Eden Babbitt, 15, attends Sacred Heart High School in Walkerton. (supplied photo)
A Lurgan Beach teen will be embarking on a 170-kilometre bike ride to the tip of the Bruce Peninsula this week to promote environmental awareness and to fund raise for a conservation organization.
Sacred Heart High School student Eden Babbitt, 15, will start the two-day cycling trek at 5 a.m. Wednesday morning from Kincardine. She plans to cover about 100 kilometres during the first day of the ride, stopping for an overnight rest in Wiarton. Thursday, Babbitt will complete the cycle up the Bruce Peninsula with another 70 kilometres of riding until she reaches the Chi-Cheemaun ferry terminal in Tobermory.
Babbitt and her team will travel through Inverhuron, past Bruce Power and into Port Elgin. From there, they’ll continue to Southampton and then take Highway 21 to Bruce County Road 13 through Sauble Beach and Oliphant, before arriving in Wiarton.
On day two, Babbitt will depart from Wiarton at 6 a.m. and travel along Highway 6 to Colpoy’s Bay, then head on Bruce County Road 9 to Lion’s Head before jumping back on Highway 6 at Ferndale for the rest of the ride up to Tobermory.
OPP will be supporting Babbitt’s cycling team by providing an escort for the stretch run from Ferndale to Tobermory to help ensure their safety.
The ride is weather permitting and will be postponed if it is raining or if wind conditions are unfavourable.
This isn’t the first time Babbitt has devoted herself to raising environmental awareness. In 2019, she launched Eden For Our Environment and initially sold fabric coasters and hair scrunchies to support the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada.
“I haven’t promoted anything having to do with transportation before,” Babbitt explains. “And then I thought, I like to bike and we go to Tobermory every year on a little vacation. So I thought, maybe I’ll ride my bike from my house to Tobermory to promote (greener) forms of travel.”
Babbitt says she’s done extensive training to prepare for the ride. When she’s not out biking, cross-training such as running up and down stairs has helped her get ready.
She initially set a fund raising goal of $1,000 for the ride. More than $3,000 has already been contributed. You can find information about how to make a contribution at Babbitt’s Instagram page.
All the funds Babbitt raises will be donated to the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada. According to its website, the organization is part of a global community conservation organization that advances the vision and work of Dr. Jane Goodall. It was founded in 1977 and continues Dr. Goodall’s pioneering research on chimpanzee behaviour — with a mission to save chimpanzees from extinction.
“She is my absolute hero,” Babbitt says of Goodall.