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.

Today’s average speed was 21.3 km and the total distance travelled, 90.2 km, was completed in a total of 4 hours and 14 minutes (not including stop times). I can definitely say I’m feeling the tailwinds from the west. Yeah!!

Working as a team is so important to ensure the safety of everyone in communities we travel through, and for the safety of the team. Doug, Bertha, Lynne, and Chris are in constant communication with one another through the use of two-way radios. The radios come in handy – especially when we cross merging lanes, get separated at traffic lights, and go down and up hills to ensure appropriate distances are being kept between the hand cycle and the support vehicles. As well, the radios come in handy when there are oversized vehicles on the road. They allow the team to assess when it’s appropriate to move, and when to pull aside so other passing vehicles can get by.

Thanks team for safely navigating us through the City of Edmonton and on to the town of Tofield, where we arrived this afternoon.  After a BBQ dinner in the RV at a local campsite (awesome porkchops by the way, Doug), we met Deb Dueck, who is a town councillor here in Tofield, as she passed by on an evening walk.  Deb gave us a very warm welcome – the kind you can only get in a small town. 

Cycle to Walk will present at a local school tomorrow morning before a full day of cycling towards Vegreville, AB later on. Talking with kids about Cycle to Walk, polio, and the very real possibility of ending it forever is very fulfilling for me.  I look forward to each and every time we get to share our message with kids – many of whom who’ve been lucky enough to never have heard of polio before.  Fifty years ago, that wasn’t the case in Canada.  We can’t forget that.

The weather was beautiful today, hovering a little over 23 degrees. Since the campaign began 33 days ago, I have drank about 24 litres of Gatorade mixed with nearly 71 litres of water, totalling about 95 litres of fluids while riding.  That intake is only going to increase as the weather warms up.

Hopefully, the wind will stay at our backs, and the prairie sky will stay blue.  Today was an amazing day! 

I don’t know where I would be in my life if I didn’t have a strong, determined, positive attitude. I recall going to Easter Seal Camps in Squamish, BC when I was younger and chatting with other people who had limited mobility. Some felt sorry for themselves and didn’t focus on their abilities. I always tried to demonstrate to people the things that I could do rather than focus on what I couldn’t do.

Going through rehabilitation myself, I know first hand that it is an extreme test on one’s patience, body, and ego. There were times in my life where I cried and I just wanted to give up, but I knew in reality that it wasn’t what I wanted to do.  I have challenging times in my life, just like everyone else.  The trick is to keep pushing forward.

Today Cycle to Walk had an opportunity to spread its message of polio eradication, education, and rehabilitation to participants and staff at the University of Alberta’s Steadward Centre for Personal and Physical Acievement. Thank-you to Karen for giving the team such a great tour of your facility and programs, as well the generous donations from staff and participants totaling over $250! It means so much, and will go such a long way.

For the participants in rehabilitation at the Steadward Centre please do not lose hope, patience, or determination: you can and you will achieve all you set out to do.

Thank-you to the Rotary Club of Edmonton Strathcona for providing Cycle to Walk an opportunity to share its message, as well as for the financial contribution.  President Peter and everyone at lunch was just wonderful.  I particularly enjoyed the slide show depicting China’s rapid change from a rural to an urban society. 

Lastly, a big thank-you to all the students and staff at Prince Charles and Inglewood Elementary Schools for welcoming the team into your school to share the messages of Cycle to Walk with you this afternoon.

We have now been in Edmonton for 5 days, and Cycle to Walk’s message is spreading.  Thanks to everyone for all your support. If you have not done so already, please donate or sponsor today.

The hand-cycle is fixed, my body now feels rested. Thank-you Edmonton it’s now time to find the Yellowhead and head east!

Today was exciting!  It all began at 6:40 am in the studio of City TV’s Breakfast Television Show where Cycle to Walk had the opportunity to spread its message in a live interview.  Thanks Wendy and all the Staff at City TV for welcoming us into your studio. Later in the morning, Cycle to Walk was presented a gift card for $500 for the team to use on any items sold by the Hudson’s Bay Company. Thanks to the HBC for the t-shirts.

The Cycle to Walk message has grown in the Rotary community as well, and there was another opportunity to share our message with the Rotary Club of Edmonton West.  Below is a picture of club President Don McDiarmid and I after lunch.

