The Dream

The Dream

Ed, for many years, has had a dream on his "bucket list" to ride a bike from Canada to Mexico along the Pacific Coast Highway.  The dream became a reality when his wife, Sharla, agreed to be a part of the adventure.  We plan to make this a journey and not a destination (which will be challenging for Ed) and are anticipating that it will take a couple of months.  Time will be spent along the way enjoying the trip, visiting new places and making new friends.  The trip will be self-supported, mostly staying in camp grounds, but motels will also be a welcome change.  The trip is due to begin next week as we fly from Colorado to Seattle where we will meet up with our bikes that were shipped through REI.  We have backpacked extensively but only done several short bike tours so this will be a new experience for both of us.  We chose to begin in Canada in August as that is the least rainy time of the year and by the time we get to Southern California we should have very pleasant weather.  The route will begin in Seattle where we will bike and ferry through Port Angeles to Victoria and on to Sidney where we will ferry back to Anacortes through the San Juan Islands.  From Anacortes we will journey south along Highway 1 and 101 to the Mexico border.  We are excited, but also have some trepidation, as this is a huge commitment for a 2000 mile adventure.

The Bikes

After much research and many test rides we both chose Novara Safari bikes.  They were comfortable to ride and come well equipped for touring.  I upgraded to disk brakes and added fenders as well as front rack for me and lights and rear flashers.  Since Ed will be carrying a majority of the weight, he chose to  pull a BOB trailer after doing extensive research.  The trailer will be accompanied by front Ortlieb panniers on Ed's bike and rear panniers on Sharla's.  Both bikes will also be equipped with handlebar bags.

The Players

Ed is a recently semi-retired 61 year old electrical engineer who resides in Fort Collins, Colorado.  He has spent over 37 years working in the power industry and really enjoyed his career.  He is also a committed Christian that wants to serve Jesus Christ in every aspect of his life.  Backpacking, sailing and biking have always been a passion and this is an opportunity to combine many aspects of backpacking with the adventure found in sailing into biking.   He is very excited that his wife, who has often been pushed past her comfort level is willing to embark on such a great adventure after over 38 years of marriage.

I'm Sharla, the other half of the Pedal Pusher team.  I'm a 59 3/4 year old mother of 3, mother-in-law of 3 and grandma of 3.  Our "kids" flew the nest to the East coast leaving this Coloradoan with her adventurous husband of 38 years.  I agreed to go on this adventure--it's downhill from Canada to Mexico, isn't it?  I anticipate seeing some amazing scenery and meeting lots of interesting people.  We praise God in whatever we do and thank Him for giving us the strength and ability to do this adventure.