Sunday, July 3, 2011

Tales of The Ride - II

8:00 am, Saturday, 18 June

The speeches and pep talks are finally over, and we’re off. A pack of 2,800 riders slowly oozes out of the casino parking lot and down the road, heading for the border. It’s a relief to be riding, and even though it’s a pretty slow pace, we’re starting to warm up.




Half a kilometre down the road is a sight we’ll see all weekend - someone fixing a flat.

Team Blazing Saddles gets split up in the crush of the pack. I find myself riding with Shanna and Kristina, the Kamloops contingent, and we ride together to the Peace Arch border crossing, where we wait like cattle in a big soggy field for nearly an hour, getting cold and wet all over again. Ugh.


Kristina & Shanna


Shower Caps & Garbage Bags


Our turn finally comes, we roll down through all the car traffic to the checkpoint, a quick passport scan, and we’re off again. There’s a pit stop right in Blaine, and we debate whether we should wait for the rest of the team or keep going. It’s a short debate - we’re just too damn cold to wait, so we roll out and head south.