THUNDER BAY - One month ago, Barbara Hanchard was going through a final round of chemotherapy at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. On Sunday, she was on her bike and ready to take on a 50 kilometre ride.
“It feels fantastic,” she said.
Hanchard was one of more than 350 cyclists participating in the 8th Annual Caribou Charity Ride on Sunday.
“This is the opportunity to pull a bunch of people together who love cycling and also raise some money for a really great cause,” said John Sims, a committee member with the Caribou Charity Ride.
The ride is a fundraiser for the Northern Cancer Fund and has raised more than $300,000 over the last eight years. Sims said that this year alone they are expecting to raise more than $40,000.
Cyclists ranging in age from 14 to 75 participated in this year’s event, which included a 50k, a 75k, and 100k ride.
“This is by no means a competition,” Sims said. “We always avoid saying race anything. There are those that will come to the start line and check their watches, just interested in getting a personal best. With cycling there is always that element of competition, but really, this is really about going out for a ride. It’s one way of creating a really nice social environment out on the road.”
The route takes cyclists from the Nor’Wester View Hotel on Highway 61 through the Slate River Valley.
Kathleen Wowchuk has been participating in the Caribou Charity Ride for the last four years. She calls herself an occasional cyclists, with the Caribou Ride being the longest ride she takes each year.
“I love the atmosphere, I love the challenge of the ride,” she said. “I’ve stuck to the 50k for four years, but I think next year I might up it to 75k.”
Wowchuk added that she loves the route and the country setting.
“It’s calming,” she said. “It’s spectacular. And I think it’s a great charity. Any races I try get involved with, be it biking or running, I’m happy to be able to donate and help out a good cause.”
Barbara Hanchard and her husband, Steve Demmings, were participating in the Caribou Charity Ride for the first time this year.
“We heard about it when we were at the hospital,” Hanchard said. “The people at the hospital were really friendly and really supportive of everything that was going on with the cancer treatment and about their patients and really wanted to help and support people.”
“When they told us about it we felt that it would be a way of participating and joining in and have some of the comradery of what everyone in the community is doing,” Hanchard continued.
Demmings said that he and Barbara cannot say enough good things about the staff at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.
“Anybody we met was very friendly and empathetic and compassionate and giving,” he said.
Sims is pleased that the Caribou Charity Ride has raised so much money for the Northern Cancer Fund and he said that a lot of people on the committee and people who participate in the ride have been affected by cancer.
“We know that there are people out there that would love to be in this ride today and are going through treatment,” he said. “We just felt that this was a good focus for the ride.”
