Area cyclists among 4,000 others in cancer ride
More than 4,000 riders expected to take part in this year’s 200-kilometre journey
Friends and co-workers Steve Laliberty and Leon Pilgrim have made some rather ambitious cycling plans for this weekend.
They will join more than 4,000 riders on a 200-kilometre jaunt from Toronto to Niagara Falls this Saturday and Sunday.
It will mark Laliberty’s fourth year and Pilgrim’s first in the annual Ride to Conquer Cancer which benefits the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.
The Toronto-based facility is considered one of the top five cancer research centres in the world. Over 10 years, Ontario’s Ride to Conquer Cancer has raised more than $155 million for the Centre.
Similar rides in Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia have pushed that total to $339 million.
“These funds have helped transform and accelerate the speed of discovery,” said the ride’s co-founder Stever Merker, vice-president of business development for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.
Laliberty got involved through an uncle in Scarborough. That uncle has done the ride for nine years on a tandem bike with an 86-year-old blind man in the second seat.
“It’s quite a feat,” Laliberty said. “But I guess that’s the whole point, we’re not doing it for ourselves but for others. I got into it because I wanted to do something to reach out to the community.”
Laliberty’s personal four-year fundraising tally tops $15,000.
Pilgrim, who works with Laliberty at Continental Tool & Die, is fast approaching the $3,000 mark.
His motivation comes from several fronts.
First, his father Harvey is a fiveyear survivor of prostate cancer.
“He’s doing well and one thing I’ve learned about Princess Margaret is that what they do really has a trickle-down effect to all the other cancer treatment centres in the country,” the 41-year-old Pilgrim said.
Pilgrim got into crossfit training a few years back and that led to developing an interest in cycling.
“At my age and stage, I’m trying to find different reasons to stay motivated and fit,” the father of three teenagers said.
Laliberty, 39, took up cycling after a knee injury eliminated running as a fitness option. He has tried to convey to Pilgrim some of what he has seen and felt in previous rides.
“There’s the biggest buildup where you get 5,000 riders crammed through this laneway at the start,” the Amherstburg resident explained.
Then there’s what seems like a never-ending parade of rolling hills to navigate for the flatlanders from Essex County.
“A lot of survivors will have yellow flags on their bikes,” Laliberty said. “If you’re having a harder time through the hills and you see someone go by with a yellow flag it keeps you going. It’s inspiring.”