A real tour de force
Seven days and 913.97 km later, nine cyclists rode around Lake Ontario to raise money for Wellspring Niagara.
Seven days and 913.97 kilometres later, nine cyclists who set out to ride around Lake Ontario to raise money for Wellspring Niagara are back home.
The riders, who were joined by six day-riders who joined them for the last stretch, were greeted by cheers, applause and high fives as they rode into the Hunters Pointe community in Welland. They were guided by a police escort and three volunteers who were with them along the way to make sure they were taken care of.
As they dismounted, the riders hugged family and friends and shared their experiences of being on the road since July 16.
“I’m glad to get off of my backside,” quipped Frank Adamson, who organized the tour.
With more seriousness, he told the crowd, “We’ve had a great time, great riders.”
He said in an interview afterwards that the ride is to support cancer survivors and their loved ones who use Wellspring Niagara’s services. When things got tough — whether it was weather or the ride itself — he said they each remembered who they were doing it for.
He said each day they would dedicate the ride to someone they knew who was fighting cancer and, along the way, notes with words of encouragement from survivors made a world of difference.
Terry Purser, from Thorold, is one of the survivors, called Wellspring Warriors, who wrote notes for the riders. He said he included a number of quotations he likes, including one from Muhammed Ali that states, “Don’t count the days, make the days count.”
“Their ride is similar to our challenge,” he said of fighting cancer and having to endure through tough times.
He said many in his family, including his son, have had cancer, and he’s now battling prostate cancer and will be in treatment for at least another year. Having Wellspring Niagara available as additional support is something he says in invaluable to him. He first heard about the organization through Niagara Health System and is grateful for the wealth of support groups and different support services for him and his family.
Joe Matthews, chair of the board for Wellspring Niagara, said he’s used those services himself during his own battle with cancer in 2002. He knows how important they are to cancer survivors and their families and said that none of it would be possible without support from the community.
“They’re vital to what we do,” he said, noting that the organization doesn’t receive any government funding and relies solely on the support of the public.
The funds raised from the Tour Du Lac, which started at Wellspring Niagara headquarters a week earlier, will be going toward building the new Wellspring Niagara centre in Fonthill’s east development. The goal was to raise $100,000 to put toward the $5-million capital campaign to build a bigger facility.
On Saturday afternoon, Ann Mantini-Celima, executive director of Wellspring Niagara, said funds were still being tallied, some of which were coming in during the Summer Sizzle event at Hunters Pointe hosted by Lucchetta Homes.
Kim Kopyl, sales and marketing director for Lucchetta, said the event is held each year for its 400 residents to get a chance to mingle and get to know each other. It also incorporates a charity aspect into it and this year chose Wellspring Niagara.
Kopyl said Wellspring Niagara was chosen because of the impact it has on the community and the chance to help raise funds for it since it relies only on donations. She noted that some of the Hunters Pointe residents may also use Wellspring Niagara, so it’s important to contribute to this kind of organization.