Daniel Cloutier's rollerblade trek across Canada for Cancer

I just want to quickly say thanks to everyone that followed me across Canada on my everyday blog and for all the great and positive comments! I have to say that this trek wouldn’t have been so successfull without you guys!

Also, the money results are going to come in a few weeks just because we’re still getting donations from a lot of people. And hey that’s awesome! I didn’t think that even after the trek people would be donating! Wooo! If you still want to make a donation, don’t hesitate! We’re still fully accepting donations, www.dontstopbelieving.ca.

I hope that everyones summer is going just great and that this long weekend will be filled with fun and sun! I’m not going to lie, I sort of miss writing in the blog everyday…Haha.

Take care everyone and like I said before, tune in soon to see the results!

Unreal…A project that we started planning almost a year ago has come and gone. I never thought this day would come so quickly considering the task at hand. Usually when you enjoy something, time seems to go by that much faster. Well this project was certainly the case since I can honestly say that I’ve enjoyed myself through these past 3 months and I don’t regret anything. This trek across Canada wouldn’t of been the same if I was alone for these 3 months. I’ll start with Chantal Courcelles, my girlfriend. She took 3 months out of her life to support me with one of my dreams. She was my press secretary (as my dad would say) and the behind the scenes person. No words can explain how much that means to me. My friend Eric Foidart, Donald Courcelles and my dad each took a month from their busy lives to drive the truck and trailer across our beautiful country. I’m still so impressed of how all of them would spend 4 hours a day in the truck at 25 km an hour and didn’t complain once. I also have to thank my family, who even though this trek gave them a few more grey hairs, also found time to help me out with whatever I needed. There’s also Chantal’s family who was so kind to offer there time, energy and experience to this trek. Everyone that helped out at the social, barbecue, car wash and all the other events were a huge factor in the success of the trek. I cannot go without thanking my guardian angels who guided and protected us along the way. They were part of my motivation to keep on trekking everyday. This also wouldn’t of been possible without all of my sponsors that kindly supplied me with the equipement or funds to be able to live for 3 months on the road. I’ll start with the whole team at GNR Camping World. I mean they have a tremendous team that really kick started this trek by providing us with a 22 foot trailer for 3 months. I have to also mention Murray Chevrolet that provided us with a great truck for 3 months. All the Certigard franchisee’s in Winnipeg and Calgary as well as the Winnipeg West Investors Group office that provided us with money to live and donations. I have plenty more sponsors like Rollerblade who provided the skates, wheels, bearings and clothing for the whole trek, Nutrition Plus who provided vitamins and supplements. And the list goes on and on. I could probably spend a full day thanking all the people who were involved, one way or another, for their contribution to this project. You know what this project is all about? It’s about people getting together with a common goal. And, when people get together with a common goal, the possibilities are endless. This is one of the sentences I used to describe my goal for this trek right from the beginning, last august. Ladies and gentleman, with everyone’s help and support throughout the trek, we’ve really created something amazing. And I have to thank you for that. I think that with all of this behind us now, we can ALL look back and say that in 2010, we did our best to make this world a better place. Everyone should be so proud of themselves! Haha. Before I start explaining the last day of my journey, I just want to say that dreams do come true because I had one of my dreams come true today. Don’t ever think for a second that something is not possible because EVERYTHING can be achieved.

