Sicamous may be a small community, but its residents have shown, once again, that they have big hearts.
Like last year, an all-women’s team and an all-men’s team came together to ride the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Big Bike and raise funds for the foundation.
Last year the teams pulled in around $5,600. This year, however, donations to date are at $12,577, with there still being an opportunity for Sicamous residents to add to that at www.bigbike.ca.
A driving factor behind Sicamous’ success (by comparison, Salmon Arm has only raised $4,580) is a battle of the sexes. For four years Sicamous was a “one-ride town,” with one women’s team participating. In 2010, however, the women challenged the men to put a team together and ride. A men’s team rose to the challenge and raised just over $1,200.
This year marks a turn of events, with the men’s team, the Heart Throbs, bringing in the larger total of $6,902, compared to the $5,675 brought in by the women’s team, the Quality Strokers.
While the rivalry between the two teams is in fun, women’s team captain Regina Forry has already been informed by men’s team captain Bruce Krahn that they’ll be “getting their butts double-kicked” by the men next year.
But there are no hard feelings between the two teams, whose members united to form a third team for an additional ride.
“We no longer do the door-to-door collection for heart and stroke, so the only donations are to the riders and, of course, the Jump Rope for Heart through the schools,” says Forry. “No matter who wins, we all do – it goes to a fantastic cause and we all love the ride.”
The Heart and Stroke Foundation have shown their appreciation by awarding Forry and Krahn with the new Golden Gears award. The trophy, a heart made out of bicycle chains, carries a plaque upon which will be written the names of each year’s winning team.
“Because the legion has always hosted an area for us to take off from and always donated, we have decided to keep the Golden Gears award in the legion,” says Forry.