Oro-Medonte’s Dylan Pearce found his calling after buying road bike from a friend and then excelling as an endurance racer
An Oro-Medonte cyclist has pushed himself to his limit, scoring record times in the process — all in support of mental illness awareness.
Dylan Pearce competitively rides as an ultra-cyclist for literally days, with little to no rest along the way.
Raised in Barrie and now living in Oro-Medonte, Pearce is cycling not for glory, but for a worthy cause.
Pearce, 30, is comparatively new to the sport and he has racked up an impressive list of accomplishments already.
His first race was a 500-kilometre run in the Race Across Quebec (RAQ) series. Not only did he compete and finish his first race, he won it.
To top that big first-time win, Pearce rode from Ottawa to Windsor, a distance of more than 800 km in the Ontario East-West challenge. He did it in just over 31 hours to break the ultra-cycling record for that route.
And still, Pearce was not content with that win, so he cycled around Lake Ontario, a distance of more than 830 km, completing that run in just over 28 hours and breaking yet another ultra-cycling record.
Pearce says he’s not motivated solely by winning, but by helping raise awareness and money for mental health resources. His cycling campaign is in support of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) of Simcoe County.
As of Thursday afternoon, the GoFundMe campaign Pearce has set up has raised $7,700 for CMHA.
On July 11, he competed in the Michigami 2026, which is a 1,791-km race around Lake Michigan.
The trek was a fully unsupported race, meaning the riders are responsible for themselves as far as fluids, nutrition, rest stops and anything else they may need during the race — and without any support of family, friends or crew.
And yes, Pearce won that one, too, outpacing 39 other riders in that distance.
“There was a small group out front for a little while and it took me about a day-and-a-half before I was in the lead, and didn’t really see anybody after that point,” he explained.
With all these wins under his belt, what does Pearce see as a pinnacle in his sport to chase?
“I guess just continue to strive and see how well we can continue to do at different races, and try different races and other local records that seem attainable as well,” he said. “And to keep pushing and seeing how far we can take things and see if we can continue doing well and stacking up against other competitive people as well.”
Pearce, who moved to Oro-Medonte last winter, admits he was never that interested in cycling. But then a friend was moving away and had an old road bike sitting in a garage that he was going to put up for sale.
“We took it out for a little spin one day, had a lot of fun and got a little bit of an adrenaline rush,” Pearce said. “I told him I’d buy it and the next thing you know, I’m riding the thing all the time and had a couple co-workers as well at the time that were in the cycling, so they kind of got me into it more.”
And then one thing led to another, he signed up for a couple of races and hasn’t stopped pedalling — almost literally, being an endurance racer.
Pearce has been competing for five years now.
Oro-Medonte cyclist Dylan Pearce during the recent Michigami 2026, a 1,791-kilometre ultra-cycling race around Lake Michigan. He would go on to win the race. | Image supplied
The race was classified as a completely self-supported competition, So, Pearce had to provide all of his own food. There are no structured nutrition stations, water stations or rest stations.
Each rider is responsible for carrying whatever that they need with them, or sourcing it from resources that are readily available to the general public.
And no support from family or friends riding alongside, handing you sandwiches or protein bars. It’s whatever a cyclist can get along the route.
During these big endurance events, a racer’s body is essentially just looking for the hydration to burn as energy, so a lot of their nutrition is merely liquid from a bottle. The solid food varies, depending on where Pearce is and how he’s feeling.
“Rice crispy squares were my other go-to, and then when I was restocking on water at the gas stations, I’d a couple bags of the Nerds clusters,” he said. “Those are always really good.”
And then Pearce would hit a certain point where he would get flavour fatigue and start craving “real” foods as well.
“So I would try and have some sort of real solid food throughout the day as well,” he said. “During the break for breakfast, if I could find them, I’d end up getting a couple of donuts and a pastry.
“For lunch, I’d usually just have a sandwich or a wrap from one of the gas stations. And then around dinnertime, I’d kind of do the same thing, like a sandwich or a cheeseburger.”
And how does sleep play out in a race like this?
Pearce’s last race around Lake Michigan lasted 79 hours, but he had a strategy.
“I pushed the first 920 km without sleep, but I think that was about the 32-hour mark and I ended up getting a hotel room. The goal was to sleep for two to four hours,” he said.
He only managed to sleep for one hour at that 920-km mark. And then the rest of the route, the next 34 hours of riding time, was basically just a 15-minute power nap at the beginning and end of each day.
In the past, Pearce says he suffered from mental health issues, and worked on it through counselling and therapy.
“And when I did get into cycling, I kind of found that it really added a lot back into my life in terms of having a bit of a purpose again,” he said.
The positives carried over to other aspects of his life.
“Looking back, the way I felt during that period of my life, I kind of felt like nobody ever should deserve to feel that way,” Pearce said. “So, if there was a way I could get back, ultra-cycling for me would be the way to do it.”
Pearce launched a campaign in the fall, called Ride Beyond Limits: Breaking Records to Break Stigma, to spread awareness for mental health, and raising funds for the CMHA.
Pearce’s racing is all self-funded and there is no sponsorship or any kind of equipment or financial support at this time.
He is also taking time off from his job and using his vacation time to be able to participate in the races.
What advice does Pearce have for someone thinking that they just can’t do something as they wrestle with mental health problems?
“The biggest one for me is reaching out for help,” he said. “I think a lot of people who struggle just kind of keep it bottled up and don’t want to talk about it.
“I think reaching out to people for help – they’d be really surprised how many people are out there actually wanting to help, and what kind of resources there are to help you move forward.”
Oro-Medonte cyclist Dylan Pearce is shown after winning the recent Michigami 2026, a 1,791-kilometre ultra-cycling race around Lake Michigan. | Image supplied