See The End (of Cancer)

[Disgruntled70sHab]

Have a personal interest in this one folks. There currently is a young man who is rollerblading across Canada in support of Cancer research. This name is Rich Ralph and he was born in Kingston but now resides in Vancouver.

However, the personal side of this story has to do with Kingston. His parents, Brian and Bev Ralph, are our friends and nextdoor neighbours. We saw the family the morning they departed for St. John's NFLD. They are using a 1974 gas-guzzling all-in-one camper and are following Rich throughout his entire journey.

Here's Rich's website: See The End

He's due to hit Ottawa on or about Friday, June 15th. I think we may have to pull Dis Jr. out of school so we can make a trip to see Rich on that day. I haven't gone through his web site as much as I have wanted, so I don't know the rest of his itinerary.

Dis Jr is looking after the family's lawn and Mrs. Dis and I are looking after their home. We hear from the about twice a week. And, as his father Brian says, any email is a good morale boost. Here's how you can contact him.

Contact Rich

Cheers.

[jkr]

I'm pretty sure I saw this fellow on TV - I think it was a piece on the Weather Channel.

It's quite an undertaking. Good luck to him.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

jkr said:

I'm pretty sure I saw this fellow on TV - I think it was a piece on the Weather Channel.

It's quite an undertaking. Good luck to him.

You did indeed see him on the Weather Channel/Network, jkr. In fact, Rich arrived in Kingston two days ago with his family. As I was saying earlier, his mom and dad are following him in a 1978 RV and they're doing about 90-odd kms a day.

Rich told us that he enjoyed rollerblading through the Atlantic provinces the best. He siad, there was one donation he'll never forget. While he was going through Nova Scotia, there was a lady who saw the slogan on the RV and pulled her car over just ahead of him. She got out and gave him a donation right there on the highway. She then left only to pull up onto the side of the highway a few hundred metres ahead of the RV. A little girl got out of the back of the car and gave Rich .91 cents when he pulled up. Quite the story.

We had his parents over last night. Donations were pretty good in NFLD and not too bad in the Maratimes. They're pretty tired already but they know the majority of their donations will be from here in Ontario, so they're going to be going through Southern Ontario in a roundabout sort of way.

Just in case the link expires, here's today's story on Rich in the Kingston Whig Standard (Canada's oldest newspaper):

Local man's quest rolls on; Cross-country trek to benefit cancer research

Jordan Press
Local news - Monday, June 18, 2007 @ 00:00

Brian Ralph stood with a smile while he watched his son, Richard, speak with people in front of City Hall this weekend. Richard, 27, hadn't yet taken off his in-line skates and didn't have the look of someone who had been on those wheels for some 3,000 kilometres, all in an effort to raise money for cancer research.

This weekend, Richard and Brian Ralph came home to Kingston, one stop on a cross-country journey.

"We're very proud," said Brian, who, along with his wife, Bev, has followed Richard in a 1978 motorhome. "When people come up to him and talk to him, about the things he's doing - [Richard is] going to make a difference."

Richard Ralph began his cross-country trek in May and expects to complete the 10,000-kilometre journey by September.

He has dubbed the journey the Skate of Hope to raise money for cancer research at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto and at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.


His motivation for rolling across the country? The one person who can't be on the trip with him, but is driving him every stride of the way.

When Richard Ralph found out his good friend, Adam Reid, had been diagnosed with throat and lung cancer, he was shocked. Reid wasn't a smoker and was physically fit.

Pondering what he could do, Richard Ralph proposed the idea of going across the country on his Rollerblades as a way to raise money. He passed the idea on to his parents, who said he should make sure to have transportation with him and not lose his job.

His company gave him a sabbatical and Richard Ralph found a 1978 motorhome. His parents, both retired elementary teachers from Kingston, decided to join him to help Reid and others.

Surgery removed the tumour in Reid's throat, but the cancerous cells in his lungs haven't been as easy to destroy. Reid has gotten better, but not well enough to join the Ralphs on this trip.

When the tour rolls through Toronto this week, Richard Ralph will make a stop at his friend's home. The next time the two will likely meet is on the West Coast, where Richard Ralph is scheduled to finish his cross-country trek.

Richard Ralph said his friend's battle gives him the drive each morning to strap on the blades and roll along.

"That's a huge motivation for me because I don't have cancer," he said. "I can [do this]. There's a lot of people that can't."

So far, he's had to deal with a snowstorm and a broken wheel on his journey.

Both incidents took place in Newfoundland, where he started his trip last month.

Shortly after leaving St. John's on Day 1, he radioed his father to say he wanted to change a wheel.

Just as he finished his message, a wheel broke off and sent him to the pavement. He broke two wheels, bent a rail on his blades and got some scrapes.

On his last day in the province, he had to skate through a snowstorm, but Richard Ralph said that as bad as it was, he wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

After going to McMaster University in Hamilton, Richard Ralph went out west to join a website hosting company. That was three years ago.

"But Kingston's home," Richard Ralph said.

"It feels like a milestone to get here."

He hopes his stay in town will also get him closer to his fundraising milestone - his goal is $300,000. Today, Boston Pizza will donate 10 per cent of its sales between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. He'll also be visiting schools to talk about what he's doing.

For details, visit www.seetheend.com.

We'll be seeing the family again tonight and will get Dis Jr. in a photo with Rich. They're back on the road tomorrow morning.

God's speed.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

Our neighbours are Brian and Bev Ralph.

Here's their son Rich

Folks, if you hear of him coming through your neck of the woods please support him. I collected $180 in about one hour from staff and students where I work.

Continued success to Rich.

Cheers.

[habernac]

good thread, Dis. I raised $1500 in two different Cancer fundraisers for this week. did the headshave at work on Wednesday and today I rode with Lance Armstrong, Eddy Merckx and Steve Bauer in the Tour of Courage. 90km later, I'm beat, but it's well worth it. They raised over 1.2 million this weekend, outstanding.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

habernac said:

good thread, Dis. I raised $1500 in two different Cancer fundraisers for this week. did the headshave at work on Wednesday and today I rode with Lance Armstrong, Eddy Merckx and Steve Bauer in the Tour of Courage. 90km later, I'm beat, but it's well worth it. They raised over 1.2 million this weekend, outstanding.

Excellent work Habernac. It's quite the honour riding with that group. Each using their celebrity status to promote awareness goes a long way for sure.

I think Rich might appreciate hearing from you. There's a place on his web site where you can leave messages or emails for him and he's pretty good at returning them. Just a super young man.

I'll talk to CO and see if he can drop some photos of Rich and his family on the web site.

I'm still a bit awed by your opportunity. How many took part BTW?

Cheers.

[habernac]

I believe we had 200 riders yesterday. I wish they hung aroudn afterward but they were gone by the time I got back. Busy schedules I guess. Still pretty cool that I got to ride in a peleton with that group.