Remember the name Craig Aucoin. You will likely be hearing a lot about him over the next while. You see Craig, who is from Pictou, Nova Scotia, is a blind cyclist who has just embarked on a cross-Canada bicycle tour to raise money for three charities:
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CNIB
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CANADIAN GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND
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CANADIAN YMCA’S
Twenty years ago at age 16, Craig, lost his vision to Retinitis Pigmentosa, a group of diseases that causes gradual destruction of some of the light sensing cells in the retina, resulting in a slow and progressive loss of vision.
With the help of his trainer, Lloyd McLean, Craig will be taking his “Craig Gives Back” tour across Canada starting August 4th, and covering 8,200 kilometres in 85 days. From St. John’s, Newfoundland to Victoria, BC, Craig and Lloyd will be travelling on a special tandem recumbent bicycle – an Alterna Janus Bicycle imported from Holland. It is the only one of its kind in Canada.
Craig named his cross-Canada bicycle tour “Craig Gives Back” because that is precisely what he is doing…giving back to the charities that he credits for helping him turn his life around. When Craig was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, he was crushed. For anyone, this is a terrible diagnosis. For a teenager at 16, and hoping to get a driver’s license, it’s even worse. Craig battled depression and immense weight gain for 7 years. He shut everyone out and kept to himself. That was until he reached out and sought help. Now he wants to give back to those that helped him, and to raise awareness about these charitable organizations.
Inspired by Canadian heroes, Terry Fox and Rick Hansen, Craig is now healthy, fit and ready to motivate all Canadians to overcome their personal challenges and adopt a healthy and active lifestyle.
You can follow Craig & Lloyd’s cross-Canada bicycle journey and find out when they will be biking through your town.
To learn more about Craig’s story and how he turned his life around, click here.
If you would like to donate to one of the charities that Craig is biking to raise money for, please click on one of these links:
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions are those of Canadian Blog House.
