A Paris man is preparing for the ride of his life.
Dale Hall will begin on the three-day Bellwether Bike Ride from Ottawa to Paris on Aug. 12.
“We’re doing the ride for the Salvation Army Food Bank that serves both Brantford and Brant County,” said the 28-year-old family wealth adviser at Bellwether Family Wealth on Brant Avenue in Brantford.
“We know the food bank’s current van is moving toward the end of its career, so the goal is to raise enough funds over a few years to buy the food bank a refrigerated van to make logistics a lot easier for them.”
He said the inspiration for doing a summer project began in 2020, when the company desired to help the food bank deal with pandemic demands, and fewer donations at that time of year.
“The food bank operates year-round,” said the cyclist. “We want to fill the gaps for them as much as we can.”
Hall took up serious cycling in the summer of 2019 when he participated in a fundraising relay ride around Lake Ontario.
“That was my first real ride,” he said. “It was a three-day relay, with each cyclist covering 250 to 300 kilometres.”
To prepare for the ride, Hall said he combines low-intensity, long distance riding with high intensity shorter workouts.
“It’s not perfectly flat… and the wind isn’t always at your back,” he explained. “On those moments on the hills, or when you have a head wind, to meet a certain time frame you have to push a little harder.”
Hall said his 22-speed road bike with a carbon fiber frame will make conquering hills easier.
The cyclist said a trial version of the Bellwether Bike Ride was run in 2020 during pandemic lockdowns.
“Cycling Ontario and Cycling Canada did suggest that we not ride in groups,” he recalled. “So, I did a solo effort, a one-day 250-kilometre loop raising about $3,500 for the food bank.”
Hall developed a route that uses rural roads and paved trails as much as possible, to make the trek safer for both cyclists and motorists.
Hall will be riding alone this year but is actively recruiting riders for what will become an annual event.
His wife, Taylor, will be his support driver, meeting him at designated spots along the journey.
After the ride’s first day traveling from Ottawa to Kingston, Day 2 will follow waterfront trails from Kingston to Burlington. He will finish the trek at Wincey Mills in Paris, at the forks of the Grand and Nith Rivers.
“The bike has already been in for a tune up at The Bicycle Shop and it’s in working order,” Hall said. “I just have to get through a few more training miles in the next month-and-a-half.”
For more information and to donate visit the Bellwether Bike Ride page on Facebook.