CFB Esquimalt MP ready to rock cycling tour

Tour de Rock rider, Captain Liam Kenney of the Military Police Unit, Esquimalt, is part of this year’s 17-member team. Riders will set off on their long-distance ride across Vancouver Island in September in a fundraiser to benefit pediatric cancer research and support programs. Photo: Peter Mallett/Lookout Newspaper

Peter Mallett, 
Staff Writer 
— 

Military Police Officer Captain (Capt) Liam Kenney is always up for new and exciting challenges.

“I guess I’m that guy who likes to stick my nose in everything and is always willing to try something new; if there is a special event going on, I will end up being there,” says Capt Kenney.

Later this summer he will turn the page on a new adventure, when he hops on his bicycle with other police riders for a grueling 14-day, 1,200 km cycling tour across Vancouver Island known as the Tour de Rock. Through its official charity Cops For Cancer, Tour de Rock raises awareness and funds for pediatric cancer research and support programs of the Canadian Cancer Society. 

A member of the Military Police Unit Esquimalt for the past three years, the 25-year-old previously spent six years as an Army Reservist of 39 Signal Regiment. His duties at work involve managing day-to-day operations of the unit including managing police presence at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Esquimalt events.

As far as bicycles go, Capt Kenney is a recreational cyclist and former BMX rider. He says he was immediately attracted to Tour de Rock because of the physically demanding challenge and team-building dynamic.

“Corporal Mary Larkin’s involvement last year showed me how amazing this cause is and inspired me to get involved,” he said. “I am unbelievably thankful to be part of this year’s tour and to contribute to a great cause.”

Capt Kenney and this year’s team introduced themselves to a packed auditorium of students and staff at St. Margaret’s School at a Tour de Rock kickoff event on May 10. The event included speeches from past Tour de Rock riders and saw Capt Kenny and other riders presented their training jerseys by the students. 

To prepare for the tour’s physical tests, members of the team have been holding three practice sessions per week involving long-distance rides along the Saanich Peninsula, incline training up and down a two-kilometer stretch of roadway to Observatory Hill, and formation sprints along Sunnymead Way in Cordova Bay. 

Capt Kenney is painfully aware of the grueling physical toll riding in the blazing heat and cold rain will take on his body. There is also a mental challenge ahead for him and his teammates.   

“Immediately following our long daily rides we will meet the communities we are riding through and hear the stories of the impact of Cops for Cancer,” he said. “I expect this too will take a mental toll as some of these stories will be heartwarming and inspiring but I’m certain some will also be heartbreaking.”

When they are out on the road and their legs grow weary, Capt Kenney and other riders will have the support of their junior riders to motivate them. Each rider supports and mentors a junior rider with cancer throughout their fundraising campaign. Capt Kenny was paired with a 17-year-old girl from Victoria who was diagnosed with complex lymphoma when she was 12 and who has since gone on to beat cancer. 

Through his junior rider, Capt Kenney says he has learned about the benefits of the many programs Cops For Cancer supports including Camp Good Times, a summer camp near Maple Ridge, B.C., for children with cancer and their families. 

“Camp Good Times provides a place for these children to go back to being kids and forget about the hardships they are facing,” said Capt Kenney. “In talking with my honorary rider and her mother, I have learned the toll cancer takes on a family and Camp Good Times provides reprieve from this.” 

Aside from a physical and mental challenge of Tour de Rock, there is also a financial imperative for Capt Kenny and the other riders; each rider has been tasked to raise $5,000 during this year’s campaign. So far, Capt Kenney has proven up for that challenge, amassing over $7,500 in donations – above and beyond most of his teammates. His personal goal is $10,000. He says that financial support has come from his friends, The Royal Canadian Legion, Heart Pharmacy Group and all three CFB Esquimalt messes.

On July 20, he and the Esquimalt Lions Club will hold a fundraising bottle drive at the Archie Browning Sports Centre and Capt Kenney also plans to pedal in a fundraising spin-a-thon at the Base in September before the tour.

To support his fundraising and the Tour de Rock’s campaign visit: https://bit.ly/4c5O1Kc

This year’s Tour de Rock involves 17 riders representing police forces, first responders and media outlets across Vancouver Island. 

They will set off from the northern community of Port Alice, B.C., on September 21st, and pedal with a police escort while visiting dozens of communities and fundraising events along the way before arriving at the finish line in Victoria on October 4th. 

Tour de Rock is now its 27th year and has raised more than $29 million.

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