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Blog post -- October 1st
It’s official: The End2End cycling challenge will return in 2026.
OK, that wasn’t really in doubt, not after the amazing success of the inaugural
event this past summer. That ride raised more than $110,000 for the Island Kids
Cancer Association.
This time, the goal is to raise even more money to help the families of cancer-
stricken children on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.
The June 16-18 event will see a relay team of Island cyclists ride from Victoria to
Port Hardy and back non-stop -- that’s more than 1,000 kilometres in less than 48
hours.
As was the case in the first relay, this will be a hyper-local, grassroots, low-cost
affair. End2End is a totally volunteer effort. There are no paid staff, and almost all
the operating expenses have been absorbed by generous sponsors.
Why do End2End’s supporters step up? Because they are good-hearted people,
neighbours keen to help neighbours in need. Because they know that the money
they help raise will not only stay on Vancouver Island but go straight to the
cause.
As we begin our second campaign, we would be profoundly grateful if you chose
to be part of this journey, too. That could mean anything from making a tax-
deductible donation on this website, to becoming a sponsor, to staging or
attending one of the fundraising events that will be held in advance of June’s ride.
It really is just a matter of neighbours taking care of each other. Or, as our motto
says, Islanders helping Islanders.
Blog post 33 -- June 19, 8:40 p.m.
They did it.
The eight cyclists who rode the inaugural End2End cycling relay not only completed their 1,000 kilometre journey within 48 hours, but surpassed their goal of raising $100,000 for the Island Kids Cancer Association.
End2End chair Andy Dunstan announced the total -- $110,584 and counting -- shortly after the team arrived at Victoria’s Trek Bicycle Store on Thursday.
The ride was a gruelling challenge in which the riders battled bad weather, illness and fatigue while pedalling from Victoria to Port Hardy and back around the clock.
In addition to Dunstan – the retired police officer and part-time bike store employee who dreamed up the idea for the fundraiser -- the team included Trek owner Bill Fry, Saanich police officer Rob McDonald, CFB Esquimalt firefighter Chris Day, CHEK News reporter Mary Griffin, former Mountie Steve Foster, commercial realtor Erin Glazier and Victoria police detective Kevin Nystedt.
The eight cyclists rode in four pairs that took turns riding a succession of 50-kilometre segments until the trip was done.
Why did they do it? Because of stories like this: While the end2end riders were slugging their way up middle-of-nowhere hills in the pouring rain in the dark, Susan Kerr was pondering several pleas for financial help from Vancouver Island families devastated by childhood cancer.
That’s one of the things that the Island Kids Cancer Association, the small frontline charity that Susan leads, does. It comes up with money for families that, already knocked sideways by a cancer diagnosis, suddenly find themselves in financial trouble, too.
Keeping families together during this time of crisis means many parents must take time away from work, sometimes even having to move to Vancouver while their child is treated at B.C. Children’s Hospital, but mortgages and other bills still need to be paid.
“Families should not have to worry about the ability to put food on the table or fuel in their cars when their child has cancer,” Kerr says.
But IKCA itself needs money to provide such aid. Kerr expects to see more requests for financial assistance by the end of the month. The organization has already helped hundreds of other families on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Doing so isn’t cheap.
That’s where End2End comes in. Thanks to the riders gutting it out through the dark in the rain-drenched hills of Vancouver Island this week, and thanks to the donors who support them, IKCA will have more money to help those who need it most.
The cyclists carried reminders of the cause with them on their ride. Before they set out from the Trek store on Tuesday evening, children from IKCA families presented the riders with friendship bracelets they had made.
The End2End team also brought another reminder of why they were riding: the crutches that Kerr’s late son Jacob used before succumbing to cancer at age 19 in 2019.
“Jacob never stopped moving forward,” she wrote in a letter that Dunstan read aloud to the riders and other End2End volunteers just prior to Tuesday’s departure. “These crutches are a testament to his will to keep going, to never give up and to see the light through the darkness.
