This Time It's Personal

Most people know that I make my living producing events - most often, fundraising events for various charities.  I know that if I asked my friends, family and loved ones to support every organization I get involved with I wouldn't have many friends left.

But this is different.

I have spent the past year working with an amazing group of people who saw a problem and decided to do something about it - in a big way.  The Answer for Cancer Tour was the idea of two friends: Jason Bosa and Del Ferguson.  They wanted to hit the road on their Harleys for an extended period of time.  Why not hit all of the lower-48 states and 10 provinces?  And hey, if they were going to do that and take the time needed away from work and businesses, it really would make sense to raise money and awareness along the way.  Their first idea was to call it the T & A Tour - for breast and prostate cancer.  Good idea right?  Including everyone?  

Enter Lori.  She dropped into Jason's store one day and he told her what they were doing.  They were inviting other riders to join them along the way and Lori jumped in with both feet.  They started looking at potential charities to partner with and talking the idea up more with friends and colleagues.

Then Dr. Christina Tondora called Lori after seeing a Facebook post:  "I like what you're doing and I have to be involved."  It was Christina that suggested that the focus should be on PREVENTION rather than raising yet more money for research or treatment - that's big business.  But statistics are now saying that 80-90% of cancers can be prevented by focusing on a few different areas: the foods we eat; physical factors such as sunlight, asbestos and x-rays; biological factors such as viruses and bacteria; and chemical contaminants such as the cleaning or health and beauty products we use in our homes.

Imagine if cancer weren't an inevitable disease, but rather something to be prevented through lifestyle choices and education. What if we can make a difference by changing our “personal sustainability,” that is, our daily choices regarding what we ingest, what we think and what we do? What if we can metabolically transform our bodies to live longer, healthier and happier? What if we can cause government to address laws regarding environmental toxins and their regulation? What if the cure, was simply…prevention?

The team found two charities - one in Canada and one in the US - that focus on lobbying government and educating the public on prevention.  Removal of BPAs from plastics, removal of harmful chemicals from beauty products and household cleaners, reminders that whole foods and healthy eating rather than processed and junk foods are the way to balance and health.  In Canada, the charity is Prevent Cancer Now with a mission to ELIMINATE the preventable causes of cancer.  In the US, the Breast Cancer Fund identifies and advocates for the elimination of the environmental and other preventable causes of the disease.

The Answer for Cancer Tour quickly grew more than any one of them expected.  And that's how I got involved.  I was actually looking to participate as a volunteer, offering my event producing experience to help out if needed, and quickly took on a larger role than I ever anticipated, helping with the details and planning and ultimately agreeing to go on the trip with the team as road manager.

A year later and we are 12 days from the finish line.  We left Vancouver on Saturday, June 11 and zig-zagged our way through the US, up the east coast into Canada and the Maritimes, and currently have just crossed the border into Michigan with 8 states and 3 provinces left before arriving back home on Saturday, August 13 - having completed 30,000 km / 20,000 miles.  


We have seen devastation in Joplin, Missouri and strength and hope in the patients at IWK Children's Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  


We have gone through the heat and humidity of the southern US and the grey and colder temperatures of the Maritimes and Newfoundland.  


We've lost people we know and care about since June 11 - many to cancer.  Had family members in the hospital, household issues to deal with, and lost pets.


We have met people everywhere who have been touched by this disease: from Frances in Mississippi who lost four siblings and just had a nephew diagnosed, to Michael in Rapid City, South Dakota who lost two brothers, to Candy in Texas - a 20 year survivor of ovarian cancer, to Parker, a 9-year-old in Charlottetown, PEI who has been battling leukemia for the past year but has the brightest spirit and most positive outlook anyone could ever imagine.  


We've had mechanical breakdowns with the bikes and the support vehicle, emotional breakdowns, stress overload, and weather delays; but we've persevered through them all and have come out stronger as a team because it's not about us, but the ultimate goal: to spread this message and connect with others - one person at a time - whether it's at a gas stop, in a restaurant, in the hotel lobby, or at an event.

We have had a lot of fun together too.  Meeting wonderful people wherever we go; seeing parts of the US and Canada that many of us had only ever heard or read about; being awed by the incredible beauty of Mesa Verde, Arches, the New England coast and Newfoundland; and so many great times just spending time together laughing and telling stories.  

I have been blessed.  


I am not only coming away from this trip having fulfilled many desires and goals (road-tripping the US, driving on a racetrack with a professional driver - next time, I drive!, visiting Newfoundland and the Canadian Maritimes) but I have also learned a great deal about myself and the kind of person I want to continue to be.  Most importantly I will be leaving this experience with some incredible new people in my life.  I have been corrected and encouraged and defended (thanks Del and Jason!) and kept healthy and pain free (thanks Christina), and received more support than ever expected (thank you all) since the beginning.  I know I have developed life-long relationships during these weeks.  Del, Jason and Christina will always hold a very special place in my heart and in my life and I look forward to seeing where this road will continue to take each one of us. 

