Day eight: the grand finale …
By Denise Lloyd (Crew Member)
And then it was the last day. After nearly 2 000 km and seven days of heat, sweat, tears and the warmth and love of the communities, it was saddle-up time for the final leg of the Journey.
The Lichtenburg residents came out in full force to wave goodbye to the girls and the whole road in front of the Cancer Clinic was blocked off to traffic.
The visiting LOH riders formed a pack behind the Journey of Hope riders and the men fell in right at the back.
Just before Magaliesburg six of the Journey of Hope riders had a near miss when a dog ran across the road and into the riding pack. Tiaan, the photographer, was on the back of a Harley when this happened and according to him, Bruno Matias, a marshal from Clearwater chapter, saved the day with his quick reactions. Luckily the ladies were in their staggered riding formation, otherwise it could have ended in a massive pile up.
By the time the procession got to the R28 it had turned into a massive ride. Luckily the JOH riders were shielded by the very experienced HOG road marshalls from Clearwater, because the drivers on the highway paid no attention to civil road rules. The road marshalls had their hands full in trying to control the traffic without turning it into a threat for the riders. Quite a few times there were near misses and everyone had to concentrate to the max.
As the procession, consisting of hundreds of bikes, came closer to the Morningside Shopping Centre where the ride ended , the excitement was tangible.
When the procession turned into Morningside, the crowds gave shrieks of excitement to finally see their heroines - the breast cancer survivors who had sacrificed a week of their lives and who had taken on more than 2 200 km on their bikes to bring the message of HOPE to thousands of people all over the West Coast and the Northern Cape.
Pink sparkling wine and pink cup cakes were served free of charge to everyone and the riders reunited with friends and families after hundreds of kilometres on the hot tarred road.
For them the Journey of Hope 2009 might be over, but for many women it was the start of gaining knowledge about breast cancer and the hope that there can be life after cancer.
To the 2009 Journey of Hope girls …. we salute you!
The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate” - Oprah Winfrey