Riding the Enbridge Tour Alberta for Cancer: From a daunting task to a yearly tradition
Geoff Ruffle has been doing the ride since 2018 and is not looking back anytime soon
2025 will be the 17th edition of the Enbridge Tour Alberta for Cancer, and Calgary’s Geoff Ruffle is excited to be back for the ride. Ruffle, who works for RBC as a Manager, Credit Structures, Private Banking, RBC Wealth Management, has been riding the Enbridge Tour Alberta for Cancer since 2018. If you asked him the year before if he could manage a weekend that would total 200 km, he wouldn’t believe you.
“I was riding my mountain bike a lot when someone asked me to do the event, a colleague. When I heard 100 km a day for two days, I thought, ‘no way,’” he says. “But I went to the bike store, got some road pedals, and dove in.”
Choices for all levels
Still, the event is for all levels of riding, and you have plenty of choice. For 2025, there are a few additions to the event. There’s a challenge route has been upgraded from 140km to 160km, for those who want an even tougher day on the saddle.
This new route offers a Saturday only option with a longer distance for riders looking to push their limits. Participants still have the choice of the regular routes, with a Short (~65 km) and Long (~100 km) option available for all levels of riders. There are pit stops every 25 km providing hydration, nutrition, rest areas, and bike maintenance, with sweep vehicle crews along the route. The post-ride festival features hydration, nutrition, participant support (massage, yoga, cool-down areas, showers, camping, beverage gardens).
Ruffle has come a long way since his first Tour. He’s one of the co-captains of Team RBC, and since 2012, Team RBC has participated with teams ranging anywhere from 22 to 44 riders. 2024 was one of the strongest years for registered riders and fundraising, with over $200,000 raised for the 2024 ride, bringing Team RBC’s overall total fundraising to over $1.2 million.
“Cycling means the world to me now, but knowing that I can use my bike to help fight cancer is even more important,” he says.
The personal importance of the ride
Like so many Canadians, Ruffle has lost someone to cancer. Nancy Barnes, the late wife of Ruffle’s coworker Russell, rode the Tour with Team RBC, along with her three sons. She rode it six times, despite being afflicted with the disease.
She died in March of 2022, and her family, including her husband Russell, and Ruffle, continue to ride in her memory.
“I met Nancy after initially meeting Russell, and both individuals were such strong supporters of both the ride and all riders in the event,” Ruffle says. “A quote from a LinkedIn post that Nancy always went by sticks with me: ‘Cancer is not who I am, but rather a condition I live with’ – Nancy. And that was so true. Despite her condition, her fight, and her determination, she was out there to support us and even ride. Nancy was a true champion—a champion of determination right until the end.”
Although he does have a full-time job, Ruffle manages to get in 200 km a week in training. He rides both the road and gravel to keep his fitness. In the summer, he tends to crank out more miles, but in the fall, he’s a fan of getting out there on his gravel bike. The gravel bike requires a bit more clothing in the autumn weather, but it means more miles outdoors—something he loves, especially living in beautiful Alberta.
2025: Bigger and better than ever
The 2025 edition comes after 2024, where the Enbridge Tour Alberta for Cancer reached the incredible $100,000,000 fundraising milestone. The Tour is a unified effort for more—world-class cancer research, advanced equipment, dedicated teams, hope, and cherished moments. Funds are raised for the Alberta Cancer Foundation, with the Enbridge Tour Alberta for Cancer being its signature event.
The Alberta Cancer Foundation acts as a beacon of hope by empowering and uniting Albertans around a common purpose, investing in the future of cancer research and care, and ensuring no Albertan facing cancer walks alone. The tagline of the Tour, “Pedal for More Hope,” is just that. Riders are riding the Tour to push for more hope for those with Cancer, and those around them.
For Ruffle, personally, this year is just as important, if not more important, than the first year he took part.
“I am looking forward to the 2025 ride for the same reasons that keep me coming back year after year: Cancer does not yet have a cure, cancer impacts too many people, and cancer takes too many lives regardless of age. We are all impacted by cancer, whether it is personally or knowing someone. We know the impact it has financially, emotionally, physically—and regardless of age, it sucks,” he says.
He knows that he and the thousands of others who ride, who donate, and who create awareness are making a difference.
“The more we ride, the more we fundraise, the better care and research we can provide, and get the cure we need,” Ruffle says.
For more information, to sign up or donate, please visit TourAlbertaForCancer.ca
This story is presented by Enbridge Tour Alberta for Cancer