Friday, April 30, 2010

The View from Bourbon Lancy

We are in Bourbon Lancy, a small town which has existed since medieval times, and is about a half way between Nevers and Baune (good wine). We decided to spend the day here as a rest day, to allow Serge to bring the doctors and their wives to Dijon (good mustard) where they can catch their train to Paris (and then home – I miss them already), and to catch up on my e-mails.

So far in our first eight days we have cycled almost 800 kilometres so I am well on track to reach Budapest by the end of May. I am very thankful that I have been able to do this, I feel very strong and even though this is a rest day, I would like nothing more than to hop on my bike and race down the road.

That's all for now, I will let my pictures of Bourbon Lancy speak for themselves. If you would like to see all of the pictures on my blog, and other pictures I have taken on the trip, then go to the link on the right for "More of my photos", or go to  http://picasaweb.google.com/106987724341625770882.

Please give generously to The Fund for Education and Research on Blood Cancers at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital using the online donation link above.Thank you for your generosity.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

La Grandeur de l'Âme Humaine

We slept in a little village called Gimouille near Nevers, at a small inn by the name of La Grenouille. We ate supper last night in an absolutely spectacular village by the name of Apremont-Sur-Allier, which was built in the 15th century, is owned by a single family, and hasn't really changed since then. Walking through the village, you are transported 500 years back. . We ate at Brasserie Du Lavoir owned by a delightful fellow from the Basque region of France, combining local dishes and Basque cuisine. We left very full, very happy and very amazed by the  surroundings.

This morning when we were leaving Gimouille, we went over a pont-canal over the Loire (a pont-canal is exactly what it sounds like, it's a bridge over the Loire which actually contains a canal so boats using the canal system in France can cross the Loire without actually getting caught by its currents and shallow bottom), and then asked a fellow on a bike how to get to Chevenon, where we hope to find the Vélo Sur Loire bike path. When we asked him for directions, he told us he wasn't in a rush and he would take us to the right road, and he proceeded to pedal with us, finally leading us to the road to Chevenon. On the way, we learned his name was Jean-Pierre Brière, that his nickname was Coco, that he has two artificial hips and loved to cycle. We told him about our trip and our cause, and he was not only interested, he indicated that he would be interested in making a donation. We gave him the blog address and parted ways once we were on the road to Chevenon. We were all amazed at the way he was willing to share part of his day with us to help us out.

We then continued on to Decize where we had a delicious lunch from a boulangerie and after lunch, Serge, Dr. Jean Roy, Helene and Diane went one way onto our destination of Bourbon-Lancy and Dr. Denis-Claude Roy and I followed the bike path along the Canal du Nivernais, and then we were going to take a different route on to Bourbon-Lancy. As we were pedaling along the beautiful canal, Denis-Claude's front tire went flat, and we found ourselves with a flat tire, we had no extra tube, no patch kit, and were in the middle of (a beautiful) nowhere. We found our way to a little town and asked for a bike shop, to no avail. We then decided to look for a garage, and we found Garage Francois Lanoizelée and met François. Luckily for us, he had a patch kit which we purchased for 5 Euros, and while Denis-Claude was patching his tire, I started talking with François. He asked where we were going and I explained our trip. When he learned that I had survived leukemia, that Denis-Claude was one of my doctors, and that we were making the trip to fundraise, he gave me a second patch kit and then gave us the five Euros that we had given him for the first patch kit as a donation. He then helped us complete our tire repair and off we went to Bourbon-Lancy, and a total of 106 kilometres for the day.
We were all moved today by the way people went out of their way to help us once they learned our story. Perhaps it is kindness responding to kindness, perhaps it's simply the good in people, whatever the case, it is a privilege to be here, it is a privilege to meet the people, and it is a privilege to share acts of kindness.

We all can become cynical about human nature, and assume the worst in people. Today however, has shown us the best, that a little kindness goes a long way, and that there is hope.

Please help us by donating online. Your acts of kindness and generosity will no doubt be answered and reciprocated.


Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Le petit mot d’Hélène

Mon conjoint Jean Roy a parfois des projets inusités qui sortent d’une boîte à surprise. Ce fut alors sans surprise que je reçus sa proposition de suivre William Brock à vélo en Europe. Cependant, je n’ai pas toujours envie de suivre les patients de Jean et d’entendre parler de plaquettes, Stem Cells, ou culots de sang. Par contre la perspective de faire du vélo et de parcourir la Loire ont été des éléments déclencheurs qui ont fait que j’ai accepté ce projet.

