We did it!

Well done SRDC Velo-ciraptors!

We exceeded our mileage and fundraising goals! Our monster of a team went on 187 bike rides, we logged 3,016.8 kms, and we raised $6,119 for SickKids Foundation. This is incredible.

This year, our fabulous team of 20 cyclists ranked 77th nationally out of over 1,200 registered teams. We were so happy to see 13 prior-year team members back and equally happy to welcome 7 new cyclists to our growing team. We had riders from across the country: BC, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan. It was great to see such enthusiasm and effort - 16 team members achieved at least one of their two goals and others came close. Congratulations everyone!

THANK YOU to all our supporters and people who donated to our mighty Velo-ciraptors. To date, our team has raised approximately $33,000 for SickKids! And we're not done yet.

We look forward to participating in the Great Cycle Challenge again next year. Please consider riding with us in 2025! Until then, be safe and have fun on your bikes.

Elizabeth

Let’s bring it home!

There are just 4 days left in the Great Cycle Challenge. Now is the time to dig deep for the final push!

We have more than doubled our fundraising goal and are closing in on our mileage goal. Our SRDC Velo-ciraptors have raised $5,813 and we’ve cycled 2,278 kms! Everyone should sit tall in their saddles and feel proud when we cross the finish line this weekend. We are an amazing team!

In terms of individual goals ….

- So far, 12 cyclists have reached or surpassed their fundraising goals – congratulations to Dianna, David, Julie, Lindsay, Jillian, Reuben, Shawn, Arij, Masashi, Taylor, Elizabeth and Richard. Special recognition given to Dianna and David (and their supporters) for raising more than $1,000 and $750, respectively. Way to go, colleagues!

- So far, 6 cyclists have reached their mileage goals – kudos to Dianna (50 kms), Taylor (50 kms), Naomi (75 kms), Arij (150 kms), Masashi (250 kms), and Richard (400 kms)!

- We are cheering for several other teammates who are very close to accomplishing their goals. You can do it!

For those that are logging your mileage manually, remember to record your rides by August 31st.

Small packages were distributed to all teammates this week. They included a high-visibility reflective vest to keep you safe on your rides, a Velo-ciraptors buff to keep you warm and a shiny decal (mine looks great on my bike!). For Ottawa staff, we left the packages in your homebase office; we mailed the packages to everyone else.

As we round the final corner of our last lap, let’s give it everything we have and hope for good weather in all five provinces where our team is cycling (British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan).

I look forward to announcing the final results in our get-together on September 3rd!

Have fun and be safe on your bikes,

Elizabeth

(Photo below is of GCC’s ambassador and tiny giant, Nori, who was diagnosed with stage 4 Neuroblastoma in January 2021.)

We’re in the final stretch!

You. Can. Do. It.

Keep on Velo-ciraptors.

Elizabeth

Have a great weekend, Velo-ciraptors!

"Whooah, we're half way there!”

Kudos to our Velo-ciraptors. Tomorrow is the halfway point of the Challenge and we’re doing awesome. We are on track to reach our mileage goal and we’ve doubled our fundraising goal! As a group, we’ve collectively cycled 1,432.7 kms and raised a staggering $5,085 for SickKids Foundation. This is incredible.

Some highlights so far:

• Shout-out to Dianna’s cheering squad. With over a dozen donations – seemingly growing by the day – she has raised $905. Huge thanks to you and your amazing supporters, Dianna!

• We are on our feet applauding Lindsay and her friends and family. Congratulations on surpassing $500 in donations. Thank you Lindsay, Matt, Gary, Sharon, Reuben and Molly!

• Hats off to our creatures of habit – Naomi, David, Shawn and Reuben frequently cycle regular routes and continue to clock their rides. Way to keep up your healthy, happy habits, raptors!

• Richard has cycled over 300 kms and climbed impressive heights in Gatineau Park and the Laurentians. Our Board Chairman is an inspiration (and a beast!). Thank you again for riding with us this year, Richard.

• Our photo of the week is of Julie enjoying a pit stop while cycling the Vincent Massey loop. (Check out her fabulous photo on her personal page). Looking great, Rodier!

Some of our Velo-ciraptors have yet to log any mileage. We believe in you and want to help encourage you to ride, so know this: everyone who reaches their own personal cycling goal will be eligible to win one of two random DRAWS at the end of the Challenge. The PRIZES are two green Velo-ciraptors t-shirts – see image below. (This is in addition to some cool swag that will be sent to all team members next week.) So, now’s the time to put some oil on your bike chain and get on the saddle!

If you are starting to doubt whether you can make your goal, don’t worry, you still have 17 more days. You can do it!

Great job so far, everyone. Good luck reaching your goals in the second half of the Challenge. Be safe and have fun on your bike.

Elizabeth

"Cycling teaches us patience and resilience - a reminder that the best things in life are worth working for."

One down, one to go. Thank you to our amazing supporters!!

This past weekend, we exceeded our goal of raising $2,500. THANK YOU to everyone who made a donation. You are all amazing! We really appreciate your support.

We have met our fundraising goal, but we are not slowing down. We will keep getting word out about the Challenge in the hope that we can raise even more for the Hospital for Sick Children/SickKids Foundation.

