Biking to Comic-Con: Epic cross-continent journey combines 2 loves

A P.E.I. man is combining two of the great passions of his life in a journey across North America.

Matt Lawrence climbed on his bicycle in Charlottetown on April 25 with the goal riding all the way to San Diego in time for the start of Comic-Con on July 21 — a journey of about 6,000 kilometres.

"I've always liked comic books. I've loved comic books, is a better way to phrase it," Lawrence told Island Morning host Matt Rainnie while on the road in Wyoming.

This is not Lawrence's first cycle across the continent. He rode from west to east across Canada five years ago, and thousands of kilometres into his current trip he is still raring to go every morning.

"It's just a fantastic experience and I'm loving every day of it," he said.

"I'm probably just as enthusiastic to start every day. I love biking. It's very calming to me. I just put some podcasts in and just go."

The lost wallet

The biggest panic of the journey so far was in Nebraska. He was about 65 kilometres away from his last stop, a little coffee shop, when he noticed his wallet wasn't in his pocket.

Uncontrollable dancing, was pretty much it.- Matt Lawrence

"I started panicking, and the only thing I really could have done is, I just started biking back," he said.

He was able to hitch a ride part of the way back and scoured the coffee shop, but it wasn't there.

He stuck on the headset for his phone when he climbed back on his bike, and called his bank to cancel his credit cards as he continued his journey.

"Just before they were about to confirm … I found it," he said.

His wallet had fallen out of his pocket while he was riding, and was lying on the side of the road.

"It was great," he said of finding the wallet.

"Uncontrollable dancing, was pretty much it."

A welcoming community

Lawrence saved up for the journey, and is doing his best to keep his costs down.

He is tenting a lot, and a friend introduced him to Warm Showers, an online community that offers touring cyclists a place to stay.

"It's saving me a lot of money, saving me a lot of time putting up and putting down my tent," said Lawrence.

Lawrence is blogging his journey as he goes, and using that blog to raise money for the P.E.I. Literacy Alliance. He is also selling Coast to Coast for Comics T-shirts, with the proceeds going to the alliance.

Soaking up the atmosphere

Lawrence has no particular plans once he gets to Comic-Con.

"I kind of want to let that surprise me," he said.

"I think just the overall atmosphere."

The one thing he has planned ahead for is to attend a taping of Kevin Smith's Hollywood Babble-On podcast. It's a podcast that has helped him pedal across the highways of the U.S., and he already has his tickets.

Lawrence has given himself a few rest days on the schedule, so he is confident he will make it to San Diego for opening day July 21.

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