North West Coast District Rally 2019 – Wings in the Cariboo – Day One

Giselle and I have the distinct honour of serving on the board of the GWRRA North West Coast District.  We helped out, along with the rest of the team in organizing a very successful rally in 100 Mile House, BC.  We had over 100 registrations with Gold Wing riders coming from many places in the US and Canada.

Friday morning started off with the opening ceremony conducted by Dave Mingo, councilor for 100 Mile House.  After a few words he introduced the Mayor of 100 Mile House – Mitch Campsall.  He welcomed us all to the community and wished us all a successful rally.  After the opening remarks, it was time to ride!  We had several guided and unguided rides planned for the day and everybody had a great day exploring what the Cariboo Region has to offer.

After all the riding was done, it was time for bike games!  We had several competitions held.  One was the tennis ball / cone test.  Each two up team had to negotiate a series of cones where a tennis ball was perched on top.  While the rider negotiated the cones, the passenger had to pick up the tennis ball and then place it back on another cone.  In the second test, the two up team had to negotiate the cones as slow as possible.  Points were awarded based on how long it took to complete and points were deducted for hitting cones or putting feet down.

Later in the afternoon, we all gathered at Centennial Park in town for a BBQ hosted by the local Lions Club.  We lined up all the bikes along a pathway that goes through the park.  Tables and chairs and tents were donated by a local real estate company and all the food prepared by the Lions was donated by local merchants.  It was a really good fundraiser for the Lions!

After a great BBQ it was time for the Light Parade and Ice Cream Social.  We assembled in the parking lot of Centennial Park and were led through the town by the fire department, ending up at the local Dairy Queen.  It was a lot of fun.  We made a ton of noise as we meandered through the residential area of town and then straight down Highway 97 to the Dairy Queen.  They stayed open late for us to have a soft dipped cone after the parade.

It was a very successful first day at the Wings In The Cariboo Rally!

Photo credit to Robert Houldsworth for many of the photos in this post.