I had the opportunity to participate in the first annual Sikh Spirit Ride on August 15th from Mission to Surrey. Haven’t been on my bike since our Cycling4Diversity event last May all I say is my biking muscles need a bit of pedaling. Overall, I had a wonderful time and met lots of wonderful riders and actually got to wear a turban for the second time in my life.
The first time is when I got married. Wearing a turban is not as easy as people may think. I applaud the people who do because on occasion people do like to stare or take second looks, which can be difficult. I have often been told by some that I am the whitest East Indian they have ever met. Actually, I am extremely proud of my Sikh heritage and was honoured to support community in this endevour.
Sundeep Kaur, Camp Director at Khalsa Centre in Miracle Valley said, “The Sikh Spirit Bike Ride’s goal was to raise awareness about the Sikh faith and we also rode for healthy minds, body and souls. Our bike ride began at Khalsa Centre at Miracle Valley in Mission at 6am, it was raining, but we kept our spirits high and even did a little prayer for the rain to stop. We had 38 riders for our ride, ages 9-58 years of age, with various fitness levels. We had riders from BC, Texas, Scotland, England and of course, Mission and Abbotsford. All of those who set their mind to completing the 90k ride, did.
“We were escorted by the Mission RCMP and would like to thank them for keeping us safe. We are super happy with the success of our 1st annual ride and hope our ride continues to get bigger and we can raise awareness of health and the Sikh faith”, said Sundeep Kaur.
I had the opportunity to meet Bob Ahuja on this day, who is from Abbotsford and has been a charity rider. He got involved in 2009 with the Ride to Conquer Cancer from Vancouver to Seattle and Sears National Kids Cancer Ride in honor of of his two cousins, who passed away due to cancer. In a few short days, he will be again dipping his wheel in the Pacific Ocean and riding east to Halifax again as a national rider . Ahuja said, ” I hope to reach out to all British Columbians that somebody out there will want to do the ride next year and also donate even a dollar to help reach my goal of $25,000.”
I recently bumped into a former local transit bus driver and he shared one of the best diversity stories I have heard in a long time. At times we hear of all the negative when it comes to riding transit, but this one touches the heart on what our community is truly all about. He did not want to disclose his name and said when he was driving transit around town there was an elderly Sikh gentlemen who would ride every day just so he could better his English, while sitting around other riders on the bus. He would purposely sit in a seat where he could hear people speak. All I can say is good for everyone in restoring faith in our humanity in being gentle with each other.
***Clayton Ingle, president of the Abbotsford Lions, is participating in the10th Annual Easter Seals Drop Zones in Vancouver on Sept 9th at 999 West Hastings. **During the past 7 years, he has raised almost 20k**. This year alone he has raised * *$2,400.00 **and is still fundraising. You can support him by going online to http://www.thedropzone.ca/<http://www.thedropzone.ca/> then clicking Support a Hero then go to location Vancouver and then donate on Clayton Ingle.
By Ken Herar
