'A great cause': Smaller island communities embrace Tour de Rock
The 25th anniversary Tour de Rock team is descending Vancouver Island to raise money for pediatric cancer research and to send families affected by cancer to Camp Goodtimes.
On Monday, the team made stops at some of Vancouver Island’s smallest communities, like Woss, as it pedalled from Port McNeill to Sayward. On day three of the 14 day trek down the length of the island, the Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock riders were loving every minute of it.
“It's been pretty awesome,” said Port Hardy RCMP officer and Tour de Rock team member Kyle Dornan on Monday.
“We got an absolutely great showing in Port McNeill, Port Hardy, Port Alice and now here in Woss, it's been pretty cool.”
Day three of the Canadian Cancer Society fundraiser saw the team of 20 riders undertake the longest leg of the journey with a 143-kilometre ride from Port McNeill to Sayward. For Tour de Rock CTV Media rider Anna McMillan, the stop in Woss gave her an opportunity to connect with members of the small North Island community.
“Riding into Woss we had people in their backyards and they’re like, 'Oh my Gosh it's Tour de Rock,'” said McMillan.
“I think the smallest communities are going to be the most excited to see us. You roll into a town past people’s homes and they’re in their windows waving,” she said.
A visit from the Tour de Rock team is an event that the residents of Woss look forward to every year. As many as 20 volunteers spent about a week setting up and preparing food for the tour stop.
Monday’s visit by the Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock riders was the 10th year Woss resident and event volunteer Desire Glass welcomed the team.
“This is a great cause,” said Glass. “We come together as a community to support each other.”
According to the Tour de Rock team members, the conditions for Monday’s journey were perfect and it offered them an opportunity to enjoy the sights and collect some memories.
“It was what I expected and more,” said McMillan. “Everyone who’s done the tour before has said it's one of the best experiences of their life and now I understand why.”
Before the 20 riders left Port Hardy, RCMP officer Dornan was given a special souvenir by his junior riders when they shaved his head.
“I got a pretty awesome haircut,” said Dornan as he revealed his shaved head. “If anybody wants to get a sweet haircut, Weston and Beckett in Port Hardy can do up a pretty good haircut for you.”
The Tour de Rock riders ended the third day of the 14-day fundraising journey with a community dinner in the small community of Sayward. On Tuesday the team kicked off the next leg of the trip down Vancouver Island by making their way to Campbell River.
To donate to the cause visit the Canadian Cancer Society’s Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.