60 km ride for charity

Earlier today I rode in the Canadian Mental Health Association's Ride Don't Hide Ride. There were several courses to choose from and I rode in the 60 km ride. A hot weekend for Vancouver and I was glad to get an early start.

There was some drama early this morning when, five minutes before departure, a valve stem broken on my bike and caused the back tire to deflate. Without time to replace the tire tube I was forced to pack up another bike, which I brought from Japan. Not my first choice for long distances but I had no choice.

I completed the 60 km ride in roughly three hours, which is a good pace. We rode through residential neighborhoods, across the Fraser River and south to the fishing village of Steveston along quiet farm roads. The final 10 km was almost entirely an uphill climb. I was very tired and dehydrated by the time I rolled over the finish line.

The post-ride experience was less than expected. The ride included a hamburger lunch but there was only one truck preparing the burgers and the line up of cyclists stretched forever. I heard later from one person he waited 65 minutes in the blazing sun for lunch, describing the experience as "worse than the ride itself".

I raised $715 in the process and had a good experience overall. Enough said.