The Motivation - The Lions on the Road: Cycling London to Cape Town - page 8

meals for a dollar to the area's homeless and destitute. It was in this restaurant that I met
people younger than I who were living on the streets. I began to see more and more people
in need, not only of food and clothing but also of friendship and love. At my day job as a
tourguideattheCNTower,myfriendMarc-YvesBertin,anavidcyclist,andItalkedabout
homelessness and (half) jokingly suggested that we should do a cross-Canada cycling tour
for it. It never materialized but that idea was buried in my mind only to resurface when I
moved to England.
Fifth, I moved to London in 1990 where I continued my volunteer work. Again,
after my job in an exclusive hotel in Mayfair, I would cycle to a soup kitchen in Acton, a
London suburb. What I saw in Toronto was tenfold there. We were inundated with young,
single, homeless mothers.
Finally, my life then took me to work at the Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in
Helston,Cornwall.Workingasplitshiftasabarman,Iwasabletodoalotofcyclinginthe
area.
The Moment
It was on September 10, 1991 when the idea for this tour hit me. I returned from a
cycling jaunt, took a shower and rested on my bed waiting to start my evening shift. As I
lay there, I began to reflect on my life. Suddenly, the idea of doing a charity cycling tour
hit me so hard I couldn't contain my tears of joy. I leaped off the bed and paced my room
for my mind was racing with so many questions. I had to organize my thoughts in some
logical sequence. During that evening shift, I never botched so many orders. My mind was
nowhere near my job. I had A LOT of work ahead of me. I rushed home and began to
sketchoutmythoughts.Assmallasitwas,myroomturnedintoanoffice.Butinmymind,
this was to be bigger than life.