Husband and wife team Brad and Shelley Sheridan are tackling the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer for their 10th and fifth times respectively.
The Elora couple cycled in the inaugural ride benefiting the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre 10 years ago and Brad has done so every year since. Shelley took on the challenge every other year.
“It feels good that you’re doing something to help raise money for cancer research and everybody’s there for the same reason,” Brad said.
“There’s a lot of good people and everybody’s got a story.”
This year’s ride will take place on June 10 and 11 with thousands of participants completing one of three 200km routes between Toronto and Niagara Falls.
Brad first had the idea to participate in the ride when he saw an advertisement on a plane.
“I basically thought, ‘That looks like a lot of fun,’” he said.
When he found out he had to raise a minimum of $2,500 he decided he wouldn’t participate. But once he learned his friend was cycling, Brad was back in the game.
“Then his wife joined in and I joined in as well, so the four of us did it,” Shelley said.
Each year Brad raises about $3,000 and Shelley raises about $2,700 when she rides.
To date the Toronto Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer has raised a total of $155 million for the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto.
It’s the fundraising that the couple says is the most difficult part.
“I went to friends, I went to colleagues, I went door to door, I stood on a corner; I did what I needed to do to raise it,” Shelley said.
“Every now and then I would get a wonderful surprise of somebody saying … they wanted to sponsor me $100 or they wanted to give me $200 or whatever and it blew my mind away because I was going by five and by 10 and by 20 …
“You do what you need to do to get it done because it’s a worthwhile cause.”
Brad said that while he has consistent donors who have contributed for the last 10 years, donor fatigue is still a challenge in raising funds.
Despite the 200km distance, the couple said the cycling isn’t too difficult. They keep active throughout the year and don’t need to do too much additional training to complete the ride.
“I would say the first year when we really didn’t know what to expect … I was training a lot,” Shelley said.
“I was doing hills … now we know what to expect so we probably have slacked off a little bit kind of, but we’re still active.”
Less than 200 cyclists have participated in the ride every year, including Brad, and this year they will be recognized.
“For those who have done all 10 years … (they) start off at Princess Margaret hospital, we have a special helmet and then we ride down to meet the rest of the group so there’s going to be … a peloton of 180 people,” Brad explained.
“That’s how we’re being recognized for 10 years.”
To donate to the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer visit to17.conquercancer.ca.
