Pictures (Finally!)

As promised, some pics:

First a mosquito larva at 10 times magnification:


Now a little stag beetle (of which there are many species and sizes). The pinchers are actually used for wrestling other male stag beetles, if it comes to that. Generally, though, they're more for show than anything, as a stag beetle with smaller pinchers will cede to the one with the larger pinchers. This pic is also 10 times magnification and is lit from the bottom so you get a better idea of the shape of it.


From one of my CSI: Bug files is this wing of a small fly that had fallen prey to a spider. As I was moving it around under the microscope lens, light was being refracted most beautifully.


And finally, a couple of pictures of the team (without me, I'm afraid - I had already been riding for an hour when the rest of them got to the start). See why we took home the Best Dressed title?



I'm still working, though only for another week. I have paid my tuition, so officially, I'm a student again. In another week or so I'll get my class schedule, photo id, books etc. and then enter the land of the learning.

Oy vey.

S.

Bike Tour

The bike tour is over for another year. We raised over $389,000 with more money coming in. We had newbie and veteran participants, younger and older, and it was truly a pile of fun. And, as always, very inspiring to everyone who participated.

One of the things our President (of the MS Society Atlantic Division) mentioned was how many of us achieved or surpassed personal goals, whether they were fund raising or biking related. I managed to bike 73 kilometres, averaging 14.3 k/hr. I made it up Mount Denson with only one stop. Last year, I made 3 or 4 stops. And I managed to make it up all but one kilometre of Gaspereau Mountain, which is an ascent of 140 metres in 4 kilometres. To those who are hard core bikers or participants in the Tour de France, it may not sound like much, but I'm impressed with my numbers. The one kilometre that I just couldn't bike was about 5 k from the end. I had come around the corner, thinking I was at the top, and there was more hill in front of me. I was literally devastated. I was out of steam at that point in time and gladly accepted a lift from one of the drivers. He dropped me off to finish the last few kilometres and I cruised into the university to end my Day One.

We had drizzle and fog for the first couple of hours of Day One and glaring sunshine and heat on Day Two. So I ended my second day a little early, with 15 kilometres left. The heat was sapping my energy more quickly than I anticipated so decided at the first rest stop that I would go until I got to the next rest stop and re-evaluate. After pulling into the small town where the 2nd rest stop was, I joined a few other team mates for a coffee at the local Tim Horton's (a national coffee shop chain). They carried on to the end and I called it a day about 2 minutes further down the road when I arrived at the rest stop.

Now that I've rested up today I can evaluate my body's reaction to the physical stress. I experienced a few spasms in my right calf while biking but they quickly subsided with stretches. My right forearm is a little sore today, but I suspect that was from coming down Gaspereau Mountain with a death grip on my handle bars to keep from becoming air bound. That should subside by tomorrow. Aside from that, my butt is fine, as are my legs.

Mentally, I was exhausted last night. I always go through so many emotions at this event as I see the struggle some people go through to bike the distance, the struggle many have had to raise funds during a time of economic difficulty, or to see the struggle some volunteers (with MS) have to go through to attend the event and participate as volunteers or participants. And of course, since last Thursday I've been trying to deal with my emotions about my employment situation. Many people were just finding out about it on the weekend and their reactions were universally ones of shock and encouragement. Their words truly lifted my spirits and even on Facebook today, I had a message from a participant thanking me for inspiring him to participate in the Bike Tour. It was wonderful to get that message. I often wonder if my words and deeds have any impact on people.

So now that it's all over for another year, I can concentrate with what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. Tomorrow I meet with a woman from a Human Resources company hired to help those of us laid off deal with the fallout from that. We'll figure out the financial and insurance aspects, and then sort out what to do about future employment.

Now for the pics:
I left before everyone arrived for the team photo so am not in it, but we all wore our super hero T-shirts with little capes on the back. We were known this year as the Super Cycle Delics.


We were all dressed in different super hero costumes for the banquet Saturday night. The Wookie was Superman, we had two Cat Womans, a couple of Incredibles, and a Spiderman. I was Myelin Girl and I was going around putting duct tape on people all night telling them they had been remyelinated. We were the 2 Runner up Top fund Raising team.


My hero: Wookie as Superman.


At the bottom of Gaspereau Mountain at the Gaspereau Winery. Many stopped for a sample of the wine there. I just wanted a picture with the vinyards in the background (it is called the Vinyards to Valleys Tour after all).

