We made it!! - the view from the back of the Tandem

Submitted by Margaret Benson

I¹ve been meaning to write a little blurb letting everyone know what it is like to ride on the back of the tandem, but I haven't had the time (planning our pub night fun(d) raiser) and I also wanted it to be memorable.

Oh, was Saturday ever memorable. Stan was correct, Brian and I headed out, in the rain, to ride the big mountain, Cypress.  

I have to admit it seemed a bit daunting at first, but I had my trusty steed, guide, mountain man and crazy husband up front to lead the way. I had no choice and what could go wrong????

Before I go on, I need to answer a question everyone has been asking, "Why ride on the back of a tandem, don¹t you want to ride on your own?" First, I'm not a confident rider and don¹t own a road bike, plus Brian and I have been through a lot, and I mean A LOT, why not do one more crazy adventure together?

The next question people have asked, "Do you trust Brian on the front of the bike? I don't think I could trust anyone in that situation." Simply put, I trust him with all my heart and I couldn¹t imagine doing this journey with anyone else, but him.

Living with Cystic Fibrosis and going through a double lung transplant, "TRUST" is not just a word, it is a life style. Every day of my life I have had to trust: doctors, nurses, physiotherapist, IV specialists, surgeons,
researchers, pretty much everyone I'm surrounded by I have had to trust. Life is about trusting others with your heart, pain, secrets, tears, joys, laughs, adventures, dreams and trusting they will be true to you. In the twenty three years that Brian and I have been together "Trust" has been a huge part of our relationship, so who better to do this journey with then him!

Back to today's adventure. We headed up the mountain dressed for wet weather, but knowing we would be working hard to climb the mountain, we did not overdress. The best part about being on the back of the tandem, I have a little more freedom to enjoy the view and not just of Brian's backpack and helmet, but the beauty of the surroundings. Today, despite the rain, fog and cold weather, was magical. I noticed birds flying through the trees, heard grouse beating their wings, saw numerous waterfalls large and small, was amazed by the flora on the forest floor, but for me the most beautiful thing of all; my breath. Something as simple as that makes a day like today, magical. I remember 11 years ago I couldn't breathe with ease, I needed the help of an oxygen tank, I struggled for every breath. Don't get me wrong; I was struggling for breath, but for a different reason.

I also was thinking of the reasons behind the GearUp ride. I'm pedaling for all those living with CF struggling for every breath, those waiting for transplant, those who lost their battle with CF and for my donor and donor
family and giving thanks. Thinking of the purpose made climbing Cypress Mountain was a breeze.

At one point, I started to breathe and whistle at the same time, something I do to help me breathe easier, to which my trusty steed said, "If you can whistle, you¹re not working hard enough, pedal harder." He's such a
spoilsport. His first rule of the road for riding on the back of the tandem is: "Yakity Yak Don't Talk Back" I wasn't talking, I was whistling. Rule number two: "If you can whistle, you¹re not pedaling hard enough". Pedal/don't whistle. FINE!!!!!

 Brian was anticipating it would take us two to three hours to ride up to the top. He was very pleasantly surprised we got to the top in one hour and thirty nine minutes. Not bad for a tandem. We had a steady pace going up, faster then we expected. At the top we took a few pictures, had a bite to eat, got into some warmer clothes for the trip down. I thought I had brought way too many clothes for the trip down; seriously I could have worn a fur-lined parka and still not had enough clothes. It was freezing for me on the back with Brian
as my wind block, all I could think about was how cold he must have been. I didn't dare complain. Ducking my head down, shivering, teeth chattering I hoped for a speedy decent. Half way down I asked, "Are you OK?" To which I got, "OK, but fricken freezing." I kept my mouth shut.

Twenty minutes later we were at the truck, knees knocking, lips and fingers blue, soaking wet, but happily grinning ear to ear. We did it! We climbed Cypress Mountain on our tandem bike. Eleven years ago when I was dying of CF did I ever in my wildest imagination think I would ride a bike up Cypress Mountain. NEVER!

...but now I can say, "I did it" with my trusty steed  Brian.

One more thing to take off my "To Do" list.

- Margaret





Would you like to sponsor a favorite rider? Click on their name anywhere on this journal to open their "bio" on the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation GearUp4CF web site, click on the button "Sponsor this Rider", and you will join our team!

