“I wasn't feeling too well on the bus, Taylor knew that my breakfast was likely to come up, so he handed me his cowboy hat to throw up in...he was always looking out for me”
At 23, Lyndon Ferguson now has to look out for himself. In 2008, shortly after Taylor's 20th birthday, he was killed in a boating accident on Geneva Lake, about 45 minutes out of Sudbury.
Ferguson describes his brother's passing as “the hardest thing I have ever gone through.”
A year after Taylor's passing, his parents, Peter and Peg Ferguson, set up the Taylor Ferguson Memorial Trust Fund to support the Sudbury Manitoulin Children's Foundation's Send-A-Kid to Camp program.
Lyndon Ferguson said his brother's ceaseless love for camping and fishing is the reason the Send-A-Kid to Camp program was chosen.
Initially, the trust fund relied on funds raised at annual barbecues his parents would hold to remember Taylor. However, when Lyndon really got into cycling three years ago, he decided to do something different.
He decided to cycle 500 kilometres and raise $1,000 for the campaign.
Ferguson had hoped for the ride to take place last year, but he admits he was naive about the preparation involved. Sponsors, promoters, public awareness, and planning, were just a few of the important things he failed to take into account.
Lyndon Ferguson is gearing up for a 500-km trek in memory of his brother, Taylor, who died in 2008 in a boating accident on Geneva Lake. Photo by Nosa Ero.
This support system will result in him getting a chance to fulfil his 500-km goal in May.
Ferguson's four-day cycling odyssey takes him from Sudbury to Manitoulin Island and back.
The first leg starts at 8:30 a.m. on May 25 at Adamsdale playground. Ferguson, along with friends and anyone wishing to join in, will ride laps around Minnow Lake – a warm-up for Ferguson.
After the warmup, he and his friends, and anyone up for it, will make a 75-kilometre dash to Sudbury Airport and back to Minnow Lake, through Valley East.
On May 26, Ferguson will hop into a car and drive down to Little Current on Manitoulin Island. He then plans to ride 188 kilometres around the Island.
On May 27, Ferguson will continue his ride on Manitoulin Island, then hop back in a car and return to Sudbury.
“Hopefully, I get a good night's sleep,” Ferguson said.
On May 28, the last day of the event, he rides to Lively completing his ride at the cemetery on Second Avenue, where his brother is laid to rest.
Although his rigorous training regimen has been hit hard by the demanding schedule of a work placement at Lively District Secondary School, he still finds time to train on weekends.
All the training does little to dampen his family’s concern.
“They are proud that I’m doing it...I think they are just worried about some of the crazy drivers,” Ferguson said.
His family have good reason to be worried – Ferguson has already been struck twice by “crazy drivers” in the past.
For his part, Ferguson believes he has chosen a relatively safe route.
Ferguson said planning and promotion continues until May 25.
Look for donation boxes at Merit Travel on Regent Street and Sears in the New Sudbury Centre.
Donations by cheque can also be sent to the Sudbury Manitoulin Children's Foundation, Box 1264 Station B, Sudbury, P3E 4S7. Indicate the donation is for the Taylor Ferguson Memorial Ride.
As for Lyndon Ferguson, regardless of whether he decides to pursue a master's degree in History at Laurentian University or take up a teaching position in England, he hopes to make the Taylor Ferguson Memorial Ride an annual event.
For more information, please visit [email protected], or, visit facebook.com/TaylorFergusonMemorialRide.
