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After a fantastic lunch in Chase, we headed west towards Kamloops. We had two hours to ride 57 kilometers, so lunch was brief. Luckily we had a strong tail wind pushing us along, and before we knew it, we had ridden 40 kilometers in just over an hour! The conditions couldn`t have been better. But the problem was, we were scheduled to arrive at the Kamloops RCMP detachment at 3pm, and at 2pm, we were only about a 20-minute ride away. Since we were ahead of schedule, we had a bit of a break at a truck stop and enjoyed Fudgcicles and Creamsicles. Thanks, Sandi! That was perfect.
After a great break, we got back on the bikes and had an amazing entrance into Kamloops. Our escort into town included 4 police cars, two motorcycles, and a police helicopter. We attracted a bit of attention and had lots of honks and waves of support. We felt like celebrities arriving in town. After we rode through downtown Kamloops, we finally arrived at the RCMP detachment to a fantastic reception. Thank you to everyone that made the effort to provide us with a warm reception. Thank you to the Traffic guys and Auxiliary Constables for providing us with the great protection.
This evening we were treated to a delicious lasagna dinner provided by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Thank you for the amazing dinner! Tonight we are relaxing at the beautiful hotel rooms at the Hampton Inn. A special thank you to the manager of the hotel, Steve Earl, for taking care of us.
Tomorrow we are are headed out of Kamloops and are riding to Vernon. Hoping for sunny skies and another great tail wind!
Marian Oden Kamloops Rider
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After a fantastic night in Nelson we are anxious to get started. First stop, the Baptist Church enjoying a delicious and relaxing breakfast prepared lovingly by the Rotary Club. There certainly never seems to be a shortage of good food. Having already cycled to the Balfour ferry yesterday, we were able to enjoy the scenery from inside our support crew vehicles as they drove us there. The weather is spectacular and so was the ferry ride. The weather is spectacular and so was the ferry ride. Brillant shunshine, a view of the mountains and crystal clear water. Once at the Crawford Bay we headed up to their new Elementary School. A warm welcome awaited us as the students were quite happy to have us as a distraction from class. Several handshakes high 5's and tatoos later we rode right through the middle of the school. We may even have some new recruits. Just another 2km ut the road now just a total for the day of 7.5 we arrived at Kokanee Springs Golf Course. Hope Forturn and her crew from the Lions Club graciously hosted our lunch. I sjure hope those famous Kootenay brownies are on the menu for next year! Yum! So now we've been on the go for 4 1/2 hours and we are finally starting our ride to Creston. Only another 82km to go. The ride sure didn't disappoint. What a beautiful area. We are starting to feel some aches and pains and maybe just a little tired, but we're in great spirits and working well as a team. We're half way there already. A simply gorgeous day.
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Day 5 marks the half way point of the ride. For me it was one of the more mentally challenging days due to my experience last year on this leg of the ride. Last year on day 5 I was not able to finish the day as I ran out of energy and had to catch a ride into Creston. This year I decided I was not going to quit. Day 5 sees us riding from the Balfour Ferry just outside Nelson, to Creston via the scenic rolling route along highway 3A. While a beautiful ride, it is a little challenging because of the rolling hills and the fact that all riders have been pedalling hard for the last 4 days having conquered both the Anarchist and Blueberry Paulson summits and covering just under 400kms. Today the ride was met with another day of amazing weather, clear blue skies and approximately 30 degree temps. This made for a warm and pleasant ferry ride and an enjoyable if not tiring cycle along Kootenay Lake. All the riders did well today despite being a little worn out and we maintained a good pace along the route. We were greeted just outside Creston by the local RCMP members who helped to escort us into town. We settled into our lodgings at the Creston hotel and then walked over to dinner at the Order of the Eastern Star. After enjoying a delicious meal of salads and spagetti we were presented with money raised by the community of Creston. The Creston RCMP members raised just under $900, this was combined with money donated by local politicians reaching a total close to $2500. The support of communities such as these is always impressive and reminds us that without this support the Cops for Kids ride would not be possible. In addition, we have two riders celebrating their birthdays on the ride, they were presented with birthday cake and the ride sang them happy birthday. I was one of the split team that got to climb up the Anarchist which was one of my goals for this years ride. I achieved the summit without having to take a break. Then the very next day I road the Blueberry Paulson, which I missed last year, and again conquered the summit! So in two days I gained two summits of two very intimidating hills. So far I have achieved all my goals set for this ride and then some. We have worked hard and met some of the kids we are sponsoring which is always heart warming and emotional. It is always a rewarding to meet these fabulous children and their families that have been through so much and yet still manage to have a smile on their faces and such a positive outlook on life. It is truly remarkable and reminds me why I have become involved with this endeavour.
