They travel 1400 km in six days.
And the Prairie Women on Snowmobiles stop in Humboldt on Jan. 31 as part of Mission 2017 was made even more special by the fact that core rider Arlene Lockinger is from Humboldt.
Lockinger says she could not ask for more support from Humboldt and area as everyone stepped up to help. The support from the whole area has been super, she says.
Their stop included a banquet at the Bella Vista Inn where people got to meet the team of core riders and their crew.
Lockinger says that breast cancer is something that they need to find a cure for and she was very open to support the Prairie Women by joining the core rider team.
She lost her friend to breast cancer as well as her mother to cancer who was diagnosed two days before her death.
The riders also have a pin ceremony where they give pins to survivors who attend their banquets.
That is a very emotional time, says Lockinger, since a lot of the survivors tell their stories.
Ann Ruep was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 when she was examined at the mobile screening.
After Ruep’s treatment of around six shots of chemotherapy, 35 shots of radiation, her cancer has been in remission since 2006.
It is because of her own journey through cancer that Ruep supports the Prairie Women.
Each rider got to stand up at the banquet and tell their own stories about why they are riding.
There was a lot of tears as every rider has been touched in some way by breast cancer and told the story of who they are riding for, from friends to family members.
The ride itself is exhausting, says Lockinger, since a lot of days required 5:00 a.m. wake up calls and hours of riding.
“We’re out there trying to give it all we got and hopefully we can do very well.”
In total this is the 17th Prairie Women on Snowmobiles ride with over $2.3 million raised for the Canadian Cancer Society and breast cancer research over the past 16 missions.
Because of lack of snow, not everyday was riding from place to place but that did not hold the ladies back from going from place to place to talk about brest cancer.
In total, the riders only had a day and a half of conditions too poor to ride but Prairie Women On Snowmobiles President, Kelly Kim Rea, says that that was not too bad. They started on good snow and they ended on good snow, says Rea, with the finale in Star City.
The whole ride was excellent, says Rea, with great support from volunteers and sponsors a like from across the province.
In Star City the Mission 2017 crew revealed their total of $47,875.68 raised for the Canadian Cancer Society to go towards cancer research and a total of $96,530.68 for the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency to purchase equipment for the Saskatchewan Cancer Centres.
That makes a grand total of $144,406.36 for Mission 2017.
Over the past 17 missions, 17 riders, three pit crew, and three executive over the past seventeen mission have been from Humboldt district, says Pat Haeusler, who MC’d the Humboldt banquet.
In 2003, Haeusler was a core rider herself.
“We all have female family, be it daughters, nieces, I was doing it for them.”
Haeusler says that even if they were just riding the ditches or out with the truck with their logo showing, they hoped someone would see them and think to book a mammogram or do a self exam. Even if only one person thought about getting checked, it was worth it, says Haeusler.
“The survivors and the stories, one thing that shocked me was women and men that were as young as 24 who were diagnosed.”
Even promoting women snowmobiling was something special to Haeusler she says.
The total support they have received over the years, especially from corporate sponsorship has been a huge benefit for the ride since they are paying for meals, rooms, and other big expenses.
“Everything that the girls raise, they’re always suggested to raise a minimum $3,000 in order to ride...that all goes totally to research or equipment. Everything on the route is paid for.”
Mission 2017
Day one: January 29th, 2017
Hudson Bay, Endeavor, Stenen, Canora, Kamsack
Day two: January 30th, 2017
Rhein, Yorkton,Theodore,
Foam Lake
Day three: January 31st, 2017
Wadena, Archerwell, Naicam, Humboldt
Day four: February 1st, 2017
Lanigan, Watrous, Clavet, Warman
Day five: February 2nd, 2017
Meacham, Cudworth, St. Brieux, Melfort
Day six: February 3rd, 2017
Tisdale, Porcupine Plain,
Mistatim, Star City
