Dr. Matthew Nelms was diagnosed with colon cancer at 26 years old and he died three days before his 29th birthday, now his friends and family are raising money in his name to help other young adults facing similar battles

A 29-year-old who lost a childhood friend to colon cancer is now learning to appreciate a tailwind as he cycles across four provinces on a Ride for Your Rear. 

Benson MacGregor, who is living in Kamloops and planting trees in BC, teamed up with his friend Evan McVittie to create the Ride for Your Rear from Banff, Alta. to Toronto, Ont. in memory of their ski racing friend Matthew Nelms, who died last year just three days before his 29th birthday. 

They passed through Barrie on Tuesday.

“After Matt passed last year, I was still in the woods, and I had a lot of time to think about things,” said MacGregor, noting he wanted to support the Dr. Matthew Nelms Foundation, started by Nelms and his family to fund research into cancer in young adults. 

“We always talked about doing an adventure together when we got older and when he finished school, and, of course, that never happened,” explained MacGregor. “I wanted to come back home this summer to visit his family and my family, and the best way to do it would be by plane, but the more fun way would be on a bike.” 

McVittie helped create and organize the ride, but could only join for the final leg from Tobermory to Toronto. 

MacGregor has done all but a couple of days of the ride solo with a bike he bought one month before leaving Banff on July 10, 2025. He carries his tent and supplies on his bike and has spent a lot of nights camping, and others in hotels along the way. 

On Aug. 12, he rode into Collingwood, stopping at the National Ski Academy to have a picnic lunch with friends who joined him for the ride including Maria Nelms (Matthew’s sister), Evan and Kyle McVittie, and Ryley Remme. 

McVittie, MacGregor and Nelms skied together at Beaver Valley Ski Club, and Nelms went on to race with the National Ski Academy with Remme until the end of high school. 

MacGregor was not a cyclist before the ride, but he figured the battle would be more mental than physical. Averaging about 110 kilometres a day, MacGregor got a strong start crossing Alberta in four-and-a-half days, but Saskatchewan took nine and included several flat tires and some backtracking. 

He definitely prefers a tailwind, and not just because it fits better with the Ride for Your Rear theme. 

“It’s almost debilitating mentally when the wind’s into you and the second it changes, it’s like the hand of God just pushing you along the way,” said MacGregor. 

MacGregor has been thinking about his friend Matthew Nelms as he pedals across Canada. On August 2, which would have been Nelm’s 30th birthday, MacGregor passed by the Terry Fox statue in Thunder Bay. 

“Matt was probably the most positive guy I ever skied with, that I ever knew,” said MacGregor. “He was always committed to being the best he could that day, and he was super competitive in a good way.” 

He remembered Nelms deciding early on that he wanted to be a doctor, and MacGregor admired him for his determination, maturity and intelligence.

Matthew Nelms did become a doctor and was working on a residency in anesthesiology when he died. He was first diagnosed with colon cancer at 26 years old. 

Nelms older sister, Maria, joined the Ride for Your Rear on Aug. 12 wearing Matt’s blue and white cycling jersey. 

Matt loved all kinds of activities, said his sister. She and her family went through some of Matt’s things earlier this month, following the one-year anniversary of his death. 

“It’s quite an emotional experience,” said Maria of looking over her little brother’s things. 

The cycling jersey was among the boxes of his belongings. 

“My brother said ‘oh my gosh, I have so many pictures of Matthew in that,’ so I thought it would be fitting,” said Maria. 

She rode from Beaver Valley to Barrie with her brother’s friends.  

“It was so special for the boys to put this on and plan it in support of Matthew,” said Maria. “To be part of it today just felt so, so special. I know Matt would have loved to have been here to meet all of his friends and spend more time with them.” 

The Nelms live in London, Ont., but have a home in Kimberley and continue to be members of Beaver Valley Ski Club. 

They helped Matt start the Dr. Matthew Nelms Foundation before he died, and have carried on his wish to help fund research of cancer in young adults and also to support young adults who are diagnosed with cancer. 

Maria said the foundation may also venture into advocacy in the hopes of encouraging more young people to get cancer screenings. 

For the final leg, MacGregor is taking a couple days off and will ride from Barrie to Toronto starting Friday in the hopes that others will be able to join him for the last kilometres. 

He’ll be finishing the ride at Matt’s uncle’s house in Toronto, enjoying some beers in the backyard. 

And when he gets home, MacGregor said he’ll be getting a colonoscopy because of what he’s learned about the importance of early cancer screening. 

Donations to the Ride for Your Rear can be made on the website. The link will take you to a Go Fund Me page started by Evan McVittie. All the money will be donated to the Dr. Matthew Nelms Foundation. 

The ride is also being documented on Instagram through the handle @rideforyourrear