Devon Moon will be thinking of his grandmother, and the kids he met at Camp Goodtimes this summer, when he needs fuel for 900 km of pedalling from Coquitlam to the Sunshine Coast and back again with the Cops for Cancer Tour de Coast ride for the next two weeks.
Moon, 27, has been a Coquitlam RCMP auxiliary constable for the past three years and works as a dispatcher for both the detachment and Port Moody Police Department. It was a PMPD co-worker who inspired him to sign up for the gruelling ride and he "couldn't be happier," Moon said.
The kicker, he added, was hearing about the research that is supported by Cops for Cancer fundraising and the impact it has on kids suffering from cancer and their families.
Moon has been commuting to work by bike since November in anticipation of joining the ride and preparing for the training regime, "but prior to getting my mountain bike, the last time I rode a bike was probably on training wheels," he joked.
Hundreds of law enforcement and emergency services personnel will hop on their bikes to take part in Cops for Cancer rides throughout B.C. The Tour de Coast starts today (Wednesday) and wraps up on Sept. 24, taking in the Sea to Sky corridor, Sunshine Coast, North Shore and Greater Vancouver along the way.
Money raised goes to the Canadian Cancer Society for pediatric cancer research and support programs, including Camp Goodtimes for children with cancer.
"We got to go there earlier in the summer to visit the kids at Camp Goodtimes," Moon said. "It's a bit part of why I'm doing it."
He's also participating in the ride to honour his grandmother, Madeline Manes, who lost her battle with cancer in 2013 after surviving an earlier bout with breast cancer in 2007.
"We're a pretty close family," Moon said. "She was just exactly like my mom, she's very sweet, very kind. She would give the shirt off her back and never said anything bad about anybody. She was just a sweet person, an amazing grandma."
In the past 18 years, Cops for Cancer has raised $32 million for childhood cancer research and support programs.
"Communities throughout Vancouver Island, northern B.C., the coast of B.C. and the Fraser Valley have warmly welcomed us and the rest of the Cops for Cancer team," Tour de Coast team captains Const. Mike Murray and Dayne Campbell said in a press release. "They've co-ordinated and hosted events that we look forward to each year. It's an amazing feeling to see what lengths these communities go to in order to support our cause."
The kids at Scott Creek middle school in Coquitlam have a surprise up their collective sleeve for Murray to help kick off the Tour de Coast — a $15,000 cheque.
The school has been an active Cops for Cancer fundraiser for the past 14 years, and have been the top fundraising school in all of B.C. for the last seven.
"It's a huge part of our school culture," said principal Rob Foot. The fundraising campaign kicks off in the spring with "service learning" initiatives in which the students hold bake sales, cut neighbours' lawns, walk dogs and wash cars to raise money instead of simply asking for donations.
And after a young student passed away from cancer two years ago, the cause is particularly close to the school's heart, Foot said.
Scott Creek students were due to gather this morning to greet the Tour de Coast team for a short ceremony, after which they'll make the surprise presentation to Const. Murray, who has been battling colon cancer since October 2014, training for the ride and raising funds himself.
• Donations can be made to an individual rider or the Tour de Coast team by visiting the Canadian Cancer Society website at www.cancer.ca (under the Get Involved tab).
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