Miles for Sight: A shop owner's cross-Canada journey for vision

Motorcycle adventures are often about the journey—but for Lorenzo Pellicciotta, this ride is about something much bigger. In this episode, we sit down with Lorenzo Pellicciotta, owner of Pellicciotta Automotive Group and operator of CARSTAR Oakville West and NAPA AUTOPRO Oakville, to talk about Miles for Sight – Four Corners of Canada Ride in support of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.  Over 7,000 kilometres into his journey, from Whitehorse, Yukon, Lorenzo shares the inspiration behind this incredible cross-country journey, his personal commitment to supporting CNIB, and how one ride is helping raise awareness and funds to empower Canadians living with vision loss.

For more information and/or to make a contribution, visit the Miles for Sight CNIB fundraising page.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:33

Welcome to the podcast, everyone. It's your host, Andrew Ross. Now, uh, those of you who have been maybe following along, Lorenzo Pelichotta, uh, the owner of the Pelichotta uh Automotive Group, uh, which operates uh uh AutoPro uh Oakville, Napa Auto Pro Oakville, as well as the Carstar Oakville West uh businesses, has uh been on the road um from his Oakville uh environs. Uh he has uh embarked on uh the miles per sight four corners of Canada ride in support of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. And and so I reached him uh by phone uh in Whitehorse uh Yukon territory. Uh welcome to the podcast, Lorenzo.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Hey, good morning, good morning, Andrew.

SPEAKER_02 1:13

Yeah, you're a long way from home.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

Uh yes, I don't know, about I don't know, 7,100 kilometers, I think, or 72. I'm not even sure. I know it's over 7,000, uh, what I've done so far. Um over three weeks. I think this is my third week, actually. I started July 5th, is when I left home. So yeah, it's a fair bit. It's a fair bit. A little bit chilly out here today, too, actually.

SPEAKER_02 1:36

Yeah, so you're I mean, you've been doing all this just so people can get get uh you know this in their head. You've been doing this on your uh your Harley adventure bike uh the whole way. Uh you are um, shall we say you're a mature uh uh person?

SPEAKER_01 1:52

I think so. I hope so.

SPEAKER_02 1:55

Uh some people say I'm immature, but you know, that's a state of mind, but uh you know, you're a full-on grown-up. Uh you know, this this sounds like it's been a challenging run. We'll talk about the cause in a minute and and why you decided to do this, but even just on the face of it, uh, you know, three weeks so far and another uh three or four to go, uh covering all of Canada as much as you can. Um that that's that sounds like it's pretty challenging just on the face of it.

SPEAKER_01 2:20

Yeah, it's it's it's actually pretty challenging. Um so it is I'm doing this ride to raise money for the CNIB. Um it sort of I can um so it came the idea came to me in 2024. I was riding my motorcycle back from um I have a Harley uh ultra CVO and I was coming back from Sturgis in the summer of 2024 in August. And I stopped. So what I'm riding, I'm always thinking in my head, right? It's my head is clear and I'm just whatever, thinking away. And I and I I love riding motorcycles. And I stopped at the Milwaukee um Harley Davidson on the way home, and I see this red and black Pan America sitting in the in the showroom. And I just thought right there, I thought, that's the bike. I'm gonna buy that bike and I'm gonna ride it to the Four Points of Canada for a great cause, and that's to raise money for the CNIB.

SPEAKER_02 3:20

So why why the cause? Why why is this cause uh important to you?

SPEAKER_01 3:24

Well, my daughter had um um she was born with uh vision problems. Um she had both her cataracts done at the age of four. Um that was in 2003. Um so what you know, being there as sick kids and seeing all these kids with their their vision problems and stuff, and my daughter, and and having people that I know and you know, family and friends that have lost an eye or due to accidents or lost vision, I can't drive anymore. Um, like there's just something I wanted to do. And and I mean, I'm not a doctor, so I can't really help in that sense. So I thought, you know, um maybe I can raise money um for the CNIB who who helps uh visually impaired people with all their programs and stuff. So so that was that's the cause. It's it's my daughter is what brought me um with her problems to this whole thing. So that day was just uh the light switch, and I said, This is what I'm gonna do.

