The Tour De Rock riders started their trek today, raising money to fight pediatric cancer.
The riders stopped in Campbell River for lunch on their way north to Port Alice, where they will get on their bikes and pedal to Port Hardy this afternoon. They were raring to go, and one rider from Courtenay’s fire department, Ajinkya Chodankar, says the weather change doesn’t bother him.
“It’s just water and I’m not made out of sugar. I’m not going to melt,” he says with a chuckle.
The two-week ride will stop in more than 30 Island communities and cover more than 12-hundred kilometres before wrapping up in Victoria.
It’s all put on by Cops for Cancer to raise money for pediatric cancer research and support services, and Chodankar says community generousity has been almost overwhelming.
“As I understand it, the Tour de Rock actually started in the Comox Valley so this is the birthplace of the event,” he says. “The support has been stupendous. The generousity that people have shown really hits home.”
He says at fundraisers prior to the ride he was impressed by many generous donors, from kids donating their pocket change to one woman who came back several times to donate.
The riders will be in Port Hardy and Port McNeill tomorrow, Woss and Sayward Monday, and Campbell River on Tuesday.
The full schedule can be viewed here.
To make a donation, visit the Cops for Cancer fundraiser page.Â
