CALEB NICKERSON
QUEBEC July 18, 2018
Last weekend, a Clarendon man pedaled over 200 kilometres to raise money for cancer research, riding in an annual event that brought in millions of dollars.
Mike Guitard explained that he signed up for Enbridge’s Ride to Conquer Cancer in the aftermath of losing his grandmother to the disease over the holidays.
“I joined because my grandmother passed at Christmas time of cancer, and I thought that I should do something,” he said, adding that funds raised from the Montreal to Quebec City trek would go towards the Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital in Montreal. “There was no Relay for Life in Shawville this year, so I thought I’d try and raise some money for cancer research.”

The event originated in Toronto in 2008, with the funds from that ride being directed to the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. It soon spread to four cities in Canada and even down to Australia and New Zealand.
Guitard said that more than 1,300 riders participated in last weekend’s odyssey, bringing in a total of $4.8 million.
“Some of them were in teams. I was more of an individual,” he said, explaining that they travelled 106 km the first day, from the outskirts of Montreal to Three Rivers. The next day consisted of 124 km of pedaling to the edge of Quebec City.
An avid cyclist, Guitard said he rides his bike to his job as the Director General for the Municipality of Clarendon.
“I’ve participated in other types of rides like the Ottawa GranFondo and things like that, but never in a ride to raise money for any event,” he said. “When I left on Sunday I registered for 2019, so I’ll be campaigning shortly.”
Each participant in the event has to bring in at least $2,500 of donations, and Guitard expressed his appreciation for the generosity of his fellow Pontiacers.
“To participate you have to raise a minimum of $2,500, and that was my goal when I started because we’re a small municipality,” he said. “The people of Shawville, Clarendon and the Pontiac were very generous and I ended up raising $3,850.”
He said he would be open to starting a team of locals to participate in next year’s ride.
“When you do a ride like that with a team it’s a lot easier to do,” he said. “If other people want to join that would be awesome.”