Help Former BC Team Racer Willy Konantz Raise Funds for Prostate Cancer

GEAR WEST: OUR RIDE FOR MEN is a fundraiser for Prostate Cancer – Journey starts May 2nd

Taylor Scholz and I, Willy Konantz, are two university students who came up with the idea of biking over 4,600 kilometers from London, Ontario to Vancouver, British Columbia, with the hopes of raising awareness and funds for research for this terrible disease. Prostate Cancer is now the most common form of cancer afflicting 1 out of 6 men.

Last year, my father, Don Konantz, was diagnosed with prostate cancer. It came as a shock to everyone. Although he was a healthy, active man, that day the statistic "1in 6 men diagnosed" became "1 in 1" for my Dad. Prostate Cancer suddenly forced its way into my life and I felt that there had to be some way to fight back, not only for him, but for other men like him.

Last summer, before the end of our grade 12 year, Taylor and I were biking to a party in West Vancouver. Taylor said, “Wouldn’t it be cool if we did something like this for a cause?” After playing with the idea, we came up with this: a 4,600 kilometre bike ride across Canada at the end of our first year at university. We knew this endeavor was ambitious, but the two of us couldn’t get it out of our heads. We put hours and hours of time into the logistics of making this idea into a reality; looking for sponsors, mapping out our route, training, planning our website and social media campaign and suddenly, with less than 3 weeks away from ship-off we are all ready to rock. Admittedly, we don’t have a lot of road biking experience, but we are both passionate kids looking to make a difference and with the generous support of some great sponsors we have the opportunity to make it happen. Riding 180 kilometres a day, our journey across the country will take over a month, hitting all the major cities along the way, until we reach our final destination, Vancouver, British Columbia in June.

Please help us reach our goal of $150,000. The two of us are very devoted to this cause, and all the money is going directly to the Vancouver Prostate Center, one of Canada’s leading cancer research facilities and internationally known for its innovative work and research with prostate cancer.