Hey, I’m Nicholas Arnold your midday guy here on 89.7 Sun FM and I’m chronicling my experience of being on the 2024 Tour de Rock team. The 14 day and over one thousand kilometre bike ride has been done every year since 1997 and raises funds for the fight against childhood cancer.
Another day in the Tour de Rock. We started in Nanaimo heading in a van to breakfast at Smitty’s. From there we hopped on our bikes and headed out for the day. After a stop at Thrifty’s and a Berwick retirement residence – which we’ll get to later – we made our way south towards the Cowichan Valley.
We stopped at the Ladysmith Tim Hortons, which has supported Tour pretty much forever. They let us riders go in and get anything we want for free… So you’re dang right I had four donuts and a soda. Then we had an extended ride to lunch at the Chemainus Legion, where they had maybe the most delicious corn chowder ever. Donations were rolling in, and it was a beautiful thing to see.
For me, I know firsthand the generosity of the Cowichan Valley through events like Stuff the Truck and our Radiothons. It’s been cool to see my teammates come to understand it, and they’ll continue to as we make our way through town tomorrow.
After lunch we headed back to our hotel and prepped for the night’s event: A gala at the Ladysmith Eagle’s Hall. It was a really nice turnout for us and we were lead into the hall by a piper (that kind of introduction never gets old). After our formal introductions, we made our way to our seats.
A story I heard that touched me tonight was from the Brown family. They have been following and supporting the Tour de Rock since 2009. That was when their young son Callum was diagnosed with cancer. They say he was diagnosed with the disease in stage four at less than one year old, meaning he was born with it. Mom, Tammy, shared that his older brother Zack was less than five years old while treatment was ongoing and he took as much time as he could to spend with his brother. Callum passed away at two and a half years old, but he lives on with the family. They wore shirts to the dinner in his honour. Incredible to see a family continue on in the wake of such tragedy.
Another cool thing was that a youngster from Queen Margaret’s School, Chase, has been growing out his hair for pretty much as long as he’s been alive. He says he’s been teased for his long hair, but he doesn’t care because he’s growing it out to make a wig and to raise money – so far he’s at $2,500.
I want to give a massive shout out to our very own Justin Baumgardner for coming down to the event. It was really nice to see a familiar face and show some support. And for helping me load up my team signed Tour de Rock mini fridge that I spent way too much money on in a live auction into his car (IT’S FOR THE KIDS!).
Riding today wasn’t too insane. The distances continue to get shorter for now, but they continue to be fun. The weather has held up this week, today may have been the nicest for riding that we’ve had. And it’s nice to be in familiar territory, I can’t believe we’ve already made it this far.
As for hijinks on the road, we were not disappointed. Sgt. Jereme Leslie from Saanich PD and I came up with a new song that’s soon to be at the top of the charts, spoofing Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind.” Our Syndicate (see Day 7 Diary) continues to evolve and now has a salute, we’ve got a new organizational structure on the way. I also got an award of inspiration from Mary-Ellen Somerville for my rendition of The B-52s’ Planet Claire. Oh, and Capt. Liam Kenney, our rider from CFB Esquimalt, punched me in the face. All in all, it was a really good day.
And now for something completely different…
A lot is mentioned about the impact that the Tour de Rock has on school kids. I wrote extensively about this in my Day 6 diary “The Beatles of Vancouver Island.” But something we didn’t mention is its impact on seniors across the island.
I mentioned earlier the we went to a Berwick retirement residence, it was one of several we’ve stopped at while on the road. The experiences vary for sure, but all have been positive. I knew they would be an interesting factor in our Tour journey from an incident early on.
Maybe our second or third day in, we stopped at another retirement residence and spoke with some of the residents. One of them recognized Roxanne Egan-Elliott, our rider from the Times Colonist, and said they had been reading her articles. He said, “You’re the young girl that’s been writing for the paper? You’re older than I thought you’d be.” Then he fixated on how much older she was than he’d expected, which was maybe a backhanded compliment that leaves so many questions. It was hilarious. (As an aside, she’s a heck of a writer and if you’re looking for more Tour coverage please check her work out. Super talented.)
Back to the point, the honesty that comes from living in a retirement home and not giving a care in the world what people think about you is a wonderful thing. It’s manifested itself in a few different ways through our stops so far.
At today’s stop, Liam had a really pleasant and completely innocent conversation with a female resident. When they wrapped up, the resident approached another rider to ask if he was single, because she “has a granddaughter that might be interested, and he’s a hottie.” Just incredible content.
I also like doing some dancing when we’re at stops with them and it seems to bring joy. We also have a lot of fun bantering, learning about their lives, families, and any battles with cancer. The amount of times I heard, “You’ve given us something different to look forward to,” on this trip has been great.
Silly interactions aside, a lot of the fundraising has been supplied by organizations run by folks in their later years. First off we generally get a cheque from the residents of each retirement home we visit and they seem genuinely happy to contribute to our cause.
Another way seniors have really chipped in to the Tour is through their service. We’ve all seen how volunteers at service clubs have tended to skew older and older over the last few decades. Service clubs like the Lions, Rotaries, and Legions have been instrumental in Tour operations. I don’t think there’s been a single day yet that they haven’t provided a meal or chipped in some way.
Not just on Tour, but also as part of the lead up to the ride. For example, I got a lot of help from the Duncan Elks Lodge for a fundraiser I was working on. They’re getting ready to present a cheque to me tomorrow as we pass through town.
The beauty of the Tour de Rock is how it has an impact on everyone who encounters it and everyone has a place. Every race, religion, political leaning, and every age can contribute to try and stop this terrible disease from affecting a child ever again. One child with cancer is one two many.
Looking forward to Cst. Warren Kongus and I’s homecoming to the Cowichan Valley tomorrow.
Daily and Overall Stats
Total kilometres ridden on Day 10: 55.63 km
Total kilometres ridden: 812.31 km
Total elevation on Day 10: 411 m
Total elevation climbed: 7,501 m
Total sodas consumed on Day 10: 3
Total sodas consumed on Tour: 43
