Kwantlen gets some wheels

There is a new club rolling into Kwantlen; one with two wheels, spandex and shaved legs — well maybe not the spandex and shaved legs. The Hotwheels cycling club is Kwantlen’s newest addition and is gearing-up to get more students onto bikes.

Stephan Struve, a fourth-year journalism student and Hotwheels’ founder, created the club after he could not find one that met his interests in cycling and physical fitness.

“My idea was to get more students involved in cycling and to promote it as a lifestyle choice and also to balance the lifestyle of cramming sessions,” said Struve.

The idea for club was born out of Struve’s new-found passion for cycling, which he only took up in 2008.

“It became something that I was good at, and with my competitive nature, it drove me into seeing how far I could go. It became something I want to pursue as a competitive sport,” he said.

As he became more involved in cycling, he looked for new and bigger challenges, which led him to the Ride to Conquer Cancer. The thought of riding 300 km, from Vancouver to Seattle, in two days, was enough to get him hooked on the sport. And once he found out about the challenge of raising money for cancer, Struve had another reason to keep pedaling.

After completing the ride for two years in a row, Struve described crossing the finish line as involving a lot of tears.

“Emotionally it’s difficult to describe because you are a little overwhelmed by everything, but I would probably describe it as joy mixed in with sheer surprise,” he said.

Struve’s new challenge is to get more Kwantlen students involved in raising money to fight cancer by riding their bikes.

“I think that it is important that I pass on my experience,” he said. “It gives you a whole new outlook on the emotional effect and why people participate in the ride, besides the physical challenge.”

The Hotwheels club is meant for anyone interested in cycling, from beginners to seasoned vets. And Struve hopes that through the club, more people will become interested in the Ride to Conquer Cancer.

“I hope that the club will give people the opportunity to share that common passion of cycling,” said Struve. “Different bikes, different physiques and different goals but to give them that platform to meet with each other and hopefully motivate people to cycle more.”

The club currently has 15 members and Struve hopes it will continue to grow.

Beyond getting students involved in cycling the club plans to hold a cycle-thon and bake sale to raise money for the Ride to Conquer Cancer. Struve also hopes to run a bike safety and basic maintenance workshop for people involved in the club.

Joining the club free and members can participate in weekly rides and events planned for the future.

For more information on the club or to make a donation to the Hotwheels Ride to Conquer Cancer team, e-mail Struve

.