My name is Neale Hunt and I'm a long time TBN member.  I recently became involved with the Brain Injury Society of Toronto (BIST) through a ride friend in another club.  Some time ago, my ride friend's wife suffered a traumatic brain injury in a bicycle crash that ultimately led to her untimely passing, and as a consequence of this terrible event, my friend has become an advocate for the BIST and is helping them raise funds.  I'm trying to help them out by increasing awareness to TBN club members.

The BIST provides programs and  services to people living with the effects of brain injury and their families/caregivers.  After a nominal fee to join the Society, all programs are free and there is no wait list.

There are two rides I want to publicize.  This post is for the first of these, the "BIST Heroes Run, Walk, Roll or Bike" event.  For over 15 years the BIST has been raising funds with a 5K run event.  The event typically attracts about 400 people and they have recently added a bike ride to give people other options and to open the event to non runners.  It's a fun event for the whole family, and includes a jumping castle and scavenger hunt for the kids, a DJ, a live band, a BBQ and free massages.

The social bike ride focusses on safety and is broken down into groups of 10 riders with an experienced bike marshall to guide and help as needed.  Three routes are available consisting of 15/35 and 75k.

The event takes place on Sunday September 29 from 8 AM to 1 PM at Wilket Creek Park near Eglinton and Leslie in Toronto. Registration will be open as of April 1, and anyone interested should register directly through the BIST website (http://bist.ca/heroes/).

Here is a photo from last year. The tandem at the front was ridden by Shelley Gaultier the Canadian Paralympic superstar and her partner.