"You cannot travel down the path before you have become the Path itself"

So it’s May 13^th 2014 and I’m about to take on a trip I’ve been wanting to accomplish for a very long time. For years I’ve delayed due to various life happenings and comforts, but I’ve finally said it’s time and northing will get in the way to hold me back. So, holding my breath, here I go. Speaking of "nothing holding me back," my retired friend from Texas will no longer offer support. Therefore, I must resort to solo means as previously mentioned in another blog. So, sadly he will no longer arrive in town on the 14th of June. However, I would still like to “Send Off” BBQ in the park to all those who wish to attend on that day (more on that later). On June 15^th I will then pack up and drive (someone will drive me) to Port Angeles, WA where I will set up camp and explore Olympic National Park before the real fun begins the following day. And on that day I will make my way towards the coast and begin heading south. I will ride down through the mighty Redwoods of California arriving in San Francisco hopefully on or near July 4^th. This will be my first real rest day. From the Bay area I will continue on Highway 1 until I make it to the Mexican Border. This will be the turning point. Now my road lies northbound, meandering through the Mojave Desert and the Sierra Nevada Mountains as I take in the glorious landscapes of such National Parks as Joshua Tree, King’s Canyon, Sequoia and Yosemite. Lake Tahoe will be a check point before I make my last leg of the journey into my home state of Oregon. My brief ride through Nevada will mark the 30^th state I have visited. Once in Oregon I will visit Crater Lake and ride around the rim drive before heading to Bend and the Three Sisters Wilderness and back to my home turf of the Willamette Valley. In total it should be somewhere in the vicinity of 3,500 grueling and awe-inspiring miles.

I will now ask you to please remove your hand from scratching your head and asking yourself, "Why?" Rest assured, I am not a crazy person. I am a person seeking life, seeking experience and seeking memories and seeking a dream. Why would anyone want to just pedal around the West Coast, through the hottest part of the country in the hottest part of the year, up steep mountains and down an endless shoreline? Well there are many ways you can answer this question. For one, adventure, to live an adventure. However, the simple answer is this: To raise awareness and funds for the start of a bicycle adventure ministry/Christian camp. This trip is kind of like my guinea pig. I am new to fundraising and it shows: having raised $20.00 in 250 days. Awesome. I’m not sure if that’s a reflection on me as a fundraiser or others as not caring. God will provide if it be his will I like to think. My plan is to simply ride and meet people and seek out opportunities in which God will lead me to open up at churches, camps, campgrounds, cities, parks or monuments. How conversations begin and end about my dream of beginning a Christian camp I will put into His hands and who knows what will come of them. A simple donation of any dollar amount or contribution can go a very long way.

www.plumfund.com/pf/perfectcircles

Thank you for reading.

“You cannot travel down the path before you have become the Path itself”

-Gautama Buddha