Family on fundraising ride across Canada stops in Valley

Following a month and a half long cycling trip across Canada, Orlando Schmidt and his family have arrived in Renfrew County. The slogan for the trip is “Cycling Canada Together to End Global Hunger” with proceeds raised going to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. The bike trip started on June 8th in Abbotsford, B.C. and on Tuesday afternoon, they rolled into the Whitewater Brewery in Cobden. The 6,000 kilometre trip will end near Halifax, Nova Scotia in the middle of August, by which time the Schmidt family hopes to have raised $60,000. Orlando says cycling across Canada has always been a dream of his and to be able to do it with his family is pretty amazing.

 

He says so far his favorite part of the trip has been cycling through the rocky mountains. Orlando says he’s driven through that area many times, however being on a bike and that close to nature gives you a whole new perspective. Orlando says on average they’ve been doing about 110 km per day, with the longest day travelling roughly 150 km. He adds cycling on the stretch of Highway 17 between Deep River and Cobden was sketchy at times with some pretty narrow shoulders on the side of the road. By the time they reached Cobden, upwards of $23,000 had been raised to help feed hungry people around the world. You can make a donation or sponsor a section of the trip and follow along with the Schmidt family online https://foodgrainsbank.ca/cycling/