Paul Everitt passed through South Delta last week as he continued his epic cycling journey.
Everitt, 28, cycled across Canada, leaving Halifax in late April and recently finishing the 7,000-kilometre trek after making it to Victoria, on his custom four-wheeled, two-seated "bikecar."
"To do this over Canada has been great. The wildlife blows me away. I've had coyotes surround me while I've been camping. I've had a black bear say hello to me in Ontario. You don't get this anywhere else. Cycling across Europe, you don't get these encounters," said Everitt, who's originally from England.
The Optimist caught up with him last Thursday after Everitt stayed a night for free at the Coast Tsawwassen Inn.
Hotels are a nice place to "relax and have a good night's sleep," he said, noting he's spent nights in garages, gardens, a bench and even a chocolate factory in Quebec.
"I don't ever know where I'm staying."
Everitt said he was tired but excited to continue on his travels. He plans on cycling down the west coast of the United States and possibly down to Mexico but isn't sure where his final destination will be.
"I just plod on, really. I enjoy things. I'll do about 70 to 80 kilometres in a day, on average. I'll stop and see things and enjoy the sights," he said. The bike's not fast. It weighs 600 pounds. I'm not about setting a record. I don't want to rush through things."
He built the bike in his "mum's garage" and cycled it from England to Italy, passing through countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany and Switzerland.
"I completed that and didn't feel like I was finished," he said, adding he thought the end of his cross-Canada trip would be enough, but decided about a month ago to carry on into the U.S.
Originally a four-seater, the bikecar now has two seats.
People can hop on and off and "be part of the adventure," he said.
Everitt is raising money for veterans' support organizations along the way. He's supporting Help for Heroes (U.K.), Wounded Warriors (Canada) and the Wounded Warrior Project (USA).
He was inspired to do so by good friend who's an ex-paratrooper.
For more on Everitt, visit his website at http://going-solo.co.uk.
