A most memorable ride

In my youth, I rode a bike mostly to get from Point A to B. In my early 20s, I rode almost daily after work, just for the relaxation. As a parent, it became something else to do with my son. Then, at 33, I had a brain hemorrhage.

As the doctor put it, “You have an area in your old brain the size of a Ping-pong ball that is nonfunctional at this time.” The hemorrhage took out the right side of my body; I had to re-learn to walk, talk and write. To this day, I am not allowed to use lawn darts.

I started riding seriously again after I had quit smoking at 47, moving from 12-km rides to leading groups on the road. I am involved with the advocacy community, racing community and the MS Rides in Manitoba. It’s safe to say that cycling gave me my life back.

One of my most most memorable rides was the Mickelson Trail in the Black Hills Region of South Dakota because of the natural beauty of the trail. I and six others went from Deadwood (where every building has a one-arm bandit) to Edgemont.

We covered 30 miles a day. In our group there were different bikes: mountain, cyclocross and gravel. When you think of riding a rail trail, the grade will average out to two per cent. But we had four per cent grades and a six per cent grade out of Deadwood. Some of the two to four per cent grades were non-stop for 15 miles. A Prairie rider like me wasn’t use to that. From Deadwood, the landscape was thick and lush. It would gradually change to badlands, full of endless rolling hills. There was a lot of sage brush, horses, elk and cattle. Each evening, we would regroup for a meal, get a good sleep and discover more of the trail in the morning.

Currie Gillespie Winnipeg