Bikes, Bears, and Beef

The Wookie and I went out on a logging trail today. About 6 k in there is a series of hiking trails set up by the logging company that owns or manages the land. They maintain the trail at their own expense. We didn't take the bikes on the hiking trail though it's apparently possible according to the two cyclists who emerged from the trail as we approached it. We could hear their bells long before we saw them. We have to get bells, too, for some of the trails we bike have bears. The two cyclists said they saw lots of bear signs, scat and tracks.

About 1/2 k from the hiking trail we came to a gate in the road. At the gate is a tiny bridge going over a fast moving stream where we stopped for some pics. First, the dragonfly that posed so patiently:

Then into the woods a few yards for a better look at the stream:


And finally, one of me.


All together it was a 14 k ride with a lot of rocky road uphill. Coming back was a relative breeze. On the way home we stopped at a local beef and chicken farm as it was Open Farm Day in the province and about 100 farms were participating by having "open house". I chatted with one of the farm workers about the beef cattle, we had burgers (and I felt a little guilty eating a burger in front of the animals), and the Wookie bought a free range chicken for beer can chicken later in the week. All in all a good day.

Fall arrives tomorrow. *sigh*

S.

Cycle to Walk

This morning as I pulled in to work I happened across a guy who is hand cycling across Canada to raise funds for Polio eradication. He was doing interviews with the local TV station.

Ramesh's story is quite incredible. Adopted from India by a Canadian couple he had contracted polio at 6 months of age. He began his cross Canada journey in April and is nearing the end of his trip.

I recall reading and hearing about polio as a young child but it wasn't until the 1980s that I really understood what the disease was all about and the fear it instilled in parents. To this day I don't understand why people don't vaccinate their children against a disease, when the risks of developing the disease are much greater than risk from side effects of the vaccination. Ramesh is hoping to promote vaccination and raise funds to eradicate the disease in developing nations such as India (he didn't receive a vaccination).

He's an inspiring young man. you can check out his website and blog at www.cycletowalk.com

Later today or tomorrow, you might even see a pic of me with some local construction guys posing with Ramesh.

S.

Pockwock Watershed

We got out for a bike ride yesterday as I planned though we were foiled by a fence and thick woods so had to turn back after 10k (more about that later). Still, 10k in and 10k out over rocky hilly terrain was quite the workout. Our journey hadn't even begun when the neighbour's rabbit hopped over to say hello. This was at the Wookie's house by the way. His neighbour Robert is the world's best landscaper and lawn keeper. He has a few pheasants that roam the area as well as the rabbit. I don't know how this WHITE rabbit has survived any number of predators. The Wookie lives about 17k from me and is much closer to deep woods than I am.So off we went. The area we were headed to is actually very close to where the Wookie lives. It's part of a protected watershed, with a water treatment plant 10k into the woods. There are some logging roads but very limited logging is going on. My first stop for a picture was a noticeable pile of sawdust in the middle of the road. Closer inspection revealed a decaying piece of wood.
And even closer inspection reveals a hole in the wood where a boring insect, probably a beetle, has gone into the wood. This is how some beetles live, boring holes into decaying wood and eating stuff. If it weren't for beetles eating crap, we'd be a really stinky planet.
Anyway, the trek continued on and at about the 5 k mark, the road became an overgrown trail. We could still make out where the tire ruts were but it was maily overgrown with grasses and weeds. We wondered about the frequency of trucks coming back on this part of the road as it appeared few, if any, had been here in the past year. By the time we got to the water treatment plant, we realized why. There's a shiny chain link fence around the plant and all kinds of no trespassing signs. We couldn't get through the fence and the woods apeared too thick to walk the perimeter. According to the trail maps and google earth we should have been able to go right around the lake that is the centre of this watershed. I particularly wanted to see the damn at the lake. So we turned around.The way back was going to be a little easier as it was generally a downward slope. There were still some hills to climb, but overall it was easier. Until I got to one hill and my chain slipped - and so did I.
It was a harder fall than my first one a few weeks ago and what the picture shows is just a tiny bit of the damage. Both legs are bruised up a bit as is my left hip/butt. I seem to be fine today, no worse for wear.

