Angelo Cavallina and his two sons, Olmo McPake-Cavallina and Ally Cavallina, rode into Weyburn late Thursday evening on their recumbent bikes. The trio, from Edinburgh, Scotland, are cycling across Canada.
The trip is not just an adventure for the three men, but also a fundraiser. When Olmo was born, he required treatment at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Scotland and, now that he is a healthy adult, he wanted to do a fundraiser for the hospital. The inspiration to cycle across Canada for the fundraiser came from their own kitchen.
"We've got a big map of Canada on our kitchen wall and we see it all the time," said Olmo. One day, about five years ago, Ally pointed to the map and suggested cycling across Canada. For years the family talked about the trip, but serious planning and preparation began two years ago.
Contrary to the route most cross-country cyclists take, they are going east to west. They landed in Halifax on June 5 and took off across the country on June 7. Their flight home leaves from Vancouver on Saturday, September 28.
Angelo said part of the reason they are travelling east to west is because of the frontier cowboy stories he grew up with.
"For me, it can only be west," said Angelo with a smile, who is also pleased to be on the prairies, which resemble the part of northern Italy he was born in. "This is like home."
"After so many trees, mountains and lakes, it's nice to see the sky," echoed Ally of arriving on the Prairies earlier.
"The highlight has been meeting other people," said Ally. The family was especially pleased with a free campsite they had in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., where they met many other cyclists who were going west to east.
As the three men have made their way west, they said they have met many friendly people in every province and enjoyed them all, but noticed distinct differences. They said drivers on the east coast were the most friendly to cyclists, Quebec had the best food, Ontarians had some of the most community-oriented campsites and Manitoba lived up to its name as the "The Friendly Province". So far, they said Saskatchewanians have been very generous and they are looking forward to seeing the rest of the country. Angelo is especially looking forward to getting a picture with the "Mile 0" marker on Vancouver Island.
The Cavallinas purchased their recumbent bikes in Edinburgh and brought them with them to Canada. The benefits of the recumbent bikes is the better posture it allows cyclists to have while riding, especially long distances, which decreases aches and pains. The men said they experienced very little pain so far, despite travelling an average of 120 to 180 kilometres per day. They do make travelling on congested roads more difficult though, because they can be too low to see far enough ahead.