He practised with these crutches day after day even when he was told there was nothing more they could do.”
Jacob’s crutches stayed with the team in a support vehicle throughout the journey. They were a reminder that no matter how wet, tired and sore the riders were, their hardships paled beside those of families struck by childhood cancer.
The End2End fundraising total was achieved through a groundswell of local support, a combination of individual and business-community donations and a series of associated events ranging from cookie sales in Port McNeill and a barn dance in the Comox Valley to spinathons in Victoria. The common thread was that almost all the money was donated by people on Vancouver Island. The families benefitting from the efforts are local, too.
That’s why End2End uses the motto “Islanders helping Islanders.”
Blog post 32 -- June 19, 3:00 p.m.
One final blog post before the team returns – sore, sick, sleep-deprived, exhausted, happy.
The End2End relay has proven to be a long, demanding, rain-soaked challenge. Yet the riders know that any hardships they face pale beside those of families rocked by childhood cancer.
The cyclists have been travelling with a poignant reminder of that: the crutches that Susan Kerr’s son Jacob used before he succumbed to cancer at age 19 six years ago.
Susan is the founder and executive director of the Island Kids Cancer Association, which will receive the money End2End raises.
“Jacob never stopped moving forward,” she wrote in a letter that End2End chair Andy Dunstan read aloud to the riders and other volunteers just prior to Tuesday’s departure. “These crutches are a testament to his will to keep going, to never give up and to see the light through the darkness. He practised with these crutches day after day even when he was told there was nothing more they could do.”
Jacob’s crutches have accompanied the the team in a support vehicle throughout the journey. This isn’t just a bike ride.
Blog post 31 -- June 19, 1:15 p.m.
Last big leg for Mary and Steve, who have just left Cobble Hill.
The fundraising continues, though. Want to be stinking filthy rich? Then you had best get in on the End2End online 50-50 while you have the chance. Tickets sales close at 5 p.m. today. The winner will be drawn (or whatever happens electronically) at 6. OK, you won’t get rich but your odds of winning are relatively decent. You could be a thousandaire!
Blog post 30 -- June 19, 11:45 a.m.
The riders are making good time. Erin and Kevin are just coming up on the Duncan branch of End2End sponsor Galaxy Motors.
Did you know that the End2End riding jerseys incorporate Eamonn Millar’s famous sock design? After Eamonn was diagnosed with leukemia last year at age 10, he created the artwork (he dubbed it Dreams Gone Wild) while in hospital. Canadian company Outway then put the design on socks sold to raise money for the Island Kids Cancer Association. Eamonn and his family kindly allowed End2End to use the design on the shoulders of its jerseys, which are also being sold as an IKCA fundraiser.
Blog post 29 -- June 19, 9:28 a.m.
Hats off to the End2End support crew, the vehicle drivers, bike mechanics, paramedics and others who, working in two shifts, are keeping the riders safe. And hats off to Crown Isle in Courtenay and the Airport Inn in Port Hardy, both of which donated rooms so that these weary volunteers could get some rest between shifts.
Riders Rob and Chris are between Parksville and Nanaimo now.
Blog post 28 – June 19, 7:58 a.m.
Another quote from Erin, this time on 100.3 The Q, talking about why people have been so eager to get behind End2End: “The big thing with this ride is the money is staying on Vancouver Island.”
Riders Bill and Andy are close to Qualicum Beach now.
Blog post 27 -- June 19, 7:15 a.m.
Erin Glazier, on Ocean 98.5 radio this morning, talking about the riders’ approach to sleep deprivation: “Don’t you dare complain, because you’re not a kid or a family going through cancer.”
Andy and Bill just took over riding duties from Mary and Steve at Buckley Bay. They’re heading for Parksville.
Blog post 26, June 19, 5:15 a.m.
