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OSSTF District 11- Thames Valley
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District 11 Office |
Education Matters Online
Recognitions
Volume 1, Issue 1: April 7, 2003
Cycle to Cure:
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 The open road |
 A moose along the way |
 St. John's, Newfoundland |
 The cheque presentation |
In her French immersion history classes, Laurier teacher Melissa MacIntyre brings her own travelling experiences to enhance the daily lessons, while challenging her students to apply some critical thinking to the topics at hand.
Coaching track and tennis and leading the alpine ski club enable Melissa to demonstrate the benefits of active, healthy living. Her tenacity on taking on new challenges was encouraged by some of her students when Melissa applied to participate in the Canadian TV show "No Boundaries". The program profiled individuals surviving in the outdoors. Her students made a promotional video which featured Melissa’s outdoor abilities and her bicycle.
When Melissa’s mother was diagnosed with cancer in 1999 and a close friend died suddenly from cancer in 2000, Melissa knew she had to respond. With the support of her family, friends and students, Melissa set out to raise funds for cancer research. "Cycle to Cure" was born and Melissa and her bike set out to cross Canada in 2002; she began on July 1 in Whitehorse and finished on August 31 in St. John's, Newfoundland. Averaging 118 kilometers a day for 62 days, Melissa cycled 7300 kilometres and raised over $24,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society. Her cross country travels enabled Melissa to meet thousands of ordinary Canadians who in their own way offered support for her ride.
Within these 7,300 kms and across all ten provinces and two of the territories, Melissa encountered bears, moose, caribou, mountain goats, far too many chasing dogs and surprisingly, ONLY one flat tire! She was humbled by our colossal land, awe-struck by its natural beauty and fascinated by the wildness of it all. Cycling through the Rocky Mountains, the Prairies, the Canadian Shield, the Lac St. Jean and Saguenay regions, the Maritimes, the hills, the forests, the fields, the bugs, the heat and the rain, she experience Canada and its splendours at a very slow pace from the seat of her bicycle.
By straying from the more traditional route along the Trans-Canada and venturing onto smaller and more remote highways, Melissa discovered the real beauty of Canada...its people. People from coast to coast were supportive of her 'Cycle to Cure' as they gave donations, provided accommodations and meals, and offered encouraging honks and waves from their passing vehicles or from the roadside. Everybody across our country has in someway been affected by cancer and it was wonderful to meet these people and know that in raising funds, cancer can be beaten.
If you are interested in reading about Melissa's adventures or in organizing your own cross-Canada cycling adventure, please contact her at cycletocure@hotmail.com.
District 11 congratulates Melissa for this extraordinary and selfless feat.
Melissa was Laurier's Bishop Townshend nominee for 2002-2003; information for this article was paraphrased from that nomination and also provided by Melissa herself.