The last day was just awesome. I had chills going through my body all day, right from the time I woke up. I really didn’t want to think that this was the last day because I would of probably shed a tear or two before even starting to skate. I was so pumped that I wasn’t alone on the highway to finish it off because it would of been very different. The company on the road created such a good energy that it made it easier to say that it was the last day. The Halifax Police escorted us through Dartmouth and Halifax which was a really great help. I mean without them, it would of made it that much harder to cross the city especially over the big McDonald bridge. My family was leading us in a car until around 15 km from the finish, where they sped off to the Black Rock beach in the Point Pleasure Park in Halifax to get the finish line ready (along with Chantal’s family) for us to cross. The big man up there was with us because he gave us a beautiful sunny day…it was just perfect. Really all it was, was a few kilometers slitting us from the ocean. Just that thought was so powerful! Haha. Around 5 km before the finish line, I asked Chantal to strap on the blades and skate with us till the end because we all know how much she has sacrificed for this trek and how much work she put into this project. She gladly accepted so it was Chantal, my dad, Yannick and myself skating to the finish line. As we neared the entrance to the park, we skated on Tower street, a street that has the biggest houses in Halifax. They were gorgeous houses let me tell you. There was a dead end at the end of the road where you could either turn left or right. If I turned right, the trek would go on for a few more months and if I turned left, there was a downhill that led to the finish line. I gladly chose the left turn and we all skated to victory. Both our families were there waiting for us. As we turned the corner and appeared on the road, horns, noise makers and most importantly yelling and cheering broke out in the park. As we all crossed the finish line, well let’s just say it all poored out. Unbelievable! We have done it! It’s funny, the last day I kept on asking my dad “are we there yet?”. Haha. And finally, we were there. Haha. Not one second after skating through the finish line, the tears started to flow. When you put the events of the past year, such as the planning, the skating, the fundraising and all the hard work and you cross the finish line to end it all…I can’t even describe it. It’s an amazing feeling!

To celebrate, we had a feast for supper. We rented one of the meeting rooms at the hotel and it turns out it was the best thing we could of done. The staff at the Delta Halifax treated us so good. The service was amazing, the food was exceptional and they even made a slide show of pictures of the trek and our sponsors on the television in the meeting room. Thank you Delta Halifax for ending this trek on such a good note.

For your information, I will be posting another blog indicating the total amount of donations. And for those who are wondering, we will be accepting donations for the next few weeks. Speaking of donations, I want to thank everyone who donated to this worthy cause! Know that you did make a difference!

Well I guess it’s time for me to sign off. I hope that I was able to brighten everyones day with this blog. I think I’m really going to miss writing. Haha. It’s now part of my everyday routine! Haha. Thank you everyone! You really made this trek a success and I’m so greatful. Just remember, when everyone get’s together, the possibilities are endless! I wish you all the best in the future and one last thing…DON’T EVER STOP BELIEVING! WOOOO! LOVE YOU ALL!

Well this is the second last blog! Yup, I’m going to miss this, I’m not going to lie. When I go back home on monday, at the end of the day I’ll be looking to write my blog. Haha. But like everything else in this world, all good things has to come to an end right? I totally agree with that quote to some point. This trek has been amazing right from the start on May 1st in Vancouver and it’s coming to an end tomorrow at around 1 in the afternoon. However, in my opinion, the good of this trek doesn’t have to be done tomorrow. I guess what I’m saying is that anyone who followed me across Canada or help in this project might of learned something positive in this world that could have a positive ripple effect in the future. I don’t know if that makes sense but the whole point of this trek was to give hope, awareness and hopefully some positive ripple effect throughout the world. Today we had one of our last interviews with Radio-Canada television (which will play at 6 in Winnipeg tomorrow and 8 in Halifax). I’m one that doesn’t like to watch the news and hear about all these negatives things that are happening in today’s world. I hope that everyone enjoyed the little bit of positive news that this trek created in these last 3 months. On that note, I think I’m going to leave the emotional stuff for tomorrow’s blog since it’ll be the last one. I’ll just talk a little bit about our day. My dad, Yannick and I skated for 50 km which is a very good day for all three of us. We all knew it was going to be a great day because in the first 5 km of the day, we all spotted an eagle hovering over us way up in the sky. I can honestly say that it was one of the biggest eagles I’ve seen since the start of the trek. It was beautiful outside with a very hot sun blazing on us. We also had a little wind in the back of us which really helped things. Haha. The scenary was just unbelievable! There were huge fields that were as green as can be. You know the screensaver for Windows XP that has a field background? Well let’s just say we saw a lot of potential Windows XP screensavers today. Haha. I have to say, it’s really sinking in that I’ve crossed the country and that I’ll be back home in a few days. It’s going to be real emotional for everyone in both our families tomorrow. I can tell you in advance that it’ll make a great blog. Haha. So I hope tomorrow everyone joins in to celebrate the end of a great project! Wooo! Take care everyone and hope everyone has a great weekend! (I sure will! )

