UVic alumnus publishes debut novel about his 7000-kilometer, cross-country bike trek for mental health
Photo via @martin_bauman on X.
TW: This article discusses depression, suicide, and trauma.
UVic Writing alumnus Martin Bauman (MFA ‘21) recently published his debut novel, Hell of a Ride, which reflects on his cross-country bike ride in 2016, with which he raised over $10 000 for mental health initiatives. I recently had the opportunity to talk with Bauman about his ride, his book, and mental health.
The ride
“I was 23 years old turning 24 that summer and some of it was just a pure adventure. The idea of seeing the country from coast to coast was appealing.”
But there were deeper motivations. “I was doing the ride as a fundraiser for community-based mental health services,” he explained, which was something close to him. “I lost a cousin to suicide when I was 10 and saw my dad go through a major depression when I was 13 going on 14. I was comfortable talking about them but I think the ride was a chance for me to begin to feel more comfortable talking about myself and what I’ve lived through.”
One of his favorite parts of the ride was the people he met, including four people in Ontario who inadvertently became a “pseudo-family, this traveling band of misfits … who would inevitably run into each other for a stretch of four, five, six days on the road.”
“I don’t think I would’ve made it across if it had been truly solitary,” Bauman said.
Beyond the physical challenges of a 7000-kilometer bike trek, Bauman shared that the mental side of the ride was more difficult than anticipated, particularly the wind and isolation on the prairies. In one terrifying moment, Bauman was caught in a prairie thunderstorm, with lightning cracking around him. “It was scary, really scary. I thought I was going to die that day but I didn’t want shelter at that moment and I didn’t want the sun to come back out. I just wanted company, I just wanted human companionship.”
Bauman cites Terry Fox as a primary inspiration. “He’s a huge hero of mine,” he reflected. “[Fox] seems like a Canadian that has sort of stood the test of time, his ideals, what he stood for, what he represented, what he fought for. It really hit home to me — it still does.”
“When it came to the idea of the ride, of course he was on my mind … So I kind of set out in my own personal tribute to him and I was curious to see what sort of things I might be able to relate to in his life.”
Writing and publishing a book
“I write in the acknowledgements that riding a bike at the time was the hardest thing I’d ever done, but by far writing a book afterwards was harder,” he said. Writing offered Bauman an opportunity to “comb the depths of [his] life and upbringing.”
“I don’t know that without writing that book I would’ve started therapy, so that was a positive,” he added with a laugh.
Bauman had many influences, including his supervisor, Deborah Campbell, Blair Braverman, Greg Gilhooly, and his peers at UVic. “It was a great time in my life,” he said, “to just spend every day writing and reading, getting inspired and being around other inspiring writers. It really helped this book come to life. I don’t see it being nearly the same book without my time in Victoria.”
Mental health
For Bauman, the ride was a “concrete reminder of some core truths, one of them being that we’re not as alone as we think we may be.”
Throughout his ride, strangers supported Bauman. “Those gestures, big and small, meant a lot and were real reminders of the truth that people care and you’re not as alone as you may feel. I know that it’s not always easy to remember that and in the depths of things; depression can really narrow your field of vision and you can feel like you can only see a foot, two feet in front of you. But if you can find that perspective every now and then to be reminded of the fact people care and we’re not in this alone.”
Bauman hopes that “men in particular can read this book and feel more comfortable talking about their struggles, whatever those struggles may be.”
Hell of a Ride is an engaging blend of literary nonfiction and journalism, and recently won first place in the sixth annual Pottersfield Prize for Creative Nonfiction. The novel is available in stores now, including at Munro’s Books. Bauman currently lives in Halifax, working as a reporter for The Coast.
