Dear Friends,

Today is day four and we have travelled from Vancouver, BC all the way to Medicine Hat, AB. We have climbed the Coquihalla, seen elk, antelope, and coyotes.

We have met some courageous kids who have or are battling cancer and been inspired by their stories.

We have been warmly received in every city we have visited. The journey has been emotionally and physically challenging. We are suffering from lack of sleep and the consequences of living communally and eating irregularly.

One of the challenges is access to internet and e-mail so I will keep my message short. I have limited access to e-mail so encourage you to please go to my blog at (http://2008.snkcr.com/jennifer/) to see my regular updates about the ride.

Well, this is the last 5 a.m. morning that I will sit at my home computer to answer e-mail or blog tales of the preparation for this ride. Today, Lisa and I are departing for Vancouver to meet the rest of the team before the ride starts at BC Children's Hospital on Monday morning.

My bag is packed, all my clothes right down to the last little sock, are labeled with little kids style labels which are necessary when doing laundry for 50 people. I am actually a little at loss for words.

Over the past few days so many of you have sent me messages of encouragement, joy and affection. I am so grateful for those. I have a small binder filled with verses and phrases that are inspiring. Thank you. I am blessed to have this opportunity and although it is with mixed emotions that I leave my family, friends and network this morning I know that the growth I will experience personally will be impossible any other way. I know that the inaugural running of the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride will provide many resources and joy for kids with cancer and their families. This year's ride will lay the foundation for the growth of a phenomenal event that will continue to change lives of both the participants and recipients for years to come.

Thank you to all the businesses and people who have shared their space, ideas and resources to help me spread the word of the ride, the kids and my efforts.

Thank you to all of you who have helped me in my fund raising. I try to send personal thank yous to as many as I can but sometimes the task becomes enormous. For those of you to whom I have not yet sent a personal note, you are not forgotten and I am honoured that because of your relationship with me. You have chosen to support the cause that I am passionate about. I have reached $36,000 in fund raising. I am humbled. My goal remains $50,000. Please continue your support by sharing the story of this ride and the kids it supports with those in your sphere of influence that may be inspired to give. Please forward my blog link.

Finally, I have a links to local T.V. coverage that Lisa and I received over the months leading up to this day. A gift from Sandy Dawson of CHBC's Okanagan Now:

Jenn & Lisa Coast to Coast TV Interview

Please continue to log onto this site and see my updates and daily tales of the ride, stories and pictures as we move across the country.

Jenn's blog

You can send me your comments here too. Be touched, be moved, be inspired! Find your own greatness and act upon it. Talk to you soon.

Jenn

Well, the peak is over and the countdown is on. I am starting to go to bed at night thinking about packing. In just 10 days our group of 50 riders and a whole gaggle of volunteers and Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation members begin the amazing adventure that we have been planning for months.

June 2nd will be the start of a 19 day adventure to bring hope and quality of life to the over 10,000 children in Canada living with some aspect of cancer or it's long term effects. We will ride for hope, we will ride for love, we ride for these kids to share the story of the ride and to raise funds for the special needs of young cancer fighters and survivors. In this, the inaugural year of the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride, we will to lay a foundation of awareness for continuing the message and work of the ride and the Foundation for coming years.

Cancer Ride

Since my last letter I have been head down and pedalling like mad in the last few weeks of training. Please take a moment to look at the latest postings on my blog at Jenn's National Ride Blog.

In A Trip to Victoria for a Little Surgical Weight Loss, you'll read about the upgrades to my ride but more importantly read a part of the story of a family inspired to support me because of their own experience with cancer. The cause and this ride connects all of us. There is not one of us who has not been affected by cancer and those experiences coupled with the story of this ride inspire many small and varied gifts that will add up to something much bigger.

In The Peak Has Arrived........I've recounted the adventure my training partner and fellow National Rider, Lisa Currer and I had on our longest training ride. An epic trip of 276km! We both achieved personal records in more than one way. There was some beautiful scenery and some "interesting" adventures with weather, wild life, and individual perseverance. We fought off the hallucinations of low blood sugar and even encountered a "legend" along the way. :) I'm pretty sure it will make you laugh.

