A Wallaceburg man is planning to bike across Canada to help end the stigma around men's mental health.
Trevor McLaughlin will start his journey in June 2027, choosing to do so during Men's Mental Health Awareness Month.
The plan is to start in Vancouver and travel around 6,800 km to Halifax. Afterward, he'll head to Ottawa and finish the trip by travelling to Windsor.
"I'll be finishing, essentially, in my home area as that's where the support has always been," explained McLaughlin.
Ending the stigma is a life goal for McLaughlin. This is due to his own struggles and the loss of two friends in a six-year span.
He believes the notion that men should just man up and deal with their problems is extremely dangerous.
According to the federal government, just under 4,400 people took their own lives in 2024. Around 75 per cent of these people were men, an average of roughly nine deaths a day.
"The stigma behind holding it in, being the rock for people... It's great to be the rock for somebody, but at the same time somebody has to be the rock for you," added McLaughlin.
This won't be his first bike trip across Canada. Back in 2013, a then-19-year-old McLaughlin biked from Vancouver to Halifax in support of Parkinson's awareness after his own grandfather was diagnosed.
He explained he's excited to get back on the road, but is taking lessons learned from his first trip. This includes getting the word out a year in advance of the actual trip to drive up awareness and find sponsors.
He's also planning to undergo extensive training to overcome tough stretches on the trip. One example is the Rocky Mountains, something he thought he could train for by cycling up and down Longwoods Road in Delaware.
"It looked like an ant hill. You're looking out at the peaks and how far up you are, and it's like that hill has nothing on this," he joked.
While the main goal of this trip is to end stigma, McLaughlin hopes people will donate to local mental health groups. He's partnered with the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation out of British Columbia.
A GoFundMe page has also been set up.
People can find more information about McLaughlin's bike trip on Facebook and Instagram.
