Sarah Crookall
Staff Reporter
The twin’s team hits the asphalt for their second annual bike ride for Hospice Renfrew on Oct. 2.
The 50-kilometre ride will wind through Eganville, Augsburg, Silver Lake, Pikwàkanagàn First Nation, and back. The team departs at 10 a.m. from the Legion Memorial Field in Eganville. A light lunch for participants will be provided.
“It’s not going to be a very difficult ride—the route we’ve chosen doesn’t have a lot of hills because we are not young,” says Gerald Tracey, twin and chair of the Hospice Renfrew board of directors. “The fall colours should be close to the peak—it’ll be an enjoyable ride.”
The ride aims to increase funds to provide end-of-life care for residents in Renfrew County. The ride adds an additional 10 kilometres to last year’s 40-kilometre ride and will be mostly on asphalt.
John Yakabuski, Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke MPP and Tracey make up the dynamic duo.
The team’s name, the twins, is inspired by the 1988 film Twins starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. The film’s premise focuses on the comedic reunion of twins who were part of a genetic experiment and separated
at birth.
Yakabuski (Schwarzenegger) and Tracey (DeVito) borrowed their namesake based on their large height difference. “My tummy is not quite as big as Danny DeVetio’s and John is not quite as tall as Arnold,” says Tracey with a laugh.
In 2020, the six-bed hospice raised $42,000 in pledges from the ride, which was created to increase fundraising efforts during the financially damaging COVID-19 pandemic. The hospice typically relies on funding from charitable events, which have been reduced during the pandemic.
Residents interested in participating in the Oct. 2 bike ride may register and/or pledge by emailing leader@nrtco.net or by Oct. 1.