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Well we started the day at a very nice time and got to sleep in a bit for the first time since Friday. Yesterday was the Blueberry Paulsen and everyone worked very hard and was quite tired and sore by the end of the day but all finished with a smile on their faces knowing the reason we all ride....for the kids. We got started in Castelgar this morning and were served a lovely breakfast by the members of the Legion. It was great and they continually supply us with a nice warm breakfast and a few laughs to start. We had some special breakfast guests, Brendan, Angela, Tory and Orsen. Brendan is a 7 year old boy that we have supported and he was such a sweetheart. I was lucky enough to have him and his family sit at my table and he kept us all entertained. He loves all sorts of vehicles and talked at length about these with us. He is a very sweet little guy and we set him on the police Harley Davidson motorcycle after breakfast and took some photos of him. He was thrilled! We left Castlegar after breakfast and pedalled to Nelson. We were met just outside of Nelson by the Nelson Police department who gave us a police car escort into town and blocked off all intersections for us en route to our lunch destination of the Nelson RCMP office. We were so touched by the reception that was waiting for us. We were greeted by Nelson city police members, Nelson RCMP members, the mayor of Nelson and another very special guest.........., who was another child that we supported. She is an adorable little girl who, we learned today will be receiving a special camera and laptop computer which will assist with her vision and classroom studies at school. Her mother, .......was so appreciative of all of our efforts and it was great visiting with her. We were treated to a nice barbecue lunch and presented with funds that were donated by businesses in Nelson and collected by the Nelson PD. After lunch we travelled 31 kms from Nelson to the Balfour ferry, which is where we will start tomorrow. It was a beautiful ride, led by one of our seasoned riders and original Cops for Kids founders, Garth Letcher. All of the riders commented on what a great ride it was. We checked in at the Prestige on the Lake, which is where we have stayed the last several years that I have been on the ride. This is a BEAUTIFUL hotel and we LOVE staying there and look forward to it every year! Dinner was hosted by the Kiwanas Club of Nelson. They are amazing and treat us like royalty when we come here. Edith, Eugene and Reit (and many others whose names I can't think of right now) made us a PHENOMENAL (that's for Julio) steak dinner with very special potatoes made by Reit. This is one of our highlights of our trip. It is a night where we can all relax and kick back and have a casual social evening. Not only did they feed us an amazing meal, they also gave us a donation!! All in all, it was a great day. Signing off for the night and thanks for reading, Sandi Fazan
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Cops for Kids had a special treat at our breakfast in Grand Forks at the Flames Restaurant. Molly Imrie's family (a past grant recipient) joined us and said a few touching words to the Ride Team - "Some of you may recognize me. I don't remember a year that I wasn't here with my friend Andree to help serve you breakfast before you headed out of town. This year is different though. This year I'm here to say thank you. Last October our 14 year old daughter Molly was diagnosed with Osteoscroma. The same kind of bone cancer that Terry Fox had. She would have to be in Vancouver for about a year. She would need to be close to the hospital at all times. At the start, the only thing that we knew for certain, was that we needed to say together. It would take a team of doctors, nurses and staff at the Children's Hospital to make Molly better... all that we could do was be there for her. Thanks to you... we were able to do that. Not only did your support make it possible for our family to stay together; it also gave Molly the courage to get through some of her toughest moments... Many of your colleagues from the Kootenay Boundary Area had another fundraising event for Molly. They had challenged her Junior Girls Zone Team to a game of basketball. When we first went to Vancouver, Molly didn't think that she ever wanted to come home again. She didn't want people to think that she was a freak... the girl who had cancer. But when we watched the video tape of that game, we laughed and cried the whole way through. When it was over... Molly gave me a hug and told me that she could go home again. Watching the video helped her to see that nobody thought that she was strange... she could see that they were there because they cared. Molly's girls won that game in overtime, and you would have been very poud of all of the players that day. They played the game the same way that Molly would have if she had been there... with all of their hearts"
