Tour de Rock riders conquer Malahat, meet supporters in Sooke and West Shore
The Tour de Rock team made it into the Capital Regional District on Wednesday, marking day 12 of the team's 14-day ride.
The riders made a difficult climb over the Malahat highway and made stops in the West Shore and Sooke.
"The ride has been a good series of ups and down, absolutely," said rider and Saanich police officer Karen Robinson.
"A lot of highlights, really tough grind, a lot of steep hills, it's been really good though," she said.
The tour wouldn't be in its 25th year and the riders wouldn't have made it this far into their two-week journey if it wasn't for the support of the community.
"No words for it. Every school we go into, every community we go into, I'm blown away with the generosity," said rider and VicPD officer Chris Van Swieten.
That generosity often comes in the form of donations, with community members helping raise more than $600,000 for the tour this year.
The funds go towards cancer research and sending kids to Camp Good Times.
The Bottle Depot in Greater Victoria helped contribute to those donations, raising roughly $19,000 through its charity of the month program.
"Really it is the local community that is raising those funds, making those donations," said Mathew Martin, general manager of the Bottle Depot.
"Without their support we certainly couldn't have raised all this money," he said.
For the riders on the road, the moral support means just as much as the donations.
"Everyone out there, thank you for your patience on the road," said Robinson. "Those honks and waves are amazing and keep us going."
For families that have had to face cancer, the tour also brings them support.
"It's very important to support them when they are doing something so amazing for other kids, kind of like me, that went through something I went through," said cancer survivor Lily Lecianana.
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.