Sunday June 1rst- Montreal Bike Fest
INTENSE is what I call starting out the month at 6:30 am for a 50 km bike race with the Colors of Concordia team and another 30, 000 people getting ready for the Tour de L'Ile!
(To take a look at the map:
http://www.velo.qc.ca/feria/index_e.php?carte=tdi)
The best is when you look out the window and realize, yes... it will be a rainy, cloudy...
and yet beautiful day right?
Great... (!!!?)
Pack your bags with sunbluck? maybe not today... Anyways: raincoat, bananas, empty water bottle, keys, some money and an ID just in case...
and the camera for the big shots of course!
Looking great on that Colors of Concordia t-shirt! Kuwait and Mexico were in the very middle so that was cool! (Yes, my friend Hannah that goes to Mcgill decided to join me on this big day!)
In total, 68 countries from Afghanistan to Wales participated in Colors of Concordia!
Allego Concordia, part of Sustainable Concordia, tuned up our bikes for free on the Hall building at Concordia. Our breaks, seats and all looked great...
but the helmets? yeah... too late. Let's just say.... We were "at our own risk."
Before leaving though, Hannah and me looked at the map to make sure we would meet up with the group before the race started.
Destination: Parc de la Louisianne (Basically next to the Botanical Gardens)
Starting from Mcgill, we biked all of Sherbrooke until we got there, about 45 min. later.
(50 km and counting!)
There was a total of 150 participants from the Colors of Concordia group in the Tour de L'Ile! Leaving from the park towards the starting line, we started to bike with two Peruvians and one girl from Iran.
The beginning was great. Lots of adrenaline, and we were going slow so this allowed me to take pictures on the way. We lost Peru and Iran but then were we met Nan, from China.
FIRST STOP
Water break, bathrooms and hot dogs. When I approached the water stand, I saw someone wearing a Colors of Concordia T-Shirt. This is when I met Julian from Trinidad and Tobago and so now we were four together biking.
SECOND STOP
Real break. By this time you were tired, sweaty and needed some kind of energy. With our badges we could get milk from the Lait sponsors and looking around, there were also free bike reparations stands and entertainers.
I met a woman at the water stand, which when she saw my T-shirt, told me she remembered Colors of Concordia from last year and that she thought our Cultural Initiative Fund was a great idea!
We also recruited Nick from Greece, so now we were five biking together.
THIRD STOP
This is were we got hungry. So we had the amazing Shopsy's world greatest hotdogs!
It started to rain. It got sticky and windy and... it was the final push! But unfortunately one of us in the team couldn't continue biking with us because of feeling sick =( You can never plan for these things...
THE FINISH LINE
I got there alone. I got an adrenaline rush... because now it was REALLY raining! So I just kept going, and going and going... passing through people and children and breathing...
The last 7 km were hard work and I took them seriously by myself!
But then I had to wait for the others. Five, ten, 15 minutes went by and nothing. So I started to reflect on what I had just gone through...
Sharing the experience with five people who got to know each other on the way was the best! We discussed the route and how it came about, life in each other's countries and our tastes and dislikes.
We biked together, stopped together and it kept us motivated during the whole 50 km. Sometimes some of us were slow especially after climbing steep hills, but we managed to stick together.
But in the end it got out of hands, I just fast forwarded, didn't tell anyone... and now where are they? Is Hannah O.K? She told me her knees hurt but maybe she is just taking her time?
So now I really got worried. So I called Nan on her cellphone and she told me she had arrived as well. We met, and not too long after, Julian got there. BUT WHERE IS MY ROOMMATE??!!
Julian had a feeling perhaps she went back home, skipping the finish line. I thought about it and, maybe it was true, maybe she took St. Catherine which was by the very end...
But I had to figure it out so I told Nan and Julian to have fun at the pick-nick which Mona, the founder of Colors of Concordia had encouraged us to come after the race.
I had to go back home and figure out where Hannah was. So as I was waiting in line along with all the other people that were getting on the metro with their bikes, I got a call.
"Hi Moni, I'm Home!"
Relief! and perfect timing! So now all I wanted was a shower... and sleep.
The day after, I e-mailed Julian so that he could tell me more about his participation and this is what he wrote back to me:
"After being part of the Colors of Concordia team in three of the last four Tour de l'Ile de Montreal bike events, I find this year's as one I'll remember as a very challenging one. I felt that I grew as a person, though the experience of sharing my cultural diversity with other people, and being able to recognize how valuable any of us are as a unique individual with so much cultural flair. Just being able to finish through the rain and emotions was the most special moment for me and the people who pledged their support towards the Colors of Concordia Cultural initiative fund."
The OBJECTIVE is to raise $10,000 for the Colors of Concordia Cultural Initiative Fund this year, which will go to supporting cultural sharing and diversity initiatives and projects at Concordia University. The total collected was 7,250$!!!
Personally, by going around in my summer classes and talking about the race, I managed to raise 60$!
It paid off because I won a certificate of 25$ to eat at a pizza place! So when I was my greatest one of my donor in class, I decided to share the gift with her and we agreed to go together for pizza =)
Funds raised will also support the Colors of Concordia Cultural Initiative Fund which promotes cultural sharing and diversity initiatives at Concordia University.
Ramona Senecal or "Mona" now works at the John Molson School of Business undergraduate office.
I want to share her vision with you:
"Five years ago I had a daydream. I wanted to create a fun event with Concordia students that would bring together as many cultures as possible. The Colors of Concordia team each year enables me to see my daydream coming true.?
So all I have left to say is to thank Mona and all the organizers for making this dream come true. Because Colors of Concordia doesn't end at the finish line.
As far as Hannah, Nan, Nick and Julian, we hope we can get together again and explore more areas of montreal biking together and also hopefully to learn about each other's countries- maybe to promote some tourism yes... but also to learn about the problems within and how that relates to the five of us being here together in Canada...
And on a final note, this brings me to the winner of the Colors of Concordia Team Award:
"My Name is Awel Uwihanganye, I was born and raised in Uganda, East Africa. I won the Colors of Concordia Award because of the initiatives I started at Concordia as a student of Political Science International Affairs. These included cultural exchange visits to Uganda for Concordia students and also efforts to galvanize students at Concordia to always look at themselves as Global citizens. To think about issues beyond their borders by reaching out to those more vulnerable in the world and contribute to peace building in today’s world."
For more info, check out:
http://www.velo.qc.ca/feria/index_e.php
http://colorsofconcordia.ca/
For my picture albums, go to:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2071476&id=48304284
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2071478&id=48304284
