Cyclists hoping to teach us about healthy living

by Brent Cooper

Aug 01, 2007

Four chiropractors crossing Canada this summer to help residents adopt wellness-based lifestyle

A group of chiropractic students are crossing the country in hopes of educating residents about living a healthier lifestyle.

The foursome of Julie Hunter, Brynne Stainsby, Jason Porr and Ashley Collinge are all currently attending the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in Toronto. They are riding across Canada as part of the Unleash Your Potential program, an awareness campaign geared toward motivating Canadians to live healthier and happier lives by adopting a wellness-based lifestyle.

The four cyclists were in Huntsville on July 23 to speak to the media about their mission.

“We want to inspire Canadians to achieve goals that they might have otherwise thought impossible,” said Stainsby. “We decided that challenging ourselves to cycle across Canada was the perfect way to do this.”

The group’s goal is to promote the integration of physical activity, proper nutrition, and stress management into the daily lives of Canadians. The team is hoping to reach Canadians through more than 100 appearances in the media, and by hosting a series of interactive educational events across the country targetted at young people.

“With the current rise in obesity in Canadian youth, we feel that it is very important to influence them into making positive decisions regarding diet and physical activity,” said Hunter.

The tour began at Vancouver on June 13, and the cyclists will travel across Canada over 65 days and 7,000 km. They expect to reach Halifax on Aug. 15. This is the second tour for the Unleash Your Potential program. The first trip across the country was two years ago by five different chiropractic students.

Collinge said that the group is encouraging everyone to make better, healthier choices in their lives.

“We tell them they should look at increasing their exercise level, like maybe taking a walk after dinner instead of watching television. We also suggest they eat better, making sure they eat a couple of pieces of fruit a day. None of us are great athletes, but we attempt to (live healthy), so we try to show them if we can do this, Canadians can also make these small changes to their lives.”

Porr said that the tour has been a great experience for him. “We are getting decent media coverage so far and the kids are very receptive of the presentations that we have been making.”

The group travels with a van, and two members drive while the other two members ride their bicycles along their route. They camp or stay with host families along their trek, all the while spreading their message and seeing the country.

Today the group is heading to Ottawa for a few days of rest before resuming their journey toward Montreal on Friday. Several provincial chiropractic associations and various businesses sponsor the tour. For more about the tour or if you want to assist with sponsorships, you can visit the program’s website at www.unleashcanada.com, or e-mail to info@unleashcanada.com.