The sixth annual Inside Ride is over, but organizer Shannon Whieldon is still working to meet the fundraiser鈥檚 $27,000 goal.
Inside Ride, which took place at the Cloverdale Recreation Centre on Oct. 13, is an annual event to raise money for families with children battling cancer. Whieldon鈥檚 son, Brendan Whieldon, started fundraising for children with cancer when he was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma at four years old. Today, 19-year-old Brendan and his mother organize Inside Ride to keep the fundraising going.
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The event saw 14 teams of six riders each battle for first place during the evening of indoor cycling, competing against other teams and team members for the longest distance in the same amount of time.
鈥淚t was amazing,鈥� Whieldon said. 鈥淭he energy was so positive and happy, and all the people were really excited to try to be helping out the children.鈥�
The members of the different teams were cheering each other on, Whieldon said, and running around to other team鈥檚 bikes to check the odometers.
But what really stuck out for her was the actions of Ricky and Cory Muralt, who rode on Brendan鈥檚 team this year. Their team came up $80 short of their $2,500 fundraising goal.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 believe it, because when I drove them home that night, they said, 鈥榃ait here. Wait here,鈥欌�� Whieldon said. 鈥淭hey ran in the house and they dumped out all their coins 鈥� out of their piggy banks, and they counted it up until they had $80.鈥�
In total, the event raised $24,244 for families with cancer, Whieldon said, just under $3,000 short of its $27,000 goal. However, an additional $950 has been collected since the ride, and Whieldon thinks they can reach their goal.
Donations are being accepted until Nov. 13. Donations can be made online at to Team Inspiration, or can be dropped off between 9 a.m. and noon at Kinesiologists.ca at 17665 66A Avenue.