As long as there is a single case of polio in our world no country is polio free. Polio has no boundaries and does not discriminate no matter what ones ethnicity, ability, religion, gender, sexual preference, or political background. We need to work together and end it now.

Also today, Cycle to Walk was privileged to have the opportunity to speak with about 60 international students from Grant MacEwan College’s English as a Second Language Program. So many words of encouragement and praises that Cycle to Walk’s messages need to be shared on an international level. Thank-you to the students and teachers for your kind donations of over $250 to Cycle to Walk. I was touched by all the kind words of encouragement you provided the team today! In particular, it meant a lot for me to hear from a doctor from Afghanistan that the work of Cycle to Walk is both essential and appreciated. 

One month ago today the Cycle to Walk launched in Victoria. The team has advanced through one territory, and two provinces. The message is making a national and international impact. Our message is getting louder, and the excitement of Cycle to Walk is growing!

Thank-you Canada and thank-you to our global community.

And there is an important route-change announcement: the Cycle to Walk tour will now travel north from Tofield, AB and then east down the main Yellowhead highway (and all communities along the route) into Saskatchewan.

Cycle to Walk had an opportunity to share its message with members of Kirk United Church in Edmonton earlier today. Thank you to all of you for your kind hospitality and contributions to the campaign, helping us raise $852 this morning!

Today was also Mother’s Day. Mothers make big decisions in the lives of children. In my own life my biological mother in India gave me up because she recognized she couldn’t provide the care I needed because of the effects polio had on me. My Canadian mom, Jan Ferris, was determined to make me independent as possible. I had chores (Yes kids I had to do dishes and shovel the driveway), along with lots of guidance, hugs, kisses, and lectures!

But most of all, my mom believed in my ability to do anything.

I would like to wish all mothers in the world a happy Mother’s Day! Mothers, you make big decisions in the lives of children. I would encourage you to continue to have your children immunized against polio. I truly do not want to see any child live the effects of this completely preventable disease. I know that if my biological mother in India had access to the polio vaccination she would have made the decision for me to be immunized.  If she were provided with that important, inexpensive option, I would not have had to live with the effects of polio: paralyzed legs and weaken lungs from having pneumonia 9 times prior to the age of 11.

Please, mothers: if you haven’t done so already, have your child immunized today to protect them and other children for life from polio.  11 per cent of Canadians are currently vulnerable to the disease.

Also, I’d like to thank the Ladies of Harley for organizing a fund raising BBQ for Cycle to Walk up in Whitehorse. As well, a big thank-you to all of the students at Golden Horn Elementary School located in the Yukon. These hard working students sold baked goods as part of a fund raiser for Cycle to Walk. No donation is too big or too small.  Remember: a dose of vaccine costs only 60 cents!

The team is so appreciative to Wayne and Gwen Halabisky (and their granddaughter Sammy) for opening up their home to us while we rest in the Edmonton area. I was so excited to book my deep tissue massage appointment today, not only because all of the wear and tear on my fatigued body, but because I was able to use a rotary phone to book the appointment. I haven’t used one of those phones in years!  Sometimes it’s the simple things that can make one’s day.

I took my hand-cycle in today for a tune-up. After taking me over 1200 km, it was time to change the tires, chain, and brakes. Thanks to River Valley Cycle & Snowboard for the great service and the donated labour.  I’d also like to thank Erin Haggart at Body Balance Therapeutic Massage and Acupuncture for giving me a great massage at a discounted rate.  Financial donations aren’t the only way people can contribute to Cycle to Walk, though they certainly are appreciated! The offering of services to the campaign has been great, and it’s a trend that I really hope continues.

Friends are just great! Today I had an opportunity to visit with two friends who traveled from Calgary to come up and visit with me and meet the team.
One friend even collected donations from people she knows from Calgary and presented me an envelope of $2000 from all the donations she had collected. Thanks so much for assisting Cycle to Walk to raise funds and get our important messages out to Calgarians.

It’s important for people to know that no matter where they live in the country, even if the Cycle to Walk route is not going through their hometowns, or if the team has already passed through, we must rally together as one to give a message of Polio eradication, education, and rehabilitation within Canada and through out our Global Community.  World polio rates were at an all-time low in 2007 because of the financial contributions made in the years leading up to it.  Contributions have dropped, and polio rates will climb back up unless we can keep immunizing the world’s children.  Cycle to Walk sees the end of polio as a reality, and I hope you do too.  Together, we can do this!