I hope everyone won’t be too disappointed but tonight is the third last blog of the trek! Haha. Can you believe it! We are currently in Hilden, a little town around 85 km from Halifax. It’s a very small town although you can find anything you need here. The main street here is about 300 meters but there’s a Tim Hortons, Esso, Pharmacie, car repair shop and more. The trek to Hilden was a little tougher than other days. When we woke up, it was pouring rain outside. So, we took a little more time to get ready to skate. Ok fine, we were maybe stalling a little bit but hey who wouldn’t right? Haha. It was crazy though, when I first stepped outside to go in the truck to leave, the rain stopped out of nowhere! It didn’t just stop for a few seconds, it stopped for the whole day till we got to the next campground. That’s just the great luck that we had during this whole trek. Although it stopped raining while we skated, it was still pretty hard. The wind was right in our face and it seemed like we were going uphill most of the day. Even if we did go downhill, we had to work to go down so it didn’t feel like we were going downhill. All three of us found a way to keep ourselves motivated to keep going. I think we found a way to sort of beat the wind by creating a portal. The first person in line would skate against the wind which created a break in the wind for the 2 other people. We would obviously rotate who would go in the front every few minutes. I won’t lie, we did kind of look like we were in the speed skating long track olympic team. It was great! Guess what! My sister, my little niece and Chantal’s sister are flying out to Halifax tomorrow! Which means that both families will be united for the grand finale on Saturday! Wooo! The only thing we found out is that there are many events going on on Saturday in Halifax, such as the Gay Pride and the Tall Ships Festival. Not only that, but the parade is following almost the exact route that we were going to take to the finish line in the Point Pleasant Park. Maybe we should just try to blend in the parade? No no, just jokes. Haha. I guess we’ll wait and see, we’re still working on getting police escorts through the city. Well, 2 days left! If you haven’t already, please donate to this worthy cause! Anyways, I need to hit the hay to get a few hours of sleep! TGIF tomorrow! Everyone must be pretty pumped right?

Another great day on the road, another great day in the books. Now we’re officially 150 km from Halifax which means the deadline of July 24^th arrival will be met. It seems like everyday that goes by, there is more and more problems with our bodies. Haha. But in the end, it’s all done in 3 DAYS so really I think we can suck it up for the last few km. It was nice and sunny for our skate today with a nice little breeze in the back of us. Going up and down every hill meant we were that much closer to the finish line. It’s really just a matter of time! I’m so lucky to have Yannick and my dad as partners in crime on the road for the last week. It’s going to be an experience of a lifetime and I will never for get it. Speaking of a moment I’ll never forget…Now I really don’t like complaining about anything and especially describe a really bad moment but I think this one is worth mentioning. During these past 2 and half months, I really didn’t have any real bad experiences before this one. Let’s just say, this situation puts everything that was hard to handle during the trek to shame. Ok, I’ll explain what happened. It all started at the end of the day when we decided to pack it in. We decided to go to the closest campground in the area called ELM RIVER RV PARK. We stopped at the office to register. I quickly said hello as I was passing by the owner and she replied with a cold hello. Well that was a real big sign of things to come. As I entered in the office, the lady at the desk greeted me with kindness and respect. I quickly started to explain my situation and how I’m rollerblading across Canada to raise money for cancer research. She replied with honesty that she didn’t have the authority to let me stay for a free night so she went in the back and got the owner that I had passed while walking in the office. She came out to the desk right away and I again just explained what I was doing and I asked her if we could stay for a free night as part of a donation to the cause. She looked at me with a real cold face as if I stole something. She started asking me a few question to clarify exactly what I wanted which I explained in return in more details. Next she says ‘’well I’ll go ask my husband in the back’’ and as she was walking in the back she said it probably won’t happen. She came back a few seconds later to tell me that her husband didn’t approve of the project and she was sort of debating to let us stay at her campground. We started discussing about a few things which I thought was just small talk between two people. Turns out, we really weren’t on the same page. She was trying to convince me to drive to Halifax, since we’re only an hour and a half away to camp for the night. I tried to explain that it doesn’t really work that way. She kept on saying that there’s other campgrounds around the area and that she didn’t believe in my project at all. Next thing you know, the husband jumps out of the back  and starts yelling at me as if I really stole something. He started by yelling that he doesn’t care about the project, that he doesn’t believe in cancer research and that I better get my butt off his property right away. As he was saying all that, I couldn’t believe this was happening. At the same time as he was bashing our project and cancer research, he was playing with a Swiss army knife in his right hand…Opening it and closing it…I really felt threatened. Unfortunately, he pushed my last button and I said a few words to him that pushed his last buttons and he basically chased me out of the building. At that point, my dad heard the yelling inside the office and he was on his way to see what was happening. I stormed out of the office and went straight for the car. The husband came out, got into his car, and yelled at us to get our butts of his property or else… (He used many vulgar words that I won’t repeat) He followed us right off his property and it was history. Can you believe that? The funny thing is that there was a campground a few km away which we headed to because we really didn’t have a choice. As we arrived to the second campground called Hidden Hilltop Family Campground, I went into the office and tried to explain our experience with the last campground and the owner of this place stopped me right there. She then told me that the owner of the previous campground had called them to warn them  that “crazy campers”  were on their way. Unreal! Turns out we had the last laugh because this second campground was really nice. At the first campground, I had also offered to pay for the camping and they even rejected us from staying at their place because of what we were doing…After all of this, I really felt hurt because these owners were threatening me as well as insulting not only my project but what it stands for. On a positive note, our day ended up great because the Hidden Hilltop Family Campground treated us with respect and made us feel welcome.  At the end of it all, we had a fun evening since my parents, my sister and my cousin ended up camping with us. We had a nice family supper and roasted marshmallows on the fire. Well, that’s it for tonight! Talk to you tomorrow everyone!

