It’s another successful year in the books for the Prairie Thousand.
From Aug. 11 to 19, Sgt. Rob Nederlof from Base Maintenance at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Shilo in Mantioba took to the highways between Edmonton and Regina on his bike. This was the fourth year for the ride, which is done in support of the Wounded Warriors’ Post‑Traumatic Stress Disorder Service Dogs program.
“It went really well,” Sgt. Nederlof said following the ride. “We had a lot of really good receptions in the various towns and cities along the route.”
This year, Sgt Nederlof and his support team of one — his wife Marina — travelled from 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Edmonton to Regina, via Calgary.
“We just needed something different,” he said, explaining the route was chosen to spread the word about the Prairie Thousand to different places than where they had passed in the past.
There was also a bit of nostalgia in the route. Sgt Nederlof is from Calgary and Marina is from Edmonton, and in the early days of their relationship they made the trip along Highway 2 between the two cities many times, Marina said.
“The road was exactly the same,” she said. “The amount of traffic (this time) was horribly more.”
All told, the ride was overwhelmingly positive. Everywhere they went, they were welcomed with open arms and supported in all manner of ways.
One way that support manifested itself was through a series of police escorts.
In Calgary, the Calgary Police Service escorted Sgt. Nederlof as he conquered Stoney Trail, the city’s ring road.
“He didn’t have to go on Stoney Trail unattended,” Marina said. “He was nice and safe, and I felt much better about that.”
A second police escort took place east of Calgary between Chestermere and Strathmore, courtesy of the RCMP.
Finally, Sgt. Nederlof linked up with the Regina Police Service’s “Ride to Remember” cycling group for 25 kilometres.
The Nederlofs didn’t only connect with police along the route. They also visited Royal Canadian Legions in Strathmore, Brooks, Alta., and Regina. And, of course, they made sure to make pit stops to connect with their Canadian Armed Forces friends and family at CFB Suffield and 15 Wing Moose Jaw.
With all those positive events during the nine‑day ride, Sgt. Nederlof said it was impossible to single out the best part of the ride. Almost.
“Maybe the weather was the best part,” he said. “It was almost perfect the whole way.”
However, “almost perfect” isn’t “perfect,” and the final day of the ride as they made their way from Moose Jaw to Regina brought with it a punishing headwind, Marina said.
“He had timings to meet, and he had a headwind he had to fight,” she said.
Then there were the inevitable flat tires. Over the three previous Prairie Thousand rides, Sgt. Nederlof had only ever got flat tires in Alberta. This year, that quirk of fate came to an end. He suffered three flat tires this year: two in Alberta in the Calgary area, and one in Saskatchewan.
“We can no longer say Alberta is the flat tire curse to us,” Marina said.
The highlight of the entire ride took place in Regina, when the Nederlofs met Phil Ralph, a director with Wounded Warriors. He presented the couple with a print by artist Silvia Pecota to acknowledge the time and effort they have put in to support Wounded Warriors.
“Getting that recognition from Wounded Warriors — to say it’s special is an understatement,” Marina said. “It’s not why we do it, (but) it’s just really special to be recognized and it keeps our motivation up a little bit.”
As of Aug. 27, the Prairie Thousand had raised more than $8,100 towards its 2024 goal of $8,800. Should they reach their goal this year, the Nederlofs will have raised approximately $100,000 for Wounded Warriors since the first ride in 2021.
To learn more about the Prairie Thousand, donate to the cause, or learn about what Prairie Thousand 2025 will look like, visit the Prairie Thousand Facebook page.
MooseJawToday.com thanks Tim Bryant, editor of the Western Sentinel, for granting permission to use this article.