Police from around Metro Vancouver departments will be on the roads this summer, throughout the Fraser Valley, as well as up the coast, but they won’t be looking for bad guys or fast drivers.
That’s because they’ll be pedalling fast on their sleek road bikes, training for this year’s Cops For Cancer Sept. 13 to 20.
In the Lower Mainland, two tours take place during those dates, the Tour de Valley and Tour de Coast, from which riders raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society or to help Camp Goodtimes.
The 2024 ride marks the 25th anniversary for the event and was officially kicked off May 29 at Scott Creek Middle School in Coquitlam.
Const. Daryl Krumbhols and Steve Clark are representing Delta Police Department in this year’s Tour de Valley.
For Krumbhols, it’s the second year in a row he will be participating.
“I am back because I enjoyed it so much last time,” he said. “To go out and actually do the ride and see the energy that kids put into riding and meet some of the families that we’re helping support is all the encouragement we need to come back.”
Part of the ride includes honourary riders who are kids with a cancer diagnosis, who, along with their families, sometimes tag along in escort vehicles to cheer on the police.
The route twists and turns around the Fraser Valley and includes a pedal uphill to Boston Bar in the Fraser Canyon.
During the course of eight days, police cycle about 100 km a day. That’s a doable distance but Krumbhols points out that it’s important to put training time in on the bicycle before the ride so that you’re used to pedalling several hours a day.
“The whole purpose is to raise funds so that we can send as many kids to camp as we can,” he said.
He’s heard conversations from families who say that their kids are changed by being able to go to Camp Goodtimes.
“Being able to support (that) is really what it’s about,” he adds.
Matthew Campbell, director of Cops for Cancer, pointed out the event’s 25th anniversary. “We know that nothing big gets solved by one person or one organization. To take on childhood cancer, it takes all of us,” he said in a release from the Canadian Cancer Society.
Applewood Auto Group is again the presenting sponsor for all four Cops for Cancer rides (Tour de North, Tour de Rock) that take place in B.C.
Last year, about 1,050 children across Canada were diagnosed with cancer, while the five-year survival rate for childhood cancer is now 84 percent, an increase from 71 percent in the 1980s.
People can donate online to an individual rider or the ride generally at: support.cancer.ca, while each rider may also have a fundraising page. The fundraising goal for this year’s Tour de Valley is $320,000.
