Bob McAllister was first impacted by the people of the Dominican Republic when he took his first trip to Consuelo in 2001.  At that time, he visited La Loma, an adult training facility which was doing wonderful things but was overrun by demand.  Bob was not only the brains behind the ‘Training Wheels Ride’ (a bicycle ride from Whitby, ON to Chicago in 2002) but with his friend Bob Kirk, was also the muscle pushing the pedals.  With the assistance of his support team, the dream exploded into more than he imagined and he was able to raise enough funds to build a new building for La Loma which opened in 2004.  In appreciation of Bob’s efforts, the name chosen for the new building was “Salon Bob McAllister”.  Though Bob is modest in his efforts, when it was suggested by a friend, Blair Buchanan, that a second ride be looked at as a fundraising venture, Bob was ready to offer his advice to all the new riders who he has inspired to join the team.  In recognition of the ‘Training Wheels Ride’ and his ongoing Rotary contributions, Bob was honoured with the Paul Harris Fellowship in 2007.  Though Bob’s gifts to the people of Consuelo are great, he feels that he has received much more from Consuelo than he has ever given.  Bob is looking forward to the ‘Viva La Loma’ ride as a wonderful adventure, with great friends who will make a great difference.

Blair Buchanan has been a realtor for the last 34 years and currently resides in Whitby.  Blair is married to Esther, who is also a Realtor.  He has been a proud Rotarian since 1978 and is a past President of the Rotary Club of Whitby Sunrise.  He is also committed to the Real Estate business and is a past President of the Durham Region Association of Realtors. Bob McAllister, the leader in this ride was thinking of a cycling challenge to raise money for the project. Blair came up with the idea of the ride across the mountains. Soon, another great Rotary event was born.  All it took was enlisting some additional participants who eagerly volunteered not only to ride, but to raise $10,000 each!. 

Esther & Blair have three grown daughters, Sarah, Erin and Janet, and three grandchildren, Luke, Steven and Griffin.  Blair says their grandchildren are the icing on the cake of life!

Blair considers this ride for nine days through the mountains to be an enormous personal challenge.  Deep down Blair’s biggest fear is that the mountains will beat him.  However, the more people who support Blair with cash donations to La Loma, the more likely he is to finish, instead of chickening-out like a whining little boy! So please donate!

Sean Perry is a Chiropractor who lives (and works) in Brooklin, ON with his wife Tanya, son Connor and newborn daughter Faith.  In addition to his own business and a busy young family, he enjoys an active lifestyle including waterskiing, mountain biking and snowmobiling so the transition to road biking should be no sweat (argghhh!).  Though he modestly claims to play guitar as a hobby, he is an excellent person to have around when you are in need of a great voice and some strumming of the strings.  Sean is the president of the Rotary Club of Whitby Sunrise and is partaking in this event not only for the physical activity and to get into even better physical condition than he already is, but also to support the international work of Rotary and to help provide increased opportunity to the people of the Dominican Republic.

Joe Principe is 47 and enjoys life in Seattle, Washington with his wife Susan and son Ross.  Joe’s connection to Consuelo and Viva La Loma is through his Aunt, Sister Lenore Gibb.  Having visited Consuelo, Dominican Republic several times, his most recent trip in 2006 left him in awe of what his Aunt and The Grey Sisters had accomplished in their 40 years there.  In an effort to further his Aunt’s aspirations, he began to ask what he could do to help to make a difference to the people of Consuelo.  “For me, cycling is a great way to stay in shape, both mentally and physically.  Now I can take something I enjoy and use it as a way to help others.  The best reward is knowing that ‘Viva La Loma’ is helping the people of Consuelo help themselves.”

