A group of American cyclists passed through Jasper National Park late last month on their way to Fort McMurray to raise awareness about the oil sands.
Starting in Seattle, the group of six began their journey on Aug. 15 and expects to arrive in Fort McMurray Sept. 8 after pedalling more than 1,700 kms. The group passed through Jasper Aug. 23.
“We’re a group of activists, cyclists and concerned citizens,” said Derek Hoshiko, one of the cyclists participating in the ride.
“We’re concerned about global climate change, we’re concerned about extreme fossil fuel extraction and we are journeying to Fort McMurray to witness and to listen to people along the way.”
Billed as “The Road to Athabasca”, one of the group’s main goals is to connect with Aboriginal groups that have been fighting the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, which runs through JNP on its way to Vancouver.
They have also made a point to hear the other side of the story, connecting with people who work in the oil industry, are business owners, environmentalists or elected officials to try and get a better understanding of the various interests involved.
“We are trying to get as complete a picture as possible about what is happening and what people think about it and go beyond the polarization and dualism of either conservative or liberal, or environment versus jobs, which is a false dichotomy,” said Hoshiko.
He said the group decided to make the journey from Seattle after learning of the proposed plan to triple the capacity of the Trans Mountain pipeline, which includes a spur that heads south to Anacortes, Wash., which is about 130 kms north of Seattle.
“A lot of people in the U.S. think the tar sands are really far away, but we found out that they’re just 1,600 kms from our house and we could bike there. A lot of people bike from Seattle to San Francisco, which is about 1,600 kms and it’s a similar distance to Fort McMurray,” said Hoshiko.
“There are a lot of people who just think of the political boundary as ‘oh well these are Canadian issues that don’t affect the U.S. or these are U.S. issues they don’t affect Canada’ and I don’t think that could be further from the truth,” he said.
“The air and water don’t stop at political boundaries. If there’s a spill in the Fraser River Valley that very well could affect us.”
Throughout the group’s journey, the riders have been joined by other cyclists for short stints and they have camped out along the way.
According to their official itinerary, the group plans to spend a week in Fort McMurray before returning home.
“It’s been challenging, but super rewarding and a great personal and group learning experience.”
For more information about their journey, visit www.tarsandsride.org
Paul Clarke [email protected]
