When Joe da Silva clicks in the chin strap on his bike helmet and pushes off for his 100-km Wheel 2 Heal ride on May 2, it will be as a changed man many pounds lighter, much fitter and more like the high school jock he once was.
It wasn't easy getting there.
Soon after leaving behind his track star high school days, da Silva picked up competitive cycling, racing at the old velodrome in Vancouver. But eventually, "regular life" took over. He married and he and his wife had a baby, and he pursued a busy sales career that had him traveling frequently across Canada and throughout B.C. Exercise fell off the radar, and restaurant meals helped da Silva pack on the pounds.
He was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2002 and later survived two cardiac episodes. Da Silva's doctor repeatedly cautioned him to lose weight, warnings the Port Coquitlam dad brushed off until a morning in September 2012.
"I woke up and said, 'I gotta do something, this is ridiculous,'" da Silva recalled.
He joined a gym and hired a personal trainer. A year later, his diabetes was in full remission, likely adding a decade to da Silva's life, his doctor told him.
"I had more energy than I did in my 20s," da Silva said.
Then, when his father died of cancer, da Silva was gripped by a new sense of motivation, and despite not owning a bicycle or having ridden one in nearly 40 years, he signed up for the 250-km Ride to Conquer Cancer from Vancouver to Seattle.
It was in shopping for a bike at Cap's Westwood Cycle in PoCo that da Silva learned about Wheel 2 Heal, and promptly signed up for the 100-km route.
"With me, it's always been 'Go big or go home,'" he said with a chuckle, but he figured Wheel 2 Heal would be a good way to test his mettle for the the longer Ride to Conquer Cancer.
"My wife keeps saying, 'You know you're 60, right?' but I like to say I'm 45 with 15 years' experience," da Silva joked.
The experience was "incredible" despite bad weather, he said. "It reaffirmed all that hard work, it made me appreciate all that I'd gone through, the lifestyle changes."
Since last year's ride, he has kept up his training with at least one long ride each week and a 15-km walk through the city to prepare for his second Wheel 2 Heal; he's tapping friends and family for donations for the Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation, an organization that's near and dear to him. For an agonizing stretch between 1999 and 2001, da Silva was beset by a barrage of kidney stone attacks, with 22 in just one 15-month stretch, which made him a frequent visitor to ERH's emergency room.
"For a while, they were my lifeline," da Silva said, adding he's happy to support the community hospital.
Carly Foster, the EFH Foundation's director of events, said the seventh annual ride through the Tri-Cities will offer routes for all levels, whether it's a flat tour on the PoCo Trail for 30 or 40 km, a challenging road ride of 65 or 100 km or the 15-km family ride. There are also free kids' races for ages three to eight.
Registrations are already proving strong for this year, she said, and adult riders are encouraged to raise a minimum of $250 each; proceeds go to support the greatest needs at the hospital.
And whether you're riding or not, Celebration Plaza will be buzzing with family-friendly fun, including kids' activities, games, loads of live entertainment and food options.
"It's a great event to get out, get physically active and get on your bike with your family and friends," Foster said, "and it also supports a great cause that touches the lives of everybody in the community."
Wheel 2 Heal will be held on Saturday, May 2 and registration opens at 7:30 a.m. Road courses depart at 8:30 a.m. followed by the trail courses at 10 a.m. and kids' races from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. For more information and to register or donate, visit www.wheeltoheal.ca.
@spayneTC
