'I walk every day': New Brunswick outdoorsman proves age is just a number
It doesn’t matter the time of day or the weather conditions, Bill Mayo will find a way to keep moving.
“On a rainy day I have two machines in my apartment that I can get on and pedal and at night, if I watch TV, I can sit on a bicycle thing and watch TV,” he said.
Mayo also frequents local trails, the mall if he needs a change of scenery during bad weather, and around town.
Given his lifestyle and attitude, Mayo is proving that age really is just a number.
“I just forget I’m 90,” he laughed. “I walk every day, somewhere.”
His love of nature and being active started at a very young age. At just 10 years old, Mayo would help his dad cut down and sell wood and they’d spend time together camping and on a fishing vessel.
Ever since, the outdoors is where Mayo likes to be.
“When I drove to Florida, I stopped at every village and asked people about trails and if it was interesting enough, I would go and do it,” he said.
“My wife would have to stay in the car though because she had trouble walking.”
After that, May says, every trip turned into a week-long adventure to help ensure there would be enough time to explore.
From Sydney to P.E.I. to Florida, Mayo has decades worth of adventures. However, he doesn’t just lace up his hiking boots, he also helps build and maintain trails for other people to enjoy, including 10 kilometres of the Dobson Trail.
MAYO BRIDGE
He has also taken on projects that took a bit more team work, like the Mayo Bridge.
“We used to cross brooks on the trail. You used to cut a big log or two logs, put them across the water, and that’s what you’d use for a bridge. So, one place every winter the ice took the trees out and we’d go back in the spring and the water’s up to here,” he said, motioning to chest level.
Taking matters into his own hands, Mayo decided he was going to build a more permanent bridge out of rocks, logs and netting.
“The first year, beautiful – the logs were still there, so I said, ‘Good we’ve got it!’ Well the next year, the people down there, they clear-cut on the hill, so of course there’s nothing to stop the water. So we went in the first time and our bridge was gone,” he said.
Luckily, an engineer in Fredericton came to the rescue creating a steel bridge for the area that has been named Mayo’s Crossing.
Mayo's Crossing spans over Rapidly Falls on the Fundy Footpath. (Courtesy: Bill Mayo)
42-KILOMETRE WALK
While age might have slowed his speed over the years, Mayo still has his sense of adventure and he won’t back down from a challenge.
On Saturday, he is taking on a 42-kilometre walk as part of the 40th anniversary of the Moncton Outdoor Enthusiasts Club. It starts at the Chocolate River Station in Riverview, N.B. and loops across both bridges. Each lap is seven kilometres long.
“I think Bill is pretty well an inspiration to everyone,” said event co-ordinator Julian Screawn.
“Just him being at the event itself will probably bring some others out. Like I said, he is an inspiration to many of the club members. I mean if you’re 90 years old and you can do 42 kilometres… if a 90-year-old can do it then you can.”
Mayo is the oldest member of the Outdoor Enthusiasts Club, but arguably one of the most dedicated.
“He had lost his licence and he would still come to hikes,” said Screawn.
“He would walk to meeting points, which is about seven to eight kilometres, and then he would do the hike, which would be anywhere from 10 to 12 kilometres. So basically, how can you say no to not getting out and exercising really?”
With nearly 200 members, the club is open to everyone and does regular hikes on the weekend. This year, it’s planning other events to celebrate 40 years, similar to the walk this weekend.
“A lot of people come out and they meet others and form their own groups, so it is a good way to socialize and also exercise at the same time and what could be better,” said Screawn.
If one group wasn’t enough, Mayo is also apart of the Dartmouth Volksmarch Club, which he says was started by his sister and her husband.
“I’m not trying to out race anybody anymore,” he said.
“I just do it at my pace and let them do their pace and I’ll just say, 'Do what you can comfortably and stick with it.'”
As for this weekend, he says he’s there’s no harm in trying to complete the entire 42-kilometre walk. The event starts at 9 a.m., but Mayo says he’s going to get a head start and should be hitting the trail by 8 a.m.
“The advice that I have is be active, but don’t overdo it,” he said.
“Pick your norm that you can handle and do it every day if you can. That’s what I try to do.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'The world is too messy for bureaucratic hurdles': Canada still bars Afghanistan aid
Ottawa has plans to finally stop blocking Canadian development aid to Afghanistan this year.
Student anti-war protesters dig in as faculties condemn university leadership over calling police
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war at at universities across U.S., some of whom have clashed with police in riot gear, dug in Saturday and vowed to keep their demonstrations going, while several school faculties condemned university presidents who have called in law enforcement to remove protesters.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Cisco reveals security breach, warns of state-sponsored spy campaign
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.
I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'oesn't get' the global phenomenom.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.