Windsor, Ontario friends plan cross-Canada haul this spring to raise awareness about Huntington’s disease

The country’s elite teams aren’t the only cyclists planning big things on two wheels this spring. For two long-time Canadian friends, May is going to be a month of ambitious, long-haul riding, as they set out for a tour from one end of the country to the other.

And like other Canadians who have embarked recently on similar undertakings, it’s all for a good cause.

When May rolls around, Marty Denonville and Jim Stewart of Windsor, Ont.—63 and 62 years of age, respectively—are rolling out, heading across Canada. Not only are the two a pair of avid, ambitious cyclists, they’re also no strangers to other hard-edged athletic pursuits, having proven themselves as runners and triathletes. Their undertaking has a mission, too. Beginning as a dream cycling journey for the two friends, it evolved into a ride bearing the standards of the fight against Huntington’s disease.

As they told the Windsor Star recently, the idea to cycle across the world’s second largest country with such a vision in mind came naturally.

“I’ve been retired for years,” Denonville told reporters, referring to the ride itself, “and decided I wanted to finally do this. I was on a run with Jim and he announced he was going to finally retire and wanted to come with me. I was happy because I thought I’d be doing it solo.”

Things changed, the Windsor Star reported, when Denonville’s family became the recipients of some difficult news. His sister-in-law’s three children—all of whom are between the ages of 45 and 50—were diagnosed with Huntington’s disease, a genetic brain disorder that kills specific brain cells, leading to emotional upheaval, the loss of mental faculties, physical deterioration, and eventually, death. The disease has no known cure.

With that, the game changed for the two riders.

“When Marty mentioned his nieces and Huntington disease,” Stewart told reporters, “it was a no-brainer. We were going to pick a charity and this one is personal. The kicker about this disease is that there is no slowing it down. It’s a death sentence.”

The two riders plan to set out from Stanley Park in Vancouver in May, heading east. Although a set date in May hasn’t been chosen, their endgame is to reach Newfoundland’s Signal Hill, a 7,500 kilometre journey expected to last nearly three months. Totally unsupported, Stewart and Denonville will be riding without a chase vehicle, carrying all of their supplies—small tents, sleeping bags and so forth—in bags strapped to their bikes. Expecting a hard grind along the Trans-Canada Highway and through northern Ontario, the two riders are nonetheless undeterred. Their plan, they say, is to raise $10,000 for the Huntington Society of Canada—as well as a lot of awareness.

“We have already started to receive donations,” Denonville told the Windsor Star. “But honestly if we can just raise an awareness about the disease across Canada our mission is accomplished.”

The ride, called “Two Guys, Four Wheels and One Cause,” has a website for interested supporters, and a kick-off event is tentatively planned for May 1 at the Riverside Legion Branch 255 in Windsor.