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Chilliwack cyclists on conquest to cure cancer

Co-workers preparing for Ride to Conquer Cancer
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Markus Flueckiger and Mark Jefferis, both of Chilliwack, are part of a team of four cyclists who will be taking part in the Ride to Conquer Cancer at the end of the month. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress)

The Kubota Flyers are on a conquest.

Their intended target? Cancer.

The cycling foursome will meet up in Cloverdale at the break of dawn on Aug. 26, to take part in the Ride to Conquer Cancer. They’ll enjoy the morning celebration and breakfast, and then head for the U.S. border alongside hundreds of cyclists. The two-day ride ends at the Skagit County Fairgrounds in Mt. Vernon, on Aug. 27.

In total, the Kubota Flyers and countless other teams and individuals will travel more than 250 kilometres. To enter the event, each of the four team members needs to raise $2,500, for a team total of $10,000. They’re getting there, says team captain Markus Flueckiger, at just over $8,000 as of this week. All the money raised from the Ride to Conquer Cancer is directed to the BC Cancer Foundation. Since 2009, riders have raised $77 million, in B.C.’s largest cycling fundraiser.

This will be Flueckiger’s second time taking part, a cause he took up after beating leukemia a few years ago. The Chilliwack man rallied his friends and co-workers into forming a team, and taking the trek with him. They are Mark Jefferis, Robert Zandee and Christopher Britten.

Jefferis, who also lives in Chilliwack, was happy to sign on, in support of Flueckiger but also for friends and family members he’s lost over the years.

“Unfortunately I have just lost a good friend to cancer,” he says, in the last few days.

He’s also lost two brothers-in-law to cancer, one who had lung cancer and the other who had multiple myeloma. The first loss was 25 years ago and he left two young teenaged boys behind. The second was just last year.

Multiple myeloma is a bone marrow disease, Jefferis explains. And it’s one that can develop quietly, as the bone marrow disappears.

“He dove into a swimming pool and a bone broke. It just snapped,” he says. The cancer was discovered through an X-ray. “It’s always a tough one to go through with your family,” he says.

With Jefferis’ work, he is often travelling and chatting to people across the country. As he’s been fundraising for the ride, he mentions it to everyone he meets. The stories he hears keeps him motivated, and people are always happy to give.

“One of my donors said to me, ‘I’d rather help them, than have them helping me.’”

To donate to the Kubota Flyers team or one of the individual riders, visit their page at www.conquercancer.ca.

@CHWKcommunity
jpeters@theprogress.com

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Jessica Peters

About the Author: Jessica Peters

I began my career in 1999, covering communities across the Fraser Valley ever since.
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