Larry Lessard’s 400-day, 20,000-kilometre odyssey aims to promote sustainability and recycling as he gives lectures along the way.
Bill Brownstein • Montreal Gazette
on November 09, 2022
One might assume that most tenured university professors would spend their year-long sabbatical staying stationary somewhere, perhaps on a beach and perhaps putting out a treatise in their respective field. Not Larry Lessard.
The McGill University mechanical engineering prof decided to spend his year off pedalling his way around the planet on a 400-day, 20,000-kilometre odyssey.
There’s more: Lessard is also on a mission to promote sustainability and recycling. To that end, he has been giving conferences at universities throughout his trip about the reuse of composite materials.
And there’s still more: the Outremont resident is also making a documentary about his journey. To that end, he’s biking with a GoPro device affixed to his handlebars, a hand-held camera, a drone for aerial shots and an iPhone taking in his thoughts and conferences.
Lessard is currently in Turkey, having already cycled close to 10,000 kilometres. He’s due back in Montreal next summer.