As I approach my 75^th birthday, I have been considering how to honour this milestone birthday as I have in the past, raising awareness and funds for charities I support.  My 65th birthday was marked with a triathlon, Tri65, in which I raised money for the local food bank, the Salvation Army and the Kelowna General Hospital Foundation.  At 70, I sponsored a blood drive calling on friends and family around the world to donate to their local blood collection agency with blood, plasma or cash.  Over 70 donations were made in 7 countries.  So now it is time to mark three quarters of a century. 

This one needs to be good and needs to reflect my passions in life.

Military history, and especially as it pertains to the Canadian involvement in overseas conflicts, has been a passion of mine for quite some time.  As a veteran, I am also acutely aware of the impact that those conflicts have had on the men and women who have served, suffered and died as a result of their service and the impacts that they have had on families. View my military family tree

Finally, I have been blessed with the ability to continue to achieve physical goals that most people step away from at a much younger age.  Following a long career in competitive sports, bicycle touring has become my active passion. You can read about some of my past rides below:

• BBR19 – Operation Overlord
• BBR22 – 100 Days to Victory
• BBR23 – The Battle of Ortona

Key Objectives

Within this framework of passions, I have developed 3 key objectives for the project:

1. The project will promote the work being done by Wounded Warriors Canada (WWC) and raise funds for them to continue.  WWC is a national mental health service provider dedicated to helping Canada’s veterans, first responders and their families who develop mental disorders as a result of their service.  
2. To raise awareness of the achievements of our Canadian military in various military operations overseas.  Simply put, Canada consistently fights way above our weight class. Europeans have not forgotten the thousands of Canadians who fought and died for their freedoms, but Canadians seem to have.  The project will address my interest in Canadian military history. 
3. Finally, the project will promote healthy aging for older adults. Life does not end at retirement.  It can be and should be a new beginning.  There are still adventures to the active senior.

Combining these passions and addressing the objectives, I have chosen a project that I have called The Road To Valour.  It will be a 2,500 km unsupported bike ride from Vancouver to Winnipeg.  I will depart on my 75th birthday, 21 May 2026 and end on Canada Day, 1 July 2026. Read about my planned route

That is the easy part to describe.  The more complex aspect is answering the myriad of “WHYs” that arise from this project.  

What’s in a name?  On this ride, I will honour the many veterans who have fought to defend the rights and values that we as Canadians cherish. I especially want to celebrate the Victoria Cross (VC) recipients in Western Canada.  The VC is the highest award for valour awarded in the British Commonwealth.  Only ninety-nine Canadians (including several non-Canadians serving in Canadian uniform) have earned this award.

As in the past, milestone birthday parties are about charities that mean something to me.  As I alluded to above, the wounds of war are not always seen.  This is something that I will get into in much greater detail in future posts.  For now, go with the understanding that, for me, this is very personal.

Celebrate The Road To Valour