Prince George Ride Promotes Mental Health - Myles Mattila
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
Myles Mattila is used to skating
circles around hockey opponents.
On Sunday, June 22, he’ll be
putting his legs to work in a different
kind of circular motion, cranking
the pedals of a bike to bring
awareness to mental health issues
and raise funds in the third annual
Ride Don’t Hide event.
Mattila is heading Team Mind-
Check PG for the ride, to help
promote the MindCheck website
set up last year following the
August 2011 suicide of Vancouver
Canucks forward Rick Rypien.
The mindcheck.ca website Mattila
promotes in Prince George
high schools is geared to youth
and young adults.
“I’m trying to get some teams
together and do what I can to
join my group or make their own
group,” said Mattila.
“I just want to raise awareness
for Ride Don’t Hide and raise
awareness for mental health.
Hopefully we’ll get 150 people.”
Mattila, 15, has just about finished
his Grade 9 classes at Duchess
Park secondary school and has
been trying to round up his fellow
students for the ride, which starts
at 10:15 a.m. on June 22 at the CN
Centre south parking lot.
There’s a short obstacle course
for the kids and older riders will
have a choice between a flat sixkilometre
course or a hilly 20 km
ride.
The Ride Don’t Hide movement
was started by Vancouver teacher
Michael Schratter, who completed
a 40,000 km, 15-month global
bike ride in 2011.
Schratter’s trip brought worldwide
attention to his lifelong
struggles with depression and
anxiety and helped tear down
some of the stigmas attached to
mental illnesses.
Ride Don’t Hide has expanded
beyond the B.C. border for the first
time and is being promoted in Alberta,
Saskatchewan and Ontario.
The national goal is to attract
3,600 participants and raise a total
of $800,000.
“All the money raised in Prince
George will stay here and will
be going towards mental health
education,” said Maureen Davis,
executive director of the Prince
George branch of the Canadian
Mental Health Association.
“We’ve basically gone national
with the event and the whole
thinking behind it is you don’t
need to be ashamed.”
The Prince George ride is being
sponsored by Shoppers Drug Mart
and Cycle World.
The top local fundraiser will win
a Norco bike worth up to $400.
Register at ridedonthide.com.
• Mattila, a native of Quesnel,
moved to Prince George last year
to play hockey and was captain of
the Farr Fabricating bantam Tier 1
Cougars hockey team.
The team went on to host the
provincial championship and Mattila
was selected by the Vancouver
Giants in the WHL bantam draft
May. 1.
The Giants picked him in the
ninth round, 183rd overall, and
he’ll report to his first Giants camp
on Aug. 22.
Prince George Ride Promotes Mental Health - Myles Mattila
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
Myles Mattila is used to skating
circles around hockey opponents.
On Sunday, June 22, he’ll be
putting his legs to work in a different
kind of circular motion, cranking
the pedals of a bike to bring
awareness to mental health issues
and raise funds in the third annual
Ride Don’t Hide event.
Mattila is heading Team Mind-
Check PG for the ride, to help
promote the MindCheck website
set up last year following the
August 2011 suicide of Vancouver
Canucks forward Rick Rypien.
The mindcheck.ca website Mattila
promotes in Prince George
high schools is geared to youth
and young adults.
“I’m trying to get some teams
together and do what I can to
join my group or make their own
group,” said Mattila.
“I just want to raise awareness
for Ride Don’t Hide and raise
awareness for mental health.
Hopefully we’ll get 150 people.”
Mattila, 15, has just about finished
his Grade 9 classes at Duchess
Park secondary school and has
been trying to round up his fellow
students for the ride, which starts
at 10:15 a.m. on June 22 at the CN
Centre south parking lot.
There’s a short obstacle course
for the kids and older riders will
have a choice between a flat sixkilometre
course or a hilly 20 km
ride.
The Ride Don’t Hide movement
was started by Vancouver teacher
Michael Schratter, who completed
a 40,000 km, 15-month global
bike ride in 2011.
Schratter’s trip brought worldwide
attention to his lifelong
struggles with depression and
anxiety and helped tear down
some of the stigmas attached to
mental illnesses.
Ride Don’t Hide has expanded
beyond the B.C. border for the first
time and is being promoted in Alberta,
Saskatchewan and Ontario.
The national goal is to attract
3,600 participants and raise a total
of $800,000.
“All the money raised in Prince
George will stay here and will
be going towards mental health
education,” said Maureen Davis,
executive director of the Prince
George branch of the Canadian
Mental Health Association.
“We’ve basically gone national
with the event and the whole
thinking behind it is you don’t
need to be ashamed.”
The Prince George ride is being
sponsored by Shoppers Drug Mart
and Cycle World.
The top local fundraiser will win
a Norco bike worth up to $400.
Register at ridedonthide.com.
• Mattila, a native of Quesnel,
moved to Prince George last year
to play hockey and was captain of
the Farr Fabricating bantam Tier 1
Cougars hockey team.
The team went on to host the
provincial championship and Mattila
was selected by the Vancouver
Giants in the WHL bantam draft
May. 1.
The Giants picked him in the
ninth round, 183rd overall, and
he’ll report to his first Giants camp
on Aug. 22.