Cycle Tour
2021 Chair: Lib Cooper
2021 Co-Chair: Wanda Bentkowski
2021 Chair: Lib Cooper
2021 Co-Chair: Wanda Bentkowski
Riders out on a HOT day at the end of June.
Left, cycling along the new path on Dallas Road. Right, a selfie taken at the welcome shady coffee stop.
Left, cycling along the new path on Dallas Road. Right, a selfie taken at the welcome shady coffee stop.
Boulevard Magazine published an article by Linda Mills, about taking up cycling in her 70's!
VG4A 2020 Cycle Tour:
Cycling sub-Saharan Africa
Cycling sub-Saharan Africa
The VG4A 2020 cycle tour chose a different format this year. In light of continued requirements for physical distancing and near certainty of a second wave of COVID-19, the Cycle Tour Working Group landed on a cycle tour format that respects the health of cyclists. That said, commitment to raising money for the Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign remains stronger than ever as grassroots organizations in sub-Saharan Africa cope with COVID-19 in addition to challenges created by HIV and AIDS.
We did not go to Africa; however, from August 17 – September 13, 2020 registered cyclists collectively cycled 18,107 km, the distance to cycle to most SLF funded communities.
The 18,107 km distance was divided into six sections, each of approximately 3,000 km. Team leaders were assigned, given a section and managed their team with each team riding 3,000 km. Although riders cycled independently, once registered they were randomly divided into teams that include riders committed to both shorter and longer distances for the cycle tour. Each rider determined for herself a distance to ride over the duration of the cycle tour. Team leaders checked in with their members and tracked distances on a weekly basis. Teams were provided with information about the SLF projects in their section so that riders and donors were more connected to the grassroots initiatives in Africa.
This year’s cycle tour format allowed for even more women 55 years of age and older to show our African sisters that “We will not rest until they can rest.”
2020 training looked different with cyclists out in pairs or small groups ... and you just never know who you might meet along the way! Our thanks to Heather and Santino from Millstream Miniature Llamas on Atkins Road for allowing us to post the picture of their morning walk on the trail.
Personal Stories of Cyclists
Victoria Grandmothers Cycle Tour
Aug 17 - Sep 13, 2020
1. Peg Frank
This journey - virtually riding across Africa has been amazing. Last week I thought it the strangest thing to read about the Village of Hope in Rwanda. That started me on a fundraising journey which ended for me when they got water and electricity. Many of you helped support that project in about 2002. This week, my team captain sent the Chiedza story. I spent Christmas at Chiedza in Zimbabwe in 2005. My partner and I paid for a feast with a towering stack of inflated Zim dollars. The director bought meat, potatoes, squash, popcorn,... and then we bought beer. The women cooking the meat couldn’t get the smiles off their faces. They hadn't eaten this kind of thing for months if not years. We helped prepare food all day. and then feasted with about 40 grans and children. I later helped the grandmothers from Chiedza submit applications to get to the 2006 gathering in Toronto. In fact, my fundraising page shows us at the gathering - the grandmothers and my family. I am — of course - crying. Sometimes I feel I am not doing enough but see that this link has helped them long-term. These are happy tears. Below are two pictures. One is a boy playing with a rock and making all the brum-brum sounds of driving a big truck. The second is lacework done by the grannies as they pass time chatting. They brought a huge suitcase of it to Toronto and sold a lot. We (at positively AFRICA) bought what was left over and I still have some I think. It didn’t sell well here. But how we rolled in Chiedza is just amazing. I met a woman here in Victoria and asked if she knew an orphanage in Zim where we might plan to spend Christmas. We wanted to give a big celebration to some children who might not otherwise know such things. Her Auntie was running Chiedza at that time so we made arrangements. At that time, they had a few rooms in a house, a compound, a place to cook and this delightful covered area to sit in the shade as well as a small plantation of moringa trees. After dinner we danced, thanks to a music box that a Japanese intern had. We smiled as the orphans led their happy grannies home. We had had such fun. I guess they are still smiling today.
