Cycle For Life:
The Story of the 1991
Trans-Canada Record Attempt
by
Bill Narasnek
Copyright 2011 Bill Narasnek,
All rights reserved.
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0188-1
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
To June, who suffered with me for this record.
PREFACE
I was a complete novice to ultra-marathon cycling. Given good conditions, I feel we could have been a full day faster. An experienced cyclist will, no doubt, take much more than this off the record some day. This will not, however, diminish the relevance of what we experienced and learned through the "Cycle for Life" adventure. The goal was there and we achieved it. Once achieved, the record became secondary to the actual experience.
For me it was to be a one-time opportunity. A dream come true. To be past the optimum age and inexperienced only makes me cherish the accomplishment more.
Memories to last a lifetime!
INTRODUCTION
Since September 1990 not a day has gone by that I haven't, in some way, thought about riding across this great country.
To call it an obsession would only state the obvious. To fully realize the implications and profound effects of such an endeavour have been an unexpected and on-going revelation.
Testing the outer limits of our human physical and mental capacities has been the passion of many. It is a dangerous business, as I found out, for once those limits are approached there is no turning back and what we find we must live with, good or bad.
I had spent a number of years as a recreational runner having run many distance events and completed a number of marathons with a best time just under 2:42. In the early 1980's I made a gradual transition to cycling prompted by a few running injuries and my eldest sons' growing interest in the sport.
In 1983 and 1984 I won the title of Mr Fit Sudbury based on a point system for the year long Sudbury Fitness Challenge. This was a series of six events including running, cycling, canoeing, swimming, cross-country skiing, and a multi-event race, the Beaton Classic. In 1985 I applied for my first amateur bicycle racing license in the veterans, (35+), category.
That summers' competition came to an abrupt halt in Owen Sound when I was involved in a crash at the Provincial Championships which left me with a broken rib, broken collar bone and a pound of flesh lighter. I recovered, despite what my wife says about the effects of landing on my head. The next few years I raced in Ontario with respectable results. In 1987, at the National Championships in St. John, New Brunswick, I placed third in the forty kilometre individual time trial and seventh in the road race. In 1989 I amazed myself by winning the provincial road race championship for veterans.
Throughout the years of running and riding I trained continuously, year round. For me it had become a lifestyle. I enjoyed the training as much as the racing.
I recount this background simply to illustrate the physical training and racing base which made me feel, at some point, that I might be capable of the trans-Canada record.
My personal decision to attempt the record is still one of the things that amazes me the most. I must have been blinded by ambition! Thinking about the magnitude of the record in terms of hours, days, kilometres, the numbers are frightening. To have had the audacity to believe that I could do it....
THE PLAN
When I first started cycling seriously I read avidly. One of the many interesting subjects, at the time, were the exploits of Lon Haldeman, and others, who were doing trans-continental record attempts across the United States. This reading planted the seed of my own interest as I consumed the intimate details of ultra-marathon cycling. I later watched accounts of similar attempts on television and marvelled at the magnitude of such endeavour.
It was years later that our cycling club was approached about a joint fund raising venture with a local organization. I had never thought of it before but, out of nowhere, came the idea of matching a sanctioned record attempt with a fundraising drive. Although the plan did not get off the ground on this occasion, I did, in the process, layout the details of how such a venture could be organized and executed. It was this very package which I brought to the Pelmorex broadcasting network in late summer, 1990, as a promotional proposal.
The people at Pelmorex, Vicki and Mike in particular, were quick to take to the idea. Since the Kidney Foundation was a cause already close to the people at Pelmorex, it did not take long to make the choice of a benefactor for our plan and "Cycle for Life" was born.
The Walden Kinsmen were approached, and joined our group, so that we might draw upon their expertise and manpower. It lent itself to a "hometown" flavour since Gwen Doyle, executive director of the local Kidney Foundation, and myself were both from Walden.
A committee was formed and the process put in place early in the fall of 1990. From my perspective the whole project would have a threefold purpose. 1. To set a new trans-Canada cycling record. 2. To promote cycling and our club, the Sudbury Cycling Club. 3. To raise awareness and funds for the Northeastern Ontario chapter of the Kidney Foundation.
For my present purpose of recounting the record attempt I will not analyze the many aspects and administrative details related to the committee work and fundraising efforts. It should go without saying that this, in itself, was a huge and time consuming effort requiring countless hours of work by dedicated volunteers, some of whom did double duty on the actual record attempt. The main thrust of the fundraising was done through a series of promotions leading up to the actual ride in July. There would be little time for myself or the crew to raise funds during the actual record attempt.
THE RECORD
What was, and often still is, misunderstood about the Trans-Canada record, by people not knowledgeable about the sport, is the formality of the attempt. In order to be fair, consistent, and legitimate, any record must have a defined structure. It is not simply a matter, of anyone who wishes, hopping on their bike and having a go!
The Trans-Canada cycling record comes under the sanctioning authority of the Canadian Cycling Association, the governing body for the sport of cycling in Canada.
Rules for record attempts incorporate regular bicycle racing rules along with special rules laid down specifically for that purpose. The most pertinent of these rules are that the record is to be attempted from the steps of city hall in Vancouver to the steps of city hall in Halifax and must follow roads solely in Canada for the entire distance.
