Stavely cyclists raising funds to help kids battling cancer

By Rob Vogt
The motivation for Stavely cyclists Margaret Malchow and Ruth Sherry to ride in the 2026 Great Cycle Challenge is simple – kids should be living life, not fighting for it.
That’s why once again they are participating in this national SickKids Foundation fundraising initiative, whose motto is “Riding to kick cancer’s butt!”
This is Malchow’s sixth year doing the ride.
Four years ago, she got Sherry involved.
The Great Cycle Challenge is not a race on a particular day over a particular distance. Instead, it is a month-long challenge where participants set a goal and ride whenever they like to meet that challenge, while raising funds for the SickKids Foundation.
They download an app to their phones that will track the number of kilometres they ride throughout the month.
Malchow has set a goal of cycling 250 kilometres this year.
Overall, she has raised $14,498 and ridden 1,019 kilometres. This year she has already raised $3,261.
By raising $2,500, Malchow has achieved superhero status.
Sherry has set a goal of riding 100 kilometres.
Overall, she has raised $10,838 and ridden 593 kilometres. This year she has already raised $2,785.95. A total of $218 of that was through a bottle drive she held.
Sherry too has reached superhero status.
Their motivation to keep on riding year after year is simple – the sick kids who are cheering on all the riders every step of the way with e-mail and thank yous.
“I want to get at least one kid back on his bike,” Sherry said.
Malchow has been doing some riding but plans on biking at Lake Koocanusa with her sister Janet Robertson who has been participating in the challenge for nine years. Malchow also is going to try to venture into Calgary and bike the paths there.
Meanwhile, Sherry has been biking in and around town.
They both emphasize you don’t have to go outside, especially if the weather is hot, rainy or smokey. You can pedal a stationary bike.
So far this year, 11,103 riders have pedalled 1,120,333 kilometres across Canada, and raised $5,755,324.
Since the challenge started in 2016, participants have ridden 31,308,832 kilometres and raised $61,092,246 in support of research to develop treatments and find a cure for childhood cancer.
Anyone interested in more information, or donating to the challenge can visit https://greatcyclechallenge.ca (no dashes or spaces). People can still sign up and do their own challenge too.
People can donate by searching the names of Margaret Malchow and Ruth Sherry on the website.
They can also provide cash or cheques. All donours will receive a tax receipt for their donations, as well as a letter of thanks.
The challenge will be accepting donations until the end of September.
Malchow can be reached at mgmalchow@telus.net, and Sherry can be reached at ruthshermac@gmail.com.
Sherry and Malchow plan to continue the Great Cycle Challenge too, and for a simple reason.
“We want to make sure kids are enjoying life, not fighting for it,” Malchow said. “Every little bit helps.”.
Next year they would like to try and get more people involved, especially kids, and may try to form a team.
“If people want to join, just reach out to us,” Sherry said.