Brampton senior undertakes 900-kilometre bike ride
Triumphant
70-year-old Budi Tahir took a 900-kilometre ride circumventing Lake Ontario. The long-time Brampton resident said he did it to inspire others.
Brampton Guardian
BRAMPTON — When Brampton’s Budi Tahir, 70, set out on a grueling a cycling trip around Lake Ontario, he not only accomplished the feat in nine days, but along the way, he learned more than a couple life lessons.
Tahir learned; much like life, one must travel light; be prepared to navigate physical and mental roadblocks; realize sometimes the road doesn’t lead to where it’s supposed to and that every hill, no matter how steep, can eventually be conquered.
“I always look for new challenges,” Tahir told The Guardian. “Otherwise I would be bored. These challenges make life interesting. With this ride, I want to inspire others and tell them not to give up on their dreams...”
This was not his first attempt though.
Last year, the Brampton man wanted to commemorate his 70th birthday by successfully completing the 900-kilometre ride, but he had to abandon his plan two days into the trip because he developed a fever after getting caught in a heavy downpour.
This time around, the former Nortel employee, decided to invest in proper rain gear. He set himself a daily goal of 100 kilometres and appropriately charted a route that would allow him to rest the night in motels dotting around the route.
His nine-day sojourn cost him just under $900, but the bragging rights and the sense of pride on having accomplished the feat are priceless, he estimates.
In 2008, three years after he started cycling in earnest, Tahir signed up for the Ride To Conquer Cancer, a 200-kilometre, two-day fundraiser and successfully completed it.
Emboldened, he began thinking about pushing himself further. That same year, his daughter gifted him a yellow touring bike, which he aptly named Shadow.
For his recent adventure, Tahir couldn’t have asked for a better sidekick than Shadow.
Each of the nine days, the senior would set his alarm to go off at 6 a.m. so he could begin his journey latest by 7:30 a.m. The idea was to travel 100-kilometres each day.
“I know my limits,” he said. “I know what I can achieve and what I cannot do. The reason many people quit what they set out to do is because they think they can do more than what they can actually do. I believe people should be persistent and not underestimate themselves.”
On his second day, Tahir crossed Welland Canal on Queenston St. bridge and decided to walk across as he did not want to risk damaging the tires of his bike, but just as he neared the middle, an approaching cargo ship set the bridge’s alarm system off.
The Bramptonian literally scrambled for dear life and made it to the other side minutes before the bridge opened. Those few minutes were somewhat harrowing.
A day or two into his trip, Tahir encountered the first of many steep hills, In his previous attempt, he walked the hill in question, but this time, he decided to tackle it.
“At first, I wondered if I could conquer it,” he said “I took a deep breath and went for it. About one-third of the way I realized I had Shadow on the lowest gear already. I exhaled forcefully on each and every stroke. We (Shadow and I) climbed slowly and after what seemed like eternity, we made it to the top.”
Tahir made it back to Brampton safely as planned on the ninth day.
As he neared his home, an exhausted but triumphant Tahir was greeted by his wife and child who had been following him on the GPS tracker.
“The highlight of the trip was the people I met along my trip,” he said. “I feel so blessed because I met so many people who had to give up cycling because of either an illness or an injury. I also did this trip so I could inspire the younger generation and tell them they can do anything they want once they set their mind,” he continued.
You can read Budi Tahir’s journey in his blog.
