The story behind why I ride.

Cancer does not discriminate.

In the Fall of 2021, Andrew and I did a road trip to Southeastern Manitoba to see my family. I have a lot of them around Steinbach, Manitoba. We were busy visiting and reconnecting after such a stressful and lonely period in the COVID-19 pandemic. One evening, Aunt Rox and Uncle Ken came over for a bonfire, wine and cheese at my brothers home. Rox had the all clear from chemotherapy and it was great to see her giggle and share stories with Mom and us. It’s a great memory for me. I did not know that would be the last time I would see Aunt Rox.

We didn’t get back to Steinbach in 2022 like we had planned because Andrew and I had a chaotic summer with business, out of town visitors, and we were battling some pests (not the visitors) in our home for a few months. As it turns out, in February 2023 Aunt Rox’s cancer returned. In March 2023, just one month after her birthday, our family lost Aunt Rox to terminal cancer and it hit us all. She was an amazing person, mother, wife, sister, cousin, teacher, and mentor to so many people.

Now, I would be remiss if I did not mention Aunt Estelle, who we lost in 2003 to terminal cancer, always pushing me and supporting my creativity, has a similar experience but it seems like years to me at the time. As I unravel the story of loss in my family, other Aunts, Uncles and Cousins, are all battling, in remission, or lost to cancer.

Always so private (she would hate that I’m using her name and that I put “Aunt” in-front because we were old now, as she would often remind me in messages), my Mom asked her if she had regrets and she responded that she wished she had better connections with her nieces and nephews — all 2 dozen or so of them. I always felt like I had a strong enough bond with Aunt Rox, but maybe she was right? Our family might not be as close anymore, time goes by and extended families grow bigger, there always seems to be less time, but I would like to still believe that at the heart of it all we all have a deep love for each other.

On the day of Aunt Rox’s passing, I sat nervously at my desk while listening to her piano recordings. I came to learn later that with such incredible talent that she recorded benedictions and hymns played the piano and organ on her phone so that she could get the timing just right. Well, the time was now and I did 3 important things within the hour of Aunt Rox’s passing:

1. I booked my flight home for her memorial,

2. I purchased an entry-level gravel bike, and

3. I signed up for the Tour de Cure at the end of summer.

“What the hell am I doing?” I thought to myself. I’ve never ridden 100 kilometers, let alone over 200 kilometers in 2 days. When I chatted with my Dad about this he reminded me that once a Klassen gets a goal into their head, they are determined, no matter the cost, to complete it. Oh, we Mennonites… determined is one way of putting it.

I honoured Aunt Rox and Estelle by taking both their names and christened my bike “Roxtelle”, and I truly enjoyed the 2023 Tour de Cure. It was beyond epic, like they said it was, and it was actually so much fun despite being so hard to do.

This. This is what I can do to help.

At Articulated, it has taken us a bit of time to find an area where we can make our community impact. We have donated annually to select organizations, but looking deeper into our values we hit upon cancer as an inclusive disease. Simply put, cancer does not pick and choose who’s lives it decides to change. Both of our families, Andrew’s and mine, have been deeply changed by cancer numerous times. From our immediate family to extended family, and then to our friends and their families, cancer affects us all — deeply — and it’s a long list that keeps getting longer.