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Cyclist pedals across Canada in mom's memory

Fifty two days, 8,046 kilometres, 16 flat tires, one cyclist.From June 1 to July 26, Chilliwack resident Jason Campbell rode his Giant bike, with a loaded travel trailer on the back, from St. John’s Newfoundland to Vancouver in support of Abbotsford Canuck Place.
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Chilliwack’s Jason Campbell speaks with Mayor Sharon Gaetz during a stop at city hall while finishing the last portion of his cross-Canada bicycle fundraiser.

by Katie Bartel, Black Press

Fifty two days, 8,046 kilometres, 16 flat tires, one cyclist.

From June 1 to July 26, Chilliwack resident Jason Campbell rode his Giant bike, with a loaded travel trailer on the back, from St. John’s Newfoundland to Vancouver in support of Abbotsford Canuck Place.

He did it for his mom.

Campbell’s mom Paulette died in 2005 after a 15-year battle with cancer that started with breast cancer and ended with bone and lymph node cancer. She was 50 years old.

On a brief stop in Chilliwack before the final 100 km of his trek to Canuck Place in Vancouver, the retired corporal told media of his hopes to raise enough money to have a wing dedicated to his mom at the new Canuck Place being built in Abbotsford.

So far, he’s raised approximately $5,000 of his $20,000 goal.

Being the primary caregiver for his mom in the last four months of her life, and knowing how painful it was for him to see her deteriorate, he could only imagine how devastating it would be for parents going through similar situations with their young children.

And no matter how tough or hilly the roads became, how long and arduous Ontario seemed, how fatigued his legs were, or how selfish the drivers on the roads acted, visions of his mom and thoughts of sick kids kept his pedals moving.

“Those little kids who are sick, and even my mom when she was sick, they still got up smiling,” he said. “And if they could do that, I could keep pedaling.”

In 2009, he rode to Regina, Saskatchewan, where he raised over $7,000 for the hospice his mom passed away in.

Even though he’s been riding a bike since he was a kid, he doesn’t consider himself an avid cyclist.

“It’s just what I do,” he said.

To donate to Campbell’s cause, go to www.canuckplace.org, and search for Campbell under the Precious Pages link.