Dad diagnosed with Bladder Cancer this week, fcuking cancer finally struck way to close to home
My Dad... apparently if you are going to get cancer, that's the one to get according to his specialist.
How was the ride?
So awesome, can't like this post enough!Ride was yesterday. It was hard. In my eight years doing this, I was probably my fittest, but the conditions were the worse. Dangerous headwinds and crosswinds hit up 1/2 way through the Coquihalla pass and by the time we hit Britton Creek was at it's worse. There were not enough spots in the sag vehicles for all the folks that didn't want to make the descent into Hope. For good reason, it was borderline unsafe. But we can't control weather. My feeling is if the organizers had the ability to cancel at that point they would have.
Happy and proud to be strong enough to push at the front and take the wind. More so, incredibly proud of my kid, who rode like a veteran stud. My proud dad moment was during the section to Merrit. There was another father / son team out this year. I think their names were Zack and William. Zack was the dad- a survivor who has lost a kidney and 1/2 a lung to Cancer. William is his 21 year old son from Ontario, a former pro racer, helluva rider. William was there to push his dad along so long as his dad was on his bike, and enjoy the rest when he wasn't. During a hilly stretch on the 5a, Will had to pull out due to a mechanical. Zack stayed in anyhow. On the next hill, Zack started to fall back. Michael saw this, rode up next to him, put his hand around his back and guided him up the hill. I was about 5 wheels back, helping another rider. For a solid 30 minutes, Michael got Zack through that section as William was busy in the mechanical vehicle getting his bike fixed.
The lady I was helping says to me, "Must be a pretty proud dad moment." It was.
All day Michael was there to help struggling riders. It's one thing to do this day as a 16 year old, another to be one of those guys that sacrifices his legs to help others get through. He did pay for it later, but pretty sure he'd do it again.
So chuffed.
And feeling so wasted right now. I'll get some photos and do a write up this week. Today I have a day full of PVRed footy to watch.
Ride was yesterday. It was hard. In my eight years doing this, I was probably my fittest, but the conditions were the worse. Dangerous headwinds and crosswinds hit up 1/2 way through the Coquihalla pass and by the time we hit Britton Creek was at it's worse. There were not enough spots in the sag vehicles for all the folks that didn't want to make the descent into Hope. For good reason, it was borderline unsafe. But we can't control weather. My feeling is if the organizers had the ability to cancel at that point they would have.
Happy and proud to be strong enough to push at the front and take the wind. More so, incredibly proud of my kid, who rode like a veteran stud. My proud dad moment was during the section to Merrit. There was another father / son team out this year. I think their names were Zack and William. Zack was the dad- a survivor who has lost a kidney and 1/2 a lung to Cancer. William is his 21 year old son from Ontario, a former pro racer, helluva rider. William was there to push his dad along so long as his dad was on his bike, and enjoy the rest when he wasn't. During a hilly stretch on the 5a, Will had to pull out due to a mechanical. Zack stayed in anyhow. On the next hill, Zack started to fall back. Michael saw this, rode up next to him, put his hand around his back and guided him up the hill. I was about 5 wheels back, helping another rider. For a solid 30 minutes, Michael got Zack through that section as William was busy in the mechanical vehicle getting his bike fixed.
The lady I was helping says to me, "Must be a pretty proud dad moment." It was.
All day Michael was there to help struggling riders. It's one thing to do this day as a 16 year old, another to be one of those guys that sacrifices his legs to help others get through. He did pay for it later, but pretty sure he'd do it again.
So chuffed.
And feeling so wasted right now. I'll get some photos and do a write up this week. Today I have a day full of PVRed footy to watch.