Lone Pirate's Ride Blog

610/610 km

lonepiraterides — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 16:29:50 +0000

29 hours and 47 minutes – just squeaked in under the wire. One of the best parts of a ride like this is finding all the little cracks in your armour and having to patch them up to keep moving ahead…and getting to do that amid beautiful landscapes and with fun and equally crazy companions.

Thx everyone for all the supportive comments and likes. As always, it makes all the difference.

Off home to bed…

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Cambridge. 510/610 km

lonepiraterides — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 11:09:53 +0000

Such a quiet, peaceful night with a big beautiful moon. And then, since we were heading east, we got to watch the dawn slowly creep in leading to a stunning purple sun rise.

3 of us are plodding along, the fourth is having an amazing ride and is full of energy. If we don’t make our current stop at Tims too long, we should still be able to finish in less than 30 hours.

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386/610 km. St. Mary’s.

lonepiraterides — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 04:47:53 +0000

Home of the biggest damn cement plant and the nicest drunks in the universe. Nothing in the world more peaceful than night riding.

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290/610. Strathroy.

lonepiraterides — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 23:24:24 +0000

On the road for just over 13 hours and on track to finish sub-30 hours for any or all of us that can stay away during the night. Time for some tail winds!

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268/610

lonepiraterides — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 22:12:54 +0000

In Melbourne (Ontario). 4 men polishing off 6 kg of ice on an unplanned but desperately needed break from the sun. Despite the challenges of the heat and the wind, can one ever get enough of the beauty of Ontario?

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Port Stanley. 226/610km.

lonepiraterides — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 19:45:52 +0000

Land of wind/solar farms -says it all. Only a little more headwind, thank goodness! Then crosswind to Strathroy and then tailwind home. But, most importantly, yay Slushies!

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Tillsonburg. 147/610 km.

lonepiraterides — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 15:53:50 +0000

Head winds and heat. 3 great traveling companions, all strong riders. Having a love in with a freezie right now.

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Back Home!

lonepiraterides — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 04:28:13 +0000

I signed up for a 600 km ride this past summer with the Ontario Randonneurs, the local chapter of an international cycling organization which organizes long distances rides with time limits for completion. I joined the ride because I knew it would be a good training experience for the Lake Erie ride. I fully expected to ride alone because I didn’t know anyone and because people ride at different paces which especially makes a difference on longer rides. But, out of the 10 riders that showed up, 4 of us did end up falling in together and had a great time sharing the ride and supporting each other through the tough spots, and swapping stories since we were all into outdoor adventures of one sort or another.

At one point we tried to figure out what it was that attracted us to doing a 600 km ride and the only definitive answer that we could come up with was the personal satisfaction we felt at completing a challenge like that. That’s how I feel tonight! In spades! I really questioned last night and many times today if I was going to be able to finish. The spirit was great. The legs were great. It was just that unexpected but rather serious thing with my neck. I’m relieved (and grateful to my body) that I could.

And of course, there really is all the other stuff… the incredible scenery, the people who go out of their way to give you directions when you need them, the servers in restaurants who see you come in wearing your dusty biking gear and a tired look on your face and are extra helpful and friendly, the 100 or more people on riding lawnmowers that you exchange a smile and a wave with, the many many hours when you are riding along with a partially endorphin fueled grin on your face because you’re so happy to be travelling on a bike, the two police officers who pull you over and grill you (mail theft?), and all the many other small adventures within the adventure. Right now I’m so happy to be done and back home, but tomorrow I’ll be missing the road. Okay, a little bit of distorted thinking but…

Thank you to everyone who has supported this ride through helping with the fundraising and/or organizing, through donating financially, through offering support and encouragement before the ride – and during the ride! It is all hugely appreciated. Thank you to the Fundraising Committee and all my supportive colleagues at work. Thank you Tsehaie and Keesha for all of your amazing communications and moral support! Thanks to the gang that showed up on Thursday a.m. to give me such a great send off and to Tsehaie, Hugh and LoriAnn (straight from the airport) for being back at Christie Pits tonight to welcome me (and Carol) back.

Thank you Carol for putting up with these escapades and for driving out and providing such incredible moral support today. All those times you snuck in an extra drive by to make sure I was ok…

A big shout out to Tom for being at Christie Pits Thursday morning, in Grimsby and then Niagara Falls later to that day to take some video of me and then in Detroit much later to drive me across the border. I’m so grateful for your generosity. Please keep an eye on this blog for the next few days because we’ll be posting links to some of those videos – they are so much fun!

Thank you Sweet Pete’s, as always, for making sure the bike could make the trip!

Thank you ibuprofen!

Thank you SPOT for being so cool!

In the end though, the ride was really about raising awareness and funds for the United Way. The fundraising part of the fundraiser continues for a few more weeks yet so please continue to spread the word. We’re thrilled about our success so far and look forward to meeting our goal of $30,000! www.unitedwaytoronto.com/albertrides

And, Bill, this ride was for you! You’re missed!

Cheers, Albert

(Tomorrow: Chiropractor. Next year: Lake Huron?)

9 pm! Christie Pits!

lonepiraterides — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 01:23:36 +0000

What an adventure!

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8:40 – Royal York!

lonepiraterides — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 00:41:33 +0000

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