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Well, here we are, day two done! We kicked off the day with breakfast in Osoyoos courtesy of the Lions, and even took home a load of fresh fruit for the way from them. :) After breakfast our team split into two groups with our team taking the scenic route along the eastside of Skaha Lake out of Penticton towards Oliver. We had time for a nice stop at the Farmer's Market in Oliver due to the hard work of all the riders in kicking up the pace and I think everyone wished they had larger pockets to take home some of the fresh produce and baking. For lunch we were back at the Oliver Fire Dept where the Lions and Lionesses out did themselves with a spread of meat and buns, soup and lots of fresh baking. Good thing biking burns calories! We rolled into Osoyoos, loaded the bikes and hightailed it over the Anarchist, I think most being thankful that it was the other half that had to ride that part. We met up with our other team members just outside of Greenwood where we were hosted to two tables of refreshments (on both sides of the highway) at the Tarnished Turkey Cafe with support from the Greenwood Fire Dept and Citizens on Patrol. Then it was a good ride into Grand Forks thanks to the helpful support from my team mates who gave me lots of words of encouragement and a push up those deceiving hills - but what an awesome ride the last 21 kms (yay! Downhill!!). This was a special ride into Grand Forks as I just transferred out of the detachment here a couple months ago. By this time I think all of us who have been a part of the ride in one way or another had built up the dinner in Grand Forks held at the USCC thanks to the Rotary Club that there was no one daring to be late for the dinner bus. The dinner was "Fabulous" "Tremendous" "Awesome" and "Delicious" to name a few comments from the full crew. A special thanks to good friends Brent and Karen Heric for saving the day for one of our riders by lending out one of their front wheels from their road bikes so that a team mate could continue on without having to ride a damaged wheel. THANKS! :) Now...to bed to be well rested for that climb tomorrow - anyone know how to hook up a tow rope to our lead motorcycle???
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The day started with an amazing kick off breakfast for the 9th Annual Cops for Kids breakfast sponsored by Denny's and the Sandman. The buffet was amazing!! Ara from Sun FM was an amazing host and sent us off with a bang. I was lucky enough to meet a young boy named Adam who lead the ride on his trike that Cops for Kids purchased through their work. It started as a spectacular day for riding and as we headed off my stomach was full of butterflies. As the ride progress they eased but luckily the sun did not. The ride led us to Peachland after a short stop in Westbank to refill our water bottles and go over all the rules of the road... We had a great lunch and the Community of Peachland gave us a warm send off. Along the way we had a few mechanical mishaps but made it safely into Summerland where we were greated by the Summerland Fire Department, which on Sept 11 means so much more! We landed in Penticton and were met by Sgt. Rick Dellebuur, Cpl Martin Trudeau, and my boyfriend. We loaded the vans with all the bikes and headed to Osoyoos to the Best Western to change VERY quickly for dinner sponsored by the Legion - who also does our breakfast here.. After an amazing pasta dinner the Royal Purple donated $250 and the Elks another $1,000. The Legion hinted we have more to hope for tomorrow from them. All in all worth the non showered change! So far this ride has been an amazing experience and I am very happy to be a part of the ride. Every second has been worth it.
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Hey everyone. Marian in Kamloops here. Only three more sleeps until the 1000km ride starts. I'm running around work and town, trying to get all of my ducks in a row to be gone for 10 days and to pick up last-minute things for the ride. I'm really excited about it all. I'm also trying to get everything organized for the Ride's stop over here in Kamloops. Hopefully it will be a huge success for everyone involved. Looking forward to the start of the adventure on Friday morning! - Marian
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Check back here during the ride to read posts from the riders along the road.
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