Getting on the large, epedal assist cycle, other known as Giant, because it is bigger and heavier than what I was riding has been and in some ways continues to be a challenge for me as last year it bucked me off 6 or 7 times. This year I had a stern talk with it, and it hasn't bucked me off once. Actually I think the problem was my vision as I was in the process of having my cataracts corrected and at the end of things, the vision in my eyes was not the same. So the optometrist gave me a boost with prescription glasses to make the eyesight in both eyes the same. What an improvement.
And then there's the tenaciousness I'm known for. I keep perserviing. First with a non ebike of the same size and then progresssing to Giant. How I love that bike, it gives me the boost I need for those pesky and sometimes steep hills in this area, I know some people wil say "you're cheating" or "you're lazy". Neither is true. At my age, 74 and counting - one more week to go until 75 - my body isn't the same as it once was. I've been to more than one person who has had to upgrade to a form of ebike because they just can't do what they used to. In my case, I've upgraded to an epedal assist which means no throttle. so that I can continue doing something which means a lot to me.
Getting practice rides in, discovering new (to me) trails in various parts of Ontario closish to me. I did two rides the last two days and met some fantastic people. One of whom was a senior citizen like me and like me riding an e bike (mine is e peddle assist which means no throttle). We had a great tak on the trail. I pointed to my 2023 jersey and said this was my 9th year on the Challenge and what the Challenge is. He pulled out a bil and handed it to me. My first donation other than my self donation when I registered. I was thrilled. Actually I'm stilled thriled. I am problems uploading pictures at the moment so no picture of that ride.