To all our Wheels for Change friends
What a trip this turned out to be – we feel so honored by all the attention, publicity and support that we got as we made our three week, 1000 km journey across this beautiful province!
Along the way, we achieved so much:
· We cycled a grand total of over 28,000 km (not our goal of 40,000, but a great start!)
· We ended up involving over 800 cyclists, ranging in age from 3 to 84 years old, with 34 core cyclists, including 9 children
· We held 16 different community events, many featuring colorful bicycle parades, bike rallies, and other bike rides featuring various ‘green’ themes; speeches by Mary and Celia; songs by Robin and the kids; and our W4C banner and booth, with all its postcards, lawn signs, T-shirts and handouts. Some more unusual events included a movie viewing in Osoyoos, a meeting with the Mayor of Chilliwack in his chambers, and a tour of a ‘green’ retrofitted public building in Maple Ridge.
· Many postcards were signed and sent to politicians at all levels, and we sold many lawn signs (saying ‘next election I am voting for real action on climate change’)
· We were covered by at least one (often 2-3) different local media in each community we visited
· We also received significant attention from provincial/national media as well (5 CBC radio interviews, 1 studio interview on Global TV, 3-4 clips on Shaw TV and CHBC TV, and articles in various magazines)
· We received a number of endorsements by celebrities (activists, athletes, musicians)
· We also received endorsements by 9 Mayors (out of the 16 we contacted); many these Mayors and their Councilors participated in our community events
· On the final day, representatives from all the three main provincial political parties attended the final event on Parliament Hill to receive copies of the ‘kms cycled’ logsheets from our children (Liberal: Minister Ida Chong (reading a letter from Premier Gordon Campbell), NDP: Maureen Garagianis: and Green: Brian Gordon)
· At the same event, representatives from three out of the four main national parties also participated (Conservatives: declined to send a representative; Liberal: Bryony Penn (reading a letter from national party leader Stephane Dion), NDP: Julian West (reading a letter by national party leader Jack Layton), Green: Peter Ronald)
· Elie, Emma and Kassim, our tour’s oldest children, wrote their own speeches and presented them to the politicians at the Legislative Lawns, along with the logsheets. As one of them said, ‘please give us a life’!
For those 34 of us who were in the core bicycling group, I think I can speak for all of us in saying that Wheels for Change worked many changes on us – ‘transformative’ was the word we often used. Many of us have resolved to go home and make changes in our own lives in a number of different ways.
We had our ups and downs: we had rides that were just wonderful, but we also faced headwinds, heat waves and rainstorms; there were times when went things ran smoothly, and times when they definitely did not…. Throughout, people tried to support one another and this campaign to the best of their abilities, and generally there was a very happy, positive mood. As one of us said, it really makes a difference to be taking a holiday that is also making such an important statement.
We have all enjoyed the fact that people of all ages were involved, and from so many different backgrounds. We reckon that one of our main messages from this tour is that if we can do it (i.e. take positive action on climate change), given our not-too-stellar fitness levels and the state of our bikes, anyone can!
What moved us very deeply was the support for our campaign that was expressed by so many people across the province. We received many donations, emails and letters of support. We also had many offers of free or discounted accommodation, meals, supplies, yoga sessions, website design, bike safety instruction, bike equipment, bike tune-ups, etc.
To everyone who helped us, encouraged us, or joined us, we would like to say a very heartfelt ‘thank you’. It is inspiring to know that many people share our concern and our desire for stronger action on climate change.
And so, the end is really just the beginning, because now we move on to take action on this very serious threat of climate change, both in our own lives, and by thinking long and hard about how to best use our power as voters…
We hope that Wheels for Change has helped to inspire people across BC to take action with us – and now… let’s get going!
With Love,
Mary, Celia and Robin