SPEAKER_02 4:27

That's it, that's it. And so here you are. Uh, you know, I I I know that you know, obviously your focus is on raising uh funds and raising awareness. Uh, but you've had, you know, there's been a journey and there's done been some visits along the way too, right? I mean, it's been an adventure.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

So yeah, I have it's amazing. I'm just stopping at so I have um I have some sponsors along the way and some that want me to stop. So I have chopped leaf is fueling my ride across Canada. They're they're a restaurant brand in Canada. Um, so they're fueling my ride with their with their bowls and salads and sandwiches and stuff. So I'm stopping at those locations. I'm stopping at uh Napa Auto Pro locations, that they're a sponsor of mine as well. And I'm stack stopping at Car Star locations, they're a sponsor. So I'm doing some social media and stuff along the way uh with those stops. Um I'm stopping at CNIB offices when I can find them in major cities and stuff. Um so yeah, so it's been great. Everybody has been has, you know, some have heard of it when I stopped in, some haven't heard of it. Um it's just been amazing.

SPEAKER_02 5:40

What's the what's the reception been like? Yeah, I wanted to ask you, and what kind of conversations are you having with uh, you know, some of the folks uh, you know, obviously within the industry, even when uh they see you rolling up, uh I I I guess you must have uh like a support vehicle there too, right?

SPEAKER_01 5:55

I do have an RV that we meet up with um nightly. Um so we'll meet up and I get to stay in an RV. So uh either a Walmart along the way or uh a campgrounds, and some campgrounds uh actually comped my visit. Um that's nice. When we we we come because every every stop that I have, I pull out the poster, I give them some CNIB swag, uh, we talk about the CNIB, I tell them what I'm doing, and they can't believe it. They'll put the poster up in their location, they'll promote it, and you know, I've run to people along the way. At one campsite, the guy showed me, goes, I know who the C and I B is, I have a fake eye, right? I have a I lost my eye. And I go, my God, and and then I stopped for gas uh on the way up at a location, and then my my phone was dead, so I went into a 7-Eleven to charge my phone. I thought, you know what, let me go buy a chocolate bar or something, so I'm not just standing here, I'm spending some money. So I go buy a chocolate bar, and the guy uh behind the counter, I can see he's something's wrong with his eye. Um so like it was all grayed out, and and so I ran to my car, I got my car, my motorcycle, I got a poster, I come back in, I said, Hey, have you do you know who the CNIB is? And he says, Absolutely. And I said, Well, I'm so I started telling him what I'm doing. I says, because I can see you have a problem with your eye, and um I I'm doing this ride for the CNIB trying to raise money, and he was unbelievable. He was thanking me. This is unbelievable. So he told me his story that uh when he was two years old, I guess his his brother was throwing the pillow around and it knocked the chandelier and it went right into his eye, and and that's what caused his problem. He's 26 now. Um, so he says recently that his his muscle or the retina or something detached, so he has 0% vision out of that eye. Um, so he he knows exactly what I know who the CNIB is, and he was so grateful, so grateful. And gotten a picture with me on social media, and uh actually I don't know if I did that post yet. I don't think I did. Um, but uh that's to come and um you know put the poster up and he was so thankful. It was it was just you know it's it's people like that that I'm meeting that are giving me the extra drive and push to do it, sort of thing, because you know, I told him I said I'm doing this for for you, right? And and and and he was so grateful, and and it was just amazing. It's a good feeling. It's a good feeling when I can do something to help people, and I and I hope it helps somebody. You know what I mean? Like all this, I'm hoping it it it somebody as long as somebody gets some help from it, that that that's all that matters.

SPEAKER_02 8:37

Sure, sure. Well, I have to say, you know, in full transparency, my mother-in-law is is visually impaired and uh has um you know had had to lean on the CNIV herself uh for for services. So I'm you know personally well aware of of uh some of the some of the help that they can give. And you know, would and sometimes uh uh just again full transparency to everybody out there, there's more they would like to be able to do if they had if they had more support uh financially and and and whatnot too. So this all helps. Do you have a goal for uh for funds raised?

SPEAKER_01 9:11

$100,000 is my goal. And if I don't hit it, I gotta keep riding.

SPEAKER_02 9:18

Well, how are how are you doing on it so far?

SPEAKER_01 9:20

Um I'm over 40%. I think uh last Monday I was at about 42%, I believe, of my goal. Okay. Um, so which is which I'm happy, I'm thrilled. Um yeah, and I just I I really hope that along the way I I just get more support and and I hit the goal.

