400 strong

When it comes to fighting cancer, every dollar helps.

Thanks to 400 local cyclists, the Northern Cancer Fund will have 38,000 more to help the battle after the fourth annual Caribou Charity Ride Sunday morning. Spokesperson Heather Vita said the original goal was $35,000. She called the fact that they surpassed the goal and sold the event out amazing.

“This event is really something unique in our community. There are not a ton of cycling events going on here,” Vita said before the bikers took off on a 50 kilometre journey through Oliver Paipoonge. “They get great support and Thunder Bay is a very generous community.”

The money will go towards everything from equipment to research.

“It makes us able to provide care close to home so that residents in Northwestern Ontario don’t have to go out of town for treatment,” Vita said.

Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation development officer Dan Bissonnette has been riding in the event for three years. He said it’s a fun way to make sure everyone from doctors to patients have the best of the best when it comes to fighting a disease that will hit one in two people.

The event draws everyone from hardcore cyclists to those who might just want to get outside.

“The views are great once we get into around Candy Mountain. This is a wonderful event,” Bissonnette said. “It has people who are inspired maybe for the first time to say ‘I want to do something maybe a little bit different and I’m going to pull out my bike I’m going to dust it off’.”

Bissonnette said it’s also a great way to meet new people and hang out with friends as 400 people make the journey.