By David F. Rooney
Pharmasave photo department maestro Andrew Moore is taking Bike to Work Week very seriously this year. How seriously? Well, he’s leaving Edmonton on Monday, May 26, at 8 am and cycling 720 kilometres with plans to arrive in Revelstoke in time for work on Sunday, June 1, at 11 am.
That’s a hell of a ride and the chances are excellent that just a couple of years ago Andrew wouldn’t even have dreamed of undertaking anything like it.
However, a cardiac episode that saw him pass out at the wheel and drive up onto the lawn by the CPR underpass at Victoria Road and the Trans-Canada last year changed his life. He started cycling every day — except for two days in January when he had a broken water pipe at home — and in 238 days has put 4,760 km on his odometer.
Oh… in the process he also lost 60 pounds (30 kilos).
During a conversation at Twisted Annie’s Andrew said he picked this ride from Edmonton because it was “little bit off the wall” and involved a challenging number of kilometres. The number of kms won’t be the only potential challenges. Along the way Andrew’s certainly going to share the road with Alberta drivers and may encounter other forms of wildlife, too, such as elk, deer, cattle, bears and coyotes.
It looks straightforward on a map. Cycle out of Edmonon on Highway 2 and just head down the freeway to Olds, hang a right onto Highway 27, then a left onto Highway 22 and zip along that highway as it rolls through the foothills south to Cochrane. There, Andrew has to decide if he wants to take the TCH or the less-heavily travelled Highway 1A to Canmore and then jump onto the TCH and/or the Bow Valley Parkway. Either way, he’ll be accompanied from Banff to Revelstoke by Karmen Cozens who will be driving a pilot car.
“I think it will take the full week,” he said.
We bet it will.
Have a great trip, Andrew!
You’ll be able to track Andrew’s progress on Spot Messenger at www.findmespot.ca starting on May 26. Here’s a map of his planned route:
