Pete and I were sitting in Kepners in Hudson,OH having a burger and I was on my 4th glass of water wondering what I was going to do with my life. After growing up in Southern California my entire life I found myself living in Hudson, Ohio.I was ready for a break. I had spent the last year moving, getting to know people, starting a new business, buying a house, starting work on a Masters/Doctorate program, and picked up cycling. It was a year of survival. I needed an adventure. I had decided to bike across the US by myself. I was joking about it with Pete and I could see his wheels turning upstairs. Within a week he was talking about going across Canada instead. I laughed because my trip of 3000 miles just doubled to a trip of 6000. Leave it to Pete. I didn’t know at the time that Pete had dreamed in College some 30 years ago that he wanted to ride across Canada. Weird how life works.
Pete has done more than most people do in 10 lifetimes. He has cycled around the perimeter of Iceland. Hiked the Artic Circle in Norway. Rode his bike 2100 miles around the Great Lakes. Solo hikes through the Colorado Rockies. All by himself. I could go on, but you get the point. He also Coaches people and is a Professional Photographer. Since we both own our own businesses it seemed like the perfect time to unplug and get after it.
We began planning the trip of a lifetime during a trip to the Blackforest Mountains of PA. After a fun 70 mile day of climbing on old fire trails and dirt road we sat around a fire with a lot of beer we started drawing on this paper plate our thoughts about the trip. Pete actually snapped a photo and figured we would end up using it. It seemed approaoite to have it be the first photo in our blog.
We talked about and then found a noble cause to ride for http://www.invisiblechildren.com/. Things started to fall in place.This trip quickly took on a life of its own and it just feels right. Being able to ride and do something nice for others without wanting something in return. Looking forward to riding and raising awareness.
