Travis Streb climbs a mountain a day on his bike to fight the deadly cancer.
He only has a few days left to amass one million vertical feet.
It’s a goal Streb set for himself this time last year, to raise funds and awareness for pancreatic cancer.
There’s a strict rule for the challenge: all steps have to be real-life and stair climbers at the gym don’t count.
Streb, a 33-year-old married father of two daughters, doesn’t have a personal connection to pancreatic cancer. He hopes he never does.
This philanthropic streak took shape a decade ago when Streb took a keen interest in road cycling.
It was on a bike ride when Streb randomly met members of the Glotman Simpson Cycling club and learned of their story.
Geoff Glotman, an avid cyclist, was looking for a way to give back after his mother-in-law passed away from pancreatic cancer.
He founded the Glotman Simpson Cycling Club, which organizes the Cypress Challenge, a fundraiser that sees hundreds of cyclists climb the steep Cypress terrain to raise almost half a million dollars annually for pancreatic cancer research.
This year being the 10th anniversary of the Cypress Challenge, Streb decided to take the fundraising one step further and created an epic pedal-to-the-mettle test in his own neighbourhood at the base of Mount Seymour.
“And I said: Well, what if I committed to riding a million feet in a year,” says Streb, who elevated the challenge even further by adding the vertical element.
“Because that’s the challenge – that’s what makes it difficult. Climbing, in its element, there’s no break, there’s no downhill. It’s up.”
Streb snakes his way up Mount Seymour every day to accrue foot after foot of elevation.
He has to make it to the top of the mountain once a day to stay on track for meeting the one-million mark.
“Except if you miss one, then you’ve got to do two,” says Streb.
Or the one day he biked up Seymour 10 times in a row, for an elevation gain of 40,000 feet, more than the equivalent of climbing Everest.
Most days Streb gets his ride in before work, but he might only make it halfway up the hill. He’ll return to Mount Seymour in the evening to finish the job – through blazing heat, a deluge of rain, sleet and snow.
One year later, as he nears the finish line, Streb reflects on what keeps the wheels rolling day after day.
He’s burned through five sets of tires and six chains, and worn out “lots and lots” of Gore-Tex and Lycra layers.
“What I’m trying to demonstrate here is when we take a really daunting task and we piece it out – it’s amazing what you can achieve. And so that to me is the analogy for trying to cure pancreatic cancer.”
Typically, Streb doesn’t meet many athletes in passing for the rides up Seymour. He’s also not listening to any tunes to help pass the time.
“For me, I love just the serenity of being on the mountain,” he says.
But as Streb silently carries on with his mission, he has stood out to some people.
“Over the winter all of the employees up on Mount Seymour, the snow plow drivers and even the CEO have gotten to know me, because not only am I the crazy guy riding up in the awful weather but there’s bright pink handlebar tape on the bike as well,” he explains.
Streb, who travels all over Western Canada for his job as a facilitator and executive coach, has used other modes of activity to get his vertical miles in.
“I had to get creative in the winter and do a bit of ski touring on Mount Seymour. And then when I travel I go up and down the stairs in the hotel to get my vertical.”
Streb is right on the doorstep of raising $10,000 for Pancreas Centre B.C., with plans to solider on after the Nov. 18 finish line so he can continue to inspire hope.
Pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rate of all cancers. Most patients do not survive the first year post-diagnosis. Approximately 600 people in B.C. will be diagnosed this year.
“My goal is to ride through the year and do all that I can,” says Streb. “The more I’m riding and the more I’m out there, the more awareness and money I can raise.”
To support Streb’s journey, visit pinkbartape.com.
