September 4 - Day 72
Departure and Final Thoughts
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It is time to face reality. The tour is actually finished and this new family we have made from a group of 35+ individuals will be going their seperate ways. It is an emotional time as people say speeches and give thanks for the others that made the trip so special. I know that I would not have been able to do this on my own. I would have given up on the prairies knowing that I still had such a monumental task to do. For me the group dynamics kept the tour interesting and mostly fun. People would relate their adventures of the day, good or bad, and you would know that you are not the only person having a tough day. There were some days I just kept on going because to quit would make me feel like I was letting down the group, I could not face them and say that I could not finish it. I just have to say thanks to every member of the group whether I knew you or not, you were all part of the adventure and made it a memorable experience. I have to thank family for allowing and helping me to do this (especially my daughter, she gave up her summer at home to live with my sister's family, I hope she had a good adventure herself)and friends for looking after the house and dogs and helping with rides on each end. You are all part of what made this summer a success. A thanks to the organizers of the Tour du Canada, it is a monumental undertaking for them to pull this off every year. There were a few times things did not run smoothly but it worked and no one did not finish the trip due to injuries. Every one had to make compromises and in the end we made it because of everyone's help.
Banquet Shots
I was watching then load the conveyor belt and there came two bike boxes. The first one was one of the lighter ones and the fellow just chucked it up on to the belt then went to do the same with mine but it was heavier than he expected and he just put it nice and genlty on the belt. I know I was riding a heavier bike and tires, made some of the days harder than they needed to be but I was mostly comfortable and had only one slow pinch flat after hitting one of those bad Quebec potholes.
Just had to get at least one shot of those distictive tan lines.
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