The Wookie of course.
One of our rewards for the trek. At this point we're about 8 k from the main highway and where we parked. It was mostly a gray day with some mist and fog early on, but we had a few breaks of sunshine here and there.
Of course there were some butterflies; this one is now part of my collection. It was on its last leg, so to speak, as it only had 3 legs (evidence of close calls with other creatures) and its wings were quite shabby. We also managed to see a gorgous milkweed type butterfly that eluded capture. The Wookie said my picture must be posted at the Butterfly Post Office as I could barely get near it.
There were two of these paw prints on the road and no others. No human tracks nearby. Probably coyote.
Another reward. These little "swamps" are all over the place and are miniature worlds all on their own. The next trek in that area will involve taking the right road as opposed to the left and we'll get to the lake going that route.

We've had very little rain since last night and it looks like Hanna will hit the Bay of Fundy which is north of us so we'll be spared (or at least less affected).

Now to plan the next ride!

S.

Bike Tour Wrap

Here I am. What a great weekend for the bike tour. I did the entire course the first day and skipped a couple of legs the second day for a total of about 80 kilometres. We had a slight change in the course from last year so had a few added hills. Rather than recap, here's my next article for Atlantic Pedaler e-zine:

Another year, another MS Bike Tour. Wow.

Actually, I took part in two bike tours this summer. The first was in New Brunswick the first weekend in July, the second was the last weekend in July in Nova Scotia. I knew that I would only be riding the first day in the NB tour as I had only been back on the bike for a month at that point and didn't want to push too hard and risk injury. I was ready for two days of riding for the NS tour though. What a rush this event is, for two different reasons.

For years I have been a volunteer at this event, manning a rest stop, driving a support vehicle, working with the ham radio operators or MCing the banquet on Day One. Two years ago, when I began riding a bike to support my boyfriend's efforts at training for the ride, I never imagined I'd be riding, too. But I did last year and now two tours this summer. The idea that I'd be riding a bike for 50 kilometres two days in a row was absolutely unimaginable a couple of years ago. It still gives me a little thrill to think of myself as an athlete. In school I was usually picked last or close to last for team sports so to be able to say that I bike 100 k over two days is exciting.

The other rush comes from thinking about the sheer number of people who fundraise all year long and then give up at least a weekend in the summer to bike in whatever weather Mother Nature throws at them or the people who volunteer to man a rest stop or be a flagger at railroad tracks or fix broken bikes or or or....All those people who come together because they want to support the MS Society. I can't even begin to explain the warm fuzzies I get just thinking about it. It never fails to bring tears to my eyes at least once on the weekend.

And for those interested in numbers, we had around 500 riders registered for the NS ride, with over $475,000 turned in to the MS Society before the weekend. More will trickle in before summer's end.

I would like to thank Ken Trenholme for allowing me to tell you about my experiences with becoming a cyclist in my 40s and as a person with MS and of course for being able to promote the MS Bike Tour through Atlantic Pedaler. I hope that I've entertained, at the very least, and increased awareness about a wonderful event for a wonderful cause.

Enough sappiness. I'll leave you with my Top Ten Clues that you've been bitten by the cycling bug:

10. You start calling everyone close to you "Lance".
9. You experiment with a bicycle powered lawn mower.
8. You think your car looks naked without a bike on it.
7. You match your bike shoes to the colour of your bike.
6. You bring your bike with you when buying a new vehicle to test fit.
5. You sleep in your bike clothes.
4. And shoes.
3. You can't put anything in the trunk of your car because it's full of cycling gear or there's a bike rack on it.
2. You consider getting rid of furniture in your home to make room for bikes.
1. When someone asks how many bikes you need, the answer is always "One more".



Looking back after crossing Sangster's Bridge and halfway up a hill.

Looking in the other direction from Sangster's Bridge. Then on to the top of the hill and what did I find? A hammock. I went to the door of the house, which turns out to be a heritage property. Two lovely ladies were there and took the picture for me and invited me back anytime. I also invited them to join us on the bike tour next year. We just may see them.

This is Geoff Regan, my Member of Parliament in Ottawa. With Cranky Baby of course.
And here's the majority of my team getting ready to bike the last half kilometre to the finish line. We like to finish as a team when possible.
Of course I met a bunch of new people, ran into old friends, and even my neurologist and Member of Parliament were participating. Dr. Murray retired earlier this month, this was his first bike tour. I had sent a request for a donation from my MP as he had given one last year, but I never heard back from him. Imagine my surprise when I saw him at the lunch stop on the first day. He was participating as a rider. That explains why he didn't sponsor me; he was looking for his own sponsors.

