Rainy Day Turns Sunny

Today we started our day just outside of Port Hope, we have 2 days to go before the final ride in. I have been watching the weather reports closely for the last 48 hours and it's not looking good. Marc Habgood has been trying to change the way I think about the weather predictions. Every time I go to him and say "the weather is calling for 70% chance of rain" he always looks at me and says "T, that means there is a 30% chance of sun". As much as I laugh I still can't help but be a little concerned as the rain splashes down into the puddles on the road.

I had to put it out of my mind for today, nothing could be done about it and nobody could change the weather, so I thought.

Our second stop of the day was at Howard Jordan P.S where we always take great pleasure in meeting up with a true honourary special friend of the team. A cancer survivor who we affectionately know as 'Sunny'. You can call it coincidence, you can call it spiritual, whatever your beliefs in todays world it was an awesome feeling for the rain to come to a complete stop as we rolled into Howard Jordan P.S as we looked over, 'Sunny' was waving and smiling at the team. For 5 years she has been attending the school to support her children as they raised money for Pedal For Hope. Now her children have moved on to other schools but 'Sunny' still comes to Howard Jordan every year to support the team. To show our appreciation, this year she was presented with a plaque acknowledging her continued support. It was hard not to get choked up as her eyes welled up. Even now I am getting choked up just typing this, remembering how tight she hugged me and thanked the team for doing what we do. She is a survivor who is a true inspiration to anyone fighting this deadly disease.

Our third stop of the day was in Bowmanville, about 25km's away and only a little over an hour to get there. This was our first time entering into Durham Region, it was a great feeling to know that the team's fight was expanding into different areas of the province.

As we arrived at the school I was amazed at the size of Holy Family Catholic School. It was huge, I have not seen so many students standing outside the school, lining both sides of the parking lot. They had signs and cards and poems and were cheering the team on as we rode in. Students shaved their heads, cut their pony tails, and dyed their hair all different colours to support the team. At the end of the day Michelle, Amy and all the students presented the team with over $10,000. It was un-believable !!!!!

What a great day.

John