Ottawa has no shortage of passionate cyclists who brave the Rideau Canal pathways and Gatineau Hills year-round, but one local rider is taking his training to a level most of us couldn't imagine.
Morgan Bello, who lives just across the river in Cantley, Que., is preparing for one of the most gruelling endurance challenges a cyclist can undertake: a six-day odyssey through North Africa's Atlas Mountains and deep into the Sahara Desert.
A Room Turned Sauna
To get his body ready for the punishing desert heat, Bello has turned part of his home into a DIY heat chamber. He seals off the room, cranks up the temperature, pulls on a rubber sweat suit, and logs hour after hour on his indoor bike trainer.
It's not a glamorous setup — but it's effective. Training in extreme heat forces the body to adapt: plasma volume increases, sweat response becomes more efficient, and the cardiovascular system learns to cope under thermal stress. For a race in the Sahara, that kind of acclimatization isn't optional — it's survival prep.
Why the Atlas Mountains?
The route Bello is tackling crosses the Atlas Mountains, a dramatic range that stretches across Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, before descending into the vast, sun-scorched expanse of the Sahara. Riders face brutal climbs, extreme temperature swings between mountain cold and desert heat, and the kind of sustained physical output that breaks most people.
Six days of racing in that environment demands not just cycling fitness, but mental toughness, heat tolerance, and the ability to recover overnight when conditions are still far from comfortable.
Ottawa's Cycling Culture as a Launchpad
The Ottawa-Gatineau region is one of Canada's most active cycling communities. The Gatineau Park trail network, the Ottawa River Pathway, and the rolling terrain of the Outaouais give local riders a strong aerobic base — but nothing quite simulates the Sahara. That's why Bello's rubber-suit sauna sessions are a necessity, not a quirk.
His story is a reminder that some of the most ambitious athletic feats in the world are being quietly prepared for in Ottawa-area garages and spare bedrooms, with nothing more than determination and creative problem-solving.
For local cyclists inspired by Bello's journey, the Gatineau Hills are always there to start pushing your own limits — rubber suit optional.
Source: CBC Ottawa. Interview by Hallie Cotnam.
