Nathan Butterworth had to put in his paces before he was chosen to carry the torch.

The student recruiter for McMaster University had to answer daily trivia questions from Olympic torch presenter Coca-Cola for 100 days, answer a skill-testing question and write an essay about how he lives "green."

He sold his car in November and intends to take a year off to work and cycle across Canada in 2010.

Every summer for the past six years he has cycled from Toronto -- and from Hamilton some years -- to Montreal to raise money for the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation.

"I was really exited and didn't want to tell too many people because I thought this is too good to be true."