Canadian Larry Lessard will ride 20,000 kilometers by bicycle and speak at 25 universities in 25 countries for a more sustainable world.
December 29, 2022
Larry Lessard is a 62-year-old professor. He works on sustainable composite materials at McGill, one of the world’s leading universities in Montreal, Canada.
Lessard decided to undergo his year-long quest for the environment and on July 1, he left Paris on his bicycle. He headed to the north of Europe, reached Stockholm and then headed south again. After Italy and Greece, he reached Istanbul in November and has been in Turkey for a month. He aims to cover 20,000 kilometers by September 2023, during which time he will communicate with universities in about 25 countries.
Sabancı University was one of the institutions where Lessard spoke to encourage ways to rethink and reuse composite materials. The day after he met with the students and made a presentation, we met with the Canadian professor. He greets us with one of the bandanas he always wears. He is wearing a black shirt. “This is the presentation and interview shirt of my trip,” he explains. For 14 months, Lessard has not bought any other clothes except for that shirt, four t-shirts, a coat, four shorts and a pair of pants. “One of the big realizations of this trip was realizing how much stuff we have,” he says, adding that he will do a serious closet cleanout when he returns.
Istanbul is the most challenging stop.
The first week of the project was very difficult. He was convinced that his body would never be able to complete this bike tour. But at the end of a week, his pain was gone and he did not encounter any health problems after that.
We ask Lessard, who covered his expenses all by himself, what were his first impressions of Turkey, where he came for the first time. He remembers that he liked the country very much when he entered the Greek border and passed through Keşan: “But as we got closer to Istanbul, the road suddenly became dangerous for a cyclist. The last 30 kilometers to reach Sultanahmet was the most frustrating part of the trip.”
It was a Canadian colleague who did his PhD there who put him in touch with Sabancı University. He was clearly delighted to be heard by a large audience at Sabancı University, the 12th university he has spoken at. Moreover, his Instagram followers have increased more than any other speech he has given.
Lessard, who had to change his itinerary due to the events in Iran, will now fly to Thailand to celebrate Christmas with his children there. Then he will set off again on his bicycle to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
Professor Larry Lessard referenced his age in the name of his project, where he will visit 25 countries on his bicycle: Bike62