21 May 2026 will be my 75th birthday and to celebrate I will start a 42-day bicycle ride. The party, The Road To Valour, will begin at the Seaforth Highlanders’ Armoury in Vancouver. It will end on Canada Day at Valour Road in Winnipeg.  Why Vancouver? Why Winnipeg? Go to the About page of the website to learn more.

Apart from being an odd way of celebrating 75 years on planet Earth, I will be working to achieve 3 objectives:

• To support and promote the work being done by Wounded Warriors Canada(WWC) for our veteran and first responders who develop mental disorders as a result of their work, and their families;
• To share my knowledge and passion for Canadian military history; and
• To promote healthy, active aging for older adults. 

I welcome you to join me as I prepare for this trip. I blogging on a regular basis on matters related to my three key objectives for the ride.  I will also be using this space for administrative purposes. I will let you know about updates and clarifications to various pages of the site. I will keep you abreast of my training and fundraising progress. I will also announce new corporate sponsors.  

I want to ensure that you don’t get bored with just my points of view. So, I will be inviting guest bloggers to talk about various related topics. It is always satisfying to know that a post is being read and appreciated, please leave a comment. Even if you have a contrary opinion, I welcome your thoughts. Also, if you would like to offer more information on a related topic, please contact me. Give me a brief outline of what you would like to talk about and we’ll set a date for publication.

The route for the ride has not yet been finalized and likely won’t be until early 2026.  My preliminary plan is for a 2,500 km route with 12,000 to 15,000 metres of climbing.  In rough terms, it will follow through the Fraser Valley from Vancouver to Hope. Then I will follow Highway 3 to the Okanagan Valley and north to Sicamous. From Sicamous, I will follow the Trans-Canada Highway through Calgary to Winnipeg.  The ride will be completed without the support of a sag wagon.  I will be carrying all my camping gear and maintenance equipment. I will also carry all my food, water, cooking gear and a whole bunch more items.  What I carry and what my bike will look like will be the focus of a future blog.

As you read through this and future posts, please remember that this is a fundraising event. Cash donations to WWC are always welcome. You can find DONATE buttons in many places on the website. Alternatively, click the button below. Important to note is that 100% of your donation will go to WWC. I will absorb all administrative and logistical expenses related to the project. While cash is king, there are also other ways to support The Road To Valour. You can join me for a few kilometres or a couple of days along the route. Watch for my Support page to be published soon.

This project is very personal for me.  You can find out why by visiting My Family Tree which has already been published.

Welcome to The Road To Valour!