Jasper’s Greg Van Tighem is halfway done his latest fat bike adventure and—according to the few folks he’s met along the 500km Ice Road from the border the Northwest Territories to Fort McMurray, anyway—full on crazy.
“The first thing they say is ‘what are you doing?’ The next thing they say is ‘you’re crazy,’” Jasper’s fire chief said from his pit stop in Fort Chipewyan, three days and 228 km after he set out from Fort Smith, NT.
Fort Smith, a historically important stop on the fur trade which now boasts one of two gateways to Wood Buffalo National Park, is currently playing host to the Arctic Winter Games, so Van Tighem said the sendoff for his fundraising ride was low key. Cycling the first half of the community’s only overland connecter was pretty lonely, too, he said.
“I only saw three cars today,” he said.
He might have enjoyed the time alone, were it not for the incredibly rough route. The ice road is constructed by applying water over the muskeg of Northern Alberta. The layers are built up until the surface ice is about six inches thick. The route is then staked.
But in the spring, the ice road deteriorates and the frozen mud starts to poke through. Van Tighem said his entire body was sore from hours of riding the washboard.
“I thought ‘if this keeps on I’m not going to have any teeth left,’” he said.
After pounding out 100 kilometres or so the first day, Van Tighem’s first night was spent in a tent. On the second day, his 59 km day ended in an abandoned school house in Peace Point.
The spooky vibe was only reinforced when his host in Fort Chipewyan said the community was haunted.
“He said most people stay away,” Van Tighem said.
But then, Van Tighem isn’t most people. The former top-fundraiser for the MS Foundation has put this ride together in the name of mental health awareness. His beneficiary for this solo journey is the Sheepdog Lodge, a retreat centre for first responders and veterans dealing with post traumatic stress disorder.
When asked how his own mental health was standing up to the rough road conditions, blasting headwinds and biting cold, Van Tighem said despite the tough going, he was feeling inspired.
“I’m doing this for mental health, I have to be strong,” he said.
The unknown factor is what lies ahead. Van Tighem had reports from the few travellers he saw headed north that the road only gets muddier.
“They said ‘you have to have rubber boots,’” he laughed.
What’s also concerning Van Tighem is that the ice road could be shut down for the season. He had been endeavouring to get to Fort McMurray by Saturday, but news that the road may close by Friday had him anxious to make some miles.
“The next two days I hope are going to be closer to 100 [kilometres],” he said.
A fundraiser is scheduled at the Wood Buffalo Brewing Company on Saturday, March 24.
Donate to Van Tighem’s cause, the Sheepdog Lodge, here.
Bob Covey//bob@thejasperlocal.com
