CANORA- At the age of 66, most of us would like nothing better than to relax, put up our feet, and enjoy retirement; but not Peter Hilger of St. Paul, Minnesota.
Hilger stopped in Canora on July 4 for a visit and to share his thoughts regarding his journey across Canada in a fundraising effort to support the training of service dogs, the education of orphans, and the education of college students.
Hilger’s planned route covers about 9,000 km. (almost 5,600 mi.).
“I started in Seattle on May 22, and then to Port Angeles, WA,” said Hilger. “From there I took the ferry to Victoria, and rode up Port Hardy, B.C. on the northern tip of Vancouver Island.”
He took the inland coastal ferry to Prince Rupert. He then rode his bike down the Fraser Valley, across the Rocky Mountains, Jasper, the Ice Fields, and wound his way through to Red Deer, Alberta. From there he was off to Saskatoon, and then to Canora.
“From here I’m planning to go to Winnipeg, into Ontario along the north shore of Lake Superior to Sault St. Marie, and then to Toronto,” he shared. “From there it’s up the St. Lawrence River to New Brunswick., PEI, Nova Scotia, and eventually to St. John’s, Newfoundland, the eastern-most point in North America."
At an average of around 100 km. per day, Hilger has set a target of mid-September for completing the journey, if all goes well. The main focus of the trip is raising money for three different charities.
“Cando Canines in Minneapolis, Minn. trains service dogs for people with disabilities, providing them for free to those in need. Nuestro Pequeno Hermanos (little brothers and sisters) is an orphanage in Central America. They do not do adoptions, but rather raise children to become whole and remain in Honduras. I’m a godparent to an orphan there. The third charity I’m supporting on this trip is my scholarship at the University of Minnesota for students in construction and facility management.”
Hilger originally intended this bike trip to happen two years ago, but COVID-19 derailed those plans until now. He said he has taken a year’s leave of absence from his work as an architect and college professor, adding,” I enjoy my work too much to retire.”
This is his 21st trip on a bicycle that is about two decades old.
“I’ve done Canadian trips before, but this is definitely the longest one,” he indicated. “One of the biggest highlights of the journey so far was cycling from Saskatoon to Canora; seeing how strong the Ukrainian connection is in this region.
“I’ve also seen that everywhere across the country, Canadian people are warm, very friendly, and ask a lot of questions, which I’m happy to answer.
“People automatically seem to think I’m retired and that I must be single, to be able to make a trip like this. But no, I’ve been married for 45 years, and my wife actually lets me do this.”
Hilger said people told him the trip across the prairies would be easy, “with the wind at my back all the way. But unfortunately I’ve been heading into stiff east breezes most of the time.”
He is keeping a blog of his journey at: fleetingcapture.blogspot.com.
The following was taken from his July 5 entry after a stop at the El Kuroki Motor Hotel in Kuroki.
“I chatted with Eugene (chef). He was getting ready to head out to his farm where he grows oats, wheat, and two types of canola. He spoke of his own Ukrainian heritage – his grandparents emigrated in that third wave to escape Stalin’s oppression. To this day they still honour Holodomor – a day of starvation - Stalin’s brutal, artificially imposed famine in Ukraine that killed close to four million Ukrainians.
“We parted ways. I managed to stop in every town between Kuroki and Canora to find the Ukrainian church (either Ukrainian Catholic or Ukrainian Orthodox) as a way of honouring those still battling the current oppression. In one of those towns – Rama – I had paused by the side of the road to take a break from the oppressive headwind when a farmer stopped by in her pickup to inquire if I needed help. During the course of our 10-minute conversation in the middle of the road, she told me Eugene has the best pizza. He is well known in these parts.”
Those looking for more information are encouraged to check out Peter Hilger’s website: sites.google.com/umn.edu/peter-hilger-canadian-transect/home.
