‘Octogenerian Odyssey’ travels through the River Valley
“I remember for my sixth birthday, I got a bicycle,” said author and avid cyclist Robert Fletcher, recalling his first experiences with bicycles.
Today, some 77 years later, Fletcher is best known for his book series ‘Octogenarian Odyssey’ and for his cycling journeys that have taken him around the world.
“[It’s a] series of books that cover bicycling across four continents and now across Canada over the last four years since I turned 80,” said Fletcher.
Fletcher was born in Ontario, but now splits his time between Costa Rica and Edmonton, Alberta.
To date, Fletcher has cycled approximately 60,000 km alongside his team, which comprises other avid cyclists and his family.
“All of my odysseys, there’s no way I could do it without the support of my team; I [also] have two support crew members, my wife and my daughter,” exclaimed the 84-year-old.
His most recent journey began in White Rock, British Columbia earlier this year. He hopes to end this particular journey in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador in mid-September. The River Valley Sun spoke with him on Aug. 26 as he set out after an overnight in Woodstock.
“It started off as, how can I celebrate my 80th birthday, I had never thought I would live that long, and I wanted to do something different,” said Fletcher.
“I decided to ride from North Pole, Alaska to Panama City, and I did that and picked up the Guinness World Record for the longest ride on an electric bicycle, … [which has since been] broken by someone else,” Fletcher explained.
During his travels, the main takeaway has been that people are more similar and good than many expect.
“No matter where we go, what our religion is, what our colour is, what our culture is, we’re all pretty much the same,” he said.
Fletcher went on to quip that the world isn’t the scary place that television portrays.
His travels in the last few days have taken him through the communities of Hartland, Florenceville-Bristol, and Woodstock, to name only a few.
“One of the things I [want] to do in all my rides [is] to motivate seniors or people about to retire, to indicate to them that life isn’t over at 65, there’s a lot of years left,” explained Fletcher when asked why he continues to ride.
“I want them to live life to the fullest; I want them to step outside of their comfort zone. I want them to stay physically and mentally active, and I’m hoping that I convey that message to a number of people that I’ve met or [interacted with] on Facebook or social media,” continued Fletcher.
“From my neck up, I’m still probably a teenager, so I think I can keep going for a few more years and talk about planning the next trip,” said Fletcher when asked how long he can see himself continuing to ride around the world.
Fletcher isn’t sure he’s ‘finished’ yet, and indicated he is considering several options, most prominently a ride through China or one through Europe from Italy to Norway.
“I would like your readers… to think about their lifestyle: are they living their life to the fullest? Is there anything they haven’t done that they dreamed about but put it off because they thought it was too embarrassing or costly or too difficult? I want them to get out and start doing it or give it a go, even if its not the end result they wanted, they’re still going to have a wider comfort zone [and] more knowledge about themselves,” concluded Fletcher.
