2010 Tour Begins With Sunshine

After a quick stop at Shimano to say hello to a great sponsor we were off on the highway for the first day of our tour. Our first stop of the day was at Westmount Public School.

It was awesome to see so many familiar faces lined up in front of the school wearing the new Pedal For Hope tattoos. It was great to see the memory of Graham still lives on, he was a great special friend of ours and he will never be forgotten.

Once everyone hurried into the gym, the party really began. Our new Olympic theme was unveiled and received a thunderous applause. Our head shaves included two of our own team members, Marc & Dave.

As usual, this school is on the top fundraisers list for Pedal For Hope and the team appreciates all their hard work and dedication to the cause. Ms. McImoyle excelled in the past and Westmount has carried on that tradition.

Our special guest watching the show included Chief Rodd & Deputy Chief Streeter of the Peterborough Lakefield Police Service, Anita Record & Darlene Clark of the Canadian Cancer Society. We appreciate their support and encouragement during the tour.

After a bunch more heads were shaved and ponytails cut, we were packing up to move to the next school. We even packed up the awesome Pedal For Hope banner they made, I have saved every picture and every banner from every school since the tour began in 2005. I have quite a collection!!

Our next stop of the day was at St. Teresa's Catholic School. This was our first time visiting St. Teresa's and the students were awesome !! Ms. Atkins and her staff did a great job, and it felt like we had been there every year. The kids were excited !!

We watched as Inspector Hawthorne of the Peterborough Lakefield Police Service and his son Liam shaved their heads for the cause, as did many many more. Plus, who could forget all those pink hair extensions. The girls in that class looked fantastic.

Way to get in the fundraising spirit girls!!!

Our third stop of the day was at Queen Elizabeth Public School where the students greeted us as they stood on the sidewalk cheering and clapping.

In all my years of riding on this tour, there is no better feeling than hearing those kids as you get closer to the school. The work they do before we arrive with their fundraising and school spirit is a true inspiration to the team. As I have said many many times, the students and our special friends are the true heros, we simply ride bikes.

Another bonus at Queen Elizabeth was getting to visit with our Special Friend Cameron.

Our final stop of the day was another new school to us, Immaculate Conception Catholic School. The team kicked off their fundraising earlier and the students were so excited to be part of the tour. Thanks to Mary Reynolds, Lisa Walker, Kim Driscoll and Lil Rankin for their outstanding efforts, not only did they meet their fundraising goals in the first year, they shattered it!!!!!

The fundraising apple doesn't fall far from the tree, because this schools top fundraising student ended up being Mary's son, Jayden. As a bonus, Jayden was rewarded with the honour of shaving my head, or at least the sides, not much on the top anymore !!!!!

Two other special guest at the school were Lil Rankin who is not only a parent but also represents another great sponsor

of ours, PepsiCo Canada, who provides us with all the

Gatorade and snacks we need for the tour. Lil was made an honourary member of the Pedal For Hope's "Ice Cream Team", not really what she was expecting though.

Welcome to the team Lil !!!

The other special guest attending Immaculate was Mr. Pat Marren, Chair of Relay For Life. Pat does an awesome job coordinating Relay For Life and together our two teams are making a difference !!!!

John Townsend