Peggy Revell
He’s more familiar with flying the skies as a pilot for Air Canada, but it was by bicycle that Burlington, Ont. native Glen Baxby arrived in Fort Frances on a rainy Monday afternoon—just one stop on his quest to cycle across the country to raise awareness and money for cancer research.
“We started on the 15th of May in Victoria, British Columbia and so far we’ve made it to Fort Frances by the eighth of June,” noted Baxby, who has taken on this 7,300-km adventure as part of “Coast2Coast2Cure.”
“It’s been pretty good,” he said. “It’s had its moments at times, but it’s nothing that I don’t think was totally unexpected.
“The Rockies were fairly a hard push.
“Except for the first 400 km, it’s been all downhill,” he laughed.
Baxby “guaranteed” he will be ending the trek in St. John’s, Nfld. by July 14.
The inspiration for the journey came after a friend was diagnosed with cancer and a group got together to raise awareness and funds for research, he explained.
“[‘Coast2Coast2Cure’] is basically a grassroots organization started in my living room with friends and neighbours, everybody bringing a different talent to the table,” he noted.
“We started in January and now—here we are—a third of our way through Canada.”
And so far they’ve raised roughly $26,000.
“It is 100 percent into research,” Baxby stressed, adding the money will go to the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.
They have a figure they’re aiming for—$500,000—although Baxby said that number only was chosen because Princess Margaret asked the group to have a goal amount.
“It’s basically an arbitrary figure to satisfy the check mark in the application form you fill out,” he remarked. “It’s $500,000, hopefully we can come close to that.
“It’s nothing that’s written in stone. We’re grateful for every dollar we get.”
“The communities we’ve been through have been very helpful, too,” added Paul Dinino, who currently is behind the wheel of a 14-foot RV that has been following Baxby the whole trip.
Dinino, along with other volunteers, have been taking turns flying out to different locations to team up and help Baxby along with his journey.
“I wasn’t able to take 60 days off but I’ve donated weeks of my vacation time,” Dinino explained. “So I’m driver number four, and once we get to Thunder Bay, somebody will switch off and we’ll have a new driver coming in, another volunteer.”
The weather so far has been “excellent,” Baxby said, adding his arrival here Monday was only the second day of rain he’s encountered on the whole ride.
“They’re fairly long days, but they’re not punishing long, so they’re all within 120-140 km in length,” he noted. “So I can usually get that through—depending on the weather—four-and-a-half to six-and-a-half hours of biking.”
Those interested in donating, learning more, or following Baxby’s journey towards the East Coast can do so by visiting www.coast2coast2cure.com
