Victoria man cycles for 24 hours straight to fundraise for dad diagnosed with ALS
Ian is riding his bike on a journey that began not on the street, but in the backyard with his dad.
“We were always playing sports,” Ian smiles, recalling how they’d shoot pucks and throw baseballs in the backyard.
Before that, his dad would taking him hiking. There are pictures of Ian as a baby poking his head out of a backpack.
“It was awesome,” Ian adds. “Some of my fondest memories as a kid.”
As an adult, Ian still finds it fun to push himself physically, his dad Ross says.
“He’s an extremely hard worker,” Ross smiles. “Very focused.”
Ian was focused on his life moving forward — at work as a firefighter, at home as a father and husband — when suddenly all he could focus on was a phone call from his dad.
“It was emotional,” Ian says. “Nobody ever wants to hear their dad has a terminal disease.”
Ross was diagnosed with ALS. He was slowly losing control of his muscles. And the son who’d always looked for help from his dad, started focusing on finding help for him.
“One thing my dad always taught me was be positive,” Ian says. “And have a positive attitude.”
So Ian decided to try and raise money for ALS research by cycling around the city for 24 hours straight.
“I’m just blown away,” Ross says of his son’s plan. “Totally blown away.”
Ian began with the overnight leg of the ride, cycling 300 kms around the Victoria Airport for 12 hours straight.
“It was cold. I was tired,” Ian says. “Was getting pretty delirious.”
But Ian kept going, riding around Greater Victoria for another 12 hours straight. He reflected on how his discomfort couldn’t compare to what his dad was enduring.
“It wasn’t really a question of if I was going to do it or not,” Ian says. “I had to do it.”
By then, Ian had more than surpassed his goal of raising $18,000.
After Ian had cycled non-stop for 24 hours, riding almost 600 kilometres straight, the dad he’d done it all for embraced him at the finish line, overwhelmed with gratitude.
“I’m so proud of Ian,” Ross says, fighting back tears. “It’s just a swelling in your heart. I don’t know what else to say.”
What can you say when you see that the baby you once carried on your back had grown up to become the man who’ll always have your back?
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense. The most distant spacecraft from Earth hadn't sent home any understandable data since last November.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.