EDMONTON - Tired, relieved and a little elated, Rodney Stafford peddled into Edmonton Saturday, completing his 3,400 kilometre cycling journey in memory of his slain daughter Victoria.

Stafford's life was turned upside down in April when little 'Tori', 8, was abducted and killed after leaving school in Woodstock, Ont.

His gruelling 45-day bicycle trip, where he averaged about 70 kilometres per day, has raised awareness about child abduction and helped him deal with some of the pain of his loss.

"It has put a lot of relief into me," said Stafford, his face burned from the prairie wind and sun, his eyes glassy with fatigue.

"I keep remembering all the good times with Victoria. It is like I am filling a void."

Stafford, who is not an avid cyclist, figures someone has been watching over him during his trip.

A knee injury 10 days before he started peddling didn't hobble his progress. He only faced three days of rain out of 45 days on the road. And his Kona Sutra bike suffered just one flat tire during the trip, on the famously rugged roads of rural Saskatchewan.

Stafford had forgotten to bring a spare tire tube that day but managed to patch the flat with some duct tape.

During the long hours and days of peddling on the road his spirits were buoyed by the well wishes of people along the way who beeped their horns in support. At night he gained some strength by reading messages posted on an Internet site that was set up to help promote the trip and raise money for the organization Child Find.

"Way to go Rodney... you are a true hero...you are a great father," posted someone from Ingersoll, Ont.

"Wooooohoooooooo Rodney, Your journey was an accomplishment that you are to be proud of.. You make Canadians proud. You are an inspiration to all of us. Hoping you can find some peace and comfort now that you have done what you set out to do," says another post.

"RODNEY,CANADA SALUTES YOU!!!"

But Stafford said what really propelled him along hour after hour, kilometre after kilometre, were memories of his daughter.

While still in Ontario he made it a point to visit a park where he and Tori saw two bears a few years ago. Viewing the bruins thrilled his daughter at the time. Stafford said he couldn't believe it when he saw two bears near the same spot outside of North Bay.

"There were two bears sitting their eating and there was a star in the sky right above me," he said. "Tori has been with me on this ride."

On Sunday, Stafford and some close relatives are to walk up a mountain in Jasper National Park where he is to release a single purple balloon into the Alberta sky.

He hopes the simple gesture will bring him some closure after the horrors of the past few months.

"It will mean a lot to know that I accomplished the goal I set out to accomplish. I will be that close to heaven when I release the balloon. Hopefully she will end up catching it."

Stafford is also bracing for the beginning of a new and more painful odyssey.

Next year, the man and woman charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder in connection with Tori's death are expected to go on trial. He plans to be in the courtroom every day.

Michael Rafferty, 28, and Terri-Lynne McClintic, 19, are in custody in Ontario as they await trial on the allegations against them.

Rafferty's lawyer said in August that his client will plead not guilty, McClintic's attorney has not indicated how her client will plead.

"This is a little bit of closure, but we still have the trial coming up," he said. "As painful as it is going to be I need to be there. I need to find out what happened to my baby."