Why do we do anything we do here at Cassie and Friends? This update from Dr. Jaime Guzman of BC Children’s Hospital (who is now on leg #5 of a 1254km fundraising bike ride from Lake Louise to Vancouver in support of children with Juvenile Arthritis) sums it up perfectly… “For the Kids!”

Support the Ride and Transform Kids’ Lives: https://ccnbikes.com/#!/ucanride4kids/pledge/1150

UCAN Ride4Kids – Leg 4 Update from Dr. Guzman

I wouldn’t call it a walk in the park, but stage 4 was beautiful and manageable.  Rolling hills throughout by the Kootenay lake and Kootenay river, except for one sharp climb before Kootenay Bay and one gradual climb out of Nelson.

Besides the beautiful scenery, the highlight of the day was the excellent cappuccino at the Lady Bug cabin before boarding the ferry and the fact that there is such a thing as a free ferry ride in BC.  Being used to the costly ferry rides on the coast, I kept waiting for them to charge us for the ride.  No such thing, they just got us across the lake and wave good bye!

We arrived at Castlegar with enough time to get lost and found, check in at our motel and have a meal at the local pub, before going to bed early as the following day promised to be really tough.

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UCAN Ride4Kids – Leg 5 Update from Dr. Guzman

And the score was: Jaime 2, Mountain passes 1!

I sub-estimated the toll Paulson Pass would take (a 35 Km climb straight out of Castlegar) and by the time I had negotiated Eholt summit (between Grand Forks and Greenwood), I had no fuel left in the tank to tackle the Rock Creek climb just before Osoyoos.  So, at the end, Stage 5 was a 168 Km day from Castlegar to Rock Creek with 6000 feet of climbing.

We got up at 5:00 am and it was a really hard day on the saddle with some mechanical problems (a loose bike crank).  But the people were remarkable: Rick was waiting for me at the side of the road in Christina Lake when a lady and a gentleman walking by, who judging by their clothing barely could get by, asked about what the ride was for and reached deep into their pockets for their last 5 dollars to donate to Cassie and Friends, for the kids they said.  They continued walking by the side of the road and wave me luck as I rode by.  The same had happen to us while waiting for the Ferry the day before, upon learning of the reason for the ride a lady handed us a 10 dollars donation “for the kids”.

As planned, in Osoyoos we met three great riders from Calgary that will bike us with us the rest of the way to Vancouver.

PS:

Shout out to Driver Rick……still smiling