What a glorious Ride to Conquer Cancer weekend!
4,573 participants raised over $19.2 million for cancer research. Our 60-person Heme Team raised $212,327 to support blood cancer research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. Over 2 days, I cycled 221 km. It was my ninth ride and 80 donors helped me raise $13,231.
However, the numbers don’t tell the whole story.
The Ride is an emotional rollercoaster, starting and finishing both days with exuberance. Spirits are high at pit stops along the way as riders consume thousands of bananas, oranges, brownies, and water while waiting for port-a-potties.
But it’s the 50-75km leg of the journey that tests us. Riding uphill and into headwinds, we dig deep to remind ourselves why we ride.
We encourage our teammates as they struggle, and urge them on. “You can do it,” we tell each other. “Way to go,” we shout out to riders with yellow flags that proudly signal their survivor status. We strike up conversations with people riding next to us on the road and sitting beside us at lunch.
The Ride is pure love—people coming together to connect for a common goal that is greater than all of us. The experience is a rare gift. So we ride again and again: to conquer cancer, to support each other, and to remind ourselves of what it means to be human.
All that emotion converges in triumph as we cross the finish line together—survivors, cancer centre staff who ride beside us and cheer us on, friends and family, and Dr. Hans Messner, who we carried in our hearts this weekend. It’s a moment I’ll never forget.
Thank you friends, family, supporters, and teammates! Until next year 🙂
