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Yellow "welcome home ribbons" are starting to appear and the John Ryan Regeneration Tour headquarters is gearing up for Ryan’s return home to Whistler on Sept. 11. A huge welcome celebration is planned for 2 p.m. in Village Square on Sept. 11.

Yellow "welcome home ribbons" are starting to appear and the John Ryan Regeneration Tour headquarters is gearing up for Ryan’s return home to Whistler on Sept. 11. A huge welcome celebration is planned for 2 p.m. in Village Square on Sept. 11. Many people are expected to ride with Ryan on the final leg of his journey, from Squamish to Whistler. The tour office is advising that this can be done but there will not be an organized venue for this activity. The tour office would prefer that as many people as possible gather in Village Square. Cyclists will not be allowed right into the village but will be re-routed from the taxi loop to the back of Village Square. Ryan, 38, set out from Newfoundland on May 1, embarking on the 134-day, 8,688 kilometre journey to raise funds and awareness for spinal cord regeneration research. The Whistler realtor was left paralyzed by 1994 car accident. He is hand-cycling a specially-designed, three-wheeled cycle, averaging speeds of 16 km/h, with a daily target distance of 100 kilometres. A persistent pressure sore which developed in early July has necessitated an adjustment to his wheeling schedule to accommodate additional breaks. More than $800,000 in cash and in-kind donations have been raised to date, including $1,000 donated by Whistler locals at The Boot Pub’s Locals Appreciation Night on Aug. 21. Funds raised from the Regeneration Tour will go towards research into spinal cord regeneration and minimizing permanent spinal cord damage at the time of injury. Welcome home ribbons are now available through local real estate offices for a donation. Ryan’s efforts to raise awareness and funds for spinal regeneration research will not end when he reaches the end of his journey. As for life post-Tour, Ryan will resume his real estate career and will continue school speaking engagements. He and his wife Penny also plan to start a family. "I hope in the near future to be able to tell school children that people with spinal cord injuries will no longer have to spend their lives in a wheelchair. I would be extremely proud to tell my children that I played a very small part in making that a reality." Donations to the John Ryan Regeneration Tour can be made at Royal Banks across Canada, at Eddie Bauer stores, by telephone at 1-800-570-3222, or on the Regeneration Tour Internet web site: www.regenerationtour.org. Regeneration Tour merchandise can be purchased at Eddie Bauer Stores, with proceeds from the sales donated to the Tour.