Riding into Calgary

Monday June 1

Eight individual Open Road Riders gathered in a parking lot just off the Trans Canada - Ross Manning, Shane Korpan, Judy Martin, Quentin Sinclair, Mike Roberts, Thomas Mo, Jeff Hergert and Shay Code. Some riders came with lots of biking experience, some came with colourful riding outfits, but all came with energy, determination and enthusiasm. The test was to ride 110 km from Canmore to downtown Calgary – the goal was to time the arrival to meet the welcoming group at the square in Eau Claire .The riders loaded up on Gatorade, water and snacks to fuel them in their quest, then they were off.

Day 15 of The Ride and Mel has had riding partners for every day so far – a definite advantage for sure. Today was the largest group – a posse. Lindsay and I were glad to welcome Bonnie Lee Morris as an addition to our support team.

Despite challenging terrain – Scott Hill – and headwinds the riders made great time spinning their way to Calgary. Fortunately the only injury was the result of a “tip over”. Shay was brave about it and sucked up the pain he felt.

On their arrival in Calgary the riders were met with an enthusiastic and loud welcome by a wonderful group from Xerox and the CMHA Calgary branch.

The Ride and a link to Mel’s website and blog have been up on the home page of CMHA Calgary Region website since May 8, and since then, there have been 2,941 home page views by 2,517 unique visitors. This is reaching people who are looking for more information about how to get help and more information about mental health and mental illness. Awareness works and together we can make a difference in the lives of people living with mental illness.