Bib attached, helmet checked, Daniel Roy is ready to pedal.
Seven people aged 80 and over make a 80 kilometer bike ride on Monday to celebrate their 80th birthday and show the importance of keeping in good physical shape.
Daniel Roy, 85, Guy Richard, 80, Pierre Bédard, 81, Richard Larose, 80, Serge Lemay, 80, Jean Matthon, 80 and Normand Turgeon, 82, decided to take up this challenge in four hours, or an average of 20 kilometers per hour.
Together 568 years between them, octogenarians don't do this on a whim. We don't decide that overnight, in my case, I've been cycling quite actively for about thirty years, with the Les Côteux cycling club in Sherbrooke, explains Daniel Roy, in an interview with the show Get the info here.
These seven octogenarian friends cycle 80 kilometers for their 80th birthday.
Daniel Roy assures us that, even as we age, it is possible to continue to play sports. Now, technology allows people who are a bit losing their ability to continue riding, with [electrically assisted] road bikes, so that helps us and then we can continue like this for a few more years.
And Daniel Roy does not do things by halves, since he went to the starting point of the route by bike. His friends and his wife were waiting for him there, ready to encourage him for his departure.
Daniel Roy, 85, pushed the challenge: he went to the meeting point by bicycle.
But this route is almost usual, according to Daniel Roy's wife, who assures us that the cyclist regularly does this kind of mileage in the morning, to keep in shape.
The start was given at 10 a.m., Monday morning, at the Siboire on rue du Dépôt. The seven cyclists took advantage of the passage of a patrol car from the Service de police de Sherbrooke to have an official start.
Police officers passing through the area agreed to pose to give an official appearance to the departure of the seven cyclists.
Monday morning, the planned route, starting in Sherbrooke, runs along the Magog River, notably taking the bike path from Lac des Nations. The next stop is in Magog, via the Chemin de Venise. The return will be via Orford and Saint-Élie.
Of course, octogenarian cyclists do this course for fun, because they like to ride together. But it is also an opportunity for them to lead by example. It's worth keeping in shape to be able to continue having an interesting life for as long as possible, explains Daniel Roy.
But that's not the only message that Daniel Roy and his friends want to pass. They also wish to highlight the work of physical educators.
“Today, young people are less encouraged to do physical activities. And then, with all the technologies that exist, it's easy everywhere. So educators do the work of trying to instill in young people to put away the cell phone and then get out of the house and do some physical activity. »
— Daniel Roy, cyclist.
The third objective of this ride with friends is to collect donations for the group Get your bike back!, a group that recovers and repairs bicycles, to offer them to young Sherbrooke residents in need.
The start was given Monday morning at 10 a.m. at the Siboire on rue du Dépôt, in Sherbrooke. The octogenarians were hoping for a return around 3 p.m.
