Road 2 Recovery in Swift Current

The Road 2 Recovery continues for Swift Current's Ryan Oscar and Saskatoon's Christa Kernohan.

The pair has been raising awareness and money for private addictions treatment centers across Canada while biking from Vancouver to their final destination in Halifax. Since embarking on the 7000 kilometer journey at the beginning of June, they've made it through British Columbia and Alberta and their next stop is Swift Current.

"Right now the way that we have it set up is that we said the first $100,000 will go to Friends of Leipzig, which is an organization that people can apply to if they need help and they'll fund their treatment. Anything over and above $100,000, we're going to look for charities that are set up to do exactly the same thing so all of the money will go to individuals who need help," explained Kernohan.

The "Road 2 Recovery" Facebook page has garnered quite a bit of attention with 457 members supporting the cause. In addition to the duo updating daily of their trials and successes, the page provides viewers with the link to a GoFundMe page that is collecting donations for their cause. As an incentive, the two had said if they collected $16,000 they would both wear a green morph-suit during their ride from Moose Jaw to Regina. So far, they've raised over $16,000, and Oscar says while the support has been incredible, it looks like they'll be wearing green spandex in the near future.

"I thought maybe if I set a number that it might motivate some people to donate a litte bit more money and oh my, everybody kind of jumped on board and before long we're both in a green man suit," he laughed. "We know from being in the addictions world that other than ourselves in recovery, we don't really talk to many people about it because nobody really seems to be aware of it or want to bring it up, so it's kind of nice to see other people taking the ball and getting everything rolling here. We're riding our bikes, and everyone else is doing the leg work it seems like with the awareness portion of it."

"We've met a few people along the way, but there's been a lot of people reaching out to us via Facebook through our group. We've had a lot of positive feedback, a lot of support, and a lot of open dialogue about addictions and life, and we've been really pleased to hear it all," added Kernohan.

On average, Oscar and Kernohan travel on their bikes for about 140 kilometers or seven hours a day, but it's all worthwhile to the pair who first met at Leipzig Serenity Retreat while battling their own addictions.

"We know that there's people out there that are suffering from addiction, and since we've both been in that same position, we know how hard it is to reach out and get help," said Oscar. "I can't speak for Christa, but that drove me for a long time into isolation and depression. Once I finally reached out and got some help and went to treatment, I discovered who I really was and who I want to be from here on in. Day by day it's making things a lot easier. Reaching out and asking for help, I know it's a hard thing to do, but it's definitely a positive thing once you finally get the courage to do it."

Oscar and Kernohan arrived in Swift Current at around 7pm last night, and will be continuing on to their next stop in Moose Jaw on Sunday.

To make a donation and keep up with their journey, visit their Facebook page "Road 2 Recovery".