A rainy ride part-way up Cypress

Submitted by Stan

Well, there's training rides and then there's training rides. This one was a sodden journey into North Vancouver that took me out to Horseshoe Bay, up that brutal climb to the upper levels highway via Westport Road I did two weeks ago, and part-way up Cypress before heading down the mountain for some much needed hot coffee.

A dreary view of the ocean on Marine Drive just outside of UBC--->

What a difference from last weekend.  Today was cold, and wet.  Very, very wet.  The clouds wrapped the mountain with a clammy fog that started at the viewpoint, not unlike my ride to Seymour a few weeks ago.  Not exactly a good day to go climbing up the big hills on the North Shore. I knew this, but we have only 21 days left.  The more hill climbing we do now, the better.

<--Stan, feel'in the cold.

Thankfully, my regular riding group, Le Peloton, were there to keep me company. We rode up together in a close pack, looking back over our shoulders to make absolutely sure that no one was dropped. That can be pretty discouraging on a day like this, and really, there's no reason.  We're all going up the mountain at basically the same pace, so why not stay together? Besides, it's more fun that way - if you can call this fun!

My soaking wet gear at the end of the ride.  Thank goodness this day is done. -->

Most of the GearUp4CF Vancouver team wisely rode south today, away from the mountains.  Now that I'm back and have had a hot shower, I'm convinced they made the right choice.  However, I heard last night that Brian and Margaret Benson were going to try to make up Cypress mountain today... on their Tandem bike!  That's pretty brave, on a day like this.  I sincerely hope they make it.

<--My route today, 97.4km. Calories burned, 3603.

My elevation profile. For more details, click here. The arrow shows the short, sharp grade up Westport Road, as high as 21%.  -->

Why are we doing this? I just have to think of Roman, Madison and Hailey, the kids I'm riding for in June.

<--with their mom, Jacqueline

Roman, in hospital recently-->

I must be prepared for this epic ride. I simply cannot let them down.  Please, if you have not done so already, help us to make this ride a success by sponsoring a rider.  Because, far more important than climbing mountains, are your contributions to fund lifesaving research into better treatments and ultimately a cure for Cystic Fibrosis.  The children and young adults we are riding for are depending on it.

- Stan

Would you like to sponsor a favorite rider? Click on their name anywhere on this journal to open their "bio" on the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation GearUp4CF web site, click on the button "Sponsor this Rider", and you will join our team!

Our GearUp4CF Vancouver Team climbs Cypress!

Submitted by Stan

Well, we did it. On Victoria Day, a dedicated team of GearUP4CF riders met at Cindy's Cafe on Marine Drive in West Vancouver to embark on our first big group ride up one of the local mountains.  This was terrific training, as the grade up Cypress approximates what we'll be facing on most of the mountain passes on our way to the Rockies.

Tom and Susan rode over from Vancouver (as did I, via a separate route). Rebecca and Andrea joined us a little later; just in time for me to breathlessly have some coffee and orange juice before heading up the hill.

<--Left to right: Andrea, Rebecca, Tom, Susan and Stan. Click on photo to enlarge.

We started up 21st avenue, with a short. 1.7 km but very sharp grade approaching 13%, until we reached the Upper Levels highway, eventually reaching the turnoff to Cypress Mountain.

Overlooking the viewpoint, 

halfway up Cypress Mountain-->

<-- the view from my bike, about six kilometers up the mountain.

From the base, it's a grueling 12 kilometers at a nearly continuous 7-8% grade until the top, the Cypress Mountain ski area.



The mountain flowers are beautiful this time of the year











Sad to say, my Garmin GPS ran out of working memory and only stored summary data.  So that nice plot of our route and hill profile is not available today.  Some details are available, though. Click here if you are really interested.

You can basically see what we did, however, in the elevation profile below taken of my ride up Cypress last week.

My elevation profile from last week's ride. nearly identical to the ride we did this week. --->

<--We're at the top!  Left to right,  Rebecca, Andrea, Tom and Susan .  I'm taking the picture.

