Day two had me extremely excited that I was going to see Niagara Falls. I woke up, donned my Team US gear and got ready to pedal away.

I don’t know what happened, I felt awesome, but I was working harder than I have in a long time. Fortunately for me, the game is mental and I had a lot of help along the way. I was wearing my US cycling clothes and everyone was asking where I was from, they were all very impressed that I flew up just for the event and going back immediately. So many people asked me why. I was dumbfounded and never came up with an answer other than it must be the same reason as theirs.

After a while, people were calling me “LA” I have no idea how everyone found out but even the traffic volunteers would yell “Go LA” as I got there. It might have been the Toronto police officer I rode with for awhile (I was very impressed that I could keep up).

They were definitely right, day was an easier ride for us. I loved the area we were in and did a lot of rubber necking. But I’ll be honest, two days on a bike in and out of the rain, with less sleep then anyone should have, takes its toll on you.

Out in the middle of beautiful nowhere, I hit a hill around 60 Km, so I was pretty tired at this point. About 3/4s of the way up I saw bikers who were off to the side resting and onlookers, they starting cheering me on to the top and up I went. I could almost see the crest and thought I won’t make it, but three guys started yelling “USA, USA, USA” and it was all I needed.

Leaving the 64 km pit stop the Niagara Ice Dogs bus stopped and offered me a ride. I explained I was OK an had just stopped in the shade to stretch out my back. After they left, I thought I should have asked to go inside for a second so I could at least say I had been on the tour bus, but I knew if I accepted a ride, I could not live with my self after all this work. Just before the final pit stop I hit a pot hole, hard. The back tire blew and I was done. I wasn’t too worried, there had been support and sweep vehicles everywhere. So I walked, as I walked I realized that I was pretty alone and that maybe i was at the end of the stragglers – this got me very concerned. My angels Erica and Renee picked me up, took me to the next stop and we tried to get a bike tech. Seems they were all out. We finally got one and replaced my tire but I had lost so much time they were packing up the stop and I really would be alone. There was talk of taking me about 1 km before the finish line so I could still cycle in. It seemed appealing and cheating at the same time. Instead I got taken to a small group of riders and dropped off for safety but still able to ride a reasonable amount. WIth both days being over 100 km and my cycling too and from the event I was able to still feel pretty good about a 3 km loss and know that I was well on the way to the finish line.

Finally, I rounded the last curve and started heading downhill. I heard the Falls. I looked to my right and could see the mist coming up and started to cry. I realized my glasses were fogging up and I could wipe out pretty bad, so I pulled it together and made it in.

I honestly thought I would hit the finish and be a part of the hugging and the crying and all the hoopla. Instead I got some food, found out where to go next, talked to a few people and got on the train back in sort of a quiet way. Oh, and we learned that trains make me seasick.

I signed up for this ride because I am firmly of the belief that cancer does not stop at the US/Canada border. The cause is near and dear to my heart, but this event more so because it does not focus on one exclusive form of cancer – it doesn’t single out the trendy cause or the plight of the moment. The Princess Margaret Hospital is an all cancer facility, with departments or whole floors that specialize in one type or another. Something like this may have helped my father-in-law, who in his 70s passed of a pediatric cancer because no one knew how to handle it. I don’t know, but I’d like to think so.

The extra benefit of the event is the one that has me very excited to be on the plane today. I will finally get to see parts of a country I love and am thinking of expanding my business to.Cycling from Toronto to Niagara will certainly allow me to see a beautiful place and maybe let me know a little more about Ontario.

I’ve hit some snags in the transportation from the city to the event and back again. I think things have been ironed out but we’ll see. It turned out to be a good diversion yesterday, allowing me to go into “Manager Mode” and not stress too much about the event. I had thought that I would be going to the event with Richard and tossing my gear into his truck. Not only am I not doing that but I should have wondered how I was going to get back because he is leaving Niagara earlier than I am and I knew that! No worries, but because I am cycling to the event from the hotel I’m limited on what I can carry as I ride. I’ll have my sleeping bag inside a back pack with whatever clothes may fit. I had to leave my blanket and ground mat at home – we’ll see how I fair the second day. I’m not too worried, it just may give me a few good stories to tell and a badge of honour to go with it.

A not too minor concern is the food/drink powder I’ve packed. As a diabetic who is so far staying off the insulin, I can not afford to reply on the SAG stops for my meals and as anyone knows, your food is your fuel. I’m hoping that all those little bags of powder, nuts and cliff bars will fit in the pack. I’ve done a ride without and walked 17 miles because I bonked. I will make it fit. Lawrd knows, I am NOT tossing the sleeping bag too!  Oh, and to top it off, it’s “that time” – I’m thinking of stuffing the pads into my bra for storage. Who knows, I might make a few friends

I am so glad I went to the Challenge to Conquer Cancer office. I wasn’t able to make the orientation meeting the week before, so I called them up and asked about flying in the following week for a quick meet and great, with a little info. I could use a little get away time and had a few people I wanted to see there anyways.

My hotel was just a few blocks from the office and enjoyed a lovely walk in the rain that did get me cold to the bone in only the way Canadian weather can. Actually, everything was just a few blocks from my hotel and I loved it. I was amazed to see bikes everywhere. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a city with so many condos right in the downtown area and a true bike culture like that. Washington had bikes everywhere but I suspect that was more out of defense against the traffic rather than just the way they wish to be.

My contact at the office, Erica, was out sick and the woman who took the time to meet with me in spite of being one person down, was slightly wounded due to a recent toe injury. She was great, big smile and all, got me informed and registered lickity split. I generally ride without registering one honoured teammate, the list is so long that I haven’t wanted to name one individual but instead have ribbons for my jersey with all the names of those who have had cancer. However, this one, on the heels of Phyllis’ death seemed to be the time to single out one person whose spirit embodies what this is all about – on June 20th – 22nd, 2008 I will ride in honour of Phyllis Kaufman.

Seeing the office was impressive, how they could accomplish so much with so little. I don’t mean it was thread bare with a cardboard table and a single bulb hanging from the ceiling, but they were obviously careful about where the money went and had good, well thought out workspaces. They produce two events a year, the ride and the Weekend to Cure Breast Cancer, with the Challenge Ride being new.

We spoke about the work they do and what the needs are of the volunteers as well as the teams. I’m very impressed that this goes hand in hand with my heart – that while you can focus on one type or another of cancer, there is a greater need to eradicate this killer and support those that have it; with the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto they can accomplish this on so many levels.

Armed with literature, door hangers and a tee shirt, I left a new team captain of Team US Cares and a real sense of what that means.

(*note, if you would like to join me one this ride and show that cancer does not stop at the US/Canada border, please click here to register and join Team US Cares — team password is kickbutt)