June 14, 2006 -Mark Longo, a university architecture student, is partway through a trans-Canada solo bike trip that will see him arrive in Toronto on or around Sunday, June 18.

See bike trip progress on http://www.transcanada06.mlongo.com.

Mark is riding to raise money for The Mikey Network, a charity that places Public Access Defibrillators (PADs) in public high-risk areas across the Greater Toronto Area with the hope of providing cardiac arrest victims a second chance at life.

Starting in Victoria, B.C. on May 1, Mark has been battling high winds and less than ideal weather since he crossed the Rockies on May 13th. It will take him approximately eight weeks to complete the journey, which is expected to end July 9 in St. John’s , Newfoundland & Labrador.

Through his efforts, Mark expects to raise $175,000 — enough to buy 50 defibrillators for The Mikey Network. The charity is named after Michael Hart Salem, a former executive with Heathwood Homes and the former business partner of Mark’s father Silvio Longo.

Mark is currently a fourth year student at the University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Ontario.

Individual donations to help support Mark’s TransCanada ride and The Mikey Network can be made at http://www.mikeynetwork.com.

For more information on the TransCanada06 ride and to follow Mark’s daily updates as he makes his way across Ontario, visit the Transcanada06 Web site