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Port Hardy Constable gearing up for annual Tour de Rock ride this September

Cst. Kyle Dornan is the North Island’s Tour de Rock rider this year
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Port Hardy RCMP Cst. Kyle Dornan. (Supplied photo) Port Hardy RCMP Cst. Kyle Dornan. (Supplied photo)

Port Hardy RCMP Cst. Kyle Dornan is gearing up to ride for the Cops for Cancer 2022 Tour de Rock team.

“I’ve been in Port Hardy for just over two years,” said Dornan, who’s halfway through his posting. “I love it here, my family is from the Mid island, and coming back to Vancouver Island was always a dream of ours.”

Dornan was previously stationed in 100 Mile House, which is a smaller population than Port Hardy, and he said he really enjoys working in these type of communities.

“You definitely get to meet and engage with people at a level you wouldn’t get to in a bigger city area,” he said.

When applications were sent out to ride for Tour de Rock, Dornan’s boss saw it before him and sent him a heads up saying they were looking for riders again.

“Cycling has always been a passion for me and my family,” Dornan stated. “We really love to go out on our bikes all the time.”

This will be his first opportunity to go out on a Tour de Rock tour, and he said he’s going to be practicing for it by going for three rides a week; one day of hills, one day of sprints, and one day for long rides.

“I’ve been doing all my training solo for the most part, other than when I’m able to get down island for the Sunday team rides,” he said.

As for what it means to him to ride for Tour de Rock, Dornan said it’s important to him to participate because he’s had a few family members he’s lost due to cancer, and recently his father-in-law went through treatment.

“He’s just finished it so it’s pretty important for me to get out there and raise money for the cause … I’m riding for him and to honour family members who have previously lost the battle with cancer.”

Dornan has a few fundraisers that he’s already planning, such as the annual Cops For Cancer golf tournament, a biking day in town with the District of Port Hardy, as well as a barbecue and a few other things he’s still working on, and he said he’s really looking forward to going out on the tour.

“If anybody sees me out riding with my Cops For Cancer jersey, I appreciate all the waves and honks I get, all the backing and support from the community means a lot.”

It has been three years since the last full Tour de Rock ride was held to raise funds for pediatric cancer research and family supports. The tour, an iconic Island staple that draws riders mainly from the law enforcement and emergency services communities, but also from the greater community and media, was cancelled in 2020 and 2021, with alumni riders picking up the fundraising slack.

The Canadian Cancer Society will be pulling out all the stops for the 25th anniversary tour this fall and the lead-up to it.

Other team members, starting from the north are Bonnie Logan, Campbell River Fire Department; Steve Scott, Courtenay Volunteer Fire Rescue; Josh Wilson, CFB Comox; Terry Crawford, Nanaimo RCMP; Rachelle Cole, B.C. Emergency Health Services; Rick Geddes, District of Ucluelet Fire; Kenn Mount, Central Saanich Fire Department; Josh Peterson, CFB Esquimalt; Karen Robinson, Pat Bryant, Lindsay Blackett, Trent Edwards, Saanich Police Department; Chris Van Swieten, Tristan Williams, VicPD. Guest riders include the North Island’s Robin Campbell, City of Parksville’s Adam Fras; B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police representative Tiffany Parton and media rider Anna McMillan from CTV Vancouver Island.

To follow the riders, donate to the cause or learn more about the programs, visit tourderock.ca.

- with file from Black Press


@NIGazette
editor@northislandgazette.com

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Tyson Whitney

About the Author: Tyson Whitney

I have been working in the community newspaper business for nearly a decade, all of those years with Black Press Media.
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