The time has come again to put on the spandex (ick) and hop on my trusty road bike and tour around the province on the Heartland Tour, an awareness bicycle ride for Cardiac and Cancer health.
I got roped into this a couple of years ago by some friends while I was Minister of Health, Dr. Nick Giacomantonio and Ross Haynes, QC. I was a tad (means lots) overweight and suffering occasionally by the occasional bout of Atrial Fibrillation (a fancy cardiac term), I was impressed by the teams commitment to living better and trying to get people off their couches.
Each summer the core team of 25 - 30 riders visit communities around Nova Scotia and invite locals along for a ride, mostly from 30 to 100 kms. The response has been incredible and hundreds of people have joined in, from young fit whippersnappers to 70 year old young at heart whippersnappers and everyone in between.
From this has blossomed into programs and bike clubs around the province. As I have said many times in speeches, in order to help the Health Care Crisis, we need to create societal change, we need to get fitter and healthier, and we can only do it one person at a time. I started with myself and since that time I've lost close to 60 pounds and seen others follow my lead.
Saturday the ride begins in Halifax on the Cunard St. side of the Commons and then on to Pictou, Bridgewater, Truro, Sydney, Antigonish, Kentville and Yarmouth. Drop by and see us, wave as we go by, but hopefully we will entice you to join us for a little ride around your community.
This year I will, rain or shine, racking up over 800 kms and going to have a ton of fun doing it. Follow my twitter @ChrisMLA or Facebook to see how we are doing or check out the website at www.heartlandtour.ca.