Here’s a great way to start the day: A 4:30 a.m. highwayside meet-up in the Comox Valley where the entire team – riders and support crew -- gathered to say thanks to donors Deb Ross and Nicole Garneau. Campbell River’s Ross raised $1,325 via a 100-kilometre walk (with a broken shoulder no less). Nicole raised $5,000 through Paws2Paws, in which her Tsolum Veterinary Hospital devoted money from pet exams and dog washes. Nicole, who has her own history as a childhood cancer warrior, also paid to outfit the riders and support crew in team hoodies, T-shirts and caps.
And the End2End ride rolls along, with Steve and Mary back on the bike for a stretch that goes past Courtenay and down to Buckley Bay.
-- Blog post 25 -- June 18, 10:40 p.m.
A little perspective before those of us who get to sleep tonight head off to our comfortable beds:
While the End2End riders were slugging their way up middle-of-nowhere hills in the pouring rain in the dark today, Susan Kerr was processing several pleas for financial help from Vancouver Island families devastated by childhood cancer.
That’s one of the things that the Island Kids Cancer Association, the small frontline charity that Susan leads, does. It comes up with money for families that, already knocked sideways by a cancer diagnosis, suddenly find themselves in financial trouble, too.
Keeping families together while they deal with childhood cancer means taking time away from work, but mortgages and other bills still need to be paid. “Families should not have to worry about the ability to put food on the table or fuel in their cars when their child has cancer,” Susan says.
Yet that’s the reality for many, particularly those who see income disappear as they relocate to Vancouver for treatment at B.C. Children’s Hospital.
It can be a long journey, too -- more complicated, and costly, than many realize. Childhood cancer does not discriminate between a three-month-old and an 18-year-old, and can come back when least expected. Cancer treatments themselves can cause other long-term health issues that require dental procedures and surgeries, adding more bills to families already struggling with reduced incomes and extra expenses.
IKCA helps them deal with the fallout, providing families with financial assistance to allow the focus to be on the child with cancer and the entire family unit.
But IKCA itself needs money to provide such aid. Susan expects to see more requests for financial assistance by the end of the month. The organization has already helped hundreds of other families on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Doing so isn’t cheap..
That’s why the End2End riders were slugging were slugging their way up middle-of-nowhere hills in the pouring rain in the dark today – to raise the money that will help IKCA help those who need it most.
Blog post 24 -- June 19, 9:45 p.m.
“The hardest thing is the lack of sleep,” says Bill, not sounding sleepy at all as he and Andy ride past Woss. On second thought, maybe it’s the riding. Either way, he sounds pumped, buoyed by the way the riders have been received (and money has been raised) on the north Island.
Blog post 23 -- June 18, 9:15 p.m.
One more email for the team. “We are thinking of all of you on this incredible journey,” writes Louise Hartland. “Thank you, thank you, thank you for raising money for such a worthwhile cause. It's all downhill from here, right?!?”
Blog post 22 -- June 18, 7:05 p.m.
Remember the movie Goin’ South? Or how about Homeward Bound? Either way, that’s us. Erin and Kevin just finished the first leg out of Port Hardy and handed off to Mary and Steve, who are heading for the wilds of Woss. Thanks to the people of Port Hardy for being such great hosts!
Blog post 21 -- June 18, 6:30 p.m.
Another supportive email, this one from Kit McDonald. “In a world of bat-shit crazy world leaders and selfish ‘what about me’ people, it is thrilling and comforting to know that there are amazing selfless people like the end2end team doing their absolute best to help less fortunate kids and their families. You are like a really unique and loving family and we are so proud of you all. Stay safe.”
Blog post 20 -- June 18, 5 p.m.
Henry Foster writes in with an email we suspect is meant for rider Steve: “Go grandpa go! I love you. You can go so fast!"
Also, the Wolf class is cheering everyone on. “We are so proud, keep going!”
Blog post 19 -- June 18, 3:15
Halfway there! The team is riding into Port Hardy en masse right now.
