A local company lights the way as a team of eight riders cycles day and night to get up, then down, Vancouver Island to raise cash and awareness for local kids and families facing cancer.
The inaugural End2End relay, is a non-stop, two-day relay from Victoria to Port Hardy and back to benefit the Island Kids Cancer Association.
“When we leave on Tuesday, we really don’t know what it’s going to be like, but we know we’re going to go hard,” chair Andy Dunstan told the Victoria News.
Dunstan, a retired Victoria cop and part-time bike store employee, came up with the idea for the relay.
End2End features four pairs of cyclists taking turns riding a succession of 50-kilometre segments. Each pair will pedal for roughly two hours, rest for six, then climb back in the saddle for another leg of the around-the-clock Island Highway journey. Each rider will complete 250 kilometres by the time the trip is done.
“I’m excited because I’m going to be riding through Buckley Bay as the sun comes up. Those things are going to be important and exciting,” Dunstan said.
Paired up for safety’s sake, Dunstan and Bill Fry, the bike store owner, will ride the first leg from Vic West to Cobble Hill. The next 50-kilometre leg will be ridden by Rob McDonald and Chris Day. After them will come Mary Griffin and Steve Foster, followed by Kevin Nystedt and Erin Glazier. They plan to continue in that order until the relay is done. Safety is the No. 1 feature, Dunstan said, with a good support crew in place, including folks who have done this kind of thing before. Victoria-based business Full On Lighting is outfitting the team for night cycling.
“They’re so incredible; the faster we go, the brighter the lights are,” Dunstan said.
The only thing he hopes shines brighter is the spotlight on a critical organization helping families face tough times. The Island Kids Cancer Association is a grassroots organization that supports families facing the impacts of a childhood cancer diagnosis.
“I know there are families on the Island that when you get the cancer diagnosis there is a huge – let’s call it inconvenience – because everything treatment happens on the mainland,” Dunstan said, noting there’s disruption of family life, loss of wages and emotional toll. “It’s completely unknown … and you have this organization that will steer you through all the things you weren’t expecting, and can be there to help.”
The Island Kids Cancer Association aids families with everything from food to gifts and counselling – explicitly for Island families
Port Hardy hosts a turnaround party on June 18 with a finale set for Victoria on June 19 from 5 to 7 p.m. back at the bike shop. That’s when the riders learn how close they come to the target of raising $100,000 for the Island Kids Cancer Association.
“It’s going to be epic,” Dunstan said. “I hope when we come back we have some great story to tell and some great lessons to put forward to next year.”
Learn more at end2endcancer.com.
