GRAN FONDO SHEDIAC
Since it was my turn to pick the Gran Fondo this year, I chose
the flattest one. Everyone who knows me knows I hate hills!
The five elder members of the Over The Hill Gang (OTHG) have been riding together for twenty years or so and we range in age from mid 60s to the oldest, Russ Melanson, who turned 77 in July. Other “senior” members of the group are Ira Birt, Richard Birt, and John MacQuarrie. For various reasons, all three were unable to attend.
Russ and I hitched a ride with Kent Wood, a “junior”
member of OTHG who’s only 51. We left home at 5:30 and got to the registration desk
in plenty of time to pick up our swag bags, don our riding kits, and get the bikes
ready for the start. The temperature was 11 degrees, perfect for me, and the
sun was shining as we milled around the parking area in front of Centre
Homarus. Race organizers went through a list of dos and don’ts and lined us
up on front of the start banner.
Kent had been assigned the task of leading us out, with
Russ behind and me as lanterne rouge. We rolled up Main Street toward
the traffic lights and took a right at the Irving, heading north on Rte.
133/134. Kent weaved through traffic, leading us past several slower riders. Russ
and I soon realized that he had his eye on the fast bunch, so we backed off and
settled into our pace. We rolled past Shediac Cape and across the Shediac
Bridge before turning right towards Grande-Digue. I’d driven these roads
before, but not since the 1970s.
We were caught by a group of eight riders near Cap-des-Caissie
and hooked onto the back of their paceline, hoping to ride with them to the
half-way point. We reeled in a few more as we rolled along at a nice, steady
pace. The scenery along Rte. 530 is beautiful, the road surface is good, and
the early morning Sunday traffic was very light. We rounded Cap-de-Cocagne, went
through Saint-Marcel, crossed the Cocagne River bridge, and turned right onto
Rte. 535. Much to our disappointment, the group we’d been riding with stopped
at the feeding station, so we took off alone, hoping we were following the
right route.
Just after crossing a bridge, we hit new pavement. For anyone
who’s done a lot of road cycling, there are few prettier sights than new
blacktop! And it wasn’t one of the one kilometer stretches we’ve become accustomed
to on Prince Edward Island. No sir! It took us through Cormierville and
Bar-de-Cocagne, all the way to Saint-Thomas-de-Kent! The gorgeous views and the
smell of the ocean made us feel right at home. We faced a slight headwind, but
not enough to be a bother. We enjoyed the rollers around Dixon Point, took in
the beauty of Boutouche Bay, and rejoined Rte. 134 at Saint-François-de-Kent.
After crossing the Little Bouctouche River, we ran up the
small hill and rolled down into the town. I’d been to Bouctouche several times,
most recently in June when my granddaughter, Lucie, participated in Les Jeux
de l’Acadie. It has a lot to offer the visitor, including nice
accommodations, good restaurants, and my favourite, Le Pays de la Sagouine.
But Russ and I had other things in mind on this day, the main one being how to
find our way to Le Centre d’interprétation de la Dune de Bouctouche. Should
we turn left or go straight? We decided to follow the star, La route du
littoral Acadien. Soon after, we met the fast riders on their way back,
Kent among them, and knew we were on the right track. We stocked up on Gatorade
at the feeding station, got a bit of food into our bellies, and thanked the
volunteers for helping us.
We’d hoped to work with a group for at least part of the
65 km return journey, but no one seemed particularly interested. They were
either too fast and had already left or too slow to get going. For those who’ve
ridden in Fondos, you’ll know that it’s not easy to find riders that ride the
same way you do and with whom you feel safe. Both feeling pretty strong, we got
into a nice rhythm, each taking a turn on the front. The ride along the shore,
across the creeks and rivers, and around the bays proved every bit as beautiful
on the way back to Shediac.
On a long ride like this one, my thoughts always turn to friends I’ve ridden with who are no longer with us or who have slowed down or stopped riding altogether. I lost one of my Florida riding buddies, George Constantelos, just a few months ago. I’m thankful to be able to do this, after four years of searching for a drug to control my heart condition, a-fib.
We had hoped for a slight tail wind to make the return
trip a bit easier, but the flags were barely moving, and those that were
signalled an onshore breeze. After Cocagne, we caught and passed riders on
their way back from the 70 km Medio Fondo. Just before we rejoined Rte. 134 at
Shediac, Russ told me he was getting tired and “released” me to go it alone.
I TT’d the last 10 kilometers or so and emptied the tank
before I rolled into the parking lot and crossed the finish line, just under 4
hours and 2 minutes; according to my Garmin, 31.97 kilometers per hour. I
guess I can round it off at 32! I’ll turn 71 in a few weeks, so that’s not a
bad time, considering Russ and I rode almost all the route on our own. He
arrived a short time later, and one of
the nice volunteers took our photo. She said her husband was doing the 130 as
well: “Y aura pas grand action chez-nous à soir!”, she told me. “Pi chez-nous
non plus!” I replied.
Kent joined us as we listened to the excellent two-man
group on stage play an impressive répertoire of popular and Acadian
songs. Then it was time for the lobster feast, a nice one-pounder with all the
fixins’. For those who’ve ridden one, the après-Fondo is an occasion for
meeting new people, thanking volunteers, and replaying every kilometer of the
ride with whoever will listen!
Gran Fondo Shediac organizers should be very proud of this
event. Although perfect weather added greatly to the ambiance, it’s always the
smiles on the faces of event organizers and volunteers that do it for me.
Shediac is on par with one of my favourite Gran Fondos, Baie-Sainte-Marie. Maybe
it’s because of my strong Acadian bias. More likely, it’s the immense pride I
feel when I see my people hit it out of the park with an event like this.
En espérant se
revoir l’année prochaine!