For Constable Tim Kenning it is the good times that keep him coming back.
The Powell River mountie will ride again in this year’s charity Cops for Cancer Tour de Coast which is happening from September 17 to 25 and includes riders from law enforcement and emergency services.
The Cops for Cancer campaign is part of the Canadian Cancer Society and raises funds for pediatric cancer research and support programs and services for children and families with cancer.
Kenning rode three years ago for his Powell River detachment and has also done similar rides in the Okanagan.
“Cancer is something that affects us all,” said Kenning. “I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t have someone in their family who had it.”
He said when he was asked to participate this year, it was an easy decision to make. “I enjoy it,” he said. ”It’s the camaraderie and we’re all here for a great cause.”
The tour is being organized to bring riders to schools and community centres so that students will have the opportunity to meet the riders and learn more about cancer. Kenning said the tour will alter course if the public school teachers are still on strike during the tour.
“Even kids get sick,” he said adding that all the money raised will go to research of cancers which children are more prone to develop and help to fund Camp Goodtimes, a camp designed for children in cancer treatment. “It gives them some time away from focusing on their illness,” he said.
Although Kenning did not fight cancer as a child, he did spend some time in BC Children’s Hospital and from that experience finds motivation to do what he can to help make things better for sick children.
Kenning said organizers try to make the ride something of “a spectacle” with the peloton being escorted by police motorcycles followed by an ambulance. He expects to be riding with about 40 other riders this year.
He has been going out for training rides throughout the summer and has been increasing the distance and frequency of his rides.
Riders from Metro Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast will ride 100 kilometres per day for nine days straight as they tour through their communities raising money and awareness of childhood cancer.
“Time in the saddle, that’s my training motto,” he said, adding that sitting in that position for extended periods can be really uncomfortable unless a rider is used to it.
Each rider is obligated to raise $6,000 and Kenning and the Powell River detachment are taking a few different routes to find the money. Online garage sale of donated items has been going well and he expects that close to $1,000 will be raised from those efforts.
The majority of the funds, though, will be raised at the annual spaghetti dinner and silent auction at Town Centre Hotel.
The event is being planned for the night that the tour pulls into Powell River, Friday, September 19. The public will have the opportunity to meet the riders and have some fun in support of a good cause, Kenning said.
Two hundred tickets are being sold for the dinner and Kenning is encouraging people to purchase their tickets early because he anticipates the event will sell out again this year.
“We’ll do a silent auction, a 50/50 draw and head-shaving fundraiser,” he said. “It’ll be a pretty fun night.”
Kenning added that they are always looking for more items to be included in the silent auction.
Tickets for the evening are on sale at two locations: RCMP detachment and Town Centre Hotel. The event is family-friendly and children five years old and younger are admitted for free. Tickets for adults cost $15 each.
For more information about how to support Kenning’s ride, readers can contact him at 604.485.5266 or through email at [email protected]. For more information about the Canadian Cancer Society readers can visit online.
