The Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock team stopped at the train station for hamburgers and a haircut, then continued their charity ride down the Island.
The tour arrived in Nanaimo on Saturday and held events Sunday as well before departing for Ladysmith. The riders were the guests of honour at a barbecue lunch Sunday, Sept. 26, hosted by the Island Corridor Foundation outside the Coach and Horses Pub at the old train station on Selby Street.
Nanaimo RCMP Const. Cydney MacNeill, riding in the tour for a third time, arrived at the stop with long locks and left closely shaven, having donating her hair for wig-making for cancer patients and raising more than $4,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society.
Asked about the community support for the tour, she said, “it’s really fantastic – we’re just out for a bike ride.”
A Tour de Rock before-and-after of Nanaimo RCMP Const. Cydney MacNeill, who raised $4,000+ to have her head shaved in support of the cause. Also pictured are Dan Awalt of Heavy D's Barbershop and Andrea Thomas of the Island Corridor Foundation, which hosted Sunday's event…
— Nanaimo Bulletin (@NanaimoBulletin)
Nanaimo RCMP Const. Ashley Cockle and her husband Mike Sherman, a reserve constable with Victoria Police Department, rode the Tour de Rock in consecutive years in 2017 and 2018, respectively, and Cockle said it was nice that they could ride together in 2021.
She said the tour – which raises money for cancer research and to support cancer patients and their families – is a worthy cause and said she continues to be motivated by the tour’s junior riders.
“It’s just so amazing to see them grow and strive and that’s why we do the tour,” Cockle said.
Sherman said it was an honour, as a tour alumnus, to be asked back.
“Normally the tour is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so to get invited back again was something we couldn’t say no to,” he said. “I personally can’t find a better cause than helping kids with pediatric cancer.”
Even on a rainy Sunday, Sherman said it would be “worth every minute” of hard cycling to think that the tour could make a difference as far as raising awareness and helping kids “survive and thrive.”
“I’m always reminded of the kids who are actually fighting cancer. So for me to get out in the rain today and pedal a bike is nothing,” he said.
For more on the Tour de Rock and how to donate, visit .
READ ALSO:
READ ALSO:
editor@nanaimobulletin.com
Like us on and follow us on
