Jasper fire chief Greg Van Tigham wants to end Multiple Sclerosis, and he's going to great lengths to do so. He's riding from end to end on a fatbike on Highway 16, and made a stop in Yorkton on his journey from Masset Haida Gwaii to Winnipeg.
The trip to Yorkton was a difficult one, as there was a headwind for the trip from Foam Lake and Van Tigham says he was averaging a much lower speed than usual.
This is the second trip Van Tigham has made, last year going the length of Highway 93 to Wickenburg, Arizona. While this year's trip is shorter, it's also more difficult, because Van Tigham has switched to a fatbike, which is much heavier than the road bike used before, weighing in at close to 100 lbs.
"I purposely picked this time of year and using the fatbike because I was trying to do this at a time when nobody else has been doing something like this. My main mission is to raise awareness and funds for the MS society, and I thought that by doing it in the winter and on a fatbike it would raise more awareness just by being the only one on the road. When people see me on the road, most of them think I'm crazy, but it turns into a discussion and sometimes a donation."
The goal was not simply to bike from end to end, but to make it the most difficult bike journey he could. He explains that the choices he made, with a hard to use bike during cold weather, were inspired by people who had MS who visited his website.
"They made comments through my journey and on my trip about things that happened to me, there were similarities between my experience on my bike trip and their daily life with MS. I developed in my hands, and I'm developing it again, losing feeling in my fingers, obviously fatigue, a lot of joint pain, a lot of similar conditions to people with MS. So this time I decided to maximize the difficulty level."
The larger bike was also chosen for safety reasons, as he can now drive off the road with much less danger. He says that the first time around he was blown off the road by a semi truck, and this time he can go off the road and keep moving.
Van Tigham has been raising money for eight years ever since getting involved in the MS bike tour with his department. He says that with knowing people with MS, including good friends who are now in a wheelchair, he thought it was important to get involved, and since then he's made working with the MS society an increasing priority in his life.
"All my spare time revolves around either volunteering or raising money for the MS society," Van Tigham says.
He says that given how little is known about the disease it's often frustrating, especially as he sees people try theoretical cures and wind up in the same condition as they were before. He's glad that the Canadian MS society does heavy research before recommending a treatment, and says he wants the money he raises each year to be used responsibly towards finding a cure.
Last year over the year Van Tigham raised $96,488 total for the MS society, with about $6,500 coming from his first bike trip. He hopes to raise more this year, and this will be the first part of a year-long fundraising effort.
"This will hopefully be a big start, I'm hoping a lot of people pay attention."
Those interested in supporting Van Tigham can visit endms93.com.
