Frank Zechner

By visiting this webpage, you have brought us one small step closer to fighting childhood cancer.

I am a 57 year old self employed lawyer and I am honoured to have this unique opportunity to help children and their families fight cancer.

As a parent I have experienced fear and concern for my children If the training or the ride gets difficult at times, I know that an extra boost will come from reminders of what the experience must be for children and families for whom I am riding. As Albert Einstein remarked “Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted”

Blog Archive

Oct
7th

Thu

A Fast 2 weeks

In many respects it seems like just yesterday when the snkcr 2010 riders rolled into Halifax, yet the calendar says that it was two weeks ago today.

Is life back to its pre-snkcr norms? Absolutely not. My wife Charlene asked the other day ‘how much longer is it going to take until we get back to normal?’ I responded, that we will never get back the genie back in the bottle, even after snkcr fever has peaked it remains as a source of heat and passion in your blood.

My hopes in the months ahead:

A) Continue to be an ambassador for the cause, perhaps get more fundraising achieved, but clearly the big push is over, any fundraising in the months ahead will likely be focused on future events such as Tour for Kids 2011

B) Try to hold onto some of the conditioning that I have built up over the past 6 to 9 months, it was an unexpected surprise that I lost another 5 to 7 pounds during the ride itself and now many of the items in my closet are one size too big and I am back to my high school wrestling weight and measurements!! (hint that was about 40 years ago)

C) Act as a mentor, guide and/or resource for next year’s snkcr ride, hopefully meeting a new rider or two that I can share all of my hard won lessons with. I have fond and vivid memories of cold outdoor spins and snkcr fundraisers with Hurricane Helene Fournier that started back in January 2010 as well as brisk training rides, initially to Mississauga and Brampton and then expanding to Lake Simcoe’s shores.

D) Work with my cycling wife Ulana to establish a new cycling squad that will collectively tackle Tour for Kids, various other ctcacf as well as other cancer fundraisers. The new team will be a continuing fundraising group and testament to Ulana’s daughter Taissa as well as the rest of her family in living with and beyond childhood cancer.

May all of your rides be blessed with a purpose, a rainbow and pennies from heaven.

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Oct
1st

Fri

Settling back in Toronto for a quiet autumn???

The recent photo with fellow snkcr riders Ulana Kopystansky and Helene Fournier suggest that life after snkcr 2010 is not necessarily dull. October 1 marked my return back to Toronto. After a year of build up, the 3 weeks of snkcr 2010 has come to a close. The intensity, friendships and emotions over the last few weeks has permanently altered my attitude and plans. While there may not be a cross Canada bike ride planned for the next 12 months, there will be continuing advocacy for kids cancer and various coast to coast against cancer fundraising events in which I plan to participate in 2011 and beyond.

Gone are the 6:10 am wake calls from Rich our crew leader, but I do have a new spin class that I will be leading at 6:15 am Thursday mornings at the GoodLife Valhalla Club. Wait until they get a glimpse of some of my morning dance moves. I might even get Helene and Ulana out for a few of these classes.

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Sep
28th

Tue

Sep 27 and Sep 28 - the Cabot Trail, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

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Sep
26th

Sun

Antigonish Homecoming for Suzanne Delaney

I had the enormous priviledge of accompanying Suzanne Delaney in her homecoming parade and reception in Antigonish. While a late ferry ride from PEI to Nova Scotia shortened the length of my ride into Antigonish there was no lack of enthusiastic introductions and welcomes.

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Sep
25th

Sat

Day 17

Charlottetown to St. Peters and back

110 km solo effort into the wind for the first half and a modest tail wind coming back. Friendly people, cool weather, temp maxxed out at 11C this morning and starting getting colder as the day wore on. I sure missed the team of pullers to share the load, Paul, Blake, Damon and the rest of the gang, especially with the head winds. Some of the locals had warned me about a few hills near the turnaround point. Those were not hills, those are what my team mate Ulana would call ‘inclines’. Only had one ‘bio’ break, I am sure that Melody would have suggested a few more.

Ended the day at a local pub where they featured ‘iron horse’ ale. I think that Mike would be good for a tall one or two after the day’s ride.

Tomorrow, day #18 and Suzanne Delaney and I are scheduled for the welcome parade into Antigonish. Gotta be up shortly after 6:00 to catch the ferry on time (Rich, I hear you all the way out here with your wake up call). This will be the first night since the Labour day weekend when I have slept in the same city two days in a row.

Looking forward to tomorrow’s ride and then off to Baddeck on Cape Breton Island where there will be at least one snkcr rider on the Cabot Trail.

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Sep
24th

Fri

Hey team, I ain’t done yet

Tomorrow, day 17, my version of the snkcr ride continues (Jeff Rushton said that we have to stop at Halifax, but I’m not going to accept that answer). I will be targeting a short 120 km ride on PEI, heading to to the north shore and covering some of the ground that snkcr team #3 missed. Sunday, day 18, back to Nova Scotia to join fellow national rider Suzanne Delaney on her homecoming parade, gotta get up early to catch that ferry to the mainland. Days 19 and 20 will be opening new ground for snkcr team #1 with a planned ride of the Cabot Trail. Lookout Maritimes, I ain’t done yet!!

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Day #16

It keeps on going!!

Unlike my fellow riders, I was up at 4:00 am today to drive from Halifax to Charlottetown for a business presentation this morning. Hotel staff at the Delta in Charlottetown, upon learning that I was a national rider, not only upgraded my reservations but rushed through a room so I could check in at 09:00 this morning. To top it off, they sent a complimentary bottle of wine and glasses to our room in celebration of the snkcr ride. Went for a haircut at a little place on Kent Street, chatted with staff and once again I was hit between the eyes with unexpected generosity, they made a nice cash donation to my continuing and growing snkcr fundraising campaign. What a great City, Province and Country - we are so blessed.

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Drawing Strength and Inspiration from Ulana

While it may appear to some that I am giving Ulana a bit of a boost on a long day #13, it is Ulana who gave to me and my fellow riders infinitely more strength through her efforts, her determination and her indominatable spirit.

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