RIDER STORIES

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2024

“It’s all about the people”: Fifth-time rider Steve De Belie shares his reasons to ride

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Author: Nicole Topple - Publish date: September 27, 2024 With BMO Ride for Cancer taking place this Saturday (Sept. 28), rider Steve De Belie believes there’s a common thread amongst all event participants. “Ultimately when it comes…

Cancer survivor Jack Palmer riding for those who can’t

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Author: Sarah Marshall Facing a cancer diagnosis is intimidating for anyone. For a young adult just starting out, it adds an extra layer of uncertainty. At age 23, Jack Palmer was on the brink of new beginnings – he had just moved…

From ocean jumps to workplace fundraisers: Jenna and High Liner Foods Captain’s Crew are an unstoppable force

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Author: Jennifer Gouchie-Terris  Jenna Goulden admits to being a little nervous when she signed-up for her first BMO Ride for Cancer in 2019, but she quickly rose to the cycling challenge and the event has now become an annual tradition…

Riding for loved ones and the future: The inspiring family behind Cure Cyclers

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Author: Jennifer Gouchie-Terris  Anick Lamoureux and Eric Valois are teaching their children the importance of supporting the community through their involvement with BMO Ride for Cancer. Originally from Quebec, the couple and their two…

Remembering Marc: How Kimberley is honouring her late partner and transforming cancer care for future patients

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Author: Jennifer Gouchie-Terris  Everyone has a reason for taking part in BMO Ride for Cancer. For Kimberley Wotherspoon, it has become a way of honoring her late partner, Marc, who passed away from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2012 at the…

Against All Odds: A team’s mission to give back for those facing cancer

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Author: Jennifer Gouchie-Terris & Nicole Topple Logan Berkvens is this year’s team captain of the Against All Odds BMO Ride for Cancer team (pictured below). He’s joined by his fiancée, Kenzie Lewis, and close friends, Jennifer…

Sockstars rockstars: Workplace team rallies for local cancer treatment and care

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Author: Jennifer Gouchie-Terris Jenn Currie’s first experience with BMO Ride for Cancer began as a volunteer, but she quickly became so inspired by the event that she couldn’t resist the urge to take part as a rider. While volunteering…

A decade of friendship and riding strong in memory of loved ones lost to cancer

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Author: Jennifer Gouchie-Terris A chance meeting at a Tim Horton’s on their way to the very first BMO Ride for Cancer a decade ago led to a very special friendship between Cheryl Jeffers-Johnson and Laura Ayer-Wile. Although total strangers,…

Generations in pink capes: A family’s tribute to their loving wife, mother and grandmother

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Author: Jennifer Gouchie-Terris If you’ve seen pink capes flash by you on the trail or at the finish line during past BMO Ride for Cancer events, it was likely one of the many loved ones riding in honour and memory of Linda Bonin. According…

Prostate cancer survivor and Emera/NS Power team captain rides in memory of his late brother and for those currently facing cancer

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Author: Jennifer Gouchie-Terris John McNamara jokingly describes himself as the most annoying fundraiser ever. His tenacity when it comes to collecting donations has allowed him to personally raise nearly $13,000 for BMO Ride for Cancer…

2023

Remembering Cara Beals: a team’s mission to honour their friend and late BMO Ride for Cancer participant

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Pictured: Cara Beals (right) at the 2022 BMO Ride for Cancer. Cara, who passed away from neuroendocrine cancer in June 2023, was a longtime BMO Ride participant; her friends and loved ones now fundraise in her honour. Originally published…

In memory and motion: Lauren’s reasons to Ride for local cancer care

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Pictured: Lauren Currie with her late father. Lauren will cycle 75 km in the upcoming BMO Ride for Cancer 2023, in memory of her father, who passed away from cancer. Amidst a bustling schedule, Lauren Currie, hailing from Dartmouth, Nova…
Rob McLeod gearing up to ride in the 2022 BMO Ride for Cancer event.

Vancouver BMO rider, Rob McLeod, embraces life’s challenges with a positive mindset and unwavering hope

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Rider and cancer survivor, Rob McLeod, travels from Vancouver, BC to ride in his third BMO Ride for Cancer event. A Vancouver resident has been training and raising funds to bring the best cancer care technology to Atlantic Canada through…
Chris and Cooper Carpenter smiling.

