Events will be severely modified for the 2021 Tour de Rock with fewer visits and next to no cross-community travel. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

RIDE ON

Funding family camp experiences the focus for modified Tour de Rock

Jul 19, 2021 | 2:54 PM

NANAIMO — For the second year in a row, Tour de Rock will look a little different than normal, but still carry the same spirit its fostered for nearly a quarter century.

The 24th edition of the Island-wide ride kicks off on the north Island on Sept. 20, with stops in Nanaimo and Oceanside a week later.

Spokesperson Tiffany McFadyen said the 2021 tour will work much like the year prior, with local riders cycling through their own home communities.

“Tour this year is 12 days, we start on the north Island…and then we’ll continue down the Island from there. Very much like last year we’ll be in specific communities on specific days.”

Between six and eight riders will ride a leg on any given day through to early October, making stops to former team members and community sponsors.

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A normal year will see Tour de Rock raise between $1.2 and $1.4 million, however pandemic adjustments cut the amount raised last year in half. Organizers hope to raise over $600,000 for this year’s ride.

Money raised from the event, over $26 million to date, goes to the Canadian Cancer Society to help with cancer research and support services.

The 2021 edition will see money used to create special camp experiences for kids battling cancer and their families.

“It’s the first time a lot of our families have gotten away as a family since the pandemic hit, or gotten away in general,” McFadyen said. “We are basically sending an entire family to camp, they have their own cabin and it’s a private getaway for those families to experience camp.”

The event arrives in Parksville-Qualicum on Sept 24, then makes its way to Nanaimo on Sept 26 and 27, before concluding in Victoria on Oct. 1.

— With files from 97.3 FM The Eagle

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