Osoyoos raises $23,000 for Heart and Stroke while having tons of fun riding the Big Bike

The Allan Taylor Team gets into the party spirit as they roll past the post office on the Big Bike. (Richard McGuire photo)

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times

Osoyoos businesses, organizations and individuals raised close to $23,000 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation last Wednesday – and had tons of fun riding the Big Bike.

Seven teams did two laps of roughly one kilometre each, riding the 3,000-pound, 30-seat Big Bike through the Osoyoos downtown, including down the traffic-clogged Main Street.

“We love Osoyoos for doing such an amazing job with Big Bike!” said Wendy Wright, community development coordinator for Okanagan/Kootenay.

The energetic Wright kept the teams motivated, excited, entertained and informed as she lauded the fundraising efforts of exceptional individuals and jumped onto the front of the bike to give tips on recognizing the symptoms of a stroke.

Watch video story about two biggest fundraising teams and four remarkable women

There were other remarkable women at the event, including 99-year-old Gertrude Machan, a resident of Sunshine Ridge Retirement Residence, who did one lap on a back seat on the bike before taking off to go shopping while her team did another lap.

“I had a wonderful time,” she said when she got off the bike. “I was thrilled.”

Machan, who turns 100 in December, said she would definitely like to ride the bike again.

She said the idea to take part wasn’t hers, but rather Jennifer Herd, who at the time worked at Sunshine Ridge, asked her if she would do it.

Herd was instrumental in bringing the Big Bike to Osoyoos.

Herd said she realized from her work with seniors that Heart and Stroke was a worthwhile cause, and she’d seen news about the Big Bike.

So she called Heart and Stroke and got the wheels rolling.

The Sunshine Ridge Team Huff and Puff raised $4,529 through the event, the second highest of the seven teams.

The top fundraiser, however, was a combined team of Desert Spirit and the United Church Thrift Shop, which raised $6,964.

Desert Spirit is the Osoyoos Dragon Boat Club and team members wore their trademark yellow t-shirts.

Team captain Jill Palmer said she stepped into her role last October due to the illness of the original organizer. As an experienced volunteer charity fundraiser, who works for RBC (Royal Bank of Canada), she energized her team’s fundraising.

Palmer said she received a call from Anne Polischuk, manager of the United Church Thrift Shop, in December telling her the Dorcas Ladies of the United Church wanted to donate $2,000 from thrift shop proceeds.

“It only made sense then to thank the volunteers who work all year round, and all that money goes back into the community, to offer them the opportunity to ride the bike,” she said. “So that’s how we became a joint team.”

Palmer has been involved with the Big Bike before in Vancouver, but this was the first time she was able to ride it. In the past, she’s always bowed out in order to let the top fundraisers ride instead.

“It was fun,” she said, adding that there was one challenging part, the normally gentle climb from the post office to St. Anne’s Catholic Church.

At least, she said, if people got tired pedaling, there were nearly 30 others to share the work.

There were also some remarkable men involved.

Garry Dyck works full time as driver of the bike, steering and controlling the brakes.

He travels throughout B.C. and sometimes fills in for others in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, meeting hundreds of enthusiastic participants.

“It is a dream job,” he said. “I couldn’t have ordered a better position than this in my life. And I want to thank the Heart and Stroke Foundation for it.”

As he steered the bike through the Osoyoos downtown, Dyck spoke through a microphone, encouraging the riders and often making jokes.

“The contribution from this community by far exceeds that of much larger communities and I think that shows the community pride that exists here,” said Dyck. “It’s a really nice feeling.”

“We adore Osoyoos,” said Wright, his energetic colleague. “This is the first time the Heart and Stroke Foundation has brought Big Bike to Osoyoos. And we’ll be coming back next year.”

Teams and funds raised were:

Desert Sprit and United Church Thrift Shop – $6,964

Sunshine Ridge Team Huff and Puff – $4,529

Buy-Low Foods – $3,871

Town of Osoyoos – $3,430

Osoyoos Credit Union – $1,850

Allan Taylor Team – $1,105

Osoyoos Signs and Cactus Irrigation – $1,065.

Some funds may have come in after those numbers were reported.

Gertrude Machan, 99, poses with Jennifer Herd on the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Big Bike. Machan didn’t pedal, but she rode the bike for one circuit and then went shopping when the bike did its second round. Herd was instrumental in getting the Big Bike to come to Osoyoos. She initially was captain of the Sunshine Ridge Huff and Puff Team, but she took a new role as Ambassador for the event after she left Sunshine Ridge. (Richard McGuire photo)