Cross-country bicycle touring in a big way

What's touted as the biggest-ever cross-country bicycle tour is currently making its way across the US.

The 2008 Sea to Sea - Ending the Cycle of Poverty bike tour boasts 127 cyclists who are making the entire 3,881-mile trek from Seattle to Jersey City, New Jersey. They're joined along the way by 91 other bicyclists who are riding different segments.

All cross-country rides have to start with a rear-wheel dip in the ocean. This is what it looked like, above, when the 100-plus Sea to Sea bike tour riders carried out this tradition in Seattle. There's no ocean here, but getting wet in the Puget Sound at Golden Gardens Park is close enough.

Fund-raiser

As its name implies, the Sea to Sea bike tour is geared toward raising funds to support programs in the Christian Reformed Church to end poverty. The church's initiatives focus on ending poverty for individuals, families and communities all over the world.

Each cross-country cyclist has a $10,000 fund-raising goal, while the others are aiming for $4,000. The goal for the bike tour is $1.5 million.

The supported group is averaging 71 miles each day on their bikes, although there are several 100-plus mile days. They expect to spend 62 days out on the road, finishing Aug. 30 in Jersey City.

This week

Spending a rest day in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Sunday, the group is heading out on a 63-mile ride to Laingsburg on Monday. Other stops this week include Richmond, Chatham, London, Hamilton and St. Catherines, Ontario.

As for its claim about being the biggest tour, the website maintains that the biggest previous single cross-continental tour involved 96 cyclists crossing Canada in 2005.

Donate

The Sea to Sea 2008 is accepting donations at its website. There's a lot of information there about the ride and the cause it supports.

Photo above by Jonathan Timothy Stoner at flickr.com.

Source: Biking Bis