Nine local high schoolers along with a Drumheller RCMP member will ride their bicycles from Drumheller to Banff later this summer as part of Two Wheel View, a development and leadership program for teens.

Eight boys and girls from both St. Anthony’s and DVSS and one student from Morrin volunteered to bike over 250 kilometres in 11 days starting August 3, as part of the development program which aims to develop leadership and self-esteem skills through volunteering in host communities, team-building with one another, and just through the experience of the excursion itself.

“I wanted to improve my friendship skills, self-confidence, and to just get more experiences and learn more about myself,” said Andrew Germaine, who is riding for his second year.

They’ll be riding up to 40 kilometres a day, taking a meandering route off the main highways which will take them through Rosebud and other scenic road marks, all the while camping along the way.

“You’re exhausted by the end, but by the end you have a family,” he said.

Matthew Doyle said he decided to join in for the fun of the ride and all the activities, but also to help prepare meals for the group.

“Personally, I wanted to improve my culinary skills and get into cooking. I’m not good in the kitchen so I’ve got to learn these things before I’m on my own and it’s too late,” Doyle said.

“I was shocked when he came forward to do this,” said Matthews father Pat Doyle. “Like most kids his age he’s into video games, so for him to do this I thought would be an awesome experience.”

Constable Craig Nelson of the Drumheller RCMP detachment has assumed a leadership position with the group and this will be his second year riding alongside the students. 

The students will be hosting a number of fundraisiers for the trip throughout the summer to help pay for food and supplies. A barbecue is scheduled June 18, 11-4 at Freson Bros., they’ll be volunteering during the Grand Fondo event on June 25, and cooking pulled pork sandwiches at the Farmers Market at the Drumheller Arena on Canada Day. They ran a bottle drive on the weekend.

The students have been holding volunteer meetings every Wednesday to plan the event. 

The Kinsmen Club has donated $500. Co-op donated $100 towards food for the trip/

Two Wheel View provides them with good quality long-distance bicycles.

The fact that one in seven Albertan men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime is terrifying. Add men’s often reluctance to speak about their health, however true, to the stigma around prostate testing, it’s no wonder the rate of diagnosis is so high.

But prostate cancer is a rather treatable disease if detected early. And the Man Van will be in Drumheller again on June 18 to help, at the Royal Tyrrell Museum parking lot from 12-3 p.m. the day before Father’s Day.

The rural Man Van will be touring southern Alberta again this year and provides an easy and glove-free way for men over 40 to get tested. 

“We’re there to have fun,” said Man Van spokesman Ken Rabb. “There’s big leather chairs and televisions. We want guys to come in and tell us a joke and we’ll tell them one. It’s relaxed, comfortable, and we’re just glad to have guys that are taking charge of their health.”

Visitors will be given a free Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test, which only requires a teaspoon-sized sample of blood to test for higher than recommended levels of the antigen in the bloodstream. Results are given in about a week via phone after tests are run at Rocky View Hospital in Calgary. 

“It doesn’t diagnose prostate cancer but it is an indicator,” said Rabb, adding that people over 50 are recommended to be tested every year.

“We try not to replace a doctor. We still encourage men to get tested and regularly visit their doctor. Our number one goal is to be an awareness campaign, but we are also there to make it easy for guys to get tested.”

Drumheller visitors will be greeted by Martin, a prostate cancer survivor and a believer that PSA testing saved his life.

The Man Van has tested over 27,000 men since it started in 2009 in Calgary. It is the only mobile PSA testing program in Canada. In 2013 they added a second van to visit rural locations.