Andy Ramlo recenly made the trip up the famous 60km climb to the top of Haleakala in Maui.  At 10,000 feet elevation its one of the longest climbs in the world and Andy made sure to mark his accomplishment with this amazing picture!  Some more members of the Just Giver team  hope to make it over to Hawaii in February to tackle this epic climb! 

During the past 5 years the Just Giver for Parkinson's tour has not only inspired but has also been inspired by all those we met along the way.  Meeting people and both sharing and hearing their stories has been an incredible experience.  At the beginning of 2010 the goal was to produce a book to visually share this 5 year journey and it has finally become a reality!  So as we step out into the next chapter of building the Just Giver 4PD Cycling Club we now offer The Just GIver for Parkinson's Book.  A visual summary of an incredible 5 year journey.  I highly recommend the hardcover version, a great coffee table book! 

The proceeds from the sale of this book will go towards funding the initial building of the Just Giver 4PD Cycling Club and our life long focus on not only raising awareness but now giving those with Parkinson's a chance to be active and involved year round.

YOU CAN BOTH PREVIEW AND PURCHASE THE BOOK BELOW. 

JUST GIVER FOR PARKINSON'S by KELLY JABLONSKI | Make Your Own Book

Behold the next Chapter of Terry and Deaner!

Another week and another another new total as donations continue to come in!!!!!!

I ran across this article in the latest issue of Wired Magazine. Brin has identified a mutation in one of his genes that has been linked to Parkinson's, and is now doing everything he can to limit the odds of him developing the disease. Definitely worth reading!

Read the entire article online here

Here is both a link and a way to view the photos on the blog from our amazing journey.

A final slideshow will be posted soon!

To view the photo's CLICK HERE

or view below

WOW

$94,654

To find out what happened to the "Send Wonder" card in a bottle CLICK HERE

After 10 days on the road cycling 1354 km in 47 hours and 55min of riding time the Just Giver Team arrived safely yesterday to a wondefful celebration hosted at Branko's mothers in Langley.  The Team then headed down to Century Hoouse to further celebrate.  Its been an amazing journey to say the least and with a final total raised of $93,000 and still climbing we are thankful for all the amazing support.  More stories and pictures to follow once we get caught up and unpacked!

FINAL STATS

1,354 km riden

47 hours and 55 min riding time

app. 32,000 calaries burned during ride time only

app. 15,000 meters climbed

$93,249 raised to date and still climbing!!!!!!!!!!

Stage #8

Kelowna to Merritt - 131km

Average Speed 28km/hr

Ride Time - 4 hours 41 min

Stage #9

Merritt to Hope - 119km

Average Speed - 27km/hr

Ride Time - 4 hours 23 min

As the sky was overcast with clouds and some lingering smoke from nearby forest fires, we left at our standard time of nine am on the hilly ride to Merritt. With over 1990 meters of elevation gain over 135 kilometers, this day was a brutal day of climbing into Merritt. The rough and sometimes treacherous roads also brought three flat tires, but we all ended up making it into Merritt safe and sound, and looking forward to some time in the pool. 

We were all sad to see the departure of our massage therapist Tony. Having stayed with us for the whole tour, Tony selflessly gave us all massages at the end of the day, and even gave them to other hotel guests in exchange for donations to Just Giver. His generosity was highly appreciated when the support crew ran into someone who had blown a car tire on the side of the road. Luckily, Tony was following close enough behind, and using massage oil to lube the bolts, helped change the tire in exchange for a donation.

That evening, the ladies of the group broke off to go out for a dinner by themselves, before we all enjoyed the waterslide at the pool. We then took advantage of an early bedtime to get ready for the next day’s ride - with eight days ridden we can all use the rest.

Osoyoos to Kelowna - 127 km

Average Speed - 27 km/hr

Ridse Time - 4 hr 46 min

For day seven, we decided to start the day by wearing our special edition black jerseys, meant to honor our personal connections to Parkinson’s Disease. After receiving a bike escort from Osoyoos MLA John Slater, we rode past the city limits and off towards Kelowna once again.

The beautiful scenery was greatly appreciated, as we wound through wine country, picking up three local riders in Oliver for the ride into Okanagan Falls. As orchards and vineyards gave way to the the lakefront communities of Summerland and Peachland, the breeze from the water helped temper a scorching hot day.

The day also included a very special stop in Penticton, where we met the local Parkinson’s support group. As Penticton is Marc Bowles’ home town, he was the guest of honor, giving a moving speech on behalf of the team. Marc has two personal connections to Parkinson’s through his father and uncle, and has been a great addition to the team. We were especially pleased to announce that Just Giver 2010 has raised over $90,000 to date.

That night, we met up with new rider Perry Valchos, brother of our support staff member Stephanie, who, flew in from London, England to join us for the next three stages. After a team dinner at a local Chinese buffet, half of of the team hopped into the pool, clearing out a children’s baseball team with a series of canon balls while the responsible half of the team watched over with concern. After a difficult ride the day before, a bit of fun was definitely appreciated.