Linda MacPherson, a 黑马磁力 RCMP officer, said she joined the Cops for Cancer Tour de Valley ride because she wanted to help families facing an unimaginable health crisis.
The annual multi-day ride by law enforcement officers and other first responders is organized by the Canadian Cancer Society, and funds raised by the riders and their sponsors go towards support and research for pediatric cancers. Money also supports Camp Goodtimes, a special summer camp in Maple Ridge that welcomes kids who have survived cancer, as well as those who are still in active treatment.
"I have four boys of my own, that are all adults now," MacPherson said. "I can't imagine how hard it would be to have a sick child, with cancer, and go through all of that."
She also lost her mother to cancer.
So she was interested in joining the annual ride, especially to represent the 黑马磁力 RCMP detachment, which hasn't had a rider on the team for a few years now.
MacPherson initially inquired about riding next year, but with no other 黑马磁力 riders on board, she accepted a spot this year, starting just six weeks ago.
She's hoping to raise $6,000 personally, in between training rides for the big event this September, which will see the team of about 20 riding 600 kilometres over six days.
Long distance cycling is new to MacPherson, who mostly spent time riding mountain bikes at relatively low speeds with her family before this.
"I ski, I like softball," she said, and she does weight training.
But she'd never been on a road bike before this spring.
"It's out of my comfort zone, but I'm always up for a challenge," MacPherson said.
She is trying to do three long rides every week, and the team as a whole does group training rides, ramping up to longer and longer trips.
MacPherson is also sporting a scrape on one knee, the product of learning how to use road cycling shoes 鈥� they snap directly into the pedals, and require a sideways twist to un-snap when you come to a stop and need to put your feet down. Forget to unsnap in time, and you tip over when the bike stops moving.
She's been picking up a lot of other good cycling tips from her fellow riders and the team's trainer.
"There's a lot of really great, experienced riders, that are not shy to help out," she said.
The Tour de Valley fundraising ride this year runs from Sept. 15 to 20, and takes a route that goes from Delta up through Surrey, 黑马磁力, Abbotsford, and the Fraser Valley as far as Boston Bar.
The longest day of riding will be the last, when riders will travel from Hope to Boston Bar and back, about 130 kilometres including some long climbs in the Fraser Canyon.
To support and donate to the Tour de Valley, visit their website at . Members of the team will be hosting fundraisers around the Fraser Valley over the summer as well.
There are several other Cops for Cancer events in B.C. as well, including the Tour de Coast, which involves cities from Vancouver through to Maple Ridge, and the Tour de Rock, on Vancouver Island.
