Chris Seeley is getting ready for the ride of his life.
"I was given a call in February," he explains. "They said, 'Hey, your name came up, and we'd like you to be the guest rider in Tour de Rock this year,' which was quite an honour and something I didn't expect."
Cops for Cancer's Tour de Rock is one of the organization's four events in the province. Out of the four, Tour de Rock raises anywhere between 50 to 75 per cent of Cops for Cancer's funding. It's also the largest event. It's a 14-day ride across Vancouver Island, totalling 1,200 kilometres. The cyclists, including Seeley, begin the ride in Port Alice on Sep. 21 and end it in Victoria on Oct. 4. They will pass Campbell River on Sep. 24.
The riders are trying to raise $1 million for childhood cancer research, support services at the Canadian Cancer Society, and Camp Good Times. As of the time of writing, they have raised over $66,200.
The ride initially was only open to RCMP and other police organizations. However, it is now open to other emergency services. The tour also invites media personalities and guests, such as Seeley.
"With the reality of policing these days, it's that a lot of communities are short-staffed, and it's a big commitment for the RCMP to train and to pull themselves out for two weeks," says Seeley.
It might be Seeley's first time as a guest rider, but he's not new to the Tour de Rock.
He moved to Campbell River in 2009 with his family and took over the Boston Pizza from his parents. His father hosted the Tour de Rock for lunch before it became a big event. Since 2014, Seeley has been personally involved. Boston Pizza hosts the day when the riders get together before the tour starts for lunch. When the tour eventually passes through Campbell River, the location hosts a dinner for the riders.
In 2014, Seeley also made a big presentation on behalf of the Island's Boston Pizza in Victoria for the Tour de Rock. Two years later, he did another presentation at the Boston Pizza e-conference about the tour and how it brought all the Boston Pizzas on the Island together in support of raising funds for children living with cancer.
Seeley isn't new to cycling, either. He grew up mountain biking but stayed away from road cycling. However, he's comfortable on a bicycle and will be helping out the rest of the riders as they train.
There are 17 riders in total representing the Island. Four of them are from the North Island, while the rest are from the South Island.
"We have myself as the guest rider, we have four media riders this year, then there are two ambulance services, and the rest are RCMP or Saanich Police," says Seeley.
The riders in the tour will be riding up Mount Washington on July 14 as a fundraiser. Seeley has also arranged a bottle drive fundraiser at the Sportsplex on Aug. 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
People can donate to Team Chris Seely at https://shorturl.at/vMxDb.
A Cops for Cancer Raffle Fundraiser is also looking for funding. The first prize is for a weekend in Whistler. Other prizes include a roundtrip flight for two guests to any regularly scheduled WestJet location and a weekend package to Vancouver. People can donate at https://shorturl.at/wn0ih.
