Over 400 cyclists will support those living with multiple sclerosis (MS) during the annual MS Bike from Grand Bend to London July 27 and 28.
MS Bike Ambassador Barry Travnicek has participated in the fundraising event for 33 years.
The Dorchester resident marked quite the milestone last year by raising over $1 million.
"To be quite honest, when it first happened, it took a while to sort of soak in what we had done," he said. "It was an honour but I stress this more and more, the fact that it was a milestone is not the goal. My goal has always been to help raise the funds to end MS and I'll be doing that until such time that that is accomplished."
Travnicek first started participating in the cycling event as a way to support his sister Lynne, who battled MS.
"To not do anything for my sister... wasn't even an option. I had to find some way, somehow to help her," he said. "Sadly, my sister passed away in 2018 of complications from MS. I was asked back then, 'Are you going to stop?' and I said, 'Well, if I stop, MS wins,' and that's not how it's going to end."
It's estimated that about 90,000 people in Canada currently live with MS.
Money raised through the MS Bike event supports programs and services, such as peer support groups, as well as research into the causes and treatments for the disease.
This year's goal is to raise $885,000.
The MS Bike – Grand Bend to London event will start at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 27 from the Grand Bend Motorplex and will end at Western University's Perth Hall. The second day of the ride will end at the Grand Bend Motorplex on July 28.
"We're very fortunate that we're in an area of Ontario that's not overly hilly and not normally too windy, so we've got a good location," Travnicek said. "Anybody who can stay on their bicycle for about an hour can do this ride. By all means, don't feel intimidated that you've never done a ride like this before."
Depending of the route, participants will bike either 151 kilometres or 176 km over two days.