Cops For Cancer-Tour de North has pedaled it's last metre for 2011 and the riders are breathing easy about their geographic and financial accomplishments.
The 24 riders (plus support team) wrapped up on Thursday in Williams Lake after six days on Highway 97 starting in Fort St. John. They passed through Prince George on Tuesday.
This is the 10th anniversary of the northern tour, organized and carried out by a team of police and other first responders on bicycles, all to raise funds for pediatric cancer treatment and Camp Good Times.
"We rode it all with only a few scrapes and bumps, and good spirits the whole way," said Canadian Cancer Society representative Erin Reynolds who accompanied the cyclists as a support worker. "We had a day of rain between Quesnel and Williams Lake which certainly challenged the riders but they rose up and got her done."
Every year the group has some returning members and some new ones, she said, and praised this year's collection for having particularly positive attitudes and gelling as a group.
"The roads were really busy with traffic, but we had quite a bit of assistance from the different RCMP detachments along the way to help move the peloton down the road safely," Reynolds said. "The group actually moved faster between communities than we planned. It was great. They found their groove really quick. By the second day they had gelled and they were working in formation, and that is really professional. They can move on to Tour de France after this, I told them."
It was the first time the tour used this north-south route. The previous versions went east-west on Highway 16.
"The north-south route was exciting from the get go - a lot of support from the towns," Reynolds said. "That is not unlike what we had on the east-west route, but it was so nice to see how proud Fort St. John was to kick off the event, and we had a big reception at Williams Lake to close off. There were eight police cars escorting them into town, and people were very proud to be Mounties when that happened."
One of those Mounties was Const. Greg Pichler who said "it brought a lot of pride to a lot of people," to have such a successful fundraiser for cancer causes. "We saw a lot of community spirit along the way."
It didn't stop just because the bikes were dismounted. Pichler was at the Canadian Cancer Society office in Prince George on Friday afternoon to lend support to a 13-year-old friend of his. Young Christopher Foster put his youthful looks on the line to add even more to this year's Cops For Cancer totals.
"He has been growing his hair for a year," said Margaret Jones-Bricker, regional manager of the Canadian Cancer Society. "He has been very dedicated and committed to helping children who have cancer. He is passionate about the cause. By shaving his head and donating his hair he is creating wigs for cancer patients and raising funds for pediatric cancer research and Camp Good Times."
Foster got the idea in 2010 at the Fort St. James Overwaitea when the Tour de North stopped there for an event. His hair grew and so did his donations, amassing $550 that he handed over on Friday. His friend Austin Kropp spontaneously joined him, buzzing his hair off and handing in a family cheque for $100.
More donations like Fosters, after the tour, are common and part of the usual Tour de North process. The ride has so far raised about $225,000 towards a goal of $235,000 that organizers believe will be met.