This journey - virtually riding across Africa has been amazing. Last week I thought it the strangest thing to read about the Village of Hope in Rwanda. That started me on a fundraising journey which ended for me when they got water and electricity. Many of you helped support that project in about 2002. This week, my team captain sent the Chiedza story. I spent Christmas at Chiedza in Zimbabwe in 2005. My partner and I paid for a feast with a towering stack of inflated Zim dollars. The director bought meat, potatoes, squash, popcorn,... and then we bought beer. The women cooking the meat couldn’t get the smiles off their faces. They hadn't eaten this kind of thing for months if not years. We helped prepare food all day. and then feasted with about 40 grans and children. I later helped the grandmothers from Chiedza submit applications to get to the 2006 gathering in Toronto. In fact, my fundraising page shows us at the gathering - the grandmothers and my family. I am — of course - crying. Sometimes I feel I am not doing enough but see that this link has helped them long-term. These are happy tears. Below are two pictures. One is a boy playing with a rock and making all the brum-brum sounds of driving a big truck. The second is lacework done by the grannies as they pass time chatting. They brought a huge suitcase of it to Toronto and sold a lot. We (at positively AFRICA) bought what was left over and I still have some I think. It didn’t sell well here. But how we rolled in Chiedza is just amazing. I met a woman here in Victoria and asked if she knew an orphanage in Zim where we might plan to spend Christmas. We wanted to give a big celebration to some children who might not otherwise know such things. Her Auntie was running Chiedza at that time so we made arrangements. At that time, they had a few rooms in a house, a compound, a place to cook and this delightful covered area to sit in the shade as well as a small plantation of moringa trees. After dinner we danced, thanks to a music box that a Japanese intern had. We smiled as the orphans led their happy grannies home. We had had such fun. I guess they are still smiling today.
2. Joanne Egan
When Joanne took her car into Kia for servicing, she congratulated the General Manager for his new initiative, lending bikes to clients while their vehicle is being serviced. She went on to tell him that she was cycling in the Victoria Grandmothers Cycle Tour. She obviously caught his interest, because once home, she discovered he had donated to her page! There are fundraising opportunities and generous local businesses around every corner.
When Joanne took her car into Kia for servicing, she congratulated the General Manager for his new initiative, lending bikes to clients while their vehicle is being serviced. She went on to tell him that she was cycling in the Victoria Grandmothers Cycle Tour. She obviously caught his interest, because once home, she discovered he had donated to her page! There are fundraising opportunities and generous local businesses around every corner.
3. Janet Russell
Janet loves to be active, and she packs a lot into a day, even now in her 80s. When I arrived at her lovely home in Sidney to chat with her, she had already been for a bike ride and visited with a friend and she was washing her car. The day before she had taken down all of the tomato plants in her overflowing patio garden. She golfs every Tuesday, and bikes A LOT.
She loved dancing when she was younger, and seriously wanted to be a ballerina at one point. She also played a lot of tennis in her youth, as did her parents. She got a Phys Ed degree in Nonington, Kent, in the UK and shortly after that married and had a son and daughter. Her husband, Brom, was a professional soccer player and coach, and an educator. He was offered a job in Uganda at a teacher training school “way out in the bush” where she accompanied him with a toddler and a baby. They left Uganda after 2.5 years to return to the UK for the kids’ schooling, but soon felt they wanted another change of location. They applied to Australia and Canada, and ended up living for many years in the Eastern Townships, in the southwest corner of Quebec, on the border of Vermont. They had a hobby farm here – chickens, 4 cows, 2 pigs and the kids had a pony. Janet started playing tennis again here. The last 10 years before retirement were spent in Winnipeg. They enjoyed Winnipeg but after 10 years both Janet and Brom were ready to retire to Vancouver Island where they bought a home on an acre of land in Metchosin. They became regular hikers with 3 other couples, and cycled the Galloping Goose often on their mountain bikes. They also square danced, participated in international dancing and ballroom dancing, and swam regularly in the Commonwealth Pool.
When her husband became ill, they sold the house in Metchosin and bought a place in Sidney that would suit her when she was left alone. She started doing spin classes in Sidney after her husband died in 2006. It was at these classes she met Joanne Egan and they started biking together. She did the Campbell River – Victoria ride in 2011 and 2012, on a big heavy bike with only 8 gears - and has continued to ride with the VG4A grannies and with the Glammas ever since. She is not really motivated by health and fitness, or times and speeds, but more by a love of being active and outdoors. She doesn’t even keep score when she golfs! She has hiked over the years with different groups but recently has curtailed most hiking in favour of biking because it is easier on her knees. She has been on the list for a knee replacement for many years now but her doctor keeps saying it doesn’t seem to be necessary; she feels the biking has actually strengthened her.
Janet did the coast-to-coast hike in England with Jean McDonald about 6 years ago and loved it, although she says they under-anticipated how challenging it was. (As far as I can tell, that would have suited her to a T!) She did a bike-and-barge (her 3rd) with Joanne in Provence a few years ago, and then rode from Paris to London with Joanne in the first half of 2018, something she had always wanted to do. She fell while biking and broke her hip later in 2018. She now has a rod in her femur but it barely slowed her down. She recovered quickly – started joining the winter cyclists for coffees at Georgia’s on Monday mornings within weeks, and was on her bike again by springtime. She did a walk with her daughter in southern England in 2019.
