Day 8: Rest relaxation and love for Vernon (and 12..29km)

For years Vanessa has been singing the praises of Vernon, British Columbia. Talking about the scenery, the outdoor life and the people that live there. After two nights in this town, I completely understand why. We have had so many people step up and help us recover after the long ride though the first leg of our trip.
The first is the Prestige Inn on highway 97 (shown above). When Vanessa and I were told that Prestige had donated a stay in their hotel we were expecting a warm shower and a place to keep our bikes, both of which we would have made us perfectly content. When we arrived we were surprised to learn that we would be staying in one of the nicest rooms they had available. That description does not do justice to the room we received. Vanessa and I have never seen a room this nice, let alone stayed in one. The staff has been so kind, going beyond just the room and even providing extras like free detergent for the laundry that we sorely needed to do. Tonight Vanessa and I have enjoyed a home cooked meal in the full kitchen supplied in the room, and will settle in for some ice cream and a movie on a 42 inch flat screen. Absolutely amazing.

Next is Peter Dorey and the staff at Olympia Cycle and Ski. As is often the case, the flight to Vancouver from Toronto did some damage to our bikes. The tires on both bikes were out of true and Vanessa's shifters were skipping, which was becoming a real problem especially in the mountain passes. On top of these new problems, Vanessa and I have had our bikes since 2009 and they've had some nagging problems that I had no idea could even be fixed. We dropped off our bikes at noon for a tune up, donated by Olympia, and by five they were running better than they have been since their initial purchase, including a new chain and break pads on Vanessa's bike and a replacement cable for my rear derailure. On top of the tune, Peter took the time to redesign tomorrow's route allowing us to get off the highway, for the first time in days, and onto what we've been told are some beautiful backroads. Thank you Peter and we can't wait to try out the route.

Lastly we have to give one more shout out to Sandra. Sandra coordinated all of the help we have received in Vernon, acted as an impromptu tour guide and showed us more kindness than we can put into words. As wonderful as this trip has been, it's also been hard, mentally and physically.

Sandra, the kindness you've shown us in the last two days has totally rejuvenated us and made us feel like we're ready to take on the road that lies ahead. I truly don't know where we would be without the kindness and absolute selflessness you've shown.

For a number of reasons tomorrow is a big day. At 8:15 tomorrow Vanessa and I will be meeting with a cardiac rehhibilitation class, that is run through the Vernon BC, Jubilee Hospital health network. One of the main things Vanessa and I hope to do with this trip is to show that health limitations, no matter how difficult, do not have to mean the end of leading an active life or following your dreams. Meeting with people who have recently gone through something as traumatic as heart surgery is a big part of that goal.

Through this trip we're raising money in two ways. We are collecting money for the Cardiac Health Foundation of Canada, which helps fund centres like the one we will visit tomorrow in Vernon. It also works to spread awareness about issues surrounding recovery and fund scholarships aimed at advancing research into Cardiac Rehabilitation. We are also giving people the option to donate directly to their local rehabilitation centre. If you choose to donate to the Vernon BC, Jubilee Hospital Health Network, 50% of those funds will go directly to that centre, while the other 50%, goes to the Cardiac Health Foundation of Canada and their efforts across the country.

We will talk more about the class visit tomorrow, but tonight we'll finish by showing you the edible bouquet Sandra so ingeniously gifted us this morning.
Sandra I'm not exaggerating when I say this, below is the bouquet as we received it:

This is it three minutes later.

Needless to say we thoroughly enjoyed it!