A former Red Deerian is preparing for a three-year cycling adventure to raise awareness and funding for people recovering from post traumatic stress disorder.
“We’re going to cycle from St. John’s to Vancouver, take a few weeks break, then from Vancouver head to Patagonia, then from Patagonia back up to the Eastern U.S., then over to Europe, the Middle East, then back to Canada,” said Brian Nadon, VATIC founder.
VATIC Foundation was created to provide hope to survivors of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) through education, scholarship funding and the opportunity to give back to their community.
Nadon, who has been healing from PTSD for the last three years, said he couldn’t find any scholarship opportunities for people who have suffered through mental health issues or PTSD.
“Once you’ve gone through those situations it leaves a lot of people blank, wondering which direction they should go in next. Raising funds to try to send people back to school, or continue on with their education, is what we want to try to do.
“You still have opportunities. Life is tough, but we can all do it and make it through together.”
The goal is to raise $150,000 a year.
Nadon, 45, will make the trip with his five-year-old golden retriever Ginger who will run, but can also ride in a bike trailer.
The ride will kick off June 1 and he expects to reach Red Deer by mid-August. Canada is about 7,700 km from coast to coast and he hopes to average about 88 km a day. His longest ride so far was 2,000 days through Asia in 2016.
Nadon said cycling will allow him visit more communities.
“I’ve been across Canada quite a few times and there’s probably a lot of places I miss because I drive right on by. By cycling it gives me the opportunity to stop, say hello to someone, to talk, to hear what they have to say, to get some words of encouragement and offer some words of encouragement back,” said Nadon who has been training for the ride in Red Deer where he has family.
For more information visit vaticfoundation.com.
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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