I asked Janet’s friend Joanne for an anecdote or two and I am going to use her own words because they are perfect. “When Janet and I did the bike and barge in Provence a few years ago she was always at the head of the pack. When we rode Paris to London I had decided to go it on an electric bike which I loved by the way. One day there was an e bike available and I suggested she might try it. No way she said, “if I can’t do it on my own I’m not doing it!”. She rode every hill under her own steam. She takes every hill with ease, always ahead of me and is far in the distance by the time I’ve arrived, gasping, at the top.
Janet is fiercely competitive although she won’t admit it. Often after a ride if she finds others are ahead by a km or two she will do a couple of round-abouts to make up the Kms. Janet is keenly interested in everything. She knows the latest news in Sidney, Canada and the UK. She is a healthy eater, wouldn’t buy a bag of potato chips, chocolate bar or Junk food of any sort. Her healthy meals are made from scratch, she rarely eats a meal out. My son says, “Janet is a machine”!!” Thanks for this great input Joanne!
Her children are sporty but much less so than Janet. Her son cycles and walks and is into hockey as are his two boys. Her daughter is getting into golf. To this day, her daughter has a memory that she describes as her “mother MAKING her go cross-country skiing”. Janet says that the thing about being 80-something is that she doesn’t actually feel like she’s 80-something. It is truly just a number and it kind of creeps up on you.
Janet loves to be active, and she packs a lot into a day, even now in her 80s. When I arrived at her lovely home in Sidney to chat with her, she had already been for a bike ride and visited with a friend and she was washing her car. The day before she had taken down all of the tomato plants in her overflowing patio garden. She golfs every Tuesday, and bikes A LOT.
She loved dancing when she was younger, and seriously wanted to be a ballerina at one point. She also played a lot of tennis in her youth, as did her parents. She got a Phys Ed degree in Nonington, Kent, in the UK and shortly after that married and had a son and daughter. Her husband, Brom, was a professional soccer player and coach, and an educator. He was offered a job in Uganda at a teacher training school “way out in the bush” where she accompanied him with a toddler and a baby. They left Uganda after 2.5 years to return to the UK for the kids’ schooling, but soon felt they wanted another change of location. They applied to Australia and Canada, and ended up living for many years in the Eastern Townships, in the southwest corner of Quebec, on the border of Vermont. They had a hobby farm here – chickens, 4 cows, 2 pigs and the kids had a pony. Janet started playing tennis again here. The last 10 years before retirement were spent in Winnipeg. They enjoyed Winnipeg but after 10 years both Janet and Brom were ready to retire to Vancouver Island where they bought a home on an acre of land in Metchosin. They became regular hikers with 3 other couples, and cycled the Galloping Goose often on their mountain bikes. They also square danced, participated in international dancing and ballroom dancing, and swam regularly in the Commonwealth Pool.
When her husband became ill, they sold the house in Metchosin and bought a place in Sidney that would suit her when she was left alone. She started doing spin classes in Sidney after her husband died in 2006. It was at these classes she met Joanne Egan and they started biking together. She did the Campbell River – Victoria ride in 2011 and 2012, on a big heavy bike with only 8 gears - and has continued to ride with the VG4A grannies and with the Glammas ever since. She is not really motivated by health and fitness, or times and speeds, but more by a love of being active and outdoors. She doesn’t even keep score when she golfs! She has hiked over the years with different groups but recently has curtailed most hiking in favour of biking because it is easier on her knees. She has been on the list for a knee replacement for many years now but her doctor keeps saying it doesn’t seem to be necessary; she feels the biking has actually strengthened her.
Janet did the coast-to-coast hike in England with Jean McDonald about 6 years ago and loved it, although she says they under-anticipated how challenging it was. (As far as I can tell, that would have suited her to a T!) She did a bike-and-barge (her 3rd) with Joanne in Provence a few years ago, and then rode from Paris to London with Joanne in the first half of 2018, something she had always wanted to do. She fell while biking and broke her hip later in 2018. She now has a rod in her femur but it barely slowed her down. She recovered quickly – started joining the winter cyclists for coffees at Georgia’s on Monday mornings within weeks, and was on her bike again by springtime. She did a walk with her daughter in southern England in 2019.
