Kieran's Rideau Lakes Tour Update

June 6^th.  It is my birthday, which I usually try to spend on my bike.  At the moment, however, my bike is leaned up against about 50 others and Dee and I are crammed into the little gas station in Westport.  It is pouring.  Really coming down.  It is day two of the Rideau Lakes Tour and instead of riding my bike I am crouched over my frozen feet while smearing Vaseline all over all my exposed skin. 

Yesterday was a good day on our bikes.  Stiff headwind all the way but the sun shone the whole time.  The forecast had not been great and the morning was a bit bleak but as the day went on it just got better and better.  Our ride was uneventful except to say that riding a route with 2000 other riders, some faster, some slower is quite an experience; a home-coming of sorts.  The day ended at a giant beer tent on the Queens campus.   We sat for hours quenching our thirst as riders of all ages and stages of exhaustion rolled in.    At some point we shared stories with each of the 40 or so people from Peterborough who had committed to the ride as well as a number of old cycling friends from Ottawa and beyond. 

...Dinner?  University dining hall shared with 2000 people who had ridden between 100km-190km.  Indescribable!

Then Sunday.  Well, the forecast was bad but what we woke to was terrible.  Six degrees and rain is a horrible combination on a bike.   The wind bit through to our bones as we rolled out of Kingston on our way home.  Oh, and I forgot to mention that the wind had changed 180 degrees and was once again squarely in our faces.   Approaching the halfway feed station it became nearly impossible to change gears as my hands had become like frozen stumps.  Although colder than I have ever been while winter camping, in the steaming feed station we realized we were not that badly off.  The event organizers had started to arrange busses to evacuate near hypothermic people off the course.   An impassioned plea for all who could still ride to do so sent us back out onto the road. 

Up the road we found ourselves in the aforementioned gas station.  Now this was fun!  Here were the people who had decided to brave it and do whatever it took to get through the ride.   In a matter of hours this little shop probably sold out of every scrap of warm clothing they had had kicking around for years all the while having a very good laugh.  Dee found us some rubber dish gloves and shower caps while I got us some coffee and the Vaseline.  Although a bit gross to apply, Vaseline works wonders to help windproof the skin.  As we rolled out with our blue rubber kitchen gloves, greasy legs and shower caps we could not help but laugh at some of the solutions dreamed up by other riders.  The best, I think, was a couple that billowed and flapped past wearing huge rain-pants that they had crafted from garbage bags.  Although the garbage bag pants were impressive I really believe it was our find of the dusty bottle of Vaseline that kept us warm enough to keep the pedals going around.