Originally, I was inspired to cycle across Canada by my university roommate Scott Armstrong. Big, burly, bearded, even at 19 years old, Scott’s chest and arms proved weightlifting worked. What was more surprising, given the size of his body, was that Scott also biked and ran. In fact, his biggest athletic idol—bar none—was Lance Armstrong. Perhaps the identical surname had something to do with it, or maybe it was Lance’s total dominance of his sport. Regardless, Scott loved Lance. Whenever Scott and I and our other university buddies had late-night “Who would you go gay for?” conversations, as I waffled between “George Clooney” and “Denzel Washington,” Scott’s answer was predictable: “Lance Armstrong.” In fact, last time I asked, his answer was still the same.
Cycling across Canada first came up sometime in late 2004 or early 2005, when we were living in the men's dorm at our little religious college. We were “Benke boys,” named after our dorm, and we were pledged in writing to a midnight curfew, no drinking, and no sex. Some of us were more successful than others at keeping those promises, and few of us cared—signing the documents was a prerequisite to residence, and the institution was happy as long as nothing got too out of hand. Scott, in his first year, had a roommate. I was a second year student, and I had a room to myself. Scott and I hit it off fast, however, and soon, as tensions rose with his roommate, Scott gravitated to my room, until, eventually, his mattress was on my floor and “sleep overs” became the norm. We would fall asleep to movies, episodes of “Family Guy,” and, of course, conversations lasting into the early morning.
It was probably during a night like this, each of us in our respective beds, lights out, talking about who knows what—sports, school, girls—that Scott first suggested a bike ride across Canada. The idea appealed to me immediately, and it was the first of many conversations we had in the next couple months. Possible routes, potential sponsors, fundraising goals, equipment needs, and other logistical topics all gave us a chance to dream. And dream we did.
Scott and I continued living together until I graduated and he dropped out, just short of a degree. The furthest we ever rode together was an initial “practice” ride in 2005, a trip from south Edmonton to my family’s house in the city of Spruce Grove—a total of about 40 kilometers. We did not even bike back that day, but got my dad to drive us home.
As I recall, Scott and I never biked together again, but the dream of cycling across Canada never left me. Eventually, however, I decided it was more realistic and practical to do it piece by piece, a few hundred kilometres each summer. This would make it more affordable in terms of time and money, and also give me a goal to work towards for years to come.
Cycling across the country piece-by-piece is much less challenging than all at once, but it also gives me something to look forward to each year, and allows me exposure to different parts of the country bit-by-bit. Ten years on, in 2015, I have cycled across Alberta. Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan, and much of the way across British Columbia, Manitoba, and Quebec. I figure I have something like ten more summers of cycling before I finish the trip, and I am looking forward to them all.
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