I asked Janet’s friend Joanne for an anecdote or two and I am going to use her own words because they are perfect. “When Janet and I did the bike and barge in Provence a few years ago she was always at the head of the pack. When we rode Paris to London I had decided to go it on an electric bike which I loved by the way. One day there was an e bike available and I suggested she might try it. No way she said, “if I can’t do it on my own I’m not doing it!”. She rode every hill under her own steam. She takes every hill with ease, always ahead of me and is far in the distance by the time I’ve arrived, gasping, at the top.
Janet is fiercely competitive although she won’t admit it. Often after a ride if she finds others are ahead by a km or two she will do a couple of round-abouts to make up the Kms. Janet is keenly interested in everything. She knows the latest news in Sidney, Canada and the UK. She is a healthy eater, wouldn’t buy a bag of potato chips, chocolate bar or Junk food of any sort. Her healthy meals are made from scratch, she rarely eats a meal out. My son says, “Janet is a machine”!!” Thanks for this great input Joanne!
Her children are sporty but much less so than Janet. Her son cycles and walks and is into hockey as are his two boys. Her daughter is getting into golf. To this day, her daughter has a memory that she describes as her “mother MAKING her go cross-country skiing”. Janet says that the thing about being 80-something is that she doesn’t actually feel like she’s 80-something. It is truly just a number and it kind of creeps up on you.
4. Carol Guin
Carol was born in the US in December 1934 where her father was a public health doctor. He died when she was 10 and they moved back to Canada, to Weston ON, a Toronto suburb where her grandparents lived. She went to high school in Weston, where she played intramural baseball and volleyball. She then went on to get a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education from McGill. At that time they were looking for anyone who had any amount of skill to be on the intercollegiate teams (so she says) and she ended up being on both the volleyball and the swim teams. Carol did some work at summer camps, often waterfront director, while she was a university student. After graduating from McGill, Carol taught at the YWCAs in both Toronto and Montreal, and after a few years there, went to work at the Y in Calcutta, India. Not long after arriving, she was asked to take a group of young women trekking in the Himalayas. She knew very little about trekking or camping and nothing at all about the Himalayas, but said yes and managed it. They started their trek out of Darjeeling and saw some beautiful parts of the Himalayas on the Indian side. One morning the clouds cleared and they could see Mt. Everest. “Three of us went a little farther to where we could see the view, she told me”. Having talked to Carol now, and met her, I would say this “going a little farther” has characterized her life somewhat. Carol lived in India for 7 years – married and had a son there. She and her husband also had a daughter who was born in Canada.
Carol told me that her parents were not really into health and fitness but then she remembered a couple of things. Her mom walked a little. Her dad sailed and her stepdad did fast walking, NOT running. He said “do you see the grim look on the face of those who are running?” After her marriage ended, Carol moved to Huntsville, ON where she owned a health food store, and then moved to Ottawa a few years later. Her bicycle was her main mode of transport for 2 years in Toronto and 5 years in Ottawa, when she didn’t own a car. She got quite good at weaving in and out of traffic in Toronto., but also enjoyed the bike paths in Ottawa. Since she left Ottawa she hasn’t ridden a bike! In 1995, she was ready to leave Ottawa and live somewhere else but she didn’t know where. She even swung a pendulum to help her decide. Her daughter Deblekha had moved to Galiano Island while recovering from shingles and never left. Carol house-sat for Deblekha while she was deciding about her own future; Deblekha made her promise she wouldn’t stay! She went home to Ottawa after the house-sit but quickly realized she wanted to live on Galiano. Now she doesn’t make promises any more, only says she will try her to best to do something. 😊. They would both like you to know, that though Deblekha didn't want her to stay she is glad that she did come back, especially when Ella was born. It is nice to have a relationship between granddaughter and grandmother, and Deblekha had a great relationship with her grandmother. Carol bought a motorcycle in Ottawa and learned how to ride it over a couple of years – a Honda 250. She then drove it all the way to her house-sit in Galiano where she left it for her daughter. She says it is actually a much more suitable way of getting around Galiano, with all its hills, than a bicycle. Now she walks the trails – prefers that to walking on a flat surface, and does Iyengar yoga which keeps her mobile and strong, and gives her body awareness and helps her posture. She notes that when her posture is bad and she slouches any pain seems to be worse as she is out of alignment.
