After more than 120 days cycling across the country, Newmarket’s Kevin Mills is home and has more than a few stories to tell about his trek and observations when it comes to making Canada more accessible.
Mills, who sustained a spinal cord injury in 2009, began hand-cycling across Canada on May 24 in Cape Spears, Newfoundland and finished his journey Sept. 30 in Victoria, British Columbia.
He began the journey in an effort to establish and share an accessible route across the country while promoting accessibility, inclusivity, and activity after injury through his non-profit Pedaling Possibilities and even picked up celebrity support along the way.
Now home, Mills will be speaking at Old Town Hall on Nov. 2 and sees it as a way to continue the conversation about accessibility while also thanking Newmarket for its support throughout his journey. This is his first time seeing the community since cycling through in July and receiving the key to the city.
Mills said it’s been weird to be home after spending about eight hours a day cycling for such a long period of time, but that it’s been amazing to feel the support of the community.
“Canadians are such awesome people, especially in Newmarket,” he said. “It’s such a great community and I’m so happy to be here.”
Although a little nervous ahead of the event, Mills said he’s looking forward to sharing his story and highlighting what more needs to be done. He plans to tell stories from the trip while giving an overview of the challenges he faced.
The trip was the perfect way to show firsthand how many issues there still are with accessibility in Canada, said Mills.
He knew going into the ride across the country that there would be plenty of challenges with accessibility, however, it was even harder than he was expecting.
“Coming back, I’m actually a little overwhelmed with how much work needs to be done,” he said. “But Pedaling Possibilities didn’t end in Victoria.”
The event will also act as a fundraiser for Pedaling Possibilities with sales from tickets going toward buying adaptive equipment for those with disabilities to get into activity-based therapy.
“It’s so hard to get into activity, there’s so many barriers,” he said. “There’s so many obstacles, so for me, if we can get a couple people with disability into activities, it’s all worth it.”
Mills said the plan is to continue with the non-profit in his crusade to get people with disabilities active. He’s hoping to use his platform to begin speaking at schools and conferences about the issues surrounding accessibility while promoting activity after injury.
The welcome home event is Thursday, Nov. 2 at Old Town Hall beginning at 7 p.m. Purchase tickets here and learn more about Pedaling Possibilities here.