Budds and buds still banking on reaching goal for bike ride
[attach]7888[/attach]A trio of Leaside brothers and their friends are optimistic they’ll raise the $16,400 their team has pledged for a charity bike ride, less than a week before the main event.
But Chris Budd says he will lead his brothers Steve and Michael, and their friends Ian Gray, Chris LePan and Stephen Burtch, on the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer’s “classic” route on June 7–8 anyway.
Their ride, part of the annual event that raises millions in support of the cancer centre at Princess Margaret Hospital, is a 200-km trek from Toronto to Niagara Falls.
“No matter what, we’re going to fundraise until the very last minute and hit our targets,” Budd said. “A lot of donations come in at the end, so I’m confident that by June 7 we’ll have raised the full amount.”
Budd first became involved in the ride three years ago when his brother Steve rode with a family friend to support a relative who was battling cancer.
The brothers’ current team, “We Ride at Daybreak… ish,” kicked off its fundraising in January with a dodgeball tournament that raised $3,500. Their efforts, at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church on St. Clair Avenue West, were featured on the front pages of the Leaside-Rosedale and Forest Hill editions of the Town Crier.