Aug 18 2009
New-look Zayonc ready to go on Tour de North

By AListair McInnis Free Press
Anybody who’s seen the old Bob Zayonc may find his updated version hard to recognize.
A thinner and slimmer Zayonc has shed pounds this summer to prepare for the 2009 Cops for Cancer Tour de North.
Preferring to keep his weight loss a mystery, Zayonc has asked his personal fitness trainer, Cutting Edge Science in Sport proprietor Chantelle Cesharnais, not to tell him his weight. Zayonc, a Vancouver native who turns 51 on Sept. 29, plans to weigh himself after completing the seven-day cycling tour from Prince George to Prince Rupert next month.
Zayonc said he’s taken a couple of sizes off around his waist since he was informed by the steering committee in June that he’d been chosen as this year’s civilian rider. An Internet auction was set up, and Zayonc was chosen over six other non-RCMP officers entered in the auction.
“I didn’t have a six-pack. I had probably a Canadian 12- to 24-pack,” he said with a laugh.
Joking aside, Zayonc is committed to his training. He exercises at the Hart Fitness Studio three times a week, rides his bike a few times each week, and has been dryland training at home on an elliptical machine every other day.
Deciding to take on the challenge of the Tour de North has been a major undertaking for an individual with limited cycling experience. It was noticeable during Zayonc’s session on the bike.
“First time I think it was probably about half a block because I hadn’t ridden a bike for well over 30 years,” he said.
Furthermore, Zayonc isn’t an athlete. In fact, he’s far from it. He admits he wasn’t blessed with exceptional hand-eye coordination.
“When I first got started, I really couldn’t do much physical,” he said. “(Cesharnais) took a week or two just to train me on the mat for stretching exercises to limber up my body so I could actually have the flexibility to do the exercises, and then she gradually has increased different types of stretching exercises. I was hobbling for a good week. Then my recovery time has increased incrementally.”
Preparing for the ride has resulted in a drastic change in routine for Zayonc, who’s been squeezing in exercise sessions around his schedule as a Re/Max real estate agent. He’s also attends church and is a regular blood donor.
Taking on the challenge of the tour may seem like more pain than pleasure, leading to the underlying question of why Zayonc has decided to come on board.
The beneficiary of the charity ride is the Canadian Cancer Society and Zayonc, like anybody else, has been touched by cancer. He lost a close friend in February 2008 when his father-in-law, Stephen Nemeth, passed away from pancreatic cancer. Zayonc developed a special bond with Nemeth since he and his wife Sharon have been married for almost 30 years.
“That was the motivating factor to get me started was that, and especially for children too, that have cancer.”
Zayonc has set a fundraising target of $10,500, enough to send seven children to Camp Goodtimes for a week. Located at Loon Lake in Maple Ridge, Camp Goodtimes is an internationally acclaimed and accredited summer recreation program for children and teens with cancer.
So far, Zayonc has raised about $3,500. Raising funds for the cause isn’t new to Zayonc. He’s helped contribute funds the past few years as he’s been involved with the tour through Remax, a major business sponsor.
The ride itself will be like nothing Zayonc has experienced. It’s also a monumental occasion for Zayonc in that when it starts in Prince George on Sept. 11, it’ll have been almost six years to the day since he fractured his back in three places.
“It’s kind of an achievement in regards to coming out from a traumatic physical injury to accomplishing something,” he said.
In taking on the task of training Zayonc, Cesharnais is also stepping foot in new territory. Until this summer, she’s worked primarily with competitive athletes trying to stay on the cutting edge of their sports. Her strength training experience includes working with players from the New Jersey Devils, American Hockey League and Arena Football League. In Prince George, she’s trained a variety of junior players including defenceman Justin Fillion and goalie Alex Wright, members of the Prince George Spruce Kings this past season.
“If I do a custom fit program, it’ll be for a more experienced athlete or someone that wants to enter a body building show or a marathon, and they’re active,” she said. “Bob went 20 years totally inactive, hasn’t been on a bike in 20 years, and came to me with little if no strength or muscular endurance at all, no core. But he found it within. It was his psyche. I think it’s his strong fate, and the kind of support that he’s getting from his family and the close friends around him. But he’s going into it with a positive attitude that I’ve never seen before. He has goals. He’s set out goals in his life that I never even thought were possible.”
The 2009 Cops for Cancer Tour de North begins in a little more than three weeks. Scheduled for Sept. 11 to 17, the 839-kilometre tour runs through Vanderhoof, Fort St. James, Fraser Lake, Burns Lake, Houston, Smithers, Hazelton and Terrace before wrapping up in Prince Rupert. Joining Zayonc on this year’s 27-member contingent are 24 RCMP riders, a medical rider and media rider.
As of Tuesday, total donations for the 2009 Cops for Cancer Tour de North sat at close to $30,000.

Community News Link - © Copyright 2005 - Black Press Group. All rights reserved. This story is subject to the limitations of your licence agreement with Community News Links and BC Newspaper Group.