Nanaimo firefighters are preparing to race the Tour de Rock pack on Sept. 30, part of a fundraising initiative by Island Corridor Foundation. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

RAIL RACE

Tour de Rock riders set for rail pump car showdown

Sep 13, 2019 | 5:40 AM

NANAIMO — When the 2019 Tour de Rock rolls through Nanaimo and Ladysmith, riders will have a little extra incentive to pedal hard.

They’ll be racing against a handful of local firefighters on Sept. 30 as a fundraising event put on by the Island Corridor Foundation. , but the firefighters won’t be beside them on the road.

Foundation manager Andrea Thomas told NanaimoNewsNOW the catch is the firefighters will be on a pump rail car.

“We just took a shot in the dark and asked the fire department and they were on board,” she said. “I don’t think they realized what they were getting themselves into.”

stranger attacks

Man viciously beats Nanaimo security guard and attacked stranger in Campbell River

1h ago

no snow

Chances of a white Christmas for Nanaimo 'quite remote'

14h ago

vehicle damage

Over 40 vehicles damaged during late-night Nanaimo vandalism spree

21h ago

Tour guest rider Simon Douthwaite is a guest rider on this year’s ride. He said the pump car race is a different way to raise awareness and funds towards cancer research.

“The firefighters will have to keep up about 25km/h to match the speed of the riders, but at the end of the day it’s all about drawing attention and raising money for kids with cancer and Camp Goodtimes. Kids cancer is an awful thing and anything we can do raise the profile, raise research and make life better for kids and families going through cancer is wonderful.”

Despite the desire to raise as much money as possible, it’s also reignited a longstanding rivalry between police officers and firefighters.

“The cops like to say the firefighters are always striking a pose. By the time we get to Nanaimo, we’ll have done about 600 kilometres. The firefighters just have to do a short sprint to Ladysmith,” Douthwaite said.

Nanaimo firefighter Jake Williams said he’s confident of their odds against the police.

“Once you get going and get your momentum up, you seem to go pretty quick,” he said. “Now that we’ve seen what we’re going to be racing on, the crew will get together and develop a little bit of a strategy.”

Through corporate donations, the Island Corridor Foundation has raised over $20,000 for this years ride, with more expected as the Tour rolls through Nanaimo.

The 2019 Tour de Rock begins on Sept.22 in Port Alice. Riders will arrive in Nanaimo on the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 29 before wrapping in Victoria on Friday, Oct. 4.

alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley