ST. CATHARINES STANDARD JUNE 28, 2012

Vern Dell, Barry Millward and Ian Forbes

ST. CATHARINES - 

Heart help close to home is close to Ian Forbes’ heart.

He’ll be putting his ticker to good use next month when he pedals around Lake Ontario to raise money for the Niagara Health System’s heart investigation unit, planned for the new Fourth Ave. hospital site.

The 62-year-old St. Catharines man is one of 17 cyclists who will spend seven days riding 940 kilometres during the second annual Tour du Lac from July 8-14.

“It’s a challenge,” said Forbes, who completed the ride last year. “The distance isn’t the worst of it. It’s the elements you run into, like heat and rain.”

Forbes listened to the warning signs when his heart was in trouble four years ago.

On the brink of a heart attack, he sought care at Hamilton General Hospital.

Not everyone has that kind of time.

“I’m a lucky guy,” he said. “A lot of people don’t get the chance to survive the ride to Hamilton.”

That’s why he believes the heart investigation unit is so important to this community.

“Heart care needs to be close to home,” he said.

The planned 7,000-square-foot heart investigation unit will provide cardiac catheterization services, a procedure used to investigate chest pain.

Forbes credits cycling with putting him on the road to recovery after his heart surgery.

He said it saved his life.

“Riding not only fixed the physical, there’s a spiritual side to it,” he said.

The Tour du Lac is organized by the Rotary Club of St. Catharines South, the May Court Club of St. Catharines and PerformanceCars. Last year’s event raised more than $22,000 and this year riders hope to collect $35,000.

Barry Millward, 68, also credits his bicycle with changing his life, and his health.

He started riding as a way to get active and lose weight. In recent years, he’s lost 65 pounds and brought his blood pressure down so much, he stopped needing medication.

“Biking has been the gift for me to get heart healthy,” he said. “I was told if I didn’t do something, I’d have a lot of medical conditions. It was a wake-up.”

Millward, the oldest rider on this year’s tour, was one of nine riders who completed the trip last year.

Bruce Ross also completed last year’s ride, but it wasn’t his longest. He’s cycled from British Columbia to Texas.

Ross said the trip around the lake was spectacular with many different types of scenery and terrain.

“It’s a really, really tough ride,” he said.

Meeting people along the way was one of the highlights, especially in the United States, where riders bunked with members of Rotary Clubs, he said.

This year, Ross will only ride on Day 1 and Day 7 because he’s still recovering from open-heart surgery.

“I’ve had two open-heart surgeries myself,” he said, noting he wants all local residents to have access to a heart investigation centre.

While he won’t be on his bike for the whole journey, he’ll be keeping an eye on riders’ progress online at www.rotarytourdulac.ca, where there will be pictures and daily blogs.

erica.bajer@sunmedia.ca