Sujets
The Ride to Conquer Cancer was an amazing experience.
The roads were long, the hills were intense, the temps were in the 30s under full sunshine.. I am certain the scenery was nice however I don't remember much of it because I was so focused on the next 100 metres or so in front of me and the cyclists on either side of me.
I missed 15 km between Stage 4 and Stage 5 on Day Two when my blood sugar got out of whack and me and my bike had to be transported to the next medical post on the route. As karma would have it, Di was driving the 'Sweep Car' that picked me up.
At the med post, after a banana and a check of my vitals they cleared me for Stage 5 and so off I cycled for the final 26 km.. which included a few more heartbreaking hills thrown in for good measure..
We entered the Finish Area under motorcycle police escort and it was a mind-blowing welcome. There's nothing quite like hearing your name being announced, seeing your image on a jumbotron and hearing all the warm wonderful applause.. after cycling 275 km in two rugged days. Together, all the 1800+ cyclists raised nearly $7 million for cancer research.
It will take a few more days for my body to rebound completely however with only a sore shoulder and a few numb fingers on one hand, I'm not that much worse for all the wear and tear on my system. When I started training for The Ride to Conquer Cancer I weighed 340 pounds. Now I'm very proud to report I am maintaining a much healthier 210 pounds.
I want to thank everyone who sent messages via FB or email - it was really nice to have a virtual cheering section.
Thank you for making a donation. Several times during The Ride I cycled next to a cancer survivor or was cheered by the family of someone who had been lost to cancer. Those were emotional reminders of why I made the commitment to The Ride to Conquer Cancer in the first place.
par Hal Newman le jeu., juil. 22, 2010 @ 9:48 AM
Lien permanent
Aucun commentaire
Montreal QC--The draw of the whitewater and the rapids of the River Denial is so strong they can pull you in and make you believe you can just ride along until everything will be all right.
Rather than acknowledge and embrace your environment for what it is, it's so much easier to ignore the overt risk factors and hope the current will help you skirt any life-threatening collisions with fixed objects, any sucking hydraulics that will drown you in place, or prevent you from falling from the boat into water moving so quickly you'll never reach the safety of the river banks.
I know because I am a veteran of a serious whitewater rafting trip on the River Denial...
http://bigmedicine.ca/wordpress/2010/03/whitewater-rafting-on-the-river-denial/
par Hal Newman le jeu., avr. 01, 2010 @ 9:46 AM
Lien permanent
Aucun commentaire
It was a cool 9 C out there today however it was a wonderful 30 km training ride through Pointe Claire, Beaconsfield, and Kirkland.
I'd like to dedicate today's ride to my cousin-in-law Eric who beat back cancer with determination and the love of his family.
We share a birthday and a love of cycling although it's not likely I'll be able to keep up to his pack anytime soon.
par Hal Newman le jeu., nov. 26, 2009 @ 1:09 PM
Lien permanent
Aucun commentaire
Fat Man On Trek on a very early 30 km ride this morning.
I was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise over Lac St Louis...
par Hal Newman le dim., nov. 01, 2009 @ 9:03 PM
Lien permanent
Aucun commentaire
Fat Man On Trek to Conquer Cancer: Today is unseasonably mild so I got to ride outside and it was an awesome, fast circuit - dedicated to the late great Gil Hodges, paramedic.
par Hal Newman le dim., nov. 01, 2009 @ 9:02 PM
Lien permanent
Aucun commentaire
Fat Man On Trek.
Today's training ride was dedicated to Wild Bill C out on Vacation Lane for being a courageous survivor.
Featured soundtrack tune was 'The Saints Are Coming' performed live by U2 & Green Day..
par Hal Newman le dim., nov. 01, 2009 @ 9:01 PM
Lien permanent
Aucun commentaire
Fat Man On Trek to Conquer Cancer.
This morning's training ride was dedicated to the late great Susan Munro, who never stopped fighting cancer.
Soundtrack included Sweet's Ballroom Blitz and Stevie Forbert's Romeo's Tune.
par Hal Newman le dim., nov. 01, 2009 @ 9:00 PM
Lien permanent
Aucun commentaire
Fat Man On Trek training ride indoors today. The soundtrack included Guns N Roses 'Welcome To The Jungle' and Van Halen 'Running with the Devil'... there's something to be said about being able to cycle with tunes. Today's ride was dedicated to Gil and Clare in New Mexico...thanks for supporting Fat Man On Trek to Conquer Cancer.
par Hal Newman le dim., nov. 01, 2009 @ 9:00 PM
Lien permanent
Aucun commentaire
Fat Man On Trek headed outside again... think it might be the last ride for a while seeing as the weather guys are whispering the "snow" word between one another...
Fat Man On Trek complete with new leg warmers on a nice training ride today in cold weather.. Today's ride was dedicated to the late great Paula and the late great Gayle, both taken long before their time by cancer. Thanks to Jeri for remembering your friends and for supporting the Fat Man On Trek to Conquer Cancer effort.
