Club Announcements and Ride Logs
Hold On Tight
Hold on tight, here we go! Saturday, September 22, 2007 the John Henry Road Crew A.K.A Pedals & Pints, congregated on the Skytrain and joined in excitement for a ride out to Baird Street Station to meet the entire Team H2V and ride them home - accompanying for the last pull home into Vancouver. But, before we could do this...
Signs were to be posted. Many signs and every five kilometers at that; trail tape and all! This, was a once in a lifetime event and the JH road crew was there to support! A fellow crew member, Ken Southam and I drove out 100km from the homecoming venue at English Bay and began our day's work raising awareness, sharing the story with passerby's and thanking each rider on Team H2V with the dedication of their names (Kyle Balagno, Taylor Balagno, Matt Young, Keith Nicoll, Richard Alm, Bryan Kelly and our very own Willie Cromack) fastened in plain sight for all the world to see! Tirelessly we worked, risking our lives as the speeding dump trucks whizzed by, ensuring the streamers would fly "just right" as the wind picked up from the forming peleton that would support the guys, the last 100 km. Did I mention that it was also pouring rain?! But, really how much does that stray from the norm this season? Apologies, I digress...
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Saturday, September 22, 2007 arrives... ahead of schedule! We had only been watching the team's every move for seven days from the moment they departed Halifax, through the Maritimes, over Quebec and streaming through the much anticipated northern Ontario, skimming through the prairies, onto the Rockies and down into Hope. The website says nine. I must admit, I was a bit out of sorts as my "fix", my reason for waking, was about to come to crashing halt and I had better be ready to catch the train when it makes the quick stop to pick up the club!
While a few brave souls ventured further out, the JH Road Crew stopped at the intersection of Old Schoolhouse Road and Louhgheed Hwy. We looked at our HR monitors only to find that it was still a little early and we ventured into a cafe for a warm bn break, a coffee, and a quick picture of the crew (thank you again to the kind stranger) to remind us of this momentous occasion!!!!! Little did we know then, that it would be the blue, quivering lips, the bathroom hand dryers and the Wendy's fries that would mark the morning? Oh and how could I forget the sideways glances from a certain Arizonian club member?
"Let us head down to the corner, along the highway to wait for them", I sang. "...to do a bit of free advertising for the bike shop?" Never in a million years did I anticipate for a long, cold two hours. I have since heard Stan; a little Vaseline is all you need...
It was a moment of bonding for our club and to put it lightly: feeling the "love" from the resident club father figure John Henry, plus the overwhelming "props" for my decision to expose the club to the elements – had only confirmed for me, it was the right decision! Ha ha. Seeing such smiles on the faces of members! Gratitude really and truly after filling their bellies with chili and bakes potatoes, absolutely priceless!!! I can only equate this with Christmas morning! Though, as quickly as this feeling was picked up from the steel counter of the fast food restaurant, it vanished. Once again, the cold set in. One, two, thirteen, fourteen... it will be this one, no, seventeen, eighteen turns of the light and still no sign of our heroes.
On we go... the time passes, the legs seized up and drivers of cars passing by from hours before wonder what kind of cyclists we are if we never actually make it from the curb to the road? And, I dance around in my John Henry Bikes gear ;-) Thatta boy Joe, you made it!
What's that?! I think it's hundreds of riders; the flashing lights of police vehicles and the honking of the Team H2V support RV's. Suddenly all the waiting was worth this one very moment. Now, if we can only get our pedals moving in attempts to attach on to the peleton and avoid the unavoidable shelling. One rider down, one flat tire and 25 km to go... my only desire was to see John Henry cross the finish line to wrap his arms around the son he had not seen for the last two weeks. My heart rate spiking, and not enough time to catch any advantages of riding with a water bottle John Henry, Glenyth and I ride on to the beach to hear the Team H2V families, friends and supporters welcoming Taylor and the boys to the stage with boisterous applause. Fortunately enough, I was even able to witness the Squamish Ocean Canoe Family singing the boys back into the territory and welcoming them home; a gift from Jay and me.
The date now is October 3, 2007. The waking early, cold wind and dark skies were all worth it on that September 22, 2007. Welcome home boys and thank you for persevering through the weather, the darkness, rain and lightening. We miss the technical difficulties of the webcam and the emotional blog updates (I couldn't have been the only one tearing up at the office), but the word is now out, awareness raised and donations continue still. Thank you for bringing us, Canadians together and thank you for the ride.
Warmest regards,
Erin Irwin
President, Clubs John Henry Bikes
