Newsletter #5

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="044785a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Canadian Masonic Riders - Masons on the Road</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Canadian Masonic Riders Masons on the R"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Why Were Here"><U>Why We're Here</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Heres The Deal"><U>Here's The Deal</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Wanna Ride ?"><U>Wanna Ride ?</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Related Links"><U>Related Links</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Newsletter 3"><U>Newsletter #3</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Newsletter 4"><U>Newsletter #4</U></A>   |   <B>Newsletter #5</B>   |   <A HREF="id28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Miles of Smiles"><U>Miles of Smiles</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ride Report 01"><U>Ride Report 01</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U>Contact Us</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#3399FF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <IMG SRC="0817f7a0.jpg" border=0 width="127" height="122" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Newsletter #5</I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> Canadian Masonic Riders </div> <div> Newsletter #5 - July. 2003</div> <bR> <div> <I>Bro. Bill Vance rides the Thunder Run in Brampton!</I></div> <div> Here's hoping that everyone is having a good riding season. We haven't heard much from anyone but that may just mean we're too busy out riding and enjoying life on two wheels! That being said, we did just get word from Bro. Bill Vance (Unity #710) in Brampton ON and his participation as a member of the Southern Cruisers Riding Club in the Thunder Run 2003 for Easter Seals Kids. </div> <div> <IMG SRC="07d0ac80.jpg" border=0 width="266" height="200" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> The Run went from Chinguacousy Park in Brampton north on Hwy. 10 through Caledon East and the Caledon Hills and back. There were fire fighter and police displays, demonstrations, barbecue and beer garden, refreshment booth, 50/50 draw, vendors, demos, and many more attractions, as well as a pancake breakfast for the riders. All of the proceeds went to the Easter Seals and I know we Masons wish them all the success in this project. Word is 450 bikes raised some $25,000 or so.  Certainly Bro. Vance had a ball. He was especially touched by the announcement from the stage by this year's Easter Seals poster boy when he said, "You can't believe the view from up here! All that's left to say is, 'Gentlemen, start your engines'." Many of the citizens of Brampton came out to cheer on and show their support for this ride by waving as the riders passed, to let them know their efforts are appreciated.</div> <bR> <div> Bro. Bill ends his news with an invitation to all of us Canadian Masonic Riders, "If you're ever in Brampton on a Tuesday Night, drop by Tim Horton’s on Hwy. 7 at the 410. We gather there at approximately. 6:30 and head out for a 1 to 2 hour scoot." Thanks, Bill. You may just be taken up on that. Keep an eye out for the CMR decal on the windshields.</div> <bR> <div> <I>Canadian Masonic Riders help out at the local triathlons!</I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#006699" FACE="Arial" ><I> </I></FONT></div> <div> As a result of our taking part in the Ride For Dad in Ottawa last May, our names were provided to <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.somersault.ca/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.somersault.ca/"><U><U>Somersault Promotions</U></U></A></FONT>, organizers of the local triathlons and biathlons, as potential motorcycle escorts for the officials. The events are organized by Somersault Promotions and sanctioned by the Ontario Association of Tri-athletes (OAT). Our job was to carry the OAT officials up and down the course so they could oversee the athletes during the Triathlon. </div> <div> The first event for us was the Smiths Falls Classic on June 22nd which was supported by Bros. Paul Hilliard and Len Cotton of Merrickville Lodge #55 in Burritt's Rapids. At the worst, this was a good way of putting meaning in our miles. Our job was simply to ride to the end of the course and back with race official riding as passengers. The officials would tell the riders where to go next and, as warranted, would give out warnings or "DQ's" (disqualifications) for transgressions of the rules of the event. At the best, we had the support of the police who were also involved so that we could ride on the wrong side of the road and carefully claim the road against oncoming traffic (which was moving very slowly because of the police directions and the racers on the road).<IMG SRC="07acb180.jpg" border=0 width="203" height="280" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Our next event was the Carleton Place Heritage 5km and 10 km runs on July 20th, dedicated to the memory of a great local runner, Graham Beasley. Graham was a world class runner who had already placed as a national champion before he was felled by a heart attack during one of his runs. The picture to the left is of the front of the official T-shirt for the event. The races followed a course from the Town Hall, out north of town, and back to the Finish Line at the Town Hall. There were some 500-700 racers involved in the 10km bicycle portion of the Triathlon alone.</div> <div> Bros. Paul Hilliard and Len Cotton were assisted by a third local rider, Mark Tekenos-Levy (non-CMR since no other CMR riders were available this day). Paul and Mark bore the officials along the course for 2.5 hours or so to ensure that all of the racers kept in mind that the only fair way to win these races was for everyone to follow the rules. It's not always easy to bear that in mind when your body is railing against the continuous demands being made on the racer's body for more oxygen to combat the pains in the muscles. It's quite easy to "zone out" when you're single-mindedly focused on, if not winning a race, but maybe just finishing it! The presence of the officials and the sounds of the escort motorcycles helped the racers to remember these rules. To be fair, there were extremely few violations of the rules, which speaks very highly of the kind of athletes who take part in these local races.<IMG SRC="07eed460.jpg" border=0 width="237" height="326" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Not forgetting about the third rider in this story, Bro. Len's job was to stay a few meters/yards ahead of the first cyclist, as much to provide a target for him to focus on so he'd not lose valuable time accidentally straying of the course to be followed. I can tell you, since I was that escort, that the front-runner never went below 30 kph, even on the uphill portions, and averaged out at some 35 kph for the whole cycle course portion of the triathlon. And he had just come off the swimming portion before getting on the bicycle! It was a treat to come around the turnaround at the half-way marker and see all those cyclists bearing down on chasing this front-runner. Honestly, though, I didn't even see the person in 2nd place until I was coming back from the turnaround point.</div> <bR> <div> This front-runner was hot! As a counter-point, at the end of the course, I had to go back out and remain behind the last person in the race, both to notify the checkpoints that the last racer was now through and they could pack up, as well as to let the racer know that they weren't alone. The last place racer was topping out at 10-15 kph, depending on whether it was uphill or downhill - good slow-riding practice! As you can imagine, the last racer's focus was primarily on just finishing the race and was suitably applauded and cheered loudly upon crossing the finish line ... only to have to head out on the running portion of the triathlon. I don't think I could have taken the mere thought of being only 2/3 of the way through a 10km bicycle race!</div> <bR> <div> All in all, it was a great way to spend a Sunday morning on the motorcycle while knowing that you're doing something useful. The organizers of the event, Somersault Promotions, thought enough of our support that they included the CMR in the list of acknowledgements on the back of the T-shirts for the event. You can see that at the bottom right corner of the picture on the right as we were added at the last minute just before going into production. I'm still bothered that they felt so sure of themselves in giving us XL sizes as a gift! Now, Paul is 6'2" so I can see an XL fitting him like a glove, although I've never seen him try to pull a glove over his head. And Mark is what would be considered as well-ballasted so an XL might be an accurate guesstimate. I, on the other hand, felt svelte until I tried on the T-shirt ... and it fit !!! Between my gut and my butt and the 6-inch part in my hair, I can see there's not much point left in waiting for a call from Playgirl Magazine.</div> <bR> <div> All in all, this is turning out to be a really nice thing to be involved in and I hear we can expect our participation to be requested for more of the 2003 Triathlon & Duathlon series.</div> <bR> <div> Here's to great riding for all y'all. Ride often, and ride safe.</div> <bR> <div> Bro. Len Cotton<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> Kanata ON</div> <div> SW, Merrickville Lodge #55<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> Burritt's Rapids ON</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>