by Jerry Laidlaw
This summer I rode my adult trike on a bike tour to raise money for the Alliance Church of Canada and the projects they support. I trained all year to ride as far as I could, by riding the bike at the gym and my bike that has a electric assist.
We started in Vancouver from a church, where some of the riders slept overnight. I had friends that agreed to be my support team: Debbie would drive the van pulling a trailer, and Rod would ride with me to help keep me safe. We left the church at 8am, and rode to the bridge, then put our bikes in the trailer and drove to white rock. We had a snack at a church, then rode to the beach to dip our tires in the Pacific Ocean. Some of the riders would dip their tires in the Atlantic, but I knew I would not be one of them. I really wanted to, but I knew my legs would never make it. After that we rode our bikes to Abbotsford. I rode just 20 km that day.
The next day would be my last, because of my legs. I rode to Chillwack, where we had a wonderful lunch at an outreach center for drug and alcohol recovery. Then on to Hope! I really enjoyed riding on the country roads. It makes me feel like I am flying, since I can’t walk or run too fast. I love my bike – I rode 52km that day! I was sore, but still able to walk with my walker, which surprised me. I thought I would be too sore to walk!
I want to do it again. Anyone know of some event or cause to ride my bike in?
For more photos from Jerry’s journey, you can click here to view a Facebook photo album of the event.
