A group of 300 individuals will gather in Edmonton early next month to participate in a special commemorative bike ride, all in the name of raising money for melanoma research.
The 14th annual Roger's Harvest Ride is scheduled to take place September 14 and will see riders from across the province tackle one of three long-distance rides; 40 kilometres, 65 kilometres or 100 kilometres, and Laura Tetrault, one of the co-founders of the event said she's looking forward to what she hopes will be “another amazing day.”
“We've been doing this ride for a long time now and every year it just seems to get better and better,” Tetrault said. “We've always had a cap on the number of participants we allow to ride, last year it was 250, but due to demand we've upped it to 300 this year, so we're hoping this could be (the best ride yet).”
Roger's Harvest Ride is an annual social ride hosted by the Tetrault family, Velocity Cycle and the Velocity Cycling Club. Founded by Laura Tetrault and her husband Roger in 2001, the ride is an open invitation for Edmonton-based cyclists to enjoy the fellowship of the cycling community and the beautiful scenery of the Edmonton region.
In 2010 the ride took on an additional meaning as one of its founding members, Roger, passed away following a long battle with melanoma. Since then, Laura has worked hard to ensure the annual event sticks to its initial principals of providing local riders with an enjoyable, end of season ride they can look forward to, while also bringing a fundraising aspect to the ride, with participants encouraged to raise and donate as much money as possible for the Alberta Cancer Foundation.
“Since Roger passed away, we've done everything we can to make sure we keep the event the same as it always was and keep it simple. The only thing we changed was adding the fundraising component, which gives people the opportunity to donate to melanoma research,” Tetrault said.
Roger, who was born in Bonnyville and still has family residing in the area, spent several years coaching Olympic bronze medalist Tara Whitten.
Tetrault noted that she has been careful not to implement a set buy-in to the event, and she said she has never pressured anybody to donate, even though she has at times been advised to do so.
“One of the things I've always maintained while hosting this ride is that I wouldn't implement an extortionate buy-in and I wouldn't force people to raise four figure sums of money just to participate,” Tetrault said. “I want to keep this event much the same as it was when Roger and I started it – the focus has to remain on us getting together as a group and going out and enjoying the ride as a group, that's it.”
Having raised over $13,000 at last year's event, Tetrault said she was “quietly optimistic” of once again breaking the $10,000 mark this year.
“There's something very special about this event, and something even more special about the people that continually come out to support us,” Tetrault said. “This thing just keeps growing year after year, and looking online now at the early registration and donation numbers and we're already at $1,000, which is just incredible.”
Travelling down to Edmonton to participate in the ride once again this year is Bonnyville resident Marguerite Ducharme, who says she's looking forward to getting out there and riding to raise money for melanoma research.
“This is a very personal event for me, Roger was my nephew and so after he passed away I decided to take on participating in the ride. This will be my third time in four years heading down there to raise money for the Alberta Cancer Foundation,” Ducharme said.
She added, “This year is an even bigger deal for me though as my daughter was diagnosed with melanoma in early spring, so I'm going to be riding for her also.”
“I've done a few different fundraisers in my time, but what I like about this one is you aren't pressured to raise money. There's some things I've been involved in where I've had to raise $2,500 before I can even take part, so it's nice that you can give whatever you want to give with this event.”
With that September 14 weekend looming, Tetrault said there was one particular thing she was looking forward to announcing on the day of the ride.
“There's a very special moment for me personally attached with this ride every year, and that's a draw we do before we get started to see who will have the opportunity to ride Roger's favourite bike Goldie,” Tetrault said. “Before Roger passed away, he sold the majority of his bikes, but I wouldn't let him sell his road bike, so now that hangs up in Velocity Cycle for the full year and comes down for one lucky person to ride it during the Harvest Ride.”
She added, “We're about a month away, so if there's anybody out there that loves cycling and isn't busy that September 14 weekend, we'd absolutely love to see you come down and take part.”
Tetrault said there are still spots open for people to sign-up for the race, with registration costing $20, which includes the ride and a lunch. For more information visit http://velocity-cycle.com/page.cfm?pageid=241
