Breakthrough T1D Canada Board Member Matt Varey rode across Canada in support of type 1 diabetes (T1D) research
On May 3, Matt Varey, a longtime volunteer with Breakthrough T1D Canada (formerly JDRF) and current Co-Chair of the Breakthrough T1D International Board, began a 61 day, 7400km+ journey to cycle across Canada. At 61, Matt had recently retired from a long career with RBC and though he has no personal connection to type 1 diabetes, he has become a passionate advocate over the past 20 years for Canadians living with T1D. Matt’s goal was to raise $500,000 and he surpassed it, raising over $535,000 and counting.
Matt’s journey saw all four seasons of weather as he crossed the country, and he endured excruciatingly long days, injury, and with no rest stops, truly tested his own mental and physical endurance on the road. Travelling with Matt was his wife, Andrea, and their dog, Handel, and they were joined by several of Matt’s lifelong best friends along the way. Matt’s friends Kirk, Stew and Steve had his back from the first day Matt and AJ decided on this journey, and they dropped everything to join him on the road; the mark of true friendship. Their team was small but what they’ve accomplished for the type 1 diabetes community has been extraordinary.
On July 2, Matt finished his ride in Halifax by dipping his tire in the Atlantic Ocean, book-ending a similar dip on May 3 in Victoria in the Pacific Ocean at the start of his journey. It was the emotional culmination of an audacious but incredibly meaningful journey.
Breakthrough T1D Canada spoke with Matt following his Ride to discuss his amazing once-in-a-lifetime personal journey and achievement in support of critical T1D research and support for the T1D community.
Breakthrough T1D Canada: How are you feeling today?
Matt: I feel tremendous. And let me tell you that the reason I’m feeling tremendous is because AJ and I were blown away by the absolute kindness, generosity, and sheer humility of society. That’s what I think about every day. The generosity we experienced everywhere we went across this country. We were both just so incredibly touched by how much people truly cared about the mission and the purpose. So, that’s how I feel.
Breakthrough T1D Canada: What surprised you the most?
Matt: Oh wow, several things surprised me, and I will share them in no particular order. Mother Nature surprised me. She thew so many different environments at us, you just had to have this ability to adapt and not get upset. I was continually surprised by how she can change the environment so quickly, and so sharply. This surprised both my wife and me.
Mother Nature can be relentless but at the same time, she can create serenity in the mornings, and at night. Really, the whole natural aspect of the journey, from the birds waking me up in the morning to the birds putting me to bed at night. The noises, the sound of the wind through the trees.
And then as I rode through tougher terrain, and through the areas heavily impacted by forest fires, it seemed to me that the trees were crying, We saw Mother Nature angry with the forest fires. You just saw the forest was sad, tired and dry. And when we saw the smoke, I thought it was Mother Nature crying. And that was unexpected but moving in its own way.
I thought I understood before, but I was in fact still surprised also by the beauty and diversity of Mother Nature, by the sheer beauty of Canada that I had not experienced until this ride. Cycling through just some of the most beautiful places on earth, Northern Lake Superior, the sheer beauty of the Saint John River Valley, the beautiful white churches in southern Quebec, your senses come alive when you’re on the bike, I didn’t have modern day distractions. So, all my senses were on high alert, I could truly smell a farmer’s field, or the scent of fresh cut grass.
And then on the other side of that – I was surprised by how noisy society is. The constant noise of being so close to cars, transport trucks, so close to you all day. You could sense they were coming closer before they did or feel the respect and distance they might give because I was on a bike. You pick up societal noises so much more.
Another thing that AJ and I were surprised and touched by was the sheer trust that human beings give you despite not knowing you. How decent is that? You get a flat tire, there’s no bike shop in a rural community, just a truck stop – and they don’t fix bike tires. Except they do! They see me, a person out on the road needing help, and they jump to give that help.
We were in Lake Louise, Alberta, it was two degrees, and I was cycling through rain and sleet, and my chain broke. And people, they just dropped everything to help. As soon as we mentioned the purposeful journey we were on, people trust you immensely, and want to be a hand on your back, they want to be someone who uplifts and supports you.
I was doing my washing in a laundromat, and a man saw my shirt and asked me what it meant, what I was doing? After telling him, he reached into this pocket to take out $50 and give it to me with the request that I do good things with it. I was so moved by the enormous trust that people give you.
The other surprise was RBC. I always knew it was a purposeful organization; I knew it had a cultural heart and soul, but this was a whole new level. My former colleagues and friends, and the grassroots support they provided, and I’m retired – I don’t work there anymore! But it was just a steamroll of giving from coast to coast.
