I Cycled in the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Fundraiser Ride

Introduction

Cycling is a great way to help the environment, maintain physical and mental health for myself and others, all while having fun doing it. I recently got into endurance road cycling ever since going on a cycling tour in Europe last year, so when an opportunity arose to do a distance ride for a hospital fundraiser, I signed up immediately.

Read more: A Cycling Tour through Netherlands and Belgium

The CN Cycle for CHEO is an annual fundraiser for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, sponsored by (among others) CN, also known as Canadian National Railway. There are different distances that participants can choose to cycle or run/walk, and I chose the 70 km cycling option. After signing up, participants receive a link they can use to fundraise for the hospital.

I also decided to treat this ride as part of my training for the much longer Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour that I will do in June, a two-day round-trip ride from Ottawa to Kingston and back.

Day of the event

Arrival

I arrived at LeBreton Flats Park near downtown Ottawa at 8:00 am on Sunday, May 4. I walked around, looking at the booths and posing with mascots.

Thanks for bear-ing with me, Cheo

I also took time for the all-important task of mental preparation and getting into the zone.

“And in the blue, representing Team Flanders…” (LOL)

While on the grounds I encountered a work colleague who is into (what else) cycling and who was participating in the same ride as me (hi Isabelle!). Soon after I lined up at the starting line and got ready to ride. The official start time was 8:30, though my starting wave took off about 10 minutes after that.

Starting line

The ride

Our route took the shape of a capital T. For those of you who know Ottawa, from LeBreton Flats Park (near the top of the T’s vertical stem) we headed west along Kichi Zibi Mikan (along the left part of the T’s horizontal part), which was closed to car traffic for this event. This was a route I had done many times, though on the adjoining bike path and not on the road. The first few kilometers were slow as the starting pack gradually spread out, at which point the pace picked up for those who were so inclined.

The 70 km route

We turned around at Deschênes Rapids, headed back the way we came, then went south to Dow’s Lake and Hog’s Back Park (down the T’s vertical stem), another route I have done many times on the bike path. We turned around, went back north, then headed east along Promenade Sir George-Étienne Cartier (the right part of the T’s horizontal part). (Outside of this event, the Promenade Sir George-Étienne Cartier is one of my favourite cycling routes; when it is closed to car traffic on weekends I am on a quiet, open space with paved road as far as I can see.) We then turned around and headed back to LeBreton Flats Park.

Finish line!

While I did not initially set out to complete the full 70 km ride in one go without stopping, that is what I ended up doing over the course of two hours and forty minutes, in order to test my limits in view of the aforementioned Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour. My only stops were at three or four traffic intersections for a few seconds each. I felt pretty good throughout and did not start to tire until the final 10 km, especially going uphill. There was a banana in my shirt pocket that I had planned to eat during a break, but which ended up being dead weight the whole time. Disclaimer: Keep reading to learn why cycling 70 km with no breaks was not the best idea in hindsight for an amateur.

The most thrilling parts of the ride were the downhill portions where, with my elbows aerodynamically tucked and my chest almost touching the handlebar stem, the literal rush was like nothing else I have experienced.

I do not use any electronics on my rides and do not know what my average speed was, but based on my start and finish times I estimate I averaged 26.25 km/h with little to no drafting, which is not bad by my standards. Seems an advantage of not having a target speed is the freedom to go with what feels challenging yet doable.

I noticed a number of riders on the side of the road swapping out inner tubes and repairing flats. While there were mechanical services available, it is best to be as self-sufficient as possible in case they take a while to get to you. If you do long rides and are not particularly handy (and I am not), then I recommend watching a few YouTube videos to learn how to perform a roadside flat repair, and to carry the necessary tools on the ride.

Post-ride

As I got off my bicycle and started walking around the grounds and standing in the food line, I noticed a tightness in the back of my left thigh. It was nothing that would not be better within a day or two, but if I had more cycling to do that day I would have been in trouble. This was a good lesson for future rides: take at least one break per 70 km stretch.

In the food line I encountered a friend who is also into cycling, and who runs a weekly language club as well as marathons.

¡Hola Alex, que suerte verte aquí!

Afterwards I sat down on the grass and had a well-deserved lunch.

And being who I am, I carried my spork in my shirt pocket for the whole ride so I wouldn’t need to use the provided cutlery

I continued walking around the grounds for a bit before leaving.

Speeches from the organizers

All aboard!

Petting zoo

Bouncy castles

Lessons learned

What I learned about myself

Once I put my mind to an endeavour, I will commit to becoming the best version of myself at it. To be clear, this does not mean being the fastest or strongest or most skilled version of myself, but rather becoming someone I can be proud of. And there is a huge sense of accomplishment that comes from covering a large distance using your own power, whether from running, skiing, swimming, or in this case cycling.

An important thing I learned about my abilities is some idea of what my target speed should (or should not) be for the longer Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour. It is all and well to have a target in mind, but only when you try it out on the road do you learn how appropriate it is. I also learned the importance of taking breaks, fortunately in a low-stakes situation.

While I have nothing against cycling technology, there was great value to me in choosing my own speed based on what felt “right” rather than following numbers on a screen (e.g. “What’s wrong with me, I should be able to go faster than this,” or “Whoa I need to slow down or I will burn out at this speed”). There are certainly instances in my training where real-time feedback would have been useful, but there is also something to be said for not feeling my performance is constantly being “judged” by that feedback. The same was true during my days as a competitive rower; the electronic speed coach was useful in 1x training (you rowers out there know what that means), but on race day I left it on land and relied on my instincts to get me to the finish line.

Me pictured at the Royal Canadian Henley in St. Catharines, ON, 14 years and 7 kg ago

What I learned about my bike

I ride a Giant Defy Advanced 2, which bills itself as a performance endurance road bike that does not sacrifice comfort. I found this to be quite accurate over the distance and time of my ride, and only experienced minor discomfort despite being in almost constant motion the whole time. If anything, the bike was too comfortable, since as mentioned I developed some muscle strain during the ride without realizing it.

What I learned about the cycling community

There was a wide range of participants of all ages riding a wide range of bicycles. There were solo riders, drafting peloton riders, drafting peloton riders in matching gear atop $10,000 machines, riders with clipless and flat pedals, riders on road, gravel and hybrid bikes, recumbent bikes, recumbent hand-pedaled bikes, and even an elliptical bike, which I had never seen before. Point being, if you are thinking of participating in such an event for the first time, know that there is a place for you no matter what type of rider you are. There is an implicit fitness requirement obviously, but anyone who is considering entering an endurance event is likely in good shape already.

So why did I do this?

Given that these were routes that I generally ride on my own, a natural question is why bother paying money to do something I could do for free? Well, for one thing, I do not know how often I would will myself to do 70 km in one day without participating in a structured event. In addition, my money is going to a good cause.

My number one reason for doing this, however, is the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than myself. I was surrounded by a community of like-minded people, all working towards a common goal of finishing a course, and more broadly, encouraging active lifestyles. And since it was not a race, one person’s victory is everyone’s victory.

My bib number is now proudly displayed on my fridge, alongside a snarky postcard about René Magritte.

A Belgian he was, though not from Team Flanders like that earlier dude. 😉