*Photo from Boston.com – The Big Picture – Pedal Power
The training ride on Saturday was a terrific success – a steady 65k ride through the city and out to the lighthouse at the end of Tommy Thompson Park. (The park is named after a former Toronto Parks Commissioner – not the Group Of Seven painter Tom Thomson…) Mother Nature threw a few punches with a couple spots of light rain, and a steady headwind for the return journey, but in the end all riders succeeded and had a good time. Big thanks to Jason for organizing the ride.
Sunday saw a number of ECC riders participate in the 25th Annual Becel Ride For Heart. Along with 13,000 or so of our fellow cyclists, club members took to the streets of Toronto before sunrise, wending their way to The Ex for the 6am start. For those who’ve never done this event it is awesome. Each rider is required to raise $100 for the privelege of riding on the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway. The roadway is made for cycling – great pavement, wide lanes, rolling hills, banked turns, and strategically placed rest stops along the way. There are three distance options – 25km, 50km or 75km (or more if you’re really adventurous!). Club members opted for the 75k route which was perfect. Mother Nature co-operated with a tailwind pushing us north up the climb to York Mills, and although there was a headwind on the south leg at least most of it is downhill.
The week ahead
A dedicated group ride most mornings around the ECC North Loop starting at 6am. Reply to this email the day before you want to ride to confirm that there will be others out riding. This weekend is the 5th Annual Ride To Conquer Cancer (RTCC) and a number of ECC riders are participating. With that in mind we do not have any ride leaders lined up for the weekend. If you’d like to lead a ride please reply with the details so we can share it with the group.
If you plan on riding, and are not doing the RTCC why not come out and cheer on the 5000 or so riders who are doing it?!?! The Ride starts at The Ex on Saturday morning at approximately 8:30 and heads west along Lakeshore before heading north through Mississauga. Ride out to a cheering station (Locations: Saturday or Sunday) and support your club members and the rest of the riders in this epic challenge.
Jerseys
The folks at Hincapie still have not confirmed a delivery date for the jerseys. Our original plan was to have them by the end of May but now it is looking like we’ll have them after the Ride To Conquer Cancer. Not as we’d hoped but sometimes that just how it goes. Once they arrive we will schedule a pub night to distribute them and celebrate!