Kevin Ebra is nearing the end of his epic 6,700 kilometre inline skating trip across the country, but he still has a long way to go in his goal of raising money for the Childhood Cancer Canada Foundation.
With just 12 days left on his expedition, which began in Toronto in July, Ebra has collected $15,000 for the charity, well short of his $200,000 goal.
Originally from Iran, Ebra moved to Canada three years ago and has turned his love of inline skating into a series of different long expeditions to raise money for various charities, ranging from multiple sclerosis to the relief efforts after the Japanese tsunami.
"This is my sixth journey and this journey was very, very short notice for me," the man dubbed The Skateman said on Monday during a ceremony at City Hall. "Just one month before starting this journey I began planning for a 6,700 km journey."
This is the longest skate Ebra has ever undertaken and he's had to battle the Canadian weather, from the windy prairies to snow last week near Hinton, Alta. Once completed he's planning to submit a claim to the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest inline skating journey ever.
"Everyone in Canada has been very friendly," he said. "I haven't met one bad guy."
Ebra's journey co-ordinator Ali Alavi said due to the lack of media support early on during the trip the fundraising has been slow to get started, but he said they will continue to try to raise money even after Ebra reaches Vancouver in a couple of weeks.
Ebra was joined at City Hall by Mayor Shari Green and members of the Rated PG RollerGirls roller derby team who are preparing for their invitational on Nov. 23 at the Roll-A-Dome.
"We had heard about Skateman from about Winnipeg on and we just thought it was a really good cause and we thought we'd come out here and support what's he's doing," said Alicia Lock, also known as Lock Down on the derby track. "We know how hard it is to skate for an hour and bump around, but to have someone actually on skates and skate across Canada is amazing."
Ebra will stay in Prince George until Wednesday, during which time he'll meet with officials and try to drum up more funds for his cause. Donations can be made online at www.skateman.ca
After leaving Prince George, Ebra will head south to Kamloops then west to the coast, across to Vancouver Island before finishing his skate in Vancouver.
After making the east to west journey this year, Ebra plans to retrace his steps in 2014 for his next big adventure.
"In 2014 I have two journeys planned, first Vancouver to Toronto and then across the U.S.," he said.
