Nevil's Northern Motorcycle Odyssey
Nevil is planning an ambitious fundraising and awareness campaign centred around a motorcycle odyssey to the northern reaches of Alaska and the Northwest Territories. All monies raised will go to the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Alberta, NWT and Nunavut (HSFA).
On September 24, 2009, Nevil Stow had a stroke.
“I lost the sensation down the left side of my body,” he recalls. “It was terrifying. But the Heart & Stroke Foundation gave me a second chance. Thanks to the care and support I received at Canmore General Hospital, I’m fully recovered except for some numbness in my left toe and part of my left hand. I’m deeply appreciative.”
As a show of his gratitude, Nevil is planning an ambitious fundraising and awareness campaign centred around a motorcycle odyssey to the northern reaches of Alaska and the Northwest Territories. All monies raised will go to the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Alberta, NWT and Nunavut (HSFA).
The total round trip from Canmore will be about 14,000 km on a route that ventures above the Arctic Circle twice. The two most northerly points Nevil hopes to reach are Inuvik, NWT (at the end of the Dempster highway – 771 km from Dawson City) and Prudhoe Bay (Deadhorse), Alaska, which resides at the end of the 666-km Dalton Highway (a.k.a. North Slope Haul Road), a gravel road built in 1974 to support the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.
“I really hope to reach both locations, but weather could be a major factor. We could spend a week camping in the snow. Plus, the gravel roads make riding up north more of a challenge. Motorcycle breakdowns and tire punctures are real possibilities. I’ll be travelling with one or two buddies – it’s really not smart to go alone in case I get into trouble.”
To complete the trip, Nevil has earmarked a full month (leaving July 16 and returning on the 14th of August). “I’ve worked in some extra days in case poor weather interferes with our progress.”
Nevil has been motorcycling since he was six. “Once it’s in your blood, you can’t shake it,” he says. Over the years, he has owned more than 30 motorcycles, and he’s toured all over Europe and the United States. Nevil loves the wilderness and has recently fallen in love with the far north. For his ride this summer, he’ll be riding a 2008 BMW R1200 GS Adventure.
Nevil’s message is simple. “As a stroke survivor, I want people to know that they too can participate in active pastimes even if they’ve been affected by heart disease. If you look after yourself, you can reclaim a normal life.
“Of course, avoiding heart disease in the first place is definitely the ideal. Before my stroke, I thought I was indestructible. I was smoking, eating fatty foods – doing everything you’re not supposed to do. Unfortunately, it took a stroke to teach me to start taking care of myself.
“The incident changed my life completely. I quit smoking the day I had my stroke and haven’t touched a cigarette since. I now read the labels at the supermarket, cut back on salt and bad cholesterol, eat more fruit…all the common-sense things everyone knows are the keys to good health.”
Neurologists at the Foothills Hospital have put Nevil through a battery of tests over the past several months, and the results have been favourable. “As long as I maintain a healthy lifestyle, I should be around for a lot longer yet.”
For his fundraising efforts, Nevil has created a personal web page springcreekmv.com/donate. “I haven’t specified a goal because I have no idea how much I might raise. I’ve never done anything like this before. People have been donating $100 here, $10 there. The amount really doesn’t matter. Any amount helps.”
