Ride raising funds for sick kids

Two local adventurers will soon embark on an arduous cross-country trek with the aim of raising both awareness and money for children battling cancer. “We decided to undertake this expedition to go across Canada by bike with the goal of donating our time and effort to a good cause,” explained Goran Matic. “We’re hoping this captures people’s hearts and minds and inspires them to give to the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation,” the Beaconsfield resident said.

The fundraising campaign was officially launched in June. “Our objective is to raise $30,000; so far we’ve already collected about one-third of that amount,” said Iavor Boev of LaSalle.

Funds accumulated – largely through the BCQC Ride for the Children’s website – will go towards the purchase of an INVOS Cerebral/Somatic Oximeter, which measures the amount of oxygen getting to patients’ vital organs during surgery.

Together Matic and Boev have over 20 years experience in a challenging series of exploits, from other cycling marathons to climbing some of the world’s highest mountains.

Among Matic’s most recent expeditions is a 1,400-km ride through the Alps. “We have also both taken part in the Canadian Cross Country Skiing Marathon,” said Boev, adding “we’ve been training for this trip by participating in last month’s Tour de l’Ile and a bike trip through the Laurentians this past weekend.” The 4,500-km journey, which is expected to last between 31 and 33 days, gets under way Aug. 17. “We’ll be taking a flight to Vancouver with our equipment and will be leaving from Richmond. We’ll ride for three days, find a place to set up our camp site, regroup, and then continue for another three or four days. The expedition itself is broken down into three phases – through the Rockies, then the Great Plains, and finally the Canadian Shield and Great Lakes,” Matic said. It’s an ambitious undertaking, but it promises to be “personally rewarding,” Boev said.

The two are colleagues at Matrox Graphics in Dorval, “which is giving us the time off to do this and has agreed to match whatever amount is donated by other employees,” he said.

For more information about the BCQC Ride for the Children’s, or to make a donation, visit www.bcqcride.org.