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Please support me in the 2010 Ride to Conquer Cancer - last year we were able to raise $6.9 million for the Alberta Cancer Foundation - hopefully we can raise even more in 2010! -
Blog under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
Apr
16
(2009)
Ride to Conquer Cancer Route
Filed under: general. Tags: alberta, bike, ride to conquer cancer.
They just (vaguely) announced the route for this year’s Ride to Conquer Cancer event. Looks like we’ll be leaving from the south end of Calgary (I’m guessing the parking lot at Spruce Meadows, but I could be wrong), heading briefly west then south along the Cowboy Trail on highway 22. The overnight camp is at Bar U Ranch near Longview. On day 2, we go another 100km (or so) south – finishing the ride at the Sierra West Ranch near Pincher Creek.
This part of the country is famous for the flat topology and calm wind conditions. You may have seen it in such films as Unforgiven, Brokeback Mountain, and Open Range. Hrm. Now I’m not so sure what to expect at the tent city.
Wait. What? It’s the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and consistently insanely windy? That’s where they build the wind-electric farms? I’m exhausted just looking at this route.
We’re still waiting for Vancouver to announce the route to Seattle. I don’t really like their reluctance to announce it…
It’s likely the same situation we had here in Alberta – the route’s been decided, but final negotiations with the municipalities on the route are ongoing. They have to provide emergency services, close roads, etc… and it’s best to play with them as opposed to just announcing the route without their support. I learned most of the details about this route a couple of weeks ago at an orientation, but it wasn’t “final” because there were still some things to nail down.
Ah yes – I remember cycling through that area years ago as part of a longer cycling trip from Jasper to San Francisco. The winds we encountered around Pincher Creek remain some of the most discouraging ones I’ve ever come across on my bike… We would cycle all day and cover a mere 30km. Then the wind would die down around 8pm and we’d ride until 10:30pm and cover an additional 50 clicks. Good luck!!
we don’t have to pack tents and sleeping bags etc… so _hopefully_ we slice through the wind a bit more easily. 200km to cover in 2 days. I’m hoping/assuming that’s less than 20 hours of riding
Might be windy D’arcy but it is a good cause. That and it might rank up there as one of the top ten tours of Canada. Right up there with the Cabot trail and the Dempster Highway. The scenery is fantastic! Large vista’s that you can appreciate the insignificance of humans!
G
Hi,
What a great ride. Glad it’s not me doing it. We often ride or walk for cancer here in the UK, sometimes as far as John O’ Groats to Lands End. That’s approx 900 miles but not very often.
We do a lot of short walks of about 5/10 miles to raise funds for charity. These are lovely walks in the good old English countryside, come rain or shine.
Robin