HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-08-25, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016.
Sawchuk recruiting cyclists for safety ride team
Taking to the streets
Julie Sawchuk from just outside of Blyth, seen here working with her new functional electrical
stimulation bike, has been asked to play an important role in the upcoming installment of
Greg's Ride in Milton, a ride that raises money to increase cycling safety throughout Ontario.
Sawchuk was happy to be involved and has even started her own team, Team Julie, and is
actively recruiting cyclists. She hopes to participate one year with a hand bike, but says she's
not quite able to do so just yet. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Julie Sawchuk, the Blyth -area
triathlete who was paralyzed last
year after being hit by a car while
training, is hoping to lead a team of
Huron County cyclists in Greg's
Ride in Milton late next month.
Greg's Ride, dubbed "Ontario's
Just out of reach
A large group of local women congregated in Blyth on
Saturday for their year-end slo-pitch tournament, which was
held in the village. Here, the Misfits (playing the field) took
on a team from Auburn. (Vicky Bremner photo)
ride for safer cycling" is a
fundraising event in the name of
OPP Sergeant Greg Stobbart who
was killed while cycling in Milton.
After his death, Stobbart's wife
Eleanor McMahon founded the
Share the Road Cycling Coalition in
his memory.
"At Greg's Ride: Ontario's Ride
for Safer Cycling, we ride in Greg's
memory, celebrating how far cycling
has come in 10 years and striving to
make Ontario the safest place in
Canada to ride a bike," the event's
website states.
Sawchuk was first informed of the
ride during Huron County's cycling
safety seminars, held in Holmesville
on May 19. There, she was asked if
she would participate in some of the
ride's events.
"This year, they're really focusing
the ride on people who have been
affected by car vs. bike incidents,"
Sawchuk said in an interview with
The Citizen.
With Sawchuk having survived
just such an incident, they wanted
her involved in the ride, to perhaps
even speak. One of the real goals,
however, is to involve cyclists from
all around the province, including
Huron County.
Last week, when registration
opened, Sawchuk announced there
would be a Team Julie at the ride
that she's hoping to fill with
between 12 and 20 Huron County
cyclists, all for a cause in which she
truly believes.
Sawchuk is hoping this will
become an annual trek for Huron
County athletes. Greg's Ride has
been running for years, since
Stobbart was killed in 2006, but the
inclusion of Huron County cyclists
is something Sawchuk hopes will
continue.
She plans on being involved for
years to come as she continues to
rehabilitate her body and prepare it
for further exercise — including
riding in the event one year with the
help of a hand bike.
After training at Parkwood
Institute in London in recent months,
Sawchuk is now working on a
functional electrical stimulation
(FES) bike — a piece of equipment
that includes a simulation screen,
moving handles and pedals.
Stimulation pads shock the leg
muscles into moving and turning the
pedals, which helps to build muscle,
battle atrophy and encourage blood
circulation.
Even though she now has one in
her home, sent all the way from
Baltimore, Maryland, she still heads
to Parkwood once a week to use one
there and socialize with other
patients in the row of four FES
bikes. Not only is it physical therapy,
she says, it's mental and emotional
therapy as well.
Sawchuk says she's encouraging
her family to take part. Perhaps her
children Ella and Oliver will ride the
shortest distance available. As for
her husband Theo, he'll have to find
a bike before he can take part, she
says.
As for Greg's Ride, 100 per cent
of profits from the event go towards
the coalition's advocacy work,
which has included working with the
Minister of Transportation to launch
cycling infrastructure funding, the
passing of the one -metre safe
passing law, the recognition of
communities as being bicycle -
friendly, as well as a number of other
initiatives.
Greg's Ride offers three
routes/distances. The first is The
Promenade (15 kilometres),
followed by The Challenger (60
kilometres) and The Ultimate (100
kilometres).
To register for the ride, visit
sharetheroad.org and look for the
Greg's Ride links. To receive a
registration discount as part of Team
Julie, use the promotional code
20TeamJS 16.
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