Riding for life-saving care, at home

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Chris Carpenter (left) is the father of 10-year-old, two-time cancer survivor, Cooper (right). He’s riding for his son and to help bring treatment closer to home for other families. Chris Carpenter understands how invaluable it is to have…

‘You feel surrounded by it’: Colleagues share their reasons to ride

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From left to right: BMO employees, Ina Comeau-Collins, Financial Planner (Yarmouth & Liverpool) and Laura Gibson (second image, far left), Vice President of Commercial Banking (Nova Scotia & PEI) As title sponsor of BMO Ride for…

2022

Stephen Beamish’s story

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Our BMO Ride team is truly honoured to work with patients like Stephen Beamish and his family. Sharing his story and fundraising efforts was incredibly important to him, even in his final days. We wrote this article featuring Stephen and his…

In celebration and memory: BMO Rider Jessica Boudreau rides for cancer survivors like herself and to honour her late parents

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Tucked away in the attic of Jessica Boudreau’s home in Isle Madame, Cape Breton is a unique piece of art, hand-crafted for her as a symbol of her fight against and survival of cancer. The canvas? The mask Jessica wore while she underwent radiation…

Chronicle Herald: The WM Fares Family Foundation is doubling all donations to BMO Ride for Cancer, up to $300,000

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Caption: Wadih and Cathy Fares (pictured) are the donors behind the WM Fares Family Foundation, who are matching all donations to BMO Ride for Cancer on Sept. 15. They hope their matching gift, which is part of a larger $500,000 donation, will…

Pictou County resident and cancer survivor rides for personalized radiotherapy

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Pictured: BMO Ride participant, Shawna Coleman, with her husband While it was more than a decade ago, Shawna Coleman vividly recalls the feeling that something was wrong in her body. She underwent a series of tests right before attending her…

Full-circle fundraising: QEII cancer patient and rider helped by genetic sequencing technology all-in for BMO Ride 2022

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During BMO Ride 2021, Patti Davidson fundraised for genetic sequencing technology and afterwards found out the technology was used in her own QEII cancer treatment. This year, she’s going all-in fundraising for BMO Ride for Cancer 2022 with…

Marking milestones: rider Michelle Higgins takes on her first bmo ride one year after cancer diagnosis

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Why is Michelle Higgins riding in this year’s BMO Ride for Cancer? Because she can. It seems simple, but for Michelle, who was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer in June 2021, riding her bike to raise awareness and funds to advance cancer…

Cancer scare makes a physician’s Ride ‘deeply personal’: Today, all donations to BMO Ride for Cancer are doubled, up to $100K

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Pictured: Dr. Howard Conter. Originally published by the Chronicle Herald  |   By Joey Fitzpatrick https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/more/custom-content/cancer-scare-makes-a-physicians-bmo-ride-for-cancer-journey-deeply-personal-100745902/ On…

BMO Ride for Cancer is 85 per cent sold out, announces world’s first cancer-fighting technology as 2022 fundraising focus

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A team celebrates at our 2021 BMO Ride for Cancer event. Photo credit: Uncharted Creative Media. (HALIFAX, N.S. – Tuesday, March 8, 2022) On March 3, public registration launched for the eighth annual BMO Ride for Cancer, formerly Ride…
Gavin Mill Photo

BMO Ride for Cancer gears up for another record-breaking year and impact for QEII cancer care

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Gavin Mills is a cancer patient at the QEII Health Sciences Centre and a participant of BMO Ride for Cancer. To date, more than $5.7 million net has been raised by the BMO Ride community, in support of local cancer care at the QEII. PHOTO CREDIT:…

2021

One woman’s journey with a very special bike

Odette Merchant’s Ride for Cancer journey started in the Netherlands – a country known for its cycling. In 2014, Odette and her family took a trip to enjoy everything the Netherlands had to offer, including bike rentals to see the sites…

Finding new purpose in a pandemic

Erin Thibault is a Paediatric registered nurse, high-performance AquaBike/ triathlete and triathlon coach in Halifax. Erin has competed around the world in places like New Zealand, Australia, Mexico and all over the States and Canada. Currently,…

‘I’m doing it for our patients’: Uncovering strength in cancer care and exercise

For exercise physiologist, personal trainer and lifetime athlete, Joy Chiekwe, the hand-painted word ‘strong’ is a fitting choice to wear across her face with pride. Much of Joy’s life has centered around sports, movement and goal-setting.…

2020

Halifax cancer survivor riding for local breast health at the QEII

Originally published on thechronicleherald.ca. After years of being extremely athletic and coaching boys’ basketball, Laura Lee Josey found it hard to cope when her cancer treatments left her feeling weak and exhausted. “Your entire…

2019

2018

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