An Oak Bay teen who is riding his bike to Queens University in Kingston, Ont. is drawing ever closer to his goal, and raising a fair chunk of money for cancer research along the way.
Adam Beaudoin set out from the Tsawwassen ferry terminal on Aug. 6, with a goal of cycling more than 4,700 kilometres in just 30 days.
Not only has he maintained the 160 km-per-day pace required to complete his ride on time, Beaudoin has exceeded it, on some days riding covering more than 200 km.
He’s already well past Thunder Bay, Ont., and has raised in excess of $25,000 for the B.C. Cancer Foundation.
It has not been easy. In addition to the obvious physical toll the ride has taken on him, Beaudoin has struggled through equipment problems, accidental detours, heavy wind and rain and insect swarms.
But he’s powered through it all.
“What I am doing right now is probably the best thing that has ever happened to me,” he recently posted on his blog. “There is so much pain and suffering in this trip as I have written about, but if you can look past that, this trip is my idea of bliss.”
Incredibly, Beaudoin is ahead of the rigorous pace he set for himself before he began. He now needs to cycle only 120 kilometres per day to reach Queens by his Sept. 4 deadline. Rather than slowing down, however, he’s hoping to arrive ahead of schedule.
“Even though it is so hard, I have gotten to the point where my body just starts pushing back and withstands the stress,” he wrote.
Beaudoin’s blog, which recounts each day’s ride and documents some of the characters he’s met along the way, can be viewed at http://adam-beaudoin.blogspot.com. It includes a link to the B.C. Cancer Agency page where you can donate to Beaudoin’s cause.
editor@oakbaynews.com
