Hi all,
Heard a wonderful cycle-touring story today: making a lunchtime snack before heading out for a ride on my Go (aweebit) Faster Bike, I flipped on CBC radio, and heard the story of one Dan McGuire, a lifelong touring cyclist who at the age of 80, to the dismay of his family, decided he’d cycle again across Canada. This time, to its four furthest corners reachable by road.
I listened, riveted, and put my own ride on hold for the 35 minutes of Dan’s story. It’s extraordinary—funny and touching, full of courage, perseverance, joy, friendship and love (and a tadpole trike too!) In his great adventure, Dan had to deal with the usual challenges of Canada’s geography, the wear and tear of four-score years and more, black flies and the Dempster Highway. He also has Parkinson’s disease.
You can hear his story as a podcast from the CBC website for the “Vinyl Café” program:
http://www.cbc.ca/vinylcafe/home.php (The program is dated March 28, from Chilliwack, BC)
Or, you can open (I hope) the MP3 file in the Dropbox link just below. Note: This podcast covers the entire 54 minutes of the show. Dan’s story starts at 22 minutes.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/18312802/vinylcafe_2015-03-28%20Dan%20McGuire's%20story.mp3This is one of the best stories I’ve ever heard on radio, in a lifetime of listening. For many people, the stories told by the host of the program, Stuart Maclean, are often corny-verging-on-cute; occasionally, however, he goes into another realm, and this story is one of those occasions. He was working with brilliant content—Dan’s story was sent in to the show by his daughter, Tara, and she has written it with great love, care, and skill--but his telling does justice to the story.
I’m going to send this along to friends who are struggling with the scourge of Parkinson's, or whose loved ones are, but I think it deserves a wider audience. Enjoy!!
