Pedal for Hope begins tour
Cyclists are honouring seven local children who have lost cancer battles since ride began in 2005
The Pedal for Hope team arrived in Peterborough on Monday to kick off the cycling group’s local tour.
The team, made up of city police, OPP and RCMP officers, rolled into Westmount Public School on Monday morning.
The group cycles from school to school to raise funds for pediatric cancer research.
They’re visiting about 30 area schools this year, including schools in Peterborough, Lindsay, Buckhorn, Apsley and Cavan. The tour, which also stopped Monday at Monsignor O’Donaghue School and Kawartha Heights Public School, also visits schools in Northumberland County and the City of Kawartha Lakes.
As they cycled into Westmount, students lined up in front of the school to give high fives to the officers as they rode by.
Once inside, the Pedal for Hope team put on an assembly, talking to students about children living with cancer. They also had some fun with the kids, batting around beach balls, shaving heads and hosting a game show.
“It’s organized chaos,” said city police Det. Const. John Townsend, a Pedal for Hope team member.
Last year, Pedal for Hope raised $332,759. Funds support the work of Dr. Lillian Sung of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
Like every other year, no goal has been set for the fundraiser, Townsend said.
Students at the schools raise money for the cause and Townsend said they’re grateful for every cent.
“Every dollar counts in cancer research ... the next dollar we raise could be the dollar that makes the difference,” he said.
While each stretch of the journey varies in length, depending on the day, Townsend said some days can be tough on the body. But it’s always worth it. “When you get that reaction from the kids, it doesn’t matter how much pain you have in your legs, it makes it worth it,” he said.
Along with raising money for cancer research, Townsend said the school visits are also a chance to show police officers in a different light.
“We’re not just the rule enforcers ... we want to be the guys they can come and talk to when they have a problem,” he said.
The tour ends on May 13 at the Peterborough Golf and Country Club. As always, kids battling cancer will join the team for the last kilometre of the ride.
Officers ride in honour of a child battling cancer or in memoriam of one.
Cyclists are ending their ride at the golf course this year to mark the beginning of the Courtney Druce Memorial Golf Tournament. Ms. Druce, 27, lost her fifth battle with cancer in April 2016.
She was a Pedal for Hope ambassador and her dad John Druce, a former NHLer who is now head coach of the OJHL’s Cobourg Cougars, is a member of the Pedal for Hope team.
“She always wanted to do something for the kids battling cancer – it didn’t matter whether she was in her darkest days,” Townsend said.
The tournament is expected to become an annual event. This year, seven children, who lost their battle to cancer since Pedal for Hope’s launch in 2005, will be honoured at the event.