SeeTheEnd.ca - The Journey Has Started!

My friend and fellow volleyball player, Rich Ralph, has started his huge rollerblading journey across Canada! I've given his campaign a donation in memory of Mary Haji, who was my friend's mom, but she succumbed to cancer in 2002. This was very apropos because Rich's journey is all about raising money for cancer research.

He's keeping a daily journal and it's very inspiring. Here are some snippets:

May 5

And so it begins . . . We got up nice and early so we could get to Mile 0 before 9am. We drove down to the harbour in St. John’s where I strapped my skates on beside the water. I actually started at a small park called Harbourside Park (where inline skating is prohibited). But since it was very early on a Saturday morning, I figured I could dip my hand in the water and get out of the park before anyone even noticed I was there. When I left the park I headed to City Hall for a few more photos of me standing at the Mile 0 sign.

And just like that, I was on my way through St. John’s towards Paradise (literally). There is a small suburb of St. John’s called Paradise.

As I skated along with my parents trailing, I was over-whelmed by the people of Newfoundland. I wasn’t too sure how I would be received since many people set off from St. John’s each year on cross-Canada adventures. But I guess my idea to rollerblade has turned some heads. People were honking, waving and encouraging me. It didn’t matter at all to them that I was slowing traffic down. They seemed as excited as I was. Some people even stopped their car in front of me and handed me cash donations on the spot! It was fantastic!


May 7

Things are getting better every day now! A lot has happened in the last couple days. After my 70 km start on Saturday, I was forced to rest on Sunday while we waited for the ignition switch to arrive from Toronto. This gave me some extra time to catch up on some e-mails and make some new media contacts. The ignition switch was to be flown in on Monday morning, but we were warned that if it was too foggy, the shipment would be delayed until the fog lifts. Our recent run of luck had us concerned that we would be stuck in Harbour Grace for another full day. That would put me almost 5 days behind schedule by the time I got on the road again. Fortunately, the sun was shining down on us today. The ignition switch arrived with no problems.

Later in the evening, Bill told us we should call his favorite radio station and tell them about my Skate For Hope. So my dad called the VOCM station and was put through to the talkshow host almost instantly. It made for some fantastic provincial publicity! Within minutes, I had messages from people who heard about my on the radio show (including another radio station CHRM from Memorial University).


May 8

I woke up bright and early behind the gas station in Whitbourne. I had my ankles taped and my skates laced up by 7am. I wanted to get an hour in before breakfast. The sky was gray and looked like rain was coming, but the weather was forecasting that the clouds would pass and the sun would break through. Sure enough, the rain started just after breakfast. The reliability of the weather predictions makes me feel like I’m back in Vancouver! It didn’t rain too hard though. Just a constant drizzle. I didn’t get too wet, but my skates spit quite a bit of mud up the back of my legs.

When we stopped for lunch about 10 km short of a town called Come By Chance, I decided to have a nap before starting again. When I woke up, the roads were dry! On came the shorts.

As I continued on, I noticed a car off in the distance sitting on the opposite side of the road. When I approached, two women got out of the car and flagged me down. They had passed me earlier and pulled over to wait for me so they could make a donation! Another prime example of the Newfoundland people.

I finally arrived in Clarenville around 4:30 and was greeted by a local reporter with the Clarenville Packet. I welcomed Kathy into our RV for a quick interview and a photo. She’s hoping to print an article later this week.

I had now reached 100 km for the day! My first 100 K day! But for those of you who know me well, 100 km just wasn’t good enough. I was feeling good, so I choose to move ahead for a little longer. The next town was Port Blanford. But it was 30 km away. I was thinking about going about half way and driving in for the night. But again, my stubbornness came through. I fought through my exhaustion and made it to Port Blanford just after 7 pm. And I’m glad I did.

The first gas bar we stopped at was the Cornerstop. They offered to let us stay there and plug our hydro in. And on top of that, a few locals began showing up and offering donations! The highlight of the evening was a donation from a couple of fantastic kids, Nicholas and Jillian. I hope I’ve inspired them in some way.

Now that I’ve had my bison fajita dinner, I’m just about ready for bed.

130 km today. That’s more than I thought I’d ever do!


Me again. You can read Rich's full journal here and leave him a message here. Please make a donation if you can. And check out the route. If he's coming through your community then take a moment to contact your local newspapers, radio, and TV stations and let them know about his campaign. This isn't about Rich, it's about raising money for cancer research and an example of how one Canadian can inspire others!