Cyclefest '09 - Day 3

We arrived at the campground much earlier than yesterday only to find out that we missed a great party last night with an ABBA tribute band providing the entertainment. At 10 am, Kim and Mike arrived with Jolene and McDonald's breakfast offerings for a short visit. A couple of hours later, Heather and I got pulled into a meeting with Waterloo Wings where the future of Cyclefest was being discussed. After 30 years of staging this great event, some people were getting tired and decided to hand the reigns off to somebody else. Sadly, because no other group stepped forward, this was Jolene's first and last appearance at an official Cyclefest. There still may be somebody willing to revive this Labour Day tradition under a different banner but the name Cyclefest would be retired gracefully after 30 long years.

Mike, Jolene and Kim visiting Cyclefest.

Kim and Mike had already left by the time the meeting wrapped up so we took Sandy and rode closer to the covered bridge for some photo ops.

In front of the covered bridge in West Montrose.

The afternoon continued with the annual Bike Games. I even participated in the balloon toss but came up just short. As the games were going on, we also helped with the preparations for tonight's banquet which was catered by the Grand Valley Golf Club. The Waterloo Wings provided cakes afterwards for those in need of a dessert option.

Wendy and Todd at the dessert table.

At the conclusion of the dinner, the evening moved onto the award ceremony. Heather and I were chosen to present awards for the observation run. The proceedings turned very emotional as the Waterloo Wings proclaimed an end to Cyclefest. There were many tributes throughout the night with a special award presented to Kevin and Maysey who have spearheaded Cyclefest for all of its 30 years.

Kevin and Maysey being awarded for the services.

The night concluded with a slide show and a gathering by the campfire. There were already some ideas being discussed for the next Labour Day weekend but everyone was still sharing their memories of previous Cyclefest.

Cyclefest '09 - Day 2

Heather and I slept overnight at home since we wanted to properly prepare ourselves for Dennis & Diana's wedding today. We showed up at the campground at 10 expecting to go for breakfast with Heather's parents. However, they got pulled into leading a group on the poker run so we'd have to do breakfast alone. After mingling with the rally-goers for about an hour we left the campground and went to the Black Forest Inn in Conestogo. It's worked many times before so why change now. The brunch was great as usual.

We arrived at the Blessed Sacrament church in Kitchener well before the 1 pm scheduled start of the wedding ceremony. Regardless of our early arrival, we found the groom and his groomsmen already waiting in the lobby. We chatted with Dennis as well as Remi for a while before proceeding to our seats. Since Remi was also in the wedding party, he asked that I hold on to his camera for the duration of the day. I agreed and decided instead to use his camera all day and then just have him send me the photos. Remi owns a Canon that is at least a couple of steps above what I use.

The ceremony started pretty much on time and lasted about an hour. Afterwards, the wedding party assembled outside for a group photo and a receiving line. Somehow, Heather and I ended up right at the front of the line to congratulate the newlyweds. Since the reception wasn't until 6 we went to visit Kim and Mike in Cambridge for a couple of hours. We stayed until 5:20 before leaving for the Armenian Hall in Cambridge. We found ourselves sitting at a table with Remi's parents, Dennis' friend Justin and his parents and another couple.

The reception started right at 6 but because there were nearly 300 guests, the party didn't start until 10. In the meantime, we enjoyed the various food that was put in front of us. That included a soup, salad, fish with rice, steak with potatoes and dessert. There was also a midnight table loaded with seafood, cakes and other goodies but I decided against it. Heather and I partied until 1 in the morning. Congratulations Dennis and Diana!

Cyclefest '09 - Day 1

Today was sort of a special day for us as we finally decided to get a marriage license. After doing some price shopping last night, we settled on the town of Ingersoll which is just under an hour away from our home. What's amazing is that the price of a marriage license varies from town to town and my survey of prices from about 10 local towns showed that only two came in under $100, Ingersoll being one of them. That is in comparison to $130 asking price by the City of Waterloo.

Unfortunately, since I had to work, Heather took her mother to Ingersoll. I found out later in the afternoon that Heather had no problems obtaining the license. She even said that the clerk mentioned that a lot of people from our parts make the drive to Ingersoll to save $30-40 on a marriage license.

I finally made my way to the West Montrose Campground, only about 15 minutes away from home, at about 6. My first job was to help out the registration table with t-shirt sales.

Wendy, Mitch and Maysey at the registration table.

That lasted about an hour since we all left for the Robinsons' annual Friday night dinner at the Gorge Restaurant in Elora.

After a great meal, we went back to the campground where we stayed for a short time before heading home. Heather and I decided to sleep home since tomorrow we were going to a friend's wedding.

On the eve of Cyclefest 30

Tomorrow marks the official beginning of another Cyclefest. This event started out as a gathering in a backyard in 1979 with the name Cyclefest starting in 1980. Heather's first Cyclefest was in 1982 when she was just in her second year. She missed a couple more along the way but this year's will be her 26th. 2009 will be different for both of us as for the first time we will be involved in running this great event. The club organizing this event, the Waterloo Wings, was gracious enough to adopt us as members and we were more than happy to help stage Cyclefest.

Since we both had plans in the evening, I quickly went after work to set up our tent in our usual spot next to Heather's parents who had already arrived. I stayed for only 20 minutes or so before taking off for Mississauga where me and eight other guys (including a phone-in from Dubai) had our annual fantasy football draft. Heather was busy this evening with yet another fitting at Taylor's in Elmira. I left Mississauga after 9:30 but didn't arrive home until midnight from what usually is no more than an hour-long drive. We decided to stay at home tonight since I was working tomorrow and Heather was running some out of town errands.