Hi folks, first of all I apologize for the lack of blogging during the journey-I have a million excuses but none worth sharing. In any event it was an amazing experience and one I will cherish for all the days of my life ! I want to thank everyone that supported me on the ride , your generosity was inspiring. To my ride team, team #2, you folks were awesome and made every day a terrific one- Canada is a great country to see from a bike and it was honour to share it with you all. To Josh Nelson and his family, Andrew and Rina, and adopted family member and tandem partner Drew, you are amazing people and my life is that much better for getting to know you. Josh’s courage and determination was awe inspiring - Josh and Drew rode across Ontario with us and joined us on arguably the tougher day we had ( Northern Ontaio)- amazing!! I just hope I can muster up a fraction of Josh’s tenacity and positiveness in everything I do. To all the volunteer people, the RV drivers, bunk drivers,the support vehicles people and everyone else you folks are tireless and made the trip well just amazing- when you all slept I’ll never know but your warm smiles at 6 a.m. every morning was inspirational . Last but not least to my wife Lindsey who provided me with all the support and encouragement needed to see the journey through to it’s end. I have to admit I shed a few tears at the end of the ride as all we had experienced over the past year rushed through my mind. This was an experience , a life changing one . To do something I love to do, do it with amazing people and for an amazing cause, what else can I say. Again thank you to all.
jToday we hit Northern Ontario-ouch. The day began in Nipigon with a dedication to a young girl in the area- Isabella . We have a dedication every morning and the ride is for them. Then we began the trek to Marathon. This was by far the toughest day yet with hill after hill. We were joined on the ride by Josh, a 16 year old young man a living with cancer and Drew his tandem partner- they did awesome and will be with us right through to Ottawa, it was an epic day in the the hills (big ones). We were all tired when we arrived at our destination and prepared for a 6 hour transfer_ - hit the bed bunk at 2 thirty a.m.That’s all for now.
Sorry about missing the blog entry yesterday as I had some reception problems, Day 2 took us to Rockies- spectacular! We started in Vernon with a dedication to Philip and Lindsey, the children we rode for on that day. First stop Salmon Arm were the Sears staff treated us to a terrific buffet then finished in Revelstoke that evening. We were treated to dinner by Sears Revelstoke and the restaurant- terrific hospitality. we were then shuttled forward to Calgary and after a few hours sleep( literally) we began a ride along event with local riders, This was proceeded by a young lady , Taylor, sharing her story of childhood cancer. It was a very emotional story and am always amazed at the courage and maturity these young people demonstrate. We then headed for Brooks Alberta- it was a terrific ride and we really came together as team. Now on the RV headed for Moosejaw and the ride into Regina tomorrow.
Thats all for now.
Day 1 began early with a 4 thirty am wake up and a 6 am departure. We dipped our wheels in the Pacific at White Rock then headed east through Langley, Abbotsford then Chilliwack. We were greeted by volunteers and sears staff at the local sears in the above locayions . We heard from the Sullivan family in Langley and a member of team Finn. Finn , a member of Sullivan family passed away when he was 3 of cancer. Team Finn is devoted to raising funds for childhood cancer charities.
We end in Hope today then are shuttled forward to Vernon. Tommorrow we have a date with the Rockies.
The past week I’ve appeared on two local Ottawa TV shows, The A Channel’s morning show and Rogers TV noon show and will be interviewed next week on Live 88.5 Fm to talk about the SNKCR event and to promote the CHEO (Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario) fund raiser. CHEO will be hosting a Ride Inside event September 19 at the St. Laurent Shopping Center. My SNKCR team, team #2, will be arriving in Ottawa September 19 and will go directly to the CHEO event. Have to admit I felt like a minor celebrity this week - I now know why TV people wear tons of make-up, that camera adds years to your face ( I looked ancient) without it. Of course I get my first pimple on my face in year’s the day of the first TV show - 52 two years old and I get a zit- whats with that? To make matters worse on the way into the TV studio I stepped in a pile of doggie do-do- outstanding!
In any event it was a great opportunity to plug the SNKCR event as well as the CHEO Inside Ride and hopefully this will lead to more dollars for the kids cancer charities.
Less than a month to go !
Only 30 days until I board the plane bound for Vancouver and the start of the 3rd Annual Sears National Kids Cancer Ride. It has been close to a year when I first started thinking about doing this and now the time is nigh. I’m starting to get that nervous anticipation as I’m sure all my fellow National riders are experiencing about now. All the preparation, the miles on the road, the fund raising , the mental preparation and the several trips to the massage therapist to deal with the aches and pains from all those miles on the road ….
In any event next week I will be appearing on the A Channel morning show ( Monday at approximately 9:40 am ) and Rogers TV ( 2 local Ottawa TV stations) the following day ( approximately 12:05 pm) to promote the SNKCR event and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario ( CHEO) Ride Inside Event September 19 at St. Laurent Shopping Mall in Ottawa. The CHEO event will coincide with the arrival of my cycling team ( team #2) in Ottawa and we will go directly to that event- I hope to see lots of people there - every penny raised at the CHEO Ride Inside will stay in the Ottawa region. For those that wish to register for the CHEO event they can go to http://CHEO.therideinside.com . To find out where my ride team will be stopping along the way go to www.searsnationalkidscancerride.com and check out the where -abouts of Team 2.
In any event I have a few more miles to log on the bike before I leave. I would again like to thank all my sponsors for their generous support and hope you check out my blog site as we make our way across the country- should be quite the journey!
“Being good is commendable,but only when it is combined with doing good is it useful”- author unknown
Talk to you later
It has been some time since my last blog so here goes- I’ll save the weather comments for a moment . Reached the $40k fund raising mark which is totally awesome and again I want to thank all my sponsors for their generous support and words of encouragement. The Insurance industry , my chosen vocation, has been just tremondous in coming to the table and supporting the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride. I have to say the insurance industry doesn’t always receive favourable press ( after all who wants to pay premiums for something most people will never use) but it is a great career and they sure know how to raise money for great causes like SNKCR.
The heat is on literally- temperatures in Ontario have hit 38 degrees with a humidex in the mid to high forties for the past week. Last Sunday I did a training ride and lost 9 pounds in four hours - a few protien shakes and maybe a “cold one” ( or 2) helped replenish the fluid loss. With only 60 days left before the big event you have to persevere despite the heat, rain or whatever else mother nature has to throw at you- in other words you have to “ suck it up! ” Of course the Tour De France is extemely motivational - after watching the lads race across the Netherlands, Belgium and France in the first week it sure stimulates the old competitive juices ! The first week was sure a crash fest - didn’t look like anyone would survive the first couple of stages- Go Lance !
Quote for the day ( somewhat appropriate for this time of year) :
” If you think you are too small to be effective,you have never been in bed with a mosquito.” Betty Reese
Cheers
