Local athlete ‘pushing limits’ as he prepares to cycle across Canada

Last year, local athlete Ben Sweet set a record for the 24-hour North American Championship in ultra-distance cycling. This year has a lot more in store for the 20-year old.

Competing in both the 12- and 24-hour North American Championships this month, the Coldwater athlete considers them a test for his bigger goal: a 5,800-kilometre ride across Canada.

Weather permitting, the kickoff date is July 1. Travelling from Vancouver to Halifax, Sweet will attempt to set another record.

“It feels like a good day to start it, on Canada Day,” he says.

The current record holder, Chris Bruckner, completed the cycling route in just more than 13 days. Sweet aims to complete it in 11. He says he sets a steep target, knowing things can go awry.

He acknowledges the challenge of cycling roughly 450 km each day for more than 10 consecutive days. It’s different compared to the 24-hour race. He says he is built for long-distance races and spent the past few months learning about his body and preparing.

“Even when I first started riding, I always just wanted to ride longer,” he says.

At 14 years old, Sweet decided to cycle the full 100 km of single track at Hardwood Ski and Bike in a day.

“I was destroyed after,” he says with a laugh.

“Pushing limits is always something I liked doing.”

His training varies. Now employed at Hardwood Ski and Bike, the past month-and-a-half included labour-intensive hours clearing the mess from the March ice storm.

“Throughout the week, I try to ride a couple of hours a day,” he says.

He also includes guided sessions at Peak Performance Fitness in Orillia to incorporate strength-building exercise. He uses the fastest known time (FKT) routes as a way to gauge his fitness.

Although not on his FKT record, Sweet completed the Central Ontario Loop Trail (COLT), 460 km, in six hours. Overcoming obstacles is second nature and often comes up while training.

On the COLT ride, with 50 km to the end, at 10 p.m. on an off-road track, his lights all stopped working. He found a way to continue, rigging a flashlight to his bike.

For the cross-Canada race, he says unless a massive injury or act of God prevents him, he will finish.

“The ride itself, it’s going to be super hard, but I’m not the kind of person who can give up on something like that,” he says.

Working with his coach, Rob Holmgren, Sweet enjoys “figuring it out.” Just cycling for five hours, he burns 5,000 calories. For ultra-distance races, it’s about understanding how much he can consume before, during and after a ride.

Understanding other parts of his physiology also comes in clutch. During the 24-hour race last fall, he says he took in 30,000 milligrams of sodium. Different people release different amounts of salt when they perspire.

For Sweet, that was “about 15 or 20 times more than the recommended average” of sodium intake, he says, though he needed it for that race.

Between training, coaching and working at Hardwood, Sweet feels on track.

“Coaching is one of my favourite parts about doing everything. Giving back and watching kids come up in the same program, it’s awesome,” he says.

Working at Hardwood also allows him the flexibility to train, compete, and afford to pay his bills.

“I am super grateful to them for that,” he says.

In North Carolina, Sweet raced on a borrowed bike after five rides with it. For the cross-Canada race, Orbea sponsored him with the two bikes he currently rides.

Funding remains a challenge, he says. He budgeted $15,000 for supplies and travel.

Through GoFundMe, Sweet plans to raise money for the ride and a donation to the Terry Fox Foundation.

“I don’t want to make any money from this … so I’ll do a 50/50 split until just breaking even and then the rest will go toward the charity,” he says.

Planning to document his adventure, Sweet will set up live tracking for people to see where he is en route.

He laughs at a younger version of himself thinking the Tour Divide — a two-week ride through the Rockies’ rough terrain — was foolish. It is now on his bucket list.

In August, Sweet will compete in the 483 km Gravel Worlds race in Nebraska. Then, at the end of October, he will compete in the 24-hour World Championships.

Sweet already qualified for the Race Across America, a 4,600 km race from coast to coast in the United States. He says the race across Canada this summer will be an entry point to more ultra-distance races.

Funding permitted, one day, he hopes to push his ultimate limit by racing 30,000 km around the world.

Sweet can be followed on Instagram at _Ben_Sweet. Any interested sponsors can contact him at [email protected] or donate through his GoFundMe.