I had an amazing time at the trailer with friends and family.
He said
Our vacation continued this week from where we left off last week when I had just gotten up to the trailer Saturday after work. My days began with going for a daily ride on the G2G from Auburn up into Blyth and back and then, spending the rest of the days to find new and different ways to relax. A lot of it was spent relaxing around the fire pit, or going for swims in the pool or river (or both). We had the luxury of waking each day without alarm clocks when our bodies were ready to be done sleeping and going to bed whenever the heck we felt like it. (Which in reality with all that we did each day ended up being a pretty reasonable hour each night). It was an absolutely glorious week!
The added bonus was that The Sherwood’s good friends Ted, Holly (who we’ve become friends with too) and their families had booked a week at Auburn and were staying in the transient sites across from us. They all arrived Monday afternoon and got set up. By the time that Danielle arrived after work Monday, everyone was settled in and we were making plans for all the things we wanted do for the week. There was talk of tubing river runs, swimming, eating, bike rides and of course food & beverages. But the best part is we’re all of the same, play-it-by-ear mindset of planning. Monday night we had a big, group fire pit and lots of laughs over at Holly & Ted’s.
The middle of the day Tuesday I got the news that my GT was all fixed and ready to be picked up at MEC. Given the forecast was a little dodgy on Wednesday afternoon, I decided to get my ride in early, get a shower and have some lunch and head back to London early in the afternoon to get the GT and head back. I wanted to get in a couple of G2G rides on the GT to make sure everything was ready before MS Ride this weekend. When I got back to the trailer–later in the afternoon it was just ahead of the thunderstorm headed through our area (both London and Auburn). In fact the Maps app in the truck warned me about the Tornado Watch we were under!
It was definitely high winds, and intense rainfall and pretty scary. But, it also really only lasted about 45 minutes and as quickly as it arrived, it was also gone. That evening we were able to be back at The Sherwood’s fire pit to close out the evening. The rest of the week was more of the same. Holly & Ted’s families were only able to get a reservation until Friday which worked out well for us as we were all headed back to London to get ready for the MS Ride anyway. I got a couple of rides in on Thursday and Friday on the GT and was thoroughly delighted with the upgraded wheel set. We were all set for the big ride weekend!
Being the first time for me in the MS Ride I didn’t know what to expect. I knew it was a very big deal and historically has been the biggest version of this ride in Ontario – if not Canada. Saturday would be a 82km ride going from Grand Bend all the way to London. And, then Sunday was a 69km route going the reverse direction. The ride is well supported with plenty of places to stop to rehydrate, check your bike, rest and get some food. I was riding with Steph & Justin for Cowbell Brewing who had a history of having the biggest team and raising the most funds for a team. This year was no exception to that!
Our ride-out was Saturday morning at 7:30am which meant an early 5:30am rendezvous with The Sherwood’s here in London to drive to Grand Bend for the start. We made great time and were connected with our team and out on route on our bikes by 7:30am. While it isn’t a race, I definitely had the mindset on day to try and push myself and then go easier on Sunday, so quickly off the line I pushed out from Justin & Steph and go at my own pace. For the most part that left me riding solo but I did tuck into some smaller groups and found people to catch and pass. The route took me right by a coworker’s house so I got to say hello and have he & his family cheer me on.
I made pretty remarkable time as I was at the Ilderton at the Arena—a stop well past the half way point by 9:30am. By 10:55am I was making sure Danielle & Emelia were at the finish line as I was flying up Sarnia Road. By 11:00am I crossed the Day 1 Finish Line to the fanfare of Danielle, Emelia and the volunteers. In the end it was a good decision to let Steph & Justin go at their own pace as Justin had a spoke break not even 20km into the ride and they spent the rest of the ride hobbling back with a rear wheel out of true, wobbling and rubbing. They made it back to London, which is super impressive but knowing that Day 2 would need their eBikes.
By 6:30am this morning there was a mass email from the MS Bike organizers that the Day 2 Route was cancelled due to a very dangerous looking storm cell coming through Grand Bend and London. We had heard the possibility of this last night at the Team Cowbell gathering. While it was a bummer, they made the right decision putting the riders, volunteers and families top of mind as once out on the course, there is not a lot of places to find shelter if the weather were to take the projected turn for the worse. So this morning between a pocket of a couple of storm cells blowing through I took my regular daily route on the TVP. Even tough we lost one of the days of the ride and there was a lot of discussion how the event felt paired back, I didn’t know any different, had a blast, and absolutely will be back next year!
She said
As I type this we are wrapping up our second week of vacation in July and a full and fun week. We were able to spend our week with friends. We had a large group and it was an absolute blast. Last fall Holly was discussing what week she and her family would be booking their vacation so we could coordinate our time off together. She had told us then that her mom, dad, sister, cousin their spouses and children would also be going the trip. The more the merrier is always the best for camping trips. As I mentioned last week I had to return to London not only for a birthday party for one of Emelia’s friends I had to work on Monday. I had a full and busy day at work before packing things up and getting Emelia to head back to the trailer.
By the time we arrived around the dinner hour everyone was set up and having a great time. It was amazing to meet more of Holly’s extended family, they are so much fun and everyone instantly hit it off feeling like one huge extended family. Emelia fell in love with two of the Holly’s cousins boys. Dax and Oz are the sweetest and funniest little boys. They instantly fell in love with the teenager girls. The first night after supper we all settled in at Holly and Ted’s firepit and shared lots of laughs until well after midnight. The whole first night was perfection. The rest of the week was more of the same, lots of time on the river, in the pool. The weather was super hot so we were basically doing what we could to keep cool. The entire week was perfect and of course went by far too fast.
Friday we started planning to pack up, Emelia and I had originally planned to stay Friday to head to the Carter’s cottage on Saturday morning but opted to head home Friday when John and the rest of the families headed out so we could get things organized here for the weekend. Emelia was supposed to be heading to the Carter’s cottage for a few days so she had to repack and wanted a solid night sleep in her own bed.
Saturday morning came early, even earlier for John as he and the Sherwoods were off to Grand Bend to start the MS ride. Emelia and I were up early as well with the plans to drive her to Ipperwash Beach for the weekend. All week there was threat that the weekend was going to have some potential storms, so as I got up Saturday morning I got a test from Susan (the twins mom) that she wanted to cancel the weekend fearing that the weather would be horrible and the girls would be trapped inside for the weekend. Of course Emelia was horribly disappointed but there wasn’t much we could change about it. So we made the best of the open day for us and planned to head to Ikea for a mom/daughter shopping trip.
We timed our departure so we could see John arrive back in London and cheer him in, we also stayed so we could head to the Sherwoods to cheer them in as well. Once everyone was back safe and sound Emelia and I headed off to Ikea so we could have a fun day together. She adores going to Ikea, we were able to get her a small dresser she was wanting for a while as well as a few more things for her room. We had an incredible day, what started out as a big disappointment for her turned into a great day for the two of us.
So the theme of the weekend was again the weather, the threat of bad weather meant that John’s second leg of the MS ride was cancelled. This did let us have a free day at home to get things cleaned and organized for next week, even gave Emelia time to bake some cupcakes for her grandma who’s birthday is today. We are about to pack up and head over to see Helen and celebrate her birthday with her. So all in all it was a strange, wonky but wonderful weekend and vacation.