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Teens pedal from Coquitlam to NYC

Summer trip was the dream of a lifetime for two Pinetree secondary school Grade 12 students
Pinetree students bike ride
Allen Wu, 17, and Annan Lisong,16, both now in Grade 12, rode 5,600 km this summer from Coquitlam to Toronto and N.Y.C. On the way, they battled hail storms, coped with injuries and breakdowns, and had to depend on the kindness of strangers. Above, Wu (left) and Lisong with principal John McCullough and vice-principal Cheryl Woods.

Two Pinetree secondary students are back at school this fall with memories of a challenging summer bike ride that took them from Coquitlam to New York, with stops in four Canadian provinces and five U.S. states.

Allen Wu, 17, and Annan Lisong,16, both in Grade 12, completed the 5,600-km journey from Coquitlam to New York City in 56 days. On the way, they battled hail storms, coped with injuries and bike break-downs, and sometimes had to depend on the kindness of strangers.

But neither regret a moment of the challenging ride and they hope other teens are inspired by their accomplishments.

The two cooked up the idea during a Grade 11 physics class last spring, when Lisong, Wu’s buddy of four years, suggested a ride to check out universities in Ontario. It took just a minute for Wu to decide.

“That would have been one of my greatest regrets if I didn’t come,” he said.

They faced a hurdle in convincing their parents to let them go but both said No was not an option. Wu’s mom supported her younger son, knowing he was independent and resourceful and Lisong’s mom eventually came around.

“She said, ‘If I said No, do you think I could stop you?,’” recalled Lisong. “I really appreciated my mom then, she understood.”

The biggest hardship, the two say, was making sure they had enough food and water for their journey because for most of the trip, especially on the prairies, they had to cycle for miles between towns, each carrying 80 lb. of gear.

Pinetree students bike ride
Brandishing their bikes after reaching Toronto, the first major leg of their cross-country ride. - Submitted photo

There would be times when it seemed they were making little progress. Climbing the Rocky Mountains was an early challenge on the first leg of their journey. “The Rocky Mountains are huge, I have to say,” said Lisong.

And crossing Saskatchewan in 40 C heat was a killer, too. They sometimes camped at the side of the road and, once, in a hailstorm, they were rescued by a passing driver.

“Sometimes, you don’t see the point any more and you think ‘Should I give up?’” said Wu.

But just when they needed it, they got encouragement from their school friends, who signed their bikes before they left, and principal John McCullough and vice-principal Cheryl Woods, who provided comfort and advice along the way.

“When kids come up with these ideas, I want to give them any support I can,” McCullough said.

After Lisong sustained a bad scrape that bled a lot and left a scar, and Wu suffered constant nose bleeds in the dry, scorching heat, the two decided they’d had enough of the Canadian prairies, and headed south to North Dakota, then on through Wisconsin and Michigan.

To save money, they camped out in parks, empty lots or at the side of the road; once they shared a campsite with another traveller. “Even homeless people let us stay with them in their campground,” Lisong recalled. “I learned how kind everyone is.”

Once, they were nearly kicked out of a train station — the safest place they could find to sleep one night — until the security guard relented after they bought a $3 ticket to the next town (a ticket the cyclists couldn’t use). Another time, they had to halt their journey while they waited for their parents to fax notarized statements allowing them to cross the state line by boat.

But nothing deterred them from their goal of reaching Toronto. Even that wasn’t enough, though, so they decided to journey a few more days to the Big Apple to complete their transcontinental bike ride.

“It looked like such a small distance on a map but it turned out to be 1,000 km.” said Wu, adding, “But we did it in five days.”

Now that they’re home, Wu and Lisong are hoping to inspire other high school students to think beyond their comfort level. They spoke to students during a Pinetree spirit assembly and are planning to start a cross country running club.

They say, life is short and you’re only young once. “Don’t stay home all the time,” Wu says. “Chase your dream.”