Former 570 News reporter completes bike ride across Canada for mental health
Posted Aug 29, 2016 02:45:00 PM.
Last Updated Aug 29, 2016 02:48:12 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Former 570 News morning reporter Martin Bauman completed the last stretch of his bike ride across Canada this morning, making his way into St. John’s, Newfoundland to a crowd of onlookers.
Greeted by friends, family and mental health workers, Bauman was riding a high, part of him not ready to be finished his 84-day, 7045 kilometre journey.
“What a feeling of joy and relief and elation, just getting to the finish line,” said Bauman. “The last couple of days I have been so excited to get to St. John’s and toss my bike aside, but now that I’m here I almost kind of miss it. I was oddly nostalgic on my ride into town this morning, almost wishing that I could keep biking more.”
The ride was to raise awareness and funds for two mental health associations; the Waterloo-Wellington branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association and the Mood Disorders Society of Canada.
Bauman blew his $10,000 goal out of the water, raising a total of $12,211 and counting, with the fund still being open to donations.
Aside from raising money for a good cause and sightseeing, Bauman said the ride was incredibly theraputic, and helped him be able to open up to those he met along the way about his story for taking on this ride.
“I would have been one of those Canadians that was a little reluctant to talk about it before doing this ride, but that really forced me to open up about my own experiences, and that has been nothing but good for my mental health. You realize it feels really good.”
What surprised Bauman was how many of them opened up to him too.
“That’s really special. That’s a connection right there. It’s me being vulnerable with them, and them sharing in return,” Bauman says. “That’s what it’s all about. This ride, it’s about people talking about mental health and breaking that stigma that we have and that’s been really powerful to me.”
Bauman plans to continue his emotional and geographical journey by returning to Waterloo Region to give several talks in the area about his experiences before taking a backpacking adventure to Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia with a friend.