Carol is currently a library volunteer, a member of a book club (reading The Overstory by Richard Powers and Greenwood by Michael Christie, a Galiano resident), and a member of the newly-formed Gogos Galiano. Members make and sell things at a market table every weekend on the island. They were inspired by Jean Way (who used to live on Galiano) and who has been involved with the Grandmothers Campaign for a number of years. Carol was intrigued by this year’s offering of a virtual Cycle Tour. She said “I think first of all it was the challenge to see if I could still ride a bike. As my balance is still good and I still have strength in my legs I thought that I would give it a try. So I tried my 15-year-old granddaughter's bike on a fairly flat road in front of my daughter's, with my daughter keeping careful watch and I did it!” She rode most of her kilometres for the tour (102) on that fairly flat road in front of her daughter’s, back and forth 3.5 times a day to get 5K. Then this Tuesday, on the first day of the smoke, she and Joan Robertson, another of the Galiano tour participants, came over on the ferry and cycled to Sidney and back – 12 km and a pretty big variety of cycling challenges compared to her daily 5K. Carol says she really likes a challenge, and likes adapting. She would classify herself as a calculated risk-taker, generally taking a sink or swim attitude to things. (She doesn’t want to skydive though. 😊)
She generally can push past fear – yes and no. At the beginning, she was afraid of losing her balance when going around corners and turning on her bike so she got off and walked it around. I saw her looking pretty comfortable around corners and getting on and off when she came to Sidney though, so I think she is overcoming those fears. She says if she falls, she will just consider it a bone density test! Carol told us it is unlikely she will continue riding, because it is not easy on Galiano, but that she definitely achieved what she set out to do. Maybe we will be able to talk her into participating again next year …
Carol was born in the US in December 1934 where her father was a public health doctor. He died when she was 10 and they moved back to Canada, to Weston ON, a Toronto suburb where her grandparents lived. She went to high school in Weston, where she played intramural baseball and volleyball. She then went on to get a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education from McGill. At that time they were looking for anyone who had any amount of skill to be on the intercollegiate teams (so she says) and she ended up being on both the volleyball and the swim teams. Carol did some work at summer camps, often waterfront director, while she was a university student. After graduating from McGill, Carol taught at the YWCAs in both Toronto and Montreal, and after a few years there, went to work at the Y in Calcutta, India. Not long after arriving, she was asked to take a group of young women trekking in the Himalayas. She knew very little about trekking or camping and nothing at all about the Himalayas, but said yes and managed it. They started their trek out of Darjeeling and saw some beautiful parts of the Himalayas on the Indian side. One morning the clouds cleared and they could see Mt. Everest. “Three of us went a little farther to where we could see the view, she told me”. Having talked to Carol now, and met her, I would say this “going a little farther” has characterized her life somewhat. Carol lived in India for 7 years – married and had a son there. She and her husband also had a daughter who was born in Canada.
Carol told me that her parents were not really into health and fitness but then she remembered a couple of things. Her mom walked a little. Her dad sailed and her stepdad did fast walking, NOT running. He said “do you see the grim look on the face of those who are running?” After her marriage ended, Carol moved to Huntsville, ON where she owned a health food store, and then moved to Ottawa a few years later. Her bicycle was her main mode of transport for 2 years in Toronto and 5 years in Ottawa, when she didn’t own a car. She got quite good at weaving in and out of traffic in Toronto., but also enjoyed the bike paths in Ottawa. Since she left Ottawa she hasn’t ridden a bike! In 1995, she was ready to leave Ottawa and live somewhere else but she didn’t know where. She even swung a pendulum to help her decide. Her daughter Deblekha had moved to Galiano Island while recovering from shingles and never left. Carol house-sat for Deblekha while she was deciding about her own future; Deblekha made her promise she wouldn’t stay! She went home to Ottawa after the house-sit but quickly realized she wanted to live on Galiano. Now she doesn’t make promises any more, only says she will try her to best to do something. 😊. They would both like you to know, that though Deblekha didn't want her to stay she is glad that she did come back, especially when Ella was born. It is nice to have a relationship between granddaughter and grandmother, and Deblekha had a great relationship with her grandmother. Carol bought a motorcycle in Ottawa and learned how to ride it over a couple of years – a Honda 250. She then drove it all the way to her house-sit in Galiano where she left it for her daughter. She says it is actually a much more suitable way of getting around Galiano, with all its hills, than a bicycle. Now she walks the trails – prefers that to walking on a flat surface, and does Iyengar yoga which keeps her mobile and strong, and gives her body awareness and helps her posture. She notes that when her posture is bad and she slouches any pain seems to be worse as she is out of alignment.
