Since I first spoke with event organizer Mary Congoran about the race, she has been telling me the Contoocook Carry brings out the best in Hopkinton residents.

I figured she was right, but until I rode my bicycle into a ditch on the side of the road, I never really completely understood.

On Sunday, Sept. 21, what seemed like the entire town of Hopkinton was either racing, setting up the race, handing out Gatorade and water – or, in the case of Peter Sorel, helping a stranded reporter pop his chain back into place.

The race got started with a 2-mile run. I found myself in the middle of the pack when I arrived with my red kayak, a piece of equipment I hope to never see again.

I hopped in, pushed off and started paddling my way down the Contoocook River, starting the 5-mile voyage down the calm river (Believe me, I wish there had been a current).

It took me a while to realize that I was taking on a bit of water, and by a bit, I mean about half of my kayak was filled with the Contoocook River. But hey, I’m not one to make excuses.

Getting my kayak out of the river was nearly as difficult as the 5 miles of paddling, and carrying it to the second half of the river wasn’t that easy either.

By the time I slowly paddled by selectmen Chairman Scott Flood, who was floating on a metal boat on the river, I considered paddling over to him and seeing if I could find a way to finagle the motor off and attach it to my kayak.

Eventually, I made it to my bicycle and thought I had finally made it to the point where I could cruise the final 14 miles to the finish line, but as I took my first left onto Dustin Road, I heard a pop – never a good sign when you’re on anything attached to wheels.

No longer able to pedal, I tried to pull off the road, which turned out to be a bad decision. While my bike came flying up at me, I landed square on my feet. I did, however, have a severely bruised ego, and wasn’t sure I’d be able to finish the race I had been looking forward to for the past few months.

Then, along came Peter Sorel.

“Come on over to my barn, let’s see what we can do for you,” he said.

A complete stranger who happened to live nearby, Sorel walked with me toward his home, and jokingly asked me if I knew who Rosie Ruiz was, and if I was interested in performing a similar feat. (In 1980, Ruiz registered for the Boston Marathon and got a ride close to the finish line before running the rest of the way.)

After Sorel finished repairing my bicycle, I hit the road, and as I peddled I had one question: When did Hopkinton get so many hills?

A little over three hours after I started, I returned to Hopkinton High School, extremely exhausted but happy to have been able to take part in an event that both raised money and brought a community together.

This year, the event raised about $9,000 from event-day participants and donations from numerous people, according to Congoran. The event brought 82 teams, with more than 200 participants, ranging in age from 3 months to 88.

All of the proceeds go toward fuel assistance, a cause that will be crucial this winter with the rising costs of oil.

My time certainly was nothing to brag about in this challenging event, but on the bright side, I lived to tell about it.