This was the first time Tom and Rebecca had climbed Cypress to the top of the ski area.  Tom recalled that he had attempted it last year, but back then he could only just barely make it halfway, up to the Cypress Mountain viewpoint.  Tom has since lost over 30 pounds and is looking very fit. What a difference a year makes. Both he and Rebecca easily made it up the mountain. And Andrea! Andrea playfully rode circles around all of us heading up the hill. Both amazing athletes in their own right, I suspect Andrea and Susan, who was right at the front of the pack, will be leading all of us up the big mountain passes in June.  From what I can see, our GearUp4CF Vancouver team is looking pretty good.



To our riders:  With the warmer weather now upon us, this is a great time to do some big hills (or lots of repeated smaller ones), if you are not already.  Don't overdo it, but aim to carefully build strength and endurance over the next few weeks.  And don't forget core strength.  Make sure to work on your trunk and torso at the gym during your leg 'recovery days'. It will help stabilize the spine from the pelvis to the neck and shoulder, and, with more inner  strength, let you lighten up on the handlebars when riding. That, in turn, can help lower stress on your hands and shoulders that sometimes happens when cycling for hours.  Core strength training has made a huge difference for me in feeling more relaxed on those long rides.

- Stan


Only 24 days until we're on our way!

Would you like to sponsor a favorite rider? Click on their name anywhere on this journal to open their "bio" on the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation GearUp4CF web site, click on the button "Sponsor this Rider", and you will join our team!

Training in Richmond and Steveston

Submitted by Stan

After climbing three local mountains in three weeks, it was time to do some hard, fast riding on the flats again.  The weather was chilly at first but warmed up, but with strong headwinds heading out to Iona (the road next to Vancouver Airport), then along River Road.


But I was riding with my regular cycling group, Le Peloton this week, who lived up to their "peloton" style of group riding - very consistent, predictable, cooperative riding, allowing for closely spaced lines of riders to help make the wind to aerodynamically flow around them.

<--Our route today, plotted on my bike's Garmin GPS, basically all over Richmond, Steveston and UBC.  Total distance, 123 km. For more details, click here.

Our route profile ... pretty flat!-->

I've mentioned before how riding in a "peloton", i.e., forming a paceline or echelon to ride as an integrated unit, can result in enormous energy savings. I found out that out pretty quickly today when we were riding along River Road in Richmond and somehow 'missed the train' when moving to the back of the line during a normal rotation. Before I knew it, I was about 10 meters behind everyone else. Not by much, deadly in a strong headwind. It was such hard work!  Worse, I really had to struggle to catch up.  Once back in the slipstream, though, it seemed as if the wind had suddenly dropped. I felt I could ride like this for hours.

Tip to riders:   The main secret to cycling in a peloton (click here for details) is to ride very, very predictably.  That means, at all costs, don't hit the brakes. That will, at the very least, unnerve riders behind you, forcing them to give up more distance between the wheels, and lose a huge energy advantage in breaking wind resistance. New and unexperienced group riders may not realize how uneven their riding really is. This takes a lot of practice. It certainly took me awhile, and a few grumbles from my incredibly patient cycling group before I finally caught on.

What I really like about the "peloton" style of riding, beyond obvious energy savings, is that it gives an opportunity to socialize. It's easy to chat together when we're riding together as a group.  So, it's a lot of fun.  If you are not used to riding in this style, let's give it a try the next time we're riding together.

On Monday (Victoria Day): our GearUp4CF Team in Vancouver is planning to climb Cypress mountain. Looking forward to it!

- Stan


Would you like to sponsor a favorite rider? Click on their name anywhere on this journal to open their "bio" on the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation GearUp4CF web site, click on the button "Sponsor this Rider", and you will join our team!

A team ride to Horseshoe Bay

- Submitted by Stan

What a great day for a training ride yesterday.  I joined up with several of my fellow GearUp4CF team riders at 10th and Cypress at 7:30 AM, after doing a short loop out to UBC (see route map, below).

Tom Evans and Susan Edmison had organized this trek out to Horseshoe Bay. Since they organized it, of course, there just had to be a mandatory stop at Central Bistro off Denman street for massive 'energy enhancing' breakfast. I don't usually do this before a big ride, I was happy as it gave me a chance to get to know my fellow riders a bit better.

<--In front of the Bistro.  Left to right:  Linda (a friend of Susan and Tom),  Rebecca, Justin, Susan, Tom, Stan



Susan and Tom had a big surprise for us.  When we stopped at the Bistro, they took off their bike helmets to reveal..... their amazing hair!!

