Setting wheels in motion for the 2015 Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer in Alberta
By David Bryson, Vice President, Liquids Pipelines Asset Performance and Development, and Team Enbridge Captain for the 2015 Alberta ERTCC
David Bryson, Enbridge's Vice President, Liquids Pipelines Asset Performance and Development, and Team Enbridge Captain for the 2015 Alberta ERTCC.
Wow, here we are – less than two weeks from Ride weekend!
As an amazing group, 195 riders strong across the province of Alberta, Team Enbridge has been able to raise more than $500,000 so far for the upcoming Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer event in the Calgary area on Aug. 8 and 9. And we’re not finished yet! With a final push, everyone saddling up for the Alberta Ride – riders who congregate from across Western Canada – can help us surpass last year’s total of $7.9 million.
It’s very moving to think that since 2009, the Ride has raised more than $42.6 million for the Alberta Cancer Foundation – and, since 2008, injected $262 million Canada-wide to supplement the research efforts and support in working to conquer cancer.
I was fortunate enough to visit the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary with a group of colleagues recently. I was incredibly impressed with the sense of pride and dedication of the bright people doing groundbreaking work there.
I was equally shocked when I was told how many new patients walk through the door each year. Our time there allowed us to draw connections between the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer and the real practical work that is being done to improve people’s chances of being a cancer survivor.
I’m proud to say this will be my second year being involved in the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer. It’s been a fantastic experience for me. The Ride has been physically challenging; it’s allowed me to meet so many amazing people; and it’s given me the sense that this annual mission, with thousands of riders and volunteers, is much larger than the sum of the parts.
My wife Linda is also riding this year. The 2015 event will be her first, and it’s motivated me even more. We’ve involved ourselves in the Ride as a result of my father-in-law's battle with stomach cancer that took his life. His courageous battle, like so many others, left a big hole in our family and ended with all of us wishing we could have done more for him as he fought the disease.
Although I have been out riding and training, I don't get too focused on the cycling itself. After all, it’s not a race – it’s a journey. A journey about coming together, about raising money to battle this disease, about raising awareness and working together to achieve a common goal. I believe that if we maintain the trajectory we are on, we can conquer cancer in our lifetime.
So as we approach Aug. 8 and 9, let's make the final push and get ready. We’re all in this together!
