Far and Wide Trek for Developmental Disabilities: August 2008

Friday, August 15, 2008

Getting Settled

I'm home and it still hasn't sunk in yet. It still feels like I'm on a short break, like I'm stuck in a town because of weather or waiting for a repair. Since I've got back, people have been very complimentary on what I have done but it honestly does not feel like that big a deal. It felt like I just went for a ride around the block.... a very big block.

I was scrolling through photos of the trip and it's a weird sensation. I look at them and think it would be pretty cool to go there, not really feeling like I have been there and snapped those pics. A photo is not the experience, not even close. I guess to play on a cliche it's all so surreal of what I have experienced in the last little while. I know I have a different outlook on people and the world but as for how I feel now. It feels like I seriously just went around the block.

Now I'm back home and trying to figure out where to go next. I want to ride my bike everywhere and at the same time don't really feel like doing anything. Lethargy has taken over and you know what? I don't mind. It feels good just to sit around... But my body is twitching to get out and do something strenuous.

There is probably 4000 people I owe a special thanks too. So many people hearing me out on what I embarked to set off to do and helping me in anyway they could. I know some people probably didn't want to hear me out but saw the position I was in and maybe out of compassion for me, sat down to hear my stories. I pray that if I talked to someone with negative viewpoints on people with disabilities I was able to make them more accepting to integrating them into the community. Overall I feel I was successful in bringing awareness to some of the issues that people with disabilities encounter. Thanks so much for everyone following this trip and being supportive. I have said this numerous times... I would have never ever come close to finishing this trip if I havn't been blessed with so many positive great people. Your words were the strength in my pedalling and I will always remember the gracious support from friends I have never even met! Thank you.

ONE LAST IMPORTANT NOTICE!!!!

Well a lot of people have been asking how much have we raised in the last little while. The grand total is currently at $62,000. We are also having a BBQ for the Far and Wide Bike Trek. This will be held at Burl-Oak Canoe Club in Downtown Oakville (160 Water Street Oakville,ON). It will be held between 4-10pm on Sunday, August 24th. It will be a great evening of fun with lots of stories shared of the summer, lots of pictures, gifts, and games!!!!!!!! Tickets in advance are $12 per adult and $2 per child. At the door they are $15 per adult and $5 per child. For more info please contact biketrek@live.ca or you can contact Evelyn 905-330-9482 or Amy 905-617-2465.

GODSPEED!

Matthew

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Trees.

Northern Ontario has offered alot of new adventures and opportunities. The landscape on the north shore of Lake Superior is one of the most beautiful places on this trip. Except the bugs and weather have been try to convince me otherwise.

Lots of tough days lately with hills and heavy rains. The rain seems to be relentless. It always adds so much more time when, putting your tent away ..... and it's just mentally draining. But nothing can really bring me down. I guess knowing that I'm only 3 days away is such motivation to push through anything.

I have had huge bike problems, and had to hitchhike to the next bike store. Hitchhiking is always interesting because of the dependency on trust on both parties. It took me two rides to get where I was going and I actually turned down one ride from someone that I didn't feel comfortable going with. It's amazing how many people drive by hitchhikers. I tried many different things to intice people to pick me up. The animated thumb (shaking it all around). Juggling and then dropping the balls and throwing the thumb out. The Journal thumb.... (writing in my journal and putting my thumb out) The sad thumb (thumbs down).

Anyhow, I'm in Sudbury and will be arriving in Hamilton on August 12th around 4ish. I will be be riding to the Lawson Ministries building where I started this trip. It will be great to see the building where so many of the amazing individuals with Developmental Disabilities that I'm blessed to work with have motivated me to do this journey. I hope I have accomplished in spreading the word about their abilities and that I have represented them in good form.

Well this is the last blog on the road and there has been sooooo much that has happened but I will do one more blog when it's all said and done. I guess it will be a kind of recap.

GODSPEED :)
Matthew

A little about Matthew

All my life, a life spent with a younger sister who has Down syndrome, I believed that inclusion was the way of the future, that she would graduate and become a part of the community, that she was someone who could contribute just like anyone else. I have learned that the idea, and the words around it, is still in vogue. It’s the practice that’s wanting. Since her graduation, she takes part in a day program where the only *normal* people are her supervisors. She has become invisible again, part of a protected ghetto for people with disabilities, safe from others and them safe from her.
Much of my early life was trying to educate my peers about my sister’s disability and, being a kid, sometimes landing in the occasional fight. (Certainly true with my sister, who has always been outspoken!)
It saddens me to see that we continue to isolate people with mental disabilities because we don’t understand or are uncomfortable with what we see as unbridgeable differences. I believe that we can make a positive difference in how people view each other if we make an effort to encourage understanding through education.
Having worked with organizations and institutions dedicated to helping individuals with special needs, I have firsthand knowledge of how little society as a whole understands the challenges people with mental disabilities face on a daily basis. From my work with adults and children in Hamilton, I have learned a great deal about special needs. I also learned how a few people work incredibly hard to make a few underfunded programs work as well as they do. This past fifteen months I have spent teaching in South Korea. During this time, I did considerable research into the types of support that individuals with special needs receive and how it can be improved with relatively simple steps.
From my previous experience and from my research, the idea of the Far and Wide Bike Trek was born. It seems a logical next step, a way to raise awareness and funds for people with mental challenges. My hope is that I can connect with associations and individuals along the way in an effort to get some recognition for people in communities across the land. It helps that athletics, especially cycling, is something I love and it’s an honour to do something for others that they may not be able to do for themselves. This also would enable me to meet with community leaders and charity organizations across the continent to discuss the problems people with special needs face, and to share ideas. With only negligible help on the part of the community, many of these individuals’ lives can be made infinitely more manageable.
In addition, by using a bicycle, I’m also achieving other goals. Not only is the bicycle an excellent and neglected form of transportation, it’s environmentally friendly and a great form of exercise. I think the messages that we need to care for our environment and we need to take care of our bodies through exercise are important ones as well.
Finally, outside of monetary concerns and environmental awareness, I am genuinely interested in bringing to the attention of people everywhere how capable, frequently astonishing, and incredibly special people with mental challenges are. Although there are a handful of programs (such as the Special Olympics) with this goal, I feel as if the Far and Wide Bike Trek can truly drive the point home. Please be a part of my dream. Thank you for your time.

Far and Wide Trek for Developmental Disabilities

Friday, August 15, 2008

Getting Settled

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Trees.

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A little about Matthew

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