Going the distance for charity
Pair of Conestogo men now training to take part in Love, Sweat Gears cycling trek from Montreal to PEI
TWO LOCAL MEN ARE GETTING
set for an epic charity bike ride that will span some 1,400 kilometres from Montreal to Prince Edward Island National Park, with the plan to finish the quest in less than two weeks.
Art Timmerman and Frank Folkema of Conestogo will join other cyclists from across Canada in the final leg of the Love, Sweat+Gears ride, which takes place in June-August, starting in Vancouver and finishing in PEI.
The event, which is being organized by the Blue Sea Foundation, allows riders to pick a charity to raise donations for; however, each rider must raise at least $5,000 in order to participate.
The final leg, set for August 19-31, will see participants riding over 100 km each day, meaning preparation has already begun.
“You just don’t jump on a bike and do that – you’ve got to train. So I started a couple of weeks ago and tried to do a little more every day; you sort of build up to it. It’s different when you’re with a whole bunch of people – it doesn’t seem as hard, probably like a lot of things,” Timmerman said.
“I never really think about the distance; I just do it. It’s not a race,” Folkema said, noting that the participants will have a variety of skill and conditioning levels.
Folkema has previously completed several other long-distance rides, including the upper peninsula of Michigan and the west coast of the same state. He is also prepared for all different types of terrain, having ridden from Seattle to Denver and in the Appalachian Mountains in New York.
“[When] you’re going way through the Rocky Mountains… you’d think that’d be really hard. And it is hard, but you’re climbing for, let’s say, an hour and a half. But then you get a real nice ride down on the other side. Whereas… going through the Appalachians, you take a long ride up a hill, but then
you get a short run, going down, and you don’t get a chance to really recover as much as you were through the Rockies. So there are some variances of the terrain that you travel on,” Folkema explained, adding that he is prepping with a local riding group and on his own.
Most of the Love, Sweat+Gears ride will be
on paved streets; however, there will be some riding on gravel roads.
With the ride, Folkema will be fundraising for
Ray of Hope in Kitchener, while Timmeran is riding for the Mennonite Central Committee.
Timmerman has been volunteering at MCC Thrift in Elmira for three years, so it was an essay choice
for him.
“Through that I’ve become familiar with the programs that they do in Ontario, and I’m really supportive of those programs. I just thought that’d be a good place for the money to go,” he said.
Folkema volunteers for the Working Centre, which has a similar mandate to the Ray of Hope, he said.
“It’s a very similar type of ministry. Ray of Hope is geared more towards those with addiction issues, whether it be drugs or whether it be even too much computer screen time. So, it’s a variety of different addictions that they address.”
So far, Timmerman has raised $3,700, while Folkema has reached $2,290. However, Folkema said each participant can continue to fundraise to hit the $5,000 target even after the trek has started.
Those interested in donating can email Timmerman at art. timmerman02@gmail. com and Folkema at frankfolkema@gmail.com. Alternatively, you can visit lovesweatandgears.org/ donate and search for the person to whom you’d like to contribute.
Timmerman said that even with the fundraising factor, seeing different parts of Canada on his bike would still be a “neat thing” to do.
“There’s some sort of satisfaction and getting somewhere under your own power.”