Pedaling for a cause, hundreds embark on 200km fundraising ride to conquer cancer

Fundraising cyclists cross the finish line The 2016 Enbridge Ridge to Conquer Cancer ended with a celebration party at Canada Olympic Park

More than 1,400 cyclists gathered at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park on Saturday morning for the start of the eighth annual Enbridge Ridge to Conquer Cancer.

The riders will embark on a 200 kilometre, two-day trip which will see them travelling through Bragg Creek and Turner Valley before camping overnight in Okotoks. The cyclists will return to Canada Olympic Park along the same path where a celebration party will greet them at the finish line.

This year’s participants included cancer patients, cancer survivors and those riding for a loved one. The collective group raised more than $6.35 million for the Alberta Cancer Foundation.

“The funds that we raise here at the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer are invested right here in Alberta in our 17 cancer centres including the Tom Baker Cancer Centre right here in Calgary as well as the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton,” explain Myra Osinchuk, CEO of the Alberta Cancer Foundation. “We invest in things like clinical trials which bring the best and most innovative treatments to Albertans facing cancer.”

The 24 members of Randy’s Riders from Cold Lake, Alberta took to their bikes for the fourth year to honour the memory of Randy Imrie, lost to liver cancer only five months after his diagnosis.

The group, which includes Randy’s wife Sherri and his best friend Darrell MacDonald, raised more the $85,000 for this year’s ride. Their four year total has surpassed the $285,000 mark.”

Sherrie Imrie originally approached MacDonald about organizing a team to assist her with the grieving process following the loss of her beloved husband and the devoted father of her two children.

MacDonald, who also lost his mother to cancer when he was three years old, said he jumped at the idea.

“We used to drive down here and come visit him as he was going through his treatments and it really stuck in our heads,” said MacDonald. “When we had a chance to do something, and be part of something, we jumped onboard.”

At the start line of her fourth ride, Sherri Imrie conceded that she had thought her first Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer would also be her last.

“I wasn’t planning to do it year-after year,” said Imrie. “I was only thinking of it as a onetime thing and help to heal.”

“It just kept growing and growing and it’s gotten bigger and bigger and it’s inspiring!”

While the two-day event receives the fanfare, Osinchuk says the riders have invested a significant amount of training time and energy prior to reaching the start line and all participants are required to raise a minimum of $2,500.

For more information, visit Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer and Alberta Cancer Foundation