Après 4 jours et une moyenne de 70 KM par jour, je dois avouer que malgré les heures de spinning avec mes bonnes copines, que je trouve cela difficile mais la bonne humeur est présente à chaque village et nous l’avons transmise à notre sympathique et dévoué; restaurateur Thierry du Diapason à Belleville, notre dynamique aubergiste madame Carole Lavigne Du Verger Fleuri à St-Satur, avec son menu du terroir extraordinaire concocté par son conjoint (crottin de Chavignol, magret de canard et poires pochées au Sancerre) sans oublier monsieur Mortier des Deux Roues Électriques qui nous fournit les vélos. Ils rigolent de nos bêtises et de celles de Serge, l’éminence grise de ce voyage.
Ce matin, après l’ascension vers Sancerre, où nos mollets ont été mis à l’épreuve, nous avons fait un détour dans les vignobles.
D’ailleurs, je dois aussi avouer que les mains de Diane, l’épouse de Denis-Claude Roy, aussi physiothérapeute, sont magiques et apaisent fort heureusement nos muscles endoloris.
À chaque étape, notre joie de vivre se transmet de village en village et c’est ce que je rapporte de plus important au Québec.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

An entry from one of my doctors, and now my friend, Denis-Claude Roy

Quel plaisir de se joindre a M William Brock pour une partie de ce magnifique périple! Partis de Gien ce matin, nous avons longe le superbe canal de Briard puis y avons dégusté de fantastiques macarons, les meilleurs qu'il ait manges. Nous pedalons dans la campagne de la Loire, caresses par le soleil et rafraîchis par le vent alors que nous apprenons qu'il neige a Montreal! Alors c'est clair que nous pedalons pour la bonne cause!

Nous avons connu le William Brock patient atteint d'une grave leucémie aiguë. Nous l'avons vu affaibli par la chimiothérapie de greffe et combattant la fatigue et les infections. Nous découvrons maintenant un athlète qui ouvre le chemin avec aisance et s'amuse a monter l'abrupte colline de Sancerre a la fin de sa journee de velo. Un homme déterminé, inlassable travailleur, qui parle aux journalistes et envoie des messages sur son blackberry pendant qu'il pédale. Messages pour inviter toutes ses connaissances a donner pour combattre la leucémie.
Cet homme est un modèle de dévouement et une inspiration incroyable pour tous. La preuve vivante qu'on peut vaincre la leucémie et vivre a plein! Et une motivation incroyable pour nous, ses médecins, a travailler sans relâche pour nos patients, pour trouver de nouveaux traitements!

Car comme le dit M Brock, la vie vaut la peine d'être vécue!

Joignez-vous a lui et contribuez généreusement a améliorer le sort des patients atteints de cancer! Merci encore de votre aide précieuse.

DC

GO HABS GO!

It's a beautiful morning in Gien (on the Loire), and we are getting ready to hit the road.

Please help prove (beyond a shadow of a doubt) that on-line donations to the Fund for Research and Education on Blood Cancers at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital  will insure
that the Habs win tonight - and even if this is a total non-sequitor - do you really want to take the chance and risk the entire City's pride- so give generously - it certainly can't hurt!!

Monday, April 26, 2010

Two of my doctors and me

Today we were joined by Dr Denis-Claude Roy, also a hemotologist and researcher at HMR, and his wife Diane. We all cycled together along the Loire, from Orleans past Sandillon, Jargeau, Chateauneuf sur Loire, St-Benoit sur Loire, Sully sur Loire to Gien, a little over 80kms in all, down country roads, past vast fields of mustard, and villages which have existed for a thousand years. It seems that down every road is a quaint village, a marvellous chateau or church or an incredible vista, some of which are below.

Being with two of the doctors who treated me, and saved my live, is very special - until my illness I never realized how extraordinary they are,  completely devoted to their patients and saving lives, working hard and long to help us all. They deserve your support and generosity.

The response to our ride has been fabulous, people we meet along the way are interested, people at home are contributing, and the french media have picked up the story. If you haven`t already done so, please contribute

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Cycling with Dr Jean and Helene Roy

Dr Jean Roy and his wife Helene arrived in Orleans yesterday and Serge picked them up this morning. I started my day early in Amboise and cycled towards Orleans, through  lovely villages and the City of Blois (photo below) and we all met in Beaugency, and cycled back to Orleans. I'm honored to have Jean and Helene Roy with me, and I know how lucky I am.
We stopped for a few minutes in a little village called St Hillaire to admire its magnificent 15th Century church and chat with Guillaume, (actually, he is originally Dutch, his name is Willem) who lives right across from the Church, with history in his front yard. The Church has, like every village, a monument to the Villlages war dead (Morts Pour La France) - 18 men from a tiny village in World War I. History here is everywhere.



