Blue
I am Kurtis Reid McClellan. Most of my good friends know me by a different name though—Blue.
I was born and raised in the countryside around Orangeville, Ontario, Canada. It is a beautiful place, full of rolling hills, small farms and acres of forest.
I was born on August 30th, 1975, making me twenty-four years young at the time of the trip. It also makes me the oldest of the four of us, even if it is only by a couple of months. I mean, I had to have some explanation for my poor achy joints every morning, didn't I?
I graduated from the University of Waterloo in April 1999. I had taken on a nine month contract position with Community Youth Services, which was nicely timed to end in March 2000, or about two months before the start of our trip.
Always an outdoors sort of person, largely due to helping out on my grandfather's farm next door, I've always been partial to outdoor activities. Hiking, camping, and mountain biking. I also have never been big on "technology". An odd thing for a graduate of a Math and Computer Sciences faculty to admit, but true nonetheless. I've always preferred to use an axe over a chainsaw, to walk or bike over driving and train or ship versus flying. It's just the way I am.
I'm a lover of history and love to read about far away places, different cultures and ways of life. I want to travel the world, but always felt that as I live in one of the largest countries in the world, with so many different regions, that I should explore it before looking abroad. I had had the opportunity to travel all over eastern Canada when I was on my first work term at University and had loved the experience of talking to people from Quebec and the Maritimes. Each place had it's own unique identity in the style of buildings, the history and even the mannerisms of the people. With the east done, the next challenge calling me was to "go west, young man". So I did.
Did I mention I'm also a sucker for challenges? I've never been able to take the easy way in life. In fact, my mother often jokes if I can find a way to make things harder for myself, I will.
I had always enjoyed biking as a kid. I live near a section of the Bruce Trail, and in those days bikes were not banned as they are now. I used to love biking on trails, away from the road and cars. The wind in my hair, and the challenge of having to pay attention to terrain ahead of you.
When I first read about the creation of a trail spanning the country, I knew that I had found the means by which I would travel. It was outdoors. It had a history. It required the use of a means other than motorized vehicle to travel. And it started in the West. It was perfect. All I had to do now was find some other people as crazy as I was who would do this with me.
I knew I wanted to do this as early as 1997, but could not sell the idea to anyone I approached at first. In the end, selling the idea turned out to be a matter of talking about my hopes at the right time to the right audience. Fate is a wonderful thing.
Wendy had wanted to do a trip across Canada for some time, as too had Shayne. Sitting on the 3rd floor of the Math building at the University of Waterloo, and an idle conversation turned into a group vision.
And thus it was that I had the group together and we began to plan our expedition.
The biggest disappointment for me of the trip was that, in the end, we were not able to take the Trans Canada Trail. I had looked forward to that as being the highlight of the trip. However, I can say that many of my other goals were met. I learned a great deal about myself and my attitude towards life by comparison to others. I discovered what kind of physical, and more importantly, mental determination was required on a trip like this. I achieved my goal of seeing all of the western cities in Canada and gaining a small understanding and appreciation of the different cultures across Canada. I was able to witness some breathtaking scenery and escape the pull of everyday life, if only for a while. And I did something that I will remember for a lifetime. Oh yeah... and I actually lost some weight and got a tan! Woo hoo!