A Clinton cyclist will be riding 2,700 miles in memory of a friend this summer.
Kelly Servinski, the co-owner of Tutti Gravel Inn, has committed to taking part in the 2026 Tour Divide, an annual mountain biking race that runs the length of the Rocky Mountains from Banff to the United States/Mexico border in New Mexico. The entire time, he’ll be raising money for the Mike Farrow Memorial Award at Thompson Rivers University, named after his friend.
“It’s an expensive endeavour for these young students to become a guide, to learn safety and to perfect their craft. Gear is very expensive; they have to go on these trips out into the mountains and learn. It’s very expensive,” Servinski said.
Farrow, originally from Ontario, was a good friend of Servinski’s in the early 2000s while they were both working as tree planters in B.C. Servinski said Farrow had been studying to become an adventure guide at Thompson Rivers University through its School of Tourism and was passionate about the outdoors.
Tragically, in 2005, Farrow died in a mountaineering accident in the Rockies at the age of 22. His family started the Mike Farrow Memorial Award at TRU later that year, which is given each year to a second-year student in TRU’s Adventure Tourism program. To help fund it, in 2005, Servinski took part in the seven-day MTB TransAlp in Europe, the seven-day MTB TransRockies in Canada and the three-day MTB LaRuta in Costa Rica, raising a total of $11,000.
When Servinski began preparing for the Tour Divide, he began thinking of Farrow and how lucky he is to be alive and doing what he loves. He decided to dedicate his ride to Farrow’s memory and honour his friend.
“(TRU) set up a direct link to donate on their website so the money doesn’t go through me, it just goes directly to the university,” Servinski said. “They’ve been really helpful in setting that up.”
Cycling has been a part of Servinski’s life for decades, ever since he had a bad motorcycling accident at the age of 15. Servinski explained he and a friend had been trying to do a high five in the air, which caused him to crash, breaking his right femur, right wrist, right little finger and right elbow.
Following the crash, both Servinski’s father and his bone specialist recommended he give up his motorcycle in favour of cycling as a way to build up his strength. Servinski said he developed a love for cycling, especially down gravel roads in his home province of Saskatchewan. Now at 53, Servinski said he still loves riding and running his business, which caters to cyclists.
“I love the Cariboo. Moved up here in 2019 and have been running my business with my wife, Erin. I’m just a competitive person, but I don’t have as much time to do events and races, running a small business,” Servinski said. “This Tour Divide bike packing race is arguably the toughest around. (It goes) from Banff, Alta to Antelope Wells, New Mexico.”
Servinski has had his eye on the Tour Divide for years, noting he has always wanted to challenge himself. Last year, he decided he would finally give it a try and began training. With Farrow passing 21 years ago this year, he decided to also turn it into a fundraiser to keep both his friend’s name alive and also ensure the next student who benefits from his scholarship can take home a little extra.
To prepare for the race, Servinski said he has spent the winter training in both Arizona and in and around Clinton. He remarked he’s been told by other cyclists that, thanks to the sheer variety of the Cariboo’s landscapes, he’ll have an advantage while riding through the Rockies.
“This will be the biggest challenge, race, of my life, I think,” Servinski remarked. “It’s kind of interesting for me to take on my biggest ride at 53 years of age, but I feel good. If I can pull it off, I think I’ll be pretty proud of myself.”
The record for completing the Tour Divide is around 12 days, which works out to roughly 225 miles a day. Servinski said his goal is to complete the race in 15 days, noting he doesn’t want to leave Erin alone to run their business for too long.
“I like long rides and there aren’t too many longer, bigger rides around,” Servinski said. “You’ve got to carry all your own stuff, deal with all the things that are thrown at you along the way. I wanted to tackle the biggest, baddest one first. That’s kind of how I operate. Some people might want to build up to the biggest one, but I want to do the opposite.”
The Tour Divide kicks off on Friday, June 12, this year, with dozens of other individuals like Servinski each setting out from Banff to see how far they can go. Along the way, Servinski said he hopes people will donate to Farrow’s award, noting that he is sure every time he hears about a new donation, it will motivate him to keep pushing.
As for how much he wants to raise exactly, Servinski said he hasn’t put an exact number on it. In 2005, he raised $11,000 for the award and would like to match that this year. That being said, he said he also would be content with raising a dollar a mile.
“We’d love to get Mike’s scholarship up over $1,500, a cheque to the new student who is awarded the scholarship. (TRU) said $5,000 or $6,000 needs to be raised (to do that),” Servinski said. “We’ve got a few donations already, but whatever can be raised, I think, will help the new student.”
Anyone looking to support Servinski with a donation can donate by going to http://tru.ca/farrow.