The humming of 1701 rider’s tires on the smooth pavement filled the air as we left the cheesy inspirational music blasting through loudspeakers behind us and started out on the first kilometer of our 267 km journey to Seattle. There were people lining the streets, cheering on loved ones and helicopters buzzing overhead with cameras capturing the moment.
This spectacle was the start line of The Ride To Conquer Cancer, a two day bike ride from Vancouver to Seattle. My girlfriend, Rachel, and I had been training and fundraising for this event for the last couple months, and it was a great feeling to join all these other riders and begin our ride. Our fundraising went towards the BC Cancer Foundation. The money we raised will drive crucial cancer research and help develop new cancer treatments at the BC Cancer Agency, Canada’s only cancer control organization dedicated to both cancer research and patient care.
Regular Joe’s special update on the World’s Most Dangerous Road
Any good guide knows, don’t deliver the goods too early, don’t raise your client’s expectations too soon on a trip or your job becomes infinitely harder. As a ski guide in the winter, I use “powder appreciation runs” (ie not the best of the best runs) to keep the expectations low, and then proceed to blow the skier’s minds with epic-ness.
Joe Schwartz ventures to the Altiplano in search of big descents and wicked Andean singletrack

