Chatham-Kent paramedics are cycling in the Maritimes this weekend in honour of one of their fallen colleagues.
They're taking part in the Tour Paramedic Ride de l'es/East cycling event, which got underway early Friday morning.
Local paramedic Bob Belleghem is one of seven cyclists from the Chatham-Kent detachment.
He says they'll be covering 300 km over three days through three Maritime provinces (Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick) in honour of Paul Patterson, who passed away ten years ago on February 25, 2007 while responding to a motor vehicle collision.
"Paul was loved by everybody and it really hit us hard when he died, so we're biking for him," says Belleghem.
At this point, the weather doesn't appear to be co-operating very much, but while that's causing some delays, it's not enough to stop the riders completely.
"We hit some pretty heavy weather [Friday] morning, it was 10 C with torrential downpours," says Belleghem, adding the landscape is a lot more challenging out east for cyclists than it is in Chatham-Kent.
The Paramedic Ride is run by a not-for-profit organization with a goal of raising support for the Canadian Paramedic Memorial Foundation.
That foundation is building a monument in Ottawa dedicated to remembering paramedics who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
"We're just glad that we have this opportunity to do this," says Belleghem. "We're really hoping sooner rather than later we can have this memorial so that we can honour the people who gave their lives in the line of duty trying to help people in our communities."
The ride itself will wrap up on Sunday, May 28 in Moncton, New Brunswick.