Gooding steps up for another Great Cycle Challenge

Kids should be living life, not fighting for it, says Tillsonburg’s Scott Gooding launching his 2023 Great Cycle Challenge fundraising.

“Your support will change little lives,” said Gooding who in the past three Augusts (2020-2022) has cycled more than 2,000 km raising funds for Great Cycle Challenge Canada, a one-month event which has grown to become one of the biggest cycling events in the country with thousands of riders from coast to coast each year.

If Gooding cycled his entire 2,203 km in one marathon trip, the kilometers would be enough to land the retired Glendale High School guidance/teacher somewhere between Brandon, Manitoba and the Saskatchewan border. It’s an enormous distance, but just a small part of the 20-million total km cycled in the event’s seven-year history – all raising funds to fight kids’ cancer.

More than 1,700 children are diagnosed with cancer in Canada every year, Gooding noted, and it is still the biggest killer of children in the country.

“I am raising funds through my challenge to help these kids and support the SickKids Foundation to allow them to continue their work in developing treatments and finding a cure for childhood cancer,” said Gooding who rides in memory of his mother Betty Gooding from Delhi.

“Cancer is awful. My mom passed away from cancer, so many people have had family members with cancer, but I can’t even imagine if you have a child that’s fighting cancer. It’s devastating. Things are much more optimistic with regards to cancer than years ago, but it’s still there, it’s still taking its toll on a lot of families.”

As of Tuesday, he had completed 117 km, with donations of $499, ranking him 1,074^th in the province. His goal this August is to raise $5,000 through the generous donations of individuals and businesses, adding to $32,400 raised in the last three years.

“Usually the first week or so is slow and as I get closer to the end of August it picks up.”

Any of the registered riders can be supported through the Great Cycle Challenge website. Gooding is in the Simcoe chapter, which has more than 50 participants. Nearby chapters can be found in Woodstock, Caledonia, Dunnville, St. Thomas and Brantford.

“I’m trying to do as much as I can in the nice weather that we have because I know it’s going to get hot again,” said Gooding, who plans to cycle 300 km this year. “I have a knee that bothers me a bit, but doesn’t seem to bother me while riding. So this is a more reasonable goal for me at this stage.”

Gooding posts regular updates on his social media accounts (Facebook and Instagram) with links to donate online (greatcyclechallenge.ca/riders/ScottGooding). He has also accepted cash/cheque donations in-person, which are added to his daily totals, and forwarded to the Great Cycle Challenge organization.

“It’s truly amazing the support that I’ve been fortunate to get from the community, my family, my friends, businesses, industries… even people that I don’t necessarily know but are from the community. That is amazing. I know what this community is like, having lived and worked here a long time, and how giving this community is. This community steps up. We’re very lucky to live in our area where we have people, businesses, service clubs who are kind and giving and I am grateful.”

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