A Burlington man will be biking from his childhood home in Milton to Owen Sound for a second time in support of ALS awareness and research.
Jeff Burnett lost his father to ALS on July 1st, 2020, and he decided to do a one-day charity bike ride from Milton, where he grew up, to his father Frank's resting place in Leith, Ontario, off the shores of Georgian Bay on the eastern shore of Owen Sound Bay.
"As with any disease, you don't expect it, you face adversity, so I hopped on a bicycle from my childhood home in Milton, and I rode up on the route we used to take as children going to Owen Sound. I have family there, and I streamed it live on Facebook, and did it in a day, which was great."
Jeff live-streamed the entire ride on Facebook and will be doing the same as he does the ride again this year on June 25th. Jeff is inviting people to watch his journey on Facebook Live and Instagram.
"Since my dad was diagnosed, I started to document his progression, and put a pretty raw and disgusting light on how the disease affected him and others. So both Instagram and Facebook, people can follow along and it's just my name, @JeffBurnettLive."
He says anyone who wants to join him on their bikes along the way is more than welcome, and people can donate to support ALS research along the way, too.
"I have a dedicated website now called http://TheOneAndOnly.ca which has the links, as well, and links to the ALS Society of Canada donation page, where people can make donations and make comments anonymously or otherwise, and support the cause, for sure."
At the end of the day, Jeff is just hopeful that people will engage in the conversation around ALS, a terrible disease for which there is no cure and claims the life of everyone who is afflicted by it. Jeff will depart from Middleton Crescent in Milton next Friday, June 25th at 6 a.m.
For more on Jeff and his journey, listen to my full length interview below:
[audio mp3="https://blackburnnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/JEFF-CKNX-INTERVIEW.mp3"][/audio]
