Skip to content

A message from the North Island’s 2019 Tour de Rock rider

“Please join me in my endeavour to raise awareness and money for paediatric cancer research”
17383638_web1_190626-NIG-Tourderock_1
CANADIAN CANCER SOCIETY PHOTO Tim Whitehead poses for his official Tour de Rock photo.

Want to know more about your local Tour de Rock rider this year? Well look no further, as Tour de Rock rider Tim Whitehead has a message for the North Island, which you can read in full below:

My name is Tim Whitehead and I am proud to be a part of the 2019 Canadian Cancer Society Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock. My family has been involved with and supported Tour de Rock for many years including donating time, money, and items for raffles and silent auctions as well as hosting fundraising events in Port Hardy.

When I was six-years-old we moved from Campbell River to Port McNeill where my father ran a tire shop. Just before my 14th birthday in 1984 my dad started his own business (OK Tire) in Port Hardy and we moved there. My sister and I both went to and graduated from Port Hardy Secondary School where my sister now teaches. I left Port Hardy just after I turned 20 in 1990 and moved to Nanaimo. Nine years later I returned to Port Hardy and worked as a commercial diver as well as helping my dad at his business.

In October 2003 I was accepted to the RCMP and after graduating depot in March of 2004 I was stationed to Fort St. John in Northern BC. In 2005 I was selected to ride Tour de North from Prince George to Prince Rupert. It was a fantastic journey and I learned a lot about what children and their families go through battling cancer.

In 2010 my wife Kim and I got transferred to Vancouver Island where Kim was posted in Parksville and I worked in a traffic unit out of Chemainus. In 2011 I transferred to Nanaimo. In 2017 Kim applied for and got the position of detachment commander in Sayward and I was transferred to Campbell River. Since moving back to the island in 2010 we travel to Port Hardy often to visit my parents and sister and her husband. I have always felt and feel at home on the North Island.

In 2018, Kim our friend Kayley and I took over the Sayward Tour de Rock fundraising committee. It was a lot of work but very rewarding knowing what the end result of our efforts would mean to a child and their family fighting and coping with cancer.

I retired from the RCMP in January 2019 and decided to up my commitment and join the ride. Every $1500 raised sends one kid with cancer to Camp Goodtimes for one week. That is one full week that they get to forget about the outside world and enjoy being a kid with other kids in the same situation.

Please join me in my endeavour to raise awareness and money for paediatric cancer research and support programs for kids living with cancer and their families.

Thank you for your support and generosity,

Tim Whitehead

Since 1998, 330 police officers have been named to the Tour de Rock team, along with 52 others, including childhood cancer survivors, longtime volunteers, fire fighters, paramedics and members of the media who tell our story.

A new team is picked every year, and historically, only one person has ridden the Tour de Rock more than once. The men and women named to the Tour de Rock each year sacrifice a lot of their time during the seven months of their Tour experience. On top of fundraising, team members train on their bikes three days a week — hill night, speed nights and long-distance endurance rides — to help prepare the team for the physical demands of the 1,100-kilometre, two-week ride.



Tyson Whitney

About the Author: Tyson Whitney

I have been working in the community newspaper business for nearly a decade, all of those years with Black Press Media.
Read more