TOUR De ROCK - DAY 10: CHEMAINUS TO DUNCAN Posted on Tuesday, September 30, 2014 by ryderguy Good evening. This is VicPD Const. Jen Young here. The Tour de Rock team started the day in Chemainus, a beautiful and generous oceanside community. I’m pretty happy to be here in the Cowichan Valley, which is where I call home. The members of the local Legion Branch hosted us for a terrific fundraiser breakfast, during which the community turned over donation after donation – to the tune of around $25,000. I know all the members of the team have been touched and amazed over and over again at the warmth and generosity of the communities we visit, and Chemainus, you were no different! My junior rider, Rylan Nakatsu, joined Tour de Rock today for our events. He’s turning 10 years old soon. He likes to play video games and, like most children his age, he has a natural ability with all things electronic. Unlike most children, however, Rylan was diagnosed with leukemia when he was just three years old. He underwent a three-year course of chemotherapy to rid his body of the disease, a journey that took him from his toddler years to childhood. His mother, Kim, told me tonight a little bit about their road to recovery. They had to go to Vancouver so they could get him the life-saving treatments offered at Children’s Hospital. They lived at Ronald McDonald house for 10 months; Rylan was gone so long that he forgot about his real home back on the Island. While there, they encountered many other families going through similar situations, some worse, but all were coping the best they knew how. Fortunately, today my junior rider is clean of cancer and has been for about three years. Rylan is a source of inspiration for me and for the rest of the Tour de Rock team – he bravely fought a battle against an invisible enemy and defeated it. One final thought, as we rode to Lake Cowichan today. For me, Lake Cowichan will always remind me of my husband’s Aunt Pat –a terrific woman with a quick wit, a terrific knack for baking (she would make mince tarts just for me at Christmas), and a terrific knack for fun. She would often come and spend time with us for movie night, which would usually involve us all loading up on our favourite treats and eating until we felt sick while watching somebody’s pick for that evening. We have so many great memories together. My husband lost his aunt to cancer a few years ago; by the time she was diagnosed, it was way too late. We miss our movie nights, Aunt Pat. We lost you way too soon. Today I rode for you. Off to Mr. Mike’s for what I hear is a great fundraising dinner and some very yummy food. WHAT’S UP ON WEDNESDAY, OCT. 1 The day starts in Duncan, with more memorable stops in the community, and then on to Shawnigan Lake. The pedals keep turning as riders head to Mill Bay for a community send-off at the Mill Bay Centre (2720 Mill Bay Road), before they head up their last big climb of the Tour: the Malahat. After descending, the team will roll its way through a number of supportive schools on the West Shore, and onto Sooke, where students are always excited to see the riders. Wednesday night the team attends a Gala fundraiser at Westin Bear Mountain Resort. WHAT’S UP THURSDAY OCT. 2 The team is now in Greater Victoria, and the number of stops ramp up. On Thursday, the team starts in Oak Bay, where they visit Oak Bay High, a fundraising powerhouse. After the visit, the team moves on to a number of memorable schools and community throughout the Saanich Peninsula before stopping for a scrumptious lunch at Stantec in Sidney. Come and see the team at the Mary Winspear Centre for a terrific free event from 2-4pm at 2243 Beacon Ave. There will be refreshments, head shaves and much more!
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 15:19:59 +0000
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