Honourable senators, I wish Senator Bellemare all the best and a happy retirement.

Honourable senators, we all have our idols and our champions. The Olympians who represent Canada around the world deserve our praise and admiration for their courage, tenacity, endurance and humanity. We have two examples here in the Senate: Senators McBean and Petitclerc.

Today, I want to tell you about an ordinary person who has accomplished the extraordinary and earned my admiration — something he didn’t even know until today.

The Cabot Trail is a scenic route that criss-crosses 300 kilometres of Cape Breton Island, carved between sea and mountains, and dotted with small villages nestled along the coast, including my village of Chéticamp. The view from your car is nice, but the view from a bike is breathtaking.

For the past 15 years, as soon as the snow melts, I’ve been training to conquer the French, North, MacKenzie and South mountains. The Cabot Trail is the second most popular cycling destination in North America. Amateur cyclists come from all over to ride this trail, even though there’s no bike lane and the road isn’t dedicated solely to cycling. It is a 300-kilometre circuit and the first day involves crossing three mountains with altitudes of more than 1,950 metres over 95 kilometres and a 14% grade on North Mountain.

I am proud of myself because, in 2024, I once again managed to successfully climb North Mountain without stopping, a four‑kilometre climb with grades between 9% and 14%. I use the term “climb” because if I went more slowly, I would fall off my bicycle. It took all of my physical and mental energy to accomplish this.

I know some very good cyclists who manage to do it in one day and I admire them. As I told you, I think I’m doing well with my 20-speed carbon bike. However, a few years ago, a seemingly regular guy showed up and joined our group, the “Cyclepaths,” organized by John Gainer and John Grant. Some bad sports call us the “Psychopaths.” Daniel Baker came over from Ottawa with his basic, one-speed bicycle. We all looked at each another and said, “That’s not possible, who does he think he is?” Then, without making noise, without making waves, and without slowing us down or complaining, Daniel Baker conquered the Cabot Trail in three days with his one-speed bike.

I do not know what his friends and family call him in Ottawa. I assume it is by his name Daniel Baker, but to me and to cyclists around the Cabot Trail, he is known as “One Gear Dan.”

My champion, Daniel Baker!