(In Canada, about 1,700 children are diagnosed with cancer each year. SickKids treats approximately 25% of all childhood cancer patients at its Garron Family Cancer Centre, one of the leading cancer programs in the world. You can read more about their important work at: https://www.greatcyclechallenge.ca/about/the-cause/about-sickkids.)

We have cycled an impressive 480.7 kms so far. Well done team! That’s roughly 80 kms per day. We’re just shy of 20% towards our 2,500 km mileage goal. With 31 days in August, we should reach our mark, but we can’t take our feet off the pedals, so stay strong and be safe on your bikes!

As Belgian former professional road and bicycle track racer, Eddy Merckx, once said, “Ride as much or as little, as long or as short as you feel. But ride.”

Elizabeth

On your mark, get set …

The 2024 Great Cycle Challenge starts tomorrow and the SRDC Velo-ciraptors are ready!

This past week, Naomi Fraser, Masashi Miyairi, Taylor Hui and Deanne Donohue joined our team. Thank you all for signing up. With 20 cyclists on board, we are confident we’ll achieve our goal to bike 2,500 kms.

Some reminders:

1. You set your own mileage goal for the Challenge, this could be anything (5kms, 50kms or 500kms).

2. There are two ways to log your mileage. You can sign in and manually enter your kms cycled, or if you install the GCC app, whenever you are out on your bike, you can just select “Track Outdoor Ride” and it will automatically log your kms for you. When you stop cycling (and end your ride in the app), it will record the distance and show a map of your route on your GCC page.

3. You can enter each ride as you go (manually or through the app) or you can manually enter multiple rides at once.

4. You have the option to include a note and/or photo for each ride.

5. You can ride anywhere in the world, including indoors on a stationary bike.

More great news: before we’ve even left the starting blocks, we have raised 91.4% of our $2,500 fundraising goal. Congratulations to our riders and supporters for raising $2,285 so far. I have no doubt we will surpass our goal again this year. This is amazing. We’ve moved up to 37th position in the national ranking (out of almost 1,000 registered teams) and 10th place out of 90 corporate teams. Special shout out to Dianna Chepita’s cheering squad – huge thanks to you and your six supporters who donated to the team, Diana.

I wish all Velo-ciraptors a good night’s sleep tonight and a great start to the Challenge tomorrow. Be safe and have fun on your bikes!

Elizabeth

7 more sleeps!

In just one week, SRDC Velo-ciraptors will kick off our 6th year riding in the Great Cycle Challenge. We are super stoked to start riding in support of SickKids Foundation.

As we gear up for August 1st, I’m happy to announce two new additions to our team. Thank you for riding with us this year, Mike Dubois. (Your E.T. profile picture is awesome.) Special thanks also to Richard Wagner, Chairman of SRDC’s Board of Directors. We are delighted to welcome you to our cycling team, Richard.

Before the month-long challenge has even started, we have already reached 63% of our fundraising goal. Congratulations to the team for raising $1,571! We appreciate all the donations we’ve received so far from our Velo-ciraptors’ riders, families, friends and supporters.

Still sitting on the fence? Come ride with us next month!

Elizabeth

“The best rides are the ones where you bite off much more than you can chew, and live through it.” ~ Doug Bradbury, MTB pioneer

2 weeks to go!

With just 2 weeks to go before our challenge starts, we are happy to welcome three new team members. THANK YOU for joining our amazing Velo-ciraptors, Lux, Julie and David! Have fun on your bikes and be safe on the roads as you get your legs ready for August 1.

If you haven't signed up yet, please join our team and ride with us next month for SickKids Foundation. We will have cookies and prizes! :)

Photo below is of 5-year old Iris who was diagnosed with refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2022. After considerable care and treatment from SickKids Hospital (including a bone marrow transplant in 2023), little Iris has been doing great and is enjoying school!

Elizabeth

We are growing and gearing up for August - 20 days to go!

Dear Velo-ciraptors cyclists, families, friends and supporters,

Our little but mighty 2024 cycling team is growing. Already, we have 11 members! Thank you for signing up again: Reuben, Arij, Dianna, Shawn, Haley, Jasmine, Jillian, Kim, Lindsay and Vicki! Special welcome to our two new Velo-ciraptors, Vicki and Dianna.

Before we've even left the starting blocks, we have already raised $432 for SickKids Foundation. That's amazing.

To all SRDC'ers: Please join our team and ride with us next month. Our goal is to have 20+ Velo-ciraptors pedaling this year. Again, there's no obligations, you set your own mileage goals. We will have some dino swag for all team members (more details on that to follow!). It's great further motivation to get out and ride. "On the bike, you're in the moment. Past and future don't matter. Only the ride."

To our families, friends and supporters: If you haven't yet, please consider supporting us this year. This is such an important cause. Donations help SickKids Foundation continue to make a real difference in so many little lives - like 2-year old Leena shown here. Leena was diagnosed with stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma and has since endured 5 rounds of chemotherapy, a stem cell harvest, resection surgery, 2 stem cell transplants, 12 rounds of radiation, among countless other procedures.

Thanks everyone. Be safe and have fun on your bike, as you get your legs ready for the challenge starting in 20 days! :D

Elizabeth