I was so glad to have some company on the road today. It was great except it was a little weird at first. For example, at some points, I was leading the pack and my dad or Yannick would pass me and they would scare me. I’m not used to having someone passing me! Haha. It was a great day though because we crossed through another province! The last province, might I add!. That means 7 provinces down and 1 to go! Wooo! The Novia Scotia border was quite enjoyable because it had the best welcome sign up to now. The road to Amherst went by so quick because it’s more of a pleasure skate than anything. I have people to chat and laugh with. I think we all had fun together on the road which is only the start of the next 4 days to come. We had the pleasure to come back to my aunts house to sleep and to enjoy another amazing supper all together. After tonight, we’re on our own and back into campgrounds. After we were done rollerblading, we had to quickly go back to Moncton for an interview with the local paper. They helped us by taking a picture to put it in the newspaper tomorrow morning. After that, we got another great tour from my dad because he used to live here during his childhood. Since it was his first time back in Moncton and we don’t know when we will be back here next, it was eminent that we get a tour. My dad took us to his old high school, house, playgrounds and more. I still can’t believe we’re nearing the end already! Wow! I’m telling you, today was a really special day. Just to be rollerblading up and down hills with my dad and Yannick was an incredible experience. I hope they feel the same way! Well actually, let’s make this interesting! Let’s hear their thoughts.

Daniel

It was unbelievable (sorry about the pun). Finally, after all the failed attempts this morning….we drove to the spot where we were to start. I had a lump in my throat and was nervous. I was afraid I wouldn’t keep up to the ”youngins”. But, it so happened that when I would get into a tuck at the top of the hill and would jet down, I had the fastest skates (woo hoo) so I would creep up on Daniel or Yannick and scare them as I was buzzing by. Turns out I was waiting for them but only in the downhills because they’re in shape and I have a shape. That is a great Fern moment. (Fern is our sports mentor, 75 years old and he’s still dancing circles around us on the hockey rink). We had such a great day and I had so much fun. Don and Chantal needed reviving after I scared everyone with my slaloming down the hills to slow down, but the truth is I can’t stop. I am so happy to have shared a day with Daniel and Yannick. Having both families together at night chez Louise (my sister), having Monique and Melanie as lead car, well this is all too much…..and that’s all I have to say about that.

