2005 Baltimore to Washington DC Fundraising Ride Cancelled Due to Heavy Rain
The plans of at least 1,000 cyclists to participate in the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope were abruptly changed before 7:00am this morning. Upon arriving at the 50-mile route start at Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland, we all learned that the ride was cancelled. That was a huge disappointment, but it was understandable given the huge amounts of rain that had fallen overnight. And the rain continued to fall as we stood there, trying to figure out what to do next.
The riders who had used the shuttle from the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Washington knew what they had to do; They had to get on any available bus back to where they started. Most of us who drove in this morning stood and waited for Lance to come and speak to us.
More on the situation at the race start after I return home. Riders should feel free to add their reaction to the bad news.
Update on October 9 at 11am: It's hard for me to look back on Saturday and come to any other conclusion than that the organizers made the right decision. In the end 7.25 inches (18.4 centimeters) of rain fell in two days at Reagan National Airport in Washington. I know how much we all wanted to ride yesterday, but I didn't want anyone to get hurt either.
Technorati Tags: Tour of Hope
Comments
Our crew of 6 riders hung around at the Starting line for about an hour because they promised an "inspirational" set of speakers. Nobody seemed inspired after the brief speeches - including Lance's - were over.
Our group decided that we may as well ride. So we took off and toured the area for about an hour. Yes, in the rain. It was actually fun.
Meanwhile, my wife had ridden from our hotel to the bus pick-up for the 10 mile ride only to find that the 10-mile ride was cancelled too. Yes, she rode in the rain.
Then we all rejoined the crowd at the hotel for the promised 1pm arrival of the cross-country riders. This was kind of a mess. They hadn't made any contingency plans for this, and the crowd control rules changed as the time inched closer to 1pm. e.g., they stationed a policeman at the stairs to stop people from joining the celebration because there wasn't enough room. So we left and started doing the tourist thing in DC.
The reasons we came here had little to do with biking. Whether it was in honor of a relative who had passed away from cancer or relatives and friends who have nobly fought the battle and won, we were all there to ride for others. And our foray in the rain made us all feel like we helped fight the fight in some way.
Bryan Katz
Posted by: Bryan Katz | October 8, 2005 9:37 PM