Susan and Tom, sporting their new "Eva" hair color-->

Susan and Tom had, in memory of Eva Markvoort, taken on her her trademark flaming red hair. They looked pretty good! Susan and Tom showed off their new hair last night when they appeared at the grand opening of the 65 Red Roses art exhibit on Granville Island.  If you are in Vancouver, you simply must see this exhibit, on display until June 16th.

During breakfast,  Rebecca, a young post doctoral researcher, told how she has moved west to work in David Speert's lab at Children's Hospital , that specializes in Cystic Fibrosis research.  Her special research interest will be to learn why the inflammatory response to infections is so different in CF. By understanding this better, improved treatment may be possible, with, ultimately improved outcomes for the children we are riding for.  This is the sort of work that is actively being done in Vancouver, considered a leading center of CF research in Canada.  And this is why your research support through GearUp4CF is so important.

Justin works in a research laboratory at Children's Hospital near the lab where  Rebecca will soon be. He has worked in CF research as well.  While we were having breakfast, Justin explained that many of the specialized techniques he uses can be applied to doing cutting edge research in CF.  Both Rebecca and Justin have a keen understanding of the important work that is currently underway, and both will be riding with us to Banff. I am looking forward to learning more about their research along the way, along with James Zlosnik, also a leading researcher in Vancouver who is studying the bacterial pathogens that cause so many problems for people with CF.  When you think about it, we have quite an amazing team of riders this year.

We rode through Stanley Park, then over the Lions Gate Bridge, where, on arriving in West Vancouver, we met up with Margaret and Brian Benson, riding on their trademark tandem bike. Seeing them ride together,  perfectly synchronized, is a pleasure to watch.

<--Margaret and Brian at Horseshoe Bay

It is all the more remarkable because Margaret, quite an athlete in her own right, has Cystic Fibrosis herself. She has reached an amazing level of fitness thanks to her successful double lung transplant.  Later, Brian gave me a chance to try handling the bike with him riding on the back.  I could not believe how difficult it is to do! Every minor shift in weight had to be carefully anticipated, or you could easily find yourself on the pavement.  It gave me a whole new appreciation for what a challenge they are undertaking, cycling up the Hope Princeton highway with us to Manning Park this year.

 Margaret rides behind Brian on a Tandem bike. As you can see, she has "special" instructions from Tom: "Yakity Yak, Don't talk back!".

We made it to Horseshoe Bay in excellent time, taking a few minutes to get a photo of everyone near the park in front of Sewell's Marina.

<--Left to right: Justin, Stan, Linda (Susan's friend), Rebecca, Susan, Tom, Brian and Margaret (click on photo to enlarge)

From there, we parted company, almost everyone returning home to Vancouver via Marine Drive.  I headed off up towards Cypress Mountain to repeat the route I did last week.  Along the way, I managed to fix a 'little' problem, a loose screw that had been making my right cleat fall out of the pedal.  It was a good thing, as the grade going up Westport Road from Marine Drive to the Upper Levels highway is between 18 and 21% in places. I needed all the help I could get! Thankfully, we won't be seeing grades like that during our tour in June. Cypress mountain, about 12 km to the top, has a constant grade of about 8-9% which is more typical of most of the mountain passes we will be doing this summer. The real worry is that a number of them are 25 to 30 kilometers in length, which means endurance training now is pretty important.

My route yesterday.  Total distance: 115 km,  Energy used during the ride (based on heart rate calculations from my Garmin GPS): 4547 calories.  After a ride like that, you can eat anything! For more details, click here -->

<--My elevation profile for the ride, plotted on my GPS. The arrow shows the rather steep hill from sea level on Marine Drive to the Upper Levels Highway via Westport Road, on the way to Cypress mountain. The grade reached 18-21% in places (click on the photo to enlarge).



With my pedal clip now working fine, cycling up Cypress was pretty easy.  I'm feeling stronger, and my weight, although not too bad, is reaching the level I need to be by June 19th... a good sign. On Tuesday, however, I'm getting a cardiac stress test in order to check that my heart is really OK to do this ride. No worries, I just want to make sure.  (Updated May 18th: I passed my stress test with flying colors.)

