MAUREEN EYKELENBOOM lives in Comox, B.C. and continues to be a regular contributor to Island Gals Magazine, because Maureen’s story needs to be heard.On August 11, 2006, Maureen’s youngest son Andrew was killed by a 17-year-old suicide bomber while in Afghanistan, serving his country as a medic with our Canadian Armed Forces. Andrew (Boomer) was 23 years old.Boomer’s Legacy was founded the day after Andrew was killed, to honour his memory and continue his service. Please visit the Boomer’s Legacy website for more information on Maureen’s continued efforts to“Help our Soldiers Help Others.”

24 ISLANDgals.ca

Helping Our Soldiers Help Others

www.boomerslegacy.ca

The Boomer’s Legacy BC Bike Ride is a staple fundraising event held annually in mid June, for the purpose of raising awareness of the good works of our men and

women in uniform, serving in far off locations around the world. Now in its fi fth year, monies raised through pledges and donations resulting from the cycling event fund many projects that often go unnoticed or are unheard of to most Canadians back home in Canada.And just why do they draw so little attention? Well, that’s just the point; the impetus to the creation of a foundation whose mission is Helping Soldiers Help Others. It’s the story of Andrew Eykelenboom, a young Canadian Forces medic, call-sign “Boomer,” who witnessed day after day the hardship of the people in the communities where he served and wrote home to tell his family about it. It can be a helpless feeling knowing there’s so little that can be done from here in this great nation built on freedom and democracy. Not so for Maureen Eykelenboom and the friends and family who rallied behind her, upon receiving the news of her son’s death at the hands of a suicide bomber just days before the end of his tour of duty.The legacy of Boomer’s good will; the drive to help the people in the villages that surrounded him in Afghanistan, lived on long after the young corporal perished. It lives in the lovingly knitted wool caps, over 300,000 made around the world today. It lives on in the random donations received weekly

by unassuming citizens across Canada. And it most certainly is alive and well in every stroke of the pedal, every curve of the road and every inch of climbing pavement that stretches between Canadian Forces Base Comox to the Legislative Grounds in downtown Victoria. Not a single cyclist that committed to the event this year, just as in previous years, fi nished the trek without knowing exactly what they rode for and for whom. Indeed, every cyclist, both military and civilian, who donned a black and red jersey adorned with the words ‘Boomer’s Legacy’ across the front and back also rode in the memory of fallen soldiers. All 160 of them were accounted for on 86 bicycles, including Sgt. Jannick Gilbert, a Search and Rescue Technician who recently perished while on a rescue mission in Canada’s arctic region. Just as in oversees missions, the courageous efforts of our comrades are made equally here at home.“It is so much more than raising money and building awareness,” said Maureen, Boomer’s Legacy Founder, as she addressed the cyclists at an emotional start of the course on Friday, June 15th. “It’s about honouring all the Andrews of our military, those men and women who gave their lives in the fi ght for freedom. You cyclists get it!” Got it they did. The two-day cycling event brought out some of the greatest in human spirit, inner strength, determination, and sheer will power because, for some, this course proved to be a personal challenge not just of physical stamina but mental perseverance.

strokes of determinationAn inspiring cycle for a meaningful cause

They came, they cycled, they conquered.A total of 86 cyclists over a distance of 240 kmsin just two days, all in the effort of preserving

the humanitarian spirit of one young man,a fallen soldier.

By Mary Lee

25ISLANDgals.ca

“I was initially attracted to the concept of riding from Comox to Victoria for the physical challenge it represented,” said LCol Wayne Joy, a CF member based at 19 Wing Comox and fi rst time bike ride participant “Having never ridden more than 50 km in a single day, we were well past the 170 km mark as we headed up the Malahat. I had told myself that I

would not stop, determined to get to the top, not for me, but in the memory of two of the fallen soldiers. It wasn’t easy but I made it.” This year’s event also saw the return of a veteran rider, Doug Yeo, age 88, a third-time participant and long-standing supporter of the Boomer’s Legacy cause. Also a Royal Canadian Air Force veteran, Doug served as a fl ight navigator aboard the Mosquito during the Second World War and witnessed many sacrifi ces in the fi ght for freedom.“I was able to come home to my parents,” commented Doug Yeo refl ecting on his mission during the war. “Boomer wasn’t able to, so I feel I owe him something.” The 2012 Boomer’s BC Ride is perhaps the most successful to date, raising approximately $50,000 in pledges and donations. Previous years’ events have yielded approximately $165,000 total. The bar is now set for the fi rst ride in the National Capital Region Ride, August 25th, and the 2nd Annual Nova Scotia Ride, September 1st. The June cycling event on Vancouver Island also set a precedent in many other ways. Sponsorship and awareness grew with new and unique partnerships. Award-winning medical columnist Dr. Dave Hepburn, as an example, was recruited to ride by a friend and a fellow cyclist and thus has formed an unexpected allegiance between Maureen and this infl uential speaker and sports activist. The Edge – Food Energy Company of Qualicum Beach became involved to support the cyclist with their energy bars and to promote the event as an example of how nutritious food made from wholesome, local ingredients can effi ciently fuel the body for long periods of time. Effi cient sure, delicious yes, as cyclists were inhaling their fl avourful treats in rapid succession.These and many other dedicated sponsors were at the heart of the event and Boomer’s Legacy couldn’t have accomplished the BC Ride without their support and commitment. The Foundation sincerely owes much gratitude and wishes to personally acknowledge the following sponsors of the 2012 Boomer’s BC Ride:

Canadian Forces BasesComox and Esquimalt3rd Canadian Army Veterans (CAV) Motorcycle Unit11 Field Ambulance, VictoriaBest Buy, CourtenayThrifty Foods, Duncan and Mill Bay

First Insurance, CourtenayOak Bay Bicycles, Nanaimo and VictoriaTelusHowe Sound BrewingTim Hortons, Courtenay and LadysmithShea Butter MarketHurricane Himes DJ

2012RideStartCyclists gather at Comox Air Force Museum Heritage Parkto mark the start of the two-day ride to Victoria.Photo Credit: Sgt. Rob Bottrill, 19 Wg Comox Imaging.

Doug Yeo, Boomer’s BC Ride’s eldest participant and a WWII RCAF veteran, fi nishes a rather soggy two-day ride with his fellow cyclists in downtown Victoria.Photo Credit: Angela MacKay.

Nothing gives inspiration more than the sound of the bagpipes, played by MWO Steve Jackson, 19 Wing Comox, as cyclists climb the Malahat, the toughest leg of the ride. Photo credit: MWO Gavin Lee, 19 Wg Comox.

Left to right: Kare Thibodeau, Bike Ride Committee member; Gillian Lee, daughter of cyclist and Bike Ride committee member; Maureen Eykelenboom.Photo credit: Gavin Lee