Tail Wind Tales

It’s Friday the 13th and we returned to the road leaving the 3 Valley Gap ghost town just in time. George and Rose Bell have treated our teams over the years to a fantastic meal, historical stories and a beautiful place to rest.

Our day started with breakfast at the Salmon Arm McDonald’s, followed by riding to Sedos who provide tomorrow’s lunch. Sedos has done this for the past many years, and it is always fantastic.

The weather started out cooler today. The goosebumps a little more pronounced, but thankfully we didn’t get out the bikes until Salmon Arm and the temps climbed to around 8c.

8c is manageable.8c in the rain…a little less so. Today the weather angels spared us the water,  perhaps saving it for one of the days ahead.

So now it’s day 8 of the ride. It’s been an evolution of the team throughout–an evolution of organized semi-chaotic wheel placements, to tight formation in the group, to watching one another’s backs, checking in to make sure we are all ok, laughing together at the silly things, and crying together while listening to the powerful stories shared by the families we’ve met along the way.

These experiences never ‘get old’ even though we do. They are the infusion of hope and resolve in a world that sometimes seeks to suppress those qualities.

The hope comes from knowing that amidst all the chaos, a little person was helped. Their journey was a little less lonely. The resolve grows from knowing that we, and you as our supporters, played a role in the lives of children when they needed help.

Mandy Hale catches the spirit, saying TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE brilliant, right, beautiful or perfect. YOU JUST HAVE TO CARE.

In Chase our friend Cody met the team and escorted us to the elementary school where throngs of youngsters awaited our arrival, then greeted us with smiles, questions and faces hoping for stickers or other memorabilia.

Meeting Cody is one of the many highlights of this ride. Cody always greets us with a huge smile on his bike and donates to cops for kids each year. All because our paths crossed years ago, and we had the opportunity to help him…with YOUR support.

For the school, this was the first time the entire elementary school flooded the front to meet us! Humbling and exciting all rolled into one. The smiling faces, curious about where we came from, how far we’d gone, and the look of our “cool” bikes. The gentle innocence of youth.

Lunch was amazing again, provided by the Chase Rotary Club, along with a wonderful donation. It always amazes me how these people (the service clubs and supporters working silently behind the scenes) jump in and make incredible contributions so we can help children in the southeast district. They do this, and they do it every year. Without fail. With smiles and heart felt well wishes

The remainder of the day had our team riding like the wind, with a fantastic tail wind helping us move quickly into Kamloops. Kamloops traffic service helped our front and back door guide us safely to the detachment where the team was greeted  by guests and detachment members.

Tomorrow we are up early and off to Vernon, our last stop before completing the 2024 ride on Sunday.