Day 1 - Vancouver to Harrison 126 km

<---Our GearUp4CF team for 2009, with our Kinsmen sponsors in the background, at our sendoff this morning in Ladner.


We're on our way! The long-awaited start to our ride began at 9:00 AM with a tremendous send-off by the Ladner Kinsmen at Kin House with refreshments kindly provided by Tim Hortons. Coming into the parking lot, I was struck by the large number of volunteers supporting this ride, from drivers of two support vehicles to researchers and CF parents showing up for the send-off, and even a police escort that took us through the busy street of Ladner, stopping traffic along the way to allow us pass.

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Our route today, thanks to my new Garmin GPS --->

For details of our 126 km ride today, including an enlarged map, check out:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/7355853

Along the way, I had a chance to chat with some of the riders. My roommate, Christoph Blohmke, is a friendly, relaxed guy... just the perfect person to share a room with for the next nine days.

<--Christoph

Christoph is a microbiology reasearcher who is working with a senior investigator, James Zlosnik , who is also on the ride with us. (Christoph and James are writing a journal about the ride, too! Check out: http://gearup4cf2009.wordpress.com). Christoph works in Stuart Turvey's lab, a pediatric immunologist at BC Children's Hospital in Vancouver, who studies Cystic Fibrosis. Christoph is riding for Ali, who is now 16 years old, and has CF. Her sister, Joanie had CF as well, but sadly passed away in 2003 at the age of twelve. When I spoke to Christoph about the ride, he said that riding for Ali this year (and last year, as he did the ride then, too) has been very helpful for him as he spends countless hours in the lab throughout the year in CF research.

Christoph's colleague, James is riding with a little boy in mind, Alex, who also has CF. Their work, together with a third rider on in our group, Trevor Hird, (who is riding for another lovely little boy with CF, Beckett), is directly involved with investigating Burkholderia infections in CF, a very complex and potentially life-threatening problem if not managed carefully.

Your donations to CF goes directly to support this important work. As I write this week, I'll talk further about the work that they are doing, and the tremendous hope that many researchers are sensing that a major breakthrough in CF treatment is about to take place.

But for now, back to the ride. While on our way, we passed over the brand new Golden Ears Bridge, opened only last week, linking Langley and Surrey and the north side communities of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.

About an hour later, we arrived at our lunch destination in Mission, about five kilometers outside of Abbotsford. There, Kelly, Neleen, Diana and Allison, all volunteers through the Kinette Club of Abbotsford were waiting for us with a beautifully prepared lunch spread out on picnic tables. I was overwhelmed with the generosity and thoughtfulness of the Kinette Club, and the level of organization that has gone into making this ride.

<-- Left to Allison, Diana, Neleen and Kelly

The weather was cloudy, and yes, we did have a few showers (quite refreshing, actually, when you are riding hard), but for most of the time the roads were clear, the air was cool, and we whipped along at a breakneck pace hitting 40 kph. Now, in car with the windows rolled up and the radio on, 40 kph would seem to be a dreadfully slow pace. Not so on a bike, where the wind is whipping pas your face, the bike is shuddering under the strain, and every inch forward is dependant on human kinetic energy. All in all, however, it was a pretty easy ride, with a few gentle hills and long flat, fast stretches up the Fraser Valley.

I managed to stay in the lead group, arriving in Harrison at around 2:30 PM. Bikes locked up, we dragged our gear into our hotel rooms, showered, and basically crashed for the rest of the afternoon. My little gizmos indicated I'd burned well over 4,000 calories today. Tomorrow will be worse. We're hitting the first range of mountains outside of Harrison tomorrow, on the way to Manning Park, about 125 kilometers along Highway three. As I recall, there's a "small" hill in the way. The last time I rode it, at least twenty years ago, I broke the rear axle on my bike due to the torque and the heavy weight of the panniers I was carrying. Thankfully, I'm not carrying a lot of weight on my bike tomorrow, but it will be a hard ride, nonetheless. The first of many, I suspect. Wish me luck!

That evening we were treated to another wonderful meal by the Kinette Club. Kelly was there, together with several Kinette Club members I that I enjoyed meeting. Kelly apparently did a huge amount of cooking for both the lunch and the evening meal. The BBQ chicken and spare ribs were delicious! Several parents brought their children, many of whom have CF. I played a fierce game of ping pong with Roman, a delightful boy, who is in fourth grade. His two younger sisters, Madison and Hailey, who are in the 1st grade, are identical twins. Like Roman, all three kids in the family have CF. Their laughter and play filled the hall, bringing home yet again the reason we're doing this ride.

Just before turning in (and settling down to write this journal!), I stopped by Harrison Lake, a short walk from the Executive Hotel, where we were staying. The sun had just disappeared behind the hills, creating a scene of absolute serenity. It was a fitting moment to complete this splendid day.