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Weston hits the road to promote fitness

Ride the Riding campaign heads up the Sunshine Coast
Weston hits the road to promote fitness

by Kyle Wells reporter@prpeak.com West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country MP John Weston toured Powell River recently by bicycle to promote fitness and well being.

Weston made the visit on Thursday, October 13 as part of his Ride the Riding campaign, which has him cycling through his riding, one of the largest in Canada, to take in the sights, talk to his constituents and promote healthy living and exercise.

In August Weston cycled through the Sea to Sky portion, biking from West Vancouver through Squamish and on to Whistler. This time he is hitting the roads of the Sunshine Coast and bringing with him a message of fitness.

“I feel it’s both an honour and a pleasure to be promoting fitness and health,” said Weston.

Weston’s plan was to bike from Powell River down the Sunshine Coast and back to the Lower Mainland. Unfortunately, while en route, a pedal on Weston’s bike broke and he has had to postpone the rest of his ride. A spokesperson for Weston said he will finish the ride in the future.

As part of Weston’s initiative he is also talking about accessibility issues and used his appearance in Powell River to highlight the work of Powell River Mobility Opportunities Society and its recent acquisition of two TrailRider chairs for the community. These single-wheeled chairs, by way of help from two “sherpas,” allow people with mobility issues to go onto hiking trails.

Local resident Ron Como met with Weston during his visit. Como, who uses a wheelchair, was one of the first to ride in the TrailRider during a trip up to Manzanita Hut, east of Lund on the Sunshine Coast Trail. He said he enjoyed the trip immensely, one that he would never have been able to experience without the TrailRider.

“It was great. It was a beautiful day. [I] got to look over Savary [Island],” said Como. “It was just beautiful up there and I mean, it was an intense trail.”

“Powell River’s famous for actively, dynamically embracing people with disabilities,” said Weston, “and helping them to realize their disabilities are opportunities of a different kind.”

The importance of fitness is part of Weston’s mandate. He is one of the organizers of the Parliamentary Fitness Initiative, which promotes exercise and fitness among MPs and senators as a way to improve health and lead by example. He also successfully lobbied the House of Commons to install a covered area for MPs to park bicycles.