by Lorena Jones
Doing one of these MS Bike events would be amazing Lorena, so why all of them? In late July, a radio host asked me that question ahead of the upcoming Grand Bend to London ride in Ontario. It was a good question, and one I hadn’t really considered.
I suppose, in my head, I was a cyclist—one who had gathered some accolades in a variety of settings, from multi-day mountainous stage events to 24-hour endurance races. So one MS Bike event didn’t feel like enough of a challenge to me, or to those I hoped would support me. I needed something bigger and more meaningful to demonstrate my dedication to the cause and better serve the memory of my uncle, whose passing had inspired my participation in MS Bike events in the first place.
Why ride them all?
In reality, I hadn’t ridden my bike with any intention in the more than three years that I had lived in Canada. Yes, there was the odd commute here and social ride there, but nothing in anger, so to speak. Knowing I hadn’t spent much time on the bike for a while, let alone done any structured training, I settled on the idea that my fitness would improve as I worked my way through the Canada-wide events. By the time I approached the final few rides, I would be in tip-top condition again. Clearly, I hadn’t anticipated the 75-km slog I experienced on my first training ride.
After my uncle died, I had a feeling of helplessness that so many people experience when a loved one passes. That’s the big reason I had approached the MS Society of Canada with the idea of riding each and every MS Bike event across the country to help raise awareness and some funds to support the charity. I planned to ride the Canada-wide events in the order they had been scheduled and mirror the distance associated with the in-person tours. Given the size of the country, I wanted to complete the Ontario-based events in-person and those located in the other provinces virtually. The schedule meant that on occasion, I would need to cover two events on the same day as some of the rides were hosted in different provinces at the same time. Thankfully, these clashes were toward the end of the 13-week period in which the events took place. I had a bit of time to build my fitness back up before my days that would have been roughly 200 km.
The Plan: All my MS Bike rides
June 18: Fraser Valley, B.C., 92.8 km
June 19: Fraser Valley, B.C., 51.9 km
June 25: Airdrie to Olds, Alta., 114, km
June 19: Airdrie to Olds, Alta., 98…
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