A team rides one of the Big Bikes in a fundraiser for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. There are 13 such bikes across Canada. The bike weighs about a ton. Seven Osoyoos teams will be taking it for a ride on Wednesday, May 9. (Twitter @Microdea)
Seven local teams will be riding the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Big Bike through Osoyoos next Wednesday, raising funds and awareness.
The bike, which weighs about a ton, is built to hold 30 people – 29 riders and a skilled driver who will steer the contraption through the Osoyoos streets.
The teams leave from a lot next to the post office at different times staggered from morning until late afternoon.
Wendy Wright, community development coordinator with the Heart and Stroke Foundation for the region, said riders will do two one-kilometre loops in Osoyoos instead of the usual two-kilometre route because of the local terrain.
“It’s not really best friends with hills,” said Wright. “As you know, a lot of roads point down to the lake, so we’re trying to maximize high visibility by using the flat portion of Main Street.”
Jill Palmer, who is the gung-ho captain of the Desert Spirit team, puts it more bluntly.
“We didn’t want to go down to Gyro Beach and end up in the lake,” said Palmer, whose team includes members of the Osoyoos Dragon Boat club and volunteers with the United Church Thrift Shop. As of Monday, according to Heart and Stroke’s website, Palmer’s team led the fundraising with more than $5,500 of the more than $9,800 raised so far for the Osoyoos event.
Palmer, who spoke recently at a meeting of the Rotary Club of Osoyoos, said the ride for each team lasts about 30 to 45 minutes. There is a large sign on the front of the bike with the name of the team.
Palmer said the Dorcas Ladies of the United Church donated $2,000 to start off Desert Spirit’s campaign, so the dragon boaters invited the thrift shop’s volunteers to join the team.
“We’re a bit of a joint team,” she said. “It was a nice way to thank them for everything they do throughout the year.”
The Sunshine Ridge Retirement Home’s Huff and Puff team was second in fundraising with more than $3,400 raised. That team will include 99-year-old resident Gertrude Machan (See story on Page 5).
Other teams include Osoyoos Signs and Cactus Irrigation, Allan Taylor, Buy-Low Foods, The Town of Osoyoos and Osoyoos Credit Union Crusaders of Cardio.
In some cases other businesses will be participating jointly on these teams. Wright said she expects there will be riders from AG Foods on the Buy-Low team.
Some of the teams are holding fundraiser events.
Buy-Low Foods is holding a barbecue fundraiser this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the store.
The Town of Osoyoos is holding a family barbecue fundraiser on Friday, May 4 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Gyro Park. That event includes entertainment by the duo Sister Soul as well as family activities and face painting.
Wright said the first team, Desert Spirit, will start at 11 a.m. The final ride leaves around 5 p.m.
Riders leave from the lot next to the post office (8304 78th Ave.) and head west on 78th Avenue to 87th Street. They then turn south to Main Street and continue east down Main Street, turning left on Spartan Drive. At 78th Avenue, they turn left again to return to the starting point.
The easiest way to donate is to go to the website www.bigbike.ca and choose the option to donate to a rider or team, said Wright.
Sometimes it’s easier to click on “join a team,” Wright suggested because this allows people to search by a ride location rather than by the name of the team. This option also allows people to donate without actually joining the team.
Wright said the event will also encourage people to pursue fitness as a way to prevent heart attacks and strokes.
The organizations main website, heartandstroke.ca, “is an absolute encyclopedia of information,” said Wright.
One tool on the website is a risk assessment that takes about 10 to 15 minutes to complete and assesses your risk of heart attacks and strokes.
“It’s all about activity levels, about nutrition,” said Wright. “We all have risks to a degree, so it’s about managing it and mitigating it, trying to prevent disease in the first place.”
Osoyoos is only one of about 50 B.C. communities that the Big Bike will visit this season. It’s the bike’s first time in Osoyoos, said Wright.
She credits Jennifer Herd, formerly with Sunshine Ridge, for getting Heart and Stroke to bring the Big Bike to Osoyoos. She was also instrumental in getting the Sunshine Ridge team launched, but now her role is to be ambassador for the event.
There are 13 Big Bikes across Canada, including two that will be used in B.C.
“We’re really grateful to the entire community of Osoyoos, because it’s not very often we see a whole community really get behind a program for Heart and Stroke, really take it on and succeed with it,” said Wright. “I’m impressed with Osoyoos.”
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