Nobody said they were too busy for the activation events (pitstops) they came out on in the middle of the day; they came out on weekends. They gave their time and energy in support of this purposeful journey, and that helped drive me. RBC proved to be a deeply human organization, all these folks had a choice, to go about their life, go about their job – they interrupted both to come out and show support.
And of course, we were surprised by the sheer emotions, and how much it impacted us both. Not everyone knows the details of that.
The Breakthrough T1D ambassadors, each one imprinted on me in a different way. AJ and I, we know that if you had T1D, you don’t have a choice but to be courageous. You must be every day. But what surprised us was their quiet determination, their poise, and how they move forward with positivity. How they truly believe that tomorrow is going to be better than today. It took our understanding about living with T1D and what that entails to a whole new level. And that too helped drive both of us every day.
Breakthrough T1D Canada: What did you learn on your journey?
Matt: You learn a tremendous amount about your body, both physically and mentally. It tells you physically, when you can power through, that you have more fuel in your tank. You know before you even get on the road when you are going to have a tough day. Your body gets mad at you. It doesn’t want to do the same thing for 60 straight days. It surprised me that my body gave me two million pedal strokes, but it got mad at me at the same time. It most definitely was angry at me more than once. But I did learn this – you always have more fuel in your tank than you think.
I learned that I needed to just really focus on the positives. When I was so tired and didn’t want to go another kilometre. I would look down at my arm and at the Breakthrough T1D tattoo I got before starting this journey, and I would think to myself ‘I don’t want to do this, but yes I can’. My mind and body taught me so much for so many varied reasons.








Breakthrough T1D Canada: How do you feel about your connection to the T1D community now?
The first word that intuitively comes to mind is that they are even more courageous than I realized over my two decades with this organization. The organizational heart of Breakthrough T1D, I always say that a mind can be convinced, but a heart needs to be won. And when you have both, like Breakthrough T1D does – you can do anything. It became even more apparent what a people-led and purposeful organization this is. And then getting to meet Ambassadors, parents of children with T1D, or even people my age who have been living with this disease for decades. It gave me confidence, and it gave me hope.
Listening to Jessica Diniz (President and CEO of Breakthrough T1D Canada), Aaron Kowalski (President and CEO of Breakthrough T1D International) or board members – it just reinforced for both me and AJ that Breakthrough T1D is a family. It’s not simply an organization, it’s a family and everyone is connected because they are traveling on the same journey. Despite the difficulties of my specific journey, they came together with these family-like bonds. There are very few true bonds left in business. And Breakthrough T1D is a family from coast to coast at every level.
And we want to recognize as well the tremendous support of Katie, Lynne, Dennis and everyone at Breakthrough T1D Canada who worked tirelessly on this journey too. We have never known such a culture of support as the one at Breakthrough T1D.
Breakthrough T1D Canada: Any final thoughts?
Matt: My wife AJ is the most remarkable person that I have ever known. And what she did – for this journey, for me, was the most selfless act that I have ever known or seen or will ever experience. Without her, there was absolutely not a hope that I – but I mean we – could have done this journey. I love her dearly, but this took it to a whole new level.
Out of everything, I will remember what she did more than anything else. Life is about memories, and what I’m going to be left with are memories for life that I will never forget, and that have changed me.
This journey changed me. It made me look at things even more positively. We live in such a remarkable country, which is so kind and so beautiful in its soul. I could only experience that beauty by seeing it replicated over and over – in small towns, in big cities, in bike shops, pastry shops, restaurants, anywhere we went. The circulatory system of this country just pumps decency everywhere. I feel blessed to have experienced it and my gratitude can’t be properly expressed.
It’s also amazing how you can connect with society through social media. I had never used it before this event. But throughout my ride, I would read the comments on LinkedIn, especially when I was tired and didn’t want to get up, didn’t want to get back on my bike. But the humans on the other end would help keep me going. I never knew I could feel humanity that way through a computer. So, thank you to everyone who left me a note and helped fuel my commitment to this purposeful journey. You did more for me than you will ever realize.
I’m also so appreciative that Breakthrough T1D gave me and AJ the opportunity to do this, and I feel incredibly blessed and just so grateful to everyone at this organization, to the people I met out on the road, to the volunteers, to the ambassadors and to everyone who supported us along the way. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart – thank you.
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Breakthrough T1D once again extends its enormous gratitude to Matt and AJ, to the volunteers, staff and everyone at RBC who contributed to the incredible success of Coast to Coast for Cures.
To learn more: https://breakthrought1d.akaraisin.com/ui/CoastToCoastForCures