The 2023 Tour de Rock riders group consists of three from the central Island, including Nanaimo RCMP, Parksville Fire Department and a retired BCEHS paramedic. (Tour de Rock)

By Alex Rawnsley

CANCER FUNDRAISER

‘Never thought I’d be one of those riders:’ 2023 Tour de Rock riders officially unveiled

May 12, 2023 | 4:43 PM

NANAIMO — The Tour de Rock peloton might be months from rolling down Island, but training is well underway.

The 19 riders who make up this year’s group were formally announced on Friday, May 12, including three from the central Vancouver Island region. They’ll ride 1,200 kilometres from Port Alice to Victoria in September and October as a fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society.

Kirk Wolstenholme is representing the Parksville Fire Department, Mike Ramsey will ride for the Nanaimo RCMP and Lantzville’s Lance Stephenson is a retired paramedic and director for the Vancouver Island region.

“It’s so real,” Stephenson told NanaimoNewsNOW minutes after being announced as a team member. “I’m standing here looking at myself in the reflection in a window and I see myself in the jersey and it’s just like ‘holy crap, I never thought I’d be one of those riders’.”

As a rule, riders can’t make the tour more than once, and once they ride they can join the support staff. Stephenson’s entry into the group was a little backward.

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The nearly 63-year-old drove a support vehicle for the 2022 Tour at the last minute after someone had to pull out. His involvement followed in the footsteps of his fiance who rode in 2019.

Stephenson added in his former role with B.C. Emergency Health Services (BCEHS), he pushed to have more paramedic representation in the event.

“Truly it’s a humbling experience and the emotion involved in helping the kids with cancer, Camp Goodtimes. We are going to be assigned junior riders which we’ll be working and travelling directly with during the upcoming months of training.”

His venture into active participant meant a huge change in lifestyle. He said he went from “couch potato to rider” and dropped weight to be in shape for training.

“Those hills are killers but I’ve really felt my improvement since February, just being able to manage the hills and understanding the gearing on the bikes, using the gears to our advantage. The trainers are amazing, they’re all alumni as well. They work with you on how to handle the bike, how to gear up and down hills.”

Stephenson trained with Ramsey, his now tour teammate to ensure they were ready.

“When training started as the group, we didn’t want to be the slow guys so we started riding beforehand just to get in a little better shape,” Ramsey said. “Really the training is set up to take you from basically people who haven’t ridden a bike to be able to ride the tour.”

A corporal and forensic identification specialist with the Nanaimo RCMP, Ramsey said he’d wanted to participate in the tour for years, but wasn’t able to commit with a young family.

The prospect of raising money for not only pediatric cancer research, but Camp Goodtimes, was too tough to pass up.

“I’ve spent years and summers of my life working at camp as a teen and volunteering again as an adult. I just love the camp atmosphere where kids can go, take them out of whatever situation they’re in and they can go and be kids for a week and have fun.”

Camp Goodtimes provides kids going through cancer treatment, and their families, an amazing experience where they can continue their medications while enjoying the camp environment.

Ramsey said he feels he’ll be prepared for the physical side of things, crediting the training regime the riders are on. The emotional side, however, he’s less sure about.

He added he’s been told the physicality of the ride is “almost the easy part”.

“We hear a lot more that it’s the emotional part of the ride. Speaking with people across the Island about helping kids with cancer, riding into a small town and they have a potlatch and they’re celebrating raising money for kids and I think that’s going to be the experience I’m not going to be prepared for.”

Tour de Rock has run annually since 1997 and has raised more than $26 million towards cancer research and support programs such as Camp Goodtimes.

The fundraising goal this year is $1 million and donations can be made online.

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