Follow Ramesh's Journey

A big thanks to Lesley and Allan Fath - and your horse Pumpkin - for opening up your home to the Cycle to Walk team last night.  I think it’s safe to say that we appreciated your hospitality as much as your horse appreciates carrots.

Things don’t always go according to plan. It’s life, and it’s normal. The team showed up for a school visit this morning, and to our surprise, the student body was in the middle of provincial examinations. Because of that, we were unable to do a formal presentation. However, while we were still in the school’s parking lot, we were able to speak with some students on break about Cycle to Walk. We also had an opportunity to meet and speak with some of the faculty. Good luck to everyone at Tofield School with the rest of your exams!

I now truly have a better understanding of why it’s much faster to fly east across Canada than west. I hand cycled north all morning in a western crosswind that easily reached 30-40 km/hr. It was a real challenge. The wind was so strong in some sections that when I got off the bike for breaks, it tipped over on its side.  The going was slow for the first half of the day.

Shortly after lunch, we turned east and headed towards Vegreville on the Yellowhead Highway. With the wind at my back, I hit speeds I’ve never reached before on flat terrain.  In one half-hour period, we covered 21 km! It was a great feeling to go that fast after experiencing such a challenging morning.

Late this afternoon, the team was welcomed to Vegreville by a crowd of Rotarians, town council members, young cyclists, and even an RCMP escort. Thank you so much to the Town of Vegreville for throwing such a warm welcoming party for Cycle to Walk. You have incredibly big hearts in this small community, and today you have demonstrated that no matter how small your size, you can still make significant contributions to Cycle to Walk’s campaign to end polio.

The Vegreville Rotary Club held an impromptu meeting and treated us to a fabulous Ukrainian dinner. Thanks so much to everyone in Vegreville for everything you’ve done for us - and a special thanks to Club President Shirley Holmstrom for helping organize our arrival to town.  The wonderful dinner, the donations, and the hospitality were amazing! We couldn’t have hoped for more.