Photo: Mady Kennedy with Ceanna Kyle in Elkhorn.
By: Ashley Bocheck
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The World-Spectator
Mady Kennedy has passed the half way mark of her ride across Canada, in the hopes of raising $1 million for the Canadian Cancer Society. Kennedy, the nephew of former NHLer Sheldon Kennedy, is biking across Canada to fundraise for the Canadian Cancer Society and raise awareness for families and individuals who have struggled with cancer.
Donate online at Canadian Cancer Society What A Privilege
Kennedy says anyone can donate online through What a Privilege on the Cancer Society website.
“People can donate to What a Privilege and the Cancer Society. I am documenting the entire journey on my social media and there is a link on there to donate. What a Privilege Canadian Cancer Society is our cause and place to donate.
“I am unsure how much we have raised so far. We will have to go through all of the numbers after the hometown stretch because we had a lot of support over the last week, so we have to do a new tally, but we do have a long way to go, but I’m confident that we can get there with the momentum from these past few days through home.”
Mental challenge
Kennedy says she bikes up to 200 kilometres every day.
“We’re biking anywhere from 140 to 200 kilometres a day. Our most was 200 kilometres so far, and it’s about seven hours on the bike every single day. So, it’s like a job, like a shift. I get up and have breakfast, and then get out there for a couple hours, take a little break, go out there for more, and then finish the day, recover, go to bed, and start again the next day.
“It’s a lot of time, but it’s more about being fit mentally than physically. Being able to occupy your mind for that long, and making sure that it’s a really good place to be in your mind because when you’re in your thoughts for that long, it can be hard to steer it in the right direction.”
She says connections, stories, and people she has met on her journey motivate her each day.
“Every single day, I’ve wondered, ‘why am I doing this?’ In the tough moments I have, that goes through my mind, and I think it’s honestly an opportunity to look at my why, and come back to the reason that I’m doing it. I think every time that comes up, within half an hour, something happens, and it’s like that’s my why. It’s the connections or people telling their story, and I come to a realization, and think that this is exactly why I’m doing it.
“It doesn’t feel like you’re doing anything big and monumental in the moment, but when you look at the bigger picture of the lives you’re impacting, and having those conversations with people, it’s so amazing.”
Stories shared on journey
Kennedy says many people across Canada have shared their cancer stories whith her along her journey.
“The number of people that have shared their cancer stories, whether that’s themselves going through it, being a survivor, their wife, or they lost somebody close to them, it’s so heartwarming, it breaks your heart, but at the same time it’s the motivation that keeps me going. That is my mission and my why, so hearing those stories gives me both sides of it, and it’s so cool to have those connections with people.
“One guy that we met on the tour, was going through cancer treatment during his bike ride across Canada, which was so crazy. A little boy that we met in Deep River, he was casually biking on Mother’s Day to his grandpa’s house, and we ended up biking with him for maybe three minutes, and he loved what we were doing, and I thought I would never see him again. The next day, I ended up getting an email, he somehow found my email, and he wrote, ‘My grandma just passed away of cancer. I’ll remember this day for the rest of my life. I want to bike across Canada when I’m older, just like you.’ Stuff like that means the world to me. It is so heartwarming to know that you’re making an impact on someone’s life, and that they might remember it for the rest of their life and inspire them to do something crazy too.”
Kennedy says she is biking across the country to encourage and motivate everyone to challenge themselves.
“I’m doing it for everybody. There are two pieces to it, there’s the piece that is for the people that can’t, and then there’s the piece that if you are able, it’s to encourage people to take advantage of that and take care of their healthy bodies while they have it. I just deeply believe that we can do anything that we set our mind to, and if you have the privilege of having a healthy able body, take care of it, and if you don’t, that is who I’m riding for.”