From a pogo stick to a parabike, Steve O’Brien is using a dozen different modes of transportation to trek across Canada.
It’s a pretty ambitious goal, but also a noble one. O’Brien has been a school teacher for 25 years and has worked with underprivileged students. He is trekking across Canada to get the message out that it is important fpr youth to stay in school.
“We should be there to listen to our kids, have that shoulder to lean on and give them goals in life,” O’Brien said.
Using wheelchairs, rollerblades and longboards, O’Brien has clocked over 6,800 kilometres so far on his journey across Canada that started on April 12 in British Columbia.
His journey has been “challenging,” O’Brien said. “I suffer on the road, I’m suffering for every kid in Canada.”
But he knows a lot about overcoming adversity.
O’Brien was injured one month before he was scheduled to participate in the Olympic games in 1992 and says that ever since, he has wanted “to do something meaningful.”
Along the journey, O’Brien says he has been receiving well wishes and donations from people who have seen him on the road.
“It’s been amazing,” he told CTV Toronto. “I’ve got great people helping me out and believing in the project.”
With a report by CTV Toronto’s Carol Charles.