Carol is currently a library volunteer, a member of a book club (reading The Overstory by Richard Powers and Greenwood by Michael Christie, a Galiano resident), and a member of the newly-formed Gogos Galiano. Members make and sell things at a market table every weekend on the island. They were inspired by Jean Way (who used to live on Galiano) and who has been involved with the Grandmothers Campaign for a number of years. Carol was intrigued by this year’s offering of a virtual Cycle Tour. She said “I think first of all it was the challenge to see if I could still ride a bike. As my balance is still good and I still have strength in my legs I thought that I would give it a try. So I tried my 15-year-old granddaughter's bike on a fairly flat road in front of my daughter's, with my daughter keeping careful watch and I did it!” She rode most of her kilometres for the tour (102) on that fairly flat road in front of her daughter’s, back and forth 3.5 times a day to get 5K. Then this Tuesday, on the first day of the smoke, she and Joan Robertson, another of the Galiano tour participants, came over on the ferry and cycled to Sidney and back – 12 km and a pretty big variety of cycling challenges compared to her daily 5K. Carol says she really likes a challenge, and likes adapting. She would classify herself as a calculated risk-taker, generally taking a sink or swim attitude to things. (She doesn’t want to skydive though. 😊)
She generally can push past fear – yes and no. At the beginning, she was afraid of losing her balance when going around corners and turning on her bike so she got off and walked it around. I saw her looking pretty comfortable around corners and getting on and off when she came to Sidney though, so I think she is overcoming those fears. She says if she falls, she will just consider it a bone density test! Carol told us it is unlikely she will continue riding, because it is not easy on Galiano, but that she definitely achieved what she set out to do. Maybe we will be able to talk her into participating again next year …
5. Joan Roberston
“I'm loving all aspects of this! - the physical power I feel cycling (for the first time in 5 years), the wind on my face, the peeks I get into people's yards, the kind and enthusiastic reception people give to the Stephen Lewis Foundation, the time I get to think about our sisters in Africa, and...ah! but you already know all this!”
“I'm loving all aspects of this! - the physical power I feel cycling (for the first time in 5 years), the wind on my face, the peeks I get into people's yards, the kind and enthusiastic reception people give to the Stephen Lewis Foundation, the time I get to think about our sisters in Africa, and...ah! but you already know all this!”
6. Fonda Willis
“This is a photo of me after cycling to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa In 2018, after I had completed the Grandmothers to Grandmothers cycle tour the autumn before.
This year’s cycle tour is a very different experience. The intensity of the training, the sense of teamwork, and the uplifting support of the grandmothers groups down the Island, are absent this year. Instead, I find myself with more emotional space for considering the lives of our African grandmother partners, and the commitment they give to their families and their communities. Because the cycling this summer is more leisurely, and I am cycling alone or in a duo, I find myself more observant of my surroundings, and I feel deep gratitude for my health, security, and good fortune. This is such a small thing to do for our grandmother partners in Africa.”
“This is a photo of me after cycling to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa In 2018, after I had completed the Grandmothers to Grandmothers cycle tour the autumn before.
This year’s cycle tour is a very different experience. The intensity of the training, the sense of teamwork, and the uplifting support of the grandmothers groups down the Island, are absent this year. Instead, I find myself with more emotional space for considering the lives of our African grandmother partners, and the commitment they give to their families and their communities. Because the cycling this summer is more leisurely, and I am cycling alone or in a duo, I find myself more observant of my surroundings, and I feel deep gratitude for my health, security, and good fortune. This is such a small thing to do for our grandmother partners in Africa.”
7. Jane Templeman
“Yes I was part of the founding of the NanGo Grannies along with Donna Anthony in 2005/6. The second group in BC after the Kamloops group.
I helped Carol Judd map out the route thro' Nanaimo for the first cycle tour, I think 2007. I met the group arriving at the north end and rode with them to the lunch stop at Maffeo Sutton Park and rode with the group out of Nanaimo. The Nan Go’s put on the lunch, the catering organized by Pat Clements. It was then I decided I had better get in shape to join the tour the following year! I rode in 2008, 09, 10, and 2011 (On PEI as we were travelling), 2012 and again in 2016 for the 10th anniversary ride, and now this year.
The perimeter road in Stanley Park (Xwayxway, Squamish) has been restricted to allow one lane for cycling during Covid-19. Two loops of the park from my home is 22km, just what I needed to ride daily to achieve my 600km goal. Early morning, it is a beautiful ride, quiet, shady through forest and along the ocean.
There is a long, 1.5 km, hill up and around Prospect Point that is a slog. The first week, I could manage it once and by week 3 I could do it twice each day, albeit slowly! It became the moment of my ride that I would reflect on the grandmothers. I have an image of an African grandmother setting out each day on an arduous walk to collect water, returning home with a heavy load. And having to do it day in and day out, with no choice. So I settle into my climb, knowing that I have a choice to get up and ride each day.
