The Kickoff

It is 10 degrees and snowing today. Cross country skiing is the current sport of choice. Bicycling across the country seems like a long way away. But it isn't too soon to start getting ready. Starting in late May I plan to fulfill one of my life list goals by biking cross country. I decided to go across the middle starting from York Town, VA on the East Coast, and finishing in San Francisco at the Golden Gate, 3785 miles. The route follows the Adventure Cycling TransAmerica Trail through Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas to Pueblo Colorado, and then picks up the Adventure Cycling Western Express Trail through Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California.

My wife Sally will be my SAG wagon driver for the entire trip. That way I will be able to ride light and "fast". In fact she is fulfilling her end of an agreement to support my ride since I supported her decision to bike cross country in the spring of 2006 from San Diego to St Augustine FL on a trip with Woman Tours. We plan to camp a lot, see the local sights, and hopefully link up with friends and family along the way, the ultimate road trip. We welcome anyone who would like to join us at any point on the road.

I have also decided that, as long as I am making the trip, I might as well use it for a good cause. I chair the board of a grassroots 501(c)3 non-profit in Rochester called Journeys of Solutions, Inc.(JOS). The objective of JOS is to provide a non-profit infrastructure for supporting projects to help people in need in developing countries. Often adventure travelers to these countries would like to help the people they meet, but find it hard to get started. JOS is intended to provide that help and encouragement. Of course the biggest challenge is to raise funds for project work. So I decided to dedicate the ride to raise money for JOS. The tag line will be "a donation of just a penny a mile can make a big difference".

Stay tuned for more details on fund raising and preparation for the ride. In the meantime, I am going skiing.