Cops for Cancer’s Tour de Valley — an annual cycling fundraiser presented by the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) — returns to the Fraser Valley region for its 2024 edition from Sept. 13 to 20.
Participating police officers and emergency service personnel will cycle for eight days across 800 km in the region. Each participant solicits donations from the public, which go towards pediatric cancer research and CCS support programs such as Camp Goodtimes, a summer camp created especially for children battling cancer.
Five additional Cops for Cancer rides take place in various locations throughout B.C. and Ontario.
Daryl Krumbhols, an officer with the Delta Police Department (DPD), will be among the 20 riders taking part in the 2024 Tour de Valley. He also participated in last year’s ride.
Krumbhols began training for this year’s ride in March, usually cycling between three and four hours per week. In recent months, his weekly training has spanned five to seven hours, usually divided among two or three days.
“Riding 100 km takes a minimum of four hours,” says Krumbhols. “So, it requires that you spend more time training, and you try to do it more than once a week — maybe one long ride and a couple of shorter ones. It does add up.”
On Aug. 14, Krumbhols estimated he had raised approximately $5,000. The 2024 Tour de Valley’s overall fundraising goal is $320,000.
Krumbhols will be riding alongside officers and emergency service personnel from Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, Surrey and elsewhere. Another DPD officer, Steven Clarke, is slated to ride, but he broke his wrist during training, so his participation will be dependent upon speed of recovery.
“I enjoy the camaraderie with the other riders, says Krumbhols. “It’s nice to not only spend time with people who have similar interests and work environments, but to be able to get out and do some physical activity.”
As well, fundraising for cancer research is a cause that’s close to Krumbhols’s heart. Both of his grandmothers and a brother-in-law passed away from the disease, and one of his aunts is a cancer survivor.
“I don’t think you could find somebody that hasn’t been affected by cancer,” he says, adding that when he and his DPD colleagues take part in public fundraising drives, “We’re constantly having people come up to us and say, ‘I’m a survivor. Thank you for doing this.’
“We may not always recognize it, but I think everybody has been touched in some way.”
For more information about Cops for Cancer’s Tour de Valley, click here.