Saturday, April 24, 2010

A Gorgeous Day - all 101 kilometers!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day, sunny and the high was 29, with just enough of a wind to keep us cool. I cycled past Tours, 101 kms in total and we stopped for the night in Amboise, home of the Chateau Royal. The scenery is spectacular, we rolled past fields of flowers and vinyards and along the banks of the Loire. We are eating like kings,  I  can't resist the boulangères-pâtissières along the way,  in every village we pass. Thankfully I burn it off.  I feel great, no fatigue, in fact I have been getting stronger by the day.

Dr Jean Roy and his wife have arrived in Orleans I am going to start early,  Serge will pick them up and they will meet me en route.

If you haven't already done so please use the link above to make an on-line tax deductable donation to the Fund for Education and Research on Blood Cancers - it will help save lives.

Friday, April 23, 2010

A Somber Reminder

Serge and I started our day at the train station (Gare) in Angers where we left the van, so that Serge could cycle with me for part of the day and then return by train to pick up the van. In the main hall of the Gare there is a plaque commemorating the deportation of 824 Jewish men, women and children to Auschwitz in 1942, of whom 12 men, 1 woman and none of the children survived. It is hard to imagine that the beautiful Loire was occupied by Nazis 70 years ago, and that the same train station that was the start of our beautiful journey today was the start of a terrible and last journey for many others.

After we left the train station on our bikes, we immediately got lost trying to find the Velo sur Loire cycle route out of the city, and over an hour later, we succeeded in finding the Loire and the cycle route. The route then took us on a meandering ride along both banks of the Loire through villages which have existed since medieval times. I covered 85 kilometers, past chateaus and vineyards, roman ruins, and churches built a thousand years ago. The weather was wonderful, mid twenties, sunny and not as windy as the past couple of days.

All in all, it was a beautiful ride, with enough good hills to make us work. I feel great, in fact stronger than I felt during the last couple of days (maybe jetlag subsiding), and I hope to get even stronger as the ride progresses.

We are staying in an auberge called La Marine de Loire in the village of Montsoreau on the south bank of the Loire. We had a sublime dinner at Diane de Meridor, recommended by the Hotel - my Saint Jacques Bretonnes aux artichauts et tapinambours (a local tuber with a taste reminiscent of artichokes) vinaigrette tiede aux agrumes was extraordinary, a fine reward after a good day of exertion.

Tomorrow, on to Tours.



Thursday, April 22, 2010

A Glorious Day on the Loire


Serge and I cycled a little over 85K today, mostly country paths on the shore of the Loire, either paved or very hard packed - no problem for our road bikes. We are now at an auberge (Le Cavier) near Angers, on the site of an old and perfectly preserved / restored grain mill. The scenery today was beautiful, the broad but shallow Loire, Chateaus perched on the shores or up high, picturesque villages - plenty to see and eat. Life is wonderful, and I'm supremely fortunate to be living it. If you haven't already given, please do so at the link above, and if you are still not sure you want to, read the entry from Dr Jean Roy below. Please.

Pourquoi j'irai avec William

I asked Dr Jean Roy, one of my physicians at HMR who will be cycling with me (he arrives in France on the weekend) to write an entry for my blog, here is is, it speaks eloquently for itself:


J’irai faire du vélo avec William, moi qui ne suis pas sportif du tout!

Pourquoi donc sacrifier une semaine de tes vacances à faire du vélo pour ramasser des fonds, toi qui te plains constamment de manquer de temps ? Ainsi posée, cette question d’un ami m’a effectivement fait sourire. Ceux qui me connaissent un peu savent que je manque cruellement de temps. Pour ma famille d’abord, mes amis et moi-même aussi. Tous ces patients atteints de maladies complexes, ces articles scientifiques à lire pour me garder à jour et ces projets de recherche finissent par prendre tellement de place, c’en est étourdissant. Que voulez-vous, même après 30 ans de médecine, j’ai encore le feu sacré pour l’hématologie, cette spécialité qui s’intéresse aux cancers du sang dont la leucémie.

Même fatigué, je me sens privilégié d’avoir un travail si valorisant. Imaginez un instant comment on peut se sentir quand on annonce à une jeune fille de 22 ans, atteinte d’une leucémie et qui a failli mourir d’une pneumonie aux soins intensifs, qu’elle est maintenant guérie. Si vous pouviez alors saisir, l’espace d’un instant, son regard ou celui de ses parents… Cela fait toujours jaillir en moi un immense bonheur. Dire qu’en 1980, on nous enseignait que la survie des adultes atteints de leucémie ne dépassait pas 10%...Grâce à la recherche, la médecine moderne fait parfois des miracles.