I must also say “thanks” to our ride organizers: they laid out a difficult challenge for us. Riding each day for 28 days is much harder than the 3 day tour from Campbell River to Victoria. I recall, in past years, the sense of going on vacation: the great company, the good food and welcome, the laughter and wine…yes, each day’s ride was tough but it felt like a party! And then it was over. Riding each day for 28 days required discipline and organization to work it into my routine. It felt closer to the realities of daily life faced by our African sisters and the discipline they show for their families. For them it is never over.
Lastly, I reflect back on the month and the image of the circle of life comes to me: My family welcomes a new baby girl born to my niece. A good friend has entered hospital and faces end of life care. It reminds me of how life carries on and how precious it is. And I think of the privilege we have that allows us to participate and the abundance that accompanies us. So I am very grateful for this opportunity, thank you.
“Yes I was part of the founding of the NanGo Grannies along with Donna Anthony in 2005/6. The second group in BC after the Kamloops group.
I helped Carol Judd map out the route thro' Nanaimo for the first cycle tour, I think 2007. I met the group arriving at the north end and rode with them to the lunch stop at Maffeo Sutton Park and rode with the group out of Nanaimo. The Nan Go’s put on the lunch, the catering organized by Pat Clements. It was then I decided I had better get in shape to join the tour the following year! I rode in 2008, 09, 10, and 2011 (On PEI as we were travelling), 2012 and again in 2016 for the 10th anniversary ride, and now this year.
The perimeter road in Stanley Park (Xwayxway, Squamish) has been restricted to allow one lane for cycling during Covid-19. Two loops of the park from my home is 22km, just what I needed to ride daily to achieve my 600km goal. Early morning, it is a beautiful ride, quiet, shady through forest and along the ocean.
There is a long, 1.5 km, hill up and around Prospect Point that is a slog. The first week, I could manage it once and by week 3 I could do it twice each day, albeit slowly! It became the moment of my ride that I would reflect on the grandmothers. I have an image of an African grandmother setting out each day on an arduous walk to collect water, returning home with a heavy load. And having to do it day in and day out, with no choice. So I settle into my climb, knowing that I have a choice to get up and ride each day.
I must also say “thanks” to our ride organizers: they laid out a difficult challenge for us. Riding each day for 28 days is much harder than the 3 day tour from Campbell River to Victoria. I recall, in past years, the sense of going on vacation: the great company, the good food and welcome, the laughter and wine…yes, each day’s ride was tough but it felt like a party! And then it was over. Riding each day for 28 days required discipline and organization to work it into my routine. It felt closer to the realities of daily life faced by our African sisters and the discipline they show for their families. For them it is never over.
Lastly, I reflect back on the month and the image of the circle of life comes to me: My family welcomes a new baby girl born to my niece. A good friend has entered hospital and faces end of life care. It reminds me of how life carries on and how precious it is. And I think of the privilege we have that allows us to participate and the abundance that accompanies us. So I am very grateful for this opportunity, thank you.
8. Linda Mills
3 ½ Months:
My 2020 Cycle Ride with VG4A
At first, it was a big thing to get on my bike and ride down Heywood to Beacon Hill Park, to go through the Park to the compost pile, and turn around and come back home again. It was maybe a kilometre and a half. It was a Huge Step Forward.
Turning was a challenge, getting started was a challenge, staying on and balanced was a huge challenge. Remembering I could change gears and didn’t have to struggle was a huge challenge. Keeping my mirror aligned was a challenge all by itself too. Then, it was riding in and through the Park, going down little slopes without braking, letting myself enjoy the speed – wow! And then riding on real streets, going past parked cars, remembering the lanes and turn signals, stopping and starting and keeping up.
Having cars pass me was scary, until it wasn’t. Turning and starting always meant wobbling all over the road, until it didn’t. Finally I could add the turn signals, finally I could scratch an itch without stopping, finally I could coordinate the gears and assist levels to go all the way up to the top of Beacon Hill itself. THAT was an accomplishment! I liked the feeling of that A LOT!
My first real ride was going through the Park down to the Dallas Road bike path, riding down to Ogden Point (or as close as we could get), then over to Clover Point, then back to the Park and home! I’ve walked that distance and it took over an hour, one way. Here Lisbie and I had done it both ways in about 15 minutes. 6 km! Amazing! And with other riders in the mix now too – learning the courtesies, ringing my bell, getting passed by men in spandex at speed! OH WOW! My world suddenly expanded. Then I went out the very next day and did it all again, all by myself. Yes, I could! That was amazing too!
