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Rosedale couple has new reason to ride for charity

Ride to Conquer Cancer participation is in honour of a fallen sister, father

BRIAN BAKER/STREETER
CONQUERING THAT HILL: Bruce Moore, 53, is riding in his eighth Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer. It will also be his fourth with wife Celia, 51, who is riding in memory of her father.

This year’s Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer had a different meaning for Bruce Moore and his wife Celia Richardson.

The Rosedale couple has been participating in the two-wheeled trek for the last four years together, and before that Moore was in four other events.

Moore, 53, started riding in 2009 in memory of his sister Janet, who succumbed to breast cancer in 2002 at 47. She was treated at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.

“We were living overseas, in the U.K. It was a difficult time for my mother,” Moore said, while seated at his backyard patio table. “We’re moving onto 15 years. You don’t want to say that you’re fine talking about it. It’s different now than when it happened.”

In October, Celia’s father, John Richardson, died from prostate cancer.

For Moore, the physical preparation for the race consists of running during the winter and transitioning over to cycling during the warmer months.

The mental preparation is a little more challenging as the opening ceremonies always take an emotional toll on the crowd gathered.

“I’ve always been taken aback by the beginning of it – the excitement around the opening ceremony,” he said.

Moore’s modest in sharing his tale, admitting everyone who takes part has a story but adds he’s invigorated by the sense of connectivity.

“No one’s story is more powerful the other. They’re all personal,” he said. “It’s a sense of a beginning of a collective, this coming together, this community of people trying to make a difference.”

They park the car, and it’s just them.

The couple does have three children, Connor, Georgia and Liam. They haven’t always shown up at the finish line, but that’s okay with Moore.

“There aren’t enough opportunities to make a difference,” he said. “It’s not the hardest thing we’ll ever do, and it’s nothing compared to the people going through treatment.”

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