bike

Maybe you've spotted them. They're more than 200 strong, and they rolled into Byron last night. From there, they left for Romulus this morning via Routes 5 and 20 through Avon. They're the cyclists of the Sea to Sea bike tour to end poverty. They're from all over the country, and Canada, too, and they've raised more than $2 million in their journey from the waters of the Pacific, just west of Seattle, to those of the Atlantic just east of Jersey City.

Many of the cyclists have kept a blog on their journey. Plenty of great photos—such as the pair you see here—can also be viewed on the site hosted by the Christian Reform Church.

How do I know all this, you ask? Well, I was over at the Holland Land Office Museum earlier this morning shooting the next episode of our history series with Pat Weissend—look for it this afternoon, it's a good one—when a kindly couple stopped to ask if I was with the local television station. Long story short, the Templetons are following their grandson who is one of the cyclists in the tour. They told Pat and me all about the race.

All 220 cyclists started in Washington on June 30, with their back tires literally dipped into the Pacific Ocean (see the photo below). Sixty-one days and 3,881 miles later at an average of about 72 miles per day, the cyclists roll to an end in New Jersey, where they will dip their front tire into the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, they've already passed through Genesee County by now, and we didn't have a chance to catch them and maybe sit down for a video interview with some of the participants. But if the little bit we've told you about here has piqued your interest, as it has mine, you should check out the site and poke around. As I said, there are blogs and photos. There are also profiles of the cyclists, news clips, maps and a whole lot more. Much fun.