I can’t believe that in less than 24 hours I’ll be on a plane bound for St. John’s Newfoundland. After months of planning, the ride is finally here!
I’ll be starting the MS Ride at the same place that Terry Fox did back in 1980. If you’re in the St. John’s, NL area, please join Mayor Dennis O’Keefe at the Terry Fox Monument located behind 1 Water Street at 12 noon on Tuesday July 17th, 2012 to help us kick off the ride!
Last night we held a fundraiser at Kelsey’s downtown Edmonton, and it was a massive success! The silent auction, 50/50, and individual cash donations received last night totalled $5150! Kelsey’s is also going to be giving us 10% of the total food sales, so when I get that I’ll be sure to add it on to the total!
I’d like to thank everyone that came down to the fundraiser to help make it a success. I’d also like to thank the staff at Kelsey’s for managing the crowd and taking care of everyone so nicely:
I’d like to also send out a big thanks to my mom, dad, and sister for quarterbacking the silent auction, as well as Danielle for pushing the 50/50’s and Anne for being the muscle protecting the valuable silent auction items.
I’ve put the initial $3220 that I collected from the silent auction up as a donation, and will be putting the rest up shortly once it’s all collected and counted. As of right now I’ve managed to raise $8795! UNBELIEVABLE!
And now for the tweet of the night:
#drunkbidding and #drunkdrinking ? “@thejohnnylarue: #MSRide turned into a few to many with @THEcomaguy #goodcause #drunkbidding”
— its not anderson (@THEcomaguy) July 10, 2012
From something that started out as a small idea back in March, this has grown into something that is way larger than I ever imagined, and will be something that I’m definitely never going to forget.
Throughout all the planning, this seemed like something that was miles and years away, but this week when the bikes got shipped out from Edmonton to St. John’s, things got very real! Dad and I also realized that if we actually want to get our motorcycles back, we’re going to have to fly out to St. John’s and ride them back… yeah, this is happening!
The bikes shipped out on Tuesday morning, and will be heading down to St. John’s via truck. They’re on the way to Toronto first, and then will switch carriers and be taken out to Newfoundland to be dropped off out there for us. They look to be crated nicely, so hopefully they’re in one piece and not all banged up by the time we get there.
The other good news is that the tshirts arrived today! Just a giant box of red shirts that pops and I will be wearing across the country. The photo above is the front, and here is the back:
The planning for the send off event at Kelsey’s on Monday July 9th is also rolling along nicely, and my family has been a huge help in getting items for the silent auction… there are even a few things that I’m likely going to bid on! Hope to see you there!
Please join us on July 9th, 2012 at Kelsey’s located at 11736 104 AV, Edmonton, AB for our fundraiser and sendoff for the ride!
Kelsey’s has been kind enough to give us a portion of food sales between 6pm – 10pm, so since we all need to eat, be sure to come down and help support our initiative!
There will be door prizes provided by Molson’s, silent auction, 50/50, and some good food!
Who: Kelsey’s and MS Riders Dave and Chris
What: A fundraiser to help us raise funds for the MS Society of Canada
Where: Kelsey’s downtown Edmonton, 11736 104 AV
When: July 9th, 2012, 6pm – 10pm.
Why: To support a great cause and help send me and my dad on our way across Canada this summer!
Silent auction items:
Hope to see you there!
The new logo is here courtesy of Rebel Monkey Design Studio, and I love it! I’ve put it up on the top of the site in place of me on my bike, and will also be putting it on some t-shirts that my dad and I will be wearing this summer. Here is a preview of what the shirts will look like. The mock-ups are on white shirts, but I’m getting them printed on red shirts.
What do you think? I can’t wait for them to arrive!
Ok I’ve tweaked the route quite a bit from what I had last time, and I think that this will work out better. Going to be in the bigger cities on nights when hopefully we can get together with the local MS Society chapters. The distance is about 500km shorter on this plan, but it still covers off everything nicely. The links below will bring up google maps with the route. Google broke it into 3 parts…
Total Distance: 11,940km
I’d like to send out a huge thank you to GPS Central for being the first sponsor to come on board! They’ve kindly donated a Garmin motorcycle GPS unit to us to help make this ride a reality!
A little about GPS Central:
GPS Central is a completely independent, 100% Canadian-owned business that specializes in GPS products. The company’s entire operation located in Calgary, Alberta, from call centre to shipping, and administration. GPS Central is a trademark of Mach Ten Enterprises Inc. Our focus is the global GPS market for recreation, work and travel with worldwide shipping. We celebrate 10 years of online GPS retail in 2010!
Our staff have provided GPS customer support services since 1999, and we have been supplying GPS equipment directly since our Authorized GARMIN Dealership was established in 2000. In 2006, GARMIN confirmed that GPS Central was its leading dealer in Canada, and we would like to thank everyone who has helped us achieve that ranking in an extremely competitive marketplace. GPS Central (Mach Ten Enterprises Inc.) was a finalist for the Calgary 2003 Emerging Enterprise of the Year Award.
GPS Central’s mission is to provide quality GPS products at low prices, with fast shipping and outstanding customer service. We are pleased to share our knowledge and experience and help you choose the right product. GPS Central Wholesale Division serves businesses, government, educational institutions and NGOs.
It was a pleasure dealing with Holly and Julia at GPS Central, and they also look forward to hearing from you when you need a new GPS or accessory!
I’ve thrown together the first rough draft of the route, which will likely be modified as I look at it more. Right now I’ve just picked a basic route, and I’ll tweak it after discussing with dad and a few others who’s input I value. As the route stands, its 12136km give or take a bit. Anyway, have a look if you have some time, and let me know if you have any suggestions! Continue reading
What visit to Nova Scotia would be complete without checking out Sunnyvale Trailer Park, the fictitious park used in the final three seasons of Trailer Park Boys? Unfortunately it looks like all the buildings have been torn down and taken away, and all that remains is part of a burned up mental hospital. Still, I think as a huge TPB fan it’s my duty to stop by with some pepperoni, chicken fingers, and maybe a cut off cola bottle drink stirred with a hockey stick.
I wonder if it’s closed off to the public?
Thanks to Jim from the Durham Region MS Society, I’ve found another landmark to see along the way, the Wawa Goose! Hard to tell how big it is from looking at google maps or this picture, but it’s still something that the bikes will look great in front of.
Apparently Wawa is Ojibway for “Wild Goose,” and apparently there are two other giant geese in the town of Wawa, but seeking those out will depend on how much time we have to hunt. I wonder how close we will be able to get the bikes?
Swedish Greys - a WordPress theme from Nordic Themepark.
