February 6, 2026

It is with very mixed emotions that I make this announcement.

As many of you know, for the past ten years I have been deeply involved with Great Cycle Challenge Canada, raising much-needed funds to help kids fighting cancer. I've said more than once that "this will be my ast year"...and then registration opens again. I see the faces and names of the kids who have become so familiar - kids who are still fighting to stay alive - and once again I feel compelled to continue.

But this year is different.

This is my tenth and final year participating in Great Cycle Challenge Canada.

While I will be stepping away from the GCC community, I strongly encourage you to continue supporting this incredible cause. There are so many amazing riders doing great things - please watch for them, support them, and if you are able, visit Great Cycle Challenge Canada and find a rider to cheer on. Everyone has their own reason for riding, but the goal is always the same: HELPING KIDS LIVING WITH A CANCER DIAGNOSIS.

Because this is my final year, the fundraiser I run this season, will be my last. If you have ever wanted to participate, get your name on the wheels, to be a part of something that has meant the world to me.

I am hoping to finish strong and reach a personal milestone of $200,000.00 raised over ten years. So this is my one last ask: please help me reach that goal by purchasing a spot on the wheels or donating to my ride, using the link at the top of this post.

To every single person who has supported me over the last decade - financially, emotionally and in countless other ways - thank you from the bottom of my heart. Without you, none of this would have been possible. While we haven't reached the ultimate goal of a cure, every dollar raised, has helped fund research and treatment for kids on their cancer journey.

My time with GCC has allowed me to share the story of my daughter, Arlene Mulder Papaioannou, keep her memory alive, raise an incredible amount of money (with your help), and build friendships across the country. Those friendships will always be a huge part of my life.

As I move forward, I will be focusing my energy on other things, but I will be forever grateful to everyone who supported me, helped spread awareness about Great Cycle Challenge, offered me the opportunity to speak at their events, and walked beside me as I navigated the grief of losing a daughter.

THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH FOR ALWAYS SUPPORTING ME IN THIS JOURNEY TO HELP THE KIDS!

January 14, 2026

Today seems like a good day to start the first fundraiser. Since my artistic juices don't seem to have kicked in as yet, making an attractive flyer, hasn't really happened so far. But the fundraiser has been put together, and therefore, on this, Arlene's 57th birthday, it seems like a good time to launch it. Hopefully, before the fundraiser ends on February 20, 2026, I will have mastered getting a more attractive flyer, but what's on the back is usually equally important, so launching it today seems appropriate.

January 13, 2025

This is a week to reflect on what might have been, but isn't. Tomorrow would have been Arlene's 57th birthday, but for us, she will forever be 49 to us! We wonder how things might be now, had she not been taken by this horrible disease, but that is not our reality, so we soldier on without her, but raise funds to help others still in the fight. If you are able, or feel so inclined, please help raise much needed funds, so more research into better and more treatment options are available for those still in the fight.

January 9, 2026

Here we are in a new year for GCC and fundraisers are in the works again! The first one is almost ready to roll out and it’s a great package once again! All the pieces are there….just working on getting the flyers made up, and then we are ready to roll! Be watching for it, hopefully, in the next week or two!