I have been training since February 2009 with the goal of completing a cycling tour from Portland, Oregon, to Tybee Island, Georgia in 30 days. The PAC Tour group embarked on July 5th and we are traveling about 3600 miles and climbing approximately 124,000 cumulative feet. Please enjoy sharing my journey across America.
I am asking friends, family, and anybody else interested in following the trip to consider supporting this trip by making a donation to Seattle Children's Hospital, Research, and Foundation. Art and Kristin Reeck have made Children's a priority in their philanthropic efforts over the years, and I laud their achievements. I encourage donations to the Uncompensated Care Fund, to help pay the bills for children without insurance, or with inadequate insurance to pay their bills...lifting the financial and emotional burden from the children and their families. Indicate Jay Across America as the occasion for the donation so we can total the money raised.
Hopefully, someday, we won't have to raise money for causes like this. For now, however, I thank you for your support.
The donation total will be updated occasionally...Consider a donation per mile or vertical foot climbed...and follow on the GPS link, where you can see the route, the speed, the ride profile, the weather, and-yes-my heart rate.

Monday, July 6, 2009

July 6th - Day 2

Today was a gift from the cycling Gods. Imagine being pushed along all day long under sunny skies with views of rivers, rolling hills, and an occasional fluffy white cloud and somebody waiting with food and drinks for you every hour and half. My reality was clicking off 100 miles in under five hours with an average heart rate of 110, then finishing up the 133 miles with the same effort. Lon proclaimed today the strongest and longest sustained tailwind on any Pac tour...ever. So sweet.
We not only got to take in the
Columbia River with the John Day Dam, but we saw the Deschutes River dumping into the Columbia,
witnessed an improbably located tree farm which stretched on for miles in the middle of rolling fields, and we saw Lon Haldeman riding along with us...on his
singlespeed!

As I suspected, I am surrounded on this tour by people with some incredible stories to tell. There are numerous 508 finishers (a 508 mile race
across Death Valley), multiple finishers of Paris-Brest-Paris (a 1200 kilometer ride held every four years), and numerous Pac-Tour Hall of Fame Members (over 10,000 miles ridden with Pac Tour). There are other special stories as well.

One of our riders has followed Lon and Susan Haldeman and their Pac Tour adventures for over 15 years, thinking about the possibility of riding on a trip. Unfortunately, he lost his son to complications from neurocutaneous melanosis at age 4. He promised his son
to work to help find a cure...and now he's here, riding his heart out to raise money.

We cleaned up our bikes, cleaned up ourselves, and caught a ride to a local casino to hit up their buffet. Big time calorie load...and now, time to sleep.
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2 comments:

  1. UnknownJuly 7, 2009 at 6:04 PM

    In honor of your ride across America, I am going to ride my bike to work the month of July. Who cares about helmet hair! Stay strong.

    Connie

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jay ReeckJuly 7, 2009 at 8:04 PM

    Go Connie, go!

    ReplyDelete

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