Mike's Cross Country Ride

August 24th - Follow the link below to see photos of Mike's arrival in Margaretville on August 10th

http://www.catskillimages.net/Galleries/MikePorter/index.htm

July 12th - More Mike Porter photos and a huge bunch from one of his riding partners, Charles Ginn - just came in on a CD from Minneapolis, MN to see them email me at bobthomas@escort.org and I will send you an invite to view the album on snapfish.com - Terry, who started traveling with Mike and Charles on the "dry" side of the North Cascades has some photos on the WWW at http://community.webshots.com/user/stroln - Charles has some photos at this link http://community.webshots.com/user/ginnc

To follow the journey of these cyclists after looking at this page click on the links listed in the sidebar on the right hand side of your page.

Starting from Anacortes, north of Seattle, WA

Heading toward New York State along Adventure Cycling's Northern Tier Route. Be sure to check the various sections of the Journal to find out the latest about their adventure.

The intrepid three cyclists file through fog and rain leaving Anacortes on Monday May 22nd.

Meet Jay pictured here during a break off the bike during a week long bike ride that followed the Erie Canal across New York State from Buffalo to Albany. Mike and Jay met while on that ride. Learn more about the Canal Tour ride by clicking on the link. http://www.ptny.org/canaltour/

Meet Mike as he rides in el Tour de Tucson, Arizona, a one day event of 109 miles by bicycle.

On the beach at Anacortes, Jay, Mike and Charles - all for one, one for all and every man for himself!

My riding partners for this trip will be Jay Essington, of Egg Harbor Township in NJ and Charles Ginn of Atlanta, Ga. I will have to get a suitable photo of Charles to add here. You never know when you might meet three retired guys and wonder if they are us. The pictures will help. We are riding beginning around May 22, in hopes that the mountain passes will be somewhat open. No snow tires or chains on this trip. Indications are that passes in the Cascades along Wa. Rt. 20 are in the process of being plowed and opened for a late April date. Barring more snow or other weather to slow the clearing, the roads will be open for the start of our trip. Going-to-the-Sun highway in Glacier National Park should be open by our arrival date there. If it happens to be closed for whatever reason, there is an alternate route to the south so we will not be stranded west of the Rockies.

As time has gone by recently, there have been a couple of developments that are noteworthy. Charles will be riding with Jay and I instead of Martin Fore who has elected to travel with another person. Charles is 48 and has done the East Coast route recently. He is anticipating an early retirement from BellSouth and if all goes well, he will be with us. First, Martin Fore will not be riding with us on this trip. He found a new partner who may be a better match for his time frame for travel and speed. I wish him well. Secondly, I just had my bike upgraded with a new small chain ring, 26 tooth and cog set in the rear, 11 - 34. The 26/34 combination will give me considerable better hill climbing capability, something I will sorely need in the Cascades and Rockies.

I will be making additions to this wiki blog that will be in sections depending on where I am enroute. There are links to those sections in the SideBar to the right. This is where I will make my regular entries during the trip. In the event that I cannot get to a computer, my daughter, Megan will do my entries as I dictate them via cell phone. This will help all those who are keeping track of my progress. I do appreciate all the interest in following this journey. Thanks to all who visit this site.

Route Check out my route in the PDF file at the link below or click on the word Route to see some maps - still being added. If you do check out the PDF be sure to scroll down to see all four pages. http://mikeporter.pbwiki.com/f/DailyPlanner.pdf

Planning The trip has been in planning stages for a long time. At this time Jay and I are coordinating the stuff we have to ship to Joe (Gump) Hewitt in Issaquah, Wa. He has graciously offered to be our staging host as we prepare. Jay and I are actually flying into Seattle on May 18 on the same plane. I am leaving from Albany to Philadephia to Seattle and Jay, independent of me, booked the same flight from Phil. to Seattle only 5 rows away. Probably the first of more small world or coincidences.

Gear What's a bike trip without a bike? Check out my bike and the rest of my equipment.

