Biking for a Cause?

Before this summer, I kept telling myself that my post-graduation vacation trip would consist of a luxurious and lengthy stay in a posh European city. I had other options laid out too: a trip to the motherland, an Indiana Jones' like escapade to Machu Picchu, and...a bike trip across Ontario.

So it seems that reality has set in and I just don't have enough dough to travel by air. I tell myself that I would rather travel by bike because I can get regular physical activity, leave less of a carbon footprint, and have the luxury of creating my own adventure. Economical considerations aside, it seems that a bike trip is growing more and more enticing.

Having the willingness to go on a bike trip assumes that one enjoys biking. I do enjoy biking, although I wouldn't say that I'm a hardcore marathon cyclist or an adrenaline-seeking mountain biker. Ever since I started the Duke of Edinburgh Awards program back in Grade 9, my first real exposure to the outdoors was with a biking troupe. On my very first excursion (from Toronto's Harbourfront to Mississauga's Indian Line campgrounds), I learned how to be safe while sharing the road with other vehicles, how to refrain from eating all of the other cyclists' food (anyone who knows my appetite can speak to this), and how not to roll over people in a communal tent. It was the beginning of my appreciation of the Canadian outdoors, although I would hardly consider a trip from Toronto to Mississauga "roughing it out".

The biking trips that followed were more physically strenuous, longer in duration, and wrought with challenges that required the problem-solving efforts of an entire team. On one trip, for example, my fellow cyclists and I could not find our campsite because it was late at night and we were caught in a torrential downpour. At one point, we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere...even our map was of no help. A few members of the group became frustrated at the realization of being lost. After everyone was reassured that we were not in an emergency situation, we calmly retraced our steps and found our original path. No sooner than later, we were at the campsite and everyone was relieved to have a good night's rest. As much as this experience was a mental whirlwind for me, I miss it because it was exhilirating. Being lost can be an excuse for finding adventure - something I look forward to on my next, highly anticipated bike journey.

More about this next big trip. It will likely happen in August. I finish work on the 14th and start school on the 24th - a perfect window of opportunity. I'm hoping to have some of my close friends come along if they're up for the challenge: Dave, Tom, Mike, Justin, Reena, Gabe, and Katrina. I also think there needs to be a greater purpose attached to this trip beyond self gratification. I've recently been inspired about the Ride for World Health project, which is a 2-month, cross-country biking tour that aims to address global health disparities by focusing on education, advocacy, and fundraising. The education stream is quite interesting. Participants deliver lecture series at community centres and schools along the way with the goal of facilitating discussion on global health problems and empowering audiences to become informed and active global citizens. Unfortunately, this project is only based in the United States. Fortunately, there may be a chance of starting something like this in Canada, perhaps with slight differences in design (as suggested by my friend Dave).

Rather than focussing on global health issues, why not pick health/health care issues that directly affect Canadian communities, such as rural medicine, Aboriginal health, ecological health, sexual health, healthy living & exercise, etc. Of course, doing adequate research on these topics and being culturally sensitive to our audiences would be requirements before delivering any kind of presentation. I think high school students would be most receptive to our message, as biking long distances is a feat worthy of inspiring this population. Gauging the interest of fellow cyclists with a passion for biking as well as health(care) issues would be a good start of getting together a group of like-minded individuals. Who knows where the planning process might take us...

For my upcoming one week bike trip, I'm anxious to see if I can not only overcome the physical and mental duress of an outdoor adventure, but also the inertia of developing an idea and not seeing it come to fruition. On that note, what are ways to sustain one's motivation for a fleeting thought? Perhaps committment of the thought to a written form...

WC