On June 17 Westlock’s Bryan Carnegie will hop on his bicycle in Vancouver and set course for St. John’s, N.L. riding in support of the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
A lifetime cyclist, Carnegie said he always wanted to make the 7,000 kilometre coast-to-coast trip, and now is able to tie in an important cause.
“I always wanted to cycle as a kid, I always lived in the country and cycled around,” he said. “I always wanted to do this journey and I thought, as I was preparing to do it, if I’m doing it, I might as well do it for a cause.”
The Heart and Stroke Foundation was an easy cause to support, as it is near and dear to him. Carnegie lost his father to a heart attack and his brother recently had a heart attack.
“I think Heart and Stroke is a good fundraising foundation, and I’m going to ride on behalf of them,” he said, adding heart disease and stroke is the leading cause of death in Canada.
“A lot of people think cancer (is No. 1), which is a terrible disease as well, but heart disease and stroke is the No. 1 killer in Canada.”
Carnegie has set a fundraising goal of $10,000 which will go directly to Heart and Stroke. He said he’s hopeful he will be able to attain that goal.
“At this point, that’s the goal. Hopefully it can be more, you’re always optimistic,” he said.
“I started at $5,000 and people said you’ll get that before you leave. There’s nothing saying I have to get [to $10,000] it’s something that I think is kind of realistic.
“I think it’s a reasonable goal for myself and for the people that will donate.”
The 57-year-old said he’s hopeful people will hear about his journey and will want to donate.
Carnegie said he decided to make the trip from west to east partly because of geographical convenience. Along the he also intends to spend a little time in Montreal and Ottawa where he has some relatives.
“They say the winds are supposed to be more predominant from west to east, I hope that’s true, and it’s the way most people do it, and it’s a closer start,” he said. “I was thinking about riding from Westlock, but then I wouldn’t have ridden across Canada.”
Over the course of his journey Carnegie hopes to ride about 125 kilometres daily and has a tentative completion date of Sept. 7.
“There are going to be some good days and some bad days. Hopefully some days I can get up to 200 kilometres and I’m sure there are days where I won’t do 100,” he said. “There will be some rest days in between.”
Carnegie’s bike is equipped with a lightweight tent and camping supplies he will use most nights.
“I’m self-contained, I’m going to be riding solo. Hopefully I can meet up with a few other cyclists along the way,” he said.
“I’ve got panniers, a lightweight tent, lightweight sleeping gear. I plan to camp at campsites and maybe the odd time sneak into a farmer’s field and camp overnight and continue.
“I’m sure there will be the odd night where I do sleep in a motel, maybe because of weather, or because I need a shave and a shower.”
Along the way Carnegie hopes to give donors, and family and friends, updates from the road when he gets the chance.
“I’m not the most tech-savvy guy, but I hope to update my Facebook page along my journey, how many kilometers I did in a day, where I got to, that kind of thing,” he said. “Hopefully I can do that every day. I’m not promising I’ll be able to do it every day. Friends and family want to follow me.
“I hope other people and friends get on board and see where I go, where I end up.”
As his start date inches closer and closer, Carnegie said he’s anxious to get started.
“At this point, I want to get started,” he said. “The hardest part, people say, is to get out of the mountains, so that will be my first goal of the journey.”
Those who would like to donate to his journey can do so online by visiting http://www.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=1118976&u=1118976-423491101&e=8364970042.
