Up until very recently I had never participated in a Gran Fondo. *
But this past weekend, we made our way to the little town Saulnierville for Nova Scotia’s second annual Gran Fondo Baie Sainte-Marie.
The previous year’s race had brought in around 400 riders. Apparently, the word got out about the incredible community spirit and all those original riders told a friend or two about the Acadian-flag-waving citizens, the clapping, the cheering and incredible volunteer participation (they had 110 volunteers this year and there was a waiting list of other ready-to-roll citizens wanting to help).
Which is why this year’s event had almost 900 registered riders. I too did my part to increase those numbers. After I found out about the race this past June, I had myself and Kevin signed up, along with friends, Mary Ediger and Dave and Vi Nick.
But first, I should clarify something.
It is a bit of a misnomer for me to suggest I rode the Gran Fondo. There were really three rides happening at once…the piccolo (35 km), the medio (67 km) and the actual gran (117 km). So, considering I was in the piccolo (Dave was the only one of our group to do the medio), my ride wasn’t so much a BIG ride, as KIND-OF-A-BIGGISH ride.
However, it felt pretty gran to me and, having never gone for a bike ride with hundreds of people, it seemed like 35 kms would be quite enough.
It was a good hunch but for an unforeseen reason.
Last year’s ride had been a warm and lovely day. But this year’s race wasn’t just bigger in numbers. It was bigger and wilder in a much more significant way…the wind.
The Bay of Fundy hugs the shore of the area and we all know that when you get whitecaps on the big ol’ Atlantic waters, that you probably have a pretty stiff gale going on. So, when almost 900 people are huddled behind the walls of the buildings before the race and the ocean waters look like a big frosted cake, you can rest assured that the wind is stiff.
I wore a long-sleeved Merino as my base layer, then my new Gran Fondo cycling jersey. On top of that I piled another Merino wool hoodie. The top layer was my Gore-tex jacket zipped and Velcroed as tightly as possible. I wore Kevin’s golfing rain pants over my cycling shorts and, under my helmet, a bandana wrapped around my ears.
The recorded temperature hovered around 10 degrees Celsius but it was those North-NorthWest winds of 30 km/h that gusted up to 45 km/h that were the real issue.
We headed directly into that bone-blasting wind. By the time we had finished pedalling that shoreline and turned inland into the hills, the gusts were more of a side-smack than a frontal assault. This was a mercy because those hills weren’t exactly minor.
But everywhere we looked, locals (some wrapped in blankets or sleeping bags) lined the road or stood in their living room windows, waving Acadian flags, clanging cowbells and shouting encouragement in French and English. They’d advertised the ride as fun and safe and it was definitely both. At one point I dropped my chain, and before I was even off my bike, a cop on a motorcycle was checking to see if I was alright.
Given my kickstand, handlebar bag and pannier, it was obvious that I wasn’t there to break any records, but I wasn’t alone in my attitude. For most of the riders, this was more of a fun ride than a race. I saw one older guy riding in bulky blue jean overalls and some people rode past me in socks and sandals.
But the most inspiring rider was a woman who appeared to have had a stroke. She was on a recumbent trike, one foot tied to the pedal, the other one doing most of the work. She had one arm that was barely moving and yet she completed the piccolo not much after Mary, Vi and me.
The last part of the ride was back along the same shore where we’d started and directly back into that gale wind that was determined to twirl us all backwards. But one by one we pushed across that finish line with numb knees and pumping hearts and grins that stayed on our faces, long after our cheeks had thawed.
Whether it was the donated lobster, donated time, donated swag and even donated housing (a local citizen gave us his lakeside home for the night before and after the race – thanks again Delbert!)…
Everywhere we turned, someone else had given something to help create this community event.
For those of you who have been following this blog, you know that Kevin and I have spent these last months traveling across Canada, thinking about whether we should relocate, wondering about what factors create a good community and what it is that makes somewhere a great place to live.
It seems to me that the good people of the Baie Sainte-Marie area have figured it out…
Get together for a common purpose, encourage and support each other to do well, donate love and time, laugh a lot, and always remember to throw in a good feed of lobster.
