SAD no more 2010 Canadian Tour: After Mile ZERO, the next day's in DILDO

If the George House - Inn by the Bay wasn't made precisely for the SAD no more Tour. (no edits on this picture - this is really the colors in the setting sun!)

POST SNM Tour Day 1

really?? .........well what would you call it??

After a celebratory evening out with Marc, Colette and our wonderful hosts Monique and Dave, life got back to normal - if you call "normal" doing a presentation and driving to the next town. There will be no real normal for another few weeks, the time it will take to drive back to Calgary. And even then, my guess is that our lives will be far from normal (stay tuned, this sentence will make a lot more sense very soon). Having said all that, I am looking forward to the next few weeks which should allow some introspection and distillation of the last few months that we have passed through.

We said very early morning goodbyes to Colette and Marc who flew back to Winnipeg, via Ottawa to get in a quick visit with their son Patrick. As I have said repeatedly, they were such a great help and such a steady, calm presence to have on this tour. We wish we could have provided them with better weather but I think they got a great taste of Newfoundland - the vast and varied geography and the great people. We will miss them greatly on the drive back, thanks so much to both of them for being a part of this tour - particularly during the culmination of the running/cycling leg.

We also left the beautiful new home of Monique and Dave and must thank them greatly for their generosity and welcoming spirit. They had hosted another Cross Canada tour earlier in the summer - Wayne Stremel, a Canada Post employee who cycled across the country raising funds for the Canada Post Foundation who is committed to mental illness initiatives and is a main sponsor of the MIAW campaign. Dave and Monique have direct connections with Canada Post and this was a very special tour for them to support. So their home in Newfoundland has now been listed as "THE Canadian Tour Stop Destination" and they live up to the billing. It was interesting listening to Marc, Monique and Monique trying to make all the connections between friends and families living in Ste Agathe and surrounding areas. You can move to Newfoundland, have a sister in Australia etc etc - but connect the dots and is still this is a very very small world sometimes!! Thanks Dave and Monique for your openness, kindness, genuine interest and support of the tour.

The presentation today in St John's was at the Health Science Centre which is on the Memorial University Campus Complex. It was a very good turn out and we had a lot of time for open discussion about a number of topics including mental illness stigma and difficulties accessing mental health services. During the talk I caught myself having to change from the present to the past tense, ie I am no longer running and cycling across the country, I HAVE ran and cycled across the country. So I now need to revamp all my presentations with this in mind. I probably will now incorporate some of the photographs taken on the tour as well as add some more stories and anecdotes. This should probably extend the running time (pardon the pun) of the presentation an hour or so (to all the venues which are waiting for me to arrive to speak - JUST KIDDING - there will be no presentation longer than 4 hours, you have my word on this)

The issue of the "success" of the tour was brought up today. Initially my own board, as well as some of the sponsors demanded that I define what success of the tour would look like. I have a very well thought out and detailed answer to this very question but maybe one member of today's audience got it right. I hope I am quoting him correctly when he said - "Even if you touch only one person and because of this it saves their life, then your tour is a success". I may never know if this has happened already or will happen in the future. Mental illness can be challenged and recovery is possible - I stand as living proof of this. If this tour, or my own story has even planted a tiny seed that may someday grow to give someone the courage to seek help or the inspiration to make small positive changes to their life or the will to live another day - then all the efforts of the past months will have been more than worth it.

There are so many people to thank at this point in time. I'll acknowledge people over the next few days in this blog.

Monique deserves so much credit for how smoothly things went and will continue to go. If I am the dreamer, she's the CEO, CFO and Manager of all the rest. She has taken these many roles on unselfishly and with a dedication and competence that is unmatched. None of this would have happened without her skills and unwavering committment to the mission of this tour. I owe her everything and I love her dearly. Living in such close quarters as an RV for months (and not being retired or on vacation) is a challenge to any couple. I can say that through it all we've only learnt a little more about each other and have a deeper love for each other.

I must thank Gabrielle and Eric so much for their understanding, support and hours and hours of hands on help. How many frustrating moments we all spent trying to figure out web / IT / cell phone/ social media things. How many times they patiently gave opinions on graphics ideas, mission statements, logistical dilemmas etc. They have both become intelligent, responsible adults and we were able to depend on them as peers/colleagues in many of the critical decisions. Monique and I are very proud of their involvement in this tour and in our lives. I am grateful for their acceptance of my "coming out of the mental illness closet" and becoming a public figure in this regard. They are great kids! Thanks also to their significant others Jen and James who have been so supportive and helpful.