4600 kilometers on a downhill bike part 1

Ken McGinn's http://www.xtremecanada.com trip from Ontario Canada to Whistler British Columbia Canada on a Downhill bicycle May 6 to June 29,Why a dh? Because I can! On May 6th 2005 I started a bicycle trip across Canada which changed my life forever . There were many reasons for going on this trip and I will list a few now. Ten years ago I had a mole on my neck checked by my doctor she was concerned so she sent me to a specialist to have it removed and a biopsy was performed . I waited two weeks for the results I received a phone call and it was the specialist , he informed me that I had Melanoma(skin cancer) I was shocked. It took me quite a while to get over this, my whole life I have been an outdoor enthusiast . Now I was told to avoid the sun to always wear a hat and to always wear sunscreen .There are no guarantees in life and after I got over the initial shock of having cancer I got on with my life . Through out my life I have been involved in cycling and up to this point I have not bothered to get my drivers license. I have used my bike to commute to work to enjoy the outdoors and also to compete in bicycle racing .But a disturbing trend has been bothering me, every year there seems to be more and more smog alerts during the summer month's .We are told not to exercise and to stay indoors especially the elderly and those with respiratory problems. Most people seem to dismiss this and blame it on the big cities. Well its time to wake up and smell the pollution. I decided to move out west where the pollution wasn't as bad .During my cross country trip I noticed that on the trans Canada highway there were always cars very rarely was I alone even on Rodgers Pass there were cars and pollution as well as garbage. We are ruining this planet faster then ever before. And when I was leaving Medicine Hat Alberta I was on the highway and I couldn't help but notice I was becoming sick to my stomach from the fumes from the cars. As soon as I got out of the city limits the stomach ache went away I can't even imagine what this is doing to the kids. In 1989 I went to California to participate in the World Championships but before I went I spent some time in Los Angeles I could see the brown haze over the city then and the rumour was that living in LA was like smoking a pack of cigarettes a day .I don't have any scientific evidence but since 1989 I have lived in the country , I am currently living 40 kilometres from Ottawa and when I ride my bicycle into the city I notice more and more pollution as I get closer to the city I am only talking about what I can see with my eyes and smell with my nose, what about what we cant see or smell?. I have decided to try and make a difference and this is why I have started a website www. XtremeCanada.com .I would like to raise money to help educate people to alternate ways of living and to fund alternate fuels and energy sources. I believe we can also create a more efficient bicycle. The bicycle is the most efficient and unobtrusive means of transportation and we need to take advantage of this . I believe that everyone should have and use bicycles . We need to spend more resources on travel and development of bicycles as a society. www.xtremecanada.com

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Sports

Tags:

• Downhill
• bike
• cross
• Canada
• smog
• wildlife
• trucks
• buses
• mountain