NKCR Sept 14 2017 – Atikokan to Thunder Bay

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 and right lung. It seemed that he was making good progress, and had adapted to his life, however in November 2008, it was discovered he had developed AML (a form of Leukemia). Alex earned his wings Feburary 12, 2009.
Today we ended our ride with a visit to the Terry Fox Memorial in Thunder Bay. The memorial here represents where Terry had to end his ride (and ultimately his life) due to his cancer. The experience was moving, and the stories from the parents of both survivors and children who have passed on from their cancer was something I don’t think I will ever forget. You can see some of the time at the memorial and the words spoken in this facebook video. I encourage you to watch and share. After this session came lots of hugs and time with each other. On the way home, I also discovered that my Uncle Ed had passed away today (from natural causes), and after the ceremony at the Terry Fox memorial, it was a bit hard to take. Again the support of our team is incredible.
Now we are shuttling for our next ride from Marathon to Wawa. It’s nice to know we won’t have any time zone changes for a few days, but the weather may not be optimal for riding. If we can, we will ride, but if it is unsafe, it is ultimately not about the ride, it is about the journey.
Until next time.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NKCR Sept 16 2017 – Echo Bay to Spanish – #BeccaToldMeTo

Image
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
Read more

NKCR Sept 17 2017 – Barrie to Sick Kids – for Taissa

Image
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
Read more