I grew up in a biking family. Not the Lycra-clad speed-demon kind, but the kind where bikes were our ­transportation, our fun and most of the decorations in our house.

My dad worked in managing cycling infrastructure, my mom was part of a Women on Wheels group and on ­weekends, we’d bike around our Toronto neighbourhood taking turns deciding which direction to ride.

Bikes gave me a sense of freedom and adventure as a kid. They still do.

So, a team that turns bikes into a symbol of hope for children facing cancer, and their families, is a ­natural draw for me. That’s what the Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock has done for Island families since the first ride in 1997.

A partnership between first ­responders and the Canadian Cancer Society, the annual two-week ride from one end of the Island to the other by first responders has raised more than $29 million for pediatric cancer research since that first year.

Money donated also helps send ­children to Camp Goodtimes, where kids and their families going through the hardest time of their lives can enjoy all the fun of a summer camp with ­medical care available on site.