As we worked on producing this week’s paper on Monday, Sept. 30, it was hard to concentrate as we counted down the hours to the Canadian Cancer Society Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock’s arrival in Ladysmith. The day the Tour de Rock comes to town is always exciting, emotional and inspiring. The riders bring with them reasons to laugh and reasons to cry, but, most of all, reasons to keep supporting them.
By the time the 21 riders arrived in Ladysmith Monday afternoon, they had ridden more than 640 kilometres. They had ridden many hills and the infamous Port Alberni Hump and ridden through some awful weather.
They’d done it as a team, and when you read the Tour de Rock riders’ blog or watch or read any of the media coverage, you learn that it’s people who give them the strength to keep going. It’s their teammates and crew, it’s people who cheer them on as they ride, and it’s the people they meet in each community who share their stories that really push them and remind them why they’re riding.
Hearing those stories also reminds us why it’s important to donate to the Tour de Rock if we can. All along the ride, the team has met children who have gone through cancer treatments or are currently undergoing treatments. The Tour raises money to send those children and their families to Camp Goodtimes.
The ride itself is incredibly inspiring, and so is the way our community embraces it. An incredible amount of work goes into planning events to celebrate the Tour’s arrival in Ladysmith and to raise money, and we want to thank everyone who has played a part in organizing Tour de Rock activities and who has raised or donated money. Many people have done remarkable things to raise money, like Dave Street spending 60 hours on a scissor lift (during our first big storm, no less) and Corey Cross growing so much hair and having it shaved.
We hope the stories the Tour de Rock brings inspire you as much as they’ve inspired us. You can read all about the Tour’s arrival next week.
—Lindsay Chung