Alain

I feel extremely lucky to have the chance to join my cousin Bidou (Daniel’s famous nickname) for the remainder of his remarkable trek, along with his family. Thank you for letting me be part of this amazing adventure!  Having lost my best friend and father to cancer while studying in Ottawa at the age of 52, I always carried a certain load of guilt on my shoulders as I didn’t get the chance to spend much time with him during his devastating disease.  For the time I did spend with him, I witnessed how horrible cancer really is and I have yet seen a person suffer as much as my father did.  Earlier this summer, I ran the half marathon, dedicating the race entirely to my father.  Today, while rollerblading and witnessing the beautiful countryside in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, I felt a certain relief and a liberation of the guilt I’ve been carrying for the past 3 years. The skate beside my courageous cousin Dan and his great father Alain reminded me of how special my relationship was with my father.  It brought back so many good memories.  I also thought about my mom, my brother, and how lucky I am to be surrounded by so many wonderful and loving people in my life.  What a wonderful day it was, one I will never forget.  Furthermore, I have to point out that we were treated by kings and queens at Kurt and Louise’s house. Thank you sincerely for the outstanding Acadian hospitality and the AMAZING meals from the chefs (Emilie, Louise, Gemma and Kurt). You were wonderful hosts!!!  I look forward to the rest of the trip and sharing this special week with such great company.

Yannick

I had around 45 km to go till I officially arrived in Moncton but it really didn’t matter how much I had to do. I knew that once I got to Moncton, my sister (who passed me on the highway on her way to Moncton) was waiting for me at the exit 454. How much more motivation could I get, really? Haha. The blading went by like a breeze and when I saw my sister parked on the side of the road around 2 km away, I was so happy. I haven’t seen my family in 2 months now so it made it pretty special. Not only was my sister there, my parents were flying in from Winnipeg to meet us here. On top of that, Chantal’s mom and grandparents flew into Halifax and drove to Moncton. We were all reunited at last…Except for 3 family members, my other sister Janelle, my little niece Emma and Chantal’s sister Mélissa, who are flying in on Friday. But it’s a good start! When we got to Moncton, we had to go pick up my cousin Yannick and went for little grocery shopping. It turned out great because we had to wait till 4 to pick up my parents at the airport. At the airport, my aunt and cousin on my dad’s side were meeting us there so that we would follow them to their house in Memramcook, where were staying for the next couple days. As you can see, this was a very busy day but a very great day at the same time. It all ended at my aunt’s house where we all got together for an awesome supper. I’ve never seen a table with that much food on it. It really felt like a Christmas supper! We had lobster, salmon, chicken, salads and more and more! It was so good! Tomorrow were off for the final leg of the trek onwards to Halifax. My dad, Yannick and myself are off to finish this project together and I couldn’t ask for a better way to finish. It’s been such a great experience since the start and it’s only getting better from now! I’m sure I’ll have lots and lots of great stories for tomorrow. Goodnight everyone!

One day away means a few things…Tomorrow will be the last day rollerblading by myself on the highway…both Chantal’s and my family are joining us tomorrow…my cousin is already in Moncton to join us tomorrow…and the list goes on. How could I not have a great time on the road today! It was wonderful! My thoughts just took me away all day which made the km go by so quickly. It felt like I had put my brain on cruise control. Haha. I was thinking about all sorts of things but the main one was the finish line waiting for all of us in Halifax, around 3 hours by car or 6 days on rollerblades. Haha. When I was thinking of this exact thought, crossing the finish line with everyone that made this trek possible, I had shivers all over my body. I’m telling you, ending this trek almost feels like I’m retiring from something. Basically a full year of planning, 3 months on the road and a lot of success to show for, it really feels like it’s coming to an end. It really puts life in a different perspective at the end of the day. Since we’ve all shown that a project of this magnitude is possible, then that leaves us with one question…Is there anything that’s not possible? After all of this, I sure believe there isn’t anything that’s not possible. Anyways, back to our awesome day. The rollerblading went as planned and the sun didn’t come out to it’s full potential. It was a little cooler than the last couple days. Even a few clouds decided to jump in to give me a few seconds of shade. As we went further and further from Fredericton and closer to Moncton, we soon realized that there isn’t much in the area. By that I mean gas stations, stores, houses and most importantly CAMPGROUNDS. Haha. The only option we had was to drive forward to a campground on the outskirts of Moncton.  So, that’s what we ended up doing. The campground is called Camper’s City/RV Resort and they treated us again like royalty. Alice, the employee that helped me, gave us a free night. I got to chat a little bit with her and she is just a deep down great person. One of the most memorable souvenirs of this trek is meeting all these great people in our great country. Thank you Alice!  We also met a great guy from Maine called Farmer Dave, who gave us a donation as we entered the campground. Now for tomorrow, we’ll drive back to the point where I stopped and then it’s going to be a smooth ride into Moncton. Right before suppertime we’re all meeting together at my aunts house in Memramcook. Can’t wait to see my aunt, Kurt, and the whole family! It’s going to be a blast! I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow! Have a great day!

