Day 61: Toronto rally! (24 km)

July 28th is a day Vanessa and I have been building towards for a long
time. Since Vancouver, making sure we would be in Toronto for today's
events was a constant motivator.

From day one, the plan has always been to use today to host a mid-way
rally to build support for the ride. However, as the day crept closer
it grew in importance to what we've been trying to do over the last
sixty days.

For starters, at long last, we can announce that Tridel has stepped up
to donate three dollars per kilometer to the ride. With a planned
total of 8,000 km that's a potential donation of $24,000 dollars.
Factoring in the distance we've covered to date our total donations
have now surpassed our original goal of $16,000 for a grand total of
$19,239. Thank you so much to everyone who has donated and thank you
again to Tridel for their generous support of the Cardiac Health
Foundation of Canada.

Our day started at the Toronto Western Hospital where I began my time
in cardiac rehab over five years ago. It was the first time I'd been
back in a long time and it was a real treat to visit with current
patients and staff members Margaret and Tanya, both of whom helped me
get back on my feet after my own surgery in 2006. We had an
incredible turnout of current participants in the program and we were
given a wonderfully warm reception by all who attended. We would also
like to thank Dr. Caroline Chessex and head of cardiology at UHN, Gary
Newton, for their attendance and kind words. Once again, thank you to
the Western Hospital and the University Health network for making us
feel so at home.

Next we took a quick 10 km ride to the Toronto Rehab Institute where
we were honored to be given the opportunity to tell our story
alongside such esteemed guests as: The Medical Director of Cardiac
Rehibilitation and secondary prevention program at both Toronto Rehab
and UHN, Dr. Paul Oh; Tridel President and President of the Cardiac
Health Foundation of Canada, Leo DelZotto; The Honorable Kathleen
Wynne, Ontario Transportation Minister and MPP for Don Vally West;
Norm King of the Ontario Trillium Foundation and lastly Dr. Terence
Kavanagh the father of cardiac rehab and an innovator in the use of
activity for the treatment of patients after cardiac episodes.

Lastly we would like to take this opportunity to thank Barbara Kennedy
and Christina Mellos of the Cardiac Health Foundation of Canada for
their tireless work on this campaign. Their coordination with rehab
centres across the country and planning of the events that we were so
honoured to participate in today are just two of the most visible
outcomes of their ongoing work. We are so grateful for everything
you've done to date and for everything that is yet to come. Thanks
for giving us the ride of our lives.