DUSTIN COOK Cycling for a good cause
Texas students ride into town on way to Alaska, raising funds for cancer research
Riding into MacEwan University Wednesday afternoon with wide grins on their faces, it was hard to believe these 23 University of Texas cyclists have travelled about 5,470 kilometres over 47 days.
The students, part of the Texas 4000 cancer research bike ride, are raising money and awareness during a 70-day ride from Austin, Texas, to Anchorage, Alaska, covering 6,473 kilometres (4,000 miles).
In total, 69 riders are taking part in three groups along three routes and they will join in Whitehorse on Day 60 for the final stages.
The Ozarks route riders arrived in Edmonton from Vegreville led by ride director Kyler Heintz, who is riding for his grandmother, diagnosed with lung cancer the year before he applied.
After a long application process, the selected riders started planning and training in the fall of 2016, leading up to the start of the ride at the beginning of June 2018.
A highlight for Heintz was being able to ride through the town in Minnesota to visit his grandmother and see where she is being treated.
“I was very grateful that happened,” he said. “To see the money that we’re fundraising is really going a long way.”
The overall fundraising goal for the ride is US$600,000 which is then divided among numerous organizations and research initiatives working to combat cancer, Heintz said. Along the ride, the three groups have made trips to such organizations and presented them with grants from the previous year’s donations.
Since the ride began in 2004, more than 750 students have participated and raised about US$8.4 million.
Arriving to the Edmonton skyline Wednesday afternoon, Heintz said many of the riders were taken aback by the river valley views. They were greeted at the MacEwan University residences where they will be staying and hosted by the Edmonton Fire Fighters’ Union.
The group spent Tuesday night in Vegreville, which Heintz said was a moment to remember as they were hosted by the fire department and got to suit up in fire gear and take part in a series of drills.
“It seems like the entire city rallied around us,” he said. “Often times we’re thanked for what we’re doing, but the reality is that it wouldn’t be possible without people like that and communities like that.”
The students will hop back on their bikes Friday en route to Alaska, set to complete their journey on Aug. 10.