DAVE EDWARDS OF Fanny Bay is going a two-day cycling adventure from Vancouver to Seattle, raising money for the BC Cancer Foundation.
PHOTOS SUBMITTED
Erin Haluschak
Record Staff
With his two-wheeled machine ready, training sessions behind him, Dave Edwards is ready to hit the open road.
Unlike his other rides, he plans on riding with thousands of other cyclists over the course of two days from Vancouver to Seattle this weekend.
The elite athlete, who resides in Fanny Bay, says unlike past marathons and triathlons he's participated in, this race has particular meaning to him.
Edwards is participating in the Ride to Conquer Cancer, which takes riders on a two-day journey to the U.S. with the goal to raise funds for the BC Cancer Foundation.
The ride has particular meaning to him, as the avid cyclist who "never smoked a cigarette in my life" was diagnosed with stage four cancer in April 2009.
"I've done the Boston Marathon, I've done the Ironman. I got sick out of nowhere," he said. "It's very high on my radar ... it came right out of the blue."
Edwards said he first heard of the ride during the time he was battling the disease, and this past December, a group of cyclist friends in Vancouver e-mailed him asking if he would be interested in putting a team together for the race.
With the eight-man group called Le Peloton in place 鈥� the name given to the main group or pack of bikes during a road race 鈥� Edwards then faced the challenge of raising the minimum $2,500 to participate.
"I thought I was in major trouble, but people have been so generous," he explained.
Edwards put out a call to friends, family and co-workers, making them aware of his participation in the ride, placed a few posters around his Ships Point neighbourhood and made short presentations during special events.
As of Wednesday morning, Edwards has collected a total of $9,700 of donations, with about $3,500 of those funds coming from the Ships Point/Comox Valley community.
"People that I don't even know have come up to me and handed a cheque for $100; I just can't believe the generosity," he notes. "It's staggering, it's just unbelievable."
With all levels of riders participating, Edwards says he's looking forward to "the buzz of the entire event," while riding with other who have the same goal in mind.
"It's the cause, not the ride that's important," he added. "When I was sick, I never thought I'd ride a bike again. My (cancer) treatment has been fantastic. The BC Cancer Foundation is amazing, and in a way, it's a little bit of payback. It's my way to give back. Hopefully cancer can be beaten."
Overall, Le Peloton has raised $37,731 for cancer research, and Edwards says he would love to reach his individual goal of $10,000 by Friday.
For more information on the Ride to Conquer Cancer, or to donated to Dave Edwards' ride, visit www.conquercancer.ca, click B.C., and search for the team and Edward's name.
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