The most meaningful charitable event that Michelle and I have participated in was the Ride to Conquer Cancer. We became involved in the ride when our brother-in-law Dave passed away due to brain cancer. Dave’s wife Norah and their three children–Scott, Allison, and Craig–entered the ride in honor of Dave, and over the following four years, others in the family took part. Michelle has participated in four rides, and I have done it twice. Whether riding or helping to fundraise, this event has been a family effort to raise money for cancer research.
The ride is held just south of Calgary and is approximately 200 km in length and takes place over two days, where the riders bike to a camp the first day and then return to the start the next day. Since 2008 the ride has raised over $220 million towards cancer research and attracts over 1000 riders each year. The event organizers take care of everything including meals, transporting bags, and providing a tent to sleep in after the first day’s ride. To my liking, there is even a beer garden available at the end of the first day’s ride.
To raise money Cairn’s Crew did many different fundraising activities, including multiple bottle drives, where we would distribute flyers during the week and then collect the bottles that people set out for us. We also sold hot dogs one year in front of Save-On, which turned out to be a lot of work for the amount of money we earned. A very lucrative activity was selling 50-50 tickets at an Edmonton Oil Kings hockey game. We were the first group to use the new digital method that you now see at all Oilers and Oil Kings games, which was quite stressful.
Our most profitable activity was the Alberta Highway Cleanup. Non-profit groups can be assigned a portion of a highway to clean and the government will provide all the supplies and will pay $100 for each kilometer cleaned. It was a bit of work organizing everyone, but it generally was worth the effort, except for one year when we had to pick up garbage along the highway that runs between Blackfalds and Red Deer. There is a lot of traffic on the road due to people commuting to Red Deer and as a result a lot of garbage in the ditch. Part of our route was right in the town of Blackfalds next to a group of bars. Most of the garbage was composed of fast food containers, coffee cups, and cigarette packages. It was gross and it took us forever to pick up all the garbage. Fortunately, the other three times went well.
The fundraising activity that I enjoyed the most was when Keegan took donations to have a buzz cut. Keegan had long hair, so he was quite hesitant when Michelle and I suggested the challenge, but he managed to raise a fair chunk of money, especially when my brother Kevin made a large donation to see him with his head shaved. Ultimately it didn’t seem like much of a sacrifice because he looked good with short hair.
Besides fundraising, those that were participating in the ride had to train. It was important to be prepared for the ride because not only do you have to bike at least 100 km each day, you may also have to ride in poor weather conditions. The first time I participated in the ride Michelle and I had to endure rain on the first day and were soaked when we arrived at the camp. To make matters worse the camp was a mud bog and our tent leaked making for a damp night’s sleep. When we finally finished the next day we were exhausted, not only because of the weather but also because the ride turned out to be much longer than we anticipated. The previous year Michelle had to survive freezing temperatures and many of the riders dropped out after the first day. It was so cold that the organizers were handing out foil blankets to riders, and many of them stuffed ripped-up sections of the blanket into their bike shoes to keep their feet warm.
The ride itself is challenging, even if the weather cooperates, and even if you trained for the ride. The ride is long and there are steep sections where some riders had to get off their bikes and walk. Some riders struggled because they were not in the best physical shape, but wanted to participate in the ride because their lives had been affected by cancer. Others struggled because they were undergoing treatment or recently survived cancer. To make it more difficult some individuals, like my nephew Derek, did the whole ride on a mountain bike.
It was very rewarding to take part in the ride. Most riders had their lives touched by cancer, whether it was knowing someone who was battling the disease or who had passed away. At the same time, there was elation because some of the riders were cancer survivors. When you made it to the finish line there was a festive atmosphere with music playing and spectators cheering. It was a very climactic moment riding down the final stretch with your team and hearing the cheers. Often Barb and other members of the crew were there to congratulate you at the end.
It’s been a while since the last time Michelle and I did the Ride to Conquer Cancer, but now that both of my parents have passed away due to lung cancer I can see us doing it again. It was very difficult watching them succumb to the disease, so I feel motivated to do the ride again and help find a cure.
One Last Kick 