#searsca

We left Edmunston under heavy fog and cold.  There was only one washroom for everyone to use.  Amazing how we can organized.  I’ve been holding my own and getting stronger and faster.  We arrive at St. Leonard, have a snack and back on the road.  We stop at Perth to a scenic setting in the park that was so beautiful.  Covered from the sun, we had tortellini with meat sauce plus all the cookies you could imagine.  The scenery getting here was fantastic.  We stop in Florenceville at the Sears outlet store.  “Suns out, guns out”  we took off our jerseys and rode with vests only to the covered bridge in Hartland.  Photo op time.  First time in all my years of riding that I’ve done 182km distance.  Good dinner and now off to Moncton  Sears store.

September 20  Day 14 Today we ride for Katie Montreal to St. Augustine Started the ride at Maskinonge.  Really cool and foggy but it was good.  Close to Trois Riviere and I got another flat, also noticed a hole in the tire and the tube was starting to bulge out.  Dan changed it at lunch.  So up to now I’ve had 3 flats, a broken chain and had to replace a tire.  Except for the some fantastic scenery the ride was uneventful and we ended at the Louis Garneau plant where we were treated to a fantastic dinner and the best Poutine I’ve ever had.  It was fantastic!

September 19 Day 13 Today we rode for Thomas Martin What a fantastic day!  We left the Pickering Sears store after a great breakfast and headed east to Newcastle as our first stop.  Team 1 was split in 2 as we were getting a little larger.  I was happy to be holding my own on the hills but I knew today would be a special day on the ride.  As the day went on, I got stronger and stronger.  We reached Newcastle Library had our snacks and rest stop goodies and headed for Cobourg. Roger Gallant joined us in Newcastle and lead the way.  Arrived in Cobourg to a great reception at the Sears store and had a fabulous lunch.  Burt Reynolds pose for Kerry with all the balloons and we’re off to Brighton.  I’m feeling super good and riding well.  No need to test for EPO, i’m just on a personal high.  What everyone doesn't know is that I’m thinking of Chris, Margie and Fiona and Scott all day.  Day before must have been difficult and I cant imagine how they felt.  I’m choked up and in tears.   Brighton was great!  Small towns have been so wonderful to us and welcomed us with the most amazing food things.  one of the women at Brighton made the best muffins.  Now I’m on fire all the way to Belleville and even managed to keep up to Damon for a while.  A whole bunch of kids lead us in to the Sears distribution warehouse parking lot.  There was the cutest little girl training wheels and she was just pedaling away like crazy.  It was awesome!  The Sears distribution warehouse was amazing and huge.  They used golf carts to bring us to the showers and then to a fabulous turkey dinner.  Many speeches and we heard Ken’s story of Meaghan his daughter, and we met little Marlo.  She is 7.  She has been undergoing treatment for the last 5 years after she was diagnosed at age 2.  Absolutely broke my heart.   Another surprise on this great day was a birthday cake for me!  and with Prosecco!  Tracey, I love her, made all the arrangements. And as today was full of surprises, I was greeted by Debbie Anderson nee Hegadorn.  She was a student of mine at Durham College.  After almost 30 years we re-connected on this ride and she gave me a special message that I will not forget.  Love you Deb it was fantastic to see you and thanks for the blast from the past picture. Chris, Steve and I had a couple of drinks and now we’re heading to the east side of Montreal.

Great riding morning.  Approximately 7 km before lunch on a climb, I break my chain.  Really angry about this, it was new 2 weeks before we started this adventure.  Luckily Dan our mechanic had a spare and he made the repairs during lunch.  we have a great BBQ lunch of course, prepared by Scott and Fiona at Thessalon Marina.  I’m feeling strong and am actually pulling the team this afternoon.  Feels good to be contributing.  Great ride in the afternoon and we end up having dinner at another Marina in Blind River.  We shuttle to Barrie.

We arrive in Winnipeg and I’m starting to feel better.  we go to the Cancer Care Manitoba hospital.  Paedeatric centre is amazing.  See my Facebook post.  Sears has been providing so much welcome support expecially with all this cold..

I cant believe I’m actually organized, finally!  Big tail wind today and we’re rolling at 30-40km per hour.  Very emotional morning for me.  We arrive at lunch at a small place called Piapot.  we have lunch outside the town saloon.  Of course we have a great lunch by Scott and Fiona.  We continue after lunch with a great tail wind.  170km complete to Gull Lake.  Shower and have a super BBQ dinner.  We are at a campground that has Stock Car races!

Day 18: Lower Sackville to Halifax (100km) WOW!!! It's all over! What an experience and a trip of a lifetime. As I reflect back on this journey and look through photos and videos I can't help but feel blessed for the life I have been given. I was beyond thrilled to do this ride with my amazing fiancé Stephen hogan, my mom, aunt Mary, cousins Tracy and Jen and many other incredible riders and volunteers that we met along the way. As much as losing Nick was the hardest part of my life, I am honoured to be contributing to a better future for those kids and families living with or beyond cancer. We would like to create a future where childhood cancer no longer exists. Thank you SNKCR for sharing this wonderful experience with me, I will never forget the people involved in this journey. It has been an absolute pleasure and I look forward to sharing this journey to many other people in the future.

SNKCR 2016 Day 18! We made it!!! So proud of everyone who made SNKCR 2016 happen! @beyondkidscancer #snkcr #snkcr2016 #cycling #SearsCA (at Halifax, Nova Scotia)