SPEAKER_02 9:39

Yeah, well that that you know, um you know, as I said, we'll we'll put the contact information for people to to make a donation. I will uh c fully commit myself to make a donation. Oh, thank you so much. And and uh uh well beyond that though, I mean what are you what what are you gonna take from this experience, you know, uh so far, and and you know, if you can put your mind forward when you're done and and have ridden safely to the conclusion. Uh, you know, what is it what's it gonna mean uh mean for you personally?

SPEAKER_01 10:09

Well, personally, um I mean I might be a little bit selfish that I love riding my motorcycle stuff, so that that that's a big goal that it's helping me um visit all these sites in Canada that I probably wouldn't have seen and and just suck it all in and and take it in. Uh lots of pictures and videos and stuff. Um, but I would like to keep this going, um, this miles for sight thing. And I I'm trying to think after this, what can I do? Like next year, what do I do? And I and I would really like personally to keep this going um to build it up to something where we can, you know, keep keep the the funds coming in for the CNIB. Like I and I don't know what that'll be or how I'll keep doing it. Like, do I keep riding or do I come up with something else? Um I mean, miles for a side, I would have to keep riding, I guess. And uh I don't know, maybe every state next year. So I don't I don't know. I I just don't know what to do. I mean, it's it is a lot of time. Um so I I don't know. I I I'm just trying to think there's something to come up with. That that's my goal. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:17

Well it sounds like I mean, uh obviously you're out on the road there. You must have an awful lot of trust in in your team, though, to keep the businesses going uh while you're out uh you know checking out the sites across the country too, right?

SPEAKER_01 11:28

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm quite confident that they'll be good. Um I haven't even called yet. This is the third week. I've never done this before. I haven't even called the shop. And I so um yeah, no, I'm quite confident that they'll they'll be fine, they'll be good, and it'll still be there when I get back.

SPEAKER_02 11:44

I mean, I have to say, I think that that is probably the dream of a lot of shop owners is to be able to just whether or not it's riding around the country or or just going on a extended vacation, to be fun comfortable enough with the team uh, you know, to to to not call.

SPEAKER_01 12:01

100%. I think they all do their job well. Um, I mean, if there's a problem, I'm sure somebody's gonna reach out to me and let me know. Um but yeah, it's been great so far.

SPEAKER_02 12:12

Oh, that's fantastic. So props to everybody back in Oakville who's uh making it possible for you to be uh be out here doing this thing, right?

SPEAKER_01 12:19

So 100%.

SPEAKER_02 12:21

Yeah, yeah. Where to next? You're in Whitehorse now, where do you hit next?

SPEAKER_01 12:25

So I'm going up to um Beaver Creek, is where I'm gonna head out. Um so today is the day I'm getting my bike serviced and tires changed and stuff, and uh the RV actually have to service the RV, so it'll be a down day today. Um, but then it's to work our way up um to um Beaver Creek, Yukon. It's on the border of Alaska, it's the furthest point west. Uh, then ride across uh go through Alaska up and over and come out back into Canada at the top of the world highway.

SPEAKER_02 13:00

Right.

SPEAKER_01 13:00

And and uh and then which will take us to Dawson City and then heading north from Dawson City after I do that. That uh they got that shot where the that mummified toe touches your lips or something. I don't know if you read about that. I'm not sure if that's it. I don't know that, but okay. I'll have to do that one since I'm there, since I then I'll get screeched out out east. So so then I'll be going up um to Tatiaktak, Northwest Territories, and I'll be taking the dempster highway. So that's another thing because it's supposed to start pouring rain here tonight. Um so you're not supposed to. I was advised not to take the dumpster during rain or after rain because it's just brutal with all the mud and stuff. And even though I have off-road tires on my bike, I just yeah. So I I don't know. So I'll see. Uh that's where we're going. So I don't know when I'm gonna leave, if it will be in the morning or the following day. Um but yeah, that's that's the goals. And then once we hit that, we'll come back across and then head east to Cape Spear, Newfoundland.

SPEAKER_02 14:11

Cape Spear, so you're gonna come down through uh uh I guess through through uh Saskatchewan and Manitoba and uh Yes, all the provinces all the way back through and all the property. The Trans Canada then uh Trans Canada.