Today was a record day for the amount of honks and thumbs up out car windows. It was unreal, it seemed like every second car honked or waved while passing by. Ok… I’ll tell you the truth. Global news met us on the highway for a quick interview…Maybe that’s why they were honking. Haha. But no word of a lie, the positive encouragement continued throughout the day. It was not only a great positive day but it was also a very hot one. I think with the humidex it was over 35 degrees. A very good thing I have SPF 50 sunscreen! And thank god that once you pass Fredericton, the big hills seem to flatten out. I think it’s going to be a little flatter until we hit Moncton, but that’s just a guess. Speaking of the road, at one point in the day, we had to go over a pretty big bridge and at the start of it, there was a sign saying no pedestrians. We obviously couldn’t just stop there for me to hop in the car so I just continued rolling on. I put one foot onto the bridge and realized that the cement turned into some soft tar cement. Haha. Let’s just say my wheels started getting stuck on the cement so I had trouble going up that bridge. I haven’t gone that slow in a very long time! Haha. Anyways, after making a few wrong turns, we finally found the Cambridge-Narrows Campground, where they greeted us with a free night. They also had a pool, which we took advantage of. I think that pretty much sums up the day! I hope to have more reading material for tomorrow! Take care everyone and enjoy the last day of the weekend. Hey, tomorrow will be the start of the last week of my blog! That’s insane!

Today was cloudy, which made it a cooler day to skate. The wind wasn’t predominantly against me nor with me. All in all, it was a regular skating day. Great news though! The media in Fredericton was really responsive! As we arrived in the city, the main newspaper, The Daily Gleaner and 92,3 Fred FM did interviews with us. On top of that, tomorrow morning, Global News will feature our story and cause. Speaking of Fredericton, I didn’t expect it to look the way it does. Haha. I thought that just like any other big enough city, once you get closer and closer, the traffic picks up and you see more buildings and businesses. Well it seems like Fredericton has a different feeling. Instead of having the image of a big, busy and crowded city, you get the feeling of a small little town. It’s kinda nice because before Fredericton, I can’t recall any other city this big having this feel to it. While we were just on the outskirts of town, I saw the first sign that said Moncton in 173 km. Right there and then, it hit me. Haha. It finally went through my head that Moncton, yup Moncton, is in 3 days. Wow, what a feeling! Every night, I call my parents and we always chit chat on how the finish line is approaching very fast and everything. Well in three days, I won’t only see them but I’ll be able to skate with my dad at last! We’re both so excited because we haven’t had our skate together yet which is long over due. Not only that but I got confirmation that my cousin, Yannick, is coming down to Moncton to skate the last leg with us! Don and Chantal will probably join me on the highway also which I can only come to one conclusion. What a great way to finish isn’t it!! Haha. Anyways, I have to mention that we’re not staying at a campground tonight. One of Don’s friends that works for Investors Group in Fredericton, Ian Wilson, offered us his house for the night. I have to send out a big thanks to the Wilson family for letting us stay at their place! Should be a great day tomorrow, I’m looking forward to it so bad! Oh and I almost forgot to mention, one of my friends back home just told me that one of her family members is now cancer free! WOOO! I love hearing such positive endings! I wish them all the best in the future! I’m going to end it on that note for tonight, goodnight everyone!