Weather seemed to be the story of the year for the Wheelin’ Warriors of the North.
Training for the annual Ride to Conquer Cancer was hampered by all the smoke in the city during the first couple of weeks in August. The 45 cyclists who make up the local team spent a lot of their time training indoors leading up the August 18-19 event in the Lower Mainland.
And, when it came time to ride, they were subjected to cycling more than 200 kilometres in the pouring rain.
The team, however, was undaunted, raising a record $182,000 for cancer research.
“It was very wet, and very cold, but everyone crossed the finish line,” said Karin Piche, Wheelin’ Warriors of the North co-captain. “It was an exciting event, as usual. I was pretty happy with our results.”
She said it was amazing how the team raised money this year and the $182,000 raised is a record for the local group of cyclists.
“We smashed it out of the park,” she said. “I can’t explain in words how it feels to contribute in that matter and be part of the total of the $10 million that was raised this year.”
The ride usually entails a two-day bike ride from Vancouver to Seattle. However, this year the route was changed to ride from Vancouver to Hope. But even that was changed at the last minute as the second leg of the trip was cancelled due to a forest fire. The ride ended up being a little shorter and stayed in the Chilliwack area.
There was some concern that the ride would be cancelled because of the air quality, but the skies cleared on Friday and the rain set in.
Team gathered at City Hall on Friday and were officially congratulated by Mayor Lyn Hall.
