Children’s cancer cycling fundraiser passes through Belleville

The team of riders for the National Kids Cancer Ride cross-country ride fundraiser. Photo by: National Kids Cancer Ride

By Matthew Morgan and Mariia Khanenko

BELLEVILLE – Two Belleville cyclists, who are part of two teams riding across the country to help raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer, made a pit stop in Belleville on Monday, Sept. 18.

The National Kids Cancer Ride started earlier this month on Sept. 6 in Vancouver, B.C. The 18-day cross country ride will end on Sep. 23 in Halifax, N.S.

On Monday, one of two teams made their way to Belleville from Brighton after passing through Wellington. One of the riders, Lisa Allen, 42, from Belleville was part of that team.

The route one team of cyclists took on the way to Belleville.

“Everything has stood out to me, all the different people that came out from all over the country and the great stories that were shared,” said Allen, talking about the cross-country trip.

She said it was nice to see people show up and support the cause as well as to see those who have followed them on the ride.

Allen said it was her first year on the cross-country ride but her family has been involved with the ride since 2010.

She says she wasn’t sure if next year she is going to be doing the ride, that she hoped to still be involved in some capacity. Allen also talked of the importance of the fundraising and it being the biggest part of the ride.

Ken Cross, 45, from Kingston, is also a part of the ride and has been since 2009. Cross said that he enjoyed seeing people from different parts of Canada, and different walks of life come together.

Mike Kelly, 47, Belleville, is also involved with the ride. It’s his third full cross-country ride. He said it’s not as physically demanding as previous rides but emotionally it gets harder every time.

“I can’t believe how little is spent on childhood cancer in comparison to adult cancer patients,” said Kelly. “Children are supposed to be the future.”

All the money raised during the ride go to C17 Children Cancer & Blood Disorders Research, from there they go to 17 centres across Canada “to improve health outcomes and quality of life for children and adolescents in Canada with cancer and blood disorders.”