The team the Wookie and I ride with are the Cycledelics. Every year we have a theme and this year were known as the Cycle-Dudes. Dressed as surfers with Bermuda shorts and loud shirts, pukka (sp?) shell and hemp necklaces and singing our cheer to the tune of Surfin' USA we were quite a sight - and sound. After the ride yesterday most of us congregated at the home of our captiain for a pool party and planning session for next year's theme. Yes, we get started early. And no, I can't reveal our theme as it's top secret until the Day One of next year's ride.

Today will be spent putting stuff away and writing thank you notes to my donors. And probably a nap.

S.

NS Rona MS Bike Tour

Tonight, the Wookie and I went out to dinner for a little pasta before the big bike ride this weekend. I could have eaten the whole bowl, but I didn't. I'm having the other half of my dinner for breakfast tomorrow...lol.

And I'm not quite cheating on my weight loss program, either. I ate a little more starches than I should have, but not a lot, and it will be burned off soon anyway. My God, it was good. I also had a spinach salad and two large glasses of lemon water. Oh, and a little piece of sponge cake.

My bag is packed, bike gear ready and waiting, Cranky Baby in tow, and off I go...found out today that my now retired neurologist is also riding the tour this weekend. It'll be his first, but I suspect he'll finish before I do.

I managed to secure more than $5,000 in donations and to those of you who have contributed: "Thank you!".

Check back in a couple of days for pics and details about the ride. Wheeeeeee!!!

S.

Stationary Bike Ride

This morning I was up at 4, out the door at 4:40, and at work at 5 to set up a tent and my bicycle to join the morning show, Griff and Caroline, to promote the heck out of the Bike tour and raise some money. I rode my bike for 4 hours (yes, the butt is numb).

In a word, Success! I received over $450 from folks on their way to work and another online donation as well. I'll wait for the end of the day to determine who made the largest single donation and shave their name or place of business in the back of my head. Pictures to follow...I promise.

S.

Bike Tour Preparation

That's Ed from Cyclesmith with Cranky Baby checking my bike to make sure it's good to go for the Rona MS Bike Tour.
Cranky Baby trying to get a little closer to the action. Or Ed. I think she's got a crush on this guy. For years, the great people at Cyclesmith have been sponsors of the Bike tour. I frequent their shop in Halifax, though not yet this summer. I will be going there soon, though, as I really need some new bike shorts.

I am having a four day weekend - yay! Tomorrow, Friday, I will be setting up my bike in front of work, soliciting donations for the Bike Tour from all those on their way to work, and handing out Kool FM T-shirts. It's a busy street and the morning show will be having me on the air with them. I hope people are generous.

On Saturday, I'll be speaking at the Hoops for Hope Girls Basketball Tournament. The guy who put this tourney together has MS and is also a B-ball coach. This is the second year for the tourney. To see all these young women together is inspiring. They play their little hearts out and the entrance fees are donated to the MS Society.

Next weekend I will be in New Brunswick for the Bike Tour there. A few of us from the Cycledelics are making the journey to take part and I'll be MCing the dinner after the first day. It's a little longer than the Nova Scotia tour, though apparently not as many hills (mountains in my mind). I'm planning on riding the first day and driving a support vehicle for Day 2. Then the countdown begins to the NS ride at the end of July. I should be ready to do the two day ride by then. Remember, I missed 5 weeks of training this spring.

This is Randy. He was at the Bike tune up the other night. Randy came from the National MS office for some meetings and loved Cranky Baby. But who doesn't, right?

S.

Bike column #4

This is the fourth in a series of articles I've written for Atlantic Pedaler E-zine about biking with MS.

Getting to the Bottom of Biking

Because of unrelated health issues, I have been unable to ride my bike since April 30th. Keeping my fingers crossed, I'm going to try a little the first week of June (maybe even as you are reading this) to get ready for the MS Bike Tour. I have been doing a little prep work in advance of getting on the bike, mainly gardening with lots of up and downs, and stairs.

I have mentioned that before I even began riding I spent two months at the gym (makes me sound sooooo athletic, doesn't it?). My reasoning was that I wanted to be able to get on the bike and not be discouraged by lack of physical fitness. And to a degree it worked. I was able to go much farther than I thought I'd be able. The only problem was the seat. I wanted to be comfortable on a bike seat for long periods of time, and at my leisurely pace a regular bike seat just wasn't going to cut it.

