It is now nineteen days to the ride's commencement in the Pacific Northwest. Final preparations are underway. Last training rides to be taken before packing and shipping our bikes at the end of the week ahead.

One significant difference for this 2019 cross-country journey, compared to the 2017 edition, is our direction of travel. Heading west-to-east this time means less sun exposure towards the end of a long mileage day - the need for a strong headlight beam becomes essential for safety. I also ordered custom multicolored team jerseys with bright green, purple, and orange colors for better visibility. The jerseys will surely serve as a lasting memento for us four riders.

Spotty and I, father and son duo of the four riders, were interviewed by the regional Appen Media newspaper at their Alpharetta office. The paper was very kind to splash us on the front page this week! My hope is that it will generate traffic to this blog and springload donations to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). I kindly ask any blog readers to please spread our story to family and friends and share this blog address. Your support and interest truly provide the soulful fuel for a successful journey.

The newspaper story online can be found here (front page with article on page 12):
https://issuu.com/appen-inc/docs/ar_050219_40web

A very hearty thank you from me and my fellow Norsemen!
-Soaring Hawk-