Tour de Cure fundraiser returns to support cancer research and care across B.C.
Bikers will ride more than 100 kilometres from Cloverdale to Hope on Aug. 24 and 25
The biking fundraiser will start at Surrey's Cloverdale Fairgrounds. (Submitted)
BC Cancer Foundation’s Tour de Cure, the largest cycling fundraiser in the province, will return on Aug. 24 and 25 to raise funds for advancing cancer research and care across B.C.
The route starts at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds in Surrey, where participants will gather on Aug. 24, and head to Chilliwack Heritage Park. There will be an overnight camp there, and participants will continue to Hope the next morning.
“[What’s] different this year is we have added a one-day ride option, where riders can come in on Saturday evening [in Chilliwack] and camp with us, and then just ride the one day on Sunday morning,” says Chris Cook, the director of mass participation events and development at the BC Cancer Foundation.
“We also offer a 160-kilometre route [on day one]. We refer to that as the challenge route for somebody that wants to take a little extra challenge, but the normal routes are 100 kilometres each day.”
At the camp, there will be a guest speaker and patients sharing stories about their journeys with cancer, along with live music and celebration, Cook says.
“Then we set up everybody’s … camp [for] overnight …. It really is that sense of community and coming together.”
Since the event’s inaugural ride in 2009, more than 31,000 riders and 5,000 volunteers have participated in the fundraiser, collecting over $124 million, Cook says, adding all the funds go directly to supporting cancer research or any needs within B.C.
“Last year, we raised $7.1 million, and all that money went into 15 specific areas on oncological groups to support cancer care in British Columbia,” Cook says. “It’s a direct connection between what we do here and the impact that it makes on the community across the province.”
Programs the BC Cancer Foundation supports include the expansion of Prince George’s precision radiation therapy program, setting up patient relief funds to improve patient care in the Fraser region, improving research centres and making sure all facilities are equipped, and establishing a lung cancer screening program for early detection, among others.
“Cancer is about early detection. The sooner we can find out about it in the screening process, the better we are. In 2019, we’ve uncovered 140 cases of lung cancer, with over 70 per cent being diagnosed in stage one or stage two, which means early diagnosis gives us a better chance for success,” Cook says.
Tour de Cure gives people an opportunity to come together, share their stories, and support each other, Cook says, adding it also captures a spirit of moving forward and lets people know they aren’t alone in their experience.
“Quite often, people will bring pictures of the people that they’re riding for, their loved ones or their friends, and they actually put them on their bike or they’ll have a bracelet or a necklace,” Cook says. “They’ll talk and meet other people …. So, it’s making those personal connections and strengthening the community.”
Cook says the BC Cancer Foundation hopes the event deepens people’s understanding of cancer and helps them see themselves as part of a solution that is needed to make a change.
“We would love to see more people engaged in our work and our work around the province. We would love to see a world beyond cancer …. It’s wonderful to think about the change that an event like this can have [and] the impact it can have on the lives of people.”
To learn more about the event, including how to participate or volunteer, visit www.tourdecure.ca/.
