FAITH is Like Riding a Bicycle!

Chris Robertson Fort Saskatchewan, AB September 13, 2016

My American friends describe me as a cross between JFK and Paul Revere, with a story that takes place in an Indiana Jones setting, with a true touched by an angel ending. I like to think of my message as a "God's love story for Canada." In October 1995, the Province of Quebec narrowly voted to keep Quebec (1/4 of the population of the country) in Canada by a margin of less than one percent... Imagine the entire Southwest of the United States suddenly leaving the country. This is what it would be like for Quebec to leave Canada. On the Friday before the Quebec Referendum, my nine-year-old son James and I attended the largest rally in Canadian history in Montreal. This rally and all in attendance saved Canada from breaking apart. I decided at this point I would do everything in my power to make Canada stronger so my son James would inherit a united Canada in the 21st Century when he became an adult. Chris Robertson is seen here cycling high in the Canadian Arctic in 80 degree below zero wind chill during the To The Top Canada Expedition. Chris is the only person in history to travel from the bottom of mainland Canada 6,520 kilometres to the top!

I saw the key to keeping Canada united was to strategically make the country stronger and to take our nation to the top of its potential. To do this I wanted every Canadian to answer just one question: "What will you do to make Canada a better country than when you found it?" To create this movement for continuous improvement in our nation I had to do something dramatic to get Canadians' attention. I decided I would head out on what I called the TO THE TOP CANADA Expedition and become the first person in history to travel from the bottom of mainland Canada 6,520 kilometres to the top under his own power or by any means of transportation over land. I decided I would cycle from Canada's most southern mainland point of Point Pelee (a point farther south in latitude than California's northern border) to Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic Ocean. To arrive at Tuktoyaktuk I would have to even cycle over the Arctic Ocean as roads in Canada only go as far north as Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. Some people thought the real courage of this commitment to Canada is when I cashed in all my retirement savings from the bank to fund the To The Top Canada Expedition.

On March 1, 1997 the national media watched as the To The Top Canada Expedition began at Point Pelee, Canada's most southern mainland point. Enroute to the top in different cities there were 51 Canada Rallies where I challenged every Canadian to embrace the question: "What will you do to make Canada a better country than when you found it?" During the To The Top Canada Expedition I had four close encounters with death which included almost being hit by a transport truck, a confrontation with a bear, almost being struck by lightning and just missing a rock avalanche high in the Rockies. It was clear to me that God's angels were watching over me and keeping me safe. As I cycled north passing the Arctic Circle I was totally alone. I had no radio or cell phone and I was out of contact with civilization. But the experience taught me that when all you have is God, God is enough...

High in Canada's Arctic, I reached the community of Inuvik that was the end of the road north. I now had to cycle over the ice of the mighty Mackenzie River and then cycle over the Arctic Ocean to my final destination of Tuktoyaktuk. The temperature including windchill was 80 degrees below zero and as it was now January the sun did not come up during the daytime in the Arctic. I could hear the ice cracking as I cycled over it in the pitch black of Arctic darkness.

On January 7, 1998, I cycled off the Arctic Ocean to arrive in Tuktoyaktuk guided in by the largest full moon I had ever seen in my life that hung like a beacon directly over the community guiding me in. Next morning a welcome celebration had the entire community of 600 packed into a gym to officially welcome me. National media reports were spreading across Canada like wildfire announcing that I had successfully completed the historic Canadian trip. I was a living example to all Canadians that any dream to make your country better was possible.

After arriving in Tuktoyaktuk, I opened my Good News Bible and the words hit me like a baseball bat: "When that times come, there will no longer be cold or frost, nor any darkness. There will always be daylight, even at nighttime. When this will happen is only known to the Lord." Zechariah 14 6-7

Here was God telling me; Chris you're finished, you don't have to face the freezing cold or the total darkness anymore. God even said he was going to make it light for 24 hours a day and here I was at the only place on the planet that would happen, Tuktoyaktuk, the land of the midnight sun... As I send this out in 2014, almost twenty years after the completion of the To The Top Canada Expedition, I am still the only person in history to travel from the bottom of mainland Canada 6,520 kilometres to the top under their own power or by any means of transportation over land. I speak to thousands of Canadians every year now including over 100 schools per year. I like to tell them: "FAITH is like riding a bicycle. If you just keep pedalling, it will take you anywhere you want to go!"

Celebrated Canadian Hero Chris Robertson whose amazing inspirational Anglican story of faith and courage has internationally been seen and heard on television & radio, brings his award-winning multimedia adventure story to churches across North America. To contact Chris Robertson please see Chris' website at www.chrisrobertson.ca or call him at 1-780-589-3153.