AMHERST, N.S. - Julien Arsenault doesn’t consider himself old and he’s out to prove it.
The 83-year-old Gaspesie, Que. resident is in the midst of a bicycle excursion from hometown in Quebec’s Gaspe Peninsula to Halifax and back. It’s more than 720-kilometers, so by the time he finishes sometime in early September he will have biked more than 1,400 kilometres.
That’s a lot of time on the road for someone who at his age could be excused if he were firmly ensconced on his recliner, remote in hand, watching television.
“I’m doing this to prove to others that people my age can be active,” said the retired construction worker, who up until a couple of years ago was still working in places like Fort McMurray and Calgary. “I’ll soon by 84, but I don’t feel like it.”
Arsenault, who keeps in regular contact with his wife to let her know he’s still alive and kicking, arrived in Halifax several days ago after setting out from Gaspesie on Aug. 16. Now, he’s on his way back.
“I belong to an association of older people, some are 70, or 65, or older and they have this believe that once you hit a certain age, like 80, you’re too old,” he said. “I want to show that it doesn’t matter how old you are, you can still be active. Forget about your age, just go out and do it.”
With no support team, Arsenault has spent many lonely hours on the bike, sticking mostly to the Trans Canada or other major highways. He has averaged about 100 kilometres a day on the bike and has stayed where ever he can find lodging. Sometimes it’s in a shelter or sometimes in a warm bed in someone’s home thanks to the generosity of strangers.
Earlier this week, he passed into Amherst and was driving by Crossroads Community Church when he noticed vehicles in the parking lot. He stopped in to say hello and was asked to speak to a church meeting.
Afterwards, he was invited to spend the night with Gary Boudreau.
“It’s amazing what he’s doing,” Boudreau said. “He’s all by himself out there on the road, but he seems at peace with what he’s doing and he has a message in that you can be active no matter how old you are. It’s a message more of us need to pay attention to.”
Arsenault said he broke his trip up into little pieces to make it more manageable, setting goals of getting to Campbellton, N.B. from Gaspesie, then to Bathurst, Miramichi, Moncton, Truro and Halifax.
Now that on his way home, he’s taking a more leisurely pace.
“It’s really made me realize how beautiful an area we live in,” he said. “And the people are so friendly.”
He doesn’t feel he has done anything special.
Twitter: @ADNdarrell