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10 - The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday August 16, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com · CARPET · ORIENTAL RUGS · VINYL · HARDWOOD · CERAMICS · CARPET · · ORIENTAL RUGS · VINYL · HARDWOOD · CERAMICS · CARPET · ORIENTAL RUGS · VINYL · HARDWOOD · CERAMICS · AREAraRUG ea nce Cl In-stock only! From Iran Hand Woven UP TO Persian Rugs, Tabriz, Isfanhan OFF Bidjar WALL TO WALL Cyclist completes 13,500-km trek CARPET CLEARANCE · ORIENTAL RUGS · VINYL · HARDWOOD · CERAMICS · CARPET · ORIENTAL RUGS · VINYL · HARDWOOD · CERAMICS · By Maureen Bursey SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Don't Pay till 2009 60 % HEAVY BERBER $3 e at Compar $1.99/sq. ft. SAVE UP TO DESIGNER RUGS "New" to Oakville Calvin Klein area rug collection 1/ 2 HAL F PR ICE 50 oz. NYLO e at Compar $5.49 only $2.99/sq. ft. LUXURIOUS NYLON SHAG e at Compar WOOL & SILK TIBETAN RUGS $7.29 only $3.99/sq. ft. BONUS INSTALLATION & UNDERPAD INCLUDED! Outlet Store ­ Trafalgar Village 125 CROSS AVENUE Huge Super Store ­ 228 King St. E. DOWNTOWN HAMILTON 905-849-4472 905-546-1921 For most of us, the drive from Newmarket to Hamilton would take about an hour, maybe more when the traffic is bad. For Matthew Bursey, that same trip took the best part of a day -- although it does take longer on a bike. It took longer because he wanted to meet up with a couple of cycling friends in Toronto and then grab a grilled cheese sandwich at his family home in Oakville before heading on. Bursey still finished strong in Hamilton Tuesday, Aug. 12 despite those three grilled cheese sandwiches. It proved an emotional finish to a 13,500 km, four-month journey he undertook last April, a solo bike trip that took him across the American Midwest to California, up the coast to B.C. and across Canada. On an incredible, and sometimes incredibly tough journey, he had finally come full circle. Bursey began the trip April 3 to raise awareness for people with intellectual disabilities and to raise funds for the Salvation Army's Lawson Ministries. He had good reason for the trip. His sister, who has Down Syndrome, had graduated from high school the previous year and his family had to scramble to find her something to do. Post-graduate special needs programs are scarce, crowded and under-funded. He had worked at Lawson Ministries while attending uni- · CARPET · ORIENTAL RUGS · VINYL · HARDWOOD · CERAMICS · CARPET · Calling all Volunteers! Information & Training Session Wednesday, August 27, 2008, 7 p.m. Oakville Museum at Erchless Estate, 8 Navy Street, Oakville For each site, 2-3 volunteers are required per day for the Doors Open Oakville weekend of September 27 & 28, 2008. Volunteers are asked to make a minimum 6 hour commitment (including training), which will include either a half or a full day shift. We are also in need of interpreters for various sites. Doors Open began in France in 1984. From there it grew to 'European Heritage Days' in 11 countries. Today over 40 countries worldwide have initiated the program. Every year in Ontario, hundreds of historic buildings, natural spaces and heritage gardens (some of which are rarely accessible to the public) open for free as part of Doors Open. This will be the first Doors Open event for Oakville. The goal of Doors Open is to educate and inform the community about the importance of architectural, cultural and natural heritage sites. To date we have more than 18 heritage sites taking part such as the Oakville Galleries at Gairloch Gardens, Oakville Museum at Erchless Estate, Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts and the Oakville Historical Society. Matthew Bursey and his sister Erinn. versity and knew firsthand how many people were seeking services in the area. The ministries had been fundraising to expand existing program services and to create a new autism centre. Since his employment there helped fund his degree from McMaster University, he decided to help them out in return. "I love cycling and traveling, and figured this was a way I could raise money for Lawson," Bursey said. "And this worked out so well. I met great people, got to talk about how it can be for people who have mental disabilities, learned firsthand how universal the lack of services is . . . I learned so much." To keep costs low, he stayed at various Salvation Army sites along the way, shelters for the homeless, rehab centers, and even the occasional thrift store floor. Just as often, he would have to pitch a tent. He camped at roadside lookout points, parks too numerous to mention, sometimes a kind stranger's backyard. "One night, a guy let me camp behind his bar. That was kind of noisy," Bursey recalled. "Another night I talked this fellow at a gas station into camping on his property -- it was in Utah, really desolate -- so he told me I could camp behind the building. Turned out he had a huge rottweiler chained back there, not a friendly one either, but I was tired. Slept fine." Although he was on his own, Mother Nature was always nearby. In Springfield, Illinois, he woke up, his bed shaking, to experience his first earthquake. In Indiana and Missouri, he had to cycle for miles around flooded areas. Through Utah, in early May, he cycled for days through 90 to 100degree heat only to wake up one morning in Colorado to nearly a foot of snow on his tent. In the foothills between Banff and Calgary in late July, he tried to unsuccessfully outcycle a storm that was the worst he'd seen since he left Canada three months earlier. He says that, no matter what, anyone who is in reasonable shape should try a bicycle trip now and again. "It's amazing. You see the countryside in a way you will never see from a car window." It was quite a ride and all for a good cause. "I was really lucky. The people at Lawson, my family, my friends, I had a lot of support," he said. The bike trek raised nearly $40,000 for Lawson Ministries. A welcome party is being planned at the Burloak Canoe Club on Sunday, Aug. 24. Everyone is welcome. For ticket information, contact either biketrek@live.ca or call 905-617-2465. KENNEDY FORD Correction The ad for Kennedy Ford that appeared in the August 15th issue of the Oakville Beaver ran with incorrect prices on the F150 and Mustang. They should have appeared as the following listings. IN STOCK SPECIALTY VEHICLES FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY! For more information please call 905-845-6601 ext. 5122 or email doorsopenoakville@gmail.com To find out more about Doors Open Ontario call 1-800-ONTARIO (668-2746) or visit www.doorsopenontario.on.ca. 3 2008 CHIP FOOSE F150.....$43,238 2008 Mustang Bullitt...........$30,986 2009 Shelby Mustang.........$60,299 We apologize for any inconvenience. QEW @ DORVAL OAKVILLE 905.845.1646