'When I'm riding, she's constantly on my mind': Father-daughter cycling duo gears up for emotional ride

For Bob and Alexandra Wickett, the annual Tour de Cure is a chance to honour Sheila Wickett, a wife, mother and teacher who died from cancer in 2016.

Aug. 24 and 25 marks the annual Tour De Cure fundraiser for the BC Cancer Foundation. It’s a two-day, 200-kilometre ride that will see thousands of cyclists trek from Cloverdale to Hope.

For Bob and Alexandra Wickett, it’s a chance to honour Sheila Wickett, a wife, mother and teacher who died from cancer in 2016.

“She was really the most fun, energetic, funny, bubbly person in the entire world,” said Alexandra. “She probably had more friends than any other person in the city of Vancouver.”

In 2011, Sheila was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“I was told if she survived five years that she had a 95-per-cent chance of being good to go,” said Bob. “She made it about 4 years, 6 months, and cancer came roaring back.”

Sheila Wickett was one of approximately 5,500 Canadian women to die each year from the disease.

In 2017, Bob and Alexandra started the yearly tradition of riding in the Tour De cure.

“It was a way, for me at least, to begin kind of a healing process,” said Bob.

Through the years, the two have cycled thousands of kilometres, side by side, raising tens of thousands of dollars for cancer research.

“It really is just a great thing for the two of us to do together,” said Alexandra. “Not that many people throughout their 20s get to say, you know, every Sunday morning they’d bike with their dad for three, four hours, so it really carves out that time for us.”

It’s also a chance for the two to build community amongst the many riders who share similar stories of losing loved ones.

“When I’m riding, she’s constantly on my mind,” said Bob. “It may not sound like it, but that’s a very positive experience for me.”