Dan Powaschuk of Thunder City Power and Leisure works on a bike he is going to ride in March from Regina to the Arctic Ocean to raise awareness about autism.
Photograph by : Roy Antal, Leader-Post
Dad's adventure for autism
Maria Cootauco, Leader-Post
Published: Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Dan Powaschuk is used to solo rides.
Next month, he will be motorcycling 9,000 kilometres by himself so that others do not have to be alone.
In March, Powaschuk, 47, plans to ride from Regina to Tuktoyaktuk, which sits on the edge of the Arctic Ocean in the Northwest Territories.
He's riding to raise autism awareness so families dealing with autism aren't battling the disorder alone.
His flame-orange Kawasaki KLR 650 sits in Thunder City's garage and gets tended to by mechanic Dave Elmer. Studded 100-pound tires rest against a wall awaiting their call to duty.
Powaschuk's motorcycle expedition will take him along a 190-kilometre stretch of ice road that in the summer time is the Mackenzie River.
The expedition will take between three and four weeks. And his bike will be packed with the essentials needed for such a trip. He will have an extra fuel pack in case he runs out of fuel along an isolated stretch of road, electric clothing to keep him warm, an armour suit to prevent injury, a survival vest, a winter tent, a winter sleeping bag, a small stove, an emergency locator, a GPS system, and a satellite phone.
The biggest challenge Powaschuk anticipates is dealing with the cold weather. The bike has been modified to withstand very low temperatures.
"The bike can go in the cold weather," he said. "But how much can I take in cold weather?"
He will be driving along the Dempster Highway in the Northwest Territories, which is a rock road built on permafrost made of hard, crushed rock. As far as Powaschuk knows, no one has ever driven through it in the wintertime on a motorcycle.
Powaschuk used to be in the military reserves, where he received extensive training, and also trained with the Army Cadets. He has experience with mountaineering and glacier work.
In June, during a test run in Stony Rapids, he was thrown off his bike and suffered a broken collarbone. Unable to pick up his bike, he walked for an hour and a half before he was picked up by a trucker. This time, he will be equipped with a satellite phone and snacks within easy reach -- just in case. And to feed the boredom, he'll have audio books to play on his IPod.
"It's quite an undertaking," said Al Elmer, owner of Thunder City. "He's done so much homework to try and make sure it's going to work. We wish him luck."
Powaschuk is not riding for donations -- the ride is strictly for awareness. His four-year-old son, Eric, was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, a learning disability, in 2005.
"With autism, you can't take time," Powaschuk said. "This drive's not going to help my son because he's four now. The message, I say, is early intervention because you have to get them out of themselves into the real world."
Awareness in the public of autistic children is another thing driving Powaschuk's mission.
People do not know enough about autism, Powaschuk said. His message is a call to arms. Something can be done to improve the situation, he said.
"You have to get out there and ask people who make decisions questions," Powaschuk urged.
"Ask health-care providers what they're doing for autism. School boards -- what are they doing for autism kids? How are they gearing up for more of them? Public services -- what are they doing with these kids when they're out of school?"
For more details, visit Powaschuk's Web site at www.rideupforautism.ca.
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007