On reaching the top of Cypress, I tucked my head and elbows tightly into the bike to lower wind resistance and rocketed straight back down the mountain at a thrilling 70 kph.  I continued on from there, enjoying the brilliant sunshine, and perfect riding conditions.

It was great getting to know some of my fellow GearUp4CF cyclists a bit better yesterday.  I am looking forward to our next team ride!

- Stan

Would you like to sponsor a favorite rider? Click on their name anywhere on this journal to open their "bio" on the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation GearUp4CF web site, click on the button "Sponsor this Rider", and you will join our team!

WHY?

Submitted by Kitty Chavarie


Hello my friends, 


Although I have no one in my family that has CF I am still doing this crazy fundraising ride of 1200 km to Banff next month,  I am no jock...to be honest I may be a bit crazy as I dont' have the real sleek riders body or "cycle knowledge" that some of our participants have and folks keep asking me if I can "DO THIS" and why would I anyways...been thinking about that and have finally come up with a real explanation.

When I was younger and heard stories of Philanthropy and what it meant to have so much money you could just gift it away to folks, ideas or beliefs without any reason just because you "want to"...thought it was so cool and if I turned out to be rich I wanted to be a philanthropist  (sounds amost as good as Dr. to me, without having to go to 
school forever!) WELL as some of you know I am not rich, have no rich relatives that are going to leave me money and don't buy lottery tickets OR gamble SOOOO there is little or no chance of me having buckets of moola to throw around in this lifetime.

BUT I am happy, healthy and love a good reason to get up everyday.  This CF ride has given me my philanthropy fix...I feel rich that I can give back something without any catch...just want to do good for the world and well this I can do. Please don't thank me, I am excited to be doing this, it is an honor to have someone I have never met feel good someone is trying to help with no strings attached...

To me this is what belonging to the human race means, giving back.  Please share this with any families or friends who don't "get" the why for me so they can see that sometimes life is just about doing and being, not getting


...sincerely from Kitty


Would you like to sponsor a favorite rider? Click on their name anywhere on this journal to open their "bio" on the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation GearUP4CF web site, click on the button "Sponsor this Rider", and you will join our team!

Teammate Margaret and Brian Benson's Sun Run yesterday

Submitted by Stan

While I was having my little adventure up Cypress Mountain yesterday, fellow teammates Brian and Margaret Benson were running in a rather special category of the Vancouver Sun Run yesterday - the Medical and Health division. Their team? The Gift of Life Organ Donation Works team.

The Gift of Life Organ Donation Works Team--->

Margaret, who has lived with Cystic Fibrosis all her life, is living proof that organ donations really do work. Her story can be found here. But what is truly remarkable is Brian and Margaret's team came in 29th out of 60 Medical and Health team competitors! Margaret's smiling comment: "Just for the record I beat Brian's time by quite a margin... not that I'm competitive or anything."

I am excited to know Margaret and Brian will be riding with us the first two days of our journey to the Canadian Rockies. Check out some of their other entries elsewhere in this journal as they train on their tandem bike. (for starters, click here ) In the meantime, they're having a great fundraiser in support of the ride, a "Burger and Beer" Pub night on June 4th, between 6:30 and 8:30 PM at the Mosquito Creek Bar and Grill, 2061 Western Drive, North Vancouver. Details are in the poster - click to enlarge. It should be great fun!

- Stan







Would you like to sponsor a favorite rider? Click on their name anywhere on this journal to open their "bio" on the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation GearUp4CF web site, click on the button "Sponsor this Rider", and you will join our team!

First Cypress, then Grouse Mountain...

Submitted by Stan

What a difference a week makes.  Spring has arrived, at last!

Sadly, because I love riding in groups, I could not ride on Saturday with my usual riding club, "Le Peloton", due to family commitments. So I had to sneak away on my own early on Sunday. Thankfully, I was able to cycle through downtown just before the Vancouver Sun Run, which took place that morning, closed Burrard and the Lions Gate Bridge. This time, my destination was Cypress Mountain on the North Shore, so I headed over the Lions Gate Bridge and out to West Vancouver. Then, I turned up the big hill on 14th avenue to Mathers. Those 8-10% grades were a prelude to what was to come. Basically it was up hill from there, from sea level, to the upper levels highway, and eventually to the top of Cypress.  What a beautiful ride, though, one of the best I've done since last summer.  I stopped to take pictures on the viewpoint, six kilometers up Cypress, then a few at the top, just at the base where the Olympic snowboard competitions were held only a few of months ago. Now it's a deserted lot, with only the occasional hiker and cyclist to be seen.

