Rick Hansen celebrates Man In Motion’s 25th anniversary with relay

Wheelchair athlete Rick Hansen is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his Man In Motion World Tour, which wheeled through 34 countries in 26 months to raise money for spinal cord injuries, with a stop in Scarborough on Friday.

“It’s been a phenomenal 25 years since the original Man In Motion tour and what better way to celebrate the anniversary than to highlight the progress in Canada from coast to coast to coast and recreate our original Man in Motion world tour route,” Hansen told CityNews. 

Hansen, who uses a wheelchair, is travelling all around the GTA to raise awareness of the event he started in 1985.

The original tour raised $26 million, and the Rick Hansen Foundation has contributed more than $140 million to organizations in spinal cord injury research and to individuals advancing quality of life initiatives.

This year, approximately 7,000 Canadians are taking part in the 12,000 kilometre relay route — a journey of nine months.

“These people have made a fundamental difference in their communities, their countries and in the world,” Hansen said.

“It’s such an honour to say thank you to those people and I wish I could personally thank every Canadian.”

Derrick Ferguson of Stratford, Ont., is a unicyclist whose campaign Wheel In Motion (yes, just one wheel) supports Hansen’s foundation. He’ll be participating in the cross-Canada relay and is trying to raise $25,000 for the foundation.

“It was an honour when I got asked. Right now I’m riding across Ontario, starting in Kenora and ending in Windsor,” Ferguson said.

“Rick has been such an inspiration to me as an athlete and as a person. When they approved my ride, I was so honoured.”

“He’s just amazing. What he’s done, for everyone, even just everyone that has a disability is unbelievable, the amount of lives he’s touched,” said medal bearer Kristen Cameron.

The relay started on Aug. 24 in Cape Spear, N.L., and is expected to wrap up in Vancouver on May 22, 2012. 

As the tour rolls through the city, dozens of roads will be affected. Here’s a list of the road closures:

Saturday (Nov. 5)

  • 12:22 p.m., westbound Kingston Road at Liverpool Road
  • 12:52 p.m., westbound Eglinton Avenue East
  • 2:43 p.m., northbound Sutherland Drive
  • 3:23 p.m., southbound Sutherland Drive
  • 3:30 p.m., westbound Eglinton Avenue East
  • 4 p.m., southbound Yonge Street
  • 4:57p.m., westbound Wellesley Street
  • 5:05 p.m., southbound Queen’s Park Crescent West, around to Queen’s Park Crescent East
  • 5:16 p.m., southbound University Avenue
  • 5:17 p.m., eastbound Gerrard Street
  • 5:41 p.m., southbound Church Street
  • westbound Shuter Street
  • southbound Bond Street
  • westbound Queen Street East
  • northbound Yonge Street
  • 6 p.m., end at Yonge-Dundas Square
  • Dundas Square will be closed between Yonge Street and O’Keefe Lane from noon until 9 p.m.

Sunday (Nov. 6)

  • 8:05 a.m., Formation at Yonge-Dundas Square
  • 8:20 a.m., northbound Yonge Street
  • eastbound Bloor Street West
  • 9:22 a.m., eastbound on subway to Broadview
  • eastbound Bloor St East
  • 9:39 a.m., eastbound on Danforth Avenue
  • southbound on Pape Avenue
  • westbound on Riverdale Avenue
  • southbound on Carlaw Avenue
  • westbound on Queen Street East
  • 10:44 a.m., westbound on Queen Street East
  • 11:17 a.m., southbound on Yonge Street
  • westbound on Front Street East
  • southbound on Blue Jays Way
  • southbound on Navy Wharf Court
  • eastbound on Bremner Boulevard
  • northbound on York Street
  • westbound on Wellington Street
  • northbound on University Avenue
  • westbound on Queen Street West
  • northbound on Gladstone Avenue
  • westbound on Peel Street
  • northbound on Dufferin Street
  • eastbound on Bloor Street West
  • southbound on Devonshire Place
  • 2:42 p.m., end at Varsity Stadium, 299 Bloor Street West

Tuesday (Nov. 8)

  • 8:45 a.m., form at Ryerson Community School, 96 Denison Avenue
  • 9 a.m., southbound on Denison Avenue
  • westbound on Carr Street
  • northbound on Bathurst Street
  • westbound on College Street
  • north/westbound on Dundas Street West
  • northbound on Islington Avenue
  • 12:20 p.m., northbound on Islington Avenue
  • westbound on Dixon Road
  • northbound on Martin Grove Road
  • westbound on John Garland Boulevard
  • south/westbound on Four Leaf Drive
  • northbound on Lynmont Road
  • westbound on Humber College Boulevard
  • southbound on Silver Bell Lane
  • westbound on Spruce Vista
  • 1:02 p.m., relieved by Peel Regional Police

For a map of the relay, click here.

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