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Autism Heroes Road Trip passes through New Tecumseth

May 14, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

The Autism Heroes Road Trip arrived in Adjala-Tosorontio and Alliston on Tuesday, May 5, escorted by supporters, police, and fire trucks.

Adam McEachern, an Alliston resident and York Region police officer with two neurodiverse children, Caleb and Jenssen, is cycling and running from Windsor to Ottawa to raise funds for Kerry’s Place Autism Services in Toronto.

The journey that began on April 30 will cover almost 1000 kilometres, with the plan to arrive in Ottawa on May 17, ending at the city’s Terry Fox statue.

McEachern is running between 20 and 25 kilometres and cycling 35 to 55 kilometres each day.

Since 2020, McEachern has completed three 24-hour events and one 12-hour endurance event, raising around $100,000 for Kerry’s Place, Autism Ontario, and Special Olympics Ontario.

The Road Trip made a stop at the Adjala-Tosontio Administration Centre on Tuesday, May 5, then continued on to the New Tecumseth Administration Centre in Alliston.

The stop in Alliston gave McEachern the opportunity to sleep in his own bed for one night rather than the motor home that had been accompanying him on his journey.

In the evening, a special fundraising spaghetti dinner – Carbboost 2026 – was hosted by the Kiwanis Club of South Simcoe.

“I don’t like biking and I don’t like running,” McEachern joked about his journey and the physical endurance required. “This is the fifth event. I’ve done four other extreme fitness events. This whole thing started several years ago from a conversation I had with Caleb. Caleb had been shown a video about Terry Fox, and he became fascinated with him and his journey. He couldn’t understand why he would do something so hard, when other people wouldn’t do it. I told him sometimes you have to do hard things, and things are bigger than yourself.”

Running and cycling long distances require a lot of determination and physical preparedness.

“I’ve been training my whole life,” McEachern said. “For this event, I trained two to three hours every day, doing between 40 and 60 kilometres of cardio a day plus regular training. Starting in Windsor, we had a route where we could hit as many towns as we could. I start the day off with some biking, around 20 to 30 kilometres, then put on the shoes and run for ten kilometres, then back to the bike. It depends on the road and the weather.”

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