The Tour de Rock team completed its mock ride and is nearly ready for the real thing.
Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock cyclists went on a trial run from Nanaimo to Duncan and back on Sunday as they train for their two-week, 1,000-kilometre fundraiser ride Sept. 25-Oct. 7.
Nanaimo RCMP Sgt. Donovan Tait said preparations are going well.
“The time has flown by,” he said. “[It’s] a great bunch of people, getting to know the fellow riders and grinding up those hills together, learning the skills and tactics, it’s been a great journey so far.”
Training is intensifying, as Sunday’s mock tour was the fourth of five straight training days.
“They’ve challenged us every ride and as each ride has gone along, we’ve seen our own techniques, our own confidence grow and grow and get better and better,” said Daryl Major, a media rider from Nanaimo.
The Tour de Rock members have done different types of training, focusing on speed, hills, and even a mountain ascent.
“When we went up Mount Washington, I think as a mental thing, that was huge for the team because when we hit some rough spots on the tour, we can draw back to that date…” Major said. “It was a great challenge and we all did it.”
Tait agreed that there have been some tough training days.
“Absolutely,” he said. “But you kind of always go back to why you’re doing the ride and dig deep.”
The Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock has raised more than $20 million for the Canadian Cancer Society since the event started in 1998. Money raised goes to pediatric cancer research and programs that benefit children who have cancer and their families.
Cops for Cancer team members have set ambitious fundraising targets and will keep those in mind leading up to and during the tour.
“The folks in Nanaimo are real generous,” Tait said. “The Tour de Rock really has a good following and a good footprint here in Nanaimo … We still have some work to do, but we’ll get there.”
For more information, please visit www.tourderock.ca.