At the viewpoint, halfway up Cypress-->

<--Mountain stream on the way up  the mountain

Snowmaking equipment used on Cypress Mountain during the Olympics. Thanks to these, and helicopters that brought snow to the mountain, the Olympic snowboard event was saved!-->

 <--at the top of Cypress, near the old ski lodge.  The Olympic snowboard site is behind me.



Coming down the mountain was a huge change from that freezing cold, fog-bound ride on Seymour last week.  The road was dry, visibility was unlimited, and before I knew it I had reached a top speed of 76 kph heading down the mountain. It's quite a thrill, flying down the mountain on a lightweight carbon fiber bike, in perfect control, feeling the wind flowing over your body, and shouting "good morning!" to fellow cyclists as you pass them by while they labor  up the hill for their chance.

My next and final goal of the day was the gondola at the base of Grouse Mountain.  Looking at the route profile below, you will notice my destination was much lower in elevation than Cypress. However, what might not be apparent, unless you look closely, are the steep inclines encountered going up Capilano Road.  "Short and sharp", as my brother-in-law Jerome, an avid cyclist, likes to say.  The last kilometer or so is brutal - a 12-15% grade - that makes you desperately want to see the Grouse Mountain sign to tell you that the ordeal is nearly at an end.

Cycling tip: When going up steep inclines, it's important to make sure you are using the upward thrust of your opposing leg, in addition to the all-important downward thrust.  This takes a significant burden off your downstroke leg. It not only helps to make that stroke easier, but also takes some of the strain off your joints. This is absolutely critical when embarking on a long distance tour like what we are doing in June, because if you damage your knees, you are done for. Using your 'upstroke' is counter-intuitive, however.  Your leg is aching for a rest, so it takes a conscious effort to do so.  The good news is the upstroke uses different muscles, so, at the end of the day, your body will thank you for it.

Thanks to the warm, but not too hot weather, and the fact I've been working pretty hard training at the gym since that brutal ride up Seymour last week, I had enough steam to pick up the pace the last few meters and made it triumphantly to the top.

Please get that cougar off my back!  This is what happens when you get a tourist to take your picture. At the base of Grouse Mountain, near the entrance to the gondola-->

<--My route today, tracked on my bike's Garmin GPS, from home to Cypress, to Grouse, and finally back along British Properties to Taylor way for the return home via Lions Gate Bridge. In all, 85 kilometers.

The elevation profile tells it all-->

So, I'm starting to feel a bit better about training.  However, there's much, much more to do before I'll be ready for our big ride in June.  

And, there's much more that simply MUST be done to raise funds for the children I'm riding for.  I will be sending out a personal appeal this week to my many friends and family, as, without your help, this ride cannot be the success we're all working so hard to achieve.  Can you help?  Roman, Madison and Hailey, and the other CF children and young adults who we are riding for are depending on you to support Cystic Fibrosis research. It is their only hope for improved outcomes and ultimately a cure for CF. That is why we are doing this ride. Click on the link of any rider's name you see on in this journal and you'll find their 'bio' on the official GearUP4CF web site, sponsored by the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. There's a link there that you can make a tax-deductible donation on-line. If you have not done so already, please do it now. We're looking forward to having you join our team.

- Stan



Would you like to sponsor a favorite rider? Click on their name anywhere on this journal to open their "bio" on the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation GearUp4CF web site, click on the button "Sponsor this Rider", and you will join our team!

A Vancouver Island News broadcast of teammate Heather and Dave Strange's preparations for the ride

Heather and David Strange did the interview on May 3rd.  

Heather's message:  "A big 'thinking of you' to the Markvoot's and now you can see my crazy Eva red hair.  Eva pulled it off better than me but I did it to honor her."








Would you like to sponsor a favorite rider? Click on their name anywhere on this journal to open their "bio" on the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation GearUp4CF web site, click on the button "Sponsor this Rider", and you will join our team!

Back in the Saddle again.