But this journey isn't over yet.  We still have 12 days to go - 8 more states, 3 more provinces and all the people and events and challenges ahead.  And we still have a goal to meet.  


And this brings me back to the beginning...I don't usually ask you to support the organizations I work with - but this one is VERY different.

Each one of us has been affected by cancer in one way or another.  Either a personal experience or scare, that of a family member or other loved one, or watching a friend going through it.  Diagnosis, treatment, hopefully recovery, often loss.  It is an ugly and unforgiving disease.


But each one of us has the ability to make choices and changes in our own lives - and to affect the lives of those we care about: parents, children, friends.  We can all lessen our personal risks of contracting cancer.  It's simple really.  Start with one thing and then add another.  You can start acting on these things here


And take a moment right now to donate to the great work that the Answer for Cancer Tour is supporting with Prevent Cancer Now and the Breast Cancer Fund.  Tell government and business that we don't want the harmful chemicals in our everyday products anymore.  If you live in Canada,  please pledge one of the people that have become so important to me this summer.  And if you're in the US, you can do the same here.  We also have a Gala planned for October so if you don't want to pledge but could possibly offer something for auction, please email me


Please don't think "I can do this later"...please do this now.  Let's make a change - one person, one ACTion at a time.

On The Rock

We arrived in Argentia, Newfoundland in the afternoon on Thursday July 21 (Day 42).  A short ride to our hotel in Placentia for a rest.  While Lori and Mark went for a ride, the rest of us took a walk to the shore then wandered through the town to the Three Sisters pub.  Live music greeted us – and Lori and Mark who had stopped in for some refreshement.  Small town pub, great live music, friendly locals – we closed the place down and walked back to the hotel to get some sleep.

Day 43 and we were going to St. John’s.  All the bikes were scheduled for service and we had a radio station visit planned.  VOCM in St. John’s had been promoting our tour for weeks.  We had phone interviews in the two weeks leading up to our arrival and the staff wanted to meet our team.  Then the hotel.  That evening we went up to Signal Hill for the Ghost Tour.  A great way to get some of the history of the area.

Saturday was mostly a day off and a chance to explore the area.  We had a photo shoot with the St. John’s Telegram up at Signal Hill and then all went in different directions – out to Cape Spear, the easternmost point in North America, or wandering through town.  

That night we headed to Jason’s cousin Daniela’s home for a barbeque – our first home-cooked meal in 7 weeks!  A great evening meeting new friends and relaxing.  Then back to the hotel and down to George Street where we were going to get screeched in.  For the uninitiated, this was a ritual to be granted honourary Newfoundlander status.  Susan met us for the big event.  Over 30 were participating – all crammed into a small upstairs pub space.  Screeching in consists of eating bologna, kissing a cod and drinking a shot of Screech (Newfoundland rum).  You also have to learn the customary response to “Is ye an honourary Newfoundlander?” “Indeed I is, me ol’ cock, and long may your big jib draw”.

Sunday arrived and in looking ahead to the schedule for the next couple of days we decided to change our route plans and, instead of overnighting in Gander, we wanted to find a place closer to the Port-aux-Basques ferry since we needed to be at the terminal no later than 1pm on Monday.  So we headed to Corner Brook 700km away.  We did stop in Gander where we met Tanya with the local KRock radio station – another huge supporter of the tour.  She led us into town and to a great place for lunch and warming soup.  

Then back on the road.  The one hotel in town that had rooms for us was more than a little sketchy and none of us were comfortable with staying there – even less so when the RCMP down the road recommended against it.  We retraced our route about 10miles and managed to find the last condo at the Marblehead Village Ski Resort.  Barbequed some burgers, heated up some pizzas (pickings were slim in this area) and called it a night.

Day 46 and it was time to head to the ferry in Port-aux-Basques and leave Newfoundland.  The people, the history, and the land itself all beautiful.  We all agreed that we would return to spend more time on The Rock.  The ride back to Sydney was much shorter from this side and we made it back to our hotel before sunset. 

Back in Canada!

Monday, July 18 (Day 39) and we were making a run for the border.  We were heading back home to Canada.  We decided to stay on the Maine coast for the trip north and along the way stopped at “Helen’s” for lobster rolls.  Little did we know that it was also the home of the best blueberry pie in the United States (as declared by LIFE magazine) and the owner was one of the judges for a Bobby Flay pie Throwdown.  We thought she should have been his competitor rather than a judge.

The bikes were waiting for us a block from the border crossing.  The rig pulled in and immediately got attention from everyone in the Duty Free shop and doing last-minute gas fill ups.  One gentleman stopped because he’d heard Halifax radio talking about the Tour over the past couple of weeks.  Thankfully there were no problems crossing through customs and we made our way to St. John, New Brunswick.

