A Very Wet Day in the West Kootenays

Monday September 9^th, 2019

By Roxanne Johnson, Nelson

Well what can, I say it was pretty wet today but the riders persevered despite being soaked & unable to see through sunglasses & riding through deep puddles.  The team worked together to get through it and just remembered the children & what they go through on a day to day basis.  After an amazing sleep at the beautiful and hospitable Prestige Mountain Resort in Rossland we started off the day with an amazing breakfast put on by the Legion Ladies Auxiliary in Castlegar (some of the best pancakes & strawberry sauce that I have ever tasted).  This gave us the fuel to ride from Castlegar to Crescent Valley where we were greeted by the Crescent Valley Fire Department with snacks and Oso Negro coffee & that allowed us to have enough energy to ride to Nelson despite the torrential down pour. While we were there Walter Popoff Regional Director of area H gave a cheque for $1000.  The Fire Department escorted us down the highway for a portion out of Castlegar which is always a plus.  The city of Nelson rallied and cheered us on as we rode on to the Nelson Detachment where we were served a delicious pasta lunch & to die for carrot cake with supplies from Save-On-Foods. While there we listened to the story of an amazing brave family & then the Nelson Maple Leafs with Greg St. George & Corey Viala presented Cops for Kids with a cheque for $1005.00 & then we rode over the Wholesale Club who presented us with a cheque for $2000.

We then left Nelson bound for dear friend Bill Long’s house, but a change of plans meant that we rode back to Nelson.  Once at dinner at the New Grand Hotel who served us a delicious buffet with wonderful service, everyone relaxed and told their stories of adventure and adversity that we each faced.

The team understands that no matter what adversity we face it does not compare to the stories that we hear along the way and these families that come forward to tell us their stories are very brave and much appreciated by the riders who soon realize that all is not so bad.  Now the team is headed back to the Prestige Lakeside Resort for some much needed rest & then off to Creston tomorrow to hopefully face some better weather.