As a special event to wrap up the year and hopefully build iRide in the Okanagan region in 2016, Vancouver super-crew Wes Ochitwa and Zayne Heyes traveled to Kelowna and Merritt last week. These schools were in heavy need of our iRide fleet and the students were stoked to ride their bicycles outside with summer fast on the horizon. Various helpers from the local community visited, including National Mountain Bike Team member Evan Guthrie, veteran coach Garry “Crackers” McCracken and cycling supporter Spencer MacKinnon.
It was a great time. Wes and Zayne were amazing! I was amazed at their level of excitement and enthusiasm that transferred right to the kids. You’ve got some good coaches there!
– Evan Guthrie
Guest coach Garry McCracken was “very impressive”, said Wes Ochitwa. An endurance athlete all of his life, coupled with a 40 year service record in the Canadian Military, Garry was energetic, fun and safety conscious. Now a coach of the ‘Boomer’ generation, Garry exhibited all the qualities of a rock-star iRide coach. Chapeau!
My favourite Garry-moment came when Zayne and I were introducing ourselves. When we put Garry on the spot to introduce himself, he exclaimed “Hi! I’m Coach Crackers!” without a drop of the hat. We laughed in astonishment and then smiled, it was going to be a great session!
Highlights of Garry’s time include working with Tara, who despite living with a bone deficiency disease and having never ridden a bicycle in her life, learned to ride one of our Norco Glide bicycles all by herself on the second day.
There are no words to describe the look on Tara’s joyful and fulfilled face that could explain how thrilled all parties were. Grandma got a phone call immediately from her teacher to come down and see this. She wrote a cheque right there for the purchase of the bike she was riding, we snapped a shot, gave hugs all around, and Grandma was taking Tara straight to the local bike shop to get a helmet– Wes Ochitwa
Wes Ochitwa also worked with Malena, an autistic but highly functioning student at Bankhead in Kelowna.
She was initially frightened to ride after watching her classmates whiz around during warmup. I took 10 minutes with her one-on-one, gave her sincere direction, and then she decided to show the class what she was made of! I didn’t know she was autistic until later when the teacher came up in awe at her performance and how she was coached, then revealing her autistic status. Fooled me. 😉
The warm temperatures in the Okanagan last week made for frequent water breaks but it was a successful adventure for Zayne and Wes. They wrapped up the trip with 2 days at Nicola-Canford, a beautiful new school that requested ten bicycles.
If you’re a fan of Cycling BC’s iRide program, check us out on Twitter, Instagram, or donate through Chimp to support our programs in your area. To learn more about iRide Summer Camp or book future in-school events, please contact iRide@cyclingbc.net or (604) BC-iRide.
