Police officers who biked 1,000 kilometres across B.C.’s Southern Interior raised $315,000 for the RCMP’s Cops for Kids charitable foundation.
The 10-day ride took place Sept. 8 to 17, with the team of riders cycling around 100 kilometres a day.
The ride began in Kelowna and trekked south to Penticton, then east to Cranbrook before cycling back to the Central Okanagan via Salmon Arm and Vernon.
Police say money raised by the ride will assist children who have suffered from a medical, physical or traumatic crisis. This year’s ride sponsor was the Thomas Alan Budd Foundation.
Most of this year’s riders hailed from Kelowna, including first-year rider Const. Heather Montagliani.
She started training for the ride in the months before, but had to adjust her schedule when the McDougall Creek wildfire started. With poor air quality, she had to train indoors.
“I’ve always wanted to do this ride,” she said. “For the training part, I needed to break it down, so, in April, I started to ride my bike to work a couple of times a week, then took some longer rides on the weekend.
“When the fire and all the craziness happened, I had to move indoors and use the bike trainer.”
Looking back, Montagliani said while the training and time commitments were arduous, it was well worth it.
“The ride was an incredible experience,” she said. “The first few days were challenging, adjusting to things like the Anarchist hill (Osoyoos), the Blueberry-Paulson (Monashee Mountains) on Day 3, plus getting your legs adjusted to riding 100 kilometres a day.
“On Day 4, once I settled in, I started to enjoy myself; it was really something. I could stand here and talk about it for hours, but you don’t quite know how it feels until it’s all done.”
She also said riding for children who need help was motivating.
“I actually got a chance to meet a young boy in Castlegar who is two years old and he was diagnosed with a very serious form of brain cancer when he was four months old,” Montagliani said.
“They stayed at Ronald McDonald House, so they were able to keep the family together and Cops for Kids was there to help.
“So, when you hear their story and you’re complaining about your sore quads, who cares if they are sore? Suck it up and get up this hill. This climb will pass, but their family journey continues every day.”
Also taking part in this year’s ride, and third overall, was Cpl. Ryan Danilowich.
Nine years ago, Danilowich and his family spent six months at BC Children’s Hospital when his daughters were prematurely born at 28 weeks.
“Our girls weighed roughly 600 grams and 1,000 grams,” he said. “So we went through a couple of operations and saw first-hand a lot of the families that were struggling and needed support.”
In every community they went through, the riders met families and children that the ride has helped.
“The best part is meeting the families all the way along the ride,” Const. Ronald George said.
“The ride is secondary; it’s so good to get out and do this. The little bit of pain we go through pales in comparison to what some of these kids are going through. This is our chance to support them and their families.”
More information about the Cops for Kids ride, including how to donate, is available online.
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