Paul King (The Dark Horse Rider): I met Paul King while cycling on my first Ride to Conquer Cancer. We both had survivor flags on our bikes and when I rode up on him he asked me what kind of cancer I had. I told him and then asked him the same question. He told me that he had lung cancer but that he was in remission. I told him “you kind of need healthy lungs to do this and, you sir, are my new hero!” We both laughed then exchanged phone numbers. It turned out that we both lived in Chilliwack but had never met. After not seeing each other for almost a year after this we both decided at nearly the same time that we needed to contact the other and friendship was born. I had met someone who was perhaps even more passionate about finding an end to cancer than I was. We supported each other in our fund raising efforts, discussed ways to improve those efforts, and on occasion just did things that were fun.

Over a 7 ½ year period (nearly the entire life of his daughter at that point) Paul had 4 battles with cancer that he met head on and with a positive attitude. During it all he felt compelled to help others by raising money for and cycling in The Ride to Conquer Cancer. In 2013, after losing the use of his legs for a period of time due to tumors on his spine, Paul fought tirelessly to learn to walk again and then ride so he could lead his team, The Dark Horse Riders, for the first and last few kilometers of that year’s ride to Seattle. Paul passed away on December 10th, 2013 just 3 months after his hero Lilee. It was on my way home from seeing him on that day, for the last time, that the lyrics for “Dancing in The Rain” flooded into my head.