Ecotex Raises Over $50K for Cancer Research
Team Ecotex Spin Cycle, representing Ecotex Healthcare Linen Service, pedaled 250 kilometers (155 miles) over two days, cycling from Vancouver, Canada, to Seattle, to raise $53,000 for cancer research. The team overcame backbreaking hills and gale-force winds in the Ride to Conquer Cancer on Aug. 29-30, an event that drew more than 2,000 riders, according to a news release.
“It’s an incredible feeling when you are out on the road and playing your part in this huge event,” said team captain, Randy Bartsch, Ecotex CEO. “Riders help each other and also feed off the fantastic support we get from the public and event volunteers. The Ride to Conquer Cancer challenges you on many levels and you see that pride in meeting those challenges on the faces of every rider as they finish.”
Following months of cycling and training for the event under sunny, ideal conditions, riders struggled with the rain, high winds and hilly terrain, the release noted. Team member Andy Wierda said, “When I thought of friends, relatives and participants who had beaten cancer, I couldn’t help but be motivated. At the rest stops we were so tired. But we thought if they can go through all that, I just need get back on my bike and get going.”
On Day 1, the team set off into the biggest storm to hit the Pacific Northwest region in a decade. From start to finish, trees were being uprooted, power lines downed, bridges cut off, and 50 mph winds forced riders backwards and sideways. Traveling at only a quarter of their normal speed, participants had to abandon the ride after officials suspended the event at the 70 km (43 mile) mark. Day 2 was much better. Under sunny skies and more favorable winds, the Ecotex team regrouped to cross the finish line with triumphant spirits, recording personal victories for physical and mental endurance.
The team’s biggest victory, however, was the $52,734 they raised in support of the B.C. Cancer Foundation. Bartsch wanted to specially thank team sponsors Medline Industries Inc., Pellerin Milnor Corp. and Ecolab Inc., plus the many donors and friends who helped power the team to their goal.
Overall, 2,087 participants raised $8.4 million in the B.C. Ride to Conquer Cancer, according to the release.