hit-and-run<\/a> that had sent both him and a local RCMP officer to hospital.<\/p>\n\u201cThis ride is an important part of the healing process for Shane\u2019s teammates as we carry forward with something he was truly passionate about: raising funds for children with cancer and supporting the families who face it,\u201d said Laura Nelson, manager of Cops for Cancer.<\/p>\n
The community also came out to show their support, with more than 200 people gathered at the Aquatic Centre to cheer on the riders as they departed.<\/p>\n
In addition, about 50 local cyclists joined the Tour de North participants for approximately 10 kilometres. Among them were members of the Wheelin\u2019 Warriors of the North, a local cycling group Kelly had belonged to. The group also raises funds for cancer research.<\/p>\n
The Tour de North team travelled nearly 150 kilometres south along Highway 97 to Hixon and back, escorted by the RCMP, BC Emergency Health Services and BC Sheriffs.<\/p>\n
Cpl. Jennifer Cooper of the Prince George RCMP spoke to The\u00a0Citizen about the emotional impact of the event on her colleagues and the broader community.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was definitely a moving event,\u201d said Cooper. \u201cWe had incredible support from the community to come out and join with us. It was an emotional time for family and friends of Shane as well as his teammates, so we appreciate the support from the Prince George community.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said the RCMP was grateful for the opportunity to connect with the public and support a cause that touched so many.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s bigger than just the RCMP family,\u201d Cooper said. \u201cIt affected a lot of us. We\u2019re very grateful to have so many community riders with us this year. It\u2019s nice to have people coming out and supporting the RCMP in one of our public events \u2014 something the public maybe doesn\u2019t often see us involved in.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nice to show a bit more of the human side of the RCMP.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cooper added that the RCMP deeply appreciates the support shown to the cycling community, Tour de North and the Kelly family during such a difficult time.<\/p>\n
Matthew Campbell, director of Cops for Cancer, spoke to The\u00a0Citizen about what people shared about Kelly during the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople will remember his encouragement, his ability to motivate people, his ability to always look on the positive side of life,\u201d said Campbell. \u201cThere are so many stories people have shared about how he motivated them to be part of the team, to give it their all, to stay encouraged. He had a bright and vibrant personality that people were drawn to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Campbell said both riders and community members were filled with a mix of emotions \u2014 some celebrating Kelly\u2019s life and his contributions to cancer research, while others were grieving the hole left by his passing.<\/p>\n
Plans are already in motion to make Kelly\u2019s memory a permanent part of future Tour de North events.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Tour de North team and the Canadian Cancer Society are looking for ways to honour him going forward,\u201d said Campbell. \u201cPossibly making the Tour de North golf tournament, which was held this year, an annual event named in his honour. Or naming areas at Camp Goodtimes after Shane, since that\u2019s where this money goes \u2014 to help kids with cancer. We\u2019re looking for ways to share his memory so that people can continue to remember all the good he did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since Kelly\u2019s passing, fundraising efforts have surpassed expectations. More than $122,000 had been raised under his name on the Tour de North website earlier this week.<\/p>\n
Campbell said those funds will go directly to pediatric cancer research \u2014 a cause Kelly\u2019s family has expressed a strong desire to support in his memory.<\/p>\n
To donate to Kelly\u2019s fund, visit: https:\/\/support.cancer.ca\/site\/TR?company_id=104949&pg=national_company<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dozens of Tour de North cyclists, local supporters, Prince George RCMP officers, BC Sheriffs and BC\u00a0Emergency Health Services…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44049,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,31126,82],"class_list":["post-44048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-fundraisertrainingrcmplocallatestcops-for-cancer-tour-de-northshane-kelly","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}