Steven Kurowski is on an epic trek to fight cancer and stopped in to Prince George on his journey Tuesday.
The Lower Mainland resident is riding his bike across Canada collecting pledges and raising awareness for cance.
He was in Prince George this week on his way North with the Wheels Across Canada tour. It took him about a week to get here from the Lower Mainland.
"I am not just going across Canada, I am going throughout Canada. It is an extended journey," he told The Citizen during the paper's weekly coffee chat at Books and Company where cafe regulars ushered him over, impressed by his mission and the 1,500 kilometres he has already achieved.
"The word 'cancer' kept coming up again and again in my life, and I'm only 36 -- not that old. This is something I can do right now to affect a positive outcome for the fight against cancer, and the selfish part of it is I get to see a lot of Canada and I get the health benefits of all the riding."
The mission is a personal one for Kurowski.
"I had an uncle pass away from cancer, and I had a high school classmate pass away from cancer," he said.
He also had his own scare that turned out to be something that only looked initially like cancer.
Kurowski began by testing himself with a few geographic goals before launching a full media blitz.
First, he travelled Vancouver Island's mountainous Malahat Highway to make sure he could handle the challenges of steep, twisty, high-traffic stretches of road. He made it from Victoria to Nanaimo in one day: check.
The next big hurdle is a doozy -- destination Inuvik. Once he makes it to the delta of the Arctic Ocean he said he'll feel enough confidence in mind and body to push for the Atlantic shores of Newfoundland.
The journey has already been a grueling one. At night, he faces challenges associated with camping out in all sorts of weather and being all alone. He spooked himself when he discovered he had camped in a place where bullet holes dotted the road sign only a few feet away, and a pair of women's underwear lay discarded on the road.
He is using the network of friends and family, plus the warmshowers.org website group to put a safe roof over his head most nights.
He expects to be done his journey in a year to 15 months. He will be taking the winter off to work in his career field, linguistics.
Kurowski planned to be off Tuesday for Prince Rupert then veer towards Whitehorse (anticipated arrival: May 8) and on to Inuvik (anticipated arrival: May 18).
He has no funding from government or outside agencies, it is all being paid for by his savings, contributions of family and friends, and donations he picks up along the way.
Information on his journey can be found on his website, www.wxcan.ca, as well as payment links to donate to his tour -- some funds used to pay for the bike journey, with proceeds to cancer research.
