A grandpa of eleven grandchildren is hoping to get his second World Guinness record, this time for longest distance cycled in one month. 

Arvid Loewen of Winnipeg, Man. will start cycling at 5:00 am on July 1 and continue biking each day of July for as long as he can. He's doing it to beat the previous World Record of longest distanced cycled, held by Mark Beaumont from the UK back in 2017, when he cycled 11,315 km in one months' time. 

Loewen is 63 years old and he's been cycling to raise money for Mully Children's Family for 15 years. In 2005 he quit his job at Palliser furniture after working there for 31 years. 

When asked why, Loewen explains, "I felt that God called me for something else. So I chose to use what I am fairly good at and what I'm passionate about, and that is cycling."

Giving back is a big reason why Loewen bikes. 

"Since 2005 I have used ultra-marathon cycling as my main platform to build a fundraising strategy around for an organization called Mully Children's Family, a street children rescue mission in Kenya. Today they have just under 4,000 children, and another 15,000 have already graduated and gone through the organization in 30 years."

He holds the Guinness World record for fastest cycle across Canada in 13 days, 6 hours and 13 minutes. Plus he has successfully raced across America twice, "which is recognized as the world's toughest sporting event."

Being active has always been a part of Loewen's life, but it didn't start with a love of biking. 

"I was born in Paraguay, South America, so I always say soccer was my birth certificate. I came to Canada as a 13 year old. I played amateur soccer at an elite level to the point where going professional was a possibility."

He says that this was a critical moment in his life where he chose faith over fame. Instead of going all the way to Europe, he played at an elite amateur level in Manitoba, which initially took him all across Canada. That is until an injury stopped his career. 

The activity could no longer be soccer, but Loewen knew he needed to continue moving.

He says, "Somewhere around age 34/35, I picked up my old Canadian Tire mountain bike out of the garage and I told my wife I was going to go for a 50 km ride. After 30 km, I had to call her and tell her to come pick me up. But that was the beginning of planting a seed that ultra-marathon cycling was good for the body, it was something I could do with all my injuries, and turn my love for sports to this."

Loewen points to his faith and purpose when cycling, chalking up the ability to complete such an arduous task by focusing on three things. 

"To be in ultra-marathon cycling, it takes three things besides being physically fit. Number one, I have to be at peace with who I am. I have nothing to prove to myself or anybody else. Two, I have to be at peace with God. Three, I have to have a reason. I have developed a passion to help a destitute child."

Loewen has done one big ultra-marathon cycling event for the past 15 years, and through this, Loewen and his wife Ruth have raised approximately $7 million.

When asked how he feels about this world record attempt, Loewen understand that it won't be easy. He shares, "Even this ride, this Guinness World Record attempt, will be very difficult mentally because it's so long."

This ride is more than double the amount of cycling of his previous world record for cycling across Canada. He must cycle at least 387 km a day to hit his mark. 

"I will be doing all my riding on Henderson highway [and cycling] a 27 km loop."

Loewen is fortunate to have friends on that route to act as his homebase. He will be staying there for the hours he is not physically on the bike, mostly just to sleep. 

"I should be on the bike somewhere around 16 hours a day. I will be able to get actual sleep, approximately 5 hours a night. This is a little different than the other world record."

One of the requirements Guinness World records has is for two witnesses to see it all, therefore Loewen has two people who have committed to sitting on the side of the road to document everything. This spot will also be where Loewen eats and drinks in between loops. 

"I always say I have a 51% chance of accomplishing my cycling goal but because of why I do it, and what I do with it, I know I have 100% chance of making a difference to a destitute child."

Preparing for such a huge goal as this, it's the mental toughness that takes its toll. 

"My mind is my strongest asset and my weakest asset. It's really like a roller coaster, mentally and emotionally. One hour I feel very positive and say 'I can do this'. The next hour I feel like, what in the world did I sign up for?"

The world record attempt will begin July 1 and end July 31, barring any complications.  

Even with the pre-event nerves, Loewen says, "When I start at 5:00 am on Wednesday morning, those things will disappear and the only thing at that point I have to focus on is to be able to stay on the bike."

Loewen welcomes people to donate online, or drive out to cheer him on, but acknowledges that he will not be stopping to say hi, so he can keep his focus on the ride.