THOR TOUR
CYCLING COAST TO
COAST FOR
THE GOAL
Greetings! My name is Mark Thorsheim aka “Thor”. I will be cycling over 4,200 miles traveling from Norwalk, CT on the Long Island Sound to Astoria, OR on the Pacific Coast. The Thor Tour launches June 25th 2024 with a planned finish date of…TBD!With your support, I’m seeking to raise critical operating funds for Career Resources, Inc. (CRI), Connecticut’s pre-eminent workforce development nonprofit agency [MORE] I will match the first $25,000 so we are tackling this climb together! I’ve served as a CRI board member since 2020 and been thoroughly inspired by their tremendous team and clients, which include returning citizens from incarceration.
CRI believes in “second chances” because in many cases these individuals never had a first chance. The mission at CRI is “Finding Dignity Through Work”, reducing recidivism, homelessness, and poverty while improving the lives of our clients and their families. 
THE RIDER
I’m a 20+ year resident of New Canaan, CT and spent my formative years near Freehold, NJ and the Jersey Shore, so brace for Springsteen references in my upcoming blog. I’m originally from Minnesota and plan to route my trip very much the way we roadtripped back there many summers as a kid. I’m a fitness enthusiast that rediscovered the joy of cycling at 50 after hitting the twilight of a mediocre (weekend) soccer "career". Armed with new joints and body reconstructions, I turned 58 on June 20 and will be on sabbatical from my day job as an M&A banker to satisfy a burning desire to “go west” and ride across our beautiful country. I’m blessed with the loving support of my amazing wife Margot and two, beautiful young men for sons, Max and Ben.I expect my blog will reflect my interests (compulsions?). In addition to The Boss, they include my love for football (aka soccer), hipster coffee shops (key ingredient for riding 4k+ miles), dogs and the great outdoors. I am also very rooted in my faith and suspect I will need it. My brother Chris (see The Inspiration) embodied the phrase “carpe diem”. Before I have to replace any more body parts, the time for me to “seize” this journey is now!THE INSPIRATION
I lost my brother Chris in 2021. He was 57 and a man of passions... soccer, coaching, mountain biking and hiking, but most of all his family [MORE]. As brothers, best friends, teammates and travel mates, we left it all “out on the field” for each other.
I have learned there is a hidden gift in grief. It keeps me close to Chris and serves as a powerful agent. It reinforces what love means to me. Instead of seeking “closure” and an end to our relationship, I strive to keep his adventurous spirit with me.
When asked why I want to do this ride alone, my immediate response is the same…Chris will be with me! In fact, I will be wearing his red helmet so my big bro is on my head to protect me and in my head as always! Chris had that “extra gear” on so many levels, something I will need to exercise on this trip. 
Thank you in advance for your kind support and donations. Carpe diem, let the Thor Tour begin!
“It's not how much we give, but how much we put into giving”