Submitted by Brian Benson

It's been a while since we last posted. Training was going well until two weeks ago. We even found a flat road to train on. Flat, that is, for North Vancouver. Even the flat roads over here have some hills. On a Friday night we did a short twenty km ride then I went out solo for a five and a half hour mountain bike ride Saturday. The ride was a long one with friends through the many trails of Mount Seymour. It as a great ride but I felt very  fatigued for some reason. By Sunday I had a terrible cold that lasted about ten days, which meant no riding.

During that time we had a family function in Peachland so we decided to drive the Hope Princeton Highway to get a better feel for day two of our ride. I've driven the road many times but never from the standpoint of wondering what it would be like to ride a tandem bike up those hills. Let's just say the hills on day two are running through my mind every night. It will be a tough ride. Tandems are fast on the flats and down
hills but very slow on uphill. It¹s like a semi truck. They seem to cruise effortlessly on the flats, then fly downhill. However I¹m sure each and every one of you have experienced what happens to the semi on hills. They come what seems to be a grinding halt at the first sign of a hill. That¹s what it's like riding a tandem bike. The long hills to Manning Park are going to take a lot of determination to get up.

Margaret is constantly working out, on the treadmill and keeps herself very fit. She was away this week in Ottawa at the Cystic Fibrosis AGM and on Sunday ran a ten kilometer race. Since I knew she would be keeping active I thought I needed to get back in the saddle. Wednesday was a hill climb up Mountain
Highway to Fromme Mountain (some people call this Grouse but technically it¹s Fromme) to the fifth switchback then an amazing technical downhill through the trails. Great ride until I landed face down in a pile of rocks.

My friend turned around just in time to see me six feet off the ground, then face down. Thankfully I wear full armour and a full-face helmet. If not for the armour let¹s just say I think my left arm would be in a cast right about now. I keep forgetting I'm not twenty six years old anymore.

This past Sunday I decided to do more hill climbing. Up Fromme again to the seventh switchback. About a two hour uphill climb from my house through the pouring rain. It felt great. Then came the downhill. As I was alone I decided for safety I¹d just cruise down the road. Needless to say with the rain and six degree weather it was incredibly cold on the descent. I¹m glad I got in some hill climbing this week. I just read Stan Shaw¹s blog about his hill climb up Seymour and can relate to his descent. This week, if the weather clears, we¹ll get back out on the tandem. Otherwise, I'll continue doing as much hill climbing as I can. Stan's blog reminding me how important it is to be ready for the hills. Thanks for the reminder and incentive Stan. Thanks also for reminding me the ride is only six weeks away!!?? Are you sure about that Stan?? That¹s only about forty two more sleeps!! Yikes.

- Brian


Clarification by Stan:  Actually, I think it's closer to seven weeks. So, good news! - you have about forty nine more sleeps! :-)



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A training ride up Seymour, and a very personal resolution

Submitted by Stan

I've been thinking a bit about our GearUp4CF ride in June, and some of the hills we'll be climbing only seven weeks from now.  We'll soon be facing, for example, a fifty seven kilometer, nearly continuous five to seven percent grade climb to Allison Pass, on the way to Manning Park. Last year, the weather conditions made the climb really interesting.  And then there is the hill I feared most last year, that twenty five kilometer stretch of highway out of Osoyoos with a seven percent grade.  It is part of our 125 km ride from Osoyoos to Grand Forks on day three.  And then, there's that twenty kilometer climb with a six percent grade up Kootenay Pass, part of our 128 km ride between Trail and Creston. 

I don't want to scare anyone on our team who has not done this ride before, however these are serious mountain highway passes. But that's what we're committed to. The reason - to raise awareness and raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis Research - is driving us physically and mentally to go the distance.

So, I thought, a nice ride up Mount Seymour that includes about thirteen kilometers of climbing at a five to eight percent grade shouldn't be too bad, should it?  Having done it many times, I should have known better than to underestimate the challenge of this particular climb.  I started out from home near Kerrisdale, headed downtown and crossed the Lions Gate Bridge, hoping to join up at some point with my friends in the Le Peloton riding group.  By the time I made it our usual rendezvous at Staples, it was apparent that either I had somehow missed them, or the warm comfort of a bed on this chilly Saturday morning was just too good to enjoy.  Thank God it wasn't raining. But the clouds were heavy, hanging over the North Shore mountains like a wet, cold blanket.  Ignoring them, I headed out to Deep Cove, a very nice, scenic ride along Indian Arm Inlet on Dollarton Highway.

