Staying Down

Just one day after the Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour, my knee is just a little sore but my left foot is in a bad way. The top of the foot often clicks when I walk, as bone grinds upon bone, but now the sound is steady and louder. I'm on a steady diet of Tylenol and Advil, to dull the pain and ease the swelling.

This is my new reality, until I have surgery to correct the condition.

But just one day after my return ride from Kingston ended in Elgin, a couple of friends have offered their sympathy, congratulated me on what I managed to complete, and said that they'd see me next year.

No, you won't, was my response, unless I chose to volunteer.

I know that every year, after I finished riding the RLCT, whether I've completed the journey or not, I've said I'm not doing it again. And then I'd do it again.

But this time, I mean it. I'm staying down.

I'm reminded in that skit on The Kids In The Hall: the young tough kid, trying to pick a fight in a bar with someone who is way out of his league, getting the shit kicked out of him, but never giving up.

For four years, I've been that kid (Bruce McCulloch). Rideau Lakes has been the big guy. For three years, I tried to tackle it and have been knocked down or have not completed what I set out to do. In year for, after being pummeled yet again, I get it.

I'm staying down.

Don't know the skit? Here you go: