On the Spot by Ken Herar
I had the opportunity to participate in the first annual Sikh Spirit Ride on Aug. 15 from Mission to Surrey.
I haven’t been on my bike since our Cycling4Diversity event last May and all I can 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 my community in this endeavour.
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 6 a.m. 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 90-km ride, ages nine to 58 years, with various fitness levels, from B.C., Texas, Scotland, England and of course, Mission and Abbotsford.
“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 first annual ride and hope our ride continues to get bigger and we can raise awareness of health and the Sikh faith,” said Kaur.
I had the opportunity to meet Bob Ahuja on this day, who is from Abbotsford.
He got involved in 2009 with the Ride to Conquer Cancer from Vancouver to Seattle and Sears National Kids Cancer Ride in honour 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 as a national rider.
“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,” said Ahuja.
KenHerar@gmail.com
