It was the 13th day, and it hit Chris hard. He was almost at his peak that completed his journey, but it became very difficult for him. Bruckner’s muscles started to tighten as the amount of strength he contained began to fade away. His phone died as he was showered in the heavy rain. But he didn’t give up.
That very day Chris Bruckner completed his trip, making history by cycling across Canada in record time.
The Canadian cyclist completed the Trans-Canada solo men’s cycling route in 2019, cycling from Vancouver B.C, to the final stage arriving at Halifax, Nova Scotia 13 days later. It was a journey of 5,747 kilometers.
Bruckner’s record was certified by the Guiness Book of World Records shortly after Christmas.
He finished this route in thirteen days, three hours, and forty-nine minutes, beating the time of the previous record holder by about three hours.
When not cycling, Bruckner is a paramedic. He chose to use his trip to raise money for the Canadian Mental Health Association. In the end, he raised $5000.
In a CBC article, Bruckner stated that “Mental health, especially with first responders, is especially a topic and issue that kind of gets swept under the rug.”
Chris trained in Inuvik for six months straight, beginning in February and concluding his training in April. Not only would Chris jog around town, but he would also train by playing squash.
As April concluded, Chris moved locations and ended up in Victoria but he was not done yet. Chris moved to Victoria so he was able to proceed with his cycling training. He would do this until the big day, when his mission would start on June 30th.
Although Chris was a very trained and experienced cyclist, attempting to break the record for the Trans-Canada cycling route would still be a huge challenge for him. Chris was fortunate enough to have a team by his side, collecting all the information needed to help Chris confirm how long it would take him to break the record.
The beginning of the race started smoothly for Bruckner, not too hard, not much of a challenge. It was time for him to shut everything out, so he could relax and clear his mind.
Chris was fine for the first five days, still warming up and getting ready for the hard part, he told CBC news. At around day six or seven, specifically when he first set foot in Ontario, is when the challenging part began for Chris, making it harder and harder every mile.
On the 13th day, it impacted Chris the most. He was at the peak, he was so close to finishing this challenge, but it became very difficult for him. Bruckner was completely fatigued and had very little strength to push through, and on top of that, Chris’s phone had run out of battery and he’d been absolutely soaked by the rain. He began to think more negatively about himself and didn’t have much hope in completing this mission. He didn’t let that stop him, he pushed through with the little bit of fuel left in him and made it to the Halifax city hall.
“I’d never done an ultra endurance event like biking across Canada … I just thought it was a personal challenge that I wanted to take on,” said Bruckner.
Chris Bruckner
8forty.ca 
Very cool.
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