The Cops for Cancer Tour de Valley rolled into Langley Tuesday, visiting the elementary school of a young local cancer survivor.
Carson Post, just shy of 10 years old and enrolled in Grade 5 at Noel Booth Elementary, is a junior rider taking part in his sixth Tour de Valley.
Carson survived rhabdomyosarcoma when he was just a year old, his mom Sarah Post said. He’s been in recovery now for eight years.
Now he’s spending a few days on the road with the Tour de Valley on their nine-day, 800-kilometre odyssey around the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley.
“He absolutely loves Camp Goodtimes,” said Sarah. “And he knows this is a huge fundraiser for it.”
The Cops for Cancer Tour de Valley raises money every year towards cancer research, specifically pediatric cancers. It also sends funding to Camp Goodtimes, the summer camp in Maple Ridge where B.C. kids in treatment for or remission from cancer can go every summer.
Carson has been going to the camp for years, his mom said.
Although the cause is serious, the ride itself is a combination of the gruelling – some days are more than 100 kilometres of riding, and the event takes place rain or shine – and the goofy. At Noel Booth, officers led kids in a song before presenting the school with a plaque in thanks for raising funds for the cause.
The more than 30 riders with the Tour de Valley are almost all law enforcement officers, from communities including Langley, Surrey, Delta, Abbotsford, and Chilliwack.
Several this year are riding in remembrance of Const. John Davidson, the Abbotsford Police officer who was killed in the line of duty last year. Davidson was a Tour de Valley rider himself.
READ MORE: ‘An officer and a gentleman’: Const. John Davidson is laid to rest
So far this year, the Tour de Valley has raised more than $522,948. The fundraising goal this year was $450,000.
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