Barry Mount is President and founding Partner of Hardiman Mount & Associates Insurance Brokers Ltd. in Whitby, ON.  More importantly, he is the proud father to two amazing children, Jeremy, 27 (who currently attends Veterinary College at the University of Guelph) and Kelly, 26 (who is a primary school teacher).  Barry resides in Oshawa with the love of his life, Kerry.  When he is not spending time with family or growing his business, Barry is a strong supporter of community service; he was honoured to receive the Peter Perry Award in 2003 through the Whitby Chamber of Commerce for recognition as Whitby’s Outstanding Citizen for dedication to the community.  Barry has been to Consuelo three times and was immediately struck by the happiness of the people of Consuelo and felt an instant connection.  He was inspired to help by taking on the challenge of the ride and though at first was in doubt of whether he had taken on too much from a physical perspective, is making headway on the bike and looking forward to what lies ahead.  He is also looking forward to spending time with his Rotary friends during the journey and is hopeful that they won’t laugh at him in his bike shorts.

Kim Aus is the VP of Finance for a consumer electronics repair facility, (MTC) that has locations in British Columbia, Ontario and Indiana.  She is the mother of two wonderful children, Kyle 16, and Kendall 10.  When not working towards the completion of her CGA designation, Kim enjoys spending time on the golf course with friends and family, snowboarding with her children and also running with her Bernese Mountain Dog, Riley.  Known for her affection for animals, it is not surprising to see her cycling with her Yorkie mix, Emily.  Kim, through MTC has facilitated the donation of many items in support of various causes and has also been involved in minor fundraising for local individuals.  La Loma seemed a natural transition to something on a larger scale.  Kim first heard of the ride and the challenges facing individuals in the Dominican Republic from Barry Mount at the HMA charity golf tournament and was instantly hooked.  She is currently the only female member of the La Loma cyclists and is looking forward to a great adventure with new friends and some quality time with her son Kyle who is also riding for the cause.

Kyle Aus is the youngest member of the La Loma cyclists.  At 16, he is not yet part of the work force, (except for the work for free at home kind), however he leads an active lifestyle when he is not chained to the books.   In the winter Kyle enjoys a more quiet life that consists of shredding the hills and hitting the half pipes on his snowboard and also serious PlayStation 3 time when he is recovering from physical activity.   In warmer weather Kyle can be found anywhere from a plane in the sky, to golf courses throughout the Durham Region.  One must wonder where cycling fits into all of this?  Kyle’s first experience with cycling originated from lack of a drivers license and the need to socialize.  Kyle soon found that cycling to school enabled him to extend his after school visits with the opposite gender, and has been on his bike ever since.  These experiences, coupled with the natural drive that all young people have make him an excellent candidate for La Loma.  Kyle is looking forward to an adventure in the Rockies and also hopes to raise awareness of global issues with his peers.

Peter Gorham is an actuary and partner in the pension consulting practice with Morneau Sobeco in Toronto.  Peter has been a Rotarian for 13 years, first in Hamilton and for the last 8 years in Whitby.  Being very detail-oriented, Peter has been able to focus his attention on training and competing in endurance-related running and has competed in marathons (42.2 km) and ultra-marathons (even longer).  One would think that the transition to cycling would be an easy one for Peter but he has been dismayed to find out that running does very little to help make one a better cyclist.  Peter enjoys teaching – whether it is other runners or professionally at conferences and through Humber College where he teaches pension math.  Peter has offered a lot of advice to the novice cyclists on the Viva La Loma ride from a perspective of setting up training plans and endurance related exercises which will go a long way to getting the cyclists through the ride.

Peter has been married to Janice for over 30 years and they have a daughter who is presently attending university preparing to support her parents in their later years.

Peter first ventured to Consuelo in 2001 and as a result of returning five times since, considers many of the residents of Consuelo friends.  He enjoys the happiness of the residents of Consuelo despite that they have little and is always impressed by how they look after each other and share what little they have.  He believes that education is the best long-term solution whether it is for the children or the adults.  For Peter, Viva La Loma! is a chance to challenge himself and through that provide some very meaningful help to the people of Consuelo.