Blog post 18 -- June 18, 3 p.m.
Another cheer from the sidelines. "You are all amazing!" writes Lucille Knox. "Almost half way. Fantastic cause, fantastic, dedicated riders."
Blog post 17 -- June 18, 1:35 p.m.
Nimpkish River. Chris and Rob have saddled up for one last leg before the team rides into Port Hardy -- End2End's halfway mark! -- together. If you can, come enjoy the turnaround celebration at the Hardy Bay Seniors Centre.
Blog post 16 -- June 18, 12:55 p.m.
They’re at the north end of Nimpkish Lake, not far south of Port McNeill. Maybe this bit of emailed encouragement from Sam Caram will help: “Way to go guys, you got this! Super impressed with your dedication and making this fundraiser ride happen. You are making a difference, helping kids and their families with every pedal stroke. Just keep pedalling!”
Blog post 15 -- June 18, 11:25 a.m.
We received a nice message for the riders from Cindy and daughter Lois in Esquimalt: “One night down, one to go! Amazing effort for such an important cause. Thinking of all of you over every kilometre and every hill climb. Stay dry. Keep safe! See you all again soon.”
Do you have a message for the team, too? Send it to end2end.vi.media@gmail.com
Blog post 14 -- June 18, 9:50 a.m.
If in Port Hardy today, head to the End2End turnaround celebration at the Hardy Bay Seniors Centre from 1-4 p.m. Loonie auction, hot dog sale and End2End cookie sale. Right now, it looks like the team will arrive around 3 p.m..
Blog post 13 -- June 18, 8:15 a.m.
It's pouring rain as Erin and Kevin pass the Sayward junction. Mary and Steve are up next. Send positive thoughts (and donations).
Blog post 12 -- June 18, 7:57 a.m.
The Oilers are out. Canada’s new great hope: the End2End team. They’re riding south of Sayward now.
Blog post 11 -- June 18, 6:55 a.m.
It’s a whole other island north of Campbell River. Bear-proof garbage cans, long unbroken stretches of forest, and cell coverage as sketchy as a guy selling a $20 bicycle. Do you have an encouraging message for our riders as they work their way toward Port Hardy? Send it to end2end.vi.media@gmail.com.
Blog post 10 -- June 18, 5:30 a.m.
Good morning! It's a new day and a new pair of riders in Campbell River. Looks like the team will be dealing with son-in-law weather (alright but not what we were really hoping for) on the ride north.
Blog post 9 -- June 18, 4:20 a.m.
It's still pitch black in Black Creek, halfway between Courtenay and Campbell River. The birds are starting to sing, though. Daylight is coming. We have gone through the entire batting order of riders, meaning it's the turn of Andy and Bill again.
Blog post 8 -- June 17, 11:45 p.m.
Erin and Kevin are done! They have reached the Alberni Highway junction at Parksville. Now it's the turn of Mary and Steve to to begin riding at a time of night when most of us are snug in our beds. After a 20-minute break to allow the vehicle drivers to stretch their legs (hey, it has been a long day for them, too) the riders will set out for Union Bay at midnight.
Blog post 7 -- June 17, 10:45 p.m.
Erin and Kevin are making good time as they pass the north end of Nanaimo. These are familiar stomping (pedalling?) grounds for Kevin, who in his youth raced road bikes as a member of the Nanaimo Cycling Club
Blog post 6 -- June 17, 10:05 p.m.
With daylight gone, Erin and Kevin have taken over. They'll tackle the long climb past Nanaimo, then the leg-burger coming out of Nanoose before dismounting at the Parksville junction
Blog post 5 -- June 17, 9:10 p.m.
We're grateful for the way our sponsors and others have formed a community of support for End2End. That was the subject of a news release that went out tonight after the riders departed. Here it is:
End2End riders roll out with community support
They’re off!
The eight riders on the End2End cycling team began their 1,000-kilometre, non-stop ride from Victoria to Port Hardy and back Tuesday evening.