Then riding on real streets with traffic, not the easy back streets of south Fairfield, but Vancouver St almost all the way to Fort. And back. Getting braver. Riding with my bike coach Susanna down Humboldt to the bike lanes on Wharf St, over the Blue Bridge and along Harbour Road to where the Goose, the Galloping Goose Trail, the real thing, turned off! And on the way back, coming up Pandora to Vancouver, over to Fort, down the bike lane to Wharf, over to Humboldt and back to Vancouver and home again. Really riding in the real downtown! Traffic lights and traffic! 8 km! My world expanded again.
Lisbie took me over to the Goose again and up over the trestle and past the switch bridge to Saanich Municipal Hall, where we met Mary Horton and some other Grandmother Riders for the first time. For me, it was a destination; for them, just a marker point on a much longer route. My world expanded again.
And now it keeps on expanding, every time I ride. There have been and continue to be so many firsts. Learning the E&N Trail through Esquimalt. Riding more than 10 km on one trip. Doing it again the very next day and finding it easy! Then riding more than 20 km on one trip – not so easy then, and still not so easy. YET. Riding with other Grandmothers and learning how to keep up. More than doubling my Ride Goal of 50 km. Then whipping out and more than tripling it without half trying, this past week.
I am a Grandmother Rider! I have done one Ride, my first, and I promise you, NOT my last! My kids and my sisters are proud, my friends are astonished, and I am on a whole other level of being, with worlds opening before me every time I ride. This Grandmother is a force to be reckoned with – I’m a Rider, now! What started out as Having to ride became Wanting to ride, then Looking Forward to riding, then Having Riding Adventures! Here I Come!
Many thanks to Laurie Wilson, who met me at Fairfield Bikes, so many weeks ago, and helped me buy a bike helmet – she knew the bike would follow! Thanks to my bike coach Susanna Grimes, also at Fairfield Bikes, who helped me with the basics, that are now almost instinctive. And Huge Thanks, finally, to Lisbie Rae, Grandmother Biker Extraordinaire, who kept getting me out and riding when I barely dared to do it myself, who rode at my slow, slow pace and gently encouraged me to go faster, who was always positive when time after time I despaired of ever getting the hang of it, of ever finding it easy. She never gave up, she always encouraged me and supported my efforts, she always pointed out the positive accomplishments amid the slog of practise. At first she led the way, and then when it became my turn to lead, I knew that she had my back.
What a gift! I could not have done this without Lisbie.
As our African Grandmothers say, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.
9. Marion Thomson
I was so enthused about having a venue to raise funds for the SLF after being idle for so long.
As a lone rider, sometimes with my husband or a friend along, I “discovered” more beautiful places to stop half way and read for a break. These were within five km of my home, places I hadn’t noticed while driving.
However, my favourite experience was greeting people out walking, people whom I have never met within a few km of home. Dog walkers, those with kids enthusiastic about hitting the beach, their little sand buckets swinging, as well as elderly folks with their walkers and poles. I shared information about the small, little known, easily accessible beach just a few doors down from our home, Wall Beach. Whether it was morning, mid afternoon, or on lovely cool evenings, I never came home without at least three stops to chat. My bright green Victoria Grandmothers shirt certainly gained attention, and two of my donations were ready for me by cheque one afternoon!
Raising funds for our African grandmothers, especially with following the maps and seeing the photos of those incessant smiles, made my day beneficial. That glass of wine, or a cold drink at Serious Coffee, after a hot ride, gave me the time to focus on our goal. I thank you graciously for providing this opportunity during difficult, fund raising times.
I was so enthused about having a venue to raise funds for the SLF after being idle for so long.
As a lone rider, sometimes with my husband or a friend along, I “discovered” more beautiful places to stop half way and read for a break. These were within five km of my home, places I hadn’t noticed while driving.
However, my favourite experience was greeting people out walking, people whom I have never met within a few km of home. Dog walkers, those with kids enthusiastic about hitting the beach, their little sand buckets swinging, as well as elderly folks with their walkers and poles. I shared information about the small, little known, easily accessible beach just a few doors down from our home, Wall Beach. Whether it was morning, mid afternoon, or on lovely cool evenings, I never came home without at least three stops to chat. My bright green Victoria Grandmothers shirt certainly gained attention, and two of my donations were ready for me by cheque one afternoon!
Raising funds for our African grandmothers, especially with following the maps and seeing the photos of those incessant smiles, made my day beneficial. That glass of wine, or a cold drink at Serious Coffee, after a hot ride, gave me the time to focus on our goal. I thank you graciously for providing this opportunity during difficult, fund raising times.
Celebrating the huge success of the 2019 Cycle Tour
Above are pictures from our Welcome Home celebration in Centennial Square in September 2019. We look forward to when we can all ride and gather together again.
Victoria Grandmothers for Africa © 2010.
