The Squamish Nation hosted 28 RCMP officers at Totem Hall who are cycling around the Sea to Sky Corridor, Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast raising money to support children and families facing cancer on Saturday (Sept. 20).Those taking the nine-day Cops for Cancer Tour de Coast have refueled at Totem Hall for the past nine years, enjoying traditional First Nation salmon dinners, drumming, singing and dancing. The riders are hoping to step up last year's 700-km pedal along the coast to about 900 kilometres. They are aiming to cover 100 kilometres per day, said Squamish RCMP Cst. Christy Mohr."But when you think of the fight that these kids are going through it's nothing compared to that," said Mohr, 24. "It's something that I enjoy doing anyway but I get to do it with great people and for a really good cause."The Squamish Nation raised about $1,850 for the Canadian Cancer Society with help from the community's financial support and donations to the silent auction - and that doesn't account for the money saved from food and venue donations.Organizer Donna Billy, a cancer survivor, said she started co-organizing the event with her late cousin Carol Harry, who died of breast cancer two years ago. Harry's spirit lives on with the gathering, said Billy. "Anything to do with cancer I try to get involved," she said. "It gets bigger and bigger each year."The cyclists meet with honourary members of the touring team - young cancer patients and survivors - along this year's new route. The team cycles through Pemberton, Whistler, Squamish, Vancouver, Port Moody, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, Burnaby, Richmond, Sechelt and Powell River. It's a tough ride, especially considering many of the riders are relatively new to cycling. Some bought their bikes just six months ago, said local rider Julie Miller, who beat cancer four years ago.However, most of the riders have been affected by the disease in some way which makes the journey very emotionally and physically meaningful."It makes for a really powerful experience because we all get to ride together and fight up those hills together," said Miller, 34."I think about the experience I went through and how that would be for children and how life-changing that was for me, so it means a lot to be able to raise money for research and for children's programs to help them and their families through that experience."Every cyclist has a minimum fundraising target of $6,000, so Cops for Cancer is gunning to raise at least $168,000 for pediatric cancer research.
