District A-2 Lions cycle from Mount Elgin to Waterford
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Some of the dozen District A-2 Lions were raring to go at 8 a.m. Saturday.
Some were a little slower to arrive at the starting line for the annual Lions' Ride for Sight, a 50 km cycling journey from Mount Elgin to Waterford.
"We had 13 riders today," said Clay Hoover, a member of the Dereham District Lions Club. "Twelve of them are District A-2 Lions, and we have one guest from Belgium who came with Paul..."
"He's a hired hand – he's riding for me," joked Tillsonburg Lions' Paul DeCloet. "No, he's just visiting – when he was younger he did some fairly competitive bike riding at the regional level. He told me three years ago he rode 250 km in one day... and some of it was uphill. So for him this is just a 'nice little ride.'"
Dereham District Lions Club hosted a Saturday morning breakfast at the Mount Elgin Community Centre and the Waterford Lions hosted lunch at Camp Trillium.
The 'nice little ride' would take the cyclists from Mount Elgin east to Pick Line, south to Otterville with a refreshment stop at the fire hall, east to Windham Centre, jogging south then east to Camp Trillium in Waterford, a little over 49 km in total.
Numbers were down a bit from last year, said Hoover, noting the 20-or-so riders in 2013 raised nearly $6,000, but he figured they'd be 'in the same ball park.'
"We're an organization that's growing older," said DeCloet. "That's part of it."
Hoover said funds raised from Ride for Sight pledges will be distributed by participating A-2 clubs to charities/causes of their choice, many of which are sight-related.
"Each club is responsible for their own money and where they want it to go. Some of it will go to Camp Trillium, some will go to leader dogs."
In past Journey for Sight years, the Lions had gathered at Courtland and cycled to Fort Erie, a distance of nearly 150 km.
"This is our eighth year starting here in Mount Elgin," said Hoover. "They were looking for a shorter distance."