T H E C A P I TA L timescolonist.com | TIMES COLONISTA4 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

Elizabeth AvisNorth Cowichan/Duncan RCMPGrowing up in theCowichan Valley, Avisfollowed the Tour deRock, seeing teachersat ChemainusSecondary shavingtheir heads and theriders roll throughevery year.“That’s going to beme one day,” shesaid.

Ryan Blakey Nanaimo RCMP Having seen howpassionate Islandersare about the cause,Blakey is keen to diveinto the experience.“As strange as itseems, I’m reallylooking forward tosleeping on the gymfloors.”

Jason Bland Saanich Police Bland has providedmotorcycle escort forthe Tour in years past,alongside fellow offi-cer Sgt. Mike Lawless,who was diagnosedwith lung cancer in2013. “It has been acareer-long goal, togive that little bitextra. I’ve been onthe peripheries …this time it’s the fullcommitment.”

Jordan CarrieOak Bay Police Ever since he saw theTour de Rock roll intoSpectrum CommunitySchool as a student ,Carrie’s goal hasbeen to ride. Carriesaid he developedstrong roots growingup on VancouverIsland and wants togive back.

Adam Carruthers CFB EsquimaltCarruthers’s grand-mother, who lived inhis hometown ofThunder Bay, Ont.,died of cancer a yearago.“That would be oneof my motivators fordoing the tour,” hesaid.

Katie DeRosaTimes Colonist mediariderDeRosa has inter-viewed families whodescribed the painand anguish of losingsomeone to cancerand wanted to takeaction.“For me, the tour isabout trying to dosomething about it.”

Andrea FolkComox Valley RCMP After Folk’s closefriend was diagnosedwith sarcoma, shewatched him deterio-rate for four yearsbefore he died.“It’s my motivation topush myself up thosehills.”

Chandler GrieveCTV News“Kids deserve to havefun and run around,laughing and jump-ing. They don’tdeserve cancer. That’swhy I’m riding.”

Colleen HenryComox Valley RCMP For five years, Henryhas participated inthe Weekend to EndBreast Cancer, anannual 60-kilometrewalk. She befriendeda man who lost hiswife to breast cancer.“It hits you right inthe heart and makesyou realize it could beany one of us in theirposition.”

Heather HunterSaanich PoliceThe school liaisonofficer has seen thetour’s magic whenthe team rolls into aschool gym. Whenshe learned DeanNorris-Jones was rid-ing, she decided itwas her year to ride,too. “Kids don’t getto choose a conven-ient time to have can-cer, so I decided tojust go for it.”

Carla JohnsonIsland Radio,NanaimoJohnson lost hergrandmother to bonecancer and herbrother-in-lawrecently died of can-cer at the age of 43.“That was really diffi-cult. He was so youngand healthy.”

Chris KippelComox Valley RCMP Kippel met his wife,Katie, after her firstbattle with breastcancer. “We thoughtshe had it beat. Shehad the surgery andthe chemo. … Wethought everythingwas great, but then itmetastasized to thebone. Seven yearsafter we met, itclaimed her.”

RyanKoropatniskiVictoria Police A father of twoyoung girls whorecently lost theirgrandfather to cancer,Koropatniski has seenfirst hand how diffi-cult the fight againstcancer can be, andhow much strength ittakes from thosedirectly affected andfrom the families andcommunities at large.

Lori Lumley Victoria Police Lumley is riding forTerry Albrecht, aVictoria police officerwho died of cancer in2013. She is also rid-ing for long-timefriend Trish Massart,who continues to bat-tle cancer.

Jack McClintockCentral SaanichPolice DepartmentThe retired corporalsaid his motivationfor choosing a careerin law enforcement— “helping people”— is the same reasonhe’s on the tour. “Iam looking forwardto … offering encour-agement to familiesimpacted by cancerto help support theirfight against it.”

George Minshull Oceanside RCMP At age 25, Minshulllost his mother to along, hard-foughtbattle with pancreaticcancer. Minshull isdedicating the ride tohis wife’s uncle, AlecStenger, who diedMay 9, the dayMinshull was offi-cially named to theTour de Rock team.

DeanNorris-JonesReynolds SecondarySchool teacherNorris-Jones has beenhelping students atReynolds raise fundsfor the tour for nineyears. He and his wifeare cancer survivors.“I think any time youget a diagnosis likethat one it puts a lotof things into per-spective.”

MatthewPidgeonCFB Comox Pidgeon heard storiesabout the tour fromcolleagues — the vis-its to small, remoteNorth Island townsand to schools full ofexcited kids. Now hewants to live it.“I can’t believe thegenerosity of people.They really want tohelp out.”

Jordan ReidOceanside RCMP Having completed theTour de North whileposted in Kitimat,Reid has seen whatthe campaign meansto kids battling thedisease. “Those kidsobviously have it awhole lot harder thanI do. … They wishthey could be sittingon a bike and push-ing it instead of beingin a hospital bed.”

