Follow Ramesh's Journey

After hand cycling approximately 485 km in the past six days, the team rolled in to Thunder Bay before lunch. It was so encouraging for me to have my great friends from Thunder Bay, Chris Koza and Amanda Nelson, along for the ride this morning. Many vehicles honked their horns as they passed by, and several people stopped on the side of the road to make donations. The Reverend Paul Carr, local Rotary clubs, Anglican Churches and the Thunder Bay Cycle to Walk planning committee have done so much work to prepare events for the arrival of Cycle to Walk team. Everything’s set to go!
Upon completion of today’s ride, we took the main hand cycle in for a repair to a local bike store called Fresh Air Experience. I’ve been on the back up hand cycle for the past couple of days because of a broken gear shifter. All of the staff were great, and the hand cycle was quickly repaired. Rob, the manager, didn’t charge us because he said he believes in Cycle to Walk’s cause and he wanted to show his company’s support. Thanks so much to all of the staff at Fresh Air – I’m now ready to roll for the Canada Day festivities.
This evening, I took a break from the campaign, which was a rare but wonderful experience. Some local friends and I went bowling and mini-golfing, and I learned that I should really just keep to hand cycling! I didn’t fare too well, but it was a great time. Later, we went to see a movie – something I haven’t been able to do for months. Tonight was definitely a nice treat. 

At the bowling alley, an employee named Meghan Rawson shouted out, “You’re early.” I asked her what she meant, and she went on to explain that she is a big fan of Cycle to Walk and that she’s been watching the website closely. Later, at a local restaurant, our host Taylor welcomed me to Thunder Bay and said that he’s a big fan of Cycle to Walk.
So it’s official: the Cycle to Walk campaign is now in Thunder Bay. We’re nearing the halfway point of our 7200 km journey to Cape Spear, NL, and in my mind, it’s already been a great success. People young and old are talking about polio once again. We’ve had well over 100 media interviews since the campaign began, and to date, people have contributed over $237,000 in sponsorships and donations. Thanks so much everyone. The team is looking forward to being in the Thunder Bay area over the next couple of days to spread the message, rest, and motivate Canada to show the world what we can do when we work together.