The search began for something like a tractor seat. I'm not kidding, either. That's how I phrased it when I went in to Sport Wheels in Lower Sackville. The owner thought about it for a minute, then said, "I've got just the thing". And he came back with the biggest bike seat I've ever seen. It's about a foot across. He told me he got one for his mom's exercise bike. So now I'm feeling a little bit old and decrepit, but I bought it and put it on the bike. Simply put, it is one of the most comfortable seats I've ever sat on. And I don't care how silly it looks (and it does). It generates a lot of interest by on-lookers, I've gotten a few smiles from people, and few expressions of interest in buying it. I often offer to let folks try sitting on it. One day while taking the bike off the car 3 boys came by on skateboards. "Whoa, dudes.....look at the pimped out bike!" At least a few preteens thought I was cool.

I think I understand the reasoning and the physics behind some of those extraordinary bike seats I've seen, you know the ones with holes in them or specially designed to accomodate male genitalia, or the one with the two teeny tiny little pads for a teeny tiny little butt. And I know that speed demons spend little time resting on their laurels, so to speak. I can't imagine getting on one of those things. My giant seat did the trick for my first year of riding. I got a fairly large gel seat for last year's bike tour on my hybrid, but my tractor seat will stay on the mountain bike. The whole point of being more comfortable was to stay longer on the bike and therefore get more exercise. It worked! Someday, I may have a bike built for speed and one of those high tech seats, but I'm no Lance Armstrong and I'm not in a race. I just want to stay upright, finish if I can, and raise money for a worthy cause.

S.

Biking Column #2 and a Cranky Baby Update

Here's my second column for the Atlantic Pedaler. It'll be in next month's issue.

As I stated in my last column I was diagnosed with MS in 1998. My right side was affected leaving me unable to hold a pen or brush my teeth effectively or even tie my shoes. I had another attack 18 months later that hit the left side of my face, leaving me with a lopsided smile and a lisp. My third attack was last August and was a recurrence of my initial symptoms but to a much lesser degree. Throughout the past 10 years I have had to deal with extreme fatigue and on occasion some pretty intense pain. I estimate that I have recovered 97% of what I lost with each attack.

My purpose in writing this column is to educate folks about MS, publicize the MS Bike Tour, and solicit funds for this cause. I am not the poster child for MS, though an argument could be made that I should be the poster child for best case scenario for MS.

MS has given me a number of things for which I am grateful. One of those things is discovering cycling. Over the years I have tried different sports and physical activities to keep active but have never really "gotten into" anything. I never experienced a runner's high or felt really great and energized after a workout. I did not like exercise. And exercise seemed to do little for me. As a kid I had a bike and rode it everywhere. I even rode a little bit in my 20s. But two years ago at the age of 42 I took it up again to encourage my boyfriend's training for the 2006 Rona MS Bike Tour. In a matter of days I was hooked. Within weeks I was cycling every chance I could, even if I only had time for a 5 k ride, I went out. I wasn't fast, or graceful, and probably looked pretty dorky, but it was soooooooooo much fun. And I was coming home sweaty and muddy (with any luck I'd find a puddle to go through) which was a bonus. It meant that I was getting a good workout (the sweaty part) and enjoying it (the muddy part). I liked exercise for the first time in my life. I was also energized from the activity and not worn out. My weight didn't change as I was building muscle mass and losing fat at the same time, but I looked and felt great.

As an added bonus to the biking I was exploring trails around the HRM. I'm a nature nut, so was able to put together a little kit for collecting specimens of insects I wanted to inspect up close. It all fits into a pack on the pannier. Butterflies, moths, and beetles were within reach. Not to mention the toads and frogs I could catch to take a closer look (then let them go).

I live in Bedford so it's nothing for me to hop on the bike at Hammonds Plains road and cycle to the Superstore, pick up the Bedford Sackville Connector Trail to Sackville and back for a good 14 k ride after work. After traveling this trail for a while I became involved with the Sackville Rivers Association which is another bonus for me. We go out to do repairs on rivers and streams in the watershed and that leads to discovering more trails I can bike. And more creatures for me to investigate.

I had been itching to get on the bike again and so ventured out twice recently. The harsh winds and subsequent snow have driven me inside again but not for much longer. I've got warm bike pants, a fleece band to cover my ears, and goggles and I'm not afraid to use them.

S.

The goggles I use are actually my chemistry lab goggles from my first year at university. I wear them when cutting up garlic and onions and have worn them in snowstorms. They're not too bad for biking, too. All right....pictures will follow, eventually.

I met up with Cranky Baby's mom yesterday. I now have a matching Happy Face button just like Cranky Baby to wear on my biking jacket. And Cranky Baby has a few new t-shirts from the dollar store. And yes, as soon as the weather clears a little more, there will be pictures.

