Home At Last

After more than two-and-a-half months on the road, Sydney Bliss rolled back into her hometown last Thursday afternoon, elated that she had accomplished what she set out to do when she started her trek on July 2.

It took her 78 days to bike across seven provinces, a total of 5,500 kilometres, but 18-year-old Sydney persevered through it all and made it back to her family safely after a Canadian summer that she will never forget.

No, Sydney was not raising funds for a charity or seeking sponsorship for a cause as she traveled the country; the recent high school graduate was simply looking for a new experience, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that was beyond anything she had yet to take on.

"I've always wanted to travel and this just seemed like such a great way to see the country, much better than staring out the window of a car as you drive by," she said upon her return to Sackville on Thursday.

Sydney said she has gained a newfound sense of self-confidence from her trip but admits there were some tough moments.

"It was mentally difficult; there were times you had to have a lot of personal self-discipline to go on," she said. "I just had to keep telling myself that I could do it, that I'm strong enough."

Physically, the energetic young athlete was certainly up for the challenge.

Sydney is a talented soccer, badminton, track, and basketball player in Sackville. So although she hadn't officially trained for her cross-country trip, she said within the first two weeks of biking, she was in as good as shape as she needed to be.

Sydney flew out to Vancouver on July 2 and kicked off her trek with her father by her side. Her dad journeyed from Vancouver to Calgary with her and then she was left to fend for herself.

She biked throughout the day and set up her tent at a campground every evening. Night times were the worst, said Sydney, when strange noises could be heard or strange people camped beside her.

She admits many of her friends and family were wary when she first told them of her trip because she was a woman traveling alone.

"But if you're smart about it and take the right precautions, there's no reason you shouldn't do it."

Sydney traveled with only the bare necessities, which included a tent, sleeping bag, clothes, camp stove, food, basic camping gear, tools for her bike, as well as a spot device that her family used to keep track of her. She traveled on a tight budget of $30 per day ($10 for food and $20 for campsite).

Once a week, Sydney would take a "rest day," a day she would spend exploring whatever town she happened to be in.

"I really enjoyed the scenery in BC," she said. "I've never seen mountains before so the Rockies were great."

One of the highlights of the trip, she said, was the day she spent with her dad at Glacier National Park.

"We took a day off and we hiked up to the top. . . that was just the coolest thing ever."

Sydney's mom Diane Michaud met up with her daughter in Montreal and biked the "anchor leg" home with her, right into Sackville.

Sydney said she's definitely glad to be back home. And although she can't wait to sleep in her own bed, eat some 'real' food and enjoy a long, hot shower, she's really anticipating getting back to a normal life again.

"When you're traveling every day, you never know what's going to happen, so it'll be nice to have a stable life again."

But that normalcy won't last long. Sydney will soon be off to Tanzania, where she will be volunteering with BaseCamp International - to help in HIV/AIDS education, school improvement projects, assist in orphanages and at-risk youth centres, teach English, as well as health and hygiene programs.

Sydney, who will leave for Africa on Nov. 6, said although most of her friends have headed off to university or college this year, she wanted to take a year off to experience life in a different way.

"I needed a break from studying and school work . . . and traveling seemed such a great way to do it."