Follow Ramesh's Journey

When I contracted polio at six months of age, it damaged my nerves so my bones and muscles didn’t develop like they should have. My right leg is shorter than my left, and I have a persistent cough as a result of what polio did to my lungs.

It has always been challenging for me to obtain the right size of pants, and any pants that I ever do end up purchasing need to be altered to make up for the difference in the lengths of my legs. I share this story with you because today we ran into Janice – a worker at the place in Whitehorse where I get my pants altered – on the Trans Canada Highway.  Janice is travelling through Eastern Canada with her husband Rick, and the two of them were so excited to meet up with the team and show their support for Cycle to Walk. It was great to see familiar faces this far from Whitehorse.

Today was a special day not only because it was our last full cycling day in Québec, but also because a certain someone on the team celebrated her birthday! Happy birthday, Bertha! I bet that never in your wildest dreams did you think you’d ever spend your birthday in an RV going 3 km/h up hills all day on the Trans-Canada Highway.

Our cycling day ended in Dégelis before the team drove ahead to Grand Falls, New Brunswick to spend the night at the home of Conrad and Linda Toner. Conrad is president of the Rotary Club of Grand Falls, and he and Linda welcomed the whole team into their home with a wonderful meal and great hospitality. After dinner we sang Happy Birthday to Bertha, and gave her a little gift and card. Thanks to Conrad and Linda for sharing this special day with us.

Before retiring for the night, I met with Samuel and Benjamin Bouchard – neighbours of the Toners who were helping with some of the yard work.  Samuel and Benjamin play a lot of paintball just down the road from where we’re staying, and they invited us to come down for a game if we had the time. Unfortunately, tomorrow’s a cycling day, so we won’t be able to come down, but thanks for the offer! We spoke about the campaign and its goals for a time, and both Samuel and Benjamin seemed excited to have a look at the hand cycle. It was great to meet you!