On your Mark, Get Set....

Go!!!
Two years ago, my hunk of hugs, John, sometimes referred to as Wookie (which is another post sometime), said he wanted to do the MS Bike Tour. It has varied in length over the years but is a minimum 100 kilometres (about 60 miles) over two days. It has an optional 60 more k as well for the masochists out there.

So John began training and I bought myself a mountain bike to train with him. Not being very athletic, ever, but keen on encouraging the man and getting myself outside and in better shape, I joined him. Almost before the bike tour I had decided to do the next one which was in 2007. So I continued to train and bought a hybrid bike as the mountain bike isn't suitable for the road. And I did the tour last summer.

Because of where I live, weather is not really the greatest for riding this time of year and we will undoubtedly have a couple more storms before Mother's Day (sometimes after!); but I'm itching to get outside again. I dug out the bike over the weekend and set off today to get myself warmed up. The mountain bike is good to train on for short distances and is wonderful in the woodsy trails. I was out riding for about a half hour and enlisted some locals to take a pic.

In the background is the town of Bedford, where I live, and the historic Bedford Basin where the convoys prepared to head overseas during world War 2. I often bike all the way around and back in the spring and summer as there is a great training road with all kinds of hills (yech). It's a great way to measure my progress as it takes fewer stops to get up those hills each time I bike it.

It's a start...

S.

Back to the Gym

So it's that time of year...back to the gym to prepare for biking season. A little strength training and some cardio plus a couple of weekly winter time rides on the mountain bike should get me back to where I was last summer. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I've been terribly inactive for the past few months.

On a side note, the woman working at the gym, who I have never met in my life, suggested I dye all of my hair. As it is, I leave a bit of grey on the front, but I've never had a complete stranger suggest such a thing to me. But she redeemed herself when, commenting on the thickness of my hair, she said my head must be full of poop for my hair to grow so quickly and thickly.

S.

MS Bike Tour - Part One

I haven't written about the MS Bike Tour yet. I have been thinking about where to start. For the past nine years I have been going to the bike tour, 7 times as a volunteer flagger, rest stop attendant, support vehicle driver, or aide to the Halifax club HAM radio operators who do communications. One year I was only able to attend the finish line for a short period to cheer on the bikers. Never did I think I could do what these athletes do. And not because of having MS, but simply because I haven't been physically active for years. Last year my boyfriend (who I also have neglected to write about so far, but will) declared his intention to cycle. I had a 3 month trial at the local Nubody's Gym so offered to get myself in better shape, get a bike, and bike with him to help him train.

Little did I know that the simple purchase of a mountain bike would get me more active than I had ever been in my life. Pretty soon I was out on that bike as much as I could be, racing down rock strewn hills, splashing through every single puddle I could find, and eventually having a few falls. Ooooo! Battle scars!

So John did the Bike Tour as a participant, raising over 5 grand in 2006. I was already signed up for the event for 2007 also as a participant. Over the winter I bought a hybrid and had it set up in my room on a trainer so I could ride it. By March I was so anxious to get on the road, I braved the chilly weather and got outside. John and I trained together on weekends by riding some of the longer trails around the city(20-30 k) and during the week I did shorter jaunts within my neighbourhood, especially some pretty rough hills (10-15k).

A week before the Tour we did a 45 k ride. And I knew I could do the bike tour.

When the temperature hits 20 degrees, I start to slow down. I try to keep cool in order to function as a human being and not a land snail. I have a cool pack I wear in my helmet to keep my head cool, and a neck cooler as well, plus a well stocked camel back pack.

Day 1 of the Tour started at 6 AM for me. Up early to load the car and head to Windsor. Unload, sign up, say hi to folks I haven't seen for a year, and then on the road at 8. The official starts are between 9 and 10, but there was no way I'd be able to bike during the noon hour on what would be the hottest day of the summer.

I made a lot of stops along the way, at least half the 400 plus riders passing me, but that was what I had planned. I had 20 some other teammates who knew I was on the road early, as well as staff from the MS Society, and all the HAM radio folks looking out for me. I drank 3 litres of water between 8 and 12:15 when I finally rolled in to Acadia University.

I will continue this post at a later time and tell you about Day 2. But know that this event was probably one of the most uplifting of my life. The camraderie of the cyclists is wonderful, with folks cheering you on along the way, the support vehicles and rest stops manned by fantastic volunteers who will look after you no matter what - it is, quite simply, an amazing experience.

So when are you signing up for 2008?

S.