2017 NKCR Blogs

Today dawned foggy, and we were in for a long ride. One of the longest on the National Kids Cancer Ride. And we knew it would be hilly. Today’s ride was for James. James’ story hits close to home, as Gord, James’ dad, was our RV driver for much of the trip. James was an 8 year old little boy who had an incredible heart, beautiful smile and an immense laughter. He was a number one fan of Thomas the tank engine and spent hours with his Thomas collection . In August 2011 he was diagnosed with disseminated low grade glioma (brain and spinal cord tumours). His disease did not define him, but it was h ow he dealt with his disease that defined him. He had nine months of chemo, many brain surgeries, suffered a serious seizure that caused him to go into coma and be admitted to ICU with a respirator. On April 17, 2013 James passed away surround with the love, hugs and kisses of his mom, dad and sister, Mary. I will be honored to carry Thomas the Tank Engine in honor of James on the ride tomor

One of the things I’ve learned on this ride is that it takes a lot of teamwork to make it happen. As riders we all have to work as a team, and we have our individual roles to play, much as any team does. Some pull, some lead and direct, and some support. Team Bacon a Difference is working well together; we are a tight team on the road,and a part of the greater team that is Team 1. Beyond the team of riders, there is another larger team which supports us along the way. We couldn’t do this ride without the team of volunteers that are with us every pedalstroke (and every shuttle along the way). We are a team of riders, RV drivers, cooks, medical staff, and crew who bond together into a wheel family as we travel acoss the country. And I appreciate the support. Yesterday was a day that started tough and gradually got better before taking a rather significant turn for the worse. As we rode out from Newcastle, I could tell my mind wasn’t really in the game, and it was a bit of a struggle t

What an incredible day. The day dawned clear and cool, and started with some time for family and friends as my wife Janet and son Galen, friends from Crossfit Indestri; Sandy, Scott, Kailie, Steve and Linda, and my brother in law Lloyd dropped by to see us off. And of course, Astrid. It was wonderful to have these guys there to see how our day starts and to hear what goes on in the morning. We deidicated this ride to Taissa. Taissa is the daugher of my dear friend Ulana, who is a force of nature, and one of the first National Riders that I met. It is no stretch to say that Ulana is one of the main reasons I am on this ride, her passion for the cause and the kids is so evident, and she is an inspiration to me. Taissa was a beautiful 13 year old girl filled with hope, strength, courage and determination. When she was born she had complications and her parents were told she would never walk or talk. Defying doctors Taissa grew up walking, talking, running and dancing, skiing, skati

Our ride today is dedicated to Grant an extremely focused, intelligent, athletic and caring 15 year old boy. In February 2011 his parents received a call to go to the children’s hospital immediately as blood tests showed he had leukemia. He responded well to treatment and his attitude during the whole thing was inspirational. He was in remission within 3 weeks of treatmen t and was able to attend his grade 9 grad. Throughout the treatment the isolation was tough due to his weakened immune system, but he managed to stay in touch with friends through Skype and texts. After returning home from camp kindle he began experiencing aches and pains again and on August 15th was diagnosed with AML, which required him to be hospitalized for long periods of time due to the treatment. He developed breathing problems and was forced into the ICU for two weeks. New bumps were starting to form on his skin and he was diagnosed with a third cancer, skin cancer. On September 16, 2011 surrounded by family

Today we began our day in Marathon with a planned route to Wawa. We had pretty severe weather during the night – hard rain, with an incredible lightning show during our night time shuttle, and I can say that as we went to bed, it’s not often that you feel thunder rather than hearing it. The morning dawned wet, cool and foggy. After the group sang “Happy Birthday” to Shelley’s son Chassie, we decided after breakfast to shuttle to our first rest stop to begin our ride, and then after lunch in White River we decided it would be safer and more timely to shuttle to Wawa rather than riding further. In total, we covered 52 km in a little over two hours on the road this morning. We were all damp and a little cold at lunch. But it’s not about the ride, it’s about why we ride. We are out there to spread the word about childhood cancer, and to raise funds. This incredible team is here because of their life experiences; most of us have been touched in some way by this terrible disease, eith

Today’s ride was a nice change after a few days of flat riding. The flat roads gave way to the rolling hills of Northern Ontario, and it was a nice change to be able to work up hills and spin quickly down them. Our route began with a shuttle from Atikokan to Quetico, where we began our ride, ending (briefly) at Shabaqua’s Oskonda River Outfitters for a nice lunch and some incredible pie and butter tarts. We then shuttled ahead a bit to save some time and finished with a police escort into the Terry Fox Memorial in Thunder Bay.     For James \  Our day was dedicated to Alex, who was taken from us too soon at the age of 11. Alex began feeling unwell in March 2007, and through tests it was discovered he had osteosarcoma, bone cancer, in his left thigh. Alex went through ten months of chemotherapy and surgeries including replacing his femur with a metal rod, and replacing his knee. He had a second surgery in November to address additional mestasized tumors in his angle, right hip an