At Deep Cove, just before ascending up the highway to Mount Seymour Parkway-->

I stopped briefly in Deep Cove, just long enough take a picture before heading up the mountain.

Well, either the mountain has grown taller, or my "power to weight ratio" has gone sideways over the winter.  I can only blame the latter. Too little power, too much weight. I won't say how much weight, and I'm certainly not obese, but it was REALLY noticeable going up the mountain. Let's just say that my average speed was about 10% less than last year. And that there is a well-known, directly inverse correlation between speed and weight when climbing on a bike.  Sure, I made it up without blowing a gasket. But it was not pretty - a 'wake up' call for me.  So, I'm resolved.  I've just got to WORK HARDER to be stronger, and, for heavens sake, get rid of that extra weight!!

I made it though, rolling to the top of a fog-shrouded cold mountain, still above the snow line.  Having come up the mountain many times before, that was not what was worrying me.  My biggest concern now was the descent.

<--At the top of Seymour Mountain, near the ski lifts. What a difference from Deep Cove.

Just picture this. You are coming down the mountain at 45 kph on a lightweight road bike, in thick fog with near zero visibility. With the wind chill, and near one hundred percent humidity which makes gloves dripping wet in cold moisture, it is a matter of endurance of how long you can hold on before your teeth begin to chatter uncontrollably.

Even though I could only manage 40-45 kph yesterday due to the fog (my usual descent on my Trek 5200 is about 70-75 kph), the wind tore through my gloves until needles of pain started shooting through my fingers. For nearly five kilometers - a lifetime, descending like that - I simply could not see for more than a few meters ahead of me.  My saving grace was my trusty Garmin GPS, because it displayed a little map and my exact position going down the mountain. That way, I was able to tell where the next hairpin turn was, how quickly I was coming up to it, and which way it was banking.  Fifteen minutes of bone jarring cold later, I made it safely to the bottom, where, thank God, the sun was breaking out.  I was glad to be able to start peddling again and work those leg muscles to generate a bit more heat.  

My elevation chart, plotted on my Garmin GPS yesterday-->

I had considered doing another mountain before heading home, but after that hellish descent, it was time to consider another day.  Just around that time, one of my good riding buddies, Oleh, called me on my cell. He had read the multiple email messages I had sent on my iPhone that morning looking for my friends, and invited me over to his home on the North Shore for some hot coffee and a tuna melt on a bagel.  How could I refuse?

My route yesterday. You can see the switchbacks going up Mount Seymour. The straight line from North Vancouver to my home is an artifact.  I ended my ride in North Vancouver--->

So, my ride was shorter today, only 82 km, but I'm happy with the result. Despite the brutal cold, I managed to complete my first big mountain climb of the spring. And, I'm resolved to work harder at power training and take caloric and nutritional intake between rides seriously. I know that if I deal with it, - my goal before June is to lose 10% of my current body weight - I'll have at least 10% more kinetic energy that can go into moving my bike up the hill. 

To all of my fellow GearUp4CF teammates: If you have not done so already, I'd highly recommend, though perhaps in sunnier weather, to fit in some big hills into your training rides as soon as you can.  This is a great time to do it so that you can make adjustments - power training, weight management (if you need it!!), and simple endurance training, over the next six weeks. 

And for those of you who are simply reading in astonishment at what this band of cyclists are about to embark on, and what we have to do to get there, just know that your donations to the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation  makes you part of our team, too.  We need your help.  What we are doing, together, is to give hope to the children and young adults we are riding for.  Hope that they will have better outcomes.   Hope that they will have full and healthy lives.  And hope that there will soon be a cure for CF.

If you have not contributed yet, simply click on the 'hot linked' names of any of the riders in this Journal, or click on www.gearup4cf.org.  You will find tax deductible donation links to the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation there.  This would be a perfect (and very welcome!) opportunity to show your support.

- Stan


Would you like to sponsor a favorite rider? Click on their name anywhere on this journal to open their "bio" on the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis GearUP4CF web site, click on the button "Sponsor this Rider", and you will join our team!