If all goes to plan, they’ll return to the capital around suppertime Thursday – and, more importantly, a small local charity will have the money it needs to help the families of cancer-stricken children on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.
The goal of the inaugural End2End ride is to raise $100,000 for the Island Kids Cancer Association.
End2End chair Andy Dunstan praised the way Islanders have come together for the cause. While the riders won’t learn how much money they have raised until Thursday, they departed knowing that, thanks to their neighbours, the cost of running the event has been minimal.
“End2End has truly been a grassroots, volunteer-driven effort,” Dunstan said. “Nobody is getting paid. Almost all the costs of staging the event have been covered by Island businesses big and small.”
He offered examples: The organizing sponsor, Victoria’s Trek Bicycle Store, absorbed the soft (and many of the not-so-soft) costs of running End2End. Galaxy Motors jumped on board as a main sponsor, not only providing several vehicles to accompany the ride but raising money, too. Wilson’s Transportation lent a 15-passenger van, while U-Haul came up with a cargo truck. Peninsula Co-op provided a vehicle and gas card, and Real Insurance Solutions provided coverage. The Hillside mall Canadian Tire wrote a cheque, then hosted a barbecue.
In a busy tourist season, Courtenay’s Crown Isle and Port Hardy’s Airport Inn somehow freed up beds for support crew. Powerful bike lights from Langford’s Full On Lighting turned night to day for the riders. Lisa Harrison of Love Local Marketing in Port Hardy and Adam Kammer of Victoria’s Kamr Design both dived in to provide End2End with social media and communication help.
Some contributions were spurred on by personal connections and experiences. Ken Featherby of NAI commercial real estate joined colleague and End2End rider Erin Glazier in sponsoring the relay. It’s no coincidence that Harbourfront Wealth Management’s Tom Gilman, the very first corporate sponsor to write a cheque, works with Robin Smart, one of End2End’s key volunteers. Comox Valley veterinarian Nicole Garneau, a childhood cancer survivor, clothed the riders and support crew in team gear, and held a Paws2Paws dog-washing fundraiser at her Tsolum Veterinary Hospital. A cookie fundraiser at Port McNeill’s Mugz 2.0 Cafe had its own back-story.
Some help seemingly came out of the blue, like the large donations from Victoria Kids Out and About and the Frosted Tips Foundation. The Westshore Charity Golf Tournament, which was held last week, donated. So did the Central Saanich Lions. Also in Central Saanich, tech company Schneider Electric and its employees donated. The Comox Valley’s Robin Campbell organized a barn dance. Hoyne Brewing, Bin 4 Burger Lounge, Uptown, Russell Books, Hartwig Industries, Drumroaster Coffee and PowerWest Athletics were among those who stepped up. At the launch of End2End in March, the Smart Melanoma Society showed up to give through the Victoria Foundation.
Not only did Brown’s Social House host a spinathon fundraiser at Uptown, but several staff members offered to pitch in at the June 19 End2End finale. Country Grocer donated most of the food for the finale, which chef Heidi Fink of CHEK TV fame volunteered to cook. The Nest Café is providing treats. Jamie Waters will provide the sound at the event.
“End2End has only worked because of this great extended family of Vancouver Islanders — riders, sponsors, volunteers, donors — who have come together for their neighbours,” Dunstan said. “Islanders helping Islanders.”
Dunstan and Trek bike store owner Bill Fry were the first cyclists to ride a leg of the relay, which will see four pairs of riders – the others are Rob McDonald and Chris Day, Mary Griffin and Steve Foster, and Erin Glazier and Kevin Nystedt -- take turns riding 50-kilometre segments of the journey.
Blog post 4 -- June 17, 8:10 p.m.
The first leg is done! Andy and Bill have arrived at Cobble Hill, handing off to Rob McDonald and Cowichan Valley boy Chris Day, who are bound for Cassidy.
