19th
Day 13 - Montreal to Quebec City 157km
Monday September 19
The Story of Possibility.
After a somewhat perilous ride into the city of Montreal with minimal Sunday night traffic, we decided as a Team that getting out on a busy Monday morning was safer by RV than bicycle.
Once on the road we were moving pretty well. After spending many hundred kilometers together with the same people you start to know their signs - when they feel good, when they are tired, when they are going to swerve to avoid debris, when they are going to push, ease up etc.
Our small crew has gelled as a group and is working well together. We’ve each had our good and bad days and are content to either do the work or have the work done for us depending on where our legs may be on any given day.
In addition to our motorized ride out of town we also had an opportunity to meet Louis Garneau, see their offices, shop in the outlet store and finally, ride with the man who brought Steve Bauer to the line to win the silver medal in the 1984 Olympics. It was pretty sweet. In addition to this, while on the road we met Remy Pelletier a 21-year old national team rider who is revving up for the Pan-Am Games held in Mexico next month. If this is not enough he is juggling school as a Med School student. Love that stuff.
We were able to meet our Team 1 friends on the road and spend some time catching up on our different adventures.
It was a glorious day filled with sunshine, blue skies, fantastic scenery and nice roads.
It was a good day to be alive.
Making me extra appreciative of things today was the story of Sarah.
When our Team met for the first time in Vancouver we talked about why we were doing the ride and what we were hoping to accomplish.
We talked quite a bit about ‘changing the story’ around childhood cancer and this morning’s dedication provided a perfect example of why things need to be re-written.
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The Story of Sarah Smith
Fifteen days before Christmas 2006. Russell and Sue received the news every parent dreads, their daughter, Sarah, had a malignant brain tumour. A bad headache Friday became a visit to the local emergency department on the Saturday morning and later that night they had left their home in London Ontario and were at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. Sunday was a day of CT scans and MRIs.
Tests revealed the tumour was 11 cm about the size of a grapefruit. They were informed that surgery was the only option to halt its rapid progress. Three days after diagnosis. Sarah underwent her first surgery. Sarah had many courses of chemotherapy, a stem cell treatment, radiation, physiotherapy, occupational therapy. She made numerous trips to the operating room. She was admitted to Sick Kids numerous times and had several recurrences.
In December 2010 when after years of treatment her doctors decided she had run out of options Sarah began receiving pallative care.
Sarah passed away in late February 2011.
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When I think about changing the story I think about everything from earlier detection to more effective treatments to less intrusive side effects.
Above all, I think about completely different endings than Sarah’s.
“This was a story of possibility. If we fund our athletes, if we are innovative, if we do not bow to the nattering chorus, if we are talented, and if we are brave enough to commit our whole selves to winning knowing how much more crushing it will be should we fail, then Canada can compete with anybody. Then Canada can win.” - Bruce Arthur, National Post August 19, 2008
(For me, there is no better analogy for life than sport.)
Glen.
