Wheelin’ Warriors to participate in province’s largest cycling fundraiser

The Wheelin’ Warriors of the North will be wheeling south to raise money for cancer research later this summer.

The Tour de Cure, the largest cycling fundraiser event in the province, is back in person this year after 2 years of virtual and individual riding due to covid. Over the last 13 years, they have raised a combined $110 million through the BC cancer foundation.

For the first year post-covid, Sr Director Lindsay Carswell says “we are on pace to reach four or five million dollars. It is a total that will make a difference and we are definitely happy with.”

The event usually runs over multiple days through multiple cities, but organizers have decided to take baby steps out of covid and hold the whole thing on August 27th in Chilliwack.

“We are going to take a cautious approach with our return. For this year we are going to walk before we run.”

One of the Wheelin’ Warriors riders, Ariadne Holness de Hiller, a cancer survivor, says the Warriors themselves has raised 1.2 million dollars on their own in the past 10 years.

Holness de Hiller adds this year, “the whole team has fundraised about $60,000, and our goal is $200,000. Also important, all the money that the Wheelin’ Warriors raise stays in Prince George.”

She says her involvement with the Wheelin’ Warriors all stems from the excellent treatment she received in Prince George while she was fighting her battle with cancer and her strong desire to give back.

“The level of care I received was amazing. Just extraordinary. Everybody involved was exceptional.”

She also says she personally felt where the fundraised money went.

“The money that we are going to be fundraising, I was one of the recipients of that in the past. I was a recipient of the new technology in the past.”

There are three distance options (called challenge levels) for cyclists to choose from for the Tour, 50km at the Courage level, 100km at the Champion level, and 160km (100 miles) at the Challenge level.

You can find more information on the Wheelin’ Warriors of the North’s fundraising journey here, and more information on the Tour de Cure 2022 here.