For the first time in its 18-year history, part of the Ride to Conquer Cancer will begin and end in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
The two-day cycling event presented by Johnson & Johnson raises money for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation and is scheduled for June 7 and 8.
Each cyclist commits to raising at least $2,500 and all money raised will go directly to funding research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre to treat and cure cancer.
Ryan Baillie, associate vice president of the foundation’s cycling events, said the average cyclist raises closer to $4,000 and some raise upwards of $500,000. He said since 2008, the ride has raised more than $300 million.
“This is the pre-eminent cycling fundraiser in the country,” said Baillie, adding that approximately 4,800 cyclists registered and 4,500 are expected to ride.
“And this is a unique year, of course, in that we have some start and finish lines changing, and that brought us to Niagara-on-the-Lake.”
After the opening ceremonies at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, about 400 riders will depart from Peller Estates Winery and Restaurant around 8 a.m., while roughly 4,000 cyclists will leave from Sherway Gardens in Toronto. Baillie said the larger crowd and longer ceremony in Toronto means they’ll start a bit later — but still before 9 a.m.
Then, once participants bike for 100 kilometres, both groups will stop at McMaster University in Hamilton to stay overnight, then those doing the whole 200-kilometre journey will head to NOTL on Sunday to complete the route. Normally, riders stay in the university’s dorm rooms, Baillie said.
“That tends to be the preferred option of most of our riders, but there’s still 200 or 300 that will stay in tents overnight on Saturday,” he said, adding some stay in hotels and those who live nearby sometimes go home.
“We call it camp,” said Baillie, adding that there will be food, live bands and entertainment.
“It’s an opportunity for everyone to celebrate, at least halfway through the ride, their collective accomplishment together,” he said.
Riders can do the one-day route and end their trip at McMaster, but those doing the whole journey will cycle 200 kilometres in total and return back to NOTL.
The majority of the riders take part in the full two-day ride, Baillie said, meaning regardless of where they start, they’ll end their journey in NOTL — between noon and 4 p.m.
The ride takes place on open roads, so safety is a shared responsibility between participants and organizers, he said. Riders must follow the rules of the road, which will be explained to riders at both ceremonies on Saturday morning.
There will also be paid duty officers and traffic management to close intersections, but there will be no closed roads.
Depending on the pace of each cyclist (which could be anywhere from 15 to 30 km/h, Baillie said) and how long they stop for, it could take them four to eight hours to finish each day’s ride.