A l’inverse, il m’arrive rarement de parler du côté sombre de mon travail. A part mes collègues, qui pourrait me comprendre? Annoncer à un jeune homme de 30 ans qu’il n’y a plus rien à faire, comme je l’ai fait il ya deux semaines, me bouleverse encore énormément. Je trouve alors la vie tellement injuste… et la médecine si limitée. Une autre vie de brisée, une autre famille dont les enfants grandiront sans connaître l’un des parents… Souvent, après avoir lutté plusieurs mois aux côtés d’un patient et de sa famille, un lien particulier se tisse, un lien qui va rapidement à l’essentiel, comme on en crée rarement en d’autres circonstances. Quand mon patient décède, j’y pense pendant plusieurs jours mais n’en parle à personne. Ceux qui m’entourent sont occupés par la vie quotidienne et ses petits tracas qui me semblent alors d’aucune importance. Je vis mon deuil professionnel dans le silence.

Quand William m’a parlé de son projet, j’ai accepté sans hésiter. Parce que la vie est précieuse et qu’il faut la célébrer : mes patients atteints de leucémie et autres cancers du sang me le rappellent à chaque jour. Des progrès ont certes été accomplis grâce à la chimiothérapie et la greffe de moelle osseuse, mais trop de patients meurent encore de la leucémie. La recherche scientifique est le seul moyen de faire des progrès et de sauver la vie de mes patients. J’irai donc pédaler avec William, ai-je répondu à mon ami. Même si je n’ai pas le temps.

Jean Roy MD, hématologue

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

86 Kms Down, 2,614 To Go

We left Saint Nazaire at around noon (we had some organizing to do, like getting local cel phones, a bike rack for the van etc) and I started our journey with my feet in the Atlantic Ocean. We then cycled through towns like Paimbeouf, Le Pellerin, Nantes, and the picturesque sounding Mauves sur Loire. It was a mix of country roads, and paved bike paths, hilly for the first thirty K or so, then flat as we approached the Loire and cycled next to it. There are a series of paved paths called Les Promenades de la Loire, right along its bank, very serene and beautiful, surrounded by vineyards.


On one of these pathes, near the town of Indre I found myself in the middle of a dilapidated gypsy trailer village, shown in the photo below, surrounded by a crowd of bare foot children asking me to take pictures of them (but not begging for money). The contrast between the beauty of the Loire, and the squalor of the Gypsy encampment was jarring. They just seem to be dumped there.

We then containued on to Champtoceaux, where we are staying at a lovely auberge, with an excellent resto, we even enjoyed a locale muscadet with dinner.

Tomorrow is another day, we will try to leave by 9,30 so we finish our ride a little earlier than today.


Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Saint-Nazaire, France

We made it to Paris, on the first flight out of Montreal after the volcano! We then drove 400 kms  to Saint Nazaire, a town on the Atlantic coast and the start of Velo 6. Saint-Nazaire is also the home of World War 2 German U-boat pens, with 20 foot thick reinforced concrete walls and roofs - quite the sight - and a stark reminder of Europe 70 years ago.

We were warmly greeted on our arrival by Lorène and Marie at the Holiday Inn, the best place in town, we then unpacked our bikes, toured the U-boat pens,  took a warm up ride, then had a sumptuous seafood feast at Le Skipper - fuel for tomorrow, when the real fun begins. The weather is supposed to be nice for the rest of the week, it was sunny and 22° C today,  perfect cycling weather. 



Sunday, April 18, 2010

Leaving Tomorrow (Maybe!)

Meet Wayne Heuff, a fine friend, who is going to meet me near Ulm in Germany on May 11, and cycle with me to Linz in Austria. Wayne is an athlete - he will keep me going, fast. Let the best man win!

Volcano permitting I leave tomorrow, and if I am delayed I will work to get out as soon as I can - Volcano or no volcano, this ride is going to happen, from start to finish.

Please donate to the Fund for Education and Research Into Blood Cancer, use the link above, your generosity is appreciated.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Father - Daughter Breakfast


Every spring my daughter's school has a father-daughter breakfast - this year my daughter Julianne graduates - so I really enjoyed my last breakfast this morning. I am very thankful that my daughter has a father to take her to the breakfast - and I was overjoyed to be there!


Please help me provide our doctors with the resources to make sure other fathers will be there as well. Please give generously by the on-line donation link above. Daughter's everywhere will be grateful.



Thursday, April 8, 2010

10 Days To Go!


Meet Claude Lamarre, who has been my friend for 30 years, and will join me near Munich and pedal with me all the way to Budapest!


In 10 days I leave for France and the start of my ride. I am fit and ready, friends are planning to join me en route and donations are flowing in. Please help us save lives by clicking on the donation link above.


As well, here is a link to an article about my ride that appeared in The Montreal Gazette:




Thanks for your support.