An Anglican Bishop is cycling across Canada to raise funds for suicide prevention and leadership in Indigenous communities.
Rob Hardwick, from Qu’Appelle Saskatchewan, is using the trip as an opportunity to take “the environment into prayer, going uphill praying for those who are struggling with life."
His journey began May 19 in Victoria, and he expects it to take 62 days to reach St. Johns Newfoundland.
"I'm turning 62 so I am trying to do this cycling trip across Canada in 62 cycling days," Hardwick said.
The trip is quite the feat for the 62-year-old, who weighed over 300 Ibs when he began training. He has lost 93 Ibs so far. Burning over 6,000 calories a day, Hardwick is being sustained by pot luck suppers in church basements along his route.
The Anglican Bishop of Qu’Appelle stopped in his home province of Sask., and he was joined by some clergy and staff from the province.
“He is really taking his journey of reconciliation in a literal way,” Michael Bruce, an Anglican Minister from Saskatchewan, said.
Along the way Hardwick has met many helpful faces, but one encounter stuck out in his mind.
"There was an SUV on the far side of road with hazard lights flashing, so I pulled alongside to see if he needed help and the driver simply pointed to the bushes and said ‘bear.’ So I peddled very quickly after that,” Hardwick said.