SPEAKER_01 14:28

So I'm trying to do a different route. So on the way out, I sort of stayed to the south of the provinces to the lower end all the way across. As we went, um, I stopped at uh White Rock Pier in British Columbia, so I could touch the Pacific, which is basically on the U.S. border and BC's border. Uh so I touched the Pacific there, then I worked my way up north through BC um to where I am now in Whitehorse. Um and now going back the other way, I'm gonna try to stay to the the north of the provinces. So I have a different route. Uh I see different scenery, I see different roads. Um until I get, I think pretty well, um there's only one way through Ontario and I think once I get to Winnipeg, I think I'll be back on the Trans-Canada and then through through uh Thunder Bay and stuff, but then I want to go when I go through Quebec, I want to go through the northern part, all the way out to Nova Scotia, and then when I'm on the way back through the southern part and around the Gas Bay Peninsula and stuff. So so that way I don't travel the same road twice.

SPEAKER_02 15:42

That's fair.

SPEAKER_01 15:43

Um but these forest fires and stuff, so I don't know what's gonna happen there. And I know when I was looking at maps in Quebec, there is a few highways were closed um due to construction and stuff. So I'm not exactly sure what's gonna happen. Um I'm sort of looking at it as we go. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:03

Well we want you, everybody wants you to ride safe, right? So uh exactly you want to be on routes that uh you know the the goal is to get to the end and to raise funds and and to do so safely um and and uh you know uh uh look look for places to happen and making stops along the way to quote a famous lyric, right?

SPEAKER_01 16:20

So it was unbelievable, eh? Coming through the Alaska Highway, like, oh my god, when I when I got into it, it's normal, it's normal, it's it's it's it's it's like normal highway, and but then it gets smaller and and and and um more severe and and like no guardrails in a certain section, then you lose cell service, then there's no cell service. It's like oh my god, so now it can't listen to my music anymore in my earbuds, it's like and then it's getting darker, and then the road, some road is is just like no asphalt and and then no guardrails and then no shoulders, and it's like oh my god, it's like and then there's no cars, it's like and and the temperature dropped, it went from like 36 degrees to 16 degrees in a matter of an hour, and I'm like, oh my god, now I'm cold, and like there's no cars around, and like what if something happens, and like what do I do? It's just it was just yeah, it was amazing. It was crazy.

SPEAKER_02 17:19

That's pretty real, right?

SPEAKER_01 17:20

So yeah, it's like, oh man, I signed up for this, man. I gotta do this. It's like and I'm looking like, oh my god, like in your mind, you like you have all the expectations, but you don't really know until you're there, right? And and it's just like business, like you have all these expectations and stuff, but until you jump in and do it, you don't really know what which way it's gonna take you, right? So I mean it was it was pretty unbelievable, right? Like, I mean, a little bit scary at some parts, but I mean, just I said, hey man, I'm gonna do this. This is what I signed up for, so um, yeah, there's no turning back. And it it was pretty amazing. And I'm glad I made it through there safe, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_02 18:01

Yeah, yeah. Well, here's hoping that uh your uh good fortune continues on your good ride. Thank you so much, Lorenzo, for uh taking the time to talk to me. Uh Lorenzo is in Whitehorse right now. By the time you hear this, he's gonna be somewhere else, uh, probably off in the Northwest Territory somewhere or going across the top in the Arctic. Uh great big country to go through still on the way back. And uh so uh you know, watch him on social media. We'll put a couple of links in uh uh in there. But but the most important thing, everyone, uh if you can and you feel that that it fits uh what you want to do, uh you know, donate. Uh we'll put a link for that in the show notes here too. I know, as I said, I committed to it. Uh I'm gonna do it. Uh so it's uh Lorenzo Pelicana's uh uh Miles for Site, Four Corners of Canada ride in support of the CNIB. Lorenzo, thank you so much. Best of luck, safe riding.

SPEAKER_01 18:49

Andrew, thank you very much, man. Thank you. Thank you so much. Really appreciate the support.

SPEAKER_02 18:54

Best we can do, man. I love the aftermarket for this stuff. Awesome. Thanks, guys.

SPEAKER_01 18:59

Okay, talk to you soon, Chuck. Bye.

SPEAKER_00 19:06

You are listening to the great Canadian Aftermarket Podcast, brought to you by the publishers of Indie Garage and Jabber Nation. Connect with us online at indiegarage.ca and jobber nation.ca, a brand of chat integrated media.