Merle’s Miles for MS
Let's travel the Lewis and Clark Trail together in 2012!

A training ride on the Silver Comet Trail

Support vehicle with trailer (the one in front)

Once again I am trying to raise money for the Georgia Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to aid in the fight against Multiple Sclerosis.

I'm looking for cyclists and/or drivers to explore the Lewis and Clark Trail at 50 - 70 miles per day starting in Mid May. Time and pace are flexible, depending upon the mix of cyclists and how many museums we happen to pass. Cyclists wishing to tent camp will have the luxury of a support vehicle to carry tents and other heavy gear.

I will be 73 years old at the time of the trip and riding a tricycle so I can't outrun anyone. But I keep in good shape and I should have no surprises from the trip, having had a similar adventure in 2007.

My wife, Jan, will again be accompanying me on this trip, On our 2007 trip Jan was alone most of the day and it got hot and boring for her in places. I'm hoping to avoid that situation this time. She will be driving our pickup truck pulling our home-made travel trailer, but we would very much like to travel with someone else either driving an RV or tent camping. Despite the boring stretches Jan enjoyed the trip, even though she didn't expect to when we started out.

I can assure you that traveling at the expected pace of this trip is by far the greatest way to see the country. There is time to smell the flowers (literally) and to photograph anything we come across. There's time for talking to interesting people and visiting roadside attractions.

Starting in St. Louis, Missouri and ending in Seaside, Oregon the trip, according to the Adventure Cycling Association maps, will be approximately 3300 miles mostly along the Missouri and Columbia Rivers. It will get cold at night and hot during the day. But it will be worth all the discomfort.

I can't tell you all the good things (or bad) about such a trip in just a few paragraphs. If you are interested in participating or simply interested in talking about the trip email me at LaC@TimeAtRest.com and let's discuss the possibilities. Let me at least try to talk you into going along.

I would like to collect the group, then let the group decide the pace. The larger the group, the more money we can raise for the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

If you would like to get some idea of just how interesting the trip can be, read my 2007 trip diary. It contains a journal entry for each day in the 2007 trip and over 500 photographs of the kinds of things we might see.

And, by the way, I know I'm getting taller as I get older because it's so much harder to touch my toes than it used to be.