Fat Man On Trek to Conquer Cancer with help from my family.. Dianne, Sue and Mat [from Calgary] are joining up with the FMOT to Conquer Cancer team.
Invitations went out across the continent as we invited our family to join us for a family reunion and meaningful bike ride through the countryside of Quebec to raise funds to conquer cancer.
par Hal Newman le dim., nov. 01, 2009 @ 8:59 PM
Lien permanent
Aucun commentaire
Fat Man On Trek to Conquer Cancer with a beautiful article to support the cause on the front page of Irked Magazine. Thank you, Sacha. Here's the link to Irked
http://irkedmagazine.com/8169/support-hal-newmans-250km-fat-man-on-trek-to-conquer-cancer-bike-ride/
Today's 30 km training ride was dedicated to Ace Hayward and to Kelly Rouba's late grandfather...
par Hal Newman le dim., nov. 01, 2009 @ 8:57 PM
Lien permanent
Aucun commentaire
"having cancer is the greatest education on life and death you will ever receive..." - Dan Jennings. Ref'd by Paul Acevedo Hayward
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/a-funny-thing-happened-on-the-way-to-the-cancer-clinic/
par Hal Newman le dim., nov. 01, 2009 @ 8:56 PM
Lien permanent
Aucun commentaire
Fat Man On Trek with a new Blackburn TechFluid trainer...finally get to cycle while listening to music and not risk being smacked by a semi.. Far out.
par Hal Newman le dim., nov. 01, 2009 @ 8:54 PM
Lien permanent
Aucun commentaire
Fat Man On Trek again - on a-feels-like-brand-new completely repaired and tuned-up bike...a wonderful albeit cool 30 km ride this afternoon. Sweeet.
par Hal Newman le dim., nov. 01, 2009 @ 8:54 PM
Lien permanent
Aucun commentaire
Fat Man On Trek is getting ready for the transition to riding my bike indoors... aaargh.
par Hal Newman le dim., nov. 01, 2009 @ 8:53 PM
Lien permanent
Aucun commentaire
Fat Man On Trek this morning... serious work-out on a very different new route in Jefferson City, Missouri.
par Hal Newman le dim., nov. 01, 2009 @ 8:52 PM
Lien permanent
Aucun commentaire
Fat Man On Trek this morning on a really good ride until the last few klicks when my back wheel started to get wobbly...hmmm.. thinking a serious Synergy visit is in order.
par Hal Newman le dim., nov. 01, 2009 @ 8:51 PM
Lien permanent
Aucun commentaire
I was Fat Man On Trek this afternoon on a great ride in the drizzle, rain, and mud. Our street is an Xtreme Sports venue with a big ditch where the pavement used to be... another 30 km in the books for the season. Rockin' roll!
par Hal Newman le dim., nov. 01, 2009 @ 8:50 PM
Lien permanent
Aucun commentaire
I continue to be blown away as friends make donations towards my goal of raising a minimum of $2500 for the Fat Man On Trek to Conquer Cancer.
Put in a sweet 30 km yesterday at speed. Actually beginning to enjoy tacking hills now. Rainy day here so I'll take it slower out there today.
Today's FMOT to Conquer Cancer training ride is dedicated to Paul 'Ace' Hayward. Whatever lack of finesse I brought to the 30 km sprint was overcome with plenty of grit and determination - and a middle finger salute to cancer at the end of the ride.
Ace is very much alive and doing some serious battle. He is the creative mind behind the 11 Man Gang line of soccer gear.
par Hal Newman le dim., nov. 01, 2009 @ 8:47 PM
Lien permanent
Aucun commentaire
Today's FMOT to Conquer Cancer training ride is dedicated to Paul 'Ace' Hayward.
Whatever lack of finesse I brought to the 30 km sprint was overcome with plenty of grit and determination - and a middle finger salute to cancer at the end of the ride.
Ace is very much alive and doing some serious battle. He is the creative mind behind the 11 Man Gang line of soccer gear.
par Hal Newman le dim., sept. 27, 2009 @ 4:22 PM
Lien permanent
Aucun commentaire
Please read this very personal reflection about bladder cancer and firefighters from my brother-of-another-mother, Norm Rooker. http://www.bigmedicine.ca/normrooker.htm#Not_as_good_as_I_once_was
par Hal Newman le ven., sept. 25, 2009 @ 1:44 PM
Lien permanent
Aucun commentaire
There's a heartbroken dad riding across a big chunk of America to raise money for pediatric cancer research so that other dads and moms - hopefully - won't lose their child to cancer. Pablo Castelaz was six years old and six days old when he died in June.
Source: http://www.pablove.org
par Hal Newman le dim., sept. 20, 2009 @ 8:39 AM
Lien permanent
Aucun commentaire
