2015’s B.C. Ride to Conquer Cancer hits the road from Cloverdale, B.C. to Seattle, Washington

More than 2,000 people rolled out under wet Lower Mainland skies for this weekend’s B.C. Ride to Conquer Cancer, a trek that will take them from Cloverdale, just outside Vancouver, to Seattle, Washington. And before rubber had even met road, the event had already raised $8.4 million for cancer research.

It’s the seventh such Ride in the event’s history, and so far, all such rides combined have put $60 million towards cancer-related medical research. All told, about 2,087 cyclists in total are participating in this year’s tour, some of whom will take the full 191-kilometer trek along the shores of Pugeot Sound, from Cloverdale south. Others will turn back after the first day’s ride, returning to Cloverdale on Sunday night, after the main group of cyclists dismounts in Mount Vernon, Washington. From there, the riders press on to Seattle.

No matter what the end of point of participating cyclists, though, each one of them, organizers say, represents a critical bit of awareness, and much-needed funds, in the fight against cancer.

“More than one in three of us,” said Doug Nelson, CEO of the B.C. Cancer Foundation, “will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in our life.” 25,000 people, he estimated, will be diagnosed with cancer; 9,000 people in British Columbia alone will lose their lives. “That’s why this ride touches so many people,” he said.

Each of the participating riders spearheads a fundraising effort, collecting pledges and donations, with the total dollar amounts raised going towards cancer research. What’s behind the sight of so many gleaming helmets and smoothly-turning cranksets, officials suggest, is the idea of each rider representing an individual, and indispensable, overall boost to the cause. “Dollars from this event are transforming the lives of patients,” Nelson added, “and giving oncologists more and more often the confidence to say ‘cure.'”

There’s also, of course, the more symbolic nature of the ride, with many riders using the event as a chance to break through personal ceilings. For some of the cyclists, it’s the first time they’ve ever ridden 200 kilometres. Meeting such a challenge, they say, is a milestone in the fight against cancer — some for loved ones they’ve lost, some for themselves.

Organizers, meanwhile, have announced August 27th and August 28th as the dates for the 2016 B.C. Ride to Conquer Cancer.