Today wraps up six days in a row of hand cycling that covered 377 km. The team is now in the Edmonton area for the next five days, and we will use this time to rest, restock, take care of some vehicle and bike maintenance, speak at schools, service clubs, and members of the government and media.  I’ll also be going in for a deep tissue massage.  Doug and Bertha are from this area and have lots of friends and family to visit with. We have all worked so hard as a team to get here, and I’m so proud to be a part of it. Thank you Doug, Bertha, Chris and Lynne. Yeah—we’re in Edmonton!

The team received such a warm welcome into the Edmonton area. We were escorted into town by two huge concrete cement pumper trucks provided by A&B Concrete Pumping. We were then greeted in the parking lot of All Weather Windows by President Gord Wiebe and 60+ workers who came out to show their support. Speeches were given, photos were taken, and cheques were presented to Cycle to Walk. Thanks Gord at All Weather Windows, Cacey Hutchinson at A&B Concrete Pumping, and Stephen Amonson from the Daytona Group of Companies for your generous sponsorships totalling $5000.00. Not only by your contributions are you assisting the campaign in its journey to spread the message of polio eradication, education, and rehabilitation, you’re sending the message that we must all work together as a country - and as global community - to rid the world of the horrible, paralyzing, fatal disease we call polio.

I hope that from the generosity of All Weather Windows, A&B Concrete Pumping and the Daytona Group of Companies, other corporations and small businesses will be inspired to follow suit and help us raise money to end polio, rehabilitate polio survivors, and educate Canadians about the importance of continued polio immunizations. Please contact the office today to learn more about how you can sponsor and donate to Cycle to Walk.

For anyone from the Whitehorse area, today I felt like I’d hand cycled up Two Mile Hill about 20 times. I’m quite surprised by both the amount and grade of the hills heading in towards Edmonton.  The easterly winds have also been a surprising challenge, however they haven’t lessened my interest to spread the important message of Cycle to Walk.

At the ‘Welcome to Stony Plain’ sign, the team was greeted by Dr. Allon Reddoch—Cycle to Walk Society President and #1 fan. Allon quickly scooped me up (well not literally) and drove me to the Edmonton-Urban Spirits Rotary Club dinner meeting. Cycle to Walk was given the opportunity to spread its message, and at the end of the presentation, we were presented with a cheque for $2000.00. Thank-you so much to the Edmonton-Urban Spirits Rotary Club for your wonderful support!  I hope your gracious donation will challenge other service clubs to follow your lead and support Cycle to Walk as well.  The eradication of polio is an attainable goal.

I wish to dedicate this day of cycling to the late Mr. Bob Couchman of Whitehorse, Yukon. I was informed that Bob had passed away earlier in the week. Bob had been a member of the Whitehorse Rotary Club and was a big supporter of Cycle to Walk. Bob spent many hours rallying others to support the campaign through sponsorship and donations, and his encouragement was instrumental in securing a $10,000 donation to Rotary International’s PolioPlus Program in honour of Cycle to Walk. Bob I thank-you for your support and please know that this great country is hearing our message of the importance of polio eradication, education, and rehabilitation.

What a fantastic start to the hand-cycling day in Edson! Four of the newest young Cycle to Walk supporters came out to our starting point to wish us well and send us off. Thanks Lauren, Sam, Jairus and Katia for showing your support for polio eradication, education and rehabilitation.

I have to admit I was a bit tired today. As I was climbing what seemed like a monstrously enormous hill, I thought to myself that I couldn’t wait to reach the top. During the climb, I had thoughts of all the people who have been supporting the Cycle to Walk. In particular, I thought of my young friends who saw me off at the start of the day and how excited they were for the campaign to be happening. When I finally did reach the top of that hill, to my surprise, Maureen Kroll, who I’d met yesterday at the Edson Rotary Club, was waiting to cheer me on along with her husband Rick and their friends Clarence and Colleen Wanchulak.  I’d like to thank Maureen and Colleen for helping to arrange billets as well as a room at the Sundowner Motor Inn.  Also, a big thank you to Rick and Clarence for the words of support and the contribution.

After battling strong headwinds, hard rain which stung the skin, hills and chills, the team advanced 96 km to Entwistle, Alberta. We were welcomed by a member from the local RCMP, Constable Doug Lee. Of course, we’re following all the necessary road laws and safety regulations, and Constable Lee just wanted to wish the team well.  Thanks for that!