076. Kyle Roberts - The Weight We Carry

This week on the podcast, I’m speaking with Kyle Roberts.

When I first saw the Instagram post by @thelogdriverswaltz regarding Kyle’s finish of this awesome bikepacking route in Ontario, I reached out to him for a chat. But once I started digging into his background, I realized that there was so much more to this man.

Kyle grew up in southern Ontario with adventure in his blood. As early as he can remember, his father would often take the family on epic canoe trips in Algonquin Park, portaging their canoes through the backcountry.

Years later, after moving to Australia where he worked for the High Access Service company RopePro, Kyle started riding bikes. He soon participated in a couple of bikepacking events, the GTD 400 and the Victoria Divide 550, which started his path in adventure cycling. After living in Australia for 6 years, Kyle and his partner returned to Canada. Shortly after they arrived, Kyle tackled the Log Driver Waltz.

Being away from Canada for so long, Kyle wanted to reacquaint himself with the Canadian wilderness and what better way than on an 800km bikepacking route? He completing the route in 74 hours, but this is only the beginning of his story.

In 2017, after he and his brother Tom hiked through the Himalayas, and after observing the corruption and poverty in the area, they wanted to give back. They started the non profit, The Weight We Carry, an organization that wants to raise awareness to mental health. In their first project in 2019, they portaged their canoes up to Mount Everest Base Camp, paying homage to their childhood and bringing awareness to mental health. Kyle, Tom and their team raised $150,000 for KOSHISH Nepal, a Women’s Mental Health Transit Centre in Kathmandu. At this centre, Nepalese women suffering from mental illness and other psychological issues receive Short-term Emergency Care and Professional Mental Health Support. They’re just getting started. They’re currently planning another such endeavour that will take place in the wilds of the Canadian Rockies.

In this episode, Kyle share stories from his adventures and the meaning he and his team find in their projects. Head on over to YouTube and check out, One Step At A Time - The Weight We Carry | Official Documentary | 2020 to learn more. This group of altruists are just getting started and I’m sure we’ll see some more awesome adventures in the future.

This is a long one folks, so head out for a spin and enjoy my conversation with Kyle Roberts.