He has biked cross-country and across countries, and Brian Perich passed through the Energy City hoping to re-energize on his journey to the Rocky Mountains.
The 40-year-old Windsor, Ont. native has done this before on rougher terrain. What could be rougher than a Saskatchewan highway? Well, he did cycle 2,500 kilometres through Mongolia in 45 days in 2012, travelling on dusty roads. After that, the trip from Grand Rapids, Mich. to Banff should be a walk or ride in the park.
He also cycled across the Himalayas in 2011. In all, he biked 3,200 in 38 days, losing about 35 pounds of body weight in the process.
That's why Perich started adventure cycling. He moved to South Korea in 2003 and has been there ever since. He teaches English at a university and married a Korean woman a few years ago. He was back in Canada for a family reunion, and with a little bit of extra time, he decided to complete his To the Rock Tour, by travelling from southern Michigan to western Alberta.
It took 18 days for Perich to reach Estevan, after travelling into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and heading west. He crossed in Saskatchewan at North Portal and arrived in Estevan on July 30. At about 2,000 kilometres, he completes just over 100 each day. With just over 1,000 kilometres left he is hoping to reach Banff this coming Friday.
Perich is a supporter of the IDEAS Foundation of Canada, the Intestinal Disease Education and Awareness Society, which in turn, supports those with Crohn's disease.
He plans to one day move back to Canada with his wife and two children and is using this cross-country trek to reconnect with his roots and his countrymen. He is trying to rebuild a bridge to his community that has slowly degraded over the past decade.
"For me, community is important," said Perich. "I learned about what I had because I went to the Far East region and I lost it. For a quarter of my life I didn't have family connections close by, so when I run into people in Canada now, I just love this country. This country is amazing."
He said Asia has been a great experience for him, but he doesn't have that same sense of community over there.
"When I'm meeting people, I'm sparked back with life," said Perich. "This trip was much more isolating in a certain respect compared to Mongolia. Mongolia was loneliness looking at so many families. I met so many families, and they live in one little yurt."
Where we have separate rooms for kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms, the nomadic families in Mongolia don't compartmentalize themselves in the same way. He said he really notices the cultural differences that stem from that way of living. Perich suggested that in the western world, we have developed our own ways to go back to experiencing the nomadic lifestyles of our early ancestors.
"This journey here, I went to a music festival in Michigan. There were about 4,500 people, and it was awesome, because people want to return to be nomads. We want to live like that. Everybody was camping in the forest. Everyone was very relaxed. It was safe there. I think it's something we want, but we have to create it."
Because it isn't something that is quite so natural in North America, Perich said he doesn't meet as many people through his travels. Where he was regularly brought into homes in Mongolia, he only stayed in one place while travelling west, with a pair of 25-year-olds in Bemidji, Minn.
When he does get invited in to someone's place, he finds it customary to give a gift and provide some sort of exchange for people's generosity. He noticed in Mongolia an exchange of gifts, even among strangers, was customary.
"You give a gift. There should be an exchange," he said, noting that the trade deepens the connection between acquaintances.
To connect with Perich, he can be reached through his blog at Korean-world.blogspot.ca
