year.
We were surprised by a guest appearance from Jeff MacKenzie, an accomplished extreme athlete and previous captain of Canada’s EcoChallenge team. Jeff shared a few words of wisdom and remarked how each member of the team inevitably encounters moments of weakness, and that they should know to rely on their teammates for strength.
A word about our fundraising…
I am ecstatic to share that we have passed $45,000 in funds raised for this year, which is an incredible accomplishment for the team. Not only are we the current Canadian leaders for online funds raised, but 4 of the 5 top online fundraisers in Montreal are from our team.
Tomorrow:
We will be cycling to Cobourg, likely as two teams. We are aiming for an 8:30AM start and will head by the CN Tower for a group shot first before heading East out of the city. We will be separating into two groups based on speed and rider confidence, with the slower group leaving first. We expect to meet up for lunch and see how everyone’s comfort level is then.
The weather so far looks ideal with low to mid 20’s, partly cloudy and a slight side wind. We will update you with a few pictures and a highlight or two from Day one Saturday evening.
Best,
Henry
Morning: Truck pick-up and Blog down
Spent a bit of extra time waiting to get approval to drive our UHaul off the lot this morning (paperwork) and got to the office to learn the Blog was down. If you had trouble trying to visit for a good portion of the day, we do apologize, but their services were down for a good number of their users…we are glad it’s back up.
2PM: Photo shoot for local media
I am happy to report that the communications team and a couple of outside consultants managed to secure coverage of our journey in the Cobourg times (due to a local connection with Steve) and also several Montreal papers, who came to shoot the team loading the van and posing in our team outfits.
8PM: Arrival at the hotel
After pushing the UHaul’s upper limits for most of the journey, we were able to arrive in downtown Toronto in time for a late dinner at the “Hot House Café” and connect with two more members of the team. I must admit it was quite something to sit down at the table and stare down its length and recall how small the group was last year.
We were surprised by a guest appearance from Jeff MacKenzie, an accomplished extreme athlete and previous captain of Canada’s EcoChallenge team. Jeff shared a few words of wisdom and remarked how each member of the team inevitably encounters moments of weakness, and that they should know to rely on their teammates for strength.
A word about our fundraising…
I am ecstatic to share that we have passed $45,000 in funds raised for this year, which is an incredible accomplishment for the team. Not only are we the current Canadian leaders for online funds raised, but 4 of the 5 top online fundraisers in Montreal are from our team.
Tomorrow:
We will be cycling to Cobourg, likely as two teams. We are aiming for an 8:30AM start and will head by the CN Tower for a group shot first before heading East out of the city. We will be separating into two groups based on speed and rider confidence, with the slower group leaving first. We expect to meet up for lunch and see how everyone’s comfort level is then.
The weather so far looks ideal with low to mid 20’s, partly cloudy and a slight side wind. We will update you with a few pictures and a highlight or two from Day one Saturday evening.
Best,
Henry
posted by Henry @ 1:44 a.m.
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