Blog post 3 -- June 17, 7:15 a.m.
TODAY’S THE DAY! After months of planning (and preparatory pedalling) the inaugural End2End cycling relay begins at 6 p.m. Hats off (or wallets out, if you feel like making a donation) to our our eight cyclists – Chris Day, Andy Dunstan, Steve Foster, Bill Fry, Erin Glazier, Mary Griffin, Rob McDonald and Kevin Nystedt – as they gear up (before gearing down on the hills) for their 1,000-kilometre, 48-hour ride from Victoria to Port Hardy and back. While the rest of us are asleep in bed tonight, they’ll be taking it in turns to help the Island Kids Cancer Association help the families of cancer-stricken children on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.
Blog post 2 - June 16, 8:20 a.m.
One more day until the riders depart! You can track their progress here. In the meantime, check out our latest news release:
The End2End ride doesn’t start until June 17, but Susan Kerr is already grateful for its impact.
“I’ve never seen a group of people come together and ignite the community in the way they have,” said Kerr, who leads the Island Kids Cancer Association, the beneficiary of the 1,000-kilometre, round-the-clock End2End fundraising relay, in which eight cyclists will pedal from Victoria to Port Hardy and back.
IKCA is a small, frontline charity that works directly with Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands families blindsided by childhood cancer. Founded in 2017 by Kerr -- who lost her own son, Jacob, to the disease -- it is made up of people with an intimate knowledge of the struggles such families face.
The End2End effort will help IKCA provide support and connection through every phase of a family’s cancer journey, Kerr says. It will help break down their feeling of isolation. It will mean more access to the essentials – things like fuel, food and mental-health care for people who often have to give up their jobs to care for their children. “Those three should never be out of reach for families supporting a child with cancer.”
And, vitally, End2End will broaden the community of people who see the gaps in the system and want to provide real help to real neighbours. “The group has taken on our mission as its own,” Kerr says.
The End2End ride was dreamed up by Andy Dunstan, a retired police officer who now works part-time at the Trek Bicycle Store Victoria. What he envisioned was this: a fundraising relay that will see four pairs of cyclists take turns riding a succession of 50-kilometre segments. Each pair will pedal for roughly two hours, rest for six, then climb back in the saddle for another leg of the round-the-clock journey. Each rider will complete 250 kilometres by the time the trip is done.
Dunstan took his idea to bike shop owner Bill Fry, who made the store the event’s organizing sponsor.
The first leg of the ride will see Dunstan and Fry set out from Vic West at 6 p.m. on June 17, climbing the Malahat to Cobble Hill before giving way to Saanich police officer Rob McDonald and Duncan’s Chris Day, a CFB Esquimalt firefighter. That pair will be followed by CHEK News’ Mary Griffin and retired Mountie Steve Foster, who will then hand off to commercial realtor Erin Glazier and Victoria police detective Kevin Nystedt. The riders will continue the journey in that order until arriving en masse at the Trek store two days after they left. Their expected arrival is around suppertime on Thursday, June 19.
On the way, the riders and other supporters will gather at Port Hardy’s Hardy Bay Seniors Centre, where a hot dog sale, bake sale and loonie auction will begin at 1 p.m. on June 18.
That’s one of a string of events up and down the Island – spinathons in Victoria, a barn dance in the Comox Valley and cookie sales in Port McNeill among them -- that have helped End2End chase its goal of raising $100,000 for IKCA. In addition, the contributions of sponsors and volunteers have kept the cost of staging the event to almost nothing.
“It seems the premise of ‘Islanders helping Islanders’ is actually very popular,” Dunstan said. “All our sponsors and supporters are local and the fact we are doing this to help families on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands is proving to be very appealing.”
People can learn more about – or donate to – the cause at End2Endcancer.com
Blog post 1 - June 15, 9:17 p.m.
We're two days from go time!! Want to track the riders on their 1,000- kilometre ride from Victoria to Port Hardy and back? This is the place