Prez Sez
Ian Stephen
While Lance rode to victory on the
Champs-Elysées, heroes of another kind were riding to victory in Kamloops at the
conclusion of our Rocky Mountain 1200.
If you were unable to ride or volunteer
for this event, you missed an awe-inspiring journey. I had the privilege of working at the Jasper and Golden controls
and as luck would have it, got to drive the sweep van from Golden on.
The rewards for volunteering were many and
varied. I got to meet riders from other
parts of Canada and from Austria, Germany, Denmark, Italy, England, and
USA. There were many fun moments such
as Winfried's delight over an ice-cream cone in Sicamous "In Germany, four
dollars for so much ice!"
For gear-heads the event was a thing of
wonder! There was every manner of
carbon fibre, titanium, aluminium, and steel.
A half dozen or so recumbents, each unique...one so unique that the
police pulled it over in Kamloops!
Several tandems, two fixed-gears (they both finished!). The range of lighting systems and
accessories seemed never ending. There
were things I had heard of but never seen before and things I never heard of
but want now!
The scenery was incredible and left me
with a renewed desire to ride the event, as did watching Vancouver's Michelle
Richard ride the climb up to Roger's pass.
Heck, if it's that easy...!
On top of all that volunteers got great
free food and a mat on the floor to sleep on...when there was time.
Consider volunteering for the next Rocky
Mountain in 2004. We'll need at least
one more volunteer for that one 'cause I'm going to be riding it!
Last update: 2 September 2002