12 Living Oakville Beaver LIVING EDITOR: WILMA BLOKHUIS www.oakvillebeaver.com Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 250) Fax 905-337-5567 email blokhuis@haltonsearch.com · WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14, 2006 Cancer survivor to cross Canada Avid cyclist David Visschedyk starts July 1 By Wilma Blokhuis OAKVILLE LIVING EDITOR Cancer survivor David Visschedyk is about to take his passion for cycling across Canada. The 27-year-old lawyer the university graduate already has an articling position lined up with a Toronto law firm will cycle from Vancouver to Halifax, close to 7,000 kilometres, to raise funds for two charities helping children with cancer, Camp Oochigeas and the James Fund for Neuroblastoma Research at the Hospital for Sick Children. "It's my way of giving back," said Visschedyk of his establishing CanadaWide for Cancer. "I have a reason to go and a reason to finish. "I have taken a lot and what have I given back? By doing this ride I'm proving to myself that I can do it and to raise some money." To date he's raised more than $13,000. "I've never done anything as epic as this. In addition to raising some money I want to show that you can survive cancer and ultimately you can do whatever you want." Visschedyk is inspired by record seven-time Tour de France winner and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong and the late Terry Fox, who despite losing a leg to cancer, started running across Canada in 1980 to raise money for research until cancer claimed his life. "I'll start on Canada Day in Vancouver," he said. "I hope the prevailing winds will always be at my back...since the prevailing winds go from west to east it's a lot nicer ride with the wind behind you than in front of you." Cycling through the mountains concerns him. "Within three days of starting I'll be climbing the mountains it's one of my biggest worries." He anticipates `smooth sailing' in the prairies. "A lot of people say the prairies are boring because they're flat, but for me, this is exciting." An avid, life-long cyclist, Visschedyk expects to average 130 kilometres a day and about 89 kilometres daily in the mountains however a 204-kilometre stretch in New Brunswick is another concern "only because I'll be cycling where there's nothing between two places." "I've never done anything as epic as this. In addition to raising some money I want to show that you can survive cancer and ultimately you can do whatever you want." David Visschedyk He expects to complete the trek in about seven weeks, giving him a week to spare before he begins his articling at Steiber Berlach in Toronto in early September. He was offered the position last summer, but asked if he could start later in order to cycle across Canada and raise funds for the two children's cancer charities. He completed his bar exams about a year ago. Visschedyk has done a lot of cycling, riding more than 100 kilometres a day to train. He average speed is about 25 kilometres an hour. He will be riding a lightweight 16-pound Devinci road bike with 30 gears, a donation from the company in Montreal. Visschedyk, who lost his right leg to cancer at age eight, is a keen cyclist who thinks of nothing of cycling 50 kilometres from his Toronto apartment to Bronte "to buy an ice cream bar" and to visit his mom and then cycle back. "Cycling is low impact. It's not hard on my shortened leg." Visschedyk lost his leg to osteogenic sarcoma, the same kind of cancer that claimed the right leg of Terry Fox. Vesschedyk's surgery, the Van Ness procedure, was done at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. He lost his knee and calf but kept his ankle and foot. His ankle now functions as a knee joint and his foot helps support his prosthesis. Visschedyk became familiar with Camp Oochigeas and James Birrell, after whom the James Fund was established in memory, during his recovery from leg surgery. At camp, he learned to cycle with a prosthetic leg. "I went to Camp Oochigeas as a kid, and there I met James, a fellow camper who at age eight, succumbed to his neuroblastoma." The James Fund has become known for its groundbreaking research, he said. "They're willing to try wild ideas and if they work, here's more money. Plus, I was treated at Sick Kids. "And, both charities are fairly small and without a lot of bureaucracy. You can go to the lab or the camp to see what you're money is doing." A recreational vehicle company has provided him with a 27-foot RV "and a friend of mine, a retired vicepresident of Eaton's and a cancer survivor, will be the driver. And, he's also a chef." Timothy Knowles, 58, of Toronto, survived skin cancer. To sponsor his ride, see www.cyclingforcancer.ca. Wilma Blokhuis can be reached at blokhuis@haltonsearch.com. JEFF HARRIS / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER PEDAL POWER: David Visschedyk, who lost his right leg to cancer, will be cycling across Canada to raise funds for two cancer charities. brilliant MINDS communities VIBRANTcommunities CAREER & CAREER TRAINING SUPPLEMENT To request an electronic copy email: classifieds@metroland.com Look for your copy inside! · COLLEGES · PRIVATE SCHOOLS · CONTINUOUS LEARNING · AND MORE! Distributed to over 400,000 specially selected households in South Central Ontario