Heather Jager
Age: 37
Occupation: General Manager, Hanna Chrysler Ltd.
Hometown: Delia, Alberta
Family: Married to Egbert Jager, support crew extraordinaire!
My biggest physical accomplishment(s) to date: Tour for Kids 2008
In the News: Biker up to cross-country challenge
Q91 Country Interview :
In the News: Jager smashes fundraising goal at dinner and auction
Small-town Woman goes National
My love for cycling started out in Japan, of all places. My husband and I lived there for three years and I put on many kilometers cycling around our small island. From there we traveled to Europe, where we had the pleasure of cycle touring.
My cycling adventures took a bit of a hiatus when we moved back to Delia, Alberta. The gravel roads can be a deterrent! I have always dreamed of crossing Canada by bicycle though. There is no better way to admire a country than in the open air and at the slow pace of cycling, and I believe there is no better country to admire. When I learned of the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride I was instantly hooked. I purchased my first road bike last spring and I haven’t looked back.
My initial reasons for wanting to participate in the Sears National Kids Cancer Rider were admittedly selfish. I simply love riding. What I didn’t expect was how much my perspective would change as my involvement increased. As much as I am excited about the challenge of riding across Canada, I am humbled and inspired by what this event and the Foundation behind it mean to Canadian children and their families living with and beyond cancer.
An unexpected conversation with a bike store parts man whose daughter suffers from cancer, and his story about what the foundation’s efforts have meant for his family shook me to the core. That experience and conversations with other riders about the people they ride for made me realize what a human impact my efforts and the funds raised will really have.
Now I ride not only with a joy of riding, but with a huge sense of fulfillment from knowing that I leverage something I enjoy to benefit a worthy cause. Knowing that 100% of the funds riders raise will go to the charity is very important to me.
“The capacity for hope is the most significant fact of life. It provides human beings with a sense of destination and the energy to get started.”
