By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
JUNE 15, 2021 | A Gwinnettian arriving Monday from San Francisco, Calif., has a good reason to be tired….after riding a bicycle from Anacortes, Wash. (at the top of Washington state) to San Francisco, 1,049 miles in 23 days.
He’s John Upchurch of Duluth, who was riding to raise funds for his favorite charity, Riding for Onesies, a collective impact initiative through Gwinnett Building Babies’ Brains. It’s a 501c3 with money raised going through the Gwinnett Schools Foundation. It’s this fund’s first public fund raising effort.
Pedaling for the first 14 days with John was David Kim also of Duluth, another advocate of early learning, and a cyclist.
We caught up with John Friday morning (June 11) in Gualala, Calif., his second night in a hotel room after a grueling ride on Thursday of 64 miles, his longest of the trip. Most nights were spent in campgrounds or parks, with two nights in a KOA cabin.
Why the trip? “I’m turning 60, and wanted to take this trip after a friend’s son did it. I’ve never seen this part of the world, and what better way to do it than on a bike.”
His favorite charity
John adds: “In Gwinnett we have 60,000 kids to age 5, and we find that 52 percent of them are not ready to enter the first grade. We want to raise awareness of early learning to get these kids ready for school.” So far John has raised $2,869.
John is associated with Scholastic Images, working with Gwinnett schools on their caps, gowns, jackets, images, etc. He is married to Marie, a teacher at Burnett Elementary School, and has two grown boys, and one grandchild.
Of his biking journey, John says he expected it to be hard. “We average 45-50 miles a day, depending on how steep the ground is. We have been lucky in that we had rain only one day, in Washington. There’s beauty at almost every turn, such as in the big redwoods, for three days. And other than traffic, there have been few problems, with roads mostly having wide shoulders and people used to bicyclists here. The logging trucks can be a problem, but they are the best drivers, giving us plenty of room. Our biggest problem is no phone signal, since I am with a company that doesn’t have good coverage here.”
Biking can be lonely
Luckily, there’s been no problem with his bike. “It’s a Surly Disc Trucker touring bike, made in the USA. With saddlebags front and back, plus the handlebars, its total packed weight is 85 pounds.”
One of his best surprises was when stopping for a sandwich in Elk, Calif., and enjoying it with the local postmaster. “She suggested we visit the nearby western most point in the USA at Manchester Bay. We wouldn’t have done that without her advice.”
As for food, “It’s whatever you can get at a convenience store.” He’s drinking Gatorade Lite, which gives additional electrolytes, for refreshments. “In Washington and Oregon, we had a lot of clam chowder, which was good, since it was cold there, down in the mid 40s at night.”
A surprising part of the trip for John: “I haven’t looked at news for three weeks, and it makes me feel so peaceful. That’s been nice. And I’ve really enjoyed the people I’ve come into contact with. It gives me a good feeling about America. People I’ve seen are truly good folks, not mean and angered.”
- To learn more about the trip, go to: https://buildingbabiesbrains.com/riding-for-the-onesies/. Be sure to scroll down to “View Previous Daily Rides,” and follow the biking down the West Coast.
(It appears the most recent upload on the website is from last Thursday. Here are links to the most recent rides which should be updated on the website soon: June 11 | June 12 | June 13.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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