Nelson to Creston

By Nick Reimann and John Bauer

Waking up in Nelson after a really nice and cozy sleep at the Prestige Hotel, riders were ready to hit the road but first loaded up some carbs provided by the RCMP veterans at the Baptist Church. We then proceed to the Balfour ferry were the 1st time riders went around and fundraised during the trip to Crawford bay. Funds were raised on the ferry by  the rookies.  Off the ferry with cold legs the riders hit the road with a straight up 2.5km climb and warmed up for their stop at the Crawford Bay elementary school and meet the student and the staff. We then headed for lunch provided by the lions club … and guess what, it couldn’t be better than that…Taco Tuesday!!! oh yes, more power to the …legs! The 92km day was mostly after  lunch… that included some of the most beautiful scenery this province has to offer, riding next to a massive lake along a windy road with the sun working to peek through some broken cloud cover.

The team continued working hard to support one another throughout the day. The terrain is challenging here; rolling hills at times, and some steep grades. One of our riders, who worked so hard up the Paulson, was paying the price. The body was screaming to shut down and shut off, but she persevered. Unfortunately it came to the point where she had to acknowledge that she needed rest. Pushing ourselves is just not for the fundraising but also physically, because of the commitment to help those who cannot help themselves, even when your body screams at you to stop. When this happens our riders push themselves sometimes to the point where the body starts to rebel and shut down, no matter how hard and how much we say “No!”. This was none of those times. It was not a defeat it was just a proof of how riders are committed to this cause and won’t stop until they succeed in helping those kids.

After some time discussing the best plan, our rider took a much deserved break and rejoined the team just outside Creston rejuvenated. We rode to Casey’s Community House where we were met by a little boy, Zach, and his mother. This young fellow was born at 2.5 pounds and had some serious medical hurdles to overcome. Now Zach is 3and he was standing in front of the team high-5’ing us with a massive smile! Mom shared his story and it was clear that today’s struggles left all the riders. He inspired us to do more!

This is what this ride does. We see young children families who struggles because of physical and medical crisis and have hurdles put in front of them that seem overwhelming, and yet they fight and overcome what has been dealt. Zach is one of these Little Ambassadors. I can tell you that each of us, as tired as we were, felt rejuvenated and ready to go again after hearing about his story and seeing where he is right now. His mom was thanking us, but we wanted to thank her for sharing Zach’s story and taking the time to meet us so late in the day. Words cant really do justice to the feeling we had, but we are ready to ride again tomorrow.

Before Zach and mom left, he made a point to come into the restaurant and high-5 us all. Mom carrying him, big smile on his face! Zach motivates us. He represents the reason we work through the tough days, the reason we ask people to donate, the reason we say to our families, “I have something to do…Its going to take time, but its so worth it”.

Casey’s Community House also hosted a Jail & Bail in Creston to help us raise funds to help families like Zach’s, and also fed the team a delicious dinner. Thank you to this wonderful establishment and the staff who made today special for us.

A quick shower at the hotel and we then headed to the Kokanee Brewery in Creston and visited the facility followed by a tasting. All the riders came back to the hotel ready for a good night of sleep and rejuvenate their bodies for tomorrow’s ride to Cranbrook.

Slept tight riders, see you bright and early in the morning ready to roll!