Burnaby Fire Captain and fundraiser Rudy Pospisil is cycling around the world to raise awareness to fight cancer. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, the idea to circumnavigate the globe by bicycle was born when he was diagnosed with cancer fourteen years ago. Over time, his entire family was diagnosed with cancer — even his dog.
In mid-November 2014 Rudy began his Thailand leg of the trip from a hill tribe village in northern Chiang Mai, taking ten days to reach Bangkok. After a breather in Bangkok, where he gave a charity talk and slide show at the Four Seasons Hotel on his adventures to date, he continued cycling down to Singapore adding another 1,800 km and bringing his total distance cycled to 26,000 km so far. His next leg will be Australia starting September 2015.
Rudy’s message was, “My aim is to make a difference, to share my story, inspire many and raise money for cancer research. This journey is not so much for fundraising as it is to draw people around the world together to finally end a disease that affects one in three of us. I hope to do this by inspiring others to do similar events, promote awareness of these diseases and start ongoing events in places I visit.”
“What I am asking is not only a donation or sponsorship, but to join my journey.”
Taking his words seriously, Smiling Albino decided to put on a welcoming party and organised 30 cyclists to meet Rudy and his son Adam in Ayutthaya on the morning of November 30, 2014 and cycle a scenic 95 km route along the west side of the Chaophraya River on back roads all the way into Bangkok with him.
[Tweet “Rudy Pospisil @copsfire is #cycling around the world to raise awareness to fight cancer. #Thailand”]
It was a fantastic day meeting Rudy and Adam and getting to know the others on the ride. His Thailand journey was proudly sponsored by Manulife, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Smiling Albino, the Embassy of Canada to Thailand and the Thai-Canadian Chamber of Commerce, with additional support for the Ayutthaya-Bangkok Charity Cycle Ride from the State Railway of Thailand, Bumrungrad Hospital, Healthcare Hands and Saffron Asia Media.
Money raised went to the Bangkok Red Cross Hematological Cancer Research Center at Chulalongkorn Hospital and Centre of Excellence in Cancer Genetics.
Further information can be found on Rudy’s website: http://www.firefightercycle.com