Tuesday was a big day – we were heading to Halifax, Nova Scotia.  The guys decided to take a more scenic route through Alma on the way to our lunch stop in Truro.  

We had the Q104 Street Team (Halifax radio station) waiting for us along the way from Truro to Halifax and they led us all in – all the way to IWK Hospital where we were meeting the families and kids being treated there.  First stop was the Play Garden – a facility where patients, siblings and visitors could play, learn about the seasons, and most importantly, be outside.  Then we were met by Kate Matthews – one of the many amazing staff – and toured through some of the wards where we had the opportunity to meet with those children who couldn’t go outside yet.  We also visited the playrooms and the teen lounge - where we met therapy dog Poochie.  The strength and positive spirits of all the patients, families and staff profoundly affected us all.  We handed out tour bandanas to everyone and left some in the ‘hat box’ for future patients.  

Then it was on to Privateer’s Harley Davidson for a quick stop before heading back to our hotel – situated right on Chocolate Lake – and into the waterfront area of Halifax for dinner with friends of Jason’s. 

Day 41 and our destination was Sydney, Nova Scotia.  Everyone made their own way over – some sightseeing through Halifax and Sherbrook first.  

The rig ended up on a very small ferry for a 100m (if that) crossing of the “Little Narrows”.  We weren’t sure if it would fit on the ferry, but we made it with centimeters to spare.  

In Sydney we picked up our rental van for our trip over to Newfoundland, found parking for the rig for 5 days, and discovered a great pub for patio drinks and snacks.  At the pub we met Brian from Ottawa.  When he heard what we were doing he quickly offered his bistro in Ottawa as a venue for an event when we come through town at the end of the month.  We were more than happy to take him up on his offer.

We made our way to the ferry – 4 bikes now (Mark was riding with us for the next few days) and the van. A 15-hour ferry ride was ahead of us.  After almost 4 hours in the parking lot we finally boarded, found our cabins and met up in the lounge just in time for last call.

New York to Maine

Day 35 had us pointed towards The Big Apple.  While most of the team waited in Baltimore for news on whether Del’s bike could go into a shop in the NYC area, Lori headed off early to meet Ken for a couple of days in Manhattan.  With the assurance from the team at Nassau Harley Davidson on Long Island that they could look at the bike and hopefully fix it during our stop there, Del headed off with the rig and Jason rode the tour route, accompanied by the ACT rental van, through Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and finally New York. 

We arrived at the hotel to find Dean and Jennifer waiting for us.  Dean had just arrived after spending a day in the city with his sister and Jenn had come out to see Dr T and spend a few days with us.  We sat down and waited for news on Del and his bike – which came shortly.  The bike was in the shop and would be fixed the next day and ready for our continued journey north on Saturday.  Del joined us at the hotel and we all got cleaned up to head over to Cindi’s Long Beach home where she had drinks and snacks waiting for us. 

Friday was a day off.  Some went into Manhattan for a few hours of city exploration, others to the beach.  No agenda was exactly what everyone needed to recharge a little.  Visits to Ground Zero, Little Italy, and a rooftop bar with a great view of the city skyline and a chance to meet up with friends in town.

Saturday (Day 37) and we had an event before leaving New York state.  We had been given a booth (thanks Cindi!) at the Long Beach Arts Festival down on the boardwalk.  We set up and started handing out bandanas, postcards and information from our beneficiaries.  Lots of people, great view (we were right on the beach!) and some good connections and conversations.  Lori left at 11am to meet up with Ken in Boston and we wrapped up our display around 1pm.  

Del’s bike wasn’t going to be ready until 3pm and Jason was going to ride north with him.  So the rest of us left in the van for Connecticut.  After a quick drive through New Haven and a visit to Yale, we went to visit with Dr T’s parents in Groton, CT.  They kicked us out quickly, concerned that sunset was nearing, and we continued through Rhode Island and into Massachusetts to our hotel just outside of Boston.  A long day and a late night, but a really great day for the Tour.

Sunday morning in Boston and we decided to alter our route for the day.  The plan had been to hit Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, but realizing that we could tack Vermont onto our Montreal leg, we decided to have a more leisurely trip.  We started out with breakfast in Harvard Square and a wander around Cambridge.  

Then a trip up to Manchester (NH) Harley Davidson for a visit.  The service team fixed the turn signal wires on Jason’s bike and assistant manager Krista and her staff welcomed us.  Dr. T’s friend Kathryn stopped in too.  

We then headed for the coast of Maine and a beautiful drive through the small beach towns – huge destination on a sunny warm day!  We ended the day’s ride in Portland, where we were met by Mark and the rig, we returned the rental and went out for clam chowder and lobster.