Jay will be riding with panniers on his bike and Martin and I will be pulling trailers. It will be interesting to see how the trailer handles. Packing for a trip like this will involve planning for cold, wet weather with winds to the extreme of heat and dry as we cross eastern Wash. and east Montana. We will be carrying tents, sleeping bags and pads, stoves, cook sets, food, safety gear, and clothing. As the chance of cold weather diminishes, we will be able to send stuff home. I will probably pack mail to be sent to General delivery at post offices along the route to supply me with current maps, warm weather cloths, etc. This will help keep weight down. My goal is to have around 40 lbs. of gear and food as I go down the road.

In the Press

The Daily Star, Oneonta, NY 05/15/06 thedailystar.com

Cyclist to Cross Country for Cancer

By Patricia Breakey

Delhi News Bureau

A retired Margaretville teacher who has been battling cancer is getting ready for a cross-country bicycle trip to fulfill a dream. Mike Porter, 56, said he loves to travel and finds a bike a more relaxing form of transportation.

"You can interact with people as you ride along," Porter said recently. "You can hear the birds sing and see things that people in cars never see because they are going too fast. I enjoy nature and I love to be out in it."

Porter will fly to Seattle this month and then begin pedaling his way back home along Adventure Cycling’s Northern Tier Route. Porter said his riding partners will be Jay Essington, 65, of Egg Harbor Township, N.J., and Martin Fore, 41, of Seattle.

Porter and Essington met two years ago when they participated in a bicycle tour of the Erie Canal.

"We were sitting around the tents at night, discussing our future goals, and Jay and I discovered that we both had the same goal, to ride across the country, but he wanted to ride from here to there," Porter said.

Porter said he placed an advertisement in Adventure Cyclist, the Adventure Cycling Association magazine, and was contacted by Fore, who wanted to join them on the journey.

"I’ve never met Martin, but we will have a few days in Seattle to get acquainted," Porter said. Porter has set up a webpage at http://mikeporter.pbwiki.com, where he has outlined his journey and stops that the group will make along the way. He also plans to post journal entries on the page to let friends know how the trip is progressing and some of the unique experiences.

One of Porter’s first postings details the first coincidence of the trip.

"Jay and I are actually flying into Seattle on May 18 on the same plane," Porter wrote. "I am leaving from Albany to Philadelphia to Seattle and Jay, independent of me, booked the same flight from Philadelphia to Seattle only five rows away. Probably the first of many small-world coincidences."

Porter said he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma on his birthday in September 2002. "It wasn’t a good day," Porter said. "But the oncologist said it was slow-growing and told me not to do anything for a while. In August 2003, I began getting treatments of Rituxan once a week for eight weeks."

Porter said he just finished another series of four treatments in March and will go to the doctor again just before he starts the trip. He said he hopes to only need occasional maintenance treatments in the future.

"I just need to keep it knocked down," Porter said. "I have never really felt too bad, but I was just really whipped, tired all the time."

Porter said that he participated last year in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training, an endurance-sport training program. He rode in the 109 mile El Tour de Tucson. http://www.pbaa.com/Home.html#ElTour

"They have coaches to help you prepare for an event," Porter said. "I started a designated training ritual in April and got up to riding 85 miles a day. I would ride to Stamford and have lunch and then continue on to Delhi and back to Margaretville. Sometimes I rode to Downsville or to Oneonta."

Porter said he just purchased a bicycle for this trip and plans to pull a trailer with 40 pounds of gear. The three men plan to begin riding toward New York around May 22 and are hoping that the snow will have begun melting and the mountain passes will be somewhat open.

He said if things go as planned, his wife, Becky, will fly to Montana to meet the bikers and will drive along with them for a few days, carrying their gear in her vehicle to give the men some time to just enjoy the ride.

Porter said he has been riding bicycles since his children, Jed and Megan, began riding. He has led several 4-H bicycle trips from Camp Shankitunk.

Read a few comments from others at CheeringSection

SideBar

• Tour what PBwiki can do for you!