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But 11 years later, as the 22-year-old biked into the parking lot of Bayshore Specialty Rx in Markham on Monday afternoon, he was greeted by a cheering crowd of supporters. Local MPPs, the mayor of Markham and former Raptors player Jamaal Magloire made appearances later in the afternoon.

“Today’s been awesome,” he said. “Seeing everybody involved is super-cool.”

Since June 1, King has biked more than 4,500 kilometres as part of his mission to cycle across Canada to raise awareness for Type 1 diabetes. He started his journey in Victoria, biking around 10 hours a day, and plans to reach St. John’s, N.L., by the end of August.

Along with the event in Markham, King has made stops at events in other cities along his route, including Kelowna, B.C., Regina and most recently Thunder Bay. He plans to stop in a few more cities before the end of his journey.

“The dream is to cycle across the country and symbolically connect our communities and provide that connection — the same connection that I needed growing up,” King said.

There are around 300,000 people living with Type 1 diabetes in Canada, according to Breakthrough T1D Canada. While Type 2 diabetes often presents itself in adulthood as the body becomes resistant to insulin, most people with Type 1 diabetes have had the condition since they were young, when their bodies first stopped producing insulin, which maintains healthy blood sugar levels.

King’s desire to connect with other people with Type 1 diabetes was apparent  as he talked with kids and adults with the disease about their experiences. One of the first things he did after hopping off his bike was sign an autograph for two boys.

“Everywhere is like that,” said Ray Nayani from Diabetes Express, a national diabetes pharmacy service and one of the sponsors of King’s ride. “Just having that conversation and telling them that you can achieve anything.”

For most of the journey so far, King has cycled alone by choice — although Nayani said he joined for a 34-kilometre stint over the weekend and felt like he was “dying.” He almost always camps overnight, pulling out the tent and cooking gear stored in bags attached to his Kona Sutra bike.

“Every morning I check in with him and there’s never a negative thing to say,” Nayani added. “It’s always like ‘I’m excited’ or ‘I’m ready for the day.’”

Before King decided to bike across Canada four years ago — finding inspiration from Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope — he had never really been into biking. He didn’t start training in earnest until last summer.

For him, biking across Canada is less of a physical exercise and more about overcoming the mental obstacles of convincing himself that he can actually finish his goal.

Still, there have been some challenges, like not getting enough rest from sleeping in a tent or getting proper nutrition. There is also the added factor of monitoring his insulin.

“There’s new challenges every day,” he said. “But overall I think it’s just about managing them.”

Along with raising awareness, part of King’s goal is to raise $100,000 for I Challenge Diabetes, an organization that seeks to create a community for people living with Type 1 diabetes in Canada. It was this same organization where King first found support growing up, attending a two-day event run by the organization.

At Monday’s event, King was presented a $25,000 cheque from Bayshore HealthCare, a private health-care provider and sponsor of King’s journey.

“I can’t thank you guys enough,” King said in front of the crowd. “Never give up on your dreams. Anything is possible. You just have to believe.”