Come Ride With us... in 2012
Hello there... I hope this finds you doing well and enjoying the summer. I have been busy with the riding for various 'causes' and am invigorated by the response from our friends to these efforts. Today I am "in recovery"... I drove home from Nova Scotia yesterday (about 1,200 miles door-to-door) and after the Coast to Coast Tour For Kids Cancer ride on the Cabot Trail, it was a real challenge. But the main thing that I want to communicate in this note is my deep appreciation for the funding you donated to the Kids Camps Charity we chose to support this year. Here are a couple of data points...
a) we had approximately 65 riders of whom about half were from the Maritimes and the rest from Ontario, Alberta and the USA. We had Nova Scotia liquid sunshine for the first day and the really heady climb up Cape Smokey on Friday... we rode the trail counter clockwise which most will agree is the most aggressive direction for climbing... then we had spectacular dry sunshine for two days with the assents of North and MacKenzie/French mountains on Saturday and Hunter Mountain on Sunday giving our brains memories of spectacular vistas.
b) those listed here contributed $2, 732 dollars to the ride and I want to again thank you very much for the support. The B&LR Foundation added enough to go over the $5,000 I wanted to get to, but more importantly, because of the tradition of Coast to Coast and Give to Live ensuring that every penny donated by people like you actually goes to the Kids... we combined with the other riders, contributed over $150,000 to the three charities listed on the Give to Live site... Camp Good Time (Nova Scotia), Lion's Sick Children's Fund (New Brunswick) and Camp Delight (Newfoundland and Labrador)... divided equally. The structure of the fundraising has sponsors who underwrite the costs... but most of the people involved in both Coast to Coast and Give to Live are VOLUNTEERS! They keep the costs down, but companies like Investor Group (provided much needed financing), Tim Hortons (Provided bus transportation), New York Fries (provided the cooks and equipment), Telus, Louis Garneau, Sears, Cadillac Fairview, LG and Marsh allow the ride to function as a 100% organization. I am proud to be able to tell you that all of your philanthropy got through to the kids and their families who need it.
c) we are hoping to, next year, add another 100 riders to this endeavor. I have to say, this ride was the best organized, safest, best supported, best riders, best scenery, best bike mechanic, great food ride I have ever been on. It was also 'tough'. But is wasn't as tough as the kids who came to the morning motivations with their stories of survival, the support they received from people like you, and so on. We met families and kids that had trials that brought tears to us. Humble people who were unfortunate enough to be struck by cancer... and they told us about how these philanthropic endeavors helped them through the toughest days... then we climbed Smokey and North and MacKenzie and Hunter... WOW!
A couple of years ago, when I started getting involved in riding my bike for more than just the health benefits, I decided to ride with the Give To Live Foundation because of their commitment to 100%. They have not let me down in any way... in fact, they have been nothing short of spectacular. I said the first time that I rode I would ask you only once to contribute to my efforts... but that turned out to be wrong... I have asked again. And this note is fair warning, that I will ask again next year... because this is the way to help those with cancer; it is the way to contribute to the gradual demise of the disease (like polio, we can beat it); and it is the way I can demonstrate to my friends that you can get on a bike, get and stay healthy, and do something for someone else. Coast to Coast also lives by this 100% model and has raised nearly $20,ooo,000 for these causes over recent years!
Thank you again for your support, and please remember that it isn't me that you are donating to... 100% of the funds you send in this direction, get to the target! If you are donating to other causes... of course you do, as do Lynnda and I... please check out how much of your hard earned dollars are getting through, and choose the ones who approach 100%.
Ciao... BRuce
CONSIDER RIDING NEXT YEAR... HERE IS THE LINK TO THE CABOT TRAIL PICTURES... HAVE A LOOK AT WHAT YOU WILL EXPERIENCE... WE HAD SEVERAL FIRST YEAR RIDERS WHO RODE THE BIG CLIMBS AND ARE BIGGER FOR IT...
The map below and this website link... written by Brian Hedney describes the route that was chosen for our ride on the Cabot Trail which is the Counter Clockwise direction... this puts your bike on the cliff-side of the road... best views, and the steepest climbs. We think it also makes for the safest rides, since the descents are easier, particularly if it is Nova Scotia sunshine in which you are riding... link here
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