21st
2009-06-21 Ottawa to Montreal Big Day
This morning, in the parking lot of Sears St. Laurent in Ottawa, I awoke to many things:
- My sons Brandon and Josh with Josh’s girlfriend Stephanie
- Their Mom Susan
- My sweetheart France with her children Pénélope and Gabriel
- Longtime friend John Ramcharan and his wife Shaliza (John plans to ride along to Montreal)
- Friend, co-worker and volunteer Chris McCarthy
- Friend and volunteer Rob Dubé with his angelic sweetie Christine
- Suzanne, Keven, Kimberley, and Alexandre Auffret
- The Chain Reaction cycling group, a group of friends from the Ottawa Bicycle Club: Ron Stoneham, Hélène Soucy, Michele Pagé, Craig McHugh, Jane Hammingh, Alex Lewis, and Art Boni riding along to Rockland
- Colleague Marcel Lemieux
After departing Rockland, we forged into a relentless wind at about 29 kph. FOr about 5 km near Hudson we received the benefit of a crosswind/tailwind, where we picked the pace up to about 40 kph. That’s always fun.
We arrived at Sears Angrignon-Carrefour to a party atmosphere. We bounced up the parking lot entrance buoyed by the beat of some dance music. We circled the parking lot and parked our bikes on the team’s bike rack. As I walked to the entrance, my eyes met the most beautiful eyes in the world, the loving eyes of France. Our arms received each other. There on the steps to the Sears store, I asked France to marry me. She said, “Yes.”
Yes!
The ride to St. Justine’s Children’s Hospital seemed very easy as I floated along, energized by commitment. Climbing Mount Royal passed below my pedals easily. Occasionally, I caught a glimpse of France following us in her car.
Friends J.A. Gamache and Sylvie Limoges met us at the Hospital. It was great to see them. France and I shared our news; J.A. shared his news of winning second place at the Toastmasters Region VI Speech Contest.
After the speeches, I waited until the last possible moment before boarding the RV… and rested in gratitude for health, family, friends, and a soulmate.
