13th
Community
www.snkcr.com/catherinebancroft
The 50 riders start to have calls once a month where we’re all together on the line learning about different aspects of the ride. Fundraising, Training, Nutrition, Routes. I hear the space in between the presentations, 50 people from different parts of the country, all with very personal reasons for doing this ride. I feel overwhelmed with the feeling of priviledge for the opportunity to meet a highly motivated group of people who have chosen the same sacrifices that I have in order to do this ride. I’m struck by the importance for me that the ride is National, bringing together riders from all the provinces. As we talk about the numerous community events across the country, I know this will be a highlight for me; being able to hear, see, feel and sense the direct impact of the countless hours of preparation we have all done for this ride. I picture kids and families with cancer sharing their stories and I know that this will bring it home for me. My emotions start to stir up, and I keep this feeling with me in moments when I’m in fear, I’m exhausted, I’m worried.
I’m excited to find out who is on my team. Since we’re in teams of 14-17 people and each team rides together for 16 days, these will be the people that I will share joys, challenges, and the journey with. These are the people that I will draft with, support and be supported by. Each of us having spent the year preparing and knowing the commitment that it takes to get to the ride. One of last year’s riders reminded me that the work is not the ride, it’s the year leading up to the ride.
A National Community. Traversing together across the nation, our nation. I’ve had the priviledge to travel in many places in the world, and I have traversed many different terrains. As I think about trekking in Nepal in 2001 through the Annapurna Circuit and the awe I felt, I am now reminded of the significance for me of travelling through my whole country with the wind on my face. The terrain has come home, and so have I.
