Cystic-fibrosis cyclists pedal their asses for a cure

If you happen to be near the Convention Centre tomorrow (Friday, May 2) morning and see a group of cyclists pedalling their butts off but standing still, stop and check them out.

They might be on stationary bikes, but don’t accuse them of going nowhere fast: they are all convinced that they are speeding up the search for an eventual cure for cystic fibrosis, the most common fatal inherited disease in the country.

The event is dubbed Spin4CF, and it’s designed to get the word out about the upcoming annual GearUp4CF event on June 21 and the fact that May is Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month (which culminates locally with the Great Strides fundraising walk in Queen’s Park in New Westminster on May 25).

On Friday morn, 15 riders will conduct a four-hour spin class (from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.) in the Shaw Tower Plaza, across from the Olympic cauldron at the intersection of West Cordova and Thurlow streets.

Organizer Sharron Bates rode in the GearUp4CF event (a nine-day, 1,200-kilometre fundraising ride to Banff, Alberta) last year and will be offering baked goods and coffee to passersby. (Bates and codirector Carmen Klotz produced the entertaining and informative documentary Lace Bite, about a women’s epic multiday hockey-game fundraiser for CF that made it into the record books.)

Staff from Cystic Fibrosis Canada’s western office will also be on hand to inform, advise, and accept donations (you can sponsor GearUp4CF riders or Great Strides walkers, or you can just drop off a few dollars.)

Many people are of the opinion that a cure for CF is on the near horizon, and your tax-deductible donation to a cause that doesn’t get a lot of publicity gives a lot of research bang for your buck, so to speak.