Kingsville cyclist logs 16,000 kms

By Mark Ribble

KINGSVILLE — Kingsville’s Charlie Morgan has a passion for cycling.

The retired dentist has taken his passion to new heights during the COVID-19 crisis by cycling 16,000 kilometres since February.

Many of those kilometres were compiled in and around Essex County, as he completed the Essex County Way Centurion Challenge about 14 times between May 30 and September 30.

The Essex County Way Centurion Challenge bike route covers 100 miles in a loop around Essex County and was designed and mapped out by Tom and Sue Omstead, founders of the local Share The Road Essex County initiative. The loop connects all of the communities of Windsor-Essex together and provides a starting point at pretty much anywhere along the loop.

More than 80 per cent of the population of Windsor-Essex lives within five kms of the EC Way 100 bike route.

For Charlie Morgan, it provides a great spot to get his cycling in without the added time and stress of travel. He’s cycling until winter weather prevents him from doing so.

Charlie Morgan bikes along the Windsor riverfront recently. The Kingsville cyclist has biked over 16,000 kms since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As long as the weather behaves, I’ll be out there, but not near the distance I’ve been cycling.”

To put 16,000 in perspective, that’s equivalent to almost twice the width of Canada itself, which is roughly 9,000 kms wide. The Great Trail of Canada stretches from Vancouver to Newfoundland, winding through every province and covers 27,000 kms from coast to coast.

Morgan belongs to a local cycling group called The Banded Goose Cycling Club, which has about 25 members and is sponsored by The Banded Goose Brewery. The club consists of recreational riders and more competitive riders, such as Morgan. They cycle twice a week in organized fashion and Morgan gets out on a regular basis.

Banded Goose owner Trevor Loop actually created a beer in honour of the cycling group, calling it Spoke 8.4 Amber Lager. The Spoke 8.4 refers to the 8.4 kilometres distance between Leamington’s Sherk Centre and the town of Kingsville — a popular route for local cycling enthusiasts.

CHARLIE MORGAN

With the 16,000 under his belt, Charlie Morgan has no intention of stopping, even if COVID has taken a bite out of his plans.

“Provided we’re free from this COVID by next spring, I have some plans to cycle overseas,” he said.

He has a 33-day bike ride planned in April 2021 where he will ride from Marrakesh, Morocco, and travel across Spain and Portugal.

Then as a chaser, he plans to follow that up with a trip across the Canadian Rockies in May.

For now, he’ll be cycling within Ontario, as the fall weather turns to winter and cycling opportunities begin to decline, but as the kilometres add up, Charlie Morgan is showing no signs of slowing down.