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Cyclists raising money to fight children's cancer

Keith Groen usually goes for a ride to help his own health.

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Keith Groen usually goes for a ride to help his own health.

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But the retired teacher from Chatham will be helping others as well when he hits the road this summer.

He’s using his pedal power for the Great Cycle Challenge Canada, an annual fundraiser to fight children’s cancer.

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“There’s not a family that has not been touched by cancer,” said Groen, 76. “I’ve lost relatives and friends to cancer. I’ve had relatives and friends be successful in their fight against cancer. I had a bit myself, skin cancer, but not life-challenging.”

He also had heart surgery two years ago. His daily bike rides are a way to appreciate his good health and stay in shape.

More than $21.6 million has been raised since the Great Cycle Challenge began in 2016. Proceeds go to SickKids Foundation, the fundraising arm of The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

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The Chatham-Kent chapter had 112 participants for this year’s ride as of Wednesday afternoon. All kilometres logged in August count towards their total.

Groen wants to ride 500 kilometres next month after covering 450 km in June. He cycles 23 to 25 km almost every day.

He normally hates fundraisers, but he couldn’t say no to this one.

“I saw it first on Facebook and I tried to ignore it, but I was out of luck on that. It just kept coming up on Facebook. I said to myself, ‘Gotta do it. … The fact that people have been so generous is a real motivator,” said the former Chatham Christian school teacher.

Groen originally set a modest fundraising target of $750 he wasn’t sure he could reach.

“That was blown out of the water within days, so I thought, ‘Well, I’ll do $1,000,’ and that’s long gone already,” he said.

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On Wednesday, he was up to $2,180. That’s more than 25 per cent of the total amount raised so far by the Chatham-Kent chapter.

“The support I’ve received is tremendous,” he said. “People are supporting me like crazy.”

This is the first time he’s taken part in the Great Cycle Challenge. He’s doing it for not only his friends and family but also in memory of Joshua Woelke, an 11-year-old Dresden boy who died in May of a cancerous brain tumour. Groen met Woelke’s family years ago driving a bus for Chatham Christian.

Go to greatcyclechallenge.ca for information on how to donate money or register to ride.

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