1st RTCC group ride - North Glenmore Park

on the conquercancer.ca site there were a couple of training rides that people could sign up for. i was lucky enough to get a spot with a training group held by Deanne Jabs of Leaping Dog Racing. we all met for the firt time at the North Glenmore Park in SW Calgary on Sunday April 19th at 1pm. the weather on Sunday was supposed to be a spectacular +20 degrees Celcius, but the overcast clouds was beggin to differ. after some waiver signing she introduced herself and her 2 assistants Allyson and Don.

L to R: Allyson, Deanne, Don




Some of the other riders as we listen to Deanne go over the basics.

there were about 15 participants that attended although Deanna mentioned that 30 people had signed up. we went around to everyone, each of us introducing ourselves, how long we've been riding and our personal reasons for doing the RTCC. everyone had a different background and different levels of cycling experience. but one thing was constant amongst us... that we have all been effected by cancer in some way. there were some there that had someone close to them die from cancer, some just recently. some that knew friends and family currently battling cancer. and there were even some people there that were battling cancer or have conquered cancer themselves. you could hear it in the way their voice cracked that this Ride meant more than just cycling 200km. it was much more. just in those introductions alone you were able to feel the true meaning of why we were all there, why we were all participating in the RTCC.

Deanne and crew went over the basics: proper fit and equipment you need for your bike, road safety, nutrition, training tips... it was all good info for us beginners (like me) and a good refresher for experienced riders. after about an hour of the talking portion we finally hit the road for some easy riding. Deanne mapped out a loop on the residential roads by the park, a loop she used to do with her triathalon teammates. the loop was pretty close to 7km long so if you didn't have a bike computer it would be easy to calculate your distance. the loop started along the road by the park then went into the nice residential neighborhoods surrounding the park. it had a slight incline, with a fast descent back down to the park. i was able to capture some video of the ride on my little camera mount (i'll try and have it posted soon). me being on a hybrid bike i slowly fell behind the main group who were mostly comprised of road bikers. or maybe it was just me being out of shape and not keeping up... i'll just blame the bike for now - lol. it does make me want a decent road bike now. no sense in using extra energy over 200km during the Ride.

i ended up doing 2 loops so 14km in total. there was a short followup session afterwards where Deanne was able to give us some road safety tips afterwards, many of us not following proper road rules *guilty!*. she took whoever wanted to still ride out for another loop but i opted to head home as i was still tired from my 40km the day before. overall, i'm really glad that i signed up for the sessions... not just for the training aspect of it all but also to meet other people that are striving to support the same cause and are going through the same blood, sweat and tears as me. thank you to Deanne and company for taking their own free time to help educate and train us fellow cyclers. i look forward to the next session.