*<The first ‘Big Ride’ or “Grand Tour’ was held in Italy on July 12th, 1970. As chip technology became more prevalent in the 90s, the rides became more popular. You can now find them all around the world, including Nova Scotia where their first Gran Fondo was held last year on the ‘French Shore’>.
Thanks Colleen for the great Blog on the Gran Fondo. I think your summation of the ride was the way most of us felt. I did the 117 km and the last 20 km were gruelling. I grew up in Yarmouth and visited the area often and spent many a day at Mavillette Beach. Now I live in Halifax and so enjoyed being back – lots of great memories. Communities such as this are what Nova Scotia is known for – friendly, helpful, community spirit and always welcoming to a stranger.
You mentioned the lady who was most inspiring to you – Catherine is her name. Catherine suffered an aneurysm while travelling in Europe in June 2015. She is paralyzed on one side and has slowing recovered her ability to communicate. She is a member of the NS Ramblers Cycling Club (180 members) of which I am President. Catherine is a remarkable women who has undergone massive physio treatments to get her where she is now. When she got her “new” bike this year, customized just for her, it gave her a lot of freedom which had been taken away from her. All her Rambler friends are very proud of her.
Dear Sandra.
Thank you so much for commenting and especially for telling me more about your amazing friend Catherine.
We were all so inspired by her but I didn’t find an opportunity to tell her so directly. So please let her know she has others that are also so humbled by what she did and is doing.
I love that you have such a huge cycling group in NS. I am interested in learning more and will follow up with you.
All the best.
Bonjour Colleen,
I just read your blog (with much pleasure), and am glad you enjoyed your first visit here and your experience participating in Baie Sainte-Marie’s Gran Fondo, despite that unpredictable wind and our first “cold” day of the season! I have lived most of my life here in Clare, except for 7 years spent in Toronto… but I came back to raise my family, like so many others do. We certainly do have a “Joie de vivre”, and you described our community very graciously. Just so you know, I took photos of the cyclists in the Medio run, while they were coming around the bay in Bas-de-la-Rivière / New Edinburgh… so I may have a photo of your friend Dave. I’ll be posting them on the Gran Fondo Facebook page tomorrow. I hope you return again someday… either for the Fondo, or maybe for our annual Acadian Festival, which celebrated it’s 61st anniversary this past August! À bientôt!
Stephanie LeBlanc
Hi Stephanie. Thanks for taking the time to comment and for sharing so many great photos. I’m looking forward to scrolling through them to see if I can find Dave.
You’re very blessed to live in such a beautiful part of Canada and we all felt very grateful to visit and experience some time in your community.
We definitely want to return soon.
Thanks for sharing this story! I had signed up for the Gran Fondo but had to cancel to attend a funeral in Toronto, however my good friend Robert Boudreau rode his first ever organized ride ( he is a novice, first year rider ) and he described the event and the elements just as you did. The conditions were tough but the wonderful support of the locals cheering them on, waving flags and such spurred him on to complete the medio ride. I had other more experienced rider friends there as well.
What a wonderful event it has quickly developed into.
I will be there next year and every year thereafter!
Bonjour Guy. I’m sorry you had to miss the event, especially for such a sad reason.
But I’m glad Robert also described the incredible community spirit that informed the event.
It felt like a big kitchen party. I’m glad you’ll be a regular. I think you’ll be among a lot of returning cyclists.
Thank you for writing this. I was there. I registered for the Gran Fondo. The wind, the cold and the hills got the better of me. I ended up cutting it short for a total of approximately 80 kms. The cheers from the locals along the way and the amazing volunteers who made this epic event happen made MY weekend an absolute blast! I will be there again next year. Hopefully the wind won’t be 🙂
Robert
Wow. I’d say 80 kilometres under those conditions is quite enough!
I wished we lived closer as it would be on my annual plans too. But you never know. I might see you there next year…
OMG! Those lobsters are gorgeous. (And I can’t eat lobster anymore; it seems one of my meds brings about a gout attack — woe is me.)
Such terrific adventures, Colleen!
Hugs,
Joan
I’m so sorry to hear about your inability to eat lobster…it was divine and especially enjoyable after burning through the hills and wind. I think I might need to go back for the third annual…