We've received the first update from the WaBu Cycle Tour (WaBu stands for "Washington or Bust" — Washington state, that is). Read the N&O story that details the teenage boys' journey. To read more updates and see photos from the road, keep an eye on The Chapel Hill News Web site. To donate to the cause or read more about the trip and the crew, go to the WaBu Cycle Tour Web site.
In a nutshell, seven teenage boys and two adult guides are riding cross-country to raise money for the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and to raise awareness about early detection. One of the boys, David Hare, is riding specifically because his mother is a breast cancer survivor. So the cause hits close to home for him.
The crew left Sunday morning: they drove from here to Aberdeen, Md., where they dipped their back tires in the Atlantic Ocean and began their ride.
Here's an e-mail from Brian Burnham, one of the leaders. It was time stamped 12:30 a.m. Sunday. The subject line read: "The Approach Trail."
Over the last many years, I've enjoyed countless days of climbing at the local crag Sauratown. The routes are all classic, the view is spectacular, and it's an overall quality place to climb. The big kicker, though, is the approach trail. It's not toooo bad in the whole scheme of things, and in the end, it's way worth it, but you do have trudge up the steepness for a good bit.
Bike trips are pretty much the same way, especially when you're taking out seven high school students that have never been biking before. The approach can be fun, but it sure is a lot of work … and always has some steep sections to it … parts not coming in … laaaast minute changes. But as soon as you take that first pedal stroke out of the Atlantic and the road opens up to you for the summer, all that stress is already miles away and then you just have one job … pedal.
The mission this summer is to take seven high school students and Scouts aging from 14 to 17 from the waters of Aberdeen, Md. to Anacortes, Wash., covering 3,700 miles over 68 days. For the past nine months or so, we've been planning and prepping for the journey. We've spent hours building our bikes, ridden them around town, down to the beach, and now have all of our stuff packed.
At 9 a.m. tomorrow, we pack up the cars and head off to Maryland. The approach trail is over, and now we'll be in the thick of it. I can see the anxiety on all the riders' faces at this point. But, soon enough, the rhythm of riding and the new confidence take care of that, and a suntan will take its place.
More to come from the roads of Pennsylvania.
We're bikin' it.
Brian
