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
LIVE Sinclair family shares heartfelt message ahead of memorial service
Murray Sinclair’s family members say the late justice and senator has been laid to rest according to his wishes.
Trump on Day 1: Begin deportation push, pardon Jan. 6 rioters and make his criminal cases vanish
Donald Trump has said he wouldn’t be a dictator — 'except for Day 1.' According to his own statements, he's got a lot to do on that first day in the White House.
Liberals to face third test in federal byelection in British Columbia next month
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced voters in Cloverdale—Langley City will pick their next member of Parliament on Dec. 16.
King Charles III and Kate attend remembrance events as both slowly return to duty
King Charles III led the nation Sunday in a two-minute silence in remembrance of fallen service personnel in central London as the Princess of Wales looked on, a further sign the royal family is slowly returning to normal at the end of a year in which two of the most popular royals were sidelined by cancer.
Cornwall, Ont. prepares for potential influx of asylum seekers following U.S. election
As the possibility of mass deportations looms following Donald Trump's re-election on Tuesday, border towns like the City of Cornwall are preparing for a potential influx of asylum seekers.
Sarnia, Ont. police make 'high-risk' arrests, charge 3 with kidnapping
On Friday, the Sarnia Police Service (SPS) received a report of an alleged abduction in the area of Kathleen Avenue and Walnut Avenue.
Canadian delegation 'overwhelmed' by visit to Great War battlefields
It's been a trip to cherish for a group of Canadians visiting Belgium this week to honour the legacy of Indigenous soldiers.
Donald Trump knows the Canada-U.S. relationship 'in a way he didn’t before': Ambassador
Canada's ambassador to the United States — and co-lead of the federal government's Team Canada war room — says U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has a different understanding of the bilateral relationship than he did during his first term in the White House.
Thinking of donating your brain to science? This is what they might do with it
Researchers say taking a peek inside a person's brain is as difficult as understanding the universe or discovering the ocean in its entirety.