Howdy! So remember that Spicy Fog (smoke) filled bike tour I did last fall? I never wrote the last blog post because I got home and then my job started. I did post an Instagram photo and quote from the Hobbit that summed up my mood nicely.
Stat's wise, I left the secret campground at 8:12am (I was accurate in my notes), and hit Vida around 10 or 11 (I was less accurate there) and left Vida at noon. Since then, the Vida Cafe has burned down, so... that sucks. I will be back supposidly.
Anyway, I got home at 3:22, with 4:20 on bike time and 66.35 miles. It was relatively easy as it's a net downhill. I did 797.86 miles during that 10 day (I think) trip.
Tomorrow I go out to a good friend's wedding, then head to RAGBRAI, and then meet up with the Ride for DIPG guys who are riding cross country to raise money for pediatric brain cancer research. It's being led by Morgan Schumaker, who I bike half-way across the country with in 2003 when he was 14. They've been riding since early June and started in Astoria. I'll be joining them in Illinois I think to finish the ride with them on the Adventure Cycling Trans-Am route.
The trip is in honor of Maddie Schumaker, who passed away from DIPG last year. It's hard for me to talk and to write about, so I guess I'm not. Please go to their website at ridefordipg.wordpress.com to learn about it and to follow their great blog. Jesse Schumaker, Maddie's father, one of the people who helped me get into bike touring and who planned our x-country trip in 2003. I owe a lot to him.
So, it's an honor to join Team Maddie to help raise money for the cause, to re-connect with Morgan, and to hang-out with everyone else who's joined. Aaron, Joe, Mark, and Morgan all stayed with me in Eugene about a week into their trip and then I road McKenzie Pass with them. Since then they've been joined by some people on the road, I guess a couple of Tazmanians and an English fellow. Sounds fun!
I'll keep blogging here, but also be sure to follow their blog if you are interested!
This is the route, I'm just doing the last 18 days or so. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vBKNb7HKKLzAnsL9MtJcjq2oNhlyzaBwaEgA5_Vld6U/edit?usp=sharing
