‘It’s life-changing:’ Duo from Ontario pedalling across Canada for accessibility

Two Ontario athletes have rolled into Regina on their cross-Canada journey to fundraise and advocate for Activity-Based Therapy (ABT) and accessibility for the disabled community.

Kevin Mills is hand-cycling and his trainer, Nikki Davenport, is riding a bike alongside him.

Mills sustained a spinal cord injury in 2009 that left him a quadriplegic. His injury hasn’t stopped him from being active; if anything, it made him more passionate about movement.

“For me, after my injury, getting as active as possible and getting outside was so important,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what type of activity you do, it’s life-changing. It helps your body function (and helps) your health, mental and physical. I would say after an injury, it’s probably one of the most important things you can do.”

After his injury, Mills often travelled to the United States for various ABT programs. He saw amazing changes in his body’s function, like an increase in core balance and strength, improved arm function and more independence. It also greatly improved his mental health.

ABT is a form of exercise therapy that focuses on retraining the nervous system below the level of injury through the activation of the neuromuscular system to recover specific motor tasks. It can be done in a number of ways like electric stimulation, robotics or through repetitive movements.

Davenport has been by Mills’ side every spin of the way. She is Kevin’s osteopath and neuro-recovery trainer.

The pair would go on long bike rides after work. One day, Davenport brought up the idea of a cross-Canada journey and Mills quickly said yes.

They are more than halfway through the trip. They started in Cape Spear, N.L., on May 24. It hasn’t been easy, but they are having a blast.

“It comes with challenges. You’re stuck in an RV most of the time and then you get to explore Canada. It has its mental, physical and emotional challenges. But overall it’s a life-changing experience for both of us,” said Davenport.

Mills wanted the trip to help others. His goal is to promote inclusivity in the disabled community. He also created Pedaling Possibilities, a non-for-profit organization. Their goal is to establish and share an accessible bike route.

“The main thing is to get out there and use this trip as a platform to start a discussion and get people active and out — especially people with disabilities, seeing that this something they can do too. We want to make awareness of how important accessibility is and what changes need to be made,” said Mills.

Something Mills wants to advocate for it wider shoulders on highways. He has noticed shoulders along the highway are quite narrow. His wheelchair and hand-cycle bike are wider than a standard bike, forcing part of his bike to be on the highway. He said it’s quite nerve-racking.

They avoid main highways to make the trip more safe.

“We’re trying to stay off the big highways to make it more accessible, so there’s less traffic. We are finding the roads are less maintained but we feel safer on the less-busy highways. Highway 48 has been a blessing for us,” said Davenport.

The pair are on route to Victoria, which they hopes to reach by the end of September. Davenport said they’re on track to meet that goal.

“We’re killing it. We’re doing around 100, 120 kilometres a day. We started off not doing that much but as we’ve gotten stronger, we want to really make a push to the end. We do have a date that we want to be done by so we’re keeping that in the back of our mind. And it’s flat right now so we can really make the most of it,” she said.

Mills said they’ve faced almost all the elements.

“Through Newfoundland we went through hurricane winds while actually biking. That was quite the day, over 125(-kilometre-per-)hour (wind). We’ve gone through heatwaves and got through the hills of Northern Ontario. Now we’re trying to battle the headwinds in the prairies. For me it’s been an amazing experience. I’m just lucky Nikki is still talking to me,” he said with a laugh.

They haven’t had a problem with the smoke yet, but as they cycle towards B.C., they’re preparing for it.

Back home in Newmarket, Ont., Mills, alongside his wife Heather, is the co-founder of Walk It Off, a spinal cord recovery and wellness centre.

Mills and Davenport make sure to stop by other wellness centres along the way.

In Regina, they stopped by the First Steps Wellness Centre. Mills said these facilities are crucial to helping people get back into the activities they once loved.

“Those programs allow you to get into a shape or condition where you can start participating again. That’s what’s so important. We just want people to get outside and active,” he said.

They also learn from the facilities they visit and take that knowledge with them back to their own facility.

He said the response from everyone they’ve met so far has been inspiring.

“It’s been pretty profound. Initially, the idea was just to bike across Canada, but then we were thinking how it could help other people. As we’re going, seeing the response of people, who would say, ‘I got out my hand cycle for the first time,’ it’s really uplifting. To me, it’s showing that this ride is helping not just myself but other people too,” he said.

Their organization and journey also caught the attention of some famous actors. Titanic actress Kate Winslet and Fight Club’s Edward Norton both donated to the cause.

“They both donated to us to support the trip, which was incredible. We are even possibly doing a facetime with Kate Winslet next week. So we’re super-excited about that. Thank you to both of them,” said Mills.

Pedaling Possibilities is collecting donations to help fund the trip. Remaining money raised will be used for funding people’s ABT sessions and providing accessible equipment.

For more information about the organization, to follow their journey or to donate, visit the Pedaling Possibilities website.

Nikki Davenport and Kevin Mills at the First Steps Wellness Centre in Regina on Aug. 28, 2023. (Nicole Garn/980 CJME)