Yesterday, the Princesses went home after a full week of riding. They came, the rode, they conquered.
Friday they took on the challenge of their last long ride and sailed through with flying colours. Almost everyone clocked and rocked more kms this week than they ever have.
The Lipstick Princess attended her third camp and had the strongest week yet. She was never at a loss stories to keep us entertained and successfully rode all of the routes with a degree of ease that she hadn’t before, thus proving that patience and sweat equity certainly pay.
The Ironhorse Princess whose indigenous name might be “Princess Rides with Wildlife” managed not only to ride every inch of the last day on her 8000 pound bike- but did it with a smile on her face. With her we saw many turtles, a couple of bears, deer and marmots along the way. She kept the group laughing with all manners of quick quips that made for hilarity – often.
The Pee Princess defined ‘never pass a port-o-potty’ like never before. She saw incredible improvement not only in her bike handling skills, but confidence on the roads and in traffic. No longer worried claimed that now she can get off the bike paths at home. For anyone nervous in traffic, you’ll know that this is a big deal. She got stronger each day and learned to expertly tackle the downhill (yet another – now former – fear).
The Ice Princess, who wasn’t even sure she was coming to camp until the very last minute – managed to do EFI (every freeking inch) of the week. She found her “happy place” on her bike and enjoyed both the challenge and the confidence gained over the course of the week. The only Mom on the trip with young children at home – she managed quite well. Claimed that she had no idea how to ‘pack for one’ – but settled into the role of Princess quite nicely.
The Stealth Princess was stealth for a few reasons. For such a little person – she quietly and efficiently rode with terrific strength. She was a keen observer of the group dynamic and would come out with the most hilarious (and unexpected) one liners. If she doesn’t already know it – she’s found her sport. Confident, strong, patient and skilled.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention our Chief Cook and Sherpa, Gord. He ensured that we had all that we needed. A master of the BBQ, baker of bread and pies – the master dishwasher packer, lunch delivery-man and stabilizing force given the enormous amount of estrogen circulating in the group. Thanks also to Princess Diane from Summerland who provided occasional assistance in the kitchen, delivered lunch to some hungry Princesses and ferried some of us for a distance one day.
Farewell Princess. We hope to see you again soon! Ride on.
LiveSplendidly!