Tyson RichardPort Hardy RCMP The third-generationpolice officer’s sisterMarika, also aMountie, hoped toride alongside herbrother in the tourthis year, but raisingtwo young childrenmade that difficult.Richard says he’slooking forward toriding on behalf of hissister and her youngfamily.

Kyle UshockCampbell River RCMP Ushock said he wantsto help send kidswith cancer to CampGoodtimes. “The bigthing for me is help-ing kids who don’thave the chance tobe kids, and sendingthem to camp so theycan have a good timeand forget aboutwhat’s going on intheir lives for aweek.”

Justin WhittakerSaanich Police Whittaker said he’sriding for any parentwho has faced losinga child. “That power-less feeling whereyou cannot help themin any way, shape orform, it's absolutelyhorrible. For parentsto go through some-thing like cancer,well, it’s my time tostep up and do mypart.”

Steve Wright West Shore RCMP Having taken to hearta doctor’s advice toget in shape, Wrightlost 55 pounds andthis year felt physi-cally fit. His wife,Ailsa, has been anenthusiastic sup-porter, cheering theteam on at a numberof rides. “It has beenrewarding having herthere.”

Jennifer YoungVictoria Police “Let kids be kids.”Young said she’sdetermined to con-tribute to a futurewhere children areable to focus onthings like whatsports to play or howthey will spend theirweekend, rather thanhaving to think aboutwhat treatmentoptions they will face.

TOUR DE ROCK 2014Meet the 2014 Cops for Cancer team members and learn their reasons for riding in the Tour de Rock.

Source: Canadian Cancer Society

KATIE DeROSATimes Colonist

If one jersey could represent1,100 kilometres, 24 nervous andexcited riders, dozens of juniorriders, and unwavering commu-nity support across VancouverIsland, this would be it.

The signature red Cops forCancer Tour de Rock jersey pre-sented to each of the 24 riders onFriday is a symbol of 61⁄2 monthsof training and fundraising aswell as the journey ahead.

On Sept. 20, the riders willleave for Port Alice to start the13-day ride, zig-zagging acrossthe Island to raise money forpediatric cancer research andprograms for children with a his-tory of cancer.

“It’s a symbol of the riders whocame before us and the ones whowill follow,” said OceansideRCMP Const. George Minshull ofthe red jersey. “More than any-thing, it’s a symbol of hope for thekids.”

Minshull said trading in theblue training jerseys for the redones worn during the ride means“the dress rehearsal is over andnow the real journey begins.”

He admits that even thoughhe’s heard lots of emotional andlife-changing stories from pastriders, he has no idea what toexpect.

“As much as you want to thinkyou know what’s coming, younever really do until you’rethrown into it.”

Const. Colleen Henry ofComox Valley RCMP said the jer-sey “represents blood, sweat andtears, because I couldn’t evenride a bike when I started.”

“I’m excited to go to all thesecommunities and see all thesepeople … [who have] given usmoney, given us their hearts and

given us so much respect forwhat we’re doing,” Henry said.

Victoria police Const. RyanKoropatniski was thinking of allthe riders over the past 17 yearswho have helped raise more than$20 million for the Canadian Can-cer Society and childhood-cancerresearch.

“It represents all the hardwork and dedication that the teamhas done since 1998,” he said.kderosa@timescolonist.com

Times Colonist reporter KatieDeRosa is one of the media ridersfor this year’s Tour de Rock. Start-ing Sept. 21, the Times Colonistwill have daily coverage of the bigride, including maps, route infor-mation and stories.

Tour de Rock riders ready to roll

DARREN STONE, TIMES COLONISTThe 2014 Tour de Rock team shows off the red jerseys they will wear during their 13-day, 1,100-kilometre ride down Vancouver Island.

Kids with cancerinspire cyclistsfacing journey alonglength of Island

Times Colonist

A burn barrel has been pin-pointed as the cause of a fireThursday that spread from aOtter Point house into the nearbyforest.

Sooke Fire Chief SteveSorensen said the burn barrel,use of which was permitted underCapital Regional District bylaws,was being used to burn householdmaterials.

The person who lit the firethought it was out and left, hesaid.

“The winds came up and itwasn’t the greatest burn barrel inthe world, had some holes in it.The wind blew the embersthrough a hole into a pile of scrapwood that was next to the toolshed, which set the tool shed onfire, which set the house on fire,”

Sorensen said.“Purely accidental, but just

goes to show how dry it is.”On Friday, the fire-hazard rat-

ing rose to extreme, meaningburn barrels can no longer beused.

An estimated 50 firefighterswere involved in fighting theblaze Thursday, including mem-bers from the provincial ForestService and fire departments inSooke, Otter Point, East Sooke,Shirley, Metchosin, Colwood andLangford, Sorensen said. ViewRoyal Fire covered Sooke’s areaas backup.

Heavy smoke prompted theevacuation of 15 homes on WestCoast Road, Carpenter Road andDalrae Place.

Damage to the log-cabin-stylehouse at 7760 West Coast Rd. wasestimated at $500,000.

Burn barrel sparkedblaze, fire chief says

ISLANDER>Sunday in the Times Colonist