In cycling terms, Roger Steers is what’s known as a “Clydesdale” — a big guy who pumps out the kilometres.
And it will be a big — and heavy — heart that will help propel him on Aug. 26 when he hops on his carbon-fibre Trek bike and sets off for Seattle on the annual Ride to Conquer Cancer to support the BC Cancer Foundation.
Steers’ fuel and his burden will be the memory of his daughter, Meredith, who died in 2000 from acute myeloma leukaemia. She was just 28 months old.
Since that fateful day when Meredith’s daycare provider called to say she “just wasn’t feeling right,” cancer has had its tendrils wrapped around Steers’ heart. The phone call set off a quick cascade of doctor appointments that culminated with a parent’s worst nightmare the next day when she was diagnosed.
Nine months later, she was gone.
But Steers and his wife Darla never forgot the care Meredith received at BC Children’s Hospital, the caring extended to them by her whole medical and support team. For years, the couple donated time, energy and money even as they raised their two sons, Bennett and Emerson, who were born after Meredith passed away.
In 2009, Steers found another way to give back. HIs employer, RJC Engineers, entered a team in the first Ride to Conquer Cancer, and although he wasn’t a cyclist, Steers volunteered to drive the support vehicle that would ensure riders stayed fuelled and hydrated as they made the 200-km, two-day trek to Seattle.
The next year — the 10th anniversary of Meredith’s death — Steers decided to get out of the car and onto a bike. In the peloton, he discovered a whole community of cyclists whose lives had been touched by cancer in some way.
“Everybody is there because of cancer, not because they’re cyclists,” he said.
They shared stories, some smiles, many tears.
Steers has participated in every ride since, and he has become one of the event’s largest fundraisers. This year, he has already amassed nearly $18,000 in pledges.
And he's collected at least one convert.
A few years ago, his wife decided to end her cycling widowhood by combining a visit to her family in Alberta with riding in that province’s Ride to Conquer Cancer, from Calgary to Okotoks and back. Last year, Steers joined her and did both events, a feat he’s repeating this summer (he did the Alberta ride on this past weekend). The couple’s sons have even started training so they can participate in next year’s ride.
Steers said he began training for the successive events in March and by the time he heads to Calgary, he’ll have more than 1,500 km in his legs.
“The challenge is to have the confidence you can do it,” Steers said. “It’s pretty daunting to ride 200 km.”
But the tired legs and sore butt, along with the challenges of rolling hills and variable weather are diminished by the cause he and hundreds of other cyclists are riding for.
“You’re riding along and you say this is nothing compared to what people are going through when they’re in treatment.”
• To learn more about the Ride to Conquer Cancer, or to support a rider or team, go to conquercancer.ca.
