Terrance Gavan - Camp White Pine
“Tyler, we miss you.”
“For Amelia and all our angels – we’ll never forget.”
Dedications writ so humble; on a wet wall of eulogies and well wishes; penned ‘mongst a sharpie collage.
The austere plastic wall, chockablock with sinewy, esoteric and passionate designations summed up a four-day ride for cancer that stopped in Haliburton and Camp White Pine on Saturday night - and departed on a super slick rain-splattered highway very early Sunday morning.
Over 600 riders. Support staff. Organizers. For some a full 800 clicks. For others, lesser distance, same enthusiasm.
Kenissis Lake cottager Jeff Rushton is the founder, shaker and baker of the Sears Coast to Coast Against Cancer ride – Sept 9-23, 2011 - one of the biggest and most ambitious charity cycling events on behalf of childhood cancer in the world.
He is driving force, dervish and dynamo.
Popular leader, pepperpot, populist. A savvy businessman who is happiest when he’s away from the boardroom and out somewhere – anywhere - on his bike.
With his adopted family. The survivors, the riders, the volunteers … all who have helped him with his dream.
No simple dream mind.
Daunting. Deviled and ticklish. My cousin who was an oncology nurse at Sick Kids in Calgary once told me that you have to bring a sense of humor and a smile to work each day. “You can’t work in a kids’ cancer ward and become preoccupied with the inevitable,” cousin Marie once told me.
I know why I remember that, these 20 years later.
Sage stuff. Somber stuff. Stuff that’ll get you off the couch and out oiling your chain on a wet Sunday morning.
It’s why you see so many smiles at these events. Precocity and humor in the face of that most monstrous of all playground bullies: childhood cancer.
Rip it. Kick it. And wink.
“Rowdy Roddy” Rushton addressed the 600 riders and volunteers last Sunday morning on the ball diamond at Camp White Pine.
“Kids cancer had a survival rate of 15 to 20 percent 40 years ago,” said Rushton, who was dressed retro in his spandex gear dating back to the first ride in 2004. “It’s now closing on 80 percent; and that’s due to great research and great care, great programs. We will continue that fight.”
But with that stoicism, ardor and optimism comes the inevitable backdrop. Loss, mourning, and regret.
Rushton’s strong voice cracks, and some tears well up as he holds up a picture. Could be any picture of a vivacious, beautiful kid. Could be your kid. From the broad smile we know she’s a very happy girl.
“This year, we lost Marisa … in 2008 the national riders met her and she became a key member of our team,” says Rushton. “And she fought for … Over. Ten. Years. Six different hospitals. But we lost her. And even at the end she had more power than anyone on the planet that I have ever met. And that’s the interesting thing. All these kids are fighters … we can all learn so much. And we’re all better people because of the effort and the fight we put in.”
And what would any ride for cancer be without that lingering homage to our own survivor, Dawson Hamilton. Like Marisa, Dawson left us this year. Left a big, big hole in the community. Like Marisa, Dawson Hamilton showed us all how to live. And then sadly … how to die … with dignity.
Riding for Dawson, - who left us last February at the tender age of 10 – was local educator Rob Meyers.
His testimonial to Minden’s little gem came on Saturday night.
Meyers has been riding in the Ontario event since 2004. When Dawson was diagnosed with cancer that kept him in and out of Sick Kids for over five years, Meyers adopted Dawson as his riding light.
For the last six five rides Rob Meyers always had Dawson on his mind especially during those grueling uphill grinds. This year though, something changed.
“Riding with Dawson in mind was a different ride this year because he passed away,” said Meyers on the phone last Monday evening. “This one was more emotional than the other ones. It was a little overwhelming on that morning, and I wanted to share Dawson with the group as we came into Haliburton, his home.”
Meyers said he talked to Scot Hamilton, Dawson’s dad, and told him that he would be putting something together for Saturday evening.
“In 2004, I participated in my first Tour For Kids,” Meyers said in his moving tribute last Saturday at White Pine. “As a parent of two healthy kids, it wasn’t until I watched a baseball game between kids undergoing treatment for cancer against the local firefighters that I realized what this event is all about. The kids were there from Camp Quality, one of the three camps that the Tour raises money for. The kids were playing and having fun; despite the fact that they were hooked up to IVs or needed help to get to first base.”
Then, he told them about a kid with heart.
“As you ride today into Haliburton County, I want to share a little about who Dawson was. Dawson was the toughest kid I ever met. Dawson accumulated more than a thousand beads from the Hospital for Sick Children. One bead represents a medical procedure that was always both physically and mentally challenging for a boy.”
A fighter who also had a good solid friend in Matthew Duchene – Haliburton’s Hurricane and now, suddenly a sophomore forward with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche.
“After letting Matt know I was doing the dedication, Matt wanted to pass along this message,” said Meyers. “He wanted to emphasize how much Dawson’s bravery and strength still moves him and inspires him. His hockey sticks are now made with DH right on the shaft. (Dawson’s) initials on his stick are a constant reminder of Dawson’s spirit which was so special and positive – He says it helps him through any adversity that he is faced with.
“As Matt says, ‘Dawson’s spirit will always be with those who had the opportunity to know and meet him.’ You all know about Dawson and you too will be affected by him today as you ride past the boundary into Haliburton County.”
Slowly, with each rotation of a carbon rim on sleek-framed road bikes, the people are fightin’.
Riding for: One. Simple. Goal.
Knockin’ that friggin’ big bully on his big fat butt.
Visit gav on his website pardontheeruption.com; twitter at twitter.com/terrancegavan; Tips? gav@pardontheeruption.com.
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