Mike Hay (far right), his son Easton (centre) and Easton’s best friend Kieth Green made a pit stop in Osoyoos last week as part of their journey to longboard across B.C. to try and raise money for Ronald McDonald House. (Keith Lacey photo)
When his first-born child Easton had complications at birth almost 19 years ago, Mike Hay and his wife were given the opportunity to stay at Ronald McDonald House in Calgary.
He has never forgotten the generosity and kindness shown to his family.
When Easton, who will soon turn 19, and his good friend Kieth Green, also 18, suggested they wanted to longboard across British Columbia, Easton’s Dad thought raising money for Ronald McDonald House would be a great idea and his son and Green couldn’t agree more.
Hay, his son and Green made a pit stop in Osoyoos and Oliver last Thursday about halfway through their journey across B.C. as they attempt to raise $50,000 for Ronald McDonald House, the organization that provides accommodation near hospitals across Canada to family members of seriously ill children.
“When Easton was born, they put me and Easton’s mother up for six weeks in Calgary when we had no place to go and not a lot of money,” said Hay, who lives with his son, wife and two other children in Olds, Alta., where he builds aluminum jet boats for a living.
“I’ve never forgotten how much being able to stay at Ronald McDonald House helped us out during a really tough time.”
Hay became an avid longboarder two years ago when Easton, Green and a bunch of their other buddies asked him to join them.
“I was hooked from the first day,” said Hay. “It’s just such a blast and so much fun.”
For those who don’t know, longboarding is a variation on skateboarding, except the boards are much longer and bigger and can reach far higher speeds. They also have bigger wheels, better handling and are capable of reaching such high speeds, that they come with adjustable brakes.
After training all last summer and early this spring, Hay, his son and Easton started their journey across British Columbia two weeks ago in Sparwood, B.C. on the Alberta/B.C. border.
Their plan is to longboard to Vancouver over the next two weeks and then take the ferry to Vancouver Island and spend a couple of days surfing in Ucuelet and Tofino area before flying back to Alberta the first or second week in August.
“We all want to try surfing and want to end our trip doing something very special so that’s why we decided to end the trip on the island,” he said.
It was Green who suggested longboarding across B.C. would be a great idea and it didn’t take much convincing for him and his son to agree to join him, said Hay.
“We agreed longboarding across B.C. would be a great way to have some fun and hopefully raise some money for a good cause like Ronald McDonald House,” said Hay. “We thought it would be epic.”
When they stopped in Osoyoos in the middle of last week, it was day 10 of their journey and the adventure had proven to be exhilarating, but also exhausting and challenging, said Hay.
“We realized halfway through the first day that we were carrying too much gear, so we stopped at Canada Post and shipped our tents and some other gear back home,” he said. “Our bags were way too heavy and we had to get rid of almost everything.”
They basically have kept only tarps and sleeping bags and some clothes and accessories.
Their goal of covering 100 kilometres per day also proved unreasonable.
“We’ve been lucky to get in 50 kilometres a day, which means our journey is going to take twice as long as we planned,” he said.
They have stayed almost exclusively at makeshift campsites and this has also provided a challenge with a fire ban in effect across most of B.C.
The good news is they’re having a great time and getting stronger with each passing day, said Hay.
“After the first day, I thought we were crazy and we were in way over our head,” he said. “None of us are elite athletes or anything and the first couple of days were absolutely exhausting. The good news is we’re all young and we’ve gotten stronger with each passing day and things have actually gotten easier each day.”
A film crew hired by management with Ronald McDonald House was on hand when they began their journey and will return near the end of the trip and also supplied a high-tech camera so they can film their journey, said Hay.
Donations thus far have been relatively modest, so they have decided to contact newspapers and other media in different towns they pass through on their journey, said Hay.
They are accepting donations and have also established a Facebook page called Journey of Dreams, where there’s a link to Ronald McDonald House and members of the public can make donations.
The best part of the trip has been spending quality time with his oldest son, said Hay.
“We’ve always had a very close relationship, but this is something special and something we’ll never forget,” he said. “Being on this adventure has brought us even closer together … and hopefully we’ll be able to share some great stories with his kids in the future.”
Easton agrees.
“We’ve always had a great relationship, but it’s pretty cool to be able to do something like this with your dad,” he said.
Green said he’s having the time of his life, despite being battered, beaten and bruised.
“I’m having a blast,” he said. “It’s tough climbing hills and the heat has been brutal, but B.C. is simply beautiful and we’re making the best of it.”
Hay said his youngest son Wilson, 12, is a fantastic longboarder and was very disappointed he couldn’t join him on this trip. He’s planning another longboarding excursion from Vancouver to California to raise money for a good cause in the summer of 2017 and is hoping Easton, Green and Wilson will join him.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