In ".....Evil Eye(s)" and "As Many Styles as There are People", I have shared with you two more examples of the varied ways that members of my community have come together to support me and to give to the kids. These examples reinforce the very personal ways that each of us can choose to make a contribution.

In Brain Injuries are NOT Cool......" You will have to indulge me as I step up on a soap box for a paragraph or two. I have included a helpful link for you and your family...do it for yourself and do it for your kids. The scrapes on my helmet will attest to the fact that if I hadn't been wearing it during my altercation with the pick up truck, I would have had much more than an injured wrist and road rash.

Two postings on "...Ironman Bike Route......" recount the training journey of the May 2nd and 3rd....450 km in two days...pushing to new limits, crazy climbs, some awe inspiring views and new appreciation for the achievements of friends who have done Ironman Canada in the past. These were long and difficult days, and we didn't have to swim the lake before hand or run a marathon after. Lots of good pics here too. Credit goes to Lisa for her PhotoShop skills and creative captions :)

Remember to click on the pics to enlarge them.

Go to Jenn's National Ride Blog to read more. While you are there, please click on "Support My Ride" to make a donation to improve quality of life and quality of care for kids living with and beyond cancer.

I hope that you have been and continue to be inspired to find your own greatness and your own passion. One of my donors sent me a message from which I thought I'd share a quote: "I have often said that successful people are just ordinary people with extraordinary determination........I know the perseverance and dedication that have been nurtured to reach success. Remember if you don't know the struggle, you don't know the strength." Mary Kay Ash

Jenn

On June 2, 2008, from a beach in Vancouver, 55 seasoned cyclists will set out on the inaugural Sears National Kids Cancer Ride in support of Canadian children with cancer.

My name is Jenn Davies and I will be one of those riders. Along the way, hundreds of cyclists will join in, riding 25, 50, or 100km stages to show their support. The route visits Canada's 17 pediatric cancer centres where cyclists will meet with media and the cancer community to share inspiring stories of strength and hope on this historic ride. And finally, after 7600 km, these courageous voyagers will dip their bike wheels in the Atlantic at Halifax's coast line.

I am delighted to report that including donations in hand waiting to be entered into the system, I have hit $30,000!

Please take a moment to look at the latest postings on my blog:

I admit it was pretty bold of me, a newcomer to this city to stand up and say that I will raise $50 000 without really knowing anyone. Go Hard at Global Fitness is yet another example of how this community of Kelowna has shown itself to be welcoming and generous. The Group Fitness Coordinator there saw my story and called me offering to hold a fundraiser on my behalf. All week the members were very generous and we rocked it out on the Thursday night main event.

In Sunset Wine Tasting and Tapas Night Out, I'll tell you how in a three week time period a small group pulled off a big fundraiser! Yes there was wine, and yes, despite it not being on the training plan, I had a wee bit.

In Dinner with the Tilley's you'll read about the event that held the biggest impact for me thus far in my journey through this ride.....the Tilley's are an example of how to live through childhood cancer with faith, and a choice to frame the world positively. Meeting them help move from a person with healthy kids and a passion but no real experience with childhood cancer to someone who has a small inkling now of the real experience of this family altering disease. I am grateful to this family for trusting me with their journey as recorded in their son's beads of courage.

Oh and in "....no F150's Where I'm Sittin' " ......the first day back on the bike I hope passersby, inside and out, were "touched, moved and inspired"

To read more, go to:

Sears National Kids Cancer Ride

While you are there, please click on "Support My Ride" to make a donation to kids living with and beyond cancer.

So once again I can say that the lessons of this ride continue to be about recognizing what's important in your own life. Refusing to focus on negativity, dreaming big, setting a goal and making a plan, acting as if it is achieved and having faith in that the Universe/God will